Tastes

Not the Solist version, but the La Maison Du Whisky 60th Anniversary Small Batch bottling. 52.4% ABV Nose - (w/o water) Hot, sweet tropical fruits, light sweet smoke, pineapple, coconut, Tahitian vanilla, bananas. (w/ water) Bananas flambeed w/ white rum, coconut, pineapple, unburnt wood charcoal, grilled pineapple. Taste - (w/o water) Fruity pepper heat, sweet fruity charcoal peat, grilled pineapple, sharp clean sweetness, like that of a heavily filtered pineapple juice (w/ water) Dry woody heat, grilled pineapple, light ashy smoke, cooked caramelized banana. Finish - (w/o water) Lingering peppery heat, light ashy/metallic/iodine sweetness, bananas, pineapple, light charcoal. (w/ water) Lingering sweet woody tannic heat, clean light colored tropical fruits, smoked/grilled bananas, pineapple, sugar cane, lightly metallic. Score - 79/100 Final Thoughts - This was an interesting one in that it portrayed a lot of the "classic" Kavalan malt I get w/ the clean tropical fruits. The aging in casks that formerly aged peated whisky was interesting in that it added this additional smoky layer, but I'm not sure I'm a fan. In addition to the smoke, it added this odd metallic note that I wasn't a huge fan of. A tiny bit of water tamed the initial hot heat a bit and brought out the fruit notes, but it also made it a tad bit more metallic. I'm a bit indifferent about this one, an interesting concept for sure, but I'm not sure it exactly fits my palate that well. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Clean apple/pear/Asian pear, barrel aged cider, dark honey, caramel. Taste - Dark honeyed light fleshed fruits, apples, Asian pears, hint of longan sweet/metallic, light pepper tingle, Asian pear skin bitterness/dryness. Finish - Light warmth, lingering Asian pear sweet (like it's been sitting out a bit & has oxidized to a light brown), honey. Score - 74/100 Final Thoughts - I will admit I got this bottle purely because it looked cool. The metal samurai topper is just amazing presentation. That being said, the whisky inside isn't horrible, but it isn't great either. Like a good majority of the whisky made in Japan, I think this was fully intended to go in a highball versus sipped neat. Neat, it's not bad, somewhat easy sipping, just not something I'd really reach for. The flavors are subtle but present, but are a bit one-dimensional and have a very "summery" feel that I think would be better in cocktails or a highball versus sipped neat. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe if they had another bottle topper design.

Nose - Sweet bing cherries, blackberry cider, spiced apple cider, sweet dough after a while. Taste - Sweet fruity peppery spice/heat/tingle, lightly oaky cherry/berry cider, orange zest/pith bitter, light ginger. Finish - Lingering spicy tingle, cherry/blueberry/blackberry sweet, bitter ginger beer tingle. Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - Not sure if I'm having an off day or because the weather has finally cooled off & it's actually sprinkling/drizzling today but this wasn't as good as I expected it would be. Had a nice fruity/sherry nose but it seemed a bit off balance on the palate. Had this almost metallic fruity note but not quite there, similar to hints of metal I occasionally get in super dense/syrupy dried fruits. Overall, a very decent sipper that seems to have things mostly balanced, but there's just this intangible I can't pinpoint. If I was looking to sip on something sherried without thinking too much, this would fit the bill. I think this might also work very well in a sweeter highball. I think the flavors are strong enough that they would get complemented very well by some soda water. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

Nose - Very sweet & fruity, hint of syrupy golden raisins, hint of elderflower, sweet nuts, juicy red berries, hint of bitter dark chocolate. Taste - Sweet nutty/syrupy sherry, white pepper heat/spice/tingle, light metallic taste, sweet nuts, honey, sweet white grape juice, hint of ginger, light salt. Finish - Lingering white pepper spice, faint dry tannic bitterness, light metallic lingers, metallic white grape juice sweet, hazelnut/almond skin, metallic salt. Score - 84/100 Final Thoughts - This is a bit tough. It has a pretty good nose in that you really get a nice fruity/nutty nose on it which does follow through to the palate, but then you're suddenly hit by this odd metallic taste. Like it somehow got stored in a reactive metal tank or something. Kind of hard to describe, but it's similar to that of a metallic taste in some salts. Regardless, it's quite tasty albeit I'm sure pretty young. I think if it was aged a bit longer to somehow mellow out or get rid of the metallic notes somehow, it'd be a lot better. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - If it stays around the same price yes.

2014 Release Nose - (w/o water) Dark fruity smoke, earth, fruity peppercorns, dark pear cider, spicy dark chocolate (w/ water) Less smoke, more sea air, ripe pears, golden raisins. Taste - (w/o water) White pepper tingle/heat, sweet smoky salty dark pear cider, lightly drying mouthfeel, smoked sweet nuts, golden raisins (w/ water) Oaky, salty, sweet smoke, initial dark raisin sweet quickly transitions to a golden raisin sweet, ripe pears, sweet smokehouse almonds. Finish - (w/o water) Lingering white pepper tingle/heat, very drying, light sea salt smoke lingers, light smoked salted nuts, golden raisins. (w/ water) Gentle warmth, golden raisins, sea spray, light lingering sweet smoke. Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - I quite liked this the first time I tried it and I like it again this time. Not being a huge peat head, this was quite tasty as the smoke & all of the unpleasant notes I get from younger Laphroaig are mostly tamed after spending 25 years in oak. The sherry notes in this one are more subdued, so I'm not sure if they used refill sherry or a lighter sherry like amontillado/manzanilla because I get more nutty light fruit notes. Regardless, this is quite tasty, gentle smoke, light savory sea salt throughout, nicely balanced. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe, pending price Would I buy a bottle? - No, I like it, but not enough to get an entire bottle to myself

Nose - (w/o water) Sweet fruit, vanilla smoke, hint of iodine, Wheaties cereal, slightly metallic, lemon zest (w/ water) More of a sweet salty smoke, lemon citrus hinted light fruit juice. Taste - (w/o water) White pepper & smoke tingle, citrusy lemon zest, sweet pear, lightly salty cured/smoked meat, like a weird mix between a beef brisket & a ham (w/ water) More of a sweet/savory smoke, very clean & juicy, sweet smoke more prominent on the backend. Finish - (w/o water) Lingering white pepper tingle, sweet salty smoke, light saline, fruity green fruits, savory meat (w/ water) Lingering saline/smoke, light white pepper warmth, charcoal/ash, light "fresh" fruits. Score - 77/100 Final Thoughts - This wasn't that bad of a peated expression for me, but it seemed a bit one dimensional and I wish I could somehow have the nose & taste of the Scotch with water, with the finish I got without water. It was quite a bit more enjoyable but mellow with water, but the finish with water was more ashy as opposed to a more fruity, clean smoke. That being said, the years in oak has tamed the smoke/peat considerably, but it's still not something I'd reach for. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Light honey, green apples, citrus peel & pith, pomelo, light caramel. Taste - Sweet fruity honey & caramel, fruity bitterness, gentle ginger burn, citrusy, citrus pith bitter, light apple juice. Finish - Lingering citrus pith bitterness, light watery honey/apple juice sweet, quickly fading ginger spice that transitions into a gentle warmth. Score - 77/100 Final Thoughts - Fairly light & very summery nose. Nice fresh green apple & citrusy notes that I think would be amazing in a highball with a quality soda. Overall this is fairly light with a very "light colored fruit" profile that has this overall bitterness throughout which I take to be from the IPA casks. This is an interesting experiment for sure but it's not my thing as I'm not a huge fan of super hoppy beers which are typically IPAs. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Cooked apples, dark honey, orange zest, ginger, apricot glazed apple danish, brown sugar. Taste - Honey baked apples, orange zest, ginger spice, light golden raisin sweet, subtle metallic fruit. Finish - Gentle pleasant ginger warmth, honey apple danish, light metallic apple/grape juice. Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - So the slightly higher proof here might have balanced out the younger age and it helped get rid of any off-putting bitter notes. What's strange is there's this weird metallic note I get like this has been vatted/stored in a metal vat for too long & has picked up that slight metallic vibe. I guess the strong point for Glenfarclas might be higher proof, heavily sherried, or older age to get rid of this metallic taste. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Apple, honey, ginger, orange zest, syrupy riesling. Taste - Dark honey, woody barrel aged apple cider, ginger spice, white pepper heat, hint of orange zest with light pith bitterness, lightly fruity peach/strawberry, bitter nut skins. Finish - Lingering nutty sweetness, hint of medicinal/metallic bitter, light metallic apple/grape juice. Score - 79/100 Final Thoughts - I guess I'm not all that impressed with the "younger" Glenfarclas line. The 17 is very similar to the 18 and both are kind of lackluster in overall nose & taste. The 18 has a nice pleasant dark honey sweet initially but it somehow transitions into this weird metallic taste that lingers to the finish. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Apples, orange zest, ginger, fresh red berries. Taste - Vanilla, caramel, orange zest, ginger heat, white pepper tingle, light unripe strawberries, apple/pear, light bitter almond skins. Finish - Lingering orangy sweet, almond skin bitterness, lingering ginger/white pepper tingle. Score - 79/100 Final Thoughts - Tasty, but it has this weird tannic bitterness about it. This noses like it was aged in a lighter sherry, like an Amontillado or a Fino barrel as it didn't have the viscous raisiny notes I get from darker sherries. Tastes a bit hot for 43% but not overwhelmingly so. It's drinkable for sure, but I guess not as sherry forward as I expected. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No