Tastes

Ah man a diverse but not satisfying ride tonight. A Mr. Black coffee liquer with expresso (the only time I'm drinking coffee and loving the combo - adding a cacao husk gin takes it to next level) to start and then it went down hill from there, Benriach 17 yr Solstice which although great on opening has like a lot of Benriachs faded waay too fast and although started at 4.25 to 4.5 is now down to 3.75 at best.. will have to give the other bottle away. Old Armagnac, mezcal, grappa, bols none of which was great and now back to whiskey. Sadly this was one I bought a sample of in my "I'll try most things" phase which I've now realised is pointless..if most people say it's average or crap it is. Hencenow a days I'll only seek the good stuff as drinking whiskey should always be a delight not a chore..which this is. Sweet honey mead on nose and palate with a hint of oak.. very watery and artificial. Tomatin do great stuff but they really let themselves down by pumping out garbage like this.

Interesting attempt at a peated whiskey by Glenfiddich.. first i've had from them. To be honest I didn't even notice the peat it just tasted odd muddled off oak with vanilla, then i read the profile and thought oh yeah makes sense. It almost results in a dram that tastes like a dram it's been open to long. Not great but not bad.

Okey Dokey the grand finale...out of 12 drams provided by @LeeEvolved this is the most expensive by miles. $1400NZD or roughly $900USD. To add a twist to the tasting I put it head to head with Bunnahabhain and Glendronach 18 drams. So how did it go overall and against the side show? Firstly the Bunnahabhain..ah man. Usually for me drams improve a bit with time open then after too much time head back to the starting point or less. This just got better and better and has held there. If you love raisins this is for you, sultanas, xmas pudding etc. Easy 4.5. No wonder bottles are rare as hens teeth and $150USD a pop. 2nd the Glendronach 18. Ah toffee, toffee and more. I'm thinking 3 bottles is not enough and i need to stock pile one more. Update: I did and now have 5 which for a minimalist like me is a big deal! 3rd the Macallan. Now interestingly I'll fess up and say I mixed the samples up (to be fair I'm 7 drams in :-)) and thought this was the Bunnahabhain 18 as I was writing the review and declared I'd now be raising this to the top 1% of drams I've tried and a 4.75 and then almost cried at how it had broken my .5 rating range from first to subsequent taste so easily (i had noted it as a 4 rating on my initial taste which to be fair was a 7 flight tasting and it was at the end after a curried snack - yeah never again in a tasting session as that destroyed my palate but I was so so hungry at that point..)...except it wasn't the Bunna 18 it was the Oscuro. Damn this is an amazingly fine dram, it really is just perfection in a glass. Both the Bunnahabhain and Glendronach nip at it's heels but it really is flawless from start to end and they just couldn't match it...and not only that but its just so perfectly balanced and flavorsome..a homage to the art of cask blending. Oh what Macallan could have been if speculators hadn't destroyed access and availability to its goodness. Right a BIG, BIG thanks to @LeeEvolved for the magical rollercoaster of drams. Drum roll please.....the order of all drams is 1) Macallan Oscuro 4.75 2) Red Spot 4.5 3) Compass Box Stranger and Stranger 4.5 4) Ardbeg Galileo 4.25 to 4.5 5) Knob Creek CS Rye 2010 4.25 (if you like cherry flavour add .5 to rating) 6) Laphroaig Cairdeas Amontillado 4 7) Lagavullin 11 Nick Offerman 3.75 8) Laphroaig 2010 Master Edition 3.75 9) Corriemhor 8 yr Cigar Reserve 3.5 10) Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malt Fest 2018 Ruby Port Finish 3.5 11) Mortlach GOT 15 year 3.5 12) Serendipity 12 year 3.5 And there you have it. The hands down most awesomely diverse and full stop amazing tasting I've ever participated in (excluding the 80 dram epic 10 hour 2 day 2018 Dramfest session of course which is now only 5 days, 15 hours away for the 2020 event :-)). Ps. What is VFM you ask? Knob Creek. If that flavour profile is up your alley buy it. It's the Springbank of bourbon in it's refusal to compromise on quality or gouge on pricing.

Not like the other Mortlachs I've had which have often been very meaty, sulphuric beasts. This is much lighter, almost soapy note. If anyone gave it to me I wouldn't have picked it as Mortlach for the life of me. Very nice light and uncomplicated...right now onto the grand finale!

Maybe this one has been opened a while as i'm not really getting the flavor notes Lee noted. It's a lighter quite muddled dram, not bad not great not really anything distinct. Just a nice warming lightly flavored dram..the aftertaste effect is odd. Warms each side of the tongue but quite barren down the middle. Hasn't changed my opinion of Dalmore! Thanks anyhow @LeeEvolved now onto the masterpiece....

This is a very interesting drop courtesy of @LeeEvolved as leee notes zesty lime and a type of floral something or other i can't put my finger on. Interesting experiment but not one for me as not a profile which floats my boat. To be fair it did come after Compass Box Stranger and Stranger which was fantastic.