Tastes

Thanks to the @The_Rev for the pour. I bought this sample with me to Denver this week, with the intent of having it after a long 14 hour day leading meetings and workshops. I had this neat, but wondering if it does better with a bit of water or ice. Neat—I got strong breakfast cereals, a touch of berries, but couldn’t detect any noticeable wine influence from the Lustau. It’s a mild Irish, was hoping for a stronger wine influence. Decent whiskey, good introduction to a pot still that’s finished in wine.

First off, I need to add the qualifier than I’m a huge Talisker fan boy. It was one of the first whiskies I ever had, and to this day, a Talisker 10 remains one of my favorites. Aside from their recent silly priced 40 yr old, I’ve pretty much collected all the Taliskers—-everything from its 10 to the amazing 27 yr old Diageo special release to its highly acclaimed 2009 30yr old. This sample comes here courtesy from my buddy @LeeEvolved. Ironically, I sold him my Neist Point, but then also received a sample of this, which I’m grateful for since it was my only bottle of Neist Point. Typical briny salty Szechwan pepper nose that you get from any Talisker. But the taste is more subdued and refined than the 10, less than the 18. Salt water toffee and caramel. Layers of salted dark chocolate. I have no idea if this is available in the US, but if it’s priced less than the 18, you can’t go wrong with it. One of the better NAS, alongside Ardbegs two pillars of Corry and Uigi.

Had a pour of this over the weekend while watching Mowgli on Netflix with the kids. Should’ve had something stronger...the damn snake Kaa kept my 6 yr old waking up through the night with nightmares. I never understood Jungle Book. Read it as a kid back in the 5th grade, and in retrospect now, I’m thinking Kipling must’ve been sky high on something. Mowgli wouldn’t have lasted 10 seconds with those wolves and that gimpy spiteful tiger. And why would he have a loincloth around his private parts? Shouldn’t he be buck nekkid like his wolf brothers? Anyhow...this pour, which I bought as a TWE sample, is interesting. The wine is not integrated well at all into the whisky. Feels like having a sooty Cambeltown whisky followed by a shot of red wine. A bit testy on the tongue, with the tannins still there from the wine. Glad I bought a sample...not sure it’s to my liking for a premium on these bottles. Note to self: don’t buy Longrow Red without trying samples first. And don’t let a 6 yr old watch movies with murderous tigers, kidnapping monkeys, and psychotic hyenas.

The thing with professional whiskey reviewers is that you never know where their allegiances lie. And by “professional “, I mean they still have a day job, but blog off-hours. You never know if they were swayed by a couple of free pours, or if they truly are telling like it is. The other thing with them is you have no idea if their taste matches yours. You might like a schmear of ghost pepper hot sauce in your pasta, and the reviewer is averse to a spice level above green bell peppers. Anyhow...one of the ones I do follow regularly is Dave Broom. When he gave this 95 points ( a damn rarity), it sure as hell got me to notice. I can’t find many 95 pointers from him. Of course, law of demand took hold: your ability to get the bottle is inversely proportionate to the square of how hyped it is by a famous reviewer. I was lucky to score a bottle, because literally a minute later, it was listed as sold out. This is simply amazing...I’d say easily now in my top 5 all time. Elegant, layers of flavor coming at you, starting with melted milk chocolate, then dark berries, oranges and finally burnt leather. If you see this one, grab it. Honestly...I’d say the only ones I can remember liking more than this are the Brora and Yamazaki 18. Then again, a fraction of their price too.

My first job out of college was at a big pharma. I was in their R&D rotation program, where we spent 6 months rotating around various facilities. My first six months: I got up every morning, dressed in head to toe overalls and a face mask, and went into a monkey house. Not a monkey house as a place where they joke around. A real monkey house, with rhesus monkeys in cages. While my lab partner held a monkey, wrestling him to prevent it from tearing our eye sockets out, I had to fondle his private parts to make him urinate in a test tube. Times like those you seriously start thinking which f**ked up life choice you made to get you in that position. Where did you take that left turn when you should’ve taken a right? Having a pour of this tonight, I ask a similar question. What the hell possessed me to buy a bottle of this? Not a pour. Not a sip. But a while f**king bottle. Was it because it’s available in Colorado only, and I figured I need to bring back a souvenir from my recent Denver trip? Maybe it was the lure of thinking “ hey, I like honey, so I’m damn f**king sure I’ll like this”. Either way, it was a fallacy in a serious life choice decision making that led me into trying something that smells like a sugared covered plastic, and taste like a gym sock dipped in honey.

Milk and honey my ass. More like varnish and turpentine. I bought a small sample of this more as a curiosity. Israel is known for top 3 in the world for cyber security, artificial intelligence software, and top notch bio-pharma. But whiskey? Maybe not. Has some ways to go before the Scots start worrying about competition. Nose is horrible...like plastic. Taste: bitter, astringent. Some grassy notes, a touch of heat at the finish. My top three worst—-Abhainn Barf 🤮 still rules supreme, followed by this piece of waste, then a young Girvan.

I’m one of those that don’t really follow individuals in sports, just teams in general ( being NJ born and raised, I feel I must align myself to the woeful Jets, Knicks , and once shiny Giants ). Being a Michigan and Purdue alum, Go Wolverines and Boilermakers! I actually had no idea who Connor Gregor is; gotta say I’m just not a follower of whatever fighting sport he does. But what I do know is that if I’m a multi-million dollar prize fighter, I’d want my drink endorsement to be as solid as my punch. And this piss pour dram is a not that. But then again, when I think of powerful whiskies, the likes of Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Yamazaki, Laphroaig, and Amrut come to mind. Those obviously don’t need the celebrity endorsements. So, I had a small pour if this over Thanksgiving, with a emphasis on “small” since I purposely kept room in my thirst rather saved for an Old Forester Birthday bourbon. A mild nose of straw, some green apples. Taste: more of the green apples. A bit tepid. Gentle finish...was expecting a hotter knockout given the endorsement pedigree. Maybe the appropriate endorsement would’ve been some boy band, not a prize fighter. Take a hard pass.

This was the closing pour after hearty Thanksgiving meal this evening, courtesy of my cousin. Ever take a long road trip vacation, through boring countryside that has nothing but grass fields and farm houses, only to end up hours later at a beautiful countryside resort facing gorgeous vistas ? The road trip was then so worth it. This is like that road trip. On first arrival after opening the bottle, it’s a bit too oaky, almost making you think those 12 years in cask must’ve been way too taxing. But, let it sit out for an hour, through your post-dinner conversation. You’re then treated to amazing flavors of caramel, Tabacco, leather. Really well integrated. If you come across this, open and share with family / friends. It’s almost a sin to keep this on the shelf.