Tastes

The final round of the whisky diner of course had to be a smoky one. Choice at the restaurant was limited, but there was this 40% Laphroaig Select at the bar. Laphroaig made a blend of Oloroso/white oak/PX/QC and 1st fill bourbon to create this. Nosing was pleasant with the usual Islay suspects like brine, wood smoke and muddy peat. Iodine was present but less dominant than other Laphroaigs I tasted. Red fruits and dry oak completed the nice nosing. On the palate much of the peat had disappeared, leaving not much more than spicy ginger and apple vanilla with a faint peat and smoke in the back. A bit disappointing at this point. The medium finish left a musty peat and acidic apple with an underlayer of fresh young oak. Before everything really faded away a sudden surprising iodine did pop up. But that was too little and too late to save this one. Although it was not bad. It certainly was the worst Laphroaig I tasted so far. A bit surprising to me, because I liked the 10 and QC a lot. Those two are within the same price range. 78 points 27,50€/70cl

I saved the best available dram from the restaurant for the 4th round and maincourse of the diner. The classic 40% Speysider Balvenie 12 Double Wood. Refill bourbon and 1st fill Oloroso casks were used by master blender David Stewart to compose this dram. He regularly states to be very proud of this one, cause it was his and Balvenies first experiment with two cask maturation. It brought the ailing Balvenie back in business back in the 80's. On the nose this one is very inviting with sherry, sweet fruits and vanilla/honey notes. Only soft alcohol is detectable. Promising start. The sweet and balanced taste has strong sherry with a fruity honey and a spicy cinnamon. A floral part and sugared nuts gave it some complexity. The medium pleasant finish has more of the sweet nuts and spicy cinnamon. Nicely and warming but at the end turning a bit dry. A nice and advisable dram from Balvenie. Good, but not great though. 80 points 37€/70cl

Edit: I didn't taste this one, but an old blend from the 70's/80's. For the 3d round of the whisky diner I chose the bottle on the shelf with the oldest appearance. The botlle with a heavily worn and torn label turned out to be an 70/80's blend by Arthur Bell and sons. The Bell's Islander is an Island & Islay blend with components from Port Ellen, Lagavulin and Talisker. Purely out of politeness I accepted the dram, but right after nosing I knew I should have rejected it. I guess that the smoke and peat have been long gone since bottle opening, somewhere in the 70's or 80's. It was very malty and grainy but lacked any of the Island/Islay stuff I love so much. Some lemon had survived the years of oxidation. The palate was malty and flat but surprisingly some smoke had decided to stay put. The medium finish had the same malty flatness, but some sharp edged spicy alcohol did show it's teeth after all these years. I really liked the idea of drinking from an old bottle, containing Islay/Island stuff, but it wasn't enjoyable at all thanks to the oxidation. I advised the restaurant to remove this one from their shelf.

My next choice at the diner with whisky arrangement was this 40% Jack Daniels gentleman Jack. I only had old Jack no7 so far, so I'm curious about this one. Nosing is so straightforward 'bourbony', that every blindfolded whisky lover immediately knows this ain't a scotch. Very smooth with sweet corn and strong vanilla notes. No alcohol burn at all. A hint of fire and charred wood complement the sweetness. Much sweeter and milder than old no7 at this point. The palate is watery sweet with a lot of honey, vanilla and toffee caramel. The woody spice and smoke keep this one interesting and balanced. The medium finish has a surprising sharpness at first but soon a citric (slight bitter) sweetness joins the party. The similarities with old no7 are there, but where old no7 is best used as a mixer, this one is very drinkable neat. A nice 78 points expression by Jack Daniels.

I had the opportunity to taste this 43% Highlander Dalmore 18Y right after the 15Y. I was a bit underwhelmed with the 15, so let's see if this 18 does better. Needles to mention the beautiful but artificial colour of this one. The 18 years of maturation was done in three stages. First 14Y in American white oak, then 3Y in Matusalem sherry casks with a finish of 1Y in a sherry but. Only nice stuff is detectable at first nosing. A very nice sweet orange and a powerful vanilla cinnamon. Nutmeg and clove add the spicy part. Coffee, chocolate and sultana finish of this lovely nosing. Wow nice stuff. The palate offers more of the same nice components. Cinnamon citrus and chocolate raisins rule, but are complemented with sherry, vanilla, coffee and nutmeg. Lovely stuff. The long finish is a bit oaky dry, but nothing to worry about. Lots of nice stuff play part in this nice finish. Amongst others I could find citrus and apple, soft spicy liquorice, toffee honey and chocolate covered nuts. Wow! A very nice expression by Dalmore. But as many others before me have said, this one could have been great with some extra horsepower and without the ridiculus additional colouring. 88 points 86€/70cl

My 2nd Dalmore in the taster tonight. After having tasted the 12Y some time ago, the 15Y is next. First a funny fact about Dalmore. The distillery was founded in 1839 by a guy who made his fortune with the opium trade. A little less funny is the fact that Dalmore master blender Patterson, thinks that he needs to caramel colour his baby's and dilute this and others to a meagre 40%. I do like his idea of creating a blend with 3 different sherry finishes though. Matusalem/Apostoles and Amaroso casks. On the nose I got sweet berrie & cherrie and lots of orange. The presence of sweet sherry is obvious, but the smell of stepping into a flower shop surprised me a bit. A chocolate bitterness finishes this pleasant nosing. On the palate a bit sharper with alcohol than expected with it's 40%. Oranges and sherry deliver the fruity part here, where cinnamon and pepper take care off the spices. Burnt brown sugar and a hint of bitter almond made this one complex and well rounded. The medium slight oaky dry and nutty bitter finish, luckily has a lot of toffee, raisin and orange sweetness to compensate the bitter and dry parts. After rating the 12Y with 84 points, i had high expectations of this one. But sadly I was a bit underwhelmed with this Dalmore. My score is 80 points. 58€/70cl

The nose is very powerfull and intense. After opening the bottle the room fills with heavy peat and bonfire. The smell is so strong that peat and bonfire push alcohol completely to the background. Very intense in combination with the strong presenence of sherry. On the palate, what a sensation. Also here the fire and peat push alcohol completely to the back ground. The spicyness comes in like taking a sip of tabasco. The powerful robust and well balanced finish gives you an almost unprecedented enjoyment. Great how completely your taste buds are kissed with this great whisky for several minutes. I would strongly recommend this one to all of you. What a winner this is! One of the best drams available. Surely the best of the Diageo classic malts. A must have for lovers of salt and peat. 96 points.