Maker – Page 6 – DramWorlds

July 17, 2019January 23, 2020

Tomatin, 12yo, 2018

*Rating*	26/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Northern Highlands
*Distillery*	Tomatin
*Owner*	TaKaRa Holdings via Takara Shuzo
*Style*	Single Malt Whisky
*Casks*	Bourbon, Sherry
*Bottled*	2018
*Strength*	43% (86 proof)
Price	$25-80

Nose: Slightly sour and otherwise there is simply not much there. (5/10)

Palate: Nice! After the largely absent nose the rich and butter flavors comes as a pleasant surprise. (8/10)

Finish: This one lingers pleasantly but ultimately fades out into astringent wood notes. (7/10)

Balance: Overall not shabby but I really wish the nose was living up to the rest of the whisky. (6/10)

July 17, 2019January 23, 2020

Aultmore Foggie Moss, 12yo

*Rating*	27/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Central Speyside
*Distillery*	Aultmore
*Owner*	Bacardi via John Dewar & Sons
*Style*	Single Malt Whisky
*Strength*	46% (92 proof)
Price	$39-125

Nose: Clean wood, some hints of licorice. Water flattens it. (6/10)

Palate: Citrussy, leans toward grapefruit. Water opens things up wide. (7/10)

Finish: Burnt sugar, nice warmth, hints of lemon around the edges. Water teases out some darker notes. (7/10)

Balance: Decent dram but what is gained from water on the back end comes with a hefty price at the front. (7/10)

July 17, 2019January 23, 2020

Starward Nova, 2yo

*Rating*	32/40
*Origin*	Australia
*Distillery*	Starward
*Style*	Single Malt Whisky
*Cask*	Australian Red Wine Casks
*Strength*	41% (82 proof)
Price	$45-90

Nose: Dark fruit, cherries and strawberries leading earthier wine notes. (8/10)

Palate: The wine influence comes to the fore and mixes into a batch of cookie dough. (8/10)

Finish: A mixture of wine and orange with hints of baking spices. It leaves a kind of gummy bear coating. (8/10)

Balance: This is surprisingly good for such a youngster but it needs a lot of time in the glass to get a hold of all its parts and assemble them into something presentable. Water makes a shambles of it all. (8/10)

July 17, 2019May 28, 2021

Mortlach Faultline K&L Exclusive, 22yo, 1995/2017

Mortlach Faultline 1995/2017, 22yo, close-up

*Rating*	30/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Dufftown
*Distillery*	Mortlach
*Owner*	Diageo
*Distilled*	1995
*Bottler*	Alexander Murray & Co
*Series*	Faultline
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky
*Cask*	First Fill Sherry Butt #7301
*Bottled*	December 4th, 2017
*Strength*	53.3% (106.6 proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants
Price	$120 (Sold Out)

Nose: Oranges, flowers mingle in minty heat. Water drops it to faint notes of a wet leaf-covered ground. (8/10)

Palate: Hot orange-flavored hard candy. Water dials fruitiness up to 11 and spreads everything out wide. (7/10)

Finish: Astringent wood and unripe, acidic oranges. (8/10)

Balance: Somewhat unbalanced. Adding water, while nicely boosting the palate, messes with the bookends in rather disappointing ways. The heat on this one definitely requires warming up ones palate with something else first. (7/10)

May 31, 2019January 22, 2020

Ardbeg Drum Ardbeg Day 2019 Committee Release

*Rating*	31/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Islay, South Shore
*Distillery*	Ardbeg
*Owner*	LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE via Glenmorangie
*Series*	Ardbeg Day Committee Release
*Style*	Single Malt Whisky
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Bourbon Cask Maturation, Rum Cask Finish
*Bottled*	November 2018
*Strength*	52% (104 proof)
Price	$145-250

Nose: Smoke drifts past freshly ground metal shavings used to season a barrel of mackerels. Right after the bottle was cracked open there was some mild sour fruit rising out of and above the smoke but that element was quickly aired out. (9/10)

Palate: A slightly bitter and tangy kernel hides out in a fluffy cloud of smoke. (7/10)

Finish: Smoke tentatively probes the back of my mouth but is too scared to jump off the ledge down into my throat even though there is a cushy pile of embers to land on at the bottom. (8/10)

Balance: Just a bit off in the middle but otherwise very nice. We have not yet returned to the level of the grand old Ardbeg Day releases such as the original Supernova or the stupendous Rollercoaster. (8/10)

July 27, 2018January 22, 2020

Ardbeg Grooves Ardbeg Day 2018 Committee Release

Ardbeg Grooves Committee Release 2018 Close-up

*Rating*	36/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Islay, South Shore
*Distillery*	Ardbeg
*Owner*	LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE via Glenmorangie
*Series*	Ardbeg Day Committee Release
*Style*	Single Malt Whisky
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Recharred Red Wine Casks
*Bottled*	November 23rd, 2017
*Strength*	51.5% (103.2 proof)
Price	$115-300

Nose: Dark smoke, earth and coarse bark mulch. (9/10)

Palate: Broad, root-y, a little like licking rough bark but without the stabbiness and cuttiness of it. (8/10)

Finish: Deep and broad, wild mushrooms. Porcini? (10/10)

Balance: Just… lovely. (9/10)

June 1, 2018January 23, 2020

Bunnahbhain Pedro Ximénez Finish Ltd. Release, 14yo, 2003/2017

Bunnahabhain PX Finish Ltd. Release, 2003/2017, 14yo., close-up

*Rating*	32/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Islay, North Shore
*Distillery*	Bunnahabhain
*Owner*	Distell Group
*Distilled*	March 24th, 2003
*Style*	Small Batch Single Malt Whisky
*Cask*	2nd fill Sherry casks followed by 3 years in Pedro Ximénez casks
*Bottled*	June 21st, 2017
*Bottles*	6768
*Strength*	54.3% (108.6 proof)
Price	$100-200

Nose: A little funky. Some unripe fruit and perhaps blue cheese? (7/10)

Palate: More fruit. (8/10)

Finish: The fruit them continues but with fruit gums. (9/10)

Balance: Odd stuff, this one, but nice. (8/10)

June 1, 2018February 23, 2021

KaVaLan Solist K&L Excl. Sherry Cask, 2017

Kavalan Solist K&L Excl., 2017, close-up

*Rating*	35/40
*Origin*	Taiwan
*Distillery*	KaVaLan
*Series*	Solist
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky
*Cask*	Sherry Cask 3100125005A
*Bottled*	2017
*Bottles*	470
*Strength*	57.1% (114.2 proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants
Price	$210

Nose: (8/10)

Palate: (9/10)

Finish: (9/10)

Balance: (9/10)

March 14, 2018September 3, 2021

Aultmore Sovereign K&L Excl., 9yo, 2008/2017

Aultmore Sovereign K&L Excl., 2008/2017, 9yo., close-up

*Rating*	31/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Central Speyside
*Distillery*	Aultmore
*Owner*	Bacardi via John Dewar & Sons
*Distilled*	June 2008
*Bottler*	Hunter Laing & Co.
*Series*	Sovereign
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky
*Cask*	Sherry Butt #HL13138
*Bottled*	August 2017
*Bottles*	631
*Strength*	59,8% (119.6 proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants

Nose: The mummified corpses of licorice candies melted under the Saharan sun and shriveled up to a state of utterly desiccated, dark tightness. (8/10)

Palate: Beastly and rough but full of beauty and power in its hot, raging magnificence. (9/10)

Finish: Bitter, medicinal flavors slowly build and layer in the back. (9/10)

Balance: And what rough ~~beast~~ dram, its hour come round at last, slouches towards ~~Bethlehem~~ my mouth to be ~~born~~ drunk. (9/10)

March 9, 2018May 28, 2021

Bowmore Old Particular K&L Excl., 20yo, 1997/2017

Bowmore Old Particular K&L Excl., 1997/2017, 20yo., close-up

*Rating*	31/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Islay, Loch Indaal
*Distillery*	Bowmore
*Owner*	Suntory Holdings via Beam Suntory via Morrison Bowmore Distillers
*Distilled*	March 1997
*Bottler*	Douglas Laing & Co.
*Series*	Old Particular
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Refill Hogshead #DL11677
*Bottled*	April 2017
*Bottles*	281
*Strength*	55.7% (111.4 proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants

Nose: When first opening the bottle there is peat smoked paprika rubbed on grilled sardines that had been washed with lavender soap. Once aired out the very Bowmore lavender component disappears. Very nice! (9/10)

Palate: Damn. The Bowmore floweriness comes through on the first hit with hot lavender flavored muratic acid. Really brightens the old grout between your teeth. A field of lavender. On fire. (7/10)

Finish: The initial wave of fire breaks in the back and floods the throat with wood and heat. This one gets rougher and dirtier with water. Some dry dark chocolate emerges. (7/10)

Balance: Not my favorite perhaps but nice and interesting enough. (8/10)