Tastes

The color is very dark amber-brown, the shade of dark brewed tea. 116.8 Proof / 58.4% is untenable (for me), 3 teaspoons of water added to a 1.25oz pour, down to approximately 40-43%. I've sadly recently proven that cask-strength whisky is a major migraine trigger for me, no matter how much water I drink alongside, one sip of this and I could almost HEAR my frontal lobes shriveling up... Nose: Omnipotent red wine, some maraschino cherry, dry grape skin, freshly sawn pine, malty grains, faint cocoa and a bit medicinal. Quite musty; ubiquitous and encumbering, increasing with water... not the kind of musty wood I usually relish, more of a mephitic moldering log... Palate: More drying red wine on arrival, then a rush of heavy oak, cherry preserves, some clove, ginger snaps and infinitesimal mint. Finish: Fairly hot and tart, more floral mint and inimitably drying (Like there's a desert in your mouth with no oasis in sight). Certifiably unfiltered in any way, leaves the glass filthy with an ashy film, just like Bookers Bourbon cask-strength releases. Salutations due, as is usual, to our idiosyncratic Pranay for sharing this shard of lost history! Dry Glass: yes, inimitably.

Banana bread, sweet cinnamon and baking spices, vanilla and bready malt. Something pleasingly sharp, citrusy, almost Rye-like. Hint of sea salt and toasted coconut. Bright honeyed nuts arrive first on the palate, developing into warm ginger and woody spices. Crisp, slightly bitter finish, though a bit hot. Overall fairly simple, but satisfying. Nothing noticeably improved compared with the original 10 year, in my opinion... A gift from my father (a port man) on his last business trip to England. Dry glass: beeswax and dry malt.

Incredible nose, deep rich sweet caramel drizzle, warm vanilla. Slightly burnt raisin oatmeal cookies. Dusty old New England cider mill. Faint smoke, but not peat or charcoal... cigar ash? Some reference 'coffee' but my amateur skills don't detect it (and I prefer French-pressed, strong enough to float a spoon). Palate is immediate: Salted caramel and citrus, a bit diaphanous, but smooth as silk and mouth-watering. Noticeable mineral note, surprisingly bitter (perhaps even a touch over-oaked). Huge finish, starts bittersweet with a wash of menthol and mint, then a wake of oak spices and more salt. Lingering floral note at the very end. Sample generously shared by a courageous old friend who's not afraid to open a pricey bottle now and then. If life is made for living, whisky is made for DRINKING! Dry Glass: Cadbury 'Crunchie' Bar (a British chocolate candy).

NOT BENGAL TIGER! Rather a rare single cask bottling, 4yo, 2009 vintage, finished in PX casks, at a heroic 62.8%, so the most similar listing I could find was the Bengal Tiger bottling. I'll move this if it's true listing appears. Nose: bold raw oats, sweet apple blossom, dusty oak. Palate: hot and sweet, viscous, spicy wood, hint of minty menthol. Finish: fairly long, freshly sawn boards, bittersweet, quite numbing without astonishing amounts of added water. Two memorable underrated Malts come to mind, the dusty old books of Aberfeldy 12, and the earthy "je ne sais quoi" of Jura 10, albeit with a slightly raw edge... Thanks be to the magnanimous Pranay for the sample! Dry glass: faint cardamom?!

Amazing color... pale rosy amber with a silvery green hue. Forms a beautiful Scotch mist with a full teaspoon of water. Nose: Rich warming peat, signature "band-aid", old leather, butterscotch and dark chocolate covered walnuts. Little whiffs of raspberry. Palate: Spicy sherry arrival along with a touch of sulphur, smoky charcoal sweetness and dry orange peel follow into the long drying salted-caramel finish. Glad I nabbed a fifth, can't wait to see next year's bottling! Dry glass: oven-roasted sweet potato.

Bought on sight upon discovery of this new bottling last month... Nose: sweet apple and raisin-nutty sherry, though less intense than the classic 12. Rich oak and caramel. Hint of salt, almost briny like a very clean oyster.... Immediately identifiable Macallan "humming" quality, you could never hide this in a blind tasting... Palate: intense apple and wine-like astringency on arrival, developing into dark buckwheat honey. Finish: long with noticeable maraschino cherry and a lingering floral note, not quite the Fine Oak 15 "rose" but very satisfying. Simply put, it's the essential 12 year old we know and love with the European sherry toned slightly down, with a touch more American oak added for good measure. An excellent variation in the age-statement range. Dry glass: Malt chocolate ice cream.

I'm back baby! Opening my winter drinking collection this week, time to get back into the swing of weekly reviews! This one surprised me, the most amiable affordable blend I've had to date, full-stop. First aromas are of intense pear blossom and gentle caramelized banana. A touch hot with hints of polish but in my opinion the only offending flaw. Bright and copacetic sweet apple and soft floral honey on the palate. Simple complimenting malty finish. So easy to drink, the perfect affordable dram to keep handy, for medicinal purposes only of course...

What a beautiful decanter styled bottle, the cork is mounted in a glass knob... Nose is delightfully rich, full and complex, opening with intense rum raisin and creamy bourbon-oak vanilla atop a seam of caramel. The rest is just mysterious and ephemeral enough, I can't describe it without using silly subjective Pigeon-English, so I'll spare you, savvy? Palate follows suit with tart fresh pineapple and exotic spices, hint of salt, soft floral mint and just a touch of bubblegum fruitiness, but in a good way. Medium finish with spicy/zesty kiwi-like astringency, so unusual yet satisfying. Not only does this dram like a long while in the glass to open up, but the bottle improved noticeably after about 4 months. A special gift from my mother, a whisky drinking wanderlust world traveler, with a son who didn't fall far from the tree. Dry glass: buttery malt, hint of juniper.

My senses are confounded on this one. Pronounced unripe banana and some cream soda vanilla (the unmalted barely signature of traditional Irish Pot-Still whiskey, not always to my liking). Light tart nectarine, bourbon oak spices. Hints of maple syrup lurk beneath. Intense palate, sweet, something wine-like, but not exactly sherry sweet (could this be the Malaga casks?). Warming and even sweeter with added water. Huge finish, bourbon-like cinnamon with malt and rich wood that lingers. Good when the mood strikes, but I can't say it's better than the much more available and affordable Green Spot, to my memory. I'm afraid my palate is becoming too narrow to properly appreciate single pot-still Irish unmalted barely components... my brain goes on green-banana / bourbon-alert...Dry glass: "please pass the soda bread and honey, dearie.

Friendly, approachable, gentle sweet apple and pear nose, even if a bit thin. A few drops of water sweetens it further and opens to apple blossom. Malty cereal with well integrated grain. Cedar and faint honey that follows to the palate with vanilla, a distant hint of smoke and a noticeable slight copper-metallic note. Finish is full, zesty and drying with orange spice and oak. Surprisingly long. Surprisingly good. Surprisingly, one I should never have turned my nose up at. (Let that be a lesson to you!) Dry glass: sweet beeswax and winter spices.