Tastes

Creamy and fruity, this is a satisfying dram that is easy to drink without having to think too much about the contents of your glass. Not a bad note, which is more than you can say about many a Scotch.

The creativity that makes Danish design so covetable is in full flow here. Tasted blind, I would have pegged it as a bourbon from its creamy nose and as a spicier bourbon/rye hybrid from the body. What matters is that it all flows as beautifully as the lines on a B&O loudspeaker. My sample was three years old and super smooth in the mouth, with lots of caramel on the aftertaste. Grab a dram if you come across it.

There’s an appealing floral nose floating above the smoke of this reasonably priced remix from Kilchoman. The taste starts sweet and tart before a vibrant pepper kicks in. It’s very different from the core range and interesting enough to warrant further exploration. Thanks for the sample @jonwilkinson7309!

And now for something completely different: a fruity Talisker. Peaches, blood orange and grapefruit squeeze their way into the profile of this satisfyingly oily dram, dramatically so when diluted to 50%. The peaches interplay with the classic Talisker sea spray on the nose and burst out of their tin on the palate, where the fruit mingles with a powerful peat. The finish sparkles with pricks of pepper, juicy fruit and a splash of cream. Deliciously different from a typical Talisker, the fruit notes remind me of the Balblair recently bottled by Compass Box for their Myth & Legends series. A worthy special release.

I never revisited this bottle after buying it four years ago as there was a discordant metallic note on the finish when I tasted it initially. Since then I’ve given most of it away in swaps but decided to try it again while pouring a sample for @jonwilkinson7309. I’m glad I did as that off note is no longer there, perhaps thanks to some beneficial oxidation or just the fact that I was having an off day when I first tried it. What’s left is a classic Longrow with a heather and peat nose and a palate that nicely balances a light peat and a dash of sweetness. Longrow will never be my favorite peated whisky, but this one is a good benchmark for anyone exploring the brand’s range.

This is a fabulous whisky. I bought a bottle of the original anniversary release for $50 when it came out in 2016 but only opened it a few weeks ago. It’s a wonderful balance of kipper smoke and sweet caramel lozenges and while not particularly complex it’s deliciously rich and satisfying without a bad note to its score. If the more recent batches are as good as this, it’s surely one of the best values in peated Scotch right now.

Seriously good. The fruity orchard flavors of their flagship single malt are richly amplified by the higher strength and beautifully seasoned by a light peat from the whisky that occupied the quarter casks previously. Despite the strength and the youthfulness, this goes down neat as smooth as honey. An outstanding achievement.

I tasted this and it was nice, but after all the good honest whisky we’ve had out of Canada recently I don’t have much patience for a rule that allows a splash of brandy. Mixing spirits is what I call a cocktail. I enjoy cocktails. I like to make them too. It’s just a huge part of the enjoyment of whisky for me is marveling at the magic of time and wood. This feels like cheating. I don’t judge anyone who loves this or other traditional Canadian whiskies, but I’ll save my tasting notes and ratings for the unadulterated stuff.

This is the Octomore we need right now: not the usual slap in the face, but something a little more subtle, sexy and sophisticated for our anxious times. If you can tear yourself away from gazing at the almost pornographic manner in which the liquid clings to the side of your glass, you’ll find herbal lozenges and butterscotch mingling on the nose. That sensuous texture continues in the mouth as you savor the sweet, silky flavors: soursop and lychee came to mind for me, so there’s an exotic fruit cocktail underneath the rich layers of peat. That peat is dominant on the zesty, peppery finish, but overall it’s much more subdued on this Octomore than usual. And that’s a good thing, because this is a very well balanced whisky that drinks equally well neat or diluted to 50%. Octomore is always fun to try, but I’ve never felt the need to buy a bottle. This one I would happily pour frequently.