Tastes

Like getting the word “Quixotic” in Scrabble this is truly satisfying. Nose: brine, citrus fruits, honey, dusty malt Palate: light salt, malty, oats, orange, honey Finish: quick and sweet _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 3: Old Pulteney 12yo versus Oban Little Bay A tough competition with the little tyke from Oban and I did prefer the Oban’s richer, darker sherried nose. But I think the taste of OP12 is in my goldilocks zone and it bests its opponent on palate and finish. Ah, what an appealingly light and perfectly balanced dram! I think @Scott_E nailed it in his review when he called it the perfect summer beach house sipper. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Qtr Final, Match 2: Old Pulteney 12yo versus Isle of Skye 12yo This time round the OP12 has a fresh and dusty smell, if that’s not a contradiction. The blend is not a bad dram at all, but OP12 knocks a hat-trick past the forlorn keeper from the Isle of Skye. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through. Rather than being liberated by the banquet of choice available to me I become tyrannised and paralysed by it. But before you cry me a river, I have found a solution. I have selected sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

Nose: Red apple, pear, crushed buttercup, dusty dry hay, sherry fruits and faint car engine Palate: Fruit explosion – very berry, blackcurrant, blackberry, some salt and clove spiciness Finish: Orange chocolate, some lemon, oak and tea _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 3: Oban Little Bay versus Old Pulteney 12yo Overall I was pleasantly surprised with Oban Little Bay - it held together nicely. It has been a while since I had Oban 14yo but I can’t recall it being way better than this NAS. In the head-to-head with OP12 I liked the darker, richer nose of the Oban. However, the finish is dryer and more tannic and I consider the taste of OP to be better balanced. I just prefer the lighter citrus and sunshine taste of OP12. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through. Rather than being liberated by the banquet of choice available to me I become tyrannised and paralysed by it. But before you cry me a river, I have found a solution. I have selected sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

Nose: lovely peat, railway sleeper, cigarette ash, salt, burnt driftwood smoke, and a Barratt fruit salad sweet. Palate: salt, fresh citrus and tropical fruit, particularly tangy grapefruit and orange. Some smoke billows upward on a second wave after swallowing (what’s that called again?) Finish: dry coal dust with some tea and salty liquorice _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 2: Kilchoman Machir Bay versus Ben Nevis 10yo After the cabbage and sulphur of the Ben Nevis here is a nose to enjoy. Score 1 for Kilchoman and I had to fight my bias for peaty whiskies so as not to award the bout immediately to the dram from Islay. Machir Bay also holds up well on the palate, but not in the same league as the beautiful play of salt and sweetness of the Ben Nevis. Hard to pick the better from the different finishes and I called it a draw, and so a draw overall across all three criteria. How to judge a winner then? If you are looking across all three criteria I would say Kilchoman Machir Bay holds its own. Sure, the Ben Nevis 10 strikes out in one, but crucially it is great in one and so the laurels go to Fort William and not Islay. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The unbearable angst of a whiskyphile. I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through. Like choosing how to spell dilemma, deciding on a dram can often be a dilemna. I have selected sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

What is this beast? On first taking a whiff I had to recoil. An immediate cabbage and Brussels sprout smell with strong and off-putting sulphur. Some lighter fuel and singed Styrofoam too. I was not prepared for this. Is it a whisky or a badly cooked TV dinner? After a while I could faintly detect some dark berries buried beneath, but that took some deep digging. A bad batch I started to think. But after checking some reviews online I understood this is part of its distinctive style. I can’t say that I like it though. The taste is a world apart. I love the bait’n’swtch going on here. How can something that smells so bad taste so good? A beautiful play of salt and sweetness with sherry fruit and gorgeous tropical pineapple and grapefruit. There is some smoke, but amazingly the sulphur disappears on the palate. I love it and it reminds me of a Springbank. This is an Edward Scissorhands whisky: off-putting and bizarre initially but it later reveals sweet hidden depths. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 2: Ben Nevis 10yo versus Kilchoman Machir Bay The peaty, creosote, fruit salad nose on the Kilchoman is much better than the Ben Nevis, but then I’d hate to try a whisky that smelled worse. The Machir Bay palate of smoke and fresh fruits is nice but no match for the Ben Nevis. It was hard to pick the better from the different finishes – so I fudged it and I called it a draw, and so a draw overall across all three criteria. How to judge a winner then? There was no way I could let the Ben Nevis lose. The Kilchoman Machir Bay performs well across all criteria, but it doesn’t stand out or excel for me. I have never yet had any food or drink as confusingly contradictory as Ben Nevis 10yo. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Qtr Final, Match 1: Ben Nevis 10yo versus Compass Box King St. Artists Blend In addition to previous notes I get burnt rubber and a shade of sherry deep down. Again, its opponent easily has the better nose. The rich and refined taste of the CB comes closer to matching the palate and ultimately falls short, but the Linkwood sherried finish is sweeter and longer. So that does it – the beauty with B.O. is K.O’d. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The unbearable angst of a whiskyphile. I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through. Like choosing how to spell dilemma, deciding on a dram can often be a dilemna. I have selected sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

Nose: sherried nose, raspberry, creamy, oak, blackberry jam, and a bit of toffee and vanilla. Palate: rich tannic sherry, white pepper, oak, and a fine sweet taste of honey and stewed apple. Good, but not as good as the nose. Finish: medium-long that reminded me of a 15yo Linkwood I had. Not surprising given 8% is Linkwood in sherry casks. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 1: Compass Box King St. Artists Blend versus Dewar’s The Ancestor 12yo The Ancestor 12yo never stood a chance. Beaten on all three fronts – the Dewar's grainy nose was rather nondescript, the palate was grain, butter, shortbread with some tart citrus, and the finish was short and dry. Do kids say “wipeout!” these days? _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Qtr Final, Match 1: Compass Box King St. Artists Blend versus Ben Nevis 10yo Raspberry and cream are what pop out when trying this again, but I also got toffee and blackberry jam. The palate is good but not as good as the nose. Up against Ben Nevis 10yo it betters it on the nose and finish, but it lags a good way behind on the palate. Reluctantly, I have to concede that Ben Nevis may be on the losing side to this great blend. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The intolerable torment of a whiskyphile. I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through. Like selecting what to watch next on Netflix, often selecting a dram can take twice as long as drinking it. Taking inspiration from @Milliardo and the Filmspotting podcast, I have picked sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

Nose: grain, honey, grass, light vanilla, faint citrus and chocolate. Rather nondescript and not very exciting. Palate: grain, butter, shortbread, grapefruit, caramel, some apple, citrus mouthwash left in your mouth too long. Finish: short dry finish, with bitter tannin and paracetamol. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 1: Dewar’s The Ancestor 12yo versus Compass Box King St. Artists Blend The Ancestor 12yo never stood a chance. Beaten on all three fronts - no match for the CBKSAB raspberry and cream nose, rich stewed apple and honey taste, and moderately long Linkwood sherried finish. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The intolerable torment of a whiskyphile. I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through. Like selecting what to watch next on Netflix, often selecting a dram can take twice as long as drinking it. Taking inspiration from @Milliardo and the Filmspotting podcast, I have picked sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

There are three questions that keep me up at night. Is a fraggle a muppet? How come meteors always seem to land in craters? Why does this Irishman not like Jameson or Guinness? I feel like I should hand in my passport after admitting that. With that in mind, and also because I’ve had the Teeling Stout Cask and did not like it at all, I was geared up to post a rock bottom rating for this one. My father currently favours this Jameson for his occasional hot whiskey and I had a measure while on a visit at his house. It could have been the relaxing company, it could have been the fact it was our longest catchup and my first stay-over with the oul’ fella since the lifting of Covid restrictions, it could have been us riding out Storm Ellen in a warm country house (nothing to do with a ‘toxic’ talk show but rather an unseasonal Atlantic storm). Probably all of the above, but this pleasantly surprised me. Sweeter, silkier, chocolatier (eh?). It almost masked that metallic twang. One less thing to keep me up at night.

This comes across as young, awkward and thin. But it can also pack a tasty punch. George McFly in other words.

This was a bit of a disappointment and all round distinctly average imo. The nose was pleasant but plain, with notes of bread, honey, trifle, some ethanol and, after a while in the glass, werthers and musty raspberries. The arrival is sharp and harsh enough to cause a little shudder. (Just a little shudder, mind you. Not a lot. Not like James Caan at a tollbooth. I’m man enough to handle 48%. Honest!) It develops to some orange, spice and oak and doesn’t really soften. Same on the finish, with a lasting numbness. Tasted from a sample and I’m not at all inclined to seek out again.

This whiskey was distilled in 1984 and true to the era it is as rich as Jonathan Hart and as charming as Remmington Steele. The official Distiller tasting notes are bang-on in my opinion. I get a waxy honey nose with some butter and wood shavings. There's a tingle of salt and pepper on the palate with a creamy buttery note. The finish has spice and lingering oak, that is not at all forceful or bitter. It reminds me of a Midleton VR or Barry Crockett. I had this at a Diageo Special Releases (2017) masterclass last year and for me this was the best from a bunch that included Teaninich 17yo, Blair Athol 23yo, Glen Elgin 18yo, and the JW Blue G&R Port Ellen. I'm having it again now because I was successful in sneaking some out in a sample bottle. I love it when a plan comes together!