Sign up with GoogleGot these finally, they almost arrived on my Birthday but well alcohol ban blocked this one, unfortunately.
I also got some lovely samples from WhiskyBroBar. I tried all of them after I got a blind sample of Nikka Taketsuru 21 (43%, which was lovely 10/10, a bit simple in terms of nose and flavour (lots of green apple and grape) but rich in both with a long spicy (nutmeg) finish but I thought it might have been like a 15yo Highland).
Bruichladdich Islay Barley (50%) - Really quite lovely, much better than the organic range it seems. 9/10
Glen Moray 10yo first fill chenin blanc distillery exclusive (62.9%) - (this was meant to be an adelphi glen moray sample, but this was a complete and utter win!). This is vibrant, punchy, strong wine flavours and so rich. One of those whiskies that really just 'wows' you all around. 10/10
Ardmore Traditional Cask (46%) - Really solid all-rounder, I picked this up because my Dad likes Teachers and was curious what Ardmore was like. It's very subtle peat and soft flavours, I'd say it was like a less punchy Three Ships 10 2006. 8/10
Single & Single Ledaig (58.1%) - Hits the sherry and peat combo perfectly (more on this later). Earthier than most Islays but quite good, price is a bit high locally but far far higher on say Master of Malt. I'm probably not going to pick up a bottle but it has made an impression. 10/10.
I really lucked out tasting this many great whiskies in an evening!!!
I also went and picked up a Lagavulin 16. I then decided it would be a great idea to blind taste it with the Ledaig and Kilchoman STR Cask. My palate wasn't really great this evening and these were neck pours which I personally find to be a bit on the weaker side for most bottles, a good example was the Kilkerran 12 which almost became a completely different whisky after the neck. I honestly thought the Kilchoman peat was closer to Caol Ila so I confused it for Lagavulin 16. The Ledaig's high abv made it stand out and it's far more earthy than the Islays. I also confused the sweetness and fruitiness on the nose of the Lagavulin for more flavour (thinking this was the Kilchoman, oddly I noted that this one was 'lower abv' so I don't know if I just needed to think a bit more about it. The Kilchoman had much punchier peat, the Lagavulin was far softer in its peat (but I chalked this up to neck pour and went with overall flavour). All three had incredibly similar flavour profiles.
I've often read about Lagavulin 16 being great initially but as you experience more whiskies especially cask strength and other heavily peated releases it starts to lose its luster. For me this simply isn't the case, I found Lagavulin 16 to be just as good as the other two in terms of flavour, it's even quite punchy considering its abv. I thoroughly expected it to get drowned out by both and yet it delivered on flavour, I suspect it will get even better as I go down the bottle. The Kilchoman peat is really present and it's still a fantastic whisky, I couldn't really pick out a favourite but it did make me question spending another 2k on say the Ledaig when Lagavulin 16 is quite similar but a bit less peaty. I'll probably rather seek other flavour profiles e.g. springbank or heavily sherried as future purchases.
Still tempted to get a Longrow 18...but really I don't have the cash at the moment.
Edit: added in abvs
I also got some lovely samples from WhiskyBroBar. I tried all of them after I got a blind sample of Nikka Taketsuru 21 (43%, which was lovely 10/10, a bit simple in terms of nose and flavour (lots of green apple and grape) but rich in both with a long spicy (nutmeg) finish but I thought it might have been like a 15yo Highland).
Bruichladdich Islay Barley (50%) - Really quite lovely, much better than the organic range it seems. 9/10
Glen Moray 10yo first fill chenin blanc distillery exclusive (62.9%) - (this was meant to be an adelphi glen moray sample, but this was a complete and utter win!). This is vibrant, punchy, strong wine flavours and so rich. One of those whiskies that really just 'wows' you all around. 10/10
Ardmore Traditional Cask (46%) - Really solid all-rounder, I picked this up because my Dad likes Teachers and was curious what Ardmore was like. It's very subtle peat and soft flavours, I'd say it was like a less punchy Three Ships 10 2006. 8/10
Single & Single Ledaig (58.1%) - Hits the sherry and peat combo perfectly (more on this later). Earthier than most Islays but quite good, price is a bit high locally but far far higher on say Master of Malt. I'm probably not going to pick up a bottle but it has made an impression. 10/10.
I really lucked out tasting this many great whiskies in an evening!!!
I also went and picked up a Lagavulin 16. I then decided it would be a great idea to blind taste it with the Ledaig and Kilchoman STR Cask. My palate wasn't really great this evening and these were neck pours which I personally find to be a bit on the weaker side for most bottles, a good example was the Kilkerran 12 which almost became a completely different whisky after the neck. I honestly thought the Kilchoman peat was closer to Caol Ila so I confused it for Lagavulin 16. The Ledaig's high abv made it stand out and it's far more earthy than the Islays. I also confused the sweetness and fruitiness on the nose of the Lagavulin for more flavour (thinking this was the Kilchoman, oddly I noted that this one was 'lower abv' so I don't know if I just needed to think a bit more about it. The Kilchoman had much punchier peat, the Lagavulin was far softer in its peat (but I chalked this up to neck pour and went with overall flavour). All three had incredibly similar flavour profiles.
I've often read about Lagavulin 16 being great initially but as you experience more whiskies especially cask strength and other heavily peated releases it starts to lose its luster. For me this simply isn't the case, I found Lagavulin 16 to be just as good as the other two in terms of flavour, it's even quite punchy considering its abv. I thoroughly expected it to get drowned out by both and yet it delivered on flavour, I suspect it will get even better as I go down the bottle. The Kilchoman peat is really present and it's still a fantastic whisky, I couldn't really pick out a favourite but it did make me question spending another 2k on say the Ledaig when Lagavulin 16 is quite similar but a bit less peaty. I'll probably rather seek other flavour profiles e.g. springbank or heavily sherried as future purchases.
Still tempted to get a Longrow 18...but really I don't have the cash at the moment.
Edit: added in abvs
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