Tastes

Upfront this whisky is like a smoky spicy sherry. The first hit is spiced raisins, vanilla and chocolate. It slowly develops into a sweet, smoky dram with a long finish. Overall, it is a little harsh and the smokiness is a little jarring with the spicy, smoky finish. It’s pretty drinkable, but there are better whiskies at the price point. Possibly one for people used to a Speyside sherry-bomb who want to experiment with some of the strong Islay flavours, but with something a little more familiar to them.

Upfront there’s a citrusy alcohol hit. It’s medium body, woody and with some candied orange. There’s a good amount of pepper and grapefruit as it mellows, with light peat a vague hint of vanilla. The finish is long, warm and peppery. Overall, a decent dram.

It’s an interesting concept to make a cold weather whisky in Scotland. It’s seldom exactly warm here. Dalwhinnie Distillery is at a high altitude in a beautiful, fairly remote location and does tend to get some pretty typically ‘Scottish’ weather. They suggest you serve straight from the freezer. To my taste, it enhances the spicy notes, but dulls some of the lighter flavours. The upfront flavour is a wide range of spices and a good hit of alcohol. It has a sweet honey note and a background of light smoke, but mostly it’s the spice that dominates - pepper, chilli, cinnamon. The flavour develops to bring out the fruit, apple and orange, but this is very much second fiddle to the spice. It has a pleasant medium long spicy, peppery finish. For it’s cheap price point, this is a very lovely dram. I’ve gone through a few bottles of this already and it will have a regular place in my cabinet.

(Batch 003, Jan-11) I’ve had this bottle for years and have been rationing it out, but we are in interesting times (thanks to the Coronavirus quarantine) and I’ve decided to bottlekill some of my collection. You never know what tomorrow will bring, so it’s going to be savoured and enjoyed! I’ve said before that Laphroaig is my ‘go to’ dram and this is THE best Laphroaig I’ve had (so far). There’s the upfront TCP, medicinal taste but with beautiful layers of smoke, sweet toffee, vanilla and apple. The smoke and peat on this expression is robust and in your face. The sweetness is a wonderful surprise that stays all the way into the finish. At the finish there’s sweet smoke, spice, ginger and citrus - full bodied and perfectly rounded. Good god, this is an exceptional whisky! I suspect I’ll never be able to afford a CS Batch 003 again, but hell it was good to have had the chance to enjoy it!

Another NAS Laphroaig. I’ll be honest, I don’t really understand this whisky. There’s still the typical TCP, medicinal taste up front, but this time it’s very understated. It’s a bit all over the place, with little of the usual Laphroaig character coming to the fore. Smoky, peaty, sweet, brine, citrus, apple, bread - it’s got all of it vying for attention, but making the whole flavour less than the sum of its parts. The aftertaste doesn’t last long. Sweet and peaty, but quickly forgotten. As I’ve said many times now, Laphroaig is my go-to dram. I won’t be adding the Select to my standard cabinet. It’s OK but I’d pick up a standard 10y/o before this one. It’s not quite right for me, but then I’m not really sure who it’s for. If you want a peat monster, this isn’t it. If you want something that shows you all the depth of Islay whisky, this isn’t it either. If you want a soft introduction to Laphroaig, this isn’t it either - I just don’t get it. I’m confused by this whisky. I’ll have to have another couple of drams to try to work it out.

The first taste is smoky, peaty and seaweedy. It does have hit of citrus and toffee, but these are background notes. The aftertaste is long, warm, peppery and smoky. It lingers pleasantly for a long while. This is a very well balanced whisky. I would consider it an ‘entry level’ Islay malt as it doesn’t stretch too much into some of the wilder, stronger tastes the island is famous for, but it’s still very obviously an Islay.

This is an unusual Bunnahabhain - in a good way! This is a peated NAS expression, which while not unusual for Islay, Bunnahabhain is usually an un-peated whisky. The first taste is smooth, caramel sweet and smoky. As it develops in the mouth, you get the typical brine, alongside citrus and pepper which stays right through the medium long finish. The aftertaste is citrus, pepper and sweet smoke. Overall, a delicious NAS dram. Definitely a favourite from Bunnahabhain.

Another NAS Laphroaig. This is an interesting one that I suspect will divide opinion. First off, it still has the typical TCP, medicinal taste up front, but this time it’s all about the smoke. There’s a lot of character in the smoke, but it’s not as oily and full-bodied as you’d tend to expect from a Laphroaig. I’m mostly getting a vanilla and toast, with a hint of some citrus and salt, but that’s about it. The aftertaste doesn’t last long. What there is is really just more of the ashiness, with a bare hint of salt and vanilla. It does taste young and a little ashy, but it is still an enjoyable dram. It’s lighter than many Islay and pretty unassuming. It’s not bad, but I’d generally pick up a standard 10y/o before this one.

Often when a whisky is finished in rum casks, it overpowers the whisky and becomes an odd mongrel that doesn’t complement either spirits. This whisky is well balanced whisky. It has a lovely creamy vanilla taste upfront, but there’s plenty of fruit with apples and oranges and topped off with subtle molasses. The finish is long, with a lot of citrus and vanilla. Overall, a lovely well-rounded, sweet vanilla dram.

You can absolutely taste the standard 10y/o in this NAS whisky, but it’s sweeter, oilier and with a good smack of vanilla. Creamy with ginger, pepper nutmeg and oranges, with a lovely dessert wine kick. I’ve always liked a Glenmorangie, but this is quite delicious.