Tastes
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Green Spot Chateau Montelena Single Pot Still
Single Pot Still — Ireland
Reviewed December 24, 2023 (edited March 28, 2024)Alas, we have arrived at the end of this years journey. And fortunately, it ends on a good note. Green Spot delivers a very interesting yet enjoyable drink here. First thing that hits the nose is a load of Citrus Zest, with some White Pepper that gives it a bit of a bite, and a sweet yet a bit sour note of Raspberries. And for some reason a dose of Nail Polish that I do not like. No idea where that one comes from. The taste starts of with Raspberries coated in dark chocolate, some brown sugar and cinnamon cookies, and a layer of salted butter. On fresh baked bread. Quite sweet but balanced by a certain earthy, bread like quality. Interesting combination. Also, I am a sucker for salted butter (you barely find it here), so that is always a treat. The aftertaste is very Nougat like, with some very distinct bread and malt notes. Linger for a decent while. It's been fun. I still have a couple dozen samples sitting around, so I will return occasionally, and whenever I open a new bottle. That's my plan for the next year, until Advent comes again, then we will repeat this. At least I hope I can find 24 samples that I haven't written a note on yet. I wish y'all Merry Christmas. Have a good time, enjoy yourselves, and have a dram. Cheer folks.55.0 EUR per Bottle -
Del Maguey Tobalá Mezcal
Mezcal Joven — Oaxaca, Mexico
Reviewed December 23, 2023 (edited December 24, 2023)The second Mezcal. I dreaded this day. It is not as bad as the last one, but it will never become a drink would order voluntarily. The nose is a very strong Banana with the usual Ashtray and some Black Currants. While I do not mind smoke in my drinks, I do hate that particular old cigarette smell. I mean yes, I smoke myself - pipes only - but even that ash smells different. It is just that smell of "somebody smoked in here yesterday and did not open any windows afterwards" that I hate with a passion, and that keeps me from enjoying Mezcal. Because the other notes are rather nice. Taste is ok. Ash, a lot of it, some Apricots and Honey, with a bit of vanilla. Not quite as in your face as the last Mezcal I tried, but if you need to go to this price class to get that, I'd rather stick with scotch. There is also no aftertaste whatsoever. Down it goes, bit sweet, gone. Unimpressed. All in all, not my world. I would drink it if somebody bought a round, but I would never order it.115.0 EUR per Bottle -
Oh boy. I might be on an Islay trip, because this one blows the Macallan from before out of the water, and an 18 Year old Age Statement whisky for - on sale - under 100 bucks?....I might have just ordered a bottle. This one is weird. Really weird. Not nearly as peaty or smoky as other Islay that I enjoy, and with a lot of very, very confusing notes that I do not get all that much, especially on the nose. We start with some light ash, then there is a certain salty spike that is very different from your usual sea-salt notes. It goes more in the direction of pink Himalaya stone salt (yes, they all smell and taste different. I have 3 salt mills on my desk, and I like to east salt raw, without anything else, to get the different flavor...I might be the weird one here). There is also a very distinct vegetable note, most similar to green bell peppers freshly cut. And for some reason, fried tofu.....and I only recognize this because I had that for the first time this Monday. Very, very weird, unique, and interesting nose profile. And the taste continues to be weird, but with a bit more familiar notes. Creamy, salted caramel, grilles, slightly charred peppers (bell peppers or even some light chilis like jalapeno), creamy vanilla pudding, but all without a lot of sweetness. There is also a hint of cinnamon in here, and everything held together by a slight, yet definitively present peat smoke layer. A somewhat drying, salty and smoky aftertaste that stays for what feels like an eternity, but never gets too extreme. Another contender for the top 5 Islay. I have a bottle of the Bowmore 12 that I already liked, but it feels like Bowmore somewhat gets overshadowed by the 3 Dark Cults (Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin) and even Port Charlotte to some extend. Shame on one hand, good on the other since it means there older Whiskies are not priced to hell and back already. 2 more to go till Christmas. One Mezcal, and a Green Spot Variant. Good times.110.0 EUR per Bottle
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Macallan Rare Cask Batch No. 2 (2018 Release)
Single Malt — Highland, Scotland
Reviewed December 22, 2023Well, couldn't do my notes yesterday since I just came home from work and pretty much crashed into my bed, and even though I am not much for Highlands these days, this Macallan deserves some time an relaxation to taste, so that is why we are doing it today together with todays offering a bit later (and I am very happy that they are in the order they are). This one is a fine offering, but honestly, for that price, it better be. Not that you can actually find the 2018 anywhere these days. The nose is ripe with baking spices and fruit. Mostly plums and similar, with a good heap of cinnamon and other spices in that general direction. Also a lot of brown sugar. This would make for a tasty dessert too. It is very fruit forward on the taste. Plums, cherries, chocolate covered raisings, all will still having a slight spice bite too it so it never becomes too sweet. There is also the Vanilla that I didn't get on the nose, and a very heavy cream layer. All in all, a very solid example of what a Highland Malt should be. The aftertaste is warming fruits and spices and stays for a decent while. Excellent. Honestly, if this was I'd say up to 100-150 bucks I might consider it. Not for that price though. But it was soo worth at least tasting it once. And now to relax with the last few sips of this before moving on to the next one....we are going to Islay boys!500.0 EUR per Bottle -
Port Charlotte SC:01 2012
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed December 20, 2023 (edited December 22, 2023)Oh boy, here we go. Just yesterday I had my neighbor over and he wanted to try something that would kick his ass. I had 3 open bottles for that...The Classic Laddie, Laphroaig 10 and Lagavulin 16. He described the Laddie as "floral and interesting", and I can see that in the Port Charlotte as well (he ended up hating the Laphroaig, and drinking half a bottle of Lagavulin 16. Good for me, I do not like Lagavulin, that bottle needed to get more empty). I had a bit of the Laddie as well, so it might still be in the back of my head when I was trying the Port Charlotte, and as much as I like Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte just takes the Cake. Now I rally want to open that bottle of the normal 10 on my shelf. On the nose, there is this almost hard to catch spike of warm, freshly baked brioche. Slightly sweet, slightly bready. And then the peat hits you in the face. Seaweed, Salt, Peppercorn. The gang is here. On the taste it starts out surprisingly light. Honeyed oats, zero ethanol burn, hints of Basil and Sesame, just a bit of salt, some nuts that I cannot put, somewhere between almonds, hazelnuts and maybe cashews, but those tend to be sweeter. Not quite as dark as walnuts. Macadamia maybe? There is also some wood and leather in here. I like me some leather. Aftertaste is a bit on the bitter side, with some light sweetness coming through every now and then, and some char. Lasts an eternity. So, yeah, Port Charlotte may have the chance to kick Laphroaig off the first spot of my favorite Islays. We will see.100.0 EUR per Bottle -
Zacapa. Decent Rum, all in all. I do like the standard Solera. More than this here actually, especially considering the price. You get a nice bottle here, true, but the contents are not that much better than the cheaper standard version. It is by no means a bad sipper, but it also is nothing special. Nose is mostly baking spices, vanilla, molasses and a hint of coffee beans. Typical fare for Rum. Pretty middle of the road actually. Taste is rather similar, with a bit more of a wood hint, some dark chocolate and more vanilla. It is not as sweet as the Solera if I remember correctly. Zacapa has a bit of a reputation for being a sugar bomb. This, not so much. More emphasis on cinnamon in here too. Coffee has been replaced by the chocolate. Short, sweet, oaky aftertaste. It gives me a warm feeling in my stomach, but that could also be heartburn if I am honest (you try sitting in an office for 10 hours without anything to do and not down a couple packages of chips....salt and vinegar flavor, my new weakness....). All in all, a nice sipper, but I would not pay 120 bucks for that.120.0 EUR per Bottle
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Ah, Japan. I was once really into japanese Whiskies, but the prices and the marketing trickery they started to pull put me off that category for the most part. I mainly stick to Scotland and Ireland now (hell, even Bourbon is down to a minimum thanks to how hard it has become to get decent Bourbon for a decent price), as God intended. But I could not resist a Mizunara Cask. Mizunara was all the hype for a while, and I never got the chance to try it (mainly because Samples stopped being a thing and I am not spending 3 digits on a bottle I may or may not like). Today I am going to correct this. The nose is interesting, very strong Caraway up front, with some subtle Vanilla and general Bread notes all over it. Not sweet at all, just bready and savory. Taste is also not what I expected. For 48% it kicks quite a bit, usually I have no trouble with anything below 50%, but this one is a bit punchy. Not bad or too much to handle, just noticeable. Probably the source of the black pepper I get, together with the usual vanilla and bread notes, but also some oats, specifically in the form of porridge. That is not something I get very often. May be the Mizunara? Not entirely sure how that effects things. There is also this...you know when you warm up milk and let it sit for a bit, you get this solid milk skin on top? That is what I am tasting. And I love it. Was gonna say homemade pudding, but it ain't sweet enough for that. Sadly, it falls of very quickly. Some vanilla, and gone. Also, considering price and everything, I cannot really rate it any higher, but it is a very interesting drink to explore. Might need to try a few more Mizunara Cask expressions to get a better understanding, but I like what I see here. It is weird, but still familiar. Japanese Whisky in a nutshell.100.0 EUR per Bottle
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Port Askaig 8 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed December 17, 2023 (edited December 19, 2023)Port Askaig. Couldn't get my hands on the 100 proof variant, but this is a nice introduction. The nose does not really do it for me though. Vanilla, shoe polish and sour, spoiled milk. There is an unpleasant sour note in here that I cannot fully place that I do not appreciate. The taste on the other hand is very nice. Cereal, honey, some herbal influences every now and then, bit of salt and various other spices, and most confusingly, chocolate. Dark, deep chocolate, maybe with a bit of orange in there? I can see how upping the proof might benefit this one. Not bad, not bad at all. It has potential. I need to try the 100 too. Sweet, cereal, honey chocolate aftertaste that actually lingers for a while. It almost reminds me of Glenfarclas 105 for some reason, but with a bit more spice from the peat (at least I remember that one being a chocolate bomb, it has been a while).45.0 EUR per Bottle -
Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt
Single Malt — Ireland
Reviewed December 16, 2023 (edited December 18, 2023)Back to the emerald Island. With peat this time. That doesn't always work out very well....looking at you Connemara....but Teeling actually managed to pull it off. This whisky is undeniably Irish. It has all the buttery biscuity hallmarks of that, but it also adds some spice that you do not usually find in this category. Very well balanced spice. The nose gives a whiff of vanilla with some baking spices, some grass notes and something that reminds me either of gingerbread or speculoos cookies (I have no idea if that is correct....I had to google what Spekulatius is called in english). Oddly fitting for this time of the year. The taste gets a bit more complex, while still having the buttery, creamy, vanilla and biscuit base that I so adore in the Irish, while adding a bit more. Pepper, and...a slightly burned edge of a cake in the baking tray. You know, the thinner outer edged that get a bit hard, burned and crispy while the rest of the batter remains soft. Also known as "the best part of the whole damn thing". That's what I am getting here, it wouldn't be half as good without the slightly bitter charred burned taste that the peat provides here. Aftertaste is of medium length with mostly vanilla sweetness and some spice pops every now and then. This is better than I expected, would not be opposed to a bottle in my collection.45.0 EUR per Bottle -
The Lost Explorer Mezcal Espadín
Mezcal Joven — Oaxaca, Mexico
Reviewed December 15, 2023 (edited December 16, 2023)And now for something completely different. I tried a few Mezcals, but I am not very experienced with it, so take the rating with a grain of salt. Because I absolutely hate this. Not is straight up cold old ashtray. And onions. Think kebab from the evening before for breakfast but worse. Bit of a fruity sweetness in there, true. I could get used to the smell honestly, it is a very different kind of smoke than peat, but it is not too bad. The taste on the other hand.... Some ash, some vanilla....it tastes like somebody poured a cold cup of strong black tea or coffee into a used ashtray, swirled it around a bit, and that is what I am drinking. I can even smell the old wet paper from the cigarettes.... Bitter, slightly sweet aftertaste that is thankfully rather short. Yeah, Mezcal might not be for me. I have one other in the mix, maybe that will work better for my preferences. For now, I need a light, sweet palette cleanser.....Ardbeg will do.60.0 EUR per Bottle
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