The OCUK Whisky (and Whiskey) review thread

Bought my flatmate a bottle of Finlaggan Old Reserve for his birthday and he was kind enough to let me have a try. It's one of those "mystery" distillers, rumoured to be Lagavulin. Very, very impressed. Quite smoky, and absolutely lovely. Comfortably the best whisky I've found at £30.
 
Just got back from a two week camping tour of scotland driving round the north coast route - Managed to drag the non-whisky drinking wife on a tour of dalmore and popped into Talisker and Dalwhinnie

Dalmore was a weird one, not the most impressive distillery until you got into the bonded warehouses where oh my, what a selection - some seriously old barrels in there - tried their 12 (x2 as the wife didn't want heres), 15, 18 and King Alexander III - the king alexander was pretty stunning but for the extra 50% it didn't make sense over the 18 year old, which will replace my recently finished bottle of blue label for best.
Also picked up some Taslisker Port Ruighe which beautifully combines the smokey peat flavours of Talisker with the smoother richness you get from a port casking.
Dalwhinnie was a bit of a disappointment - very fancy looking distillery but very much a tourist trap rather than anything else - £6 for a sample of the winter with a free souvenir glass was a huge rip off, but it gets more reasonable if you go for three samples.
 
the 18 is a much smoother, richer experience - brings in far more of the rich fruity spice flavours that lingers far longer - is it worth the extra, hard to say... but i'd defiantly go for the cigar malt over the 15 from personal preference.
 
courtesy of hotuk - many Bourbons in Amazon deal of the day.
Makers Mark £18 , Eagle rare 10 £20 , the latter, with free delivery, is now fathers day present.
 
Siliconslave said:
Just got back from a two week camping tour of scotland driving round the north coast route - Managed to drag the non-whisky drinking wife on a tour of dalmore and popped into Talisker and Dalwhinnie

Dalmore was a weird one, not the most impressive distillery until you got into the bonded warehouses where oh my, what a selection - some seriously old barrels in there - tried their 12 (x2 as the wife didn't want heres), 15, 18 and King Alexander III - the king alexander was pretty stunning but for the extra 50% it didn't make sense over the 18 year old, which will replace my recently finished bottle of blue label for best.
Also picked up some Taslisker Port Ruighe which beautifully combines the smokey peat flavours of Talisker with the smoother richness you get from a port casking.
Dalwhinnie was a bit of a disappointment - very fancy looking distillery but very much a tourist trap rather than anything else - £6 for a sample of the winter with a free souvenir glass was a huge rip off, but it gets more reasonable if you go for three samples.
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We just got back on Sunday from the same trip (albeit we took a few detours and it ended up being more like the North 800). We only managed to stop by Clynelish where I picked up a bottle of Clyenlish Original Cask Strength, which is only available at the distillery. At 57.3% it's quite feisty, but it benefits from it as the extra alcohol gives it grip on the palate and a long drawn out finish reminiscent of Mortlach. Quite surprsing for a young malt (they reckon somewhere between 8 and 12 years in the shop), that said it doesn't quite have the same depth as a Mortlach or similarly aged whisky. It still has the fruity maritime elements of the Clynelish 14; talking of which...

Edit: I forgot to mention, the tour around Clynelish was a bit different, as they were out of production so we were treated to a historical tour of the old Clynelish/Brora distillery; very interesting.

jpaul said:
courtesy of hotuk - many Bourbons in Amazon deal of the day.
Makers Mark £18 , Eagle rare 10 £20 , the latter, with free delivery, is now fathers day present.
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Thanks for that, I picked up an Eagle Rare 10, incredible value at the price. In the spirit of reciprocation, Clynelish 14 is about to go on a lightning deal for Prime members in approximately 30 minutes. At £42 a bottle standard, for me it is the best value malt money can buy, bar none.
 
Auchentoshan Three Wood is currently £30.99 at Amazon. The only Auchentoshan I've had was the 21 and that was hands down the best whiskey I've tasted. I guess the smoothness comes from the triple distilling? I just don't like the sound of the Three Wood though..
 
Scam said:
Auchentoshan Three Wood is currently £30.99 at Amazon. The only Auchentoshan I've had was the 21 and that was hands down the best whiskey I've tasted. I guess the smoothness comes from the triple distilling? I just don't like the sound of the Three Wood though..
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I like the American Oak but thought the Three Wood was awful. Tasted very chemically and not smooth at all
 
Lagavulin 16 is one of if not my favourity whiskies and my favourite Islay malt. If you like strong peat but smooth finish then I would strongly recommend it.

I haven't tried the Oban 14, always wanted to. Being a Highland malt it's a different flavour profile.
 
bsoltan said:
Lagavulin 16 is one of if not my favourity whiskies and my favourite Islay malt. If you like strong peat but smooth finish then I would strongly recommend it.

I haven't tried the Oban 14, always wanted to. Being a Highland malt it's a different flavour profile.
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The Lagavulin is very nice indeed. I've only had it once but may have to buy a bottle when my/before my Laphroaig Quarter Cask runs out. I'm genuinely struggling to tear myself away from Islay malts in order to try new things though. There's just something about that smoky peat flavour that's difficult to see past. It would be interesting to compare it to the Quarter Cask. I've so far found that to be far more smoky and peat infused than the Laphroaig 10. I was glad I took it with me on the West Highland Way. It certainly made an impression when it was offered to some fellow hikers. :)
 
I keep going back to Lagavulin. The smoke and smoothness is incredible. I had a small bottle of Caol Ila recently which was also good but after tasting Lagavulin again yesterday I know why I always go back to it.
 
Repta said:
thinking about getting a bottle of Oban 14 Year Old or Lagavulin 16 Year Old. Anyone recommend either of them?
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I am not a fan if Islay whiskies in general, i find them too phenolic..so Llagavulin is rightly a classic, but its not for me!

Oban is a great all rounder as it has hints of islay and other other island whiskies, but is much more palatable to me...and the distillers edition is one of my favourites

it has just enough peat/smoke for you to notice it without it being overpowering but is nicely balanced by a sweetness..feels good in the mouth so to speak
 
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