Tastes
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Well, the random filling of the calendar leads to a very interesting journey. Today we are in Wales, not really a region one would associate with Whisky. I know that there is a second Penderyn in the mix, so Wales gets 2 chances to wow me, and I am sad to say, the first try did not accomplish that. Nose is rather interesting, with some melons and khaki fruit, together with a slight hint of sour kiwis. There are also some graham crackers in there for some reason. The taste is very spice forward, a bit too much for my taste. The sweeter notes of vanilla and the sweeter spices shine through after a bit and mellow it out, but the first punch is quite a bit more spicy than I anticipated. After a while there is a layer of grapes, a fruity counterbalance to the spice, and the overall feel of green veggies. Not anything specific, just plain, uncooked, green zucchini and the sort. More of a freshness than a taste. Interesting, but not very tasty for me. The aftertaste for me is rather short, spicy, and end in a mellow vanilla. Not bad, but somewhat underwhelming. Granted, this is a 30€ bottle of whisky, and for that it really is not a bad pick. It's just not what I would chose for a dram to sit down with after a long day. Makes for a good conversation piece though, these green veggie notes are something rather rare.30.0 EUR per Bottle
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Balcones Texas Single Malt
American Single Malt — Texas, USA
Reviewed December 3, 2023 (edited December 15, 2023)Next stop on the holiday tasting tour, Texas. I will admit, so far Balcones had one, exactly one offering that I genuinely liked, and this ain't it (I am a sucker for the True Blue Cask Strength). Nose gives me a load of dark fruits, together with some hints of chocolate, particularly those rum plums encased in dark chocolate. That's my favorite part, those are delicious. There is also a hint of vanilla in here. Taste, it reminds me of overspiced gingerbread, a spoonful of brown sugar, some dried fruits mixed into that, and a weird, bitter, almost hop like taste that I really do not enjoy as somebody who does not like beer at all. Weirdly, even though it has a higher ABV than yesterdays yellow spot, the alcohol burn is a lot less pronounced. The aftertaste is a subtle dark chocolate note with a lot of malt underneath. And it also lasts for quite a bit. Not bad, the aftertaste is almost more enjoyable than the taste itself. Not my favorite so far, but also not bad. A mediocre malt that has too much hype behind it thanks to its origins.65.0 EUR per Bottle -
Yellow Spot 12 Year Single Pot Still
Single Pot Still — Ireland
Reviewed December 2, 2023 (edited December 6, 2023)Today we go to Ireland. That will happen quite a few times in this calendar. The Spots all have very good reputation, and I can see why. The 12 year old yellow variant is a lovely Irish dram, and not even that overpriced as some other offerings. On the nose we get a hint of mint cookies, the slight zesty freshness of apricots, and a mix of freshly cut apples, pears and other fruits of the sort with a dash of pepper. That might be the 46% doing what they are supposed to do. The taste reminds me of apple compote with cinnamon, assorted black berries and a slight sweetness of honey, combined with some bitterness from scandinavian crisp bread. You know the ones I am talking about, the think, hard plates that shatter when you look at them wrong but are surprisingly tasty. Finncrisp comes to mind. The multigrain variant. The pepper shows up again, not harsh, just a slight dash of sharpness that could very well also be cinnamon. Or ginger now that I think about it. Gingerbread anybody? Aftertaste is sweet, slightly chocolate and malt flavored with some fruits in there. Imagine eating Maltesers and apricots at the same time, maybe even toss a few raspberries in there. All in all, a very nice offering from the green island. I would love that as a pipe tobacco too, it sounds like it would work. Cheers.70.0 EUR per Bottle -
Highland Park Triskelion
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed December 1, 2023 (edited December 6, 2023)Hi there. It's been a while since my last tasting note. Spent most of my time drinking open bottles after I couldn't get my handy on samples, so I had nothing to review. Now that Master of Malt started shipping again, we got a new advent calendar to deal with, with 24 hand picked samples. And we are coming out swinging this year with the Highland Park Tiskelion. Haven't been trying to identify notes in whisky lately, so I might be a bit rusty, but I still enjoy it. Here we go. Nose: We are starting off with strong notes of dried fruit in here. I'd say mostly plums and raisins, but something in here just yells black currant....quietly, in the background. Also that smell of fresh cut bread that has just been baked the night before. Still very fresh, but no longer warm, with some subtle chocolate on the tail end. Taste: You of course get the classic malt up front, with some herbal notes popping off around it. Typical for light peat for me, before it becomes medicinal, just like putting a bit of basil on in your dish instead of a handful of jalapenos. I do also get a bit of bitterness that reminds me of strong coffee....1 sugar, bit of cream. You feel the caffein kick without tasting it kinda deal. Also, chocolate with a slight orange zest. You know those thin dark chocolate plates with candied/dried/whatever the hell they do to it orange zest pieces in it? That sort of taste. There might also be a bit of honey and salt at the fading end of the sip. The aftertaste is slightly bitter, burned honey cookies with seasalt drizzelt over them (need to bake some of those). This is an Island Scotch alright, somewhere between the lovely Speysides and the balls to the wall Islays. Not a bad start for this season. Not sure if I would pay 200 bucks for a bottle of this, but it most definitely is a very good whisky. So yeah, that much as a start after 3 years. Feels good to be back, hope all of y'all have been doing good, and cheers you damn nerds ;) love y'all.190.0 EUR per Bottle -
Weller 12. One of the most overhyped bourbons in my opinion. Considering the scotches I could get for the price of one of these, I am not impressed. Gave it a few tastings before writing this, and it did somewhat improve my opinion of it, but still, not worth it. Nose is slightly overripe apples, some vanilla, and the smell when you open the oven and the first waft of fresh baked cake comes out. That's what I get here. Not bad, but can be had for a lot less. Taste is somewhat vanilla, with apple pie, a few spices in there and some cinnamon. Reminds me a whole lot of Maker's Mark if I am totally honest here, and that one fell out of favor for me a while ago. I still like it, but it's not my go to at the moment. Aftertaste is some mellow cinnamon and warmth. Decent. Overall, it is not a bad bourbon, at all. What hurts it most is the hype and the resulting inflated price. If this would be a 50€ bottle, I'd be ok with it, but not for 90.90.0 EUR per Bottle
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Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured (2017 Edition)
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed July 20, 2019 (edited April 10, 2021)Damnit I got lazy with tasting. Haven't had any whisky in months. I blame the unusual high temperatures for that. Sometimes you are just not in the mood for a drink. Got time today, so I picked something at random. Mostly. Didn't want to get back into the game with a peat bomb or something north of 65%ABV, and this one is somewhere in between. Shame it is sold out everywhere, but yeah. The nose has a pleasent peat note that you expect from Kilchoman. Enough to be noticed, but not so much that it burns out your brain just from sniffing it. That's what Laphroaig is for. There is also a salty air to it, a load of stewed prunes that you kinda expect with red wine casks, an interesting wiff of cinnamon and nougat chocolate. Almost like those plums that are drenched in rum and covered in dark bitter chocolate if you know them. The taste is pleasently complex, and also kinda weird. In a good way. Reading off my notes, some of those flavors don't sound like they should work together, but for some reason they do. Peat, salt and dark fruits up front, so far, so good. Honey cereals take a bit of a back seat, but are still very clearly there. What is really damn weird are the spices and herbs that are in between the other tastes. Pepper ok, that's the peat usually...but oregano and basil is not something I expected. Gives it a nice fresh edge. Interesting. The aftertaste is peppery honey with salt and touch of fruit. Doesn't last all that long. All in all, Kilchoman gets it right. I usually prefer their offerings that got close to any sort of (foritfied) wine cask to their others. This is no exception. And now, back to another couple months of tasting hibernation. Probably. Gonna be back with an andvent calendar at the latest tho. Some traditions are worth keeping alive. Cheers.89.0 EUR per Bottle -
Macallan Rare Cask
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed May 13, 2019 (edited January 11, 2021)Blimey....been a while since my laste tasting. Had a couple drinks here and there, but mostly been alcohol free lately. No time to enjoy it, and I'm too old to drink for the sake of getting drunk. This one was always high on my list, and today it just happened. Worth the wait. The MaCallan Rare Cask is one of the very few 200€+ bottles I would actually consider buying. If I had any whisky budget left (Pro tip...when you say "I don't need a powerful PC...might as well downscale"....don't use PC Part Picker...I'm now running out of space for monitors). It is expensive, but worth every cent. The nose starts mild and sweet. Not for every day, but when it fits the mood it is glorious. There are cherries, plums and hazelnut-milk-chocolate up front, with a bit of cereal below everything. Awesome, good start. The taste is somewhat compley, but never gets overwhelming. A gentle dose of vanilla, followed by breakfast cereals with honey, hazelnuts, cinnamon, some more chocolate and finally some spices, mostly cloves and cinnamon. Reminds of a spiced chai tea. Damn fine stuff. Aftertaste is spicy chocolate, honey and raisins. All in all, rather on the sweet side but never sticky. Give MaCallan a sherry cask, and they usually know what they are doing. The price is high, but appropriate. Sure, you could get this from any other distillery for 50 bucks less, but yeah, sometimes you just gotta shill out the extra cash for a fancy bottle and a well known name. Well then, cheers people. Let's hope it won't be another couple months until I have time to sit down and do this again....260.0 EUR per Bottle -
Bunnahabhain 12 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed February 20, 2019 (edited November 30, 2019)Well, time for a new tasting. Been holding off for a while because I started to react badly to any kind of alcohol for a while (bad heartburn, no fun), but that got better, so I can finally start enjoying whisky again. Didn't even get a drink on my birthday earlier this month. But, since today is kind of a second birthday (the anniversary of my surgery), and I'm in a great mood (down exactly 170lbs in one year), I decided to grab a classic scotch. And discovered that I don't have many of those left in my samples...mostly Rum these days. But I got the Bunna 12, and man, that was a nice choice. On the nose it starts very scottish. Honey, salt, a surprising dose of roasted hazelnuts, some buttery biscuits (that I usually associate more with irish stuff, but it is there) and a fruity raisin note. Very nice start. The taste is a bit weird. Salt and smoky char up front, but the softer notes break through after a bit. Honey, caramel, dried fruits and even a hint of dark chocolate. So far, so good. What I didn't expect was a very strong bitterness. Oak maybe? Almost hoppy...IPA level intense. That almost ruined it for me, not a huge fan of bitter, but the rest of the notes kept in check enough for me to still be able to enjoy it. Aftertaste is a bittersweet and warming combination that lasts a decent amount of time. Was a bit torn on how to rate this, what bumped it up to a 4.0 is the price. It's about the price level of a HP12 or Talisker 10 these days, and in that price range, it is actually on the more complex side. And if you like bitter, you might enjoy this one even more. Now that I have a baseline for Bunna, there are a couple more samples that I want to try. Soon(tm).39.0 EUR per Bottle -
Balvenie Single Barrel 15 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed January 6, 2019 (edited November 30, 2019)Long day. Fun, successfull, a bit sad, but all in all, just long. Needed something sweet for this evening, and this fit the bill. Balvenie 15 starts with a very funky and weird smell. First thought was horse stables, but after a few sniffs it turns into raisins with chocolate. Weird. Really weird. There is also the barley, honey and citrus you would expect from this. Taste has the usualy barley and honey sweetness, the raisins and chocolate, some fudge for good measure (reminds me of clotted cream fudge somehow) and a dash of pepper thanks to the proof. Very nice sweet treat. Aftertaste is more sweetness and raisins, but never to an extent that it becomes overwhelming. All in all, good sweet stuff. Not sure if I would pay 100 bucks for a bottle if I can get the same with Glenfiddich 18 for less, but hey, it is worth a try.100.0 EUR per Bottle -
The Clydesdale Auchentoshan 21
Single Malt — Lowlands, Scotland
Reviewed January 5, 2019 (edited November 30, 2019)I finally had a reason to open this bottle. Under 300lbs for the first time in almost 2 decades as of today. Rewarded myself with a 2 hour workout and now a taste of this beautiful dram. Got this bottle from my little sister and her girlfriend for my 30th birthday last year. Been sitting on my top shelf waiting for a reason to be opened. A little bit more information, this is a single barrel whisky, distilled in 1991. 215 bottles were made of this, and I am very fortunate to own one of those. Because just as I was hoping it would be, this stuff is amazing. On the nose it starts very inviting with peanuts (don't get those very often in scotch), some bitter spicy oak (21 years in a barrel do that), some light vanilla, and a beautiful note of stewed orchard fruits. Not too sweet, just fruity. Might be even a bit of cinnamon in there. The taste is very alcohol forward at first. It is a cask strength dram with an ABV of 56.2% after all (for some reason the app didn't allow me to enter the .2, so it's 56 up there). After a few seconds of burn, the real beauty of this liquid starts breaking through, and by god, this might even be on the same level as my all time favorite, the Hibiki 17 in sheer beauty. There is a base layer of vanilla, some crunchy peanut butter (I mean really, objectively speaking, crunchy is the only legit peanut butter anyway), several spices from cinnamon to pepper, and those sweet fruity orchard fruits from the nose are very present in the taste as well. It ends with a healthy dose of dark, bitter roasted coffee that give it another layer of complexity. The aftertaste is very warming thanks to the proof, with bitter coffee and cinnamon notes that just make you want to dive back in. I was hoping that this would not disappoint. And my expectations where more than met. This is not standing on too of my shelf for no reason. If you can ever get your hands on a bottle of this, or at least a dram, try it. It's worth it. Now I'm going to relax with the rest of this glass. Enjoy your saturday folks.130.0 EUR per Bottle
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