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Laphroaig ‘Lore’ Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL

We first had a sample of this back on a whiskey Wednesday event, and given the course of that was a few folks and multiple tastings one after the other without a proper tasting it earned a solid A. Now though 3 years later it’s time to put it under the lights properly and see whether the Lore of this whiskey holds up. In short it does, but if you’re encountering this review due to a frantic google search in the local liquor store seeing if this is up to snuff – you likely have already spotted the main downside, namely the price tag.

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Chivas Regal ‘Mizunara’ Blended Scotch Whisky 750mL

Now this is not aged as long as – well we don’t know because it’s a blend, but it’s shorter than the 18 year we’ve had on this site ages ago (and still love dearly for it’s ability to mix well). The trick they’ve taken with this one is instead of aging in American or French oak barrels (as is the common way) they’ve opted for some Japanese ‘Mizunara’ oak instead for both added rarity and presumably to make headway into the large Japanese loving whiskey market.The problem is that because this seems like an idea cooked up no less than maybe 5-10 years ago, it might need some more time in that Mizunara.

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Tomatin Highland Single Malt 12yr Bourbon/Sherry Cask Scotch Whisky 750mL

Ahh some nice Highland scotch, not a peat monster or too light and fruity – sounds great, and there’s the sherry cask to rain our parade. The problem is however how hard it is to tell if such casking is actually the best parts of this whisky. Overall it’s not great, but at it’s best it’s the fruity aspects that make it work in at least a few categories, while doing awful to mediocre in the rest.

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Shieldaig Single Malt Islay Scotch ‘Finest Old’ Whisky 750mL

Typically the concept of Islay single malt and sixteen dollars are not grouped into the same category. While there’s not an age on this bottle which makes the affair a tad more sensical, from the first crack of the bottle it’s certain you’re 16 buckaroos has given you a bit of Islay. However as for how the first sip treats you for you bargain purchase – well – it could be worse.

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Bunnahabhain 12 Yr. Islay Single Malt Scotch 750mL

So it’s pronounced Bu-na-ha-venn. Just felt the need to get that out of the way, because the name (and dear god their literature) can be summed up best by the word verbose. If we’re honest the contents of the glass can also fall under the category of verbose as well. The whiskey here is quite a complex thing – but the problem with complexity in a scotch is whether it fits the expectations and the desires of the drinker.

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The Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL

Okay seriously, we’ll have an actual review of Glenlevit 12 Yr soon. We always seem to forget it’s never been reviewed on this site until we do something like this – an offshoot – and then try to compare it scorewise to the standard outing. What we have here is some scotch, but finishes it’s aging instead in a rum cask. The effect is certainly something that has more rum elements, but does that make it better?

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Auchentoshan The Bartender’s Malt Single Malt Scotch Whisky (Annual Edition 01) 750mL

What we have is a blended Auchentoshan decided upon by 12 bartenders from around the world who got together and created this. The mere concept of which right now in the (thankfully) waning days of pandemic lockdown is about as foreign a concept as possible. Nonetheless what have these 12 minds come together to make – well in short something that has some good aspects but also glaring flaws – so basically anything designed by a committee.

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Dewar’s Blended Scotch Whisky Ilegal Smooth 8yr Mezcal Cask Finish 750mL

Editor’s Note: Fuck that was a hell of a week, anyway.

We have sort of a complicated relationship with Dewar’s – on the one hand we prefer Famous Grouse or just a Glenlivet 12 Yr for a mixing/well scotch. (we really should review those) That’s not to say the white label hasn’t occasionally showed up in the bar. The 12 year Dewar’s is thankfully a bit better, but given the length of age one would expect that. This though – this was unexpected, and quite frankly much better than it had any right to be.

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