Tastes

Nose: Fresh, oily and sweetly fragrant with a light citrus fruitiness. With time in the glass powdered confectioner's sugar shows through along with malty cereal aromas. A faint maritime hint lurks in the background. Palate: The arrival is sweet and light with a good mouthfeel - it's slightly oily but not quite creamy. The palate has little development. There are barley sugar and butterscotch notes and milky breakfast tea, then it veers into slight bitter dryness but retains a pleasing cereal quality like warm brioche. Finish: Short, sweet and bready. The nose on this is strongly reminiscent of Johnnie Walker blended whisky, particularly Red Label, and that's with good reason. Diagio uses it to define the core aroma profile of their blends, which is a very sensible way to use this whisky as it has a pleasantly forward floral nose but less in the way of palate. Teaninich is seldom encountered as a single malt, except in this 10 year old release and a handful of independent bottlings. Gordon & McPhail released an 8 year old expression a couple of years ago and it was a pleasant, light whisky ideal for summer quaffing. In the final analysis this whisky seemed to me to be more like a good quality light blend than a single malt. It lacks the personality or authority necessary to command one's attention. Still, it is well made and tasting it was educational as regards the JW profile. I just wouldn't recommend anyone run out and grab a bottle as it's better than average but nothing special. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)

Nose: Sweet oily smoke with complex and alluring iodine and guaiacol aromas, all wrapped in a delicate lace of dry sherry. Resinous and tarry, there are supporting carbolic, iodine, camphorwood and brine notes and an almost creamy warm earth quality with traces of vanilla and soft fruit. Very satisfying and complete for a smoky nose. [The dry glass aroma is full-on smoky bonfire]. Palate: The arrival is well balanced and initially sweet, then turning dry and crisp, with good texture. The flavour is a warming combination of smoke, iodine, licorice, chloroform, creosote, aniseed, mint and menthol. As the development unfolds some vanilla makes its way to the front. There is spiciness but it's mainly dry, dusty and aromatic spices - tumeric, cardamom, fenugreek, coriander, and linseed. Finish: Long, slightly sweet with a tarry and lingering licorice note. I've waited a long time and gone through two bottles of this before setting down my thoughts, as I changed my mind about it several times over the months. The initial impression was very positive but with familiarity I lost the taste only to revise that position later back to my original view. The nose is similar to how I remember Laphroaig 10 year from about a decade ago when it was receiving better wood treatment, but Triple Wood has more sweetness and a strong licorice note. The antiseptic / iodine presence is more defined than in most modern Laphroaig whilst the peat-reek has been sublimated, which is a very good thing. It gives the nose density and texture and the character of an older malt, rather than that of a young NAS. Adding water softens and broadens the nose but does not change its character - it just makes what is there more accessible by removing any trace of ethanol, but on the other hand it does also lose some presence. The palate is a pleasant combination of sweet and dry, with a very strong thread of anise and licorice sewing it all together. This works very well, as the flavour morphs seamlessly from sweet licorice allsorts through to dubbel zoute drop and back again throughout the tasting. Many reviews comment on fruity or berry flavours in this whisky, but I noticed little of that. For me this expression is firmly maritime and dry at its core, with the sherry casks contributing fragrance and a sweet spiciness to the underlying bourbon character. Adding water brings out even more sweetness on the palate, modulates the smoky character into a slightly more fragrant form, and softens the profile. It does, however, mute the licorice presence which I consider a loss. On the whole it's very enjoyable either neat or watered. Whilst Triple Wood is not the most characterful or powerful of the Laphroaig lineup, and some might find the sherry cask finish an intrusion, after considerable tasting I've come to regard this as the best value of the current expressions. It's by no means the "best" Laphroaig per se, but if a whisky novice was to ask me for my recommendation from the core range I'd suggest this, even over the current 10 year old. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Tasted from bottle No. 58 of 428, from casks 5794 & 5796. Nose: Somewhat remote, floral and fruity notes (apple, pear, light citrus), sherry and a little smoke. Palate: The arrival is honeyed oak, where sweet fruity flavours combine with oak tannins in equal measure. A rich and well-integrated mouthfeel, sweet nuts and a charcoal flavour. The texture is very good, just little oily, creamy but with a touch of brightness. Finish: Long, with a caramel flavour lingering into the finale and a little tannin. This is an elegant whisky in the sunset years of its life. If it had been left for one year more it probably would have collapsed and become dull and lifeless but fortunately it is still a hearty dram. The palate is very fine and the finish long and elegant, but the nose is just a little lacking. It’s a pleasant whisky with that certain elusive quality of “maturity” that you know when you taste it, but which defies description. However I would have liked to have tasted it 5 years ago when the profile would have been a little larger (and it would no doubt have been more reasonably priced). Tasted at The Oak Barrel 22 May 2017 “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Midleton Distillery post-tour tasting, 20 May 2024, whisky #1 A good dram to start a flight of whiskeys. I've had Jamesons many times over the years so there was nothing surprising about this latest tasting. It's a consistent, reliable and affordable Irish blend that may not achieve greatness, but it's definitely on the better side of average. “Average” : 78/100 (2.75 stars) --------------------------------------------------------------- Original review, July 16th, 2018 Nose: Light cereal with mild honeyed notes. A whiff of apple pastry and lemon essence. Floral-fruity but rather distant. Given a little time in the glass some buttery notes appear. Palate: A soft buttery arrival with notes of vanilla, apple and cappuccino. A nicely silken and honeyed mouthfeel balanced by light spiciness. Finish: Very short, cereal and some trace ethanol bitterness that I’d call cocoa on a generous day. The nose is all honey cereal and light fruits - a quintessential blended Irish whiskey nose. It is less defined than some other Irish blends but has a pleasant soft roundness. It responds well to resting in the glass, developing more aromas. For a mass-market blend it’s pretty good and I’d put it on the same shelf as Dewar’s White Label or Ballantine’s Finest. As a mixer it works well and any form of dilution seems to unlock sweetness and flavour. It’s highly drinkable and you find yourself automatically reaching for the bottle when making a long drink. “Average” : 78/100 (2.75 stars)

Nose: Ethanol, buttered toast with marmalade, green apples, pears, pencil shavings, new-mown hay, faint vanilla. Palate: Smooth, soft honeyed arrival that gains some brisk spice as it unfolds, but the spices fade away as quickly as they appeared. In the development there are cereal and generic fruity notes along with an odd, mildly metallic flavour in the background. This is, however, low-key and like the spicy notes it is gone almost as soon as you notice it. Finish: Oh? There was a finish? Sorry, I must have blinked and missed it. Best described as “light, inoffensive and fleeting”. This whiskey is surprisingly reminiscent of Johnnie Walker Red Label (nose them together if you don’t believe me). Like JW Red it can easily be criticized as lacking poise, complexity and so on, however this is to miss the point. It’s an affordable bottom-shelfer, and a perfectly serviceable one at that. It is at its best neat with a dash of water or an ice cube as a quaffing whiskey. Surprisingly, it does not work so well as a mixer. It disappears entirely in coffee or cocktails, is barely noticeable in tea, and is actively unpleasant with cola where the metallic note on the palate is amplified into sharp bitterness. “Adequate” : 71/100 (2 stars)

Nose: Caramel, butterscotch, wine, floral and citrus notes. Some cherry and berry aromas. Palate: Sweet toffee arrival, as it develops the sweetness recedes and is balanced by a pleasantly soft but tannic dryness and some mild peppery-anise notes. Red fruits, grapes, plums – fruity but not overly winey. Finish: A medium finish – dry, fruity and nutty with a faint touch of spices. The nose is brighter than that of the solera expression. It also seems more balanced and textured with a dry rather than sweet profile. Like all Starward whiskies this is somewhere between bourbon and scotch in character. It takes you a little while to wrap your head around this. I'd suggest just pouring a dram and relaxing with it with no preconceptions or expectations. If you set out to compare it (or any Australian whisky) with scotch whisky or bourbon you'll be disappointed. You need to give it time to speak for itself. The relatively short maturation is entirely in Australian ex-shiraz barrels, and this imparts a robust and pleasantly dry character. It’s a more complex and interesting whisky than the solera expression and repays patient tasting. Good competent whisky. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Nose: Intense caramel and toffee aromas, butterscotch, honey and a little vanilla. Palate: A sweet, hefty butterscotch, caramel and mild spice arrival. As it develops creamy sherry and oak flavours emerge, but they remain subtle. Some dried fruit tastes – figs, dates, etc. – appear in the background along with some nutmeg. Finish: The sherry and oak that surfaced mid-development carry on through to the end, which is well balanced. The nose is quite heavy and sweet. It bears a passing resemblance to bourbon but does not have the strong vanilla and fruitiness. It’s also not quite like a scotch malt either – it’s somewhere between the two. The barley used is brewer’s barley that is generally used for ale, and they employ both brewer’s and distiller’s yeasts. The maturation is period is short and intense (think 2-3 years of racking like a bourbon rather than long resting in a dunnage). Maturation is done entirely in re-toasted Australian apera (ie sherry) casks of varying sizes, and the contents are decanted from barrel to barrel in a solera-like process throughout the maturation cycle. New World Whisky Distillery relocated to the suburb of Port Melbourne a couple of years ago, and this coincided with several changes to the distillery equipment, including a new wash still. As their new make spirit is typically aged for 2-3 years this means that all Starward whisky currently on retailer’s shelves (as at mid-2018) is from the old distillery stock. Later this year will be the roll-out of the first whisky distilled and matured at the new premises. There has been a slight change of distillery profile, from a rather caramel focused character (like this one I tasted) to a more fruity sherried style. I expect this latter style is the expression that will be getting a lot of exposure on international markets. A comfortable and enjoyable whisky, lacking in complexity but making up for it with heft and style. It reminds me a bit of some recent American craft malt whiskies. “Above Average” : 80/100 (3 stars)

Nose: Generic, light whisky aromas. Nothing outstanding but nothing unpleasant. Palate: Sweet light cereal arrival, a little malt & fruit in the development but it is very slight. Again, well balanced with no significant problems. Finish: Short and nondescript. No bitterness or sourness. The best overall description for this is “inoffensive”. There is not much character to speak of, but we are talking about a bottom shelf blend and in context there is nothing to criticize. It avoids any overt ethanol intrusion and has a pleasant if restrained and pedestrian profile. It’s a mixer, pure and simple, and a serviceable, inexpensive one. In a pinch it can be enjoyed neat over ice. It's better than a lot of other bottom-shelf blends but overshadowed by a couple of competitors in the same price band – not the least Loch Lomond Reserve and Loch Lomond Original, from the same distillery. “Adequate” : 72/100 (2 stars)