Menu

Mark Garbin Whisky Reviews

Dalmore Cigar Malt Reserve

, , , , , 0

A Flavor Chameleon for the Enthusiast Neat Before Dinner or After

Whisky Reviewed: Dalmore Cigar Malt Reserve
Distiller: Dalmore
Region: Speyside
ABV: 44%
Suggested Retail Price: $125
Distiller Rating: 90
Wine Enthusiast Rating: 95

Mark Garbin’s Review:

Yes. You can drink this gem even if you don’t smoke. On the nose, relish in floral aromas with highlights of light pound cake, malty cinnamon biscuits and a holiday wood fire.

What? You expected the typical Dalmore profile? Think again. It’s a new day for Enthusiasts.

Scores of flavors follow those scents including vanilla ice cream, toffee and caramel. After that, gentle sherry notes and orange slices emerge at mid palate. Finally, the finish generates a slight bitterness and more fireplace memories.

But then, WOW!

The taste sequences shuffled and reshuffled. I didn’t know where each began or ended. I further found that slow-drinking this dram, allowing for more air in the mix, created a velvet sensation unlike others in the product line. Water only strengthened those traits. This whisky’s inbred chameleon nature is best enjoyed without food after which it depends on your stogie choice; if desired.

Various writers suggest a strong Churchill. Allow me to retort! Don’t blow away your senses. The many varied qualities in your glass go better with a mild companion such as a Fuente Don Carlos Robusto. You might step out on the wild side and add one-half teaspoon of Grand Marnier or Cointreau to your snifter or Glencairn and savor the unfolding magic.

In summary, with Cigar Malt Reserve, the more you ease into the night’s conclusion, the more you’ll enjoy it.

Mark Garbin’s Evaluation

Aromas & Flavor Appeals to: Optimal Client Type Great For:
Subtlety Aficionado Apprentice Cocktails
Power Flavor Admirer Enthusiast Neat Before Dinner
Balanced Devotee Adventurer With Food
Chameleon Lover Hedonist Dessert or Afterwards

 

USC rating: The nose on this complex Highland whiskey offers bright orange peel, rich aromas of figs and raisins followed by dry Baker’s chocolate, nutty sherry notes and just a whisper of delicate smoke. The palate is robust with ripe tropical fruit, raisins and orange zest. This is followed by dark chocolate, vanilla and unctuous sherry notes. This whiskey finishes long & spicy with hints of fennel, sharp ginger & rich vanilla notes. –Ryan Conklin

Wine Enthusiast rating: Aged in a series of barrels—first American oak, then transferred to a former oloroso Sherry cask and finished in used Cabernet Sauvignon barriques—this Scotch would be an outstanding dessert accompaniment too. Look for dusty cocoa and lots of Sherried dark fruit, like figs and dates, wrapped in caramel and baking tones that linger on the spicy finish. –Kara Newman

Craigellachie 10 Year – Single Cask Nation

, , , , , 0

Power Flavors for the Hedonist in Cocktails (BOOM!) or After Dinner

Whisky Reviewed: Craigellachie 10 Year – Single Cask Nation Bottling
Distiller: Craigellachie
Region: Speyside
ABV: 67.3%
Suggested Retail Price: $125

Mark’s Review

To paraphrase a mid-20th Century joke: Do you have Sir Walter Raleigh in a scotch bottle? Well, let him out! That happened the instant I poured a spot of this beauty. Sweet Virginia tobacco and pineapple phenol smells freed themselves from captivity. The aromas transited my nose into the sinuses with ferocity and lodged there awaiting sip’s first release. The palate matched the scents and was hot as expected given the ABV.

Still, unlike many Craigellachie offerings, this had little sulfuric bitterness. But after a few seconds . . . BAM!! a ginormous never-ending peated mouthfeel emerged. Each of my nearby sidekicks did double takes. I offered that it equaled being on the receiving end of a Mike Tyson KO punch AFTER you stole his tiger! Adding water unleashed strong robusto qualities to further the heat.

This whisky is for the Hedonistic Power Lover who craves a smack upside the head. Try this in a cocktail. Don stated this was a “one and done” Rob Roy! Otherwise find a La Bomba Warhead II stogie. Cigar Advisor calls it a smoke that “pummels you like an undercover drug narc at a Hells Angels rally”. Craigellachie 10 is a perfect match for it. The combo will kick your ass so hard it needs a warning label.

Mark Garbin’s Evaluation

Aromas & Flavor Appeals to: Optimal Client Type Great For:
Subtlety Aficionado Apprentice Cocktails
Power Flavor Admirer Enthusiast Neat Before Dinner
Balanced Devotee Adventurer With Food
Chameleon Lover Hedonist Dessert or After Meal Cigar

Whisky Intelligence: This cask bottling, distilled in May 2008, spent ten years maturing in a refill bourbon hogshead. It was bottled at cask strength in May 2018 at a whopping 67.3% ABV! Cask #900305 yielded 288 bottles.

Long and warming with lingering barrel char, dark chocolate with sea salt, more confectioner’s sugar, and damp oak. Known for it’s typically heavy style of whisky, this Craigellachie falls right into line. Its departure, however, is in the heavily peated character of this spirit. Dank and pungent with earthy smoke, however, don’t fret, rich fruits, an oily mouthfeel, and a bread-like malty backbone remain.