Tastes

I am not the best fan of Irish whiskey, to date I have tended to find it somewhat lacking in character and presence. Consequently, I have typically steered clear of it, and know little to nothing about it really. A peated Irish whiskey then is something I know nearly literally nothing about. I am perhaps fortunate then to be foraying into peated Irish, thanks to @cascode and his well rated share of this dram. N: Light, crisp. This is slightly mossy, like a damp temperate rain forest. A light acidity and yeastiness is present like gristy bread dough and cheese. A slightly sharp gingery touch and lemony mulch. P: Oily, a little thin at first but building into a medium body. There is a lightly peppery and effervescent quality on the entry that is packed with sweet cereal and malt. Fresh, bright, apples and red berries pass deliciously into drying gentle smoke with a pop of lemon zest. As the palate evolves there is a sticky sweet and sour cola type of thin going on. The bright fresh notes just about fade into a darker woodland again, an undertone of herbal and mineralic smokiness. F: Medium. Brightly fruity and peppery with an equal share of cocoa powder and tannic smoky dryness. I find the nose slightly conflicting. I love moss covered woodlands and the crunch of leaf litter underfoot. I also like the acidity that comes through from a yeasty-malt presence. The apparent youth is found in this acidity, with a cheesy rancor that is just enough to make me stop and pull me out of what I am enjoying. The palate is wonderful, it tells a story almost. From an initial excitement to a bright open summer orchard and then into a deeper foreboding woodland there is depth and progression. This palate is excellently delivered. The finish is just fine and kind of recaps the journey nicely. If this had been the first Irish whisky I had sat and contemplated I think my impressions and attitude overall would have been different. This is a really smashing dram that delivered a lot more than I was setting myself up to expect. I can easily forgive the off-notes I find on the nose for the story telling that the palate dips itself into. The peat here is not equivalent to Scottish or Australian fare, this is an altogether more delicate and vibrant delivery of peat. Thanks again @cascode you spoiled me with this one. Distiller whisky taste #274 [Pictured here with a 305 million year old plate of Alethopteris (seed fern) from the Late Carboniferous of Pennsylvania, USA. This was a time very different from today. Euramerica sat in the tropics and a landscape of humid lowlands and forrested swamps was periodically submerged under shallow seas. Trees 50 m tall were surrounded with seed ferns as a dense undergrowth through the swamps. The Llewellyn formation, also known as the ‘coal measures’ is a world famous coal deposit, also known for its plant fossils. The Llewellyn was deposited upon a broad flat plain with sediment-choked rivers. Fluctuations in sea level, coupled with the shifting nature of the rivers and highlands, allowed dense forests to grow on the broad plain. As a result, a large amount of organic matter was buried and eventually turned to coal.⁠ The anaerobic conditions that prevail in swamps allowed for exceptional preservation of plant material as impressions, biofilms and carbonaceous traces such as those seen here]

Two sherry casks in two nights. Trying to knock a couple of extra drams out in the last few days before my daughter arrives and long contemplative drams get shelved for a while (perhaps?!). N: Dense, dark, and quite broody. Dark treacle or camp fire toffee is mingled with rich spices like cardamon, pepper, cinnamon and perhaps a touch of brighter anise? That spice is layered with dark woody vanillin, tannic oak, and the suggestion of a dark fruit bouquet. This is a smouldering and richly inviting nose but I suspect its also cautionary to whats about to be unleashed… P: Oomph, that is a Chinese New Year Firework. An almost sherbet like pepper flash sets things off with a blaze. Subsequent sips are less assaulting and more ginger like with juicy sultanas, raisins, plums and figgy depths to discover. Orange zest, a hint of mocha and a clean crisp texture that has just the right balance of oak tannin and softening toffee notes to keep everything even and well tempered throughout. My word though, that peppery opening, phwoar. F: Medium. Dark fruit chocolate, a hint of espresso bitterness, and some juicier stewed fruits. Perhaps something nutty, maybe almond. The pepper and the brooding nose suggested that this could take a splash of water. And that it can, the peppery tempest is calmed and there are new elements to be had. A gentler nose with brighter almost tropical zestyness and a brighter aspect to the oak. The palate finds apricot and grilled pineapple, fresh oranges and fresh wood shavings, maybe even demerara sugar. The finish changes little but there is a bit of a coppery presence maybe. Wow, that was unexpected. That really took me deep. This is a heavy weight whisky for sure, that batch strength is not mucking about. But for the depths of the initial nose and the ferocity of the initial taste, this ended up feeling refined and satisfying. Probably not something i would reach for to unwind with, but definitely one for blasting Verdi - Requiem, Dies irea to and considering world domination. Thank you @cascode the depths of your whisky cabinet are a treasure to us all (but mostly me it seems, thanks Sir!). Distiller whisky taste #273 [Pictured here with a piece of the Kambalda Komatiite from Mount Hunt in Western Australia. Komatiite is a highly magnesium-rich rock formed during near complete melting of the mantle and subsequent eruption as a volcanic lava. This rock could only form until around 2.5 billion years ago when the temperature of the mantle was 100-250 C hotter. These rocks are ubiquitous for their green colour and spinifex textures of large needle like dendrite plates of olivine and pyroxene]

Tonights tasting is North Star Spirits Supersonic Mach 3. This is a limited-edition blended malt using whisky taken from sherry casks and bottled at 55% ABV. Only 777 bottles were produced. N: Ok, no doubt about it we have a sherry cask but by Cthulhu this is thick with waxy, oily, leathery wood notes and indulgent toffees and brown sugar. This is a wood driven, heavily wood driven profile. The sherry is some jammy blackcurrant or figs and sultanas, but I’ll be damned if I can hold onto it long… wood. With time a little spice note like incense or hard woody spices come out. P: Full and somewhat oily with a fair hit of burn. The sherry is there again, but its masked by the oak. Spicy wood notes give cinnamon, tannic clove, and maybe nutmeg. With successive sips the burn subsides and the texture moves into a slightly sticky terrain. But with that stickiness is the mulled red fruits and warm Christmas jumper that is a sherried palate. Sweet, safe, and dependable with figs, sultanas, and a little menthol/aniseed. F: Medium. Tannic oak, burnt brown sugar, plump sultanas and a little orange zested mulled plums/figs. I was anticipating a sherry monster, and in someways this is. But, I’d go as far to say that this is two whiskies in one. On the one hand the sherry profile of sweet fruits, spicy wintery Christmas imagery and bright zingy pops of spice and zest are what you’d expect. But, my word thats a lot of wood. It’s not subtle, and at times its enjoyable but its also big and theres no hiding from it. I realise in recent tastings I have been finding more enjoyment in delicate floral, herbal, and light fruit notes than I have whiskies that hide behind heavy wood. I want the malt, I want the character of the distillery, not a bodega in Spain. Still, this is a curious dram well worth a heavy splash or even a bottle. Thank you very kindly @cascode for yet another generous and challenging dram. Distiller whisky taste #272 [Pictured here with a rather spectacular garnet-staurolite phyllite from somewhere in Brazil. Things you need to know about this rock: it used to be a mud, it got cooked to around 650 degrees celsius during some kind of mountain building episode, the muds rearranged into beautiful gems crystals and a very finely layered crystalline rock, someone used it to make a pretty photo of some whisky].

Glendullan 12 The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask No. 84.36 Fruits of Darkness Distilled on March 19th 2008 from a cask that produced 232 bottles. Matured initially  in ex bourbon hogsheads for 10 years and finished in a first fill ex-Sauternes barrique for a further 2 years before being bottled by SMWS at 56.1% ABV. N: Deep and dark, living up to the name already. There is a wonderful leathery and heavy wood furniture, and maybe a tobacco like aspect to the nose here that oozes toffee coated red fruits, plums, and dates. A light clove or nutmeg type of spice and enough citrus to get you into mulled Christmas like mulling mixes. A very slight ethanol burn slightly detracts, but I am likely nit picking. P: Heavy and gripping with a metallic note like an old school water fountain. Plenty of ABV presence. Big, really big, brown sugar, mocha, caramel over sticky date pudding, leather and a lighter honey evolves from the heavier caramel. Bright chocolate and cinnamon spiced orange zest and red fruit. F: Medium. Plenty of milk chocolate to go around, orange spritz, tannic leather, and maybe a little floral brightness right at the end. A surprisingly delicate exit. A drop of water calms the ABV sufficiently to round off the edges and unify the palate into an almost singular, creamy slightly fruity and spiced toffee. The calmness of the water drop is very drinkable, but I think this is objectively better when the zingy, every so slightly cluttered glass is allowed to do what it was bottled to do. This is undoubtedly a sherry forward profile, but the ten years in ex bourbon add a depth to the vanillin and tannins that keep this from being boring. Many thanks to @cascode for the generously shared dram. Well worth checking out if you’re in the mood for something just outside the ordinary. Distiller whisky taste #271 [Pictured here with a rock of darkness. This is a very gem looking lump of sphalerite crystals, a zinc sulphide, from the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria. Normally sphalerite looks orange to red and, well fruity, but here the high temperatures it formed in caused lots of iron uptake turning it black].

A no age statement offering for the 2023 special release. A bold move Talisker; NAS has not been your strong point in the past. Whats more this year, the special release is finished in a combination of port casks (white, tawny, and ruby). In my opinion the weakest offering Talisker put out is the port cask finished NAS Port Ruighe. Bearing in mind I am a sucker for port cask whisky, my low ranking of PR is a bit of an indictment. So, is tonight going to see a fall from grace for Talisker in my opinion, or will I be pleasantly surprised? N: Opens with a little bit of aggressive burn so I’ll leave that for a few minutes and let this mellow out for a minute. A light ashy smoke drifts into the frame and brings some sweet bacon and almost leathery oak tannins. The minerality is evident and a misty, foggy, overcast sea scape unfolds. A slightly vegetal and herbal whiff ushers in the fruit. Sultana, figs, blackcurrant and a subtle oiliness like walnut or marzipan perhaps? P: Assertive. A dry medium body opens with a smack of grainy-ashy textural smoke and an almost heavy handed slap of black pepper to chilli. Let the smoke settle in and it will reveal dark cherry and dark caramel, woody tannins keep the dryness going. Crisp apple, a flash of summer berries and then dark brooding leather and old waxed furniture. Salt. F: Long. If you don’t respect this then the finish is a harsh chilli and peppercorn assault. A careful approach though and there is a slight creaminess, maybe toffee and the promise of nutmeg or cinnamon that never quite arrives. Cool beach bonfire smoke closes the proceedings with a glimmer of the underlying malt as oat and pastries. Curiouser and curiouser. This certainly has subverted expectations. First lets get ideas of grandeur and excellence out the way, this isn’t that. This is obviously young from the first nosing and the Talisker chilli catch is working double time. But, it doesn’t make this unenjoyable, and it certainly doesn’t stop it being interesting or good. Beyond the youth there is lots to explore in the Talisker wilds. The port casks are measured and restrained, evident as understated fruits on the nose and just the right amount of leathery oiliness to tell you port was in the mix. The palate has a weightiness that makes up for a bit of a tight profile, but theres enough there to enjoy. The finish, if you have the patience will speak of things that you will never really find, but you’re going to keep looking, keep exploring none the less. Wild and untamed, and worth the exploration. Distiller whisky taste #270 [Pictured here with an astrophyllite fenite from Mt. Eveslogchorr on the Kola Peninsula, Russia. Fenites are awesome, highly altered igneous rocks that are completely obliterated and altered (in this case to white sugary albite feldspar) by aggressive CO2 fluids. The astrophyllite is the shiny cola brown blades; they’re just plain pretty]. Talisker running scores T10: 4/5 T18: 4.75/5 Skye: 3.25/5 Port Ruighe: 2.75/3 Storm: 3.5/5 Dark Storm: 4.25/5 Surge: 4/5 57 North: 4.25/5 X Parley Wilder Seas: 4.25/5 T8 2018 Special Release: 4.5/5 T15 2019 Special Release: 3.5/5 T8 2020 Special Release: 4.25/5 T8 2021 Special Release: 4.5/5 T11 2022 Special Release: 4/5 Wild Explorador 2023 Special Release: 3.5/5

I have had two bottles of this on my shelf over the last several years and drank many more drams out and about, so this entry is long overdue. N: Light, sweet, and eminently floral. This is unquestionably malt driven. Barley and granulated brown sugar with wisps of honey, buttery and oily macadamia, and floral orange. Looking for more perhaps isn’t worth it, whilst some menthol emerges so does a little grittiness verging on mustiness, but then again maybe it is as there is a growing presence of apricot and apple and a whisper of the sea. P: Gripping creaminess with a salivating hint of saltiness on the edges. Barely sugar and buttery crumbly biscuits warm from the oven are the unsurprising stars of the show with a supporting cast of crisp apple, grapes, and a tannic spice element. The more I roll this over the more I am convincing myself that there is a fresh summery red fruit thread running through this perhaps some influence from a red wine or sherry cask? F: Medium-long. This is a whisky that wants to stay with you, for a perhaps limited malt driven profile there is a transition from slightly tannic cereals to a mineralic and oh so very feint strawberry. (1) This was definitely overdue. (2) This is not what I remember drinking so many times before. (3) This whisky should be a classic. Classic Laddie is a very pure expression of excellent craftsmanship with nothing to hide behind. No gaudy caskings, no walls of smoke, no bombing from heavy handed port or sherry. This is, to me at least, a true expression of what good whisky is and the starting point where good whisky can be appreciated and understood. Here is a whisky you could share with a new convert or a seasoned veteran, mixed into a cocktail, added to a flight, or sunk into on its own. This is simply put: just excellent. Distiller whisky taste #269 [Pictured here with a chunk of Carnmenellis Granite from the Cornubian Batholith of peninsula southwest England. Around 300-275 million years ago at the end of a mountain building episode called the Variscan Orogeny there was local stretching of the crust around what is now SW England. Extension of this crust allowed huge volumes of granitic magma to ascend into the upper crust emplacing as five seperate plutons many kilometres in size.] Bruichladdich running scores Classic Laddie: 4/5 Black Art 10.1 29 y/o: 5/5 Port Charlotte 10: 4.5/5 Port Charlotte CC:01: 5/5

Damn it. I didn’t want to be here, I was happy to never finish making notes on the core line up of Starward. I was exhausted by the end of twenty-one previous reviews. But, then someone went and bought me a bottle of this. Sigh. This is Two Fold, the ‘budget’ entry from Starward; 60% wheat, 40% malted barley, and two years in Australian red wine barrels. If you have a read of their marketing drivel you realise that Starward have no intention of this being drunk on its own. They want it mixed, drunk with food, diluted. Theres a chance this may not be too kind. N: A little thin and with rough edges of ethanol/acetone burn. Very fruity and sweet with notes of plum, cherry, dates and oily-nutty malt. It’s actually not a bad nose but its youth and rough edges wont let you just sit and smell. P: Juicy plump. Lots of clove and nutmeg roll around with vanilla-fudge and crunchy brown sugar. Bright with berries, peach, plum, and a little buttery-nuttiness. F: Medium. Slightly tannic brown sugar, cinnamon and black pepper, a somewhat watery strawberry. Ok. It’s not awful. It’s just fine, surprisingly. But, my word is this boring. There is the most generic fruitiness with a passing interest delivered by oak spice. But in no way would I suggest anyone should spend AUD$70 for a forgettable experience that is designed for mixing into cocktails. My potentially unkind comment then is: meh, whats the point? Distiller whisky taste #268 [Pictured here with a Serpentinite from Port Maquarrie on the East Coast of Australia. Serpentinite is a rock comprised of serpentine group minerals. Serpentinisation is a low-temperature metamorphic process that is typical in subduction zones and requires rocks of the upper mantle or oceanic crusts to be altered. These rocks are oxidised and hydrolysed with water into serpentine minerals. This serpentinite formed during subduction zone metamorphism that took place ~500 million years ago. Its not terribly exiting to look at, which seems fitting for this dram.] Starward running scores Two Fold: 2.5 Nova: 3/5 Fortis: 3.25/5 Solera: 3.75/5 10th Anniversary: 4.25/5 Vitalis 15th Anniversary: 4.5/5 Whisky Club Exclusive, Maple Cask: 2/5 Whisky Club Exclusive, Cognac Cask: 3.5/5 Projects, Octave Barrels: 3.75/5 Projects, Dolce: 2.25/5 Projects, Bourbon Cask: 3.5/5 Projects, Tawny #2: 3.5/5 Projects, UnExpeated: 3.75/5 Projects, Peated: 2.75/5 Small Batch, Cherry Wood Smoked: 2/5 Small Batch, Mesquite Wood Smoked: 2/5 Small Batch, Hungarian Oak: 3/5 Small Batch, Sticky Toffee Apple: 3.25/5 Small Batch, Chardonnay: 4/5 Whisky Loot Single Barrel Single Malt Exclusive: 3.5/5 Smoke & Mirrors Single Cask Oak Barrel Exclusive: 3.75/5 Ex-Apple Brandy LMDW Antipodes Single Cask: 4.5/5

It occurs to me that I have only ever had Lagavulin 16 twice before, both times from a bar and a half empty bottle in full sun. That’s not acceptable. Surely this liquid has to rank as one of the most iconic whiskies there is. I often hear conflicting statements about it, but loved or hated, it is definitely iconic. I have to admit, I have been looking forward to this pour for quite some time and hope it doesn’t disappoint. N: Oh Sweet Cthulu, that is lovely. Is this smoky, yes; its Islay. But my word its soft and rich, and powerful without being aggressive. Creamy vanilla envelopes a sherried black smoky tea with a blend of creosote and antiseptic. The sherry note is cherry cola and leather. And then, over the last 10 minutes there has been brine and minerality. P: Thick and heavy texture. Surprisingly sweet the richness of the nose comes straight through. Big malty notes mingle with fruity sherry that is all deeply soaked in creosote, peat-smoke, oily salt and a slightly dry creamy oak. Perhaps, just perhaps, there is a lemon note hidden in the back of the palate. F: Medium-long. Warm with cool-smoke (is that an oxymoron?), tannic spice, sweet fig roll ups, creamy vanilla, and a hint of peppery spice. Oh no, I think I’ve messed up. I’ve had the 2021 12 y/o special release, the one with the Lion on it. It was magic, a rare 5/5 from me. The whole time I was drinking this dram I was thinking of that dram instead! Have I cheapened the experience? Perhaps. Or perhaps, Lagavulin is not as good as the ultra-hype, nor is it polarising and hateful. No. This is certainly a very good whisky. It is opulent, like leather elbow patches in a mahogany and leather filled library, but its also just a little tight and stuffy. The nose is magic, I could smell that all night. But the palate doesn’t give the same oomph or depths I might have hoped for, or maybe i just am not good enough to dig them out. The finish is tasty, but dare I say it, erring on forgettable. A tough position then, an iconic whisky battling against comparison (the thief of joy) and an amateur who probably doesn’t know any better. Oops. Distiller whisky taste #267 [Pictured here with chalcopyrite and galena (mostly) from Madan, Bulgaria. 30 million years ago some cracks opened up in some marbles that were enclosed in high grade metamorphic gneisses and amphibolite in what is now the Rhodope Mountains. These cracks opened up as some hot igneous rocks were intruding deeper in the crust. The result; hot fluids at 280-350 degrees C, carrying dissolved metals (copper, iron, lead) and sulphur precipitated these fantastic sulphide minerals. Personally I think it looks like peanut butter or butter scotch and I want to eat it.] Lagavulin running scores: Lagavulin 8: 3.25/5 Lagavulin 16: 4/5 Lagavulin 12 2021 special release: 5/5

Something out of left field tonight perhaps. A left of sample from a gift box this curious dram is scotch malt sent to France for maturation. Apparently a blend of 12-27 year old liquids aged in PX sherry casks in one of the worlds most premiere wine regions (Bouze-les-Beaune; although I don’t know what that has to do with anything beneficial to the whisky?). N: A slightly musty-dusty and very malty opening with a very clear woody backdrop. The malt is quite light, cookie-dough like and is delivered with a cast of secondary notes: apple, vanilla, gentle spices, and a little leatheriness. The dried fruits of a sherry cask come out with time, but they are, to me, masked by the heavy wood presence. Chocolate is in there somewhere as well to round out the anticipation of sherry cask. P: Medium bodied and balances the line between juicy and viscous. Baked apple, biscuity malt, ginger, brown sugar crunch, cloves, cinnamon, a little leather and maybe black forrest fruits. The wood presence has backed off somewhat and lends its self to an emergent creamy texture that is more apparent with time. A touch of mocha comes in late. F: Medium. Ginger-cinnamon spice, apple juice, chocolate, raisins. Oiliness and maybe nuttiness remain. Meh. This is a generic sherry cask whisky. I honestly could not pick it from a line up. It is perfectly fine, and I would happily quaff glasses of the stuff. But, I wouldn’t write home about it, nor remember it. At AUD$158.99 it is not worth the price. It is, in a word: meh. Distiller whisky taste #266 [Pictured here with some (probably Uruguayan) amethyst. The word amethyst comes from the Greek amethustos, meaning ‘not intoxicated’ For centuries people thought amethyst was an antidote for drunkenness, a throw back to Greek legend. In Greek legend, the god Dionysus, in a drunken rage, vowed to kill the next mortal that he saw. Just then, a beautiful woman named Amethyst walked by, and Dionysus ordered two tigers to attack her. The goddess Artemis prevented a tragedy by turning the girl into a statue made of quartz that was harder than the tigers teeth. the statue was so beautiful Dionysus sobered up and regretted his rashness. In remorse, he spilled his wine onto the statue as an offering, staining the quartz purple and making the quartz statue amethyst.]

The Whisky Club Australia managed to get their hands on the inaugural release of Fuji distilleries single malt which coincides with Fuji’s 50th anniversary. On this release a mixture of ex-Bourbon, French oak red wine barriques and beer casks have been used. And that is all the premium subscription club have made known for this dram. How helpful. Anyway… N: Quite a powerful sweetness with a bit of acetone. Sharp apple and tinned pineapple, crisp biscuity malt, a bit of berries and maybe some nutmeg-cinnamon spiced toasty toffee barrel notes. P: Slightly zingy and almost effervescent? Honeydew melon, tart apple, oaty and honied malt, cinnamon and cloves. A late bright berries and caramel. F: Medium. Juicy fruit fades quickly and leaves an aggressive gripping alcohol presence at the back of the palate that reveals youth in the liquid. Perhaps some lasting honey and chewy malt, but masked by the alcohol heat. If this hadn’t of been a free bottle, I likely would be annoyed. Maybe it needs longer to oxidise a little and soften, but this feels like a middle of the run Irish whisky at best, not Scottish influenced Japanese mastery. Perhaps I have been to long spoiled by recent Skye based sorcery and now things pail in comparison, or perhaps not. Perhaps this is just an average, rushed, newcomer struggling to find its own place? @cascode, I look forward to your thoughts. Distiller whisky taste #265 [Pictured here with an Osumilite from Matsugase, Japan; about 80 km from Mt Fuji. It may not look like much, but the tiny black cog wheel hidden amongst the rhyodacite volcanic matrix is massive for this mineral, which is already exceptionally rare but also typically only exists microscopically. Osumilite is known from high temperature volcanic rocks and very high temperature metamorphics].