Tastes

Dramfest '18. Not much happening. 3. Not worth $120USD a bottle.

Very average fare. Very little flavor bar mild alcohol

Macallan and Jim Murray...ok I won't rant. The latter likes the former, and rates this edition highly.... . I really gave this one a chance. I cleansed my palate with an average whiskey, waited a minute for each year of its age. Would this be the one? Ok the good. Nice viscosity, honey, golden syrup, toffee bit of orange. Unfortunately its a bit bitter and astringent which lingers in the aftertaste. It's meant to be sherry finished but I'm getting none of that. All in all not to bad maybe up to a 3.5 at a push but it's around $250 USD and so like most Macallans heavily over priced. I'd say a 1/3rd of the price would be reasonable. 3 it is once VFM comes into the equation. I have not had a good run with Macallan but I hear Rare, Rare black and Edition 2 are Macallan at its finest so one day I might find out what the hype is about. As an aside I cracked open a sample of 1991, 24 year 49.2% Glendronach straight after...no waiting for 24 mins or anything and bam cheaper price, much, much better outcome.

This is an interesting distillery. There is the same note that goes through this dram similar to its brother I tried weeks ago. The distiller reviewer described it as marmalade, maybe that maybe a hint of cough syrup which is prevalent on the after taste. It's the type of note which makes me usually round down to a 3 and I can see how others might. I'm not sure even if the balance is quite there with the alcohol either but there is something I like about this. Even after that I was trending to a 3.75 but now I'm not sure. I'm thinking maybe a 3.25 with the aftertaste. I preferred its more boltchie rye based brother I think.

This is the whisky Jim Murray rated 2nd and 3rd best in 2 consecutive years. So does it live up to the hype? No it's not bad but its definately not great. Flat, insipid honey, vanilla with a bitter oakiness which cuts through it and lingers on the aftertaste. JWB12 beats this hands down at a 1/4 the price. 3.25 for this one.

Ah...end of the working week and hanging out in the airport lounge I take a rare break with my long standing tradition of not drinking on my weekly flight home. JWB12....I think this is one of if not the cheapest whiskey I've drunk I think at $35USD. I actually quite enjoyed this, hint of smoke and usual fare. I can def get the Talisker coming through. It's just a bit bitter on the aftertaste. 3.5 I'll give it. I can't quite call it a 4 but I could see when VFM is taken into account how it could be.

Hmm bit of a step down from the JWB12 I just had. A bit rougher, varnish, glue and alcohol fwd for 40%. 2.5 I'll give it...might have another JWB12 to clear the palate.

Hmm, num num num. Viscous honey, vanilla, smoke, tropical fruit, apple, coconut (ok I'm eating stewed apple and coconut yoghurt concurrently so not sure if I'm associating correctly on that one :-)). There is a lot going on here, complexity and balance galore. Abv was fine but I threw a few drops of water in anyhow. 4.5 at least maybe 4.75. If this was around the $150 -200 USD mark it'd get a rare 5 instantly but at $380USD VFM says hmmm...4 is more appropriate I think. But it is better than that. Ah I've given more for less. 5 it is. Would love to get a bottle of this and Fire..if I ever win lotto.

Hmm I was enlightened as to the contents but then the enlightenment ended there really. Bit of spice, bit of honey, bit of this and that, few drops of water didn't really enlightenment me further...3 enlightenments and out!

Now some distilleries potentially are at a disadvantage before I even try them as I don't view them favourably. However you could flip that coin on it's head and say the lower the expectations the higher the chance they'll be met or exceeded. 3.4 is the highest I've given this distillery... does this beat that. Barely...3.5 I think. Whiskey exchange tasting notes are on the money. It has a nice nutty oiliness, citrus, grass, honey but an underlying oakey bitterness resides which is off-putting. It did however diminish as I got through the sample so who knows how a full bottle might pan out but at $200USD over here in NZ i won't be testing that theory out. I have another sample so perhaps another day another dram a different score perhaps.