Tastes

Batch 5 is characteristically Campeltown: briny and smoky (soot and tar) and not for everyone. It's spirit-driven in a way that reminds me of Springbank 10 (another favorite), but much sweeter. I love this whisky.

Johnnie Green used to be my favorite blended malt. Sadly, however, the 2015 re-release isn't nearly as good as the previous version. The new version is much sweeter, with little of the Talisker smoke and Caol Ila peat that balanced the sweetness in the previous version. Still a decent vatted malt. But simply not in the same class as the now-discontinued version. Too bad.

Light but full-flavored. Citrus and creaminess. A challenging dram that's not for everyone. But a wonderful spirit-driven whisky for those people who sometimes tire of the overemphasis on wood found in many modern whiskies. Also, it's 46% and non-chill filtered.