Tastes

I opened this bottle to share over Thanksgiving. Being a liter helps with having a few extra folks over too. I've had the Morangie Signet before, which I loved. And the Nectar D'or which I really didn't like...so was hoping this would be somewhere in between. Nose is a bit phenolic at first, but let it breathe. You'll soon find almonds and chocolate. That nut cocoa combo carries over to the palette, adding a bit of vanilla and oolong tea as well. Not abaialable in the US (yet), but if it does become available, it's worthwhile VFM ($75 for a liter). Not up there with the Signet, but better in my opinion than Lasanta, Nectar, or their core 12

I'm a sucker for Island malts...something about their salty, briny, yet sweet profile. This reminds me a lot of the 10, but a bit younger and sharper. I'm getting the 10, but less of everything in there. Less of the salt and brine, less of the smoke and sea air. But what I'm getting more of is a fruit forward profile. Rather curious of the marketing strategy behind the name "Storm ". Not really stormy, rather a fruitier 10. Thanks to Scott for the generous sample!

Had this at the hotel bar last night here in Delhi. It was my one of only two free choices here (other being Chivas 12). First of all, I'm astonished that at a five star hotel, the bartender took an ounce of this, loaded it with ice, and topped it off with water. Good thing I didn't order the Macallan 25 sitting on the tops shelf. I really didn't rate any stars on it, would've been unfair with this being overloaded with water. But I was able to tell just enough that in the 5 JWs I've had, I'd rank this bottom. For me, it's still Green, followed by Island Green, then a far far far third as Blue,Platinum, and Black as dead last.

My third day here in Delhi, and tonight wanted to give this a shot. They offer free wine, local beer, JW Black and Chivas 12 for happy hour. Not sure anything happy about this though. I had maybe a 50ml shot neat. Nose is orchard fruits...apples and pears. I couldn't detect any smoke or peat despite being dried with peat. Just fruits. But in my opinion, just falls apart in the palette--way too thin and really not like a whisky at all. I think it's meant as a mixer, and not to sip neat. I hated the finish... bitter sour apples. I'd not bother buying a bottle.

I'm at the Frankfurt airport en route to Dubai for business, and I just bought a sample of this. If you like JW Green, you'll love JW Island Green. Apparently from what the sales guy here tells me, it's got much more Caol Ila than Green. Apparently the Green had 2 speysiders, Talisker and Caol Ila. This has replaced a Speysider with a Lowlander and a Island with a Highlander. ( why call it Island then? There's no Islanders here?). Really well made, and I'll surely be picking up a bottle on the way back. ( apparently only sold in Europe and travel retails).

I had a sample of this on Sunday night, purchased through my travels, in one of the small 5cl sizes. I just hate the opaque marketing strategy in this: " we wont' tell you the age, or the cask type, or anything at all but after purchase, you can go to our website and find out". I'm either too jaded or just too flippant at this point to do that. Which is why I only bought a sample and not the whole bottle...curious enough, but not too curious to bother with that opaque marketing. That be said...this is pretty good. I so wanted to hate this, just to stick it to the marketing, but I actually liked it. It's honey, honey, and more honey. Specifically...Slovenian Radovljica honey made from the linden tree. Yes. Really. I remember I loved it so much, I bought some back from Ljublana (side note: one of the cutest small cities you can go to!). The palette is more honey, followed by cinnamon and mint. But, emphasis again on honey. I'm not going to bother with the website or getting a full bottle (just out of spite), but if I were to venture a guess...I'd say first fill bourbon barrels, aged around 15 years.

There was a time when New Zealand had a few distilleries. All were then dismantled, with the equipment then sold to make rum in Fiji. I'm a bit conflicted towards this particular one. I actually bought it when I was on vacation in Australia and NZ. These bottles are a rarity now, since it's from a closed distillery. So...I finally wanted to open it this year, specifically this past Saturday for my birthday. Every year, I try to open a special bottle on either mine or my wife's bday. But---I'm conflicted in giving this a 3 Star rating because you really are tasting a piece of history, despite maybe not being up to par with some of its other down-under brethren from either NZ or Aus. Nose is sweet and caramel-y. On the palette, you get the full force of the wine cask. Red wine, specifically port. Even though the casks used were French red wine, I'm getting Portuguese tawny. It's definitely worthwhile to try if you ever spot it in the wild, since it's a rare piece of history, but...it's no Port Ellen , Karuizawa or Brora. What it is instead is a taste of a bygone era, and instead of ratings, just enjoy it for that. ( side note---add water...else it's just too winey). EDIT 11/27: I retasted this over the weekend. I stand corrected....this time I let it "breathe" for a while, close to 15 minutes, and added plenty of ice. It really opens up the aromas and flavors. I taste oranges, roasted nuts, and cloves. It's amazing the difference if you let it rest out in the glass and add sufficient ice.

I never knew of Tomintoul; I'm sure I passed by it a dozen times and saw it on the shelf as well, but was kinda blind to it. It's too bad, cause it's actually quite good. It's not the complex deep thinking dram like a Brora or a kick-in-your-teeth like a cask strength Laphroaig, but it's a simple,down-to-earth everyday dram that you can pour on any given day. You get a mild taste of honey, peaches,and caramel. This kind of reminded me of a Dalwhinnie 15---understated elegance. Scott: thank you for introducing me to this, and the generous sample!!

I don't get it. This is now discontinued, but it's so damn good...what business sense does that make? Are they running short of 16's? I normally just have a dram on Friday and one on Sunday (Walking Dead day, Game of Thrones day, or the Giants and Jets get a whoop-ass day, depending on the season!) , but Scott send over a few samples this evening...and I couldn't resist. Thank you Scott!! I love Islanders. Something about that sea smell, briny taste, and salty finish. I really liked this one for encompassing those salty elements. My first Scapa...need to now try more...thanks again to Scott!