Tastes

In honor of World Whisky Day instead of going all out with something I know is amazing, I decided to give two distilleries a second attempt that didn’t convince me in the first place. Namingly Wolfburn first and Kilchoman on the second dram. From both I had samples before but they just didn’t click with me. So here we go. The sample I have here is the Sanaig Dark Batch which is basically the same as the regular one but (compared to pictures I found ) it is way darker. It has a hazelnut red-brown color. Nose: Uhhh - very pleasant peat that comes along smooth and almost warm-feeling. It is thick and full and very creamy. Underneath the peat there is brown nuts, fresh pie, herbal and sweet cough juice, mixed dried fruits (“energy balls” without chocolate), unripe sour black berry, smoked salty fatty food, a little bid of rubber and salty licorice as well. This is actually the first whisky I had that is literally mouth-watering. That maybe just situational but hey - it’s the first time I noticed that in a whisky tasting, so I thought it is worth mentioning. Palate: peat, smoke, saltiness and a enveloping caramelly sweetness. This is nice - really nice. It is like dipping a maple-syrup cured fried bacon in ginger-apple compote that has some chili bits in it. It becomes more sweet and fruity over time. What a lovely dram. Even my girlfriend who doesn’t drink whisky liked a sip I shared with her. What a step-up from that special Netherlands release I had some time ago that I didn’t like. I think I will try to get a sample of the Loch Gorm you guys seem to like as well and then decide on which one goes onto my shelf. Such a nice, rich, deep and intense relaxing evening dram.

In honor of World Whisky Day instead of going all out with something I know is amazing, I decided to give two distilleries a second attempt that didn’t convince me in the first place. Namingly Wolfburn first and Kilchoman on the second dram. From both I had samples before but they just didn’t click with me. So here we go. This Wolfburn is a small batch and was just released some short while ago along their other still very young bottlings. The nose starts off very shy but nosing it for a while and more deeply presents some really nice aromas. There is a mild but flavorful fruitiness. I get jelly bananas (if you are familiar with this typical German candy), red currant, crispy vanilla cookies and honeyed apples. I already like it a lot more than I remember the Wolfburn flagship Northland that I had some months ago. The palate arrives quite intense and is actually really nice. I mean yes it has a mouth-coating alcoholic strengt in form of a ginger burn to it from the young age but that doesn’t feel out-of-place at all. But the actual tastes are sweet peaches, ginger as well, nutmeg, crackers, wine gummy and a whole bunch of vanilla and fresh ground whole-grains. The finish is surprising really. Quite long and intense with some very interesting flavor transitions which I can’t really grasp but that remind me of an underage Springbank. The nose gets better while drinking and the whole dram forms to a really enjoyable experience. I am very positively surprised which is what I was hoping for. I will keep my eyes on this interesting distillery for some future releases that were given a couple more years to mature. Recommended and I think I will get a bottle of this one to remind me that Wolfburn has probably a lot of potential in the next years. A very nice dram for today’s occasion.

Where the “regular” 24y Ancnoc didn’t really convince me, I wanted to see how this distillery performs with some added peat. After lots of different whiskies I realized that I not only like peated whiskies more but they also got way higher scores than unpeated ones for me. The nose of this NAS from the Knockdhu Distillery opens up with a charming peat that is labeled as 40 ppm so somewhere in the medium range. It definitely is not aggressive at all but presents itself more like smores / burnt marshmallows that are dipped in a vanilla-orange marmalade. It is simple but rich if you give it some time. I must say I really like it. On the palate it remains more laid back with a slight red pepper burn but stays sweet like whole grain cookies. The wood is there. The smoke is there. The bourbon cask flavor is there. Everything well combined to create a simple yet nice and likable easy sipper. I wanted to say that I miss complexity, intensity and a more interesting finish but then I realized that this whisky isn’t trying to offer an multi-layered experience like that - it just offers a nice peated, young, sweet and also wood characterized evening dram. And that it does properly. I like it for that reason and makes me interested in peated ancnoc whiskies with a bid more age and finesse.

Initially it wasn’t too great on the nose but after some time it became really pleasant. Raisins and prunes, apricots, peaches, cotton candy, plum jam, cinnamon, citrus. Very nice. Arrival on the palate is strong and intense. Very rich and deep. The oak comes through quite intensely. While the palate is really sweet it isn’t very sticky and goes down easily with a peppery burn. There also is almonds and floral notes. All in all a very enjoyable whisky. Had higher expectations after the 12y but it is a tad better. It is quite strong and intense on the alcoholic burn though. The nose is definitely its strong suit but the palate is also really satisfying. I’m missing a bid complexity and variety. It is straight forward but with just a few different layers.

So delicious, so different to what I know, so sweet, so balanced, so rich and deep, lots of caramel and a bid of smoke from the toasted barrels, fresh whipped cream, lots of floral aromas (blossoming orchard trees). You have to try a Nikka like this. It really is something else. This one here is a blend so I guess you get similar notes from other Nikkas as well. It also isn’t expensive but as far as I know it is discontinued - so grab a bottle now if you can. You won’t regret it. My 500 ml bottle has maybe 10% content remaining and I must say it really improved over time for me. If there would be a peated version of this it would probably easily go over 4.0 ... this one as it is an easy 3,75 in my rating span. Some interesting off-notes is tomato and medium cooked breakfast egg that is cut open. Unusual but a somewhat interesting addition to the palette.

Nose: very sweet, ripe white grapes, white chocolate, fresh summer honey, rhubarb, lemonade and somehow the smell you get from a fresh drafted IPA. Palate: chocolate butter, malty, sour candy, the fresh and fruity sweetness is well surrounded by a nice oak-wood maturity that adds a delicate bitterness that brings it together quite nicely. In the end there is also oranges, roasted hazelnuts and almonds. Enjoyable, different, not as light as one might expect, quite intense and rich with a medium alcoholic burn at the right level.

This whisky is exactly what you expect from its name - but the light version. There is nothing special to report from the nose - you get standard bourbon cask notes of tanin fueled oak with vanilla. The smell is in fact kinda rich but the palate sadly disappointed me. It is watery at the beginning and becomes bitter right after. Not the nice bitterness you get from interesting cask but an unpleasant one. It actually tastes like a whisky you accidentally poured to much water in. I didn’t even finish my 4cl sample, what’s really sad because I was really looking forward to trying a Glenrothes whisky for about a year. I will get back to this distillery sometimes in the future but then with some more mature and more interesting cask style. 2.0 because the nose was enjoyable.

Cold fruity peat on the nose, intense but not too strong or overwhelming. Cinnamon, milk chocolate, tin canned fruit cocktail, in fact really quite metallic - all in all really nice and smooth. The palate arrives sweet and bitter - only after a short while it become slightly alcoholic and then on the long finish sweet and sour. There is licorice (not the sweet kind) and barbecue sauce. The general taste is briny and fruity sweet with a very mature and prominent peat. Quite an interesting dram. For my personal taste it is a bid to rough around the edges but I can definitely see how it appeals to Lagavulin fans. But that’s the thing - I reckon you need to be a fans of this very unique taste to fully admire it. I personally can’t really approach it - I like the initial nose and and the first arrival but in the end the whole experience is a bid to bitter and the peat style isn’t for me. Too smokey and cold ash-flavored. While it is deep and rich I miss complexity and unity - everything floats away from each other.