Tastes

This is a really unique whisky; unlike anything I have tasted before. It’s taken a few drams for my palate and brain to calibrate it. But now it’s gone from interesting to very enjoyable. The nose tells me right away this is going to be a different experience. There are strong aromas of sandalwood, pine needles, salty sweet caramel ... almost like fiddle faddle, cheerios, and some citrus - but not fresh fruit, more like Tang. On the palate, I’m instantly hit with the taste of the Mizunara - the wood oils coat my tongue, and then comes more citrus but now fresher, like tangerines. I also get a lot of creamy notes - mango, butter cookies, and ohi’a lehua blossom honey. The finish is oak, oak and more oak ... that Mizunara hangs around for days. The Irish-Japanese hybrid is really well done. Looking forward to seeing how the bottle evolves over time.

The King of summer: Ardbeg 10 vs Lagavulin 8 I love peaty scotches and really lean into them during the cold weather months but also like to have a couple of bottles in my summer rotation. Two of my favorites are Ardbeg 10 and Lagavulin 8 so I thought I should do a showdown to see who the true king of summer is. Over the past couple of days, I’ve been tasting these side-by-side .... Ardbeg 10 This is a camping trip in a bottle. On the nose, I get smoke, pine needles, wet grass, bug spray (in a good way) and bandaids. Palate: Eucalyptus, marshmallow, salt, and teriyaki grilled fish. Finish: Smoldering campfire, vanilla ice cream and mint Thoughts: It’s clean (for a peaty scotch), lightweight but flavorful, and beautifully refined. Lagavulin 8 If Ardbeg 10 is a camping trip, this is a sunny day at the beach. The nose is bright and vibrant. I smell apples, green papaya, fresh cherries, charcoal briquettes, toasted bread and flameed banana. Palate: Saltwater, grilled peach, dried apricot, and a sweet maltiness Finish: Newspaper ash and honey butter Thoughts: it’s amazing how good young peated whiskies can be. This one is so fresh and engaging; it’s perfect for a summer evening. Verdict: I love both of these and will continue to have them in my summer rotation. But, if I was a castaway on a desert island and had to choose one, Ardbeg 10 would be my Wilson. It has all the excitement and vitality of Laga 8 but the flavors are a little more integrated and the mouthfeel is just perfect. It is so good!

The King of summer: Ardbeg 10 vs Lagavulin 8 I love peaty scotches and really lean into them during the cold weather months but also like to have a couple of bottles in my summer rotation. Two of my favorites are Ardbeg 10 and Lagavulin 8 so I thought I should do a showdown to see who the true king of summer is. Over the past couple of days, I’ve been tasting these side-by-side .... Ardbeg 10 This is a camping trip in a bottle. On the nose, I get smoke, pine needles, wet grass, bug spray (in a good way) and bandaids. Palate: Eucalyptus, marshmallow, salt, and teriyaki grilled fish. Finish: Smoldering campfire, vanilla ice cream and mint Thoughts: It’s clean (for a peaty scotch), lightweight but flavorful, and beautifully refined. Lagavulin 8 If Ardbeg 10 is a camping trip, this is a sunny day at the beach. The nose is bright and vibrant. I smell apples, green papaya, fresh cherries, charcoal briquettes, toasted bread and flameed banana. Palate: Saltwater, grilled peach, dried apricot, and a sweet maltiness Finish: Newspaper ash and honey butter Thoughts: it’s amazing how good young peated whiskies can be. This one is so fresh and engaging; it’s perfect for a summer evening. Verdict: I love both of these and will continue to have them in my summer rotation. But, if I was a castaway on a desert island and had to choose one, Ardbeg 10 would be my Wilson. It has all the excitement and vitality of Laga 8 but the flavors are a little more integrated and the mouthfeel is just perfect. It is so good!

This is the fernet of whiskies ... it has deep dark fruit flavors, herbaceousness, a minty tingle and a little bitterness on the backend. It’s really unique and interesting; looking forward to seeing how the bottle evolves over time.

This is really good! On the nose, I get dried cherries, chocolate malt, sherry, and wet leather. The palate is delicious. I taste bitter dark chocolate, cream, Luxardo cherries, and baking spices. Finish hangs around and then turns a little drying. It’s really interesting and keeps getting better the lower in the bottle I get. When I first opened it, I needed to let my pours air out for 20-30 mins but now that’s not necessary. Looking forward to exploring more Balblairs.

This is a flavor sledgehammer! It starts with a punch in the nose; the cask strength vapors hit hard, clearing out my nasal cavity. After 10 minutes in the glass the fumes subside and I can get my nose into the glass. I smell sweet brine, caramel, fresh fruit and a hint of peat. Then comes the a cannon ball on the tongue ... toffee, herbs, hay, and a serious dose of citrus oil. Finish is medium; not as powerful as the rest of the experience but you won’t forget it’s there. Adding water brings out some subtle fruit and cream notes, as well as some warming wood spice. This is not any easy one - requires patience and trial and error with the water. But the flavors are nuts and the quality/value high.

This is a great daily drinker. It has enough complexity to keep me interested but doesn’t require much attention. No need to let it air out for a long period of time or play around with water, just able to pour and enjoy. On the nose, I get apricot, caramel, and hay. On the palate, I taste kettle corn, sweet cream, and touch of wood spice. The finish is oily and mouth coating. For $65ish, you really can’t beat it. I would probably still grab Springbank 10 over it but still great.

This is tasty stuff; flavorful, rich and warming. On the nose, I smell grape must and raw pastry dough. There is a deep weightiness, like the inside of a raisin box, followed by the sweetness of a fruit cocktail cup. On the palate, I get Ovaltine and dried fruit, vanilla pudding with some grappa spikes and dusty walnuts. The finish is medium/long. I have enjoyed this bottle but liked the first half better than the second. It didn’t evolve but he way I thought it might. Still a strong one and good value.

This is a good whiskey. My high-level summary is that it tastes like Oban 14’s brother from another mother. They’re related but C14 has a little more personality. O14 is like eating French Toast on a warf on a foggy day .... C14 is like eating the same French Toast but on a warm, sunny day and eating it with a little spiced butter and meyer lemon on top. There’s more punch than O14 and more highs/lows in flavor - earthy coriander mixed with some waxy honey and pings of lemon which adds some nice dimension. This is a warm-you-up whiskey; a good way to start off a night and prepare your palate for an adventure.

I bought an old bottling of Longmorn 16 (released 2007-2015; green box/bottle) at auction and the new bottling (released 2016+; purple box/bottle) from a local shop and tasted them side by side. They’re very different ... New L16: this is a nice scotch; it’s light and friendly with a few layers to explore but they’re pretty limited in depth. Primarily toffee, chamomile, and citrus. The overall mouthfeel makes this feel younger than 16 years. But again still very pleasant to drink. Old L16: This is a richer and more complex whiskey. There are nice caramel, toast and cream notes with interesting dashes of spice. And the mouthfeel is oily, giving it some good hang time. Seems older than 16 years. Really tasty; I kept wanting to go back for more. The 4.0+ score is for the old L16; I’ll treasure this bottle and look forward to sharing it with friends. I also picked up a bottle of the Longmorn 15 so that will have to be a head-to-head battle at some point.