Tastes

I know I’m not the only one who gets Glenfiddich and Glenlivet mixed up from time to time, at least when speaking. And the fact that they come from the Speyside region doesn’t help. I just tasted the Glenlivet 12, so It’s only appropriate to have the Glenfiddich 12 to follow up. The nose is sea salty with yeast roll, pear, light apple, light vanilla, black pepper and light malt. The palate is sweet, robust (considering the abv) and slightly oily with apples and pears, some nice oak spice, rich malt, The finish is on the shorter side of medium with lingering malt, vanilla and light oak. I am very impressed with this one. Very rich for the abv and it kept me interested. On a side note, after just having the Glenlivet 12 right before this one, I can say the Glenfiddich 12 is much more full bodied and robust of a speyside single malt, though the finish is a little shorter.

The nose is sweet and pretty with pears, lemon citrus, malt, freshly baked bread, vanilla and light black pepper. The palate is sweet and light bodied with pear, some pepper spice, malt and a light nuttiness. The finish is medium with some nice pear and decent spicy pepperiness lingering. A fairly balanced and tasty single malt, especially for the price. No wonder why it’s such a staple. Nothing super interesting here, but enjoyable.

I’ll be honest, this is the first highland park I have tried. I have heard great things about them. Let’s see what it’s about. The nose is bright and a little sweet with citrus (orange and some lemon), hint of dried apricot, light malt and peat. The palate is sweet and juicy with citrus, light apple, vanilla, malt, some pear, and lightly toasted almonds and a hint of some jalapeño pepper spice on the back of the palate. The finish has lingering vanilla and malt. The spiciness on the back of the palate continues until the end of a medium finish. A nice refreshing whiskey with some interesting aromas, I just wish it was a higher abv.

I’m not expecting anything crazy, but it’s always good to build a frame of reference. In this case, it’s blended scotch. The nose is sweet and lightly fragrant with some light peat, juicy pears and red apples, light malt, vanilla and some corn (spirit). The palate is sweet and light with light peat, malt vanilla, pear, corn spirit and a little cayenne pepper on the back of the palate. The finish is medium in length with sweet vanilla and a hint of peat hanging on with a tingling of cayenne pepper. For a standard blended whiskey, this one actually surpassed my expectations. It’s just interesting enough to enjoy sipping. A solid budget blended scotch.

I’ve been venturing out of my bourbon comfort zone lately and have been mixing it up. Time for another basic blended Irish whiskey. The nose is light and sweet with pear, lime citrus, some floral notes, light nuttiness with some light malt. The palate is sweet and light with vanilla, a light maltiness, and a nutty note. The finish is short with an initial burst of the notes form the palate, with a memory of vanilla. Nothing special here. Just a very light, non complex, easy sipping Irish whiskey. It might be slightly more interesting than standard Jameson.

Alright, so after jumping head first into heavily peated single malts like Lphroaig 10, I’m finally getting to this one. I’m so excited! The nose is fairly salty, and definitely smokey and a little sweet. The peaty/smoke note is slightly medicinal/iodine, but mostly rich, charred brisket roasted over a smoldering campfire. Underneath the intense smoke you can find some vanilla and citrus. The palate is slightly silky and very smokey, like a very charred wood type of smoke and ash. There is some pear, vanilla and charred bbq brisket. The finish is long with the same charred wood smoke from the palate that lingers. There is a touch of vanilla that comes and fades quickly, with the smoke surpassing it. And then a cayenne spiciness comes out until the end. Wow, I am very impressed! I really enjoyed the Laphroaig 10 year and really enjoy this one did not disappoint. It’s hard to say which one I like better, but this one is definitely on the more savory side where the Laphroaig is a little cleaner smoke, if that makes any sense.

And now for some blended Irish whiskey... The nose is light and fairly sweet with vanilla, toasted almonds, light apple juice, malt and a slight pepperiness. The palate is sweet and a little juicy with more apple juice, malt, light oak, corn (spirit), and freshly cracked black pepper. The finish is short with lingering sweet vanilla. Very nice and easy blended Irish whiskey.

This is the 43%abv version available in the US. The nose is sweet but on the dry side and has citrus (orange and lemon), as I would expect from something with orange in the name. Jokes aside, there is also pear, honey, some pretty floral notes, light nuttiness, ginger with some malt underneath. The palate is sweet and creamy with a decent amount of malt, peppery spiciness, some citrus, vanilla and a light nuttiness. The finish is on the shorter side of medium, with a burst of peppery spice, then moves to sweet vanilla. Fairly enjoyable and pretty single malt with enough going on, especially considering the abv.

Alright, now that I’ve jumped in head first into peated and non-peated scotches (I’m a bourbon fanatic), it’s time to check out some Japanese whiskeys. I’ve had a few, but none of the Nikka’s, until now... The nose is sweet and spicey with dried fruit (raisins, apricots), apple, malt, some smoke, vanilla, lightly dusty wood, and paprika spice. The palate is sweet, oily, spicey and rich. There is malt, dried fruit, vanilla, caramel, spicey peppers, dusty wood and black pepper. Maybe it’s the power of suggestion, but I do get a unique rich tingling sensation on the very baaack of the palate that might suggest the unami sense. The finish is long with initial pop of smoke, then malt, slight saltiness, then lingering pepper spices and vanilla. This one is very good from the start and just keeps evolving after each sip. I am very impressed! And the abv is great and what I am used to in bourbon. Would definitely recommend if you enjoy malt whiskies or whiskey in general and want to try something a little more unique.

After diving into some party Islays, I thought I’d give this non-Islay peated one a try. The nose has some nice salty sea spray with a decent amount of peat, which I break down into slightly medicinal (iodine) as well as the smokiness you would get from a charred brisket cooked over a fire. Underneath that there is a peppery spiciness, an earthy maltyness, vanilla and some dried fruit like raisin, orange. The palate is salty sweet with plenty of peat. Sorry, had to do a little rhyme there! But seriously, some very nice peat smoke, even more peppery spiciness than the nose, malty, vanilla, hints of raisin. More of a juicy mouthfeel. The finish is long and fairly spicey, peaty and malty. The peat lingers on for quite a while past the other notes. Man, what a great whiskey, especially for the price! Peat lovers and the peat curious alike will enjoy this.