Tastes

Went shopping today, and this is one of the 2 bottles I got for myself. Always had an eye on it, but 70 bucks was too much for my taste, luckily I got a few 25% discount stickers today, that makes the price bearable. To be fair, after tasting it, hell yeah I'd pay 70 bucks for it. On the nose you get raisins and honey with some vanilla cream and a touch of burnt sugar. Taste is honey, raisins, vanilla, a touch of banana with brown sugar and after a while some dried, candied pineapple. Sweet, but not overly so. Aftertaste is honeyed barley with hints of sugar and pineapple. For a Rum lover this stuff is amazing. So far, Balvenie hasn't failed me yet, the 21 year old port barrel is way up on my list. Now I'm going to enjoy the rest of this glas before I try the second one....a whisky I'm actually a bit scared of....Ardbeg 10. See ya in a bit.

Another japanese Whisky, this time one I enjoy. The nose is red apples with honey, some vanilla, and a bit of cereals. Taste is slightly sweet, honey, butter biscuits and cereals. Aftertaste is of medium length and very buttery. No smoke or anything like that in this whisky, it's rather nice and friendly. Bur for the price it's definatly worth a shot.

My dad surprised me with a bottle of this that he had bought about 30 years ago. It might not be the best whisky, but it sure as hell deserves a spot on my shelf for that alone. Nose is grapes, bit of honey and some vanilla. The taste is very bitter, with a bit of honey, a ton of grassy notes and some cinnamon sprinkled over it. Aftertaste is short and bitter. For the price, a decent whisky, it's about 15 bucks here. And the fact that this specific bottle is older than I am makes is special to me. (the other decades old bottle we had was a Red Label....that's almost empty). If you buy a new bottle, probably use it for mixing. Not too nice neat.

A classic among the friendlier single malts, the Balvenie Double Wood 12 has a good reputation for a reason. On the nose you get honey and vanilla, together with hazelnut and red grapes. At times it almost feels like smelling red wine, but never as pungent as that. Taste has a surprising amount of dark chocolate, raisins, a bit of wood spice and some nutty flavors. Aftertaste is slightly sweet and fruity, like honey drizzled grapes. Very nice. Very nice single malt, the spice from the bourbon barrels and the fruity sweetness of the oloroso barrells is a great combination. 9/10, would buy again.

After being knocked out for a while by a nasty cold, I'm finally back to tasting whisky. Still had some japanese samples, so might as well go on with them. On the nose I get a slightly sweet...bourbon smell. Could be the barrel, but there is also a lot of corn in the smell, together with a bit of spice and some vanilla. The taste is semi-sweet corn, vanilla, bit of burn and spice, and some barley taste...do we know the mashbill for this stuff? Aftertaste is short and bitter. Not a bad whisky, but also not a good one. Would drink it if offered, but wouldn't go out of my way to get one. So far, japanese whisky has been kinda...disappointing. But I still got the big ones in front of me. Edit: Rather nice with a ton of apple juice tho....

On the nose there is a lot of cinnamon, sweetcorn, vanilla and in the background I'm getting roasted almonds. Taste is spicy vanilla, caramel, honey, corn sweetness. Not overly sweet but a nice healthy dose of sweet stuff. Aftertaste is slightly bitter, slightly sweet and does remind me of a good bourbon. I can see why it has a 90+ rating.

I have to be honest, not a fan of this one. On the nose I got nothing except alcohol for a while, then a slight pine cone nose, very faint vanilla and small amounts of peat. Taste is a lot of alcohol burn again (sure that this has 43 and not more?), some peat and a bit of malt sweetness. Aftertaste is short peaty malt. Not my taste to be completly honest. I will try the 12 too, but the distiller's reserve falls flat for me. 2 Points because it is still drinkable, 1 star is reserves for diesel disguised as whiskey.

Finally got my hands on a bottle of this juice. And I'm glad that I did. The nose is very heavy on honey, raisins, dried plums, some cereal notes and a whiff of vanilla. Taste holds up to what the smell promises, honey, plums, a little bitter, some vanilla and cinnamon with quite a bit of bite for 40. aftertaste is medium lenght sweet barley. Rather enjoyable. A bit on the expensive side, but worth it.