Tastes

Lagavulin 16. How do I love thee? Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you down. Never gonna run around and desert you.

Poit Dhubh is a vatted malt from Prában na Linne company on the Isle of Skye. I first had a taste at their stand at WhiskeyLive Dublin last year and liked it enough to track down a sample. It is non-chilfiltered (though with colour added) and is reputedly comprised of several Island whiskeys. This has a gorgeous sherried smell, with a waft of gentle, muted peat. To earn my pocket money, one of my chores after school was to light our solid-fuel range oven. As well as kindling I used factory-compacted peat briquettes that I split with an axe. That's the light peat 'boladh' in this whiskey that carried me back a few decades. The taste is smooth and sweet, with zante currants as the most noticeable flavour. A touch of water opened up a hint of sulphur and dark cherry on the nose and some orange on the palate. The finish is wonderfully long with lingering light peat smoke and burnt marmalade. Overall, I thought it was rounded and smooth - more sherried than peated but very well balanced. Slightly higher than 4 stars IMO - probably a 4.25. Heck, let's call it an even 4.33333333333333.

Met up with my holidaying Chicagoan cousins for drinks last night. They had Guinness and, to reciprocate, I had bourbon. Solid, safe, and simple. Smooth, sweet and spicy.

A grassy, heathery nose with some mild fruit and a whiff of ethanol. The taste was a little sweet, rough and unremarkable. It also had a thin, watery mouthfeel and finish. I don't quite know why I had quite high hopes for this before tasting it - it's a regular low price blend, albeit one of the more popular. It's a bit like anticipating greatness from a Transformers movie or a Big Mac. I was disappointed as a result of those misplaced expectations. It is serviceable but only just.

I previously worked very close to John's Lane, the site of the long-gone Powers distillery in Dublin. In fact I worked on Roe Lane which is the site of the long-gone Roe & Co distillery. That was once one of the largest distilleries in Dublin and now a brand resurrected by Diageo, who also have plans to build a new distillery on their Guinness lot. In any case, while I haven't yet tasted DIageo's new fare, I have enjoyed Midleton's output and this is one of my favourite Irish whiskeys. A little bit of water brings out the best in this, in my opinion, but it is still damn fine neat. The nose is tiramisu, chocolate, and toffee with a similar smooth taste and the characteristic spiciness of a pot still whiskey. I first received a miniature bottle of it in an excellent gift pack that included Redbreast 12, Green Spot, and Barry Crockett Legacy. Although not the standout of the four it is one of my go-to drams on an all too rare night out in Dublin. An easy 4 stars - often hitting 4.5 depending on my mood and the quantities imbibed.

My first tasting of this whiskey was a poor one. On first nosing (unwatered @50%) I got strong alcohol (paint thinner) and banana - neither my favourite in a whiskey. The more I sniffed the more overpowering and headache inducing it was. Twenty minutes later it still felt like I was punched in the snout. However, on subsequent tastings, watered down and left for a while to open I found this to be a fine whiskey. I got new wood on the nose. and the taste of dark chocolate, biscuits and some dried fruit, almost like a sherried whiskey (although I believe this isn't). Like Harry Dunne, you totally redeemed yourself!

Mild nose, but with a touch of an alcohol whiff. Taste is what you'd expect from a bottom shelf blend. Some mild fruit, a bit of burn and very little finish. I could not get any peat as mentioned in the official review.

Mar 2018 Tasted Scapa 2001 from Gordon & MacPhail Light, sweet, honey nose. The taste is a lovely salty sweetness. No real need for water. In fact when I added water - only a little - it killed it.