Review 218: G&M Glenburgie 10 Year

Review 218

7/26/14

Gordon and MacPhail Glenburgie 10 Year: 43% abv

Background: What’s there to say about Glenburgie? More than you’d think, actually. Here’s the scoop. The Glenburgie distillery was founded in 1829, under the name of Kilnflat. The distillery ceased production in 1870 and went through a series of changes. Water has been a short commodity at Glenburgie, and they have exchanged, on and off, a series of stills called Loch Lomond stills, which are substantially different than the typical swan neck pot stills that are used in most distilleries. Now, the Glenburgie whisky we’re drinking today is interesting, because Gleburgie just built a new building in 2004, so this might not be the same whisky you’ll be drinking tomorrow if you find a bottle. This is a G&M bottling, an independent bottler that provides some killer whiskies. G&M do tend to be pricier than their Signatory counterparts though.

Straight

Nose:  The nose starts off malty and creamy, having a gentle bready aroma and full barley complexity. There is a good amount of lemon, lime and vanilla in the nose, with tangerine citrus, along with bits of pineapple and banana. There is some nuttiness as well, which counterbalances the advertent sweetness, with salty water and green tea leaves adding some bitterness. There is fresh green mint leaves, as well as other herbal green notes. The smell is crisp, clean, and fresh. The nose is complex and presents some unique aromas that are unusual in Scotch.

Arrival: The arrival starts off with a nice blend of sweetness and zestiness. There is a unique, but strong mintiness that comes out. There is some earthiness and maple wood in the arrival, with a syrupy honey flavor as well. There is a vegetal note, one of dewy grass, that is quite interesting. There is a bitter green tea in the arrival, along with some spurts of pine. There are some hot spices in the arrival, which carry into the body.

Body: The body presents a full flavor of fresh, cooling mint. There is also a wonderful fullness of cocoa. The body is woody and full of flavor. The body has some sugar notes to it, but it still has some earthiness and spiciness in it.

Finish: The finish is incredibly minty and refreshing. It is cool and has some botanical flavor like the arrival. Cocoa is present in the finish, with citrus and wood notes as prevalent contributors to flavor. There is a certain IPA-like flavor as the finish carries through the whisky. Look hard enough, and you might find a little bit of tobacco on the finish.

With Water

Nose: After adding water, there is a bit of brown sugar and floral notes that come through. The balance in the nose is fairly good at this point, with the citrus notes backing off and giving more play to the rest of the notes.

Arrival: The arrival comes off as much more spicy, with pronounced cinnamon and nutmeg in the arrival. The flavors are more balanced, with spiciness. The arrival loses some of the flavors from before, and replaces it with the vegetal, mineral notes.

Body: The body displays mineral notes and spices, still sustaining some of its previous character. The whisky is very peppery. The body presents some caramel notes that weren’t present before.

Finish:  The finish is now more malty than before, but displays some oily notes as well. It has a good blend of vegetal flavors and spices. The caramel from the body is very dominant in the finish.

Final Comments: This is a very excellent whisky. It provides a great balance, complexity, and an extremely unique character that we haven’t seen in a lot of whiskies. Although there are mixed reviews out there on Glenburgies, this is evidence that they can put out a really great product that is approachable and compelling for advanced drinkers and beginners. At 43%, this whisky presents itself as a46% whisky at minimum, although we wouldn’t complain if they gave us the extra 3%. It is important to realize, however, that despite this very positive review, Independent bottlers don’t promise the kind of consistency that you will find from the big companies. This is a major deterrent for some.

Why you’d buy it: You are looking for something outside of your normal Glens and you’re willing to take a gamble on an Independent Bottling

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You’re a conservative drinker that doesn’t want to try something new and interesting, and good.

Score:  9.5/10

Review 198: Bruichladdich The Laddie Ten

Review 198    

1/11/13

Bruichladdich The Laddie 10 Year: 46% abv

Background: This is a pretty exciting occasion for KCM. This will be our first Bruichladdich review, which is exciting for a reason. Bruichladdich, around since 1881, is an Islay distillery that chose not to take the path of Laphroaig or Ardbeg, and is classically non-traditional in their style. Bruichladdich is truly a craft distillery, producing a large number of variants of whiskies, with a limited number of mainstays. Most Bruichladdich’s are unique bottlings that last a short amount of time. This however, is a newer release in an effort to solidify Bruichladdich’s core range of offerings. With a unique, blue pastel color adorning the bottle and canister, this one is hard to miss. Along with that, it is bottled at 46%, is natural color, and un-chill filtered. You’ll find that most Bruichladdich’s are found in this form. This is also aged in Bourbon oak casks, and is NOT peated. That would be considered unusual for a lot of Islay distilleries. So let us find out what this bad boy is like!

Straight

Nose: The nose is strong and vibrant, displaying notes of oak, molasses, vanilla and caramel. The oak is fresh and intense, and coupled with a young, bold maltiness, makes this malt very compelling on the nose. In addition to the oak, a bit of cedar is also noticeable. There is an expected saltiness that really floods the aroma as the whisky starts to open up, and in addition is a very earthy, vegetal smell. There is a red apple note that complements some of the sweet notes in the whisky, with a slight instance of kiwi and green grapes. Despite the explicit mention of not peat in this malt, there is definitely a smoky, earthy peat-like aroma that emanates from this whisky. A little bit of cinnamon flavor in the nose adds to the spiciness. There is a little bit of honey that also becomes prevalent.

Arrival: There is sweetness and maltiness in the arrival, with a slight zest of peat and spiciness. This is a very balanced whisky, bringing out a wide range of flavors. There is a little bit of sugarcane, candy sweetness, and rum-like flavor leading into the body. Vanilla is also prevalent here.

Body: The body contains a good blend of maltiness, spiciness and peat flavor. There is some distinctive seaweed and pepper that can be tasted in the body. There is rum-like sweetness and honey in the  body.

Finish: The finish has some sweetness, maltiness, and oak to it. There is a fantastic blend of molasses, caramel, malt and vanilla that contributes to the complexity in the finish. Along with this, prepare to find some yeasty, wheat-like flavor as well. There is a raw, peaty flavor in the finish. The finish does contain a little bit of apple to it. There is a lot of saltiness that also contributes to a beautiful sense of balance. There is a very vegetal flavor that comes into the finish.

With Water

Nose: There is a lot more maltiness, vanilla, and creaminess to it. This is starting to smell like a sugar cookie, in all honesty. There is more of an alcohol-like smell, with clove spice coming through that was not as obvious as before.

Arrival: The arrival is more sweet after adding water. The oak intensity has subsided, with a slightly pine-wood bitterness.

Body: There is more peat smoke in the body than there was before. There is a balanced blend of spicy complexity in the body, although the body is still a little shallow.

Finish: There is more spiciness in the finish, akin to allspice. There is also a bit more mintiness in the finish as well. There is also a tart, different cranberry flavor in the finish now.

Final Comments: For a first flagship ten year old, this whisky kicks ass! One of the most interesting aspects of this whisky is seeing how a non-peated whisky can be influenced by peat in the environment and peat exposure to the water. So distinctively can you find the salty, peaty atmosphere in this whisky, it is hard not to imagine yourself on the shores of Islay. This whisky is the definition of balance, complexity, and overall uniqueness. And if you don’t like the salty, intense complexity of this whisky, just add a little bit of water and let it sweeten up. This might not be a beginner’s whisky, but if you like a more vegetal, earthy, coastal whisky, this should be a staple in your cabinet.

 

Why you’d buy it: You just should.

Why you wouldn’t: Probably something to do with communism I imagine.

Score: 9.5/10

Review 169: Ardbeg 10 Year

Review 169

7/10/13

Ardbeg 10 Year: 46% abv

Background: Here we stand at the face of another peat juggernaut, the Ardbeg 10 Year. This is their flagship product, being big, affordable, and unique, but still upholding the ideals of Ardbeg, being 46% and unchill-filtered. There is no reason to scoff at this Scotch as a potential mainstay, because unlike Lagavulin, you can still afford a bottle of this without missing next month’s car payment. It is a peaty Islay, and it certainly test your passion to a smoky Scotch. It is not common to see an Ardbeg with colorant, and this one is absolutely the same case. Ardbeg will tell you on their packaging that their whiskies stand alone as the most delicate of all Islay whiskies. In fact, Ardbeg is delicate like a stampede of elephants running through a china shop built on a thin layer of ice. Nonetheless, as Jeremy Clarkson would say, the time has come to show it some corners and see what it can do. Here’s what we found:

Straight

Nose: Hey, guess what?! You might find yourself greeted by a nose of oily, smoky peat. This nose is thick in a leathery, even road tar-like character. It doesn’t overbear you with the smell of asphalt, but you certainly will smell something earthy and hot. Keep digging, and you’ll start to find a briny, salty intensity coupled with a charred wood smell and passive savory notes. There is even a slight toasted nuttiness involved in here. On a more subtle note, there are suggestions of vanilla and slightly floral notes that unravel with more exploration. After the whisky opens up, a sense of gin botanicals does make short cameo in this whisky. As a counterbalance, fruitiness akin to fresh apples comes through. It is absolutely an engaging nose.  

Arrival: The arrival starts with an awesome spiciness of cinnamon and ginger, along with some mild sweetness of vanilla and apples. Unfortunately, the arrival doesn’t hold up over time, because the alcohol content masks the flavors pretty quickly. There is a slight maltiness that comes through and is counterbalanced by the saltiness and peatiness that starts to creep in.

Body: There is a combination of peat smoke, maltiness, pumpkin spices, brininess, and even some bitterness that comes through in the body. The body follows the arrival quickly and moves into a fairly dry and spicy body. The body is a lull in the flavor, but black pepper can be found (probably a contributor to the bitterness that is seen in the whisky), along with other spice notes to compliment the smoke and maltiness.

           

Finish: The biggest residual flavor found is the long, dry smoky peat flavor that carries on for what seems like an eternity. Unfortunately, the rest of the whisky doesn’t carry that same length. There is still a lot of salt, black pepper, cinnamon, pumpkin spices, and other spicy notes. It is hugely earthy in the finish, in an unmerciful way. This is definitely a finish suggestive of a novice drinker. It is hot, but not terribly prominent in the sense of burn. There is some light, dry fruitiness that can be found as well, but it is subtle.

With Water

Nose: Seeing as this whisky is 46% and made by Ardbeg, we were a little more liberal with adding water, which did significantly open up the nose. There was more maltiness and balance than before, taking out some of the more obtrusive notes, albeit it still stood as a hugely intense nose.

Arrival: The arrival starts off sweeter, with more malt sugar character than before, and even some honey. The spiciness backs off slightly, and allows a floral, slightly citrusy flavor to come through. A sense of pear rind starts to come through after some time.

Body: The new found citrus in the arrival carries through into the body, representing light orange flavor, maltiness, and still a huge chunk of peat. There is a phenolic character in the body, which is still exacerbated by the peppery bitterness that we found before. The body is short, and finishes rather quickly as well.

           

Finish: The phenolic, peaty, and rather medicinal finish is pretty standard out of an Ardbeg, but comes to light more after adding water. This Scotch doesn’t get much gentler after water, that’s for certain.  The finish just holds an ashy character, with a seaweed saltiness that keeps in the mouth as well. Although most of the complexities of the finish are short, the peat flavor still takes its time and sticks around.

Final Comments: This is a bold whisky, and like Laphroaig it is not for the faint of heart. Where this differs from Laphroaig is that it is drier, less fruity, and has some more “oily” notes. I wouldn’t generally introduce a new peated Scotch drinker to this as their first dram, but it is a relatively enjoyable dram for somebody with experience. That aside, some of the complexity is lost after the arrival, and the flavors don’t seem to pop like they do with some of the other peated Scotches we’ve tried. This is a minor criticism, and there should be no reason not to try it. The biggest thing Ardbeg can do for themselves is to continue producing single malts at good proofs and natural presentation. Also, if you are looking to grow some hair on your chest, look no further. This’ll make you look like Austin Powers in no time.

 

Why you’d buy it: You like an oily, peaty Scotch with complexity, or you aspire to be Austin Powers

Why you wouldn’t: You don’t like drinking liquid smoke.

Score: 8.75/10

Review 157: Auchentoshan 10 Year

Review 157

5/2/13

Auchentoshan 10 Yr: 40% abv

Background: Auchentoshan has been discussed before in a review of their Triple Wood, so there should be some background to this distillery. But in case you need a refresher, this is a lowland distillery that uses triple distillation, a technique found more commonly in Irish Whiskey production. This particular whisky is nothing special. The 10 year bottling is a standard bottling that we bought as our first lowland whisky purchase. In Michigan, you can grab it for about $30 a bottle if you can find it. The question is, should you?

Straight

Nose: The nose starts off with an interesting aroma of mild malted barley, usurped in power by slightly vegetal notes and moderate spiciness. This spiciness can be related to an almost burnt peppercorn smell, the kind you might find on a peppered steak that’s been cooked too hot. Fortunately, this doesn’t over-play the soft fruit notes of pear and some grape. Oddly, though, there is some burnt wood smell that just doesn’t seem to relent when nosing the Scotch. One could also cite the experience of slight dill pickle smell emerging through the layers, although not in a horribly prominent fashion.

Arrival: The arrival is sweet, in a good way. There is some candied lemon, citrus-like flavor that comes about with some honey and sugary malt right in the beginning. In reality, this isn’t a complex arrival, with a slight lime and tart apple presence, but not much else there.

Body:  This whisky starts to dull with the taste of over-used casks, burnt wood, and even some burnt tobacco notes right in the body. The body  does not last long, and with a harsh, bone-dry grain flavor that seems uneventful and disappointing at best, it is best just to move on.

           

Finish: There is some stewed apple in the finish here, with slight malt and citrus notes as well. Unfortunately, this is overshadowed by the same burnt characteristics that the body contains. This is just a very disappointing finish.

With Water

Nose: The nose, after adding a teaspoon of water, still comes off as dusty, with strained notes of malt and slight hints of fruits, although the vegetal quality has left. It is not by any means an enjoyable or complex experience.

Arrival: With small pieces of vanilla and strawberry coming through, the arrival has brought about some new unique notes, but is unfortunately still not complex enough.

Body: The body doesn’t change much, although water does seem to help remove some of the less favorable tasting notes.

           

Finish: The finish remains pretty well the same with the addition of water.

Final Comments:  This Scotch was the first $30 single malt we’ve experimented with, and we were honestly not impressed. The flavors weren’t there, and the ones that were felt strained and unpleasant. This isn’t a knock on Auchentoshan, either. They make some fantastic bottlings, but this was not one of them.

Why you’d buy it: You want a single malt on a budget.

Why you wouldn’t: You’ve tasted it before.

Score: 6.0/10

Review 144: Edradour 10 Yr

Review 144

2/23/13

Edradour 10 Yr: 43% abv

Background: Edradour makes their mark by calling themselves the smallest distillery in Scotland. That sounds like a silly little marketing thing until you hear the facts. Currently two people work at the distillery, and three people founded it. They produce 95K liters a year, and if they were any smaller they would be considered a portable distillery with implicit capacity for illegal distillation. If that isn’t enough for you, they produce only 12 casks a week. This makes Edradour quite a tiny little operation. Edradour is placed in Perthshire, and is a Highland distillery. I bet you’re curious about how this one turns out.

Nose: New make spirit, mellow spice, honey, caramel, barley, agave, slightly harsh

            A/W: Not much different

Arrival: Sweet, honey and caramel, candied almonds, slight bitterness, big vanilla

            A/W: Big almond, nutty

Body: dark, rich, sweet, almonds, honey, vanilla, sugar

            A/W: Almond, sweet caramel

Finish: Nutty, dry, slight sherry, powdered sugar, honey, grain, barley, rye, dry spice, hot cinnamon, maple

A/W: Powdered sugar, more almond, sherry backs off

Final Comments: So you might have guessed, but this is pretty much like mixing Amaretto and Highland Scotch together. Is that a good or bad thing? It is up to you, but there is a certain lack of balance and the huge nutty quality to the Scotch seems to steal some of the complexity from the spirit. After adding water, we noticed that there was a huge jump in the presence of the almond character, and suggest staying away from the addition of water. This still has some interesting characteristics to it, but it certainly isn’t the highlight of the Scotch world.

Why you’d buy it: You like Amaretto and you like Scotch

Why you wouldn’t: You’re afraid of having an allergic reaction to almonds

Score: 8.25/10

Review 143: Glen Grant 10 Yr

Review 143

2/23/13

Glen Grant 10 Yr: 40% abv

Background: Glen Grant is one of those distilleries I tend to overlook, but don’t be fooled. This Speyside whisky distillery is one of the biggest in Scotland. It is the third biggest whisky producer in Scotland, below Glenfiddich and Macallan, and just barely above Glenlivet. This gets to be a very scary statistic to publish, partially because there are two metrics “Produced whisky”, and “sold whisky”. In any case, Glen Grant is big. They have capacity to produce a measly 5.9 million liters a year. That being said, we are looking at their bottom statement, the 10 year. This whisky sits at around $40 a bottle, so it is very reasonably priced.

Nose: Light, fresh grain, vanilla, vegetable oil, malt, wheat, subtle spice, minimal heat

            A/W: Not much different

Arrival: Sweet, malty arrival, honey

            A/W: Honey and vanilla

Body: Sweet malt, vanilla, wheat, nutty

            A/W: Slightly vegetal, caramel

Finish: Dry, malt, straw, wheat, vanilla, lemon, citrus, cinnamon, subtle pepper, hot, spice, honey

A/W: Pear, nutty, vanilla, slightly vegetal, agave

Final Comments: This whisky should be competing as a Speyside with the likes of Macallan 10, Glenfiddich 12, Glenlivet 12, and so on. To be honest, I don’t think it does. Although it is a good whisky, it doesn’t have the fruity nature of Glenlivet 12, it doesn’t have the sherried nature of Macallan, and it doesn’t have the combined balance of Glenfiddich. If KCM were going to compare this to anything, we would compare this to Glengoyne 10 . This is a simple, straight forward, whisky, without the influence of sherry or peat to weigh it down. Its light and grainy, with a dry sweetness to it.

Why you’d buy it: You want a simple, gentle starter whisky for an affordable price

Why you wouldn’t: You want to go for something a little more advanced like Glengoyne

Score: 7.75/10

Review 116: Laphroaig 10 Yr

Review 116

12/11/12

Laphroaig 10 Yr: 43% abv

Cue the epic music, ladies and gentlemen. We’ve got it here for you. Our first peated Scotch review. This is already a point of contention, before I even start writing this review. Peated Scotch is a completely different animal than its non-peated counterparts, so there was some hesitation about posting the review. Peated Malts can be complex and hard to handle, and we didn’t want to do it disservice. 

So what is a peated Scotch, first of all? Peat is a moss, found in Scotland in rainier areas, used as a fuel source. The history behind peat moss is an interesting one. One characteristic of it is that it burns slow, so it is a good source for heating homes. Due to economic strife, distillers in the Isle of Islay turned to peat to dry their barley in the malting process, but this generally added a strong smokey flavor to the whiskies. Peated whisky has been regarded as so medicinal tasting, that people got away with selling it during prohibition because it wasn’t regarded as drinkable for pleasure. 

Now this is somewhat of a trend for Islay distillers, so now we have some pretty unique whiskies on the market. This was actually my first bottle of peated Single Malt, because it is known to be one of the more heavily peated whiskies in mass production right now as a brand. So what is peat like? Think of a campfire. That smell is sort of what you’ll taste. And we’ll get more into that. Here are some tasting notes for the 10 year Laphroaig. 

On the nose, you’ll get exactly what I just described. A campfire peatiness, with ashy wood in direct contact. Beyond this, you’ll find salty notes of seaweed and sea water. This is counteracted by the sweet barley smell and wheat, some slight vanilla, and some lemon scent. The challenge in dealing with a peated whisky is working past the peat notes to further understand what makes the whisky unique. 

The arrival presents briny sea salt, vegetal flavors, seaweed, but even some sweet melon, vanilla, molasses, and a hint of slight apple. The taste leads some bigger, more complex notes, including peat smoke, barley, malt, salt, sweet light melon, honey flavors, and some sugar. After adding water, there is a sweet breadiness to the whisky, with rye, and mild spices. The finish is big in this whisky, and will linger with you for a while. Notes include seaweed, sea salt, vegetal flavors, slight olive oil, slight maltiness, dark peat, ashy taste, sugar, sweet fruits, black pepper big smokiness, menthol, subtle medicinal notes, and charred oak. This finish is oddly very uninhibited by the addition of water. 

So in general, this is a BIG flavored whisky, with a surprisingly calm arrival, thin body, and a huge finish. It is well blended in its array of flavors. It is important to note that Islay Scotches generally provoke descriptors that are a little more obscure or maybe bizarre to the normal drinker. This might include notes like engine oil, phenol, and we’ve even heard once “greasy rope”. Don’t let this drive you away from tasting one of these whiskies. We are going to stay away from these descriptors because we generally aren’t chewing on greasy ropes. Imagine that...So this is a great whisky. 

Score: 8.75/10

Review 115: Macallan 10 Yr

Review 115

12/10/12

Macallan 10 Yr Fine Oak: 40% abv

Macallan. Macallan is among the more well-known Scotches in the world. Generally speaking, if you compare Macallan to Glenfiddich or Glenlivet, you’ll generally pay more per year with a Macallan. Does this mean much of anything? No. Macallan has several lines of whisky. Two kinds of Macallan 10 Yr exist. This one is labeled as the “Fine Oak” variant. So let’s talk briefly about what kinds of oak are used in this Malt. 

This whisky actually blends three kinds of oak influences: European oak “seasoned” w/ sherry, American oak “seasoned” w/ sherry, and American oak “seasoned” w/ bourbon. I put quotations around the seasoned because I’ve never heard anybody use this before, but I’m fairly sure that’s the same as aging something. After all, they probably aren’t sprinkling on some dried bourbon flakes, I imagine. So what do you get from this? 

The nose provides a good grain note, malt, sherry, raisons, vanilla, slight lemon citrus, nutmeg, wheat, and light fruits. The nose doesn’t appear to be overly complex, but it contains some enjoyable aromas. The arrival on this whisky, once tasted, provides a a few tasting notes. Among these flavors, you get sweet fruit, light citrus, vanilla, a mild tartness, grain, and even some buttery character. The taste adds with smooth vanilla, grain, malt, wheat, barley, orange, and mild pepper. The body hits with a hugely grainy palate, but dissipates quickly. The finish comes in and introduces the sherry to the palate, with big raison and soft cocoa notes, sherry, malt, vanilla, toffee, butterscotch, wheat and caramel. The finish is medium in length, and misses on great complexity. 

This whisky isn’t horribly complex, as you might be able to tell, but it does do a number of things better than Glenfiddich or Glenlivet would with their youngest statement, including perfect blended balance, defined flavors, and smooth quality. This truly is a great beginners Scotch, but lacks in complexity.

Score: 8.25/10

Review 101: Glengoyne 10 Yr

Review 101

10/20/12

Glengoyne 10 Year: 43% abv

Glengoyne is a unique distillery, or at least advertises themselves as such. They really like to promote the fact that they dry their barley by air, as per their slogan, “The pure taste of malt”. What does this mean? Well lots of methods of drying barley exist, including peat. I’m also happy to report that their whisky doesn’t have any caramel colorant, and at 43% abv, this whisky certainly approaches a craft presentation. So what does the “pure taste of malt” tastes like. 

On the nose, you will get a strong, grainy smell right up front. There is a ton of malt character to it, with barley sugar, wheat and mild oak right up front. There is a vegetal quality to the smell, which starts to approach a smell of subtle fresh cut grass, and contains a slightly floral scent. This natural grain and greenness is complimented by sweet champagne, sugarcane, vanilla, green apple and pear. Because of this wonderful smell, the taste was an encouraging following. And it is. 

The arrival is mellow at first, with vanilla, slight ginger zip, and big malt flavor. The arrival was crisp and light, but grainy. Now the taste is big. It is hugely malty, wheat-like grain, and then a ton of spices. The spicy notes include hutmeg, cumin, mint, and after water, subtle pepper. There is also sherry, slightly mellowed banana, and cream. It is really enjoyable. From here, the finish is very complex, holding light tartness, and sweet lemon. 

The malt is most prominent here that lasts for a long time. There is also vanilla, green apple, pleasant sherry, and mint. There is also a sweet cake batter-y like sweetness, and it becomes dry at the end of the finish, with some cinnamon. So this a fantastic malt whisky, and water mellows it out. It is very well balanced, with a great amount of flavor. Recommended for the price. 

8.5/10

Review 73: Glenmorangie The Original

Review 73

6/28/12

Glenmorangie The Original: 43% abv

This is a single malt Scotch, and one of the better 10 year old Scotches on the market. And when we start introducing more Scotches as reviews, we will try to make it very evident that there is indeed a correct pronunciation and most people screw that up. Glenmorangie is pronounced like an orange would be: like Glen-M-Orange-ee. At ten years, any Scotch is young, as a Scotch tends to mature fully at about 25 years of aging. So how does such a young Scotch compare to the rest? 

Well, on the nose, you get sweet aromas of honey, pear, white grape, molasses, and a sugary character. We also noted an odd presence of agave that you might find in a tequila, but it was faint. Now the taste, that become more complex, citing vanilla notes, malt, honey, wheat, slight mixed berries, light melon character, and hints of creaminess and spiciness to compliment the rest of it. 

The taste is fantastic, but still lacking in the deep complexity you'd expect from a quality Scotch. It is younger though, so it doesn't absorb all the oak character that it should, but retains a certain youthful freshness to it. The finish contains honey, agave, ginger, apple, some sweet maple notes, cherry and even some almonds as well. The finish is long and enjoyable, and we really liked basking in it's complexity and presence. This is a young Scotch, but it's one of the best, fighting 10 year olds like Macallan with a lot of flavor and presence.

Score: 9.0/10