Tastes

Nose: First sniff says mud, or clay even. Then rubber and some oil. Then comes sweet fudge and vanilla. Quite different! Very far from being fresh, and fruity/floral - I kind of like it. Palate: At first sip some bitter ashy notes, but they soon turn to salted caramel and thick fudge ackompanied by some dirty waxy notes in the background which reminds me of a mechanical workshop allmost. (The ”waxy” quality was expected based on other reviews I’ve read, and though I do pick it up, I may note have pin-pointed it as such had I not read the other reviews.) Overall I relly like the taste, which like the nose is very far from being fresh. I would not call it balanced, it’s on the verge of being a bit too salty and the fudgy caramel is sharp. But it is tasty! Finish: The salt lingers, forming a plesant sweet/savory mix. The rubber-like notes from the nose can again be sensed. Just a tad of milk chocholate can be noticed. Overall the finish is on the shorter end of medium in length. Overall: A bit rough, un-fresh, shorter finish than I had hoped. But still really tasty and different. I score it 3.75, which in my book equals a really good whisky, and a bit of a must-try being low on peat but still far away from a gentle Speysider.

Nose: Cereal, malty notes meet fruity allmost floral ones. I get green apple, pears, hints of grapefruit supported by raw oats and cornflakes. It’s a fragrant whisky and I like it. Palate: Same as the nose, most promineltly green apples, grapefruit and raw malty oats. Finish: Medium-short. Grapefruit bitterness. Just a hint of mill chocholate before it vanishes. Overall: This whisky is marketed as a bit of a blend-substitute, to be zipped very casually or used for mixing. However, I’d give it more credit than that. Sure, it’s not complex, nor a taste explosion, but it’s a really nice, simple single malt whisky which is one clear cut above any of your your average blends. It actually reminds me a bit of a personal favourite among cheaper single malts - Old Pulteney 12 (though the latter packs slightly more taste and funk). I score Mack 3.0. For the price , I do admit I’d rather get the OP12 (marginal price difference where I live), but both are great upgrades over any average blend and, well worth those few extra bucks!

Nose: Dry strawbery marmelade. Chocholate covered marzipan. A light touch of peat (not smoke, there are little to no phenoles here; ”non-smoke peat” if you follow). There is also some sulphur comming through, but like funky gunpowder adding a layer to the whisky. Deeper sniffs reveal darker dried fruits, typical ”sherry” notes like raisins and dried plums, as well as a touch of caramel/toffee. Palate: More of the dry strawberry jam. Woody tannins (but not overpoweing).Christmas cake comes to mind. Also a touch of coffee crema (the foam which forms on an espresso). Also a touch of (the taste of) alcohol. The texture is not as ”thick” as some other sherried whiskys. Finish: Medium long finish (other sherried whiskies tend to have slightly longer finish). The strawberry jam continues, sweeter now. Coffee with a touch of chocholate (if you ever tried like chocholate infused Nespresso?). On the end of the finish the chocholate becomes more prominent - and darker. Overall: I like the notes in this whisky. It is an unpeated sherried whisky which comes through as a peated one - in the sense that it holds qualities that I usually just find in peated sherried whiskys (the peat imo somehow tends to subdue overly dark notes in sherried whiskys). Some aspects of this whisky are somewhat underwhelming, such as the slightly thin texture and shorter-than-other-sherried-whiskys finish. It’s still really good though, and I do enjoy it for its upside qualities, and I score it 4.0 which is the mark of a really good and tasty whisky on the doorstep of being great.

Bought a Glenmorangie taster pack conataining this one, the 10yo, the Lasanta and the Quinta Ruban. Kudos to Glenmorangie for offering this pack - more destilleries should offer such packs! Nose: Melted butter. A lot of melted butter. Then comes an almondy sweetness, like marzipan. It’s very sweet. A hint of a (white) winey note as well. Palate: Like the nose; Marzipan and sugars. Some light fruits, but they are mostly overpowered by the sweetness. The texture is quite smooth. Finish: Quite short actually. Same notes as on the palate. A bit dissapointing. Overall: I had higher hoped for this one. It is a good and tasty whisky for sure and a good sipper, but a bit too sweet and one-dimensional to achieve a higher score than 2.75 (i.e. definitely ok, but very far from great). I’d recomend the Quinta Ruban over this, which has got significantly more depth in my opinion. It still beats the Lasanta though and it’s probably about on par with the 10yo imo.

Nose: Slight citrus. Green and red apples. Toffee with hints of vanilla. Melted butter. Elegant and floral. Palate: Very smooth texture with apple-like sweet fruitiness. More toffee - like sugar-coated apples basically. Finish: Toffeelike sweetness and apple (less the acidity of apples). Touches of breadsticks. Eventually some hints of milk chocolate. Overall: A very well integrated finish that really works without being overpowering. Elegant and interesting, not overly complex, but still a really good whisky: 3.75 points.

For a cheap blend this is actually pretty sippable. The nose is boring and you get the grain (touch of vodka almost). The palate is quite good though; smooth, with notes of sweet honey and dry wood. On the finish the grain is again very noticable with a slight (cheap) vodka-like bitterness. But all-in-all it’s an ok whiskey, that is not only good for mixing (though I would prefer to add a few bucks to get a good but still cheap single malt such as Old Pulteney 10, Glenfiddich 10 or Glenmorangie 10). I score it 2.25 which is ok, but definitely nothing more.

On paper this looks good; peat, sherry (ling finnish) and some decent age at a fair price. Let’s see! Nose: First sniff is heavy Islay peat (smoke, and meaty ash). From second sniff and onward the peat becomes more and more subdued by the sherry notes: tones of jam, dried plums and (orange) marmelade. The peat is still there but turns more into smoked sausage or ham than the initial firey notes. A really deep sniff can also reveal some marzipan notes. At times I also picked up an off note unfortunately, remining me of cheap, fat sausage/hotdogs starting to turn bad. It’s managable and becomes less prominent as I drink the dram, but still a buzz-kill. I noticed this only when I used a small tulip shaped sniffer glass for some reason - I got almost nothing of it in a Glencairn. There is i slight touch if compost as well (which is a neutral remark - it’s not unplessant but rather gives character). Finally, there is a very slight hint of something sour/acidy whish is not too plesant but it’s only noticable on a very ”deep” sniff. Palate: The peat is more like hay and smoked ham now, and there is a fruity sweetness covering it. Hints of thick strawberry jam and English orange marmelade on toast. The off note on the nose does not at all carry over to the palate - fortunately. A light mineral touch is present as well. Finnish: A great mix of quite light smoke and dark marmelade fruits lingers for quite some time. Very nice. It’s not like a sherried Ardbeg where the smoke dominates - it’s clearly there, but subtile. After a while, an vague note like the flowey bitterness of many IPA beers comes through - nice and unique. Overall: The upsides of this whisky is the great balance between on the one hand the amount and character of the smoke, and on the other the dark and jammy fruits where neither is overpowering. Also, there is very little oak bitterness, which is often a (in my opinion) a negative side effect from heavy sherry maturation. On the downside is of course the sausage off-note, but since I was able to manage it by using a certain glass I’ll disregard it when scoring the whisky. Overall, the nose is good whereas the palate and the finish are really great. In total I give it a very comfortable 4.25, i.e a great whisky. Being a fan of this style of whisky (peat&sherry), I could see this one as a standard on my shelf.

Nose: Very fresh and prominent citrus and green apples (Granny Smith). Some alcohol comes through (not an alcohol burn though). After a while light vanilla and melted butter emerges, as do a vague hint of something ”industrial”, like motor oil almost (which is much more plesant than it sounds!). Palate: Light and somewhat dilluted at first zip. After a few zips that feeling diminishes though. The citrus and apple is less prominent than on the nose, instead the vanilla and (motor) oil notes comes through more, as does a slight bitterness (not from oak but a fresh bitterness - think grapefruits). There are also some almondy/buttery notes. Finish: At first the bitterness lingers for a short while. Then the almonds from the palate turn into lovely notes of (white) chocholate. Nice! The finish is medium-long, but not very strong. Overall: Good combination of being light, but yet characterfull. I don’t pick up the ”saltiness” peaople are talking of (ir perhaps that’s included in the industrial notes). The main drawback of this dram is that it is only bottled at 40% and that it it gives a slightly dilluted feel on the palate, and a not so powerfull finish. I recently had a bottle of OP Noss Head, which I’d say is similar to this one (though less citrussy), but packs more taste at 46%, and is more lively. I still like the 12yr old though and I score it a solid 3.5 (compared to the Noss Head which I scored 3.75). If I would factor in price (which I don’t), the score would be higher, probably 4.0 or 4.25.

Nose: Peat, on the one hand accompanied by a certain citrussy freshness, and on the other hand peppery, slightly sooty notes. Also some fresh hay. And brine. As I continnue to nose it, more medicinal notes emerges, reminicent of a bandaid soaked with rectified/denatured alcohol. Overall, the nose is distinct, but not ”in your face”, and there is a certain lightness to it. Palate: Black pepper, sooty peat, slightly salty licorice. Again some wet bandaids. Not as oily texture as some other classic Islays, and lighter, though still intense. A touch of leather. Some bitterness as well. Finish: The peaty soot and licorice lingers. Some slight bitterness. After a while, a hint of a milk-chocolate tone emerges. Plesant! Overall: On first sniff, this is a very typical Islay, and I could have guessed Ardbeg 10 or Laphroaig 10, (being fairly long ago I tried either). I would maybe hold this one as a bit lighter though, but with the same level of peat (many say it’s less peated, and maybe it is if you try them head-to-head, but it’s definitely a peat-heavy dram). I very much like peated Islay whiskys, and this one is no exception - though I do believe that there are better drams out there in the same price range that offer more compexity and depth. I score this one a solid 3.25 which in my book is a score of a good whisky, but quite far from great.

Picked up in a very practical 4x10cl official taster pack containing this and three other Glenmorianges. More destilleries should do taster packs! Nose: Sweet, dark fruits, dates most prominently. A slight hint of cognac. Creamy coffee notes. Palate: Initially dates, which turns slowly into sweet rum raisin (ice cream). The sweetness grows which each zip. All is coated in a lovely taste of almond oil. The oak is there, but is not bitter. Hints of cinnamon. Finish: The initial finish is (again) sweet almond oil, which then turns into dark chocolate-covered raisins which lingeres. Nice! Some coffey as well. Overall: Works very well and the more I zip the more I enjoy it. Dark, sweet and warm but without any bitterness (which I get from some sherried whiskes). Dates and almondy notes give character. Being a bit on the generous side I score it 4.0 (but it do deserve it). I much prefer this over their sherry finished version Lasanta (which I tasted but did not write any notes on, but probably would score around 3.0).