Tastes

(Ardbeg parallel tasting of the An Oa, the Uigedail and the Corryvreckan.) The peat isn’t the first thing that explodes in your nose here. The entry makes cherries, red grapes, blackberries, lemons, apples and pineapple cooked in intense honey on a barbecue grill. The peat is a lot more subtle although very flavorful. Later the nose becomes a vanilla marzipan bomb with some floral notes and the peat falls in place much better. Also some chocolate with coffee flavor. Sweet and spicy on the palate with now some nice and slightly oily ashy wooden peat. It is smooth and fruity. The fruit flavors get even more intense and delicious after the first sip. The short finish is very oaky heavy with smoke and a mature bitterness. I like this a lot more than on my first taste some months ago. Impressive how gorgeously placed the peat is here - it is so non-invasive yet omnipresent and it underlines all the nice fruity and vanilla aromas so perfectly. What a great, smooth and intense whisky.

(Ardbeg parallel tasting of the An Oa, the Uigedail and the Corryvreckan.) Subtle yet very characteristic Ardbeg-peat on the nose with the fantastic signature smokiness along strong walnuts, peaches, sweet crackers, harvested grain and straw - all with a fresh breeze of salted sweet smoke. It is light and very delicious on the nose. Equally gentle and non-aggressive on the palate. Due to it liquid viscosity it delights you with a nice but cold ashy barbecue sweetness. Then some granola bars flavors with vanilla along a mild dried fruit mix. It all comes together in a nice warming finish. I really enjoy this one and that is for the very reason that it is in my opinion the most compatible and likable Islay peat whiskies that potentially could be liked by a lot of people who aren’t fond of Islay peat. I crown it the Islay-Peat-Gateway-Dram. Yes, there are a lot more intense and aromatic Ardbegs for sure and even the 10y goes deeper in some regards but I surprisingly don’t really feel like missing something here. I really like it.

Some time ago I promised myself to try to get a pour of every peated Bunnahabhain I can reasonably get my hands on. Reason being that most of the ones I had were just so good. There were some that were just too much for my taste buds but the majority I really enjoyed. Some I purchased afterwards. I also really like their unpeated bottlings. Bunnahabhain is one of my absolute favorite distilleries. Next on the list was the Ceobanach that I got as a sample from @Der-Duesseldorfer. It is in its root a 10 years+ old Moine at 46% ABV and this limited editions name means “smoky mist”. Nose: mild and fruity yet familiar peat, very vibrant, next to the peat the nose is more on the laid back side. There is a cookie-sweetness and salt. You definitely notice that this is bourbon cask maturation only although the typical vanilla isn’t as prominent as expected. Palate: peat like mineral oil and a bid of burned rubber - but very nicely balanced with a fruity vanilla sweetness. Much more salty now. Finish: charred wood and burned sugar with a very nice mix of sweet and brine. A straight forward whisky that doesn’t branch out into exotic flavors. Very honest with a nicely balanced combination of peat, salt and vanilla-sweetness. The nose could be a bid more intense but other than that it is a great whisky. Not as good as the Cruach Mhona but that’s probably because that one comes in 50% ABV and has some additional spices and dark fruits. But if you can’t get that this one here is also a great bottle. Edit: despite what @cascode said I added some few drops of water and for me that actually improved the nose and finish. It became a bid more fumey and the peat got more present on the finish. Got better over all in my opinion.

One of my favorite bottles that I have is a 14y CS single cask Caol Ila from G&MacP. I only had some younger expressions from their core range which weren’t overly remarkable. So I wanted to see what the top of the core line has to offer. Nose: gentle peat, familiar notes of Caol Ila, a bid weak intensity-wise but very delicious, nice creamy vanilla, smooth, some fresh orchard fruits, fresh crispy baguette. Not overly complex but delicious. Palate: dry and lightly smoky, mild with a nice fruity sourness (apple juice), still creamy and smooth, butter-cookies Finish: light ashy peat, still fruity sour with a slight sweetness, great combination of peat, sweet and heat. It feels a bid tamed down with not as much Intensity that one would hope for. The nose and taste itself is very good though. It really looks like Caol Ila is best at cask strength.

This is another whisky I rarely see or read anything about. That made interested in it and so I added it to my sample collection. Nose: really nice. Delicious, smooth and fruity, nice sweet spices, little bid of that familiar highland-honey, loads of fresh vanilla, bubblegum, a good portion of oak wood. Then the fruits take a more prominent place with some creamy strawberries and also a bid of raisins. It is a familiar nose (positively reminds me of Balblair) and really enjoyable. Palate: soft and sweet at first, then a bid more woody, citrusy juices Finish: cotton candy, ripe grapes, needless to say - very sweet - fruity sweet like ice cream. But also a good bid of wood and mild baking spices. All in all I really like it. It is not ultra unique but still is a nice little experience and interesting non the less. The funny thing is even though its sweetness is the most present characteristic it doesn’t feel too sweet. It is well balanced in that regard. Strange this one doesn’t get more attention. I had a lot other whiskies that are all over the place and popular that are for sure not better as this one.

One of the distilleries that didn’t leave a very good impression after a initial tasting some time ago, but that I still intend to like. So another secondary comparison-tasting this time with “the Organic”, the “Islay Barley” and the “Port Charlotte OLC:01”. I know this kinda steps out of the line of the regular Bruichladdich bottlings but I wanted to see if I can find something that the regular expressions have in common with the heavily peated ones - basically to find out if the Bruichladdich signature character is noticeable in those peat-branches as well (Spoiler: for me they don’t) I had the regular PC 10y a few weeks ago but I didn’t like that a lot. So I wanted to see how her bigger sister is performing - and how that OLC Oloroso cask style is working. Nose: a nice and mild peat right up front, then very fruity with dark ripe berries (blackberries, black currant, blueberries), intense and vibrant, oily smoothly sweet, banana peel (with that weird dry bitterness when you bite on it), spearmint, a bid of hard cheese rind, burnt apple, a bid of apple vinegar in fact, the peat is not at all ashy or plasticy - it is clean almost subtle and very delicious (but get more intense after a while). Later (and with a drop of water): smoked fatty salmon with a slightly burned brown sugar crust with berry-apple-jam, cherry juice, the nose gets even better a bid into the dram Palate: with it 55% ABV a hot opening, then intensely sweet, fresh dry wood, the peat dominates. Later: sour prickly candy that accidentally were barbecued Finish: surprisingly short and mild, oily sweet and only a bid of peat smoke, which gets a lot stronger yet not unpleasant at all later. Really enjoyable dram. Nicely balanced for sure. Not too sweet and yet really rich. The peat really suits it BUT I really can’t make out any base Bruichladdich in it at all - it is in fact completely different. Islay? Yes for sure. But definitely unique.

One of the distilleries that didn’t leave a very good impression after a initial tasting some time ago, but that I still intend to like. So another secondary comparison-tasting this time with “the Organic”, the “Islay Barley” and the “Port Charlotte OLC:01”. Nose: pineapple, tomato juice, barley whole grains, a recurring Bruichladdich style but with very different additional aromas, banana, almost minty, some fresh honey as well, herbs, milky chocolate, water melon, smooth and sweet, cola, interesting & intriguing. Later: condensed milk, even sweeter. Palate: sharp and hot at first, but that gives way to a lingering sweetness that also has a smoky note. On the second sip the heat and burn is kinda gone and it gets more malty sweet. Finish: a soft herbs- and spices-mix (including an interesting and quite present laurel / bay leaf taste ... very nice), and really a smokey after taste I like it. I mean it feels young for sure but that fresh intensity and very interesting sub-notes on the nose and palate are really interesting which makes for a diverse experience.

One of the distilleries that didn’t leave a very good impression after a initial tasting some time ago, but that I still intend to like. So another secondary comparison-tasting this time with “the Organic”, the “Islay Barley” and the “Port Charlotte OLC:01”. Nose: light and delicate at first, but after you let the nose dive in it quickly surprises with some nice deeper aromas that to my liking weren’t overly sweet as they were at first. It also presents itself with some creamy chocolate, fresh sour berries, fresh figs, marzipan with raw vanilla, cut apple. Later: cherries dipped in chocolate, fresh pie, strawberries, toasted wheat bread. Palate: nice and simple, fruity dry, then it gets more sweeter but remains nicely balanced, most of the aromas from the first nosing are directly applied to the palate as well - nice. Finish: warming, still quite one-sided but indeed nice. Over all transparent flavors right from the get-go where the nose directly introduces what you get on the palate and finish. It is clean, fresh, malty, nicely balanced. Not complicated or overly complex but strong in its convincing features. Likable and pleasant for sure. Definitely worth a try because it for sure has character.

Another whisky that made me curious because it is nearly completely unknown. Nose: raspberry jam, cherries, malty, saw dust, ripe strawberries, a bid like hamster food (that dry mix of pellets, grain flakes, dried fruit ...), cold coffee, peaches, bid of vanilla. I not gonna lie - it is a bid weird and unusual, but that I find interesting. Palate: light, sweet and fruity, fruit-kernels, it has a strange funky note that is noticeable on the nose as well - I’m not sure what that is but I never had that in any whisky before except for Campbeltown - it in fact reminds me of Springbang. It also has some charred smokiness. Finish: nice balance of sweet, sour, dry and bitter. It is a curious whisky that I think could work really well with some peat to it. But it also is nicely drinkable like this and has some nice depths and is really unique. I like that. An interesting experience for sure.

Nose: very aromatic and full, bright and juicy. It has nuts, sweetened herbal fruit tea, buttered shortbread, bright grains, milk chocolate, cooked plums. It is very clean and honest while also being intense and deep. Palate: dry and spicy in the beginning, then herbs again, pineapple, raisin Finish: hot, dry and fresh wood, then slightly bitter, cucumber peel (weird), further in a strong burned wood / charred mouth coat I don’t know. It feels kinda unfinished. Still nice though. The nose I like the most. But the taste also has quite a strong alcohol burn which is a bid off-putting. Generally not smooth at all. But as mentioned very honest and saturated.