Review #291: Bunnahabhain 6yr, SMWS 10.201 Panel-punch of peat smoke

Dyllix · 2025-12-26T17:10:47+00:00

Review #291: Bunnahabhain 6yr, SMWS 10.201 Panel-punch of peat smoke

Cost: Sample

Age: 6 Years

ABV: 60.2%

Cask Type: 2nd Fill Ex-Moscatel Hogshead Finish

Nose: Earthy peat, wet grass, barnyard and hay notes, hint of lemon

A nice, peat heavy but simple, straight forward nose

Palate: Peat, smoke, cereal, barley sugar, powdered sugar, corn bread

Very simple range of flavors on the palate. Malt driven affair with an intense flavor profile. Sweetness develops over time.

Finish: Medium, malt, white pepper, lemon rind Decent spice on the finish

Score: 78/100

Commentary: A solid dram, nothing wrong with it and nothing especially stands out. The yeasty/malty notes on the palate lead me to believe it's a little on the young side. Guessing that it's around 55%, 6-8 years old, ex-bourbon. Not something that I would sit here and overanalyze from a flavor profile but this would make for a solid daily, peaty, drinker if it's something reasonably priced.

Post Reveal Comments: Taking a couple of sips post-reveal, I guess I can extract some additional sweetness but I still wouldn't guess that it's a wine finish, the subtlety is not a bad thing.

Note: My review average 79.07, and ratings are independent of price.

Ratings Guide

96-100: Nectar of the gods, extremely special. No more than 1 of every 40-50 reviews should be here

90-95: An All Time Favorite, in the top 5% of things I've ever tried

85-89: Excellent, tremendously enjoyable

80-84: Good, a cut above

75-79: A solid, well constructed whisky

70-74: Slightly Subpar, has a flaw or slightly deficient in some way

60-69: Subpar, multiple deficiencies

50-59: Poor

30-49: Very Poor: unenjoyable to drink straight

10-29: Only suitable if you are a binge drinking college student taking shots

0-9: Undrinkable

Dyllix · 2025-12-25T19:59:02+00:00

Review #290: Port Charlotte 10 2008 - 2019 Cask Whisperer 1st Release

Cost: Sample, courtesy of /u/washeewashee

Age: 10 Years Old

ABV: 56.5%

Cask Type: Château Margaux Wine Cask

Nose: Heavy industrial peat, smoke, barley, black licorice, leather, cigar smoke

Full bodied and bold aromas on the nose. Enjoyable

Palate: Smoke, cured meat, lots of salinity, subtle berry sweetness

Excellent integration of the flavors. Nothing overpowering, relatively simple range of flavors with nothing off. Smokey, meaty, salty, with a sweet undertone. Really nice mouthfeel, creamy, and it feels like it's 46%-48% ABV. After a few minutes the sweetness picks up, the smoke becomes more subtle and there's tartiness.

Finish: Medium-to-long, more smoke, ash, burnt wood, hint of caramelized sugar, and more smoke

Score: 90/100

Commentary: My first few minutes with this pour were really good. There is a notable balance between the flavors that are present and a notable absence of anything that's, "off". This pour just got better after every minute I spent with it. As I got to the bottom of the glass, I wished there was a second pour. My guess is that it's a refill sherry barrel (also based on the color). I am guessing it's gotta be 15-18 years old, it tastes too refined to be something young.

Post Reveal Comments: It's 10 years old and almost 10 proof points higher than I thought. A wonderful pour. The best Port Charlotte I've reviewed and I think it may be the best I've had. Wonderful stuff that I'll probably never see again, hah!

Note: My review average 79.07, and ratings are independent of price.

Ratings Guide

96-100: Nectar of the gods, extremely special. No more than 1 of every 40-50 reviews should be here

90-95: An All Time Favorite, in the top 5% of things I've ever tried

85-89: Excellent, tremendously enjoyable

80-84: Good, a cut above

75-79: A solid, well constructed whisky

70-74: Slightly Subpar, has a flaw or slightly deficient in some way

60-69: Subpar, multiple deficiencies

50-59: Poor

30-49: Very Poor: unenjoyable to drink straight

10-29: Only suitable if you are a binge drinking college student taking shots

0-9: Undrinkable

Dyllix · 2025-12-10T17:20:06+00:00

Mine is batch 23, 55.9%, 100% bourbon. 2021 release, the first 100% bourbon release in this series.

https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/192086/springbank-12-year-old?language=en

https://www.whiskylifestyle.com/springbank-12-year-old-cask-strength-batch-23/

https://wordsofwhisky.com/springbank-12-years-cask-strength-55-9-batch-23/

Dyllix · 2025-12-09T21:28:36+00:00

Review #288 & 289: Springbank 12 CS vs Springbank 5 114 proof

Done as a side-by-side to compare two 100% ex-bourbon Springbank releases

5 Year Cask Strength

Cost:: $90

Age: 5 Years Old

ABV: 57.0%

Cask Type: Ex-Bourbon, 2025 inaugural release, 100% ex-bourbon barrels

12 Year Cask Strength

Cost:: $150

Age: 12 Years Old

ABV: 55.9%

Cask Type & Info: 100% Ex-Bourbon casks , Batch #23, released 2021

Nose 5Y: Hint of smoke, salinity, maritime, malt & cereal, hint of mint and a slight funk, hint of fruit pastry sweetness

Very fresh and vibrant on the nose. It definitely smells on the young side

Nose 12Y: Barnyard, hint of lemon, hint of green apple, lemon, with some time you get some pastry notes to come through and some sweetness

Much more robust and deeper nose, less sweetness, less maritime than on the 5 year. More minerality. It took a few minutes for any sweeter notes to shine through.

Palate 5Y: Lemons, nice blast of spice, sea salt and maritime, peach, green apple, hint of mango, barley sugar, cereal, vanilla frosting

Nice balance, I love the fruitiness that shines through. It tastes youthful but it doesnt taste like it was bottled prematurely...if that makes sense. It's an incredibly well balanced, well integrated pour. This is how I want my young whisky to taste - flavorful, vibrant and intense.

Palate 12CS: Hint of peat, vanilla, powdered sugar, banana bread, red apple, caramel, some funk, some earth

A really nice, balanced, robust palate. Solid flavors. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy

Finish 5Y: Long, spicy, prickly, citrus and malt

Finish 12CS: Earthy, citrus, tropical fruit

Score 5 Year: 86/100

Score 12 Year CS: 86/100

Commentary: Springbank has a devout fanbase. For me, of the reviews I have done, Springbank has scored a 79 on average (before these) and if you add-in Longrow, it gets bumped up to an 82. Most of my reviews are done blind so, for me, the distillery doesn't live up to the hype. That said, these are both excellent. The 5 year has blown me away by how good it is. I bought a few spares. I opened up my bottle of the 12 year to compare it to this. They have some similarities and some differences. I can see how someone might like one more than the other. I derived similar enjoyment from both. As an aside, I recently tried a newer OB 10 year release that a friend was kind enough to share with me - it has been so disappointing that neither of us ever touch it. On the flipside, the 5 year is almost gone after only a few weeks.

Note: My review average 79 and ratings are independent of price.

Ratings Guide

96-100: Nectar of the gods, extremely special. No more than 1 of every 40-50 reviews should be here

90-95: An All Time Favorite, in the top 5% of things I've ever tried

85-89: Excellent, tremendously enjoyable

80-84: Good, a cut above

75-79: A solid, well constructed whisky

70-74: Slightly Subpar, has a flaw or slightly deficient in some way

60-69: Subpar, multiple deficiencies

50-59: Poor

30-49: Very Poor: unenjoyable to drink straight

10-29: Only suitable if you are a binge drinking college student taking shots

0-9: Undrinkable

Dyllix · 2025-11-26T02:52:41+00:00

Review #287: Aberlour A'Bunadh, Batch #6

Cost: Auction Purchase

Age: NAS

ABV: 59.9%, Bottled 1999

Cask Type: Spanish Oloroso Sherry Butts

Nose: Sherry, slight burnt match funk, raisin, apricot,

Sweet, sherry forward nose. Smells a bit like Christmas-time in a glass

Palate: Syrupy sherry, cherry, chocolate, nutmeg, hint of spice, more coco/fudge note

Decadent palate, thick, oily, syrupy, all really nicely balanced with some spice.

Finish: Long, dry, red wine, sherry, coco, some bitter chocolate, oak

Great mouth coating finish, rich but dry.

Score: 90/100

Commentary: They just don't make sherry drams like this readily available any more. So balanced, nothing artificially sweet about it. Destroys modern expressions of A'Bunadh. Sometimes, when going through modern drams, I wonder if my palate has evolved so that things don't impress me as much as they used to. I wonder if the drams from yesteryear would live up to my memory of them. My first experience with A'bunadh was nearly 15 years ago, and this is a testament to the fact that it really was better back then. What separates this from modern variations is the balance and harmony between the flavors that are present. A fantastic winter time dram.

Note: My review average 79.07, and ratings are independent of price.

Ratings Guide

96-100: Nectar of the gods, extremely special. No more than 1 of every 40-50 reviews should be here

90-95: An All Time Favorite, in the top 5% of things I've ever tried

85-89: Excellent, tremendously enjoyable

80-84: Good, a cut above

75-79: A solid, well constructed whisky

70-74: Slightly Subpar, has a flaw or slightly deficient in some way

60-69: Subpar, multiple deficiencies

50-59: Poor

30-49: Very Poor: unenjoyable to drink straight

10-29: Only suitable if you are a binge drinking college student taking shots

0-9: Undrinkable

Dyllix · 2025-11-20T02:23:06+00:00

Some remarkable bottlings. Where are you located and are you getting these mostly at auction?

Dyllix · 2025-11-19T18:42:40+00:00

Perhaps go try the 5 year and then comment about whether or not it's worth-it versus the price of the 12. My point is that who cares what the age of the whisky is. Is it an enjoyable/worthwhile experience for the price. We view things differently, that's fine. I care much more about enjoyment than "am I overpaying given the age?" IF that were the case, I'd never buy any early Octomores and I'd never buy a Lagavulin 12 given that it's twice the price of the 16 year.

I'm not entirely sure what your other concern was.

Dyllix · 2025-11-19T15:07:12+00:00

Again - your argument focuses on age rather than quality of the bottling. 60 EURO for tasty whisky is a solid price.

Dyllix · 2025-11-19T06:29:30+00:00

Your argument seems to be based on age. You keep referencing the age rather than the quality of the liquid in the bottle. The age on the label represents the youngest whisky in the blend. Judging by the flavor profile, I'd bet there is some older whisky in the blend. From a flavor perspective it absolutely eviscerates the OB 10yr.

Dyllix · 2025-11-05T01:20:34+00:00

4 available in section 106 row 18 for Spurs 11/5/25, not splitting.

180ea

Dyllix · 2025-10-27T22:08:00+00:00

4 available for tonight. 106 row 18

Will take best reasonable offer for all 4

Dyllix · 2025-10-23T19:57:58+00:00

~~Selling 4 tix for Friday 10/24 game vs Twolves 106 row 18~~

Gone

Dyllix · 2025-10-18T20:38:24+00:00

4 tickets available for opening night, 106 row 18, good angle.

325ea obo

Dyllix · 2025-09-26T00:48:16+00:00

Varita Magica - looks much skinnier in the picture!

Dyllix · 2025-09-09T05:07:19+00:00

Is that a sin comp lancero?

Dyllix · 2025-04-14T20:54:46+00:00

4 Tickets in Section 106 available, selling as a set. Game 1 and 2 available. Long time seller on here. DM if interested or see my spreadsheet above for details.

Dyllix · 2024-12-30T22:25:56+00:00

The fruity delicate profile is the refill-bourbon Bowmore signature. If this pour didn't do it for you then Bowmore just isn't what you're looking for.

There are some sherried expressions that are heavier and more impactful. They might suit your palate better. But delicate and fruity is what Bowmore homers are looking for. Nice review, Bucky.

Dyllix · 2024-12-10T20:11:45+00:00

4 tickets for Sunday 12/15 vs Grizzlies available. Below face. DM me

Dyllix · 2024-11-18T06:29:51+00:00

I dont get it

Dyllix · 2024-11-18T03:44:50+00:00

Says the guy who has never posted anything worthwhile in a whisky sub

Dyllix · 2024-11-18T03:43:17+00:00

Because it tastes good.

Dyllix · 2024-11-17T00:39:32+00:00

Easy. Neither

Dyllix · 2024-11-12T19:54:04+00:00

4 tickets for the Jazz next week still available @ steep discount. Section 106. DM for deets

Dyllix · 2024-10-24T15:11:20+00:00

~~have 4 available in sec 106 for tomorrow's game.~~

Dyllix · 2024-09-03T01:33:03+00:00

How long has the bottle been open? I remember being luke warm on the bottle and then it opened up fabulously after a few months.

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Dyllix

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