Tastes

Reminds me of the old saying: "big hat; no cattle." It has probably the best nose of any Speyside I've ever had, then completely fails to deliver anything beyond inoffensive oaky scotch. What a disappointment

This week, this is my favorite non-peated scotch. It replaces my dearly departed 1976 vintage Macallan 18. More recent Mac 18s seem to have backslid, and Glenmorangie has stepped up to fill that hole in my palette with this. Except that it's completely different from your run of the mill sherried Speyside. I don't much care for overly sweet scotch. Years ago, Jim Murray rated the Glenmorangie Ealanta as whiskey of the year. I couldn't tell if it tasted more like Bourbon or Brandy, either being way outside my tolerance for sweet. But Signet is way sweet in an entirely different and less offensive (for me) way. It is more of a dark, fruity sweetness, but I really can't place the fruit. It is deeply rich, mildly spicy, truly complex, and front and center. It almost begs to be chewed on and very much reminds me of drinking a stout, only better. to be fair, this is my first experience with a so-called chocolate malt, so maybe it's just the genre that's struck such a positive note with me. Either way, it's like taking my tastebuds and olfactory glands to the spa. It makes me feel warm and coddled

This is slowly replacing the Lagavulin 16 as my go-to peat of choice. smoky and peaty with a nice sherry back end. There's also a bit more complexity compared to the Lagavulin. For me, Lagavulin is sitting at home with a nice fire, but this is more like an expensive night out.

This isn't bad, even though it's a grain blend. I also agree with others that I'd rather be drinking this than Blue. My main issue with both it and Blue is that both have a coldly scientific emphasis on being as "smooth" as possible at the expense of character or any other memorable qualities. It is exactly what you expect if your goal is "Smooth, inoffensive Scotch." which is not to say it's bad. When you're in the mood for comfort without challenge, this is exactly what you want, at half the price of their top shelf

I'm really not an Islay snob. I love a Lagavulin 16 or a Uigeadail, but some of the really hardcore stuff like Laphroaig is a bit too much like getting a vaccination. So, what am I doing with this stuff? First off, I'm not going to talk about notes of this or hints of that, because there is absolutely nothing subtle about this. Five years old, and quite pale. Not quite new make, but this stuff is barely legal. The nose has a range of about 2 blocks. Bring it into a room and everyone will be asking "what is that?" even before you remove the cork. My tastings have been straight, without water, mainly because i fear a few drops could open it up even more. It's already plenty open enough as it is. On my first sip, I laughed. "over the top" would imply there's actually a top. It was as if Yosemite Sam had stuffed my mouth full of burning peat, followed by Bugs hitting me on the head with a big puffy sledge hammer. Because things like this only happen in a cartoon. But the peat and smoke, while front and center to a laughable degree, doesn't have any sharp edges. Followed by sweetness and fruitiness (delivered via Bugs with a seltzer bottle). Then a depth an complexity of flavor leaving me wondering how you do that with only 5 years aging. You can almost chew on it. The aftertaste is delicious and will stay with you for hours. Maybe days. As I said, I'm not a huge fan of big peat. I'm also not a heavy drinker. If i have one shot a week, that's a lot. Yet, I kept coming back to this stuff. I had a shot every night for the first week after buying it. It would be a bit much to say that I love this stuff. What I will say is that i find it deeply and wildly entertaining.