Tastes

Watching the NY Mets fall apart in extra innings against the Washington Nationals (April 21st : Was under the weather since and catching up on reviews). No worries, I will offset the slow burn with a Milsean; a scotch sourced to me by Pranay. A floral, slightly earthy nose greets you. Rubbing alcohol is appearant (maybe it's my feeling under the weather), cola and confectionary sugar. The aromas are rather dynamic and no one theme adheres. With a draw of the liquid, the palate is initially presented with a bitterness that is dry and spicy: sourced to the flavors of grapefruit, black cherry and oak. Nothing like the nose profile. Finally, grapefruit bitterness dominates and remains with some oak drying tannins. A touch of water mellows the spicy side (tweaking down the ABV) which accentuates, on the palate, the buried sweet side. Recommended with a splash. A bitter and spicy profile is the foundation to this whisky. Somewhat static or non-flashy and shallow, like the 2017 NY Mets. However, it does start to become less "restricted" in good time. The Glenmorangie range has never been keen to my taste. For me, I have found them average with glimpses, but nothing memorable. [84/100][Tasted: 4/21/17]

Opened the sample of this after working in the yard in the (finally) warming sun. I was planning to sample another but I inadvertently opened this sample. Maybe that was good thing? The nose is faint, extremely faint, almost undetectable. Some floral and honey and granola can be found, but you need to put the work in to find almost anything (at least for me). Starting out on the left foot by making me work for aromas (a good nose really makes the experience much more enjoyable) the whisky arrived extremely lightweight. Slight honey sweetness with vanilla and caramel. A touch of smoke is detectable. After the brief sweetness, the palate gets a zing of young hotness of white pepper. All this leads to a short finish of light brown sugar, wood, cinnamon with a last bit of zing of fresh ginger root. This was a uninspiring, non-dynamic whisky. It finds a middle of the road but in doing so, finds itself lost in the crowd. Mediocre and average. The good thing….this leaves hopes for the sample I wanted to have. Pranay, thank you for the sample. [Dry Glass: could not detect anything][82/100][Tasted: 4/9/17]

Continuing the tasting tour finds me in the Speyside with a sample provided by generously Paul. Sometimes it’s refreshing to take something (a book, movie, music, etc) to wind down and relax. This Cragganmore is nice compliment for such a moment. An aroma of a morning breakfast. White, sugary cereal (Frosted Flakes) with orchard fruits. Then there is the sweet floral notes of heather and honey. While these are the basic aroma notes, they perfectly balanced and you can find yourself nosing this for a good length of time. Arrives on the palate with a honey sweetness. The body is thin and lightweight. A touch of smoke is detectable along with some oak and salted nuts. A bit more time and honeydew melon is drawn out. It finishes short leaving behind notes of honey, brown sugar and some nuttiness with a final exit of fresh, cleansing ginger root. This is a lovely, sweet whisky that is the exemplar of a Speysider: fruit, floral and sweet. This is definitely appealing to the masses which understandably makes this a staple of the Johnnie Walker blends. Thoroughly enjoyable and enjoyably delicate. [Dry Glass: Honeysuckle][86/100][Tasted: 3/24/17]

[$68]

Finished watching South Carolina defeat Duke for entrance into the Sweet 16 bracket. Fun game to watch while sipping on this whisky thanks to Paul. A straight forward nose with essentially three elements: peat, fruit cocktail and brine. Vanilla and oak do, however, hover buried further back. On arrival, it is deep and warming to the core, courtousey of the high ABV. Peat and brown sugar are balanced and the two binary flavors dance: one step, peat; two step, brown sugar. The dance continues and dances away to a hot and spicy peppery finale. The finish is oaky and sweet with vanilla-honey and smoke/ash. The flavors don't remain long and I wished it to last longer. I found this to be more on par with an Islander than a Highlander. This has the foundation to be in the upper tier of peated whiskies, but I find it lacks a maturity as it feels somewhat forced to "grow up"; artificially expeditited to give a superficial maturity (if that makes any sense). That being said, this is still a rather enjoyable. The peat and sweetness make it a nice wintertime warming dessert. [Dry Glass: Salted Caramels][85/100][Tasted: 3/19/17]

Another end to a weekend finds me watching some March Madness basketball. Perfect time for a dram and watch the drama and action unfold. Eradour Calendonia pours out in the glass as a rust colored liquid. By a purely visual observation, you would be in err to think that this was unnaturally colored and chilled filtered (this is the natural color and is NCF). The initial nose is floral and citrus with heather, orange rind, peaches. Over time, a malty and sucrose sweetness are detected along with some tea and honey notes. A bit of saddle leather lurks in the depths. I have said before, when nosing, I envision where a dram takes me. I find myself on that first warm spring day where you know the winter is well behind (unfortunately, this spring, not yet!). Arrives in a light and thin body with brown sugar and mixed nuts. Mostly sweet but tempered somewhat. Oddly, cola flavors come forward after some time in the glass. The cola could be considered or on par with the maple syrup flavor that others have experienced. A zing of black pepper and ginger root spice as this fades to a finish. The sweetness and cola flavors strenthen over time. A long and simple finish of orange bitters, caramel and a touch of ginger and oak. Thanks Pranay for the sample. This is a sweet whisky that evolves to an even sweeter one. The oddity of cola, for me, made this slightly unique. Not a flashy whisky or one that pushes boundries. Stays sweet and enjoyable. Somewhat akin, for me, to Balvenie. [Dry Glass: Salted Caramels][86/100][Tasted: 3/19/17]

Cold and brisk outside on this Sunday evening. Country music playing with a warming fire blazing in the wood stove. A bit of evening stillness of an impending freezing Nor’easter somewhere, at this moment, creeping towards us from the Midwest. A perfect time for an Islay whisky. Fortunately, I have a sample provided by Lee. I am greeted with that lovely, Laphroaig sweet peatiness with a maritime touch of salt, seaweed and iodine within a damp earthiness. A sweet side of toffee, vanilla with a hickory-smoked meat. This nose is one I can inhale all day as this conjures up visions if a wintry New England seaside fishing harbor. Delivered in a strong wood-influenced body that is very drying; as if I am chewing on a toothpick. Traceable amounts of sherry and pecans, walnut lurk in the background. A crescendoing black pepper spice rises and fades rapidly near the end as it work towards the finish. The palate is left with cigar smoke, sweet BBQ char, ash, oak and spearmint flavors. A touch of creme brulee creeps up and the very end of the finish. This is a nice, warming whisky that brings forth a bit of the sea, BBQ, woodiness and earthiness: classical elemental simpleness of fire, earth, water and air with a fifth element, not aether, but of sugary sweetness. An Islay peatiness that is not overdone. [Dry Glass: wet-charred wood with tea and honey][88/100][Tasted: 3/12/17] ---------------------------------------------------- Initial sample review: Whisky on the Hudson 9/18/2014 : Trace amount of peat with some spice and fruits on the nose. Fruits, spices and oak on the palate. Balanced, sweeter finish which is pleasingly long. I enjoyed this a greatly. I need to add to my collection.

As the end of the work week closes, I look forward to sitting back and tasting one of many samples (and then some). I decide to deviate a bit from the Scots and go American. I sit back and pour myself the Groth while catching up on ‘Billions’ and ‘Homeland’. This American pour was not what I expected at all. A pour and a nose exposes sweet, dark fruit; port-like wine notes. But this fruity juice also has a inviting, balanced spicy side of rye and cinnamon. As it opens, the wine notes tend to dominate but the spicy notes remain and that rye-ness becomes more of an allspice. The bourbon traits of vanilla and brown sugar also rise up and this dram becomes a lovely potpourri. The first sip is initially spicy-hot blast from the nice higher proof. The medium viscosity liquid, upon the initial sips, reveal the Cabernet finishing as the grape notes are slowly drawn out as well as wine-grape tannins. So far, this sounds like a wine review, however, this is definitely a whiskey. Those wine notes blend and intermingle with bourbon flavors: corn, vanilla, rye, brown sugar. The blending creates a mulled-wine effect. As all this intermingling and dance of flavors begins to wind down, the fruity wine notes remain on the palate, along with wood/oak and vanilla, however, unfortunately and surprisingly, brief. I was actually impressed by this whiskey as this was something rather unique. The wine casks actually provide a pleasant twist to a bourbon. The darker wine provides a counterbalance to the sweet and spicy flavors. A versatile whiskey that can pair well as an aperitif, a main meal or with dessert. The only negative is not of flavor, but as accessibility, in terms of price. The whiskey sells for upwards of $86 and that places it in the upper range of cost and will price many out. However, this is worth seeking out in a bar or restaurant, if not to own. Thanks Lee! [Dry Glass: Grape juice and butterscotch][89/100][Tasted: 3/10/17]

A cold and crisp Sunday evening finds me in front of the wood stove where streaming 1980’s music is playing. And so, I find myself reminiscing about my days of yore with the Jura 10 in my hands, provided through a small group of mates on a scotch journey: the SDT (thanks Lee). The atmosphere is all perfectly set for a nice, complex, contemplative dram. Alas, this would not be the case. The nose is rather faint. An earthy, mineral quality forms a soft aromatic foundation. Honey, sweet tea with a slight maltiness are most dominant; the qualities one may find in a Highlander, not an Islander. The liquid has a very thin mouthfeel with the simple flavors of honey, sweet tea, with oranges or tangerines. A small amount of maritime saltiness can be detected. All this simplicity leads to a short finish. Small amount of oak-drying tannins remain, with a touch of orange bitters and toffee. This is a rather simple whisky that does venture much beyond the parameters of itself, from nose to finish, it is the same profile: tea, honey and citrus. This would possibly be slightly improved and a bit more complexity with a punched-up ABV, say 43% to 46%. It’s not a bad dram, just not a sophisticated one. It makes a nice summer sipper or an introductory single malt. [Dry Glass: Sweet tea with lemon][84/100][Tasted: 3/5/17] *200th Distiller Note.

Glen Garioch is one of those often overlooked and does not come readily to mind when seeking out a scotch. It’s bottled at a lovely, high 48% abv, is non-chilled filtered and aged at least 12 years. I believe there is coloring added (I would prefer if there was none, but I can live with it). With all these positives, I expect good things. The liquid is light amber in color (just a wee bit of artificial color?) A faint and light nose is floral, fruity and nutty. The aromas of butterscotch, caramelized-bananas, vanilla, sweet tea, honeysuckle, heather, walnuts and almonds can be found. These aromas do not all come out at once. It takes time and some digging. Take time to nose this one as it really sets up the palate (and the high ABV needs to dissipate somewhat). The first sip is sweet and hot, as expected, in a medium-thin body. A fair amount of burn, which comes from the alcohol, comes on gradually and crescendos and dissipates in a quick finale. Tea tasting similar to Barry’s Irish Breakfast Tea and white pepper are the primary flavors. Brown sugar, vanilla provide a lovely sweetness balanced by drying oak tannins. The body is short-lived, unfortunately. The palate experience, starts with a sip, right to a blast, and almost immediately, to a finish. However, the finish is fairly long of orange-bitters, tea and honey, salted-caramel and woody-oakiness. A touch of water does enhance the experience that softens the bite and bitterness and is recommended if you want this to be a sweeter dram. This is a lovely, sweet whisky that only sweetens the longer it opens. Perfect as an after meal sipper or sitting on a deck during the evening, ending a relaxing day. Some may find this a simple whisky, bordering on the plain and boring side. Glen Garioch, in my opinion, is producing whiskies that are not trying to be something that they are not. It’s a nice, sweet, well-crafted whisky that is flat out enjoyable. [Dry Glass: Salted Caramel][$57][87/100][Tasted: 2/26/17]