Whisk(e)y Lovers thread

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Urist said:
Haven't given them a try... bourbons? Might start off the year on a good note.
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Yes, both are bourbouns.
Quad said:
If you're into bourbons hen also give Bulleit a try, which is my current go-to bourbon.
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I also have one of those in the cupboard, though I sip it sparingly. There's also Woodford Reserve but I'be not spent a lot of time with that one (I have the cheaper one of the two).
 
A friend came through duty free last night Jameson triple triple is on sale for R 385.
 
Bought a Springbank 10 using checkers liquor click and collect. I know a while back someone wondered if it worked. Online price was price paid. Price in store at checkers, where I've seen it was more by R50.
 
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So I decided to do a bit of a semi-blind tasting tonight but this time with relatively unpeated whiskies that I have. I tried to select some things which were similar in my mind enough that there’d be an element of doubt. I have recently had the flu so this has affected my taste buds a bit and I haven't had any of these whiskies in over 2 weeks as such. Yet I still think it was worthwhile to do this blind and to learn somethings about these whiskies.

I selected (in order of the preference I assumed I would have):
  • Springbank 10 (unopened and never tasted) 46%
  • Hazelburn 10 46%
  • Glen Scotia 15 (unopened and never tasted) 46%
  • Glen Scotia Victoriana 51.5%
  • Craigellachie 13 (mini, I've tasted this twice before) 46%
  • Paul John Brilliance 46%
  • Dewar's 15 43%
On the nose I really liked: Springbank 10 > Dewar's 15 > Glen Scotia Victoriana > Paul John Brilliance > Glen Scotia 15 > Craigellachie 13 > Hazelburn 10. Surprisingly the only whisky I picked out immediately from nosing alone was the Paul John Brilliance. Weirdly Hazelburn 10 was incredibly soft on the nose compared to the others.

Wasn't my day for tasting it seems. I tried to blind guess and got 4/7 correct. I thought the Glen Scotia Victoriana was Craigellachie 13, that Dewar's 15 was the Glen Scotia Victoriana and that the Craigellachie 13 was Dewar's 15.

My preference for taste was: Springbank 10 > Glen Scotia Victoriana > Glen Scotia 15 > Dewar's 15 > Hazelburn 10 > Paul John Brilliance > Craigellachie 13.

Oddly the mouthfeel on these were all quite similar but I did note the Craigellachie 13 as being particularly oily in comparison. Also weirdly picked up a minerality tasting note to the Dewar's 15, something I would have thought was in the Glen Scotia 15 from what I'd heard in reviews. By this point I knew which one was Paul John Brilliance and sadly it's just not a flavour profile I enjoy (Green Apple) but it is very good whisky. I was very surprised by the lack of colour in the Hazelburn 10 and very surprised that it didn't seem as flavourful as when I've had it previously. Surprisingly the flavour profiles were fairly similar I always think of Dewar's 15 as being a little on the harsher side but I really confused it for the Victoriana which is a cask strength whisky and actually comes across as rather light and pear forward with an almost 'cucumber water'-esque refreshing finish. Springbank 10 was eventually findable because of my experience with Springbank 9 local barley, Kilkerran 12 and a tasting of the 12 CS. I caught a similarity to the Victoriana in the 15 but given that I thought Dewar's 15 was the Victoriana it doesn't mean much. I also thought I got some candied notes in what was the Glen Scotia Victoriana.

Takeaways:

  • All were very good whiskies. I underrated Dewar's 15 (funny because my first time tasting it was in a blind tasting)
  • Blind tasting really does remove biases
  • I'm terrible at picking out ABV.
  • Taste buds are fickle things.
  • I didn't really pick up any peat for Springbank or Glen Scotia (although both are supposed to be lightly peated) but both were neck pours so likely these will actually improve.
  • I wouldn't really be able to say I have a clear preference for my top 3 picks
  • Dewar's 15 as my 4th pick is really good bang for the buck
  • Hazelburn and Glen Scotia can easily masquerade as speyside malts (but so could Paul John Brilliance)
  • Sadly Craigellachie 13 as much as I initially liked it ended up not being something I liked in this moment, a takeaway that positive experience can alter perception of a whisky's taste. Yet I still like the flavours brought by Craigellachie as it is used to create the Dewar's blend.


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A while back I did a blind tasting with a number of peated whiskies. As I've just bought the Smokehead High Voltage and Finlaggan Cask Strength (Actually my first whisky purchases for the year), I thought I'd try do these blind or as blind as possible, also a convenient way to initially get a feel for them. Both are 58% and both are Islay single malts from an unnamed distillery. I was also keen to see if I could crack the mystery of these and actually it's a lot harder than you'd have thought. I had my SO pour them along side the Big Peat Christmas 2018, and I gave her the option of Port Charlotte Scottish Barley or Ardbeg 10, she went with Ardbeg 10 as the fourth malt. I don't have a bottle of Corryvreckan which would have been perfect as it matches the abv but after finishing this, I think it would have stood out too much.

I think I should have done this tasting blindfolded, unfortunately the Smokehead high voltage has a significant colour difference and in the nose this shows up as a sherry sweetness with a bitter oak. Not surprisingly there's a quite some similarity between the other three, I really thought the Ardbeg 10 was going to standout and on the nose the only difference was more of a minerality. As far as abv went the ones that felt highest were actually the Big Peat and Smokehead. Big Peat had a far more coastal/brine influence than the others. I really got a light wood smoke with everything except for the Smokehead. On the palate for the Smokehead high voltage I got pleasant heat, and wood fire smoke, I'd really need to spend time with this and with water to truly unravel it. To me I'd say it's likely Lagavulin or Caol Ila, they use the same peated malt so it really doesn't matter much. On the nose for the Finlaggan I was immediately reminded of the Caol Ila 12 I tried at a pub and on the palate for the Finalaggan I got a tarry note, sweetness and a light wood smoke. I'd have to go with Caol Ila for this one and wow you don't notice the abv at all. It's a superb Islay.

For the nose I favoured: Smokehead High Voltage > Finlaggan Cask Strength > Ardbeg 10 > Big Peat Christmas 2018.

For the palate I favoured: Finlaggan Cask Strength > Ardbeg 10 > Smokehead High Voltage > Big Peat Christmas 2018

A day later I revisited the Smokehead and with some water and time it does remind me a bit of Ardbeg too now so I can see how that gets thrown around in a number of online reviews. The bitterness isn't completely unpleasant but may be off putting to some, very similar to the oak notes in Bells Special Reserve (The R279-300 bottle, it's a gem and I'm going to post a review of it soon) and Langs Rich and Refined. The peat finish that follows is really quite enjoyable though. Definitely a winter whisky though but I love the branding and design, I also treat the name as an Electric Six reference for fun. I find it to be a whisky that you want to keep on your palate for a while to get the most enjoyment out of it. I'm aware it's possible Smokehead has batches and these may be from different distilleries so your mileage may vary.

Ardbeg 10 is stellar and priced really well at Makro, definitely worth picking up if you want to explore peated whisky.

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Nice write up. I really need to find a bottle of Finlaggan up here in Joburg.

Besides the Finlaggan, my favourite in that line up is the Ardbeg 10.
 
axsis said:
A while back I did a blind tasting with a number of peated whiskies. As I've just bought the Smokehead High Voltage and Finlaggan Cask Strength (Actually my first whisky purchases for the year), I thought I'd try do these blind or as blind as possible, also a convenient way to initially get a feel for them. Both are 58% and both are Islay single malts from an unnamed distillery. I was also keen to see if I could crack the mystery of these and actually it's a lot harder than you'd have thought. I had my SO pour them along side the Big Peat Christmas 2018, and I gave her the option of Port Charlotte Scottish Barley or Ardbeg 10, she went with Ardbeg 10 as the fourth malt. I don't have a bottle of Corryvreckan which would have been perfect as it matches the abv but after finishing this, I think it would have stood out too much.

I think I should have done this tasting blindfolded, unfortunately the Smokehead high voltage has a significant colour difference and in the nose this shows up as a sherry sweetness with a bitter oak. Not surprisingly there's a quite some similarity between the other three, I really thought the Ardbeg 10 was going to standout and on the nose the only difference was more of a minerality. As far as abv went the ones that felt highest were actually the Big Peat and Smokehead. Big Peat had a far more coastal/brine influence than the others. I really got a light wood smoke with everything except for the Smokehead. On the palate for the Smokehead high voltage I got pleasant heat, and wood fire smoke, I'd really need to spend time with this and with water to truly unravel it. To me I'd say it's likely Lagavulin or Caol Ila, they use the same peated malt so it really doesn't matter much. On the nose for the Finlaggan I was immediately reminded of the Caol Ila 12 I tried at a pub and on the palate for the Finalaggan I got a tarry note, sweetness and a light wood smoke. I'd have to go with Caol Ila for this one and wow you don't notice the abv at all. It's a superb Islay.

For the nose I favoured: Smokehead High Voltage > Finlaggan Cask Strength > Ardbeg 10 > Big Peat Christmas 2018.

For the palate I favoured: Finlaggan Cask Strength > Ardbeg 10 > Smokehead High Voltage > Big Peat Christmas 2018

A day later I revisited the Smokehead and with some water and time it does remind me a bit of Ardbeg too now so I can see how that gets thrown around in a number of online reviews. The bitterness isn't completely unpleasant but may be off putting to some, very similar to the oak notes in Bells Special Reserve (The R279-300 bottle, it's a gem and I'm going to post a review of it soon) and Langs Rich and Refined. The peat finish that follows is really quite enjoyable though. Definitely a winter whisky though but I love the branding and design, I also treat the name as an Electric Six reference for fun. I find it to be a whisky that you want to keep on your palate for a while to get the most enjoyment out of it. I'm aware it's possible Smokehead has batches and these may be from different distilleries so your mileage may vary.

Ardbeg 10 is stellar and priced really well at Makro, definitely worth picking up if you want to explore peated whisky.

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Where did you buy and how much for the Finlaggan?

I think I saw that info on your Insta, but not sure...
 
MightyQuin said:
Where did you buy and how much for the Finlaggan?

I think I saw that info on your Insta, but not sure...
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I bought it for R859 from Liquor City Claremont. Not sure if they have any more, I can give you a sample if you want. Think it was imported some time ago as it's a 70cl bottle.
 
axsis said:
I bought it for R859 from Liquor City Claremont. Not sure if they have any more, I can give you a sample if you want. Think it was imported some time ago as it's a 70cl bottle.
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A sample would be great.

I can reciprocate with a sample of either Balcones Texas Single Malt 53% ABV or Mackmyra Appelblom ?
 
While things are peated around here, almost done with a bottle of this :
765860

Found it to be very similar to the Longrow Peated which is now hard to find at around the same price point ( R629 at Makro ). Will pick up another bottle at some point.
 
KantSnyer said:
While things are peated around here, almost done with a bottle of this :
View attachment 765860

Found it to be very similar to the Longrow Peated which is now hard to find at around the same price point ( R629 at Makro ). Will pick up another bottle at some point.
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I've stood with this in my hands at Makro a few times, but never pulled the trigger. Maybe it's time, especially since I am a bit of a Longrow nut...

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt
Nose: Smoke and citrus in equal measures, with sweet spice happily sitting between the two.

Palate: Not overtly smoky. It's definitely got its coastal elements, but the fruity notes of melon, apple and yet more citrus make it a rather sweet dram, balanced by warming barley.

Finish: Smoke lasts to the end.

Overall: A good introduction to peated whisky for those looking to get a taste of smoky goodness.
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MightyQuin said:
A sample would be great.

I can reciprocate with a sample of either Balcones Texas Single Malt 53% ABV or Mackmyra Appelblom ?
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I'll be in touch, I'd really be keen to try the Balcones. Very generous of you!

KantSnyer said:
Also keen to try out the other 2 in their range, most likely the Evolution next.
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Thanks for the heads up that Torfa is a good replacement for Longrow, might be useful down the line and this is the second time I've heard good things about it. I'm going to wait until a whisky tasting event to try the other two but I've been very tempted by Revival, it just always ends up slipping down my next purchase list.
 
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