Tastes

Day 14. The "peated" one. It's not much but it could be a decent start to get into peated whisky. The nose has slight salt and peat notes, caramel, vanilla, grapes and some oats. Taste is a lot sweeter than I thought it would be, but there is still a slight peat and salt note in it. Not bad actually. Some honey and vanilla add more sweetness, and all in all it reminds me a bit of christmas cookies. Not bad. Aftertaste is salty caramel and a hint of bitterness from the peat. Doesn't stay all that long though. All in all, for 30 bucks a very good whisky. Not as much peat as I had hoped, but it is still enough to be an introduction.

Day 13. Had to skip a day because of a root canal, and writing tasting notes when all you taste is dentist is really no fun. And this dram deserved better. That's why today is gonna be a double hit. First this, and Jura later. Nose is very fruity and sweet, with honey, caramel, prunes, cherries, raisins and some spicy cinnamon. Taste has a bit of spice to it, and some burn. Good. It needed that. There is chocolate, honey, sweet plums, a hint of coffee and some cloves in this. Very enjoyable this. Sweet but not too sweet thanks to the spicy burn. I like this one. The aftertaste is straight up chocolate plums. Love em. All in all a very decent whisky for the pricepoint. Might need to get a bottle of that.

Day 11. Lagavulin 12 2017. To be honest, I never did get the hype that surrounds the Lagavulin 16. I never really enjoyed that one, and I still prefer Laphroaig and Ardbeg over it. But the 12, damn that's a nice dram. Almost makes me curious to open my bottle of the 8. On the nose we get the typical peat blast at first, supported by the somewhat high proof. There is pepper, smoked bacon and salty air in there, as well as some plums. The taste however...damn. Up front you get a load of sweet honey, pepper and salt, then the BBQ smoked meat starts shining through. Honey glazed ribs. Exactly what I want out of an Islay. There is also a distinct note of cooked peaches in there. And as we know those go very well with meat and give it a certain fruityness. The aftertaste that stays with you is the typical honey ribs flavor with some fruity sweet condiments to go with it. Just amazing. This is what I want from a peated scotch. I was not disappointed, but it still won't beat the 5 point Brodir, so 4.75 it is.

Day 10. Dalmore Port. As you may know, I'm a sucker for Port finish, but so far the 2 non peated port finished whiskies I tried both have disappointed me (this and the other was Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban...but I might need to revisit that one outside of a Bar setting). The nose is very faint, bit of coffee bit of the usual malty notes, and some of my beloved dark fruits. Taste is equally disappointing. Dark fruits, a bit of honey, some coffee bitterness and the typical barley malt note that I tend to get from Dalmore. Not very exciting, not very delicious and all in all rather uninspiring. Aftertaste is a bit of bitterness and some fruit mixed in a non coherrent mess. So far, Dalmore fails to impress me. This is another failure. At least tomorrow is bound to be good...not sure if I can deliver a tasting note tomorrow though, got a dentist appointment, depending on how that goes....but with what's in store, the taste might be the same (tomorrow is Lagavulin 12 day). So yeah, cheers. I'm gonna pour me a glass of Laphroaig 10 to get a more interesting taste in my mouth.

Day 9. Talisker 18. The 10 is a mainstay in my collection, simply a great dram. This...is even better. The nose is rather humble, no hint at what's about to happen. Salt, Peat, and a bit of fresh cut grass. The taste on the other hand...I'm in heaven. Honey, Salt, Pepper, and that's just the opening salvo. There are a whole basked of fresh juicy sweet fruits in there...apples, pears...peaches? Something along those lines. The Talisker typical (at least for me) cereals make an appearance, although slightly toned down. There is also a hint of the medicinal peat and a bit of burn from the ABV. Just enough to make things interesting. The aftertaste is a fruity sweetness combined with medicinal bitterness and a dash of salt. Awesome. Talisker nails it again. The next couple of days will be interesting. I peeked....all I say is, after this, we got Dalmore and Lagavulin. Not going to be disappointed I think.

Day 8. Bourbon. Damn good bourbon. Perfect for my programm today (shopping, 90 minutes at the gym...still getting used to that, started about 5 weeks ago, 3 times a week....this week was double leg day. Not gonna walk much anymore this weekend...but at least I fit in my suit that I wore during my final exam for my apprenticeship. 10 Years ago. 72kg/159lbs done, about 40kg/88lbs left to go), and the rest of the day, gaming. World of Tanks....I want those russian heavies. KV2 stronk tenk. Anyway, Larceny. Heard good things about it, that's why I included it. Haven't had a decent bourbon in a while...the ones I like I hesitate to buy because they are freakin expensive...looking at you Colonel Taylor and Balcones. Really need to try that Weller 12 soon. On the nose, I get my beloved banana. That's a note that I simply adore in whisky, and don't get all that often. There are also peanuts, vanilla, sugar and a nice dose of oak spices. The taste is similar. Banana, brown sugar, vanilla, lots of oak and my personal favorite, cinnamon roasted peanuts. Sweet, just like a bourbon should be. Easy to drink too, not much burn. Aftertaste is sweet and sugary with vanilla. I'm sad that I only have about 15ml of this (I share all my 30ml samples with my dad. Tradition. Also gives us something to connect with. Enjoying the time we have left, you never know when shit might hit the fan). So yeah, like yesterday, sweet and sweet. But the difference is, I like that in a bourbon, so this ranks higher. Much higher. The pricetag helps. I tend to enjoy higher priced bourbons more...even before knowing the price. This is in affordable territory and it is yummy. That's makes me happy. And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to finish this glas, pop open a bottle of cider, and plant some 152mm high explosvie shells into everything that moves. Cheers.

Day 6. Johnnie Walker. Walker is always a bit of a fifty fifty for me, some are good, some are questionable. This falls on the good side. First thing that I noticed was a rather sharp alcohol smell. Unusual for the proof. It's only in the nose, not the taste, but it caught me a bit off guard. The rest of the notes on the nose are pretty much what I expected. Raisins, brown sugar, vanilla, caramel, drieg figs, all on the sweeter side. This just screams dessert. Taste is rather similar to the nose. There is also some cocoa, sugar, raisins and caramel, but the figs have been replaced with dates. Almost a bit too sweet and one dimensional, but for the money still allright. The aftertaste is more of the same, but it kinda painted a very specific picture in my head: Vanilla Pudding, caramelized with brown sugar. I kinda want that now. So yeah, all in all a rather sweet mess, but at least a pleasent mess. I need to be in the mood for something like this to really enjoy it, but it's friendly and easy to drink, and not very expensive. Can't give it more than 3.5 though, far too one dimensional.

Day 5. Today we got a real sherry bomb. And a good one at that. Nose is pretty typical with dark fruits, raisins, walnuts and a tingle of honey. Very light, fruity and friendly. Reminds me a bit of Glenfiddich 15, and that is not a bad thing. Taste is sweet, but it has enough spice to offset the sweetness so it doesn't become overwhelming. There is a healthy dose of chocolate, raisins, dark fruits and vanilla in this, as well as some oak spice. The higher proof helps as well and gives it some warmth. Aftertaste leaves a lot of fruits and cocao, with some tingly spice for a good long time. Very nice stuff. Not the cheapest, and apparently also discontinued, but if you can grab a bottle you won't be disappointed, as long as you like speyside sherrybombs.