Sean Lyons

9.4

Super rich and decadent with a wave of dark stewed fruits like plums, cherries and strawberries. It’s incredibly fruit forward, but not too sweet. There’s a background of black strap molasses and strong maltiness. Incredibly balanced for such a flavorful dram. A phenomenon winter whisky. — 14 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

I bought this for the winter months and finished the last of it over the weekend. This is a blended malt named in honour of Masataka Taketsuru, the father of Japanese Whisky. He was the first Japanese who mastered Whisky making in Scotland and brought this expertise back to Japan. It was an incredibly pure and rich Whisky with a certain smokiness. I don’t drink enough Whisky to know the difference but this could easily have been Scotch to my palate. 43% ABV. — 2 years ago

Doug Cranmer

9.0

Dark stone fruit, dark garnet velvet in color, deceptively light nose with strawberry and a touch of ash. Front palate of dark cherry, hint of cocoa. Slightly more fruit full finish with strong, balanced tannins. I’d buy for home too. — 5 years ago

with Mary

Raun Kupiec

9.0

Actually this is a different Balvenie, it’s one of the Stories line of limited releases. “The Creation of a Classic” https://www.thebalvenie.com/our-whisky-collection/stories-whiskies/the-creation-of-a-classic/ 2023 Whisky Advent calendar Day 1: this is light but very flavourful. Loads of vanilla with spices and a bit of dried fruit. Very nice. — 5 months ago

Aaron Tan

9.0

My first Ardberg and it left quite an impression. Gosh! This was like eating bacon and smoking cigars. Ron Swanson should be drinking this instead of Lagavulin 😂 Truly, it feels like someone decided to bottle up that campfire by the sea that's been drenched in bacon fat from dinner the night before. With water, the marine quality becomes more apparent, but that smoke just remains. Only with great concentration can one discern some fruit notes (citrus). The finish is just all about that endless peat. Surprisingly, this whisky was quite "smooth" despite all the extremities it brought. Definitely need to taste more Ardbegs to understand what's going on - not displeasing, but for now, Talisker's more up my alley in the category of peated whiskies. — 3 years ago

Robert Rothfield

9.2

“The most richly flavored of all Scotch whiskies”.....I would tend to agree! — 4 years ago

Lyle yablonsky

9.1

Great value wine. A dry pinot. Plenty of tannins. Softened up a bit. Day 2 was better than day 1. — 6 years ago

Brett Francis

9.2

This wine had notes of strawberry, some black cherry, balanced overall fruit flavors, with undertones of vanilla. Generally this was neither on what can sometimes be a Pinot’s spicy side or inversely a delicate side. This really just was an overall well-balanced, enjoyable wine. Would definitely drink again. — 6 months ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

The mildest of the Diageo peated whiskies I've had so far. Definitely not the campfire peat monsters of Ardbeg, or the distinct maritime peat of Talisker, or the more medicinal peat of Lagavulin... The peat here comes off as sweet and aromatic, almost like incense. The body seems to be the lightest of the lot too (comparing apples and apples), although it's hard to say without seeing them all next to each other (definitely lighter than the Ardberg and even Glen Elgin here). Palate flavours are subtle in the Caol Ila, but citrus notes come through clearly. Finishes a touch short with a sort of grassy earthy quality that I quite enjoy. Not a blockbuster whisky, yet I find it quite drinkable.

NB: Better mixed 1:1 with the Ardbeg Wee Beastie. Seems to balance out the extreme smoke of the Ardberg, drawing out lovely saline notes. — 3 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.2

Color of light black tea. Nose is quite spicy, a bit smoky and peaty, ripe apple, and more spiciness in the nasal cavity. Taste is unexpected sweet, with spiciness takes the backseat, flowering and honey notes, a bit minty, and some more hotness, quite smooth and dense enough. Aftertaste of more honey note and lingering warmth. Not bad at all as crowd pleaser. I am surprised by the low ratings overall from the community. — 5 years ago