Tastes

One more stop in our final round, this sample courtesy of @Telex. Never heard of this distillery, but apparently from what I read below from @LeeEvolved , it’s a component used in JW Red. Good...stay there. Nice to try for the sake of trying...but, not worth it otherwise. Thanks Jason for helping to knock one more distillery from our tour.

I was gifted a bottle by some dinner guests last night—-popped it open and shared with the offerings for the night. This is one of those that is designed to please everyone. You can’t go in expecting a whirlwind of complexity or a Lagavulin gut punch. But it’s one of those that when offered to 10 guests last night, all 10 would enjoy. I had this out, along with Lagavulin 2018 Feis Ile, an Oregon Pinot, and a crispy French white. He Lag remained untouched, while this was 1/2empty, and the two wines are fully empty. Shows you the relative scale of where this falls. Meant for the non-scotch /whiskey enthusiast. Very much like a Balvenie 12—-except a bit stronger. Heather and honey, green apples. Cereals, a bit of floral lavender. Not one for the seasoned veteran, but very much a non-gender specific crowd pleaser .

A bonus offering from @Scott_E for our final trading round. The only other Aberlour I’ve had was the Abundah. I actually liked this one better—-less syrupy, a bit more balanced with flavors of fruit and vanilla. Scott provided a generous enough sample where I was able to experiment 1/2 with a single cube of ice, the other neat with just a drop or two of water. Neat is by far more preferred. It retains the sweet fruit backbone, while with ice it brings out a lemon rind bitterness. Skip the ice. Thanks Scott for the pour!

Campbeltown has, for me, become the new Islay. I think there’s more things going right than wrong there. Sure, you get an occasional bad pour, but in general, the Springbanks and it’s brethren puts out pretty good ones at a price that doesn’t involve selling your organs ( hey Macallan...that’s meant for you). I really liked this one, courtesy of my Kardashian wanna-be internet celeb @Telex, as part of the final trading round. Brine, wet tarry rope...palette is similar, but a bit of green forest floor added for good measure. Thanks Jason for the sample!

This one is courtesy of @Scott_E as part of our final sampling round. I don’t know about this one...it has potential, but just too young and rough around the edges. Nose Is slightly briny, slightly oaky, a bit of fruit. But, non-assertive. Palette is similar. Fruity, salty...but, it quite doesnt’ assert itself like it’s other brethren Islanders. If I compare to the other Islanders of equal price: a Talisker 10 and HP 12 have more complexity, assertiveness, and flavor than this one. A Jura has as well, but personally I always found Juras to be the schizophrenic dysfunctional child in that Island group. I always imagined an Islander Christmas office party where Talisker is the brand that’s making printouts of her arse in the copier machine while smoking under a “do not smoke” sign, while HP is the pretty one dressed up as a Viking, Jura is the drunk crazy guy, Arran is trying to be like Talisker but gets chewed out by Human Resources instead, while Tobermory and Scapa are the two wall flowers. Anyway...This is about $45 or so. A Talisker 10 is about $50. If you really want the salty-briny sea air taste of an Islander, this ain’t it...go for the Talisker 10 for a bit of pocket change more. So... I ask the basic question again...why does this particular one exist? Market forces should dictate it be wiped away since better Islanders are there for similar pricing. What do I know...just my two cents.

From my understanding, I think Diageo has these Flora and Fauna series for their ‘ unusual and off-the-beaten track malts’. (If I’m wrong, our resident auditor @Generously_Paul will set me correct). This one is courtesy of @Scott_E as part of our final round in our little tour. Decent nose....sherry influence of dried fruit hits you right away. Palette is where it shines though...a tinge of earthy sooty smoke and dried fruit. Good pour. Would I buy a bottle? Nah. Would I buy at the bar? If I’m curious...but, I’m not curious anymore. So...no. It does though make me curious of other offerings from this distillery, especially a bit older and mainstream. It has good DNA, and I’m sure some more time in quality casks would help. Thanks Scott!

Salted meats and bacon on the nose. Some salty air. The aroma doesn’t quite carry through fully on to the palette. Less bacon, more dark fruits and brine. I only had a pour from a sample I bought from TWE, but nothing about this indicates any desire to run out and buy a bottle. Instead, get the 18 for less, with more complexity and flavor.

Beach aroma of brine and salt water taffy. Taste of citrus, salt, smoked herring. I can smell this all day...especially in this searing 85 degree NJ weather. Reminds me of being at the beach ( or down the shore, as we NJ folks call it). Thanks to @Dreaming-of-Islay for the pour! Really well made.

Darwin’s law at full display again...another closed distillery, another “meh, not worth the price” dram. This was one of my offerings for an optional closed distillery as part of our SDT final round. I’m starting to learn that most of these closed distilleries closed during the economic downturn for a reason...they sucked. It’s like being the worst player on the Golden State Warriors. Sure, you’ll get a championship ring too, courtesy of Curry and team. But, if you get transferred to the Knicks...you’re toast. Same goes for these closed distilleries. During boom times (now), even bad distilleries do well. But, during bust, the bad ones are the first to go. A few exceptions can be made of course ( Brora, Karuizawa, Hanyu), but by large most of the closed distilleries closed in the economic downturn because no one would buy their products when a better one was available at the same price. This one here is just ‘meh’. Typical butter biscuits on the nose, with a follow up of shortbread on the palette. Nothing complex or amazing, as you’d sort of expect when forking over Macallan style cash.

Thanks to @The_Rev for providing a generous pour, I got to try another Tullamore Dew. So far, I’ve had three: loved their 14 yr old, wasn’t fond of their Rum finish, and this one sits nicely in-between. The nose is weak, but the palette is where all the action takes place. The cider provides a nice crispness to the underlying sweet notes; a faint hint of fall...too bad I’m having this in the rainy balmy 85 degree NJ weather. Interesting experiment. Thanks @The_Rev!