Tastes

Sweet shisha, this is a good whisky. That’s a description as much as an exclamation, as the Ledaig’s aroma of sweet hookah tobacco triggered a Proustian flashback to a trip to Cairo more than 30 years ago. The sweetness of the nose carries onto the palate on first sip, but the influence of the bourbon casks isn’t one-dimensional. The flavors turn dry and then tangy before combining into a long finish. It’s a rich and satisfying mix of sweet and savory at a good strength and a great price. It’s as enjoyable as many an Islay and very worthy of the praise I increasingly hear for the distillery. This was my first Ledaig and I’m curious to see how the more exotic variants in my sample library stand up to this benchmark. In the meantime, I highly recommend this taste of an Arabian night. CORRECTION: I just noticed I had a Ledaig 13 Amontillado five months ago, so this is my second from the distillery. I rated the 13 three stars,

Ominously, the recipe has changed significantly and is now "a blend of rye whiskeys ranging in age from 4 to 7 years." See here https://www.highwest.com/uploads/files/4910/HWDRendezvousRye.pdf and here http://www.divingforpearlsblog.com/2019/05/constellation-brands-blows-up-high-west.html

Interesting to taste this again after five years, when I was first navigating whisky with the help of some Master of Malt samples. And interesting also in the context of my recent tasting of their younger bottlings, which I found too sweet to even finish. Bowmore is like an obnoxious child that suddenly becomes an agreeable adult at 18. The sweet and smokey elements are in harmony, and the oily texture sticks to the roof of your mouth. The peat is pleasantly sharp and lingering on the aftertaste.

Wet soil and mesquite on the nose, sweet and tangy on the palette. Oily all the way. Octomore never disappoints.

This is the mattar paneer curry of whiskies: peas, cheese and a mortar full of spices. The peas and cheese are among the many notes in the complex nose, along with a delicate sweet peat and wood polish. The taste starts sweet but quickly gets overwhelmed by Tellicherry peppercorns. There’s a hint of dark chocolate and cream, followed by a sweet and minty finish. Water only accentuates the pepper. Like many an old whisky, the nose is more intriguing than the taste, and ultimately the pepper is out of balance with the rest of the flavors. But that’s the fun of single casks and small batch blends - you’d never find a nose like this on an official release.

I’m one of those people who struggles to make decisions when presented with too many choices, so my first visit to Jack Rose in DC last night induced as much anxiety as pleasure. Confronted with more than 2,000 options, I wrestled with how to even frame the parameters for a selection. Should I order something rare from a favorite distillery? An interesting independent? A distillery I haven’t tried before? One of their barrel selections? After many minutes of agonizing, I settled on the latest local barley from Springbank, on the grounds that it was on my wishlist and wasn’t something I’d find in many bars. I wasn’t disappointed. Though I didn’t take notes, I did commit to memory a pleasant lactic quality on the nose and a savoriness on the palate. It’s complex and different enough from the previous two releases to make it worth your time, and no doubt I’ll revisit it at greater leisure in future. As for my next visit to Jack Rose, I think I’ll need to plan well ahead, perhaps by getting there an hour early to peruse the menu. The thought is already stressing me out.

The rate at which Compass Box releases whiskies tailored to the specifications of a restaurant or retailer has me hopeful that it won’t be too long before individual consumers can order customised blends in the same way that we can design our own sneakers or suits online. Give me a funky nose with a nutty, peaty body and a lightly sherried finish and I think I’ll be set, thank you. That’s not what the Juvenile restaurant behind this release ordered up, but it’s still another enjoyable composition by John Glaser. You get the fresh floral aromas of a spring morning, followed in the mouth by flavors of malt, whipping cream and milky tea. It finishes strong with caramel and a burst of red pepper flakes. It’s another solid Compass Box release, better than some of the more mediocre ones though not memorable enough to make my top 10. Worth trying, though I wouldn’t buy a full bottle at this price.

The Starks may yet claim the Iron Throne, but they won’t be winning Game of Drams. Despite its flavors opening up considerably after an hour exposed to the elements, Winter’s Frost left me cold. It eventually yielded some malty, nutty notes and a pleasantly creamy aftertaste with a hint of apple pie and nutmeg, but it’s all a little muted, like a watery Benromach 10. Pleasant enough, but I wouldn’t march north for it.

Talisker bottled the aromas of a maritime clifftop trail in the 2012 release of this whisky: the sea spray and heather are so transporting that I swear I could feel a coastal breeze coming from the glass. It’s hard to escape that reverie, but search beyond the island imagery and you’ll find hints of lemon, caramel candy and even fennel. The flavors start soft in the mouth and then burst mid-palate into a spicy mix of black pepper and candied ginger. It’s quite unexpected and overwhelming at first. When the ginger eventually fades after what seems like several minutes, the finish turns to dry tannins. Water accentuates the caramel on the nose and brings out winey/sherry notes. The taste gains a hint of orange and the finish some caramelized sugar and a touch of smoke. It’s a complex whisky that demands attention, particularly to tease out the flavors beneath the explosive pepper mid-palate. Despite it’s beguiling nose, it doesn’t scale the heights of the 18 for all-round pleasure, but it would be nice to have a bottle on hand for times that demand a fantasy island escape. If only I hadn’t finished my 2oz sample in one sitting.

This spot reserved for @ScotchingHard who has sampled this but it teasing us by withholding his detailed notes. I’m sure the ER can survive without you for the few minutes it would take you to undertake this important work.