Tastes

Heads up! This is a VERY savory dram, so don’t move in unless you want a meal. On the nose it’s spice galore. Tumeric, cayenne, cinnamon, coriander, they’re all there. Along for the ride are light fruits and a light tobacco. The palate. Wow. Most people, unfortunately, won’t know what I am referring to, but the taste reminds me a lot of an Ethiopian Sambossa. Onions, lamb, spices, ginger, and mint. Some will learn a way to respect the glass, and some might get lost in its onslaught of great flavor. The finish is a little bitter, filled with toasted almonds and walnuts. 3.75. The theme for this dram will be “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin. It is worth the journey.

Disclaimer: This review is specifically for the Haig Gold Label, Late George V, which was bottled in 1940. Wow Pranay, this was a nice find indeed. I'll be honest, when I heard the aftermath of the present Haig marketing onslaught, and how the present product was lackluster, I thought to myself "oooh, this 1940 might not as good as I am thinking it will be". Well, it is awesome that I was incorrect. Goes to show, never think that all bottles from one distilleries are going to have a great, or a bad offering, especially if time has gone by as it has here. Wow, great vanilla wafers, dark nuts, and a hint of smoke. Is that sulfur in there? I like it! To me, this is like a "light" Jedi version of the Bowmore 15 Darkest. The Obi-Won to Darth Vader... Anyway, enough tangents. Even though the finish was short to medium, there is some gooey goodness of caramelized syrup with cherries. This goes to show, never judge a book by its cover. 4.0 This one is such a classic that the song for this dram has to be "Symphony #9" by Beethoven.

The spice is nice! This smells like a gorgeous fruitcake spiked with awesome booze. No water needed here. The palate is a balance of every fruit you can imagine, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and malt. Man, the only thing I like about the A’bundah more than this 18 is the beautiful clove finish. This one is medium and reminds me of a spicy buttery fluffy muffin. The theme is “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney. 4.0

On the nose, I am getting a mix of apples, oranges, heather, and grandma’s sweet tea. For the palate, I get a bright splash of subtle banana, pineapple, vanilla, and light fruit. A very light mouth coat, and two finishes. One is a short, almost bitter finish, and the other wave is buttery oil, which was fairly long. This makes me think of “Double Vision” by Foreigner. I will say that even though this is far from my wheelhouse, it’s a pleasant dram. 3.25.

Holy mackeral! I have become a big fan of Nikka products. Huge thanks to Pranay for the sample on this since it' s not available in the U.S. Right from the nose, you can tell it's going to be a well balanced glass. You get the woody elements, with light and dark fruits, briny saltiness, and even floral properties. The palate brings smooth vanilla, high quality fruit punch, and Werther's original candies. The finish is long with heavy oak and spicy cinnamon. Since this dram is making me long for more from Japan, the song for this one is "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors. 4.25!

Not a bad whisky, but an extremely subtle one on all fronts. On the nose, the smoke is barely detected. I can decipher some sherry notes, but even though this is ex-sherry on both American and European oak, it's just too distant. I think the 40% ABV may be the issue, just a hunch. Being a travel retail only bottle makes me shake my head, because you would think they would be putting some better 4 to 5 star stuff out there, but for 65-75 dollars, I guess I shouldn't complain too much. The palate is a bit more spicier than fruity, and I water does not help it out. A short pleasant finish with more tropical notes reminiscent of a medium end Balvenie 14 or so to me. A solid 3.0. Since the finish puts a steel drum in my head, the song for this one is "Jane Says" by Jane's Addiction. Thanks to Paul for giving me the chance to sample this one.

Disclaimer: this review isn't for the listed Invergordon, but for 2 separate samples: a young 9 year old sample, independently bottled by Battlehill, and a 44 year old, independent bottling by Maltbarn. I will sort this out when Distiller lets us add our own bottles soon. Anyway, hate to say this Lee, but the 9 year old was sooo waxy on the nose that I thought I was smelling the beeswax I use with bottling sometimes. Unfortunately, I got the same soap, sawdust, wax, and other notes that Paul described. I swear that I gave this a college try, but it was so tough for me to get through after this, and the Girvan, that I thought to myself "I will NEVER buy or drink a grain whisky ever again". Thankfully, Pranay sent the Maltbarn we got to try. I don't know if it has to be that old (44 years) in order to be really good, but wow, what a clear difference of quality. This isn't night and day, or black and white, even more unlike than that. On the 44 I was able to get vanilla cookies, tropical notes, and oak out the ying-yang. The palate was sweet with more of those same tones, but along with a slight twang from something I couldn't place. It may be the mineral aspect Paul was getting, but I enjoyed it a lot. Maybe it was close to iodine from brine/salt somewhere. Either way, a big thanks to Lee and Pranay for the chance to go "all the way" with Invergordon. I'll just rate the better of the two with a solid 4.0.

Lapsang souchong is literally the first note I get from this.. or a light version of it at least. White grape, vanilla, honey, yep, all the speyside goodness. The palate is where I get the sherry notes and slight peat smoke. I'll be honest, the first dram of this yesterday did not appeal much to me, but now on the second day, it's MUCH better. Maybe that's a sign that oxidation helps this glass. This is a base core offering, and a great one. No water needed, and the finish reminds me of orange peel/marmalade with candied sugar. A nice medium mouth coat. 3.75, and thanks Paul for the chance to admire it. The song for this dram is "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds.

This is a sweet peat, so the theme of this dram is going to be "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath. The nose also has some dark berry fruit in there with some distant and faint dark chocolate mint. On the palate, it's a flood of ash along with a lemon bar, and oil. Heavy mouth coat, and a long smoky finish, but I think it could be better if something else was there for balance, whether it be more sweet or briny notes. Just a couple drops of water did not kill the peat and took a little of the twang down. I am thinking 3.25 on this, and thanks to Lee for the sample.

18? Wow, nice find Paul, and thanks for the chance to "simma down" with this one. The nose is full of nice vanilla, honeysuckle, barley, and sweet white grapes. The palate is a warm inviting layer of butter cream icing, oil, with a heavy mouth coat. Vanilla is definitely in your face neat, and the finish is a tad hot with dry alcohol. I put a few drops of water on it to see what else we can get from this glass. Grapes and light fruit come more to the forefront on the nose. It now almost has a white wine quality. The water helped with the finish for me. The nice mouth coat is still there, with a buttery finish, but it's far from a complex dram. I'd lean toward a 3.25. This is "Bread and Butter" by The Newbeats. Try not to laugh! =)