Tastes

Thanks to Dreaming of Islay for this sample. This one was a surprise. I wasn't sure how the peat of Balvenie was going to be, but the nose gave off some floral peat, mixed with heavily iced cookies with a touch of gingerbread. More of that on the palate with more presence of peat. This is not an Islay, but it came and made a statement. The finish was short but satisfying. Only needed a very small drop of water since it's near that 48% ABV sweet spot. Thankfully, it was not extremely woody. The song for this one is "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" - the GnR version.

This was the belle of the ball at the whisky expo.. The King Slayer. The song "Raining Blood" comes to mind. I actually thought it blew the King Alexander out of the water, in fact. From the nose I could tell it was a sherry bomb, but I could sense that it was going to be balanced by other aspects as well. On the palate, I got fresh cut cigars, chocolate, vanilla, raisins, cashews, and mind blowing citrus. Finish is an all day/all night festival, and it was still going after water and a biscuit. In the words of Oliver Twist, "Maaaay, I have some mooore?!?!"

This was my first dram at the whisky expo. There was a queue from the get-go for this experience. It's extremely complex, and probably needs a full bottle experience to get every nuance out of it. From first impressions though, the nose would drift from fruity sherry, to wine/port, to floral and even sweet vanilla biscuits. The palate and finish were sublime too, but overall a bit on the sweet end. It's like a catchy glam rock anthem that you are embarrassed to enjoy. 300 greenbacks? I don't know... maybe. There was an actual offering I enjoyed more from Dalmore than this one, so I think I'd save my money for that one instead.

Had this at a whisky expo. Enjoyed the nose more than the palate/finish. Got the honey, heather, slight peat, almonds up front, but the taste had a bit ..what was it, sulfur? Not quite, but something like mineral water, and I can't stand that stuff. Unless there is a lot of peat, I've noticed that it's hard for me to get into any distillery's base 10 product. Finish was medium, but grainy and a dry wood taste.

Ha haaa! The theme of this dram is the Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces". Dat nose is funky, but gooood. Vanilla, cake batter, rich red, red wine (maybe this should be an UB40 song?) and woody elements. The palate - oh man, this is a "daddy size" piece of New York cheesecake with extra strawberry syrup. The finish is long, and dare I use the cliche "smooooth". Only a few drops of water with this guy. It may be hard to track down at this point, but WELL worth the effort.

Special thanks to Dreaming of Islay! I had to do a double take and say a loud, “What the what!?!” with this dram. This one makes me want to play “Connection” by Elastica. Anyway, to the nose! I really hate the way grapefruit tastes, but this fragrance here is REALLY nice. I smell a slight salty peppery whiff of honey in there as well. The floral scent balances well with the fruit and faint peat. Thankfully, this does not have grapefruit on the palate, but it’s a nice plump juicy strawberry mixed with raspberries. More peppery pops of goodness, along with a slight mature peat smoke on the back end. That slight charcoal touch makes me want to call this offering “Jeeves”. It’s just cool enough without being over pretentious. My only complaint is that I wish the finish was longer. Don’t get me wrong, that Lagavulin 16 is damn nice, but this…This is now rare.. And that somehow gives it a little more mystique. Kinda like that cute girl that you KNOW you like, but don’t know much about.

This is straight up a cask strength Caol Ila that reminds me of a mix of 8 to 12. Very nice nose with salty peat, apple, cinnamon, and dark fudge. Palate is dang good as well with a ton of smoke, salty goodness, with some peanuts on the side. A very nice dram with a long finish. Bring on more of the cask strength goodness, anytime. It might be the only thing that saves us from the NAS invasion.

The amusing thing was that I went into the liquor store today just looking for something cheap for a daily dram, like a Johnnie Walker Black. Well, they actually had this new one, and I thought, "What the hell, might as well" since it was 40 bucks. Heather, with light fruit on the nose. Pineapple, caramel, slight peat and smoke. Decent, but nothing special. I wouldn't dare touch it with water at 40%. Similar palate - nice splash of sweetness, but not in a cloying manner. Toffee, smoke, and some oak notes. The strangest thing to me is that this is not at all much different than the Valkyrie, which is twice the cost. The finish is similar to the Valkyrie as well, with a short subtle coffee bean after taste. On par with the standard JW Black, and a good option for a standard if you want something cheaper.

First Japanese whisky! I actually get milk chocolate on the nose, along with sugary caramel. You can tell it’s a crazy sweet dram. It reminds me of an El Dorado 25 rum of all things. Mmmm... a much different palate.. this has juicy nectarines, banana, some spice, lavender...and very, very distant mushroom fungal note. A medium finish of sweet fruit and bourbon. I would recommend this to anyone.