Samurai Scotch and Other Expressions

I'm very late with this wrap-up (March), but we recently had yet another Scotch tasting a couple of weeks ago, so I have to catch up before sharing the results (and catching up entirely on the whisky front as far as this blog is concerned anyway)

Proceeding from clarity to increasing blurriness and from lightness to full on Island flavor, eere are my thoughts on each of the expressions we tasted in March.

12 year-old Suntory "Yamakazi" – Japan
While not what someone would consider a Scotch whisky since it hails from Japan, this expression is still a single-malt whisky, which qualifies it according to admittedly flexible rules. In fact, most participants were pretty excited to try this (must be the Lost in Translation effect), and since the local package store has recently begun carrying it stock, I quickly grabbed a bottle for the festivities. When I opened the bottle though, I discovered a huge warning sign. The bottle had a plastic screw cap instead of the traditional cork. I know that great advances have been made in this area, and that some good wines now use screw caps, but it was still unsettling. That didn't stop it from being poured though.

Once the Suntory had poured, it had a slightly sweet smell, with hints of sherry and fruit. The first taste matched the initial nose, as it was slightly sweet and fruity taste. Once water had been added to "Baptize" the whisky, an oak finish became apparent. Overall, everyone agreed that this expression was remarkably one-dimensional and that it didn't linger as much as anyone would like.

12-year old Tormore - Speyside
The bottle calls it "the Pearl of Speyside." Who could resist marketing like that? After the Suntory, it was nice to move on to a proper scotch. It had a nice dark color and a very oaky nose (someone even thought of maple syrup). Upon the first taste, the whisky was quite smooth, with hardly any bite at all, and the oakiness gave the impression of syrup all the way through.

Once a bit of water had been added, the full flavor of the whisky really came out, bringing out hints of saltiness and a very smooth and round flavor: "Nutty with a honeyish sweetness". The taste was consistent throughout.

Ledaig Sherry Finish - Island, No age given
All the literature indicated that the age of this Ledaig was less than 10 years. No wonder it's not placed on the label since age probably means more marketability. A whisky's relative youth has never held us back before though.

The nose on this expression was very oaky--almost green oak in fact. Upon first taste, the most immediate note was the smoke. This was followed with a smoky, woody finish. The peat taste didn't fully emerge until after some water was added. One thing we noticed, it gets smokier the longer you drink it. All in all a nice scotch, even it could be considered Laguvalin Light.

12 year-old Caol Isla - Islay
Islay scotches, especially those that we have not yet tried, always are eagerly anticipated. Once the scotch was poured though, I thought someone was pulling my leg. The color was very light--lighter than any Islay scotch I have ever seen. The nose, however, belied its island origins, smelling as one participant called it, "candied peat." Overall the smell was a lovely mix of smoke and peat, and the oak from the cask smell almost like hickory.

Upon tasting, the Caol Isla is a very easy to drink expression. Most of the flavors explode toward the finish, and they then linger nicely. This is one of the few scotches we've tasted that water does very little to improve.

12 year-old Bunahabhain - Islay
Two Islay's in a row. Happy, happy. This one smelled more like a typical Islay (and looked the part too). As for taste (and my notes are getting much here), it had a slightly medicine taste to go along with a mild peatiness. It's a lighter-drinking expression than most Islay scotches.



Adding water really brought out the peat and a bit of saltiness, which is to be expected due to its origin. Even though the taste could be a bit mediciny at times, it had a very long finish. Disconcertingly, however, the nose and taste were a bit inconguent.

Note to self, taste this one earlier in the festivities at some point in the future. Extra points go the website, which is one of the more sophisticated experiences I've seen from a distillery.

10 - 15 year-old Aberlour a'Bunadh Cask Strength - Speyside
This was the last (and strongest) expression tasted. This scotch had a very rich, peppery nose. The first taste was overwhelming (as is usually the case with a cask strength), but with a lot of spicy overtones. Once the water was added (more than usual), honey moving toward spiciness toward the finish, all th while being smooth, buttery, and nutty. Funny, my notes stop just there. Maybe I'd had a bit too much? Nah.

Aberlour is always a favorite, and this one was no different. But a cask strength is not the one to drink at the end of a long day of drinking.

Look out next week for the results of the most recent tasting.

NP: "Mile End" -Pulp

The Gentle Dram and Old and New Favorites

OK, so I'm a little behind here; offline deadlines and such. With that abbreviated apology for the delay, here's the report of our latest scotch tasting albeit a week late.

Before I get to the details though, I'd like to clear of the whole concept of what is going on here. Really, these tasting are not just an excuse for wannabe whisky snobs to get wasted on a Sunday afternoon. Really, I mean it. If mass drunkeness is involved, it's usually a non-compulsory activity that occurs after most of the expressions have been sampled and the gathering becomes more of a scotch drinking.

With that out of the way, on with the report. All the usual dram-o-philes where in attendence (John, Steve, Damon, and I got started just a little bit early with our own special expression). Once that was out of the way (we spent a lot of money on it, so we have to drink it sometime right?), we proceeded to the day's expressions.

First up was Tomintoul a 16 year old Speyside whisky. This whisky, used mostly in blends which makes single malts too few and far between, is nicknamed "The Gentle Dram." I'd have to say that it lives up to its nickname; it's a warm, light spicy malt with a bit of sweetness. Its short finish and presence on the front of the palate makes it a great starter scotch.

Next up was a 14 year old Scapa (from the Orkneys). Although we've tasted this before, it has been a long time, so it's return was welcomed. Being an island scotch, the dryness and slightly salty taste was expected, as was the spicy odor. It only had a hint of peatiness though (too little for my personal tastes). The reason for this? The peat actually comes from the source of water for the distilling, not smoking the malt. This one also had a very looooooong finish, in which the flavors continued to bloom.

Then, we had the return of one of our all time favorites, an Aberlour (an easy top 5). This time, we sampled a 15 year old sherry wood finish (a slightly different expression than we are used to). The smell? classically balanced Aberlour. All things considered, this is a very balanced scotch and the nuances only become clear as the taste lingers. You only get a hint of the sherry wood. It is very smooth, crisp, and clean, though it can be a bit anaesthetic at first.

The Glenmorangie 12 year old madeira finish was up next. This expression was also a bit salty and peaty with a short burst of flavor and a quick finish. All and all a good expression. Its main attraction is that it's available at many bars, whereas some of the others we sample aren't. That gives it a few extra points.

The real surprise of the afternoon was the Caol Ila 12 year old Islay (pronounced cuel weela and meaning the sound of Islay). We'd heard of this scotch in Iain Bank's book, but we had never seen it in Atlanta. As luck would have it, Green's started stocking it recently, so I rushed to pick up a bottle. It has a very peaty nose without the smokiness that can be found in the other Islay scotches. Once tasted, the peatiness carries through even though it is very dry. The taste can best be described as "chewy sweet" (thanks Christian!), and it is more creamy than bitter. The sweetness surprised us all the most. It is also very light on the brininess usually associated with Islay scotches. It has a mellow, long, smooth, and buttery finish and has a hint of a minerally taste. The consensus? A new favorite.

Finally, we tried the Dalmore Cigar Malt (no age given), and we didn't even have any cigars. The color of this was almost orange, so we were expecting a strong taste (to fight off the flavor of a cigar). It had a very earthy nose with a good dose of smoke [Ed note: did they put the cigars in the malt?] with a hint of herby, greenleafy essence such as tobacco itself [Ed Note: Way to be precise Damon]. The taste was actually very buttery and sweet and smooth with a hint of spice and clove, making for a very christmassy taste. Our only test for the cigar part was cigarettes, and it did hold its own with them.

NP: "Sometimes" by Ash

The Day's Wasted If You're Not

Yesterday, the usual group (plus a few additions) gathered to sample various bits of brown water. I had planned to liveblog the event, but alcohol and blogging probably don't mix very well, so I'm compiling various impressions after I've had a day to think it over and recover.

The first up was the Bowmore 21 year old, islay scotch I mentioned purchasing last week. The cork made quite an impression, but ultimately didn't really relate to the ultimate taste of the scotch. We were all surprised at the smoothness of the expression. It is much milder in taste than its younger counterparts. It had a slight peatiness with a bit of vanilla taste, with a moderate finish. It was everything we had hoped it would be.

Next, we tasted an old favorite: Highland Park 12 year old. The only new reaction came from a newcomer to our tastings: it's a good scotch for someone who doesn't drink scotch. Luckily, Chris refrained from doing it as a shot this time.

Next up, we tried another scotch that was a bit older than we are used to: Glenrothes 20 year old. We've tried Glenrothes expressions before, but not one this old. It had a very light nose, but the taste belied the smell. A very strong first taste on the tip of the tongue led to moderate heat and a clean, crisp finish. A bit of a fruity aftertaste was also observed by a number of the collected brown-water snobs. Also, for the first time in four-odd years, two attendees independently brought the same expression to the tasting. I'm surprised it took this long to be honest, but we all had a laugh about it.

Next, we tasted the Longmorn again (referenced below), before moving to the Glennfiddich Caoran Reserve. I like the latter just as much this time as I did during our impromptu tasting last week. New impression: it was very ashy and ember flavored, almost like waking up the morning after a bonfire party. Christian, in his best Simpson's Ralphie voice, described it a, "this tastes like burning."

Finally, we tasted my favorite--or home--expression: a Laphroaig 15 year old Islay. I don't really know what to add here. It was peaty. It was smoky. It was briny. It was wonderful.

Scotchy Goodness

Highlight of the day: taking a fieldtrip up to Tower Spirits to purchase a special bottle of whisky to commerate four years of scotch tastings. The result? Bowmore, 21-year old Islay single malt scotch (Top scotch entry). I'll report back on how it tastes as we're partaking next weekend.

In the interim, to celebrate our trip, we absolutely had to try a couple of expressions today. As I type, I've just finished a wonderful Glenfiddich Caoran Reserve. It's not especially old--12 years--but theoretically, it could have whisky of a much greater age included since the casks are never less than half full. This expression had a unique nose, smelling of seaweed or something else organic, but the taste totally belied the nose. Very long finish, very smooth taste--typically Glenfiddich.

Next up, a 15-year old Longmorn, left over from when we last gathered. Another excellent choice. Very good taste, but not as long of a finish. The initial taste is a bit spicy.

Finally, we're going to taste a bit of bourbon (Basil Hayden's to be exact).

Update: Added links.

A Fine Day for Brown Water

This past Saturday was the most recent occassion to gather in the afternoon and partake of that marvelous substance that we call Scotch Whisky. We had a bare quorum of the usual suspects--Damon, John, Steve, and I were in attendance. Saturday was a bit different than the usual collection of single malts. Instead, we tasted four varieties of Johnnie Walker from a gift set that Damon found in a duty free shop in Canada.

We decided to proceed from oldest to youngest. (Beware: the following links include cheesy music.) First we started with Johnnie Walker blue. Now of course, almost everyone has tried the Red, but Blue has become an almost mythical substance in our set--the holy grail of blended scotch. We started here because the literature told us it had malts in it as old as 50 years. Wow. On to the tasting, It was obviously a blend, but still quite enjoyable. It had a very subtle flavor. The next label tasted, gold, carried on in much the same vein. The gold label wasn't as good as the blue (I was actually wishing for single malts again at this point).

Next up, we tasted one I'd never even heard of: Johnnie Walker Green Label. This blend of all highland malts was far and away my favorite of the evening. This one had all the characteristics I look for in a single malt (save peatiness): very distinctive flavor, texture, nose, and the like.

Finally, for the Johnnies, we tasted the black label. The only thing I can really say about this one is that we all had a laugh when Damon announced that he didn't need his knife to get the cork off. I mean really. Should I spend time commenting on whisky that has a screw-off cap like a bottle of Boone's Farm?

At long last we got to taste the Glenmorn (sp?) that Steve had brought. Of course, I can't say much about it since I was already four scotches in. Hopefully, we can revisit it at our next gathering.

The Day's Wasted If You're Not

Winter 2003
In the cold month of February, the usual suspects again gathered to feel the warmth of some of the finest drops in Scotland (and I finally remembered to bring pen and paper to document the whole affair after missing the last two). All told, this may have benn our most successfull gathering, as we had eight whiskeys to taste and critique. Of course, we probably were victims of our own success since our taste buds were probably a bit numbed by the time we had progressed through that many fingers in the tumblers. The results are outlined below.

Glenfiddich - 18 year old, Ancient Reserve.
This fine highland scotch surprising is the first member of the populous Glenfiddich family to make an appearance. The presenation is just what you would expect, a tinted, classic three sided bottle. Now to the hear of the matter. This, despite its age, had very little in the way of nose--a bit surprising really. Once it was dispensed, however, things started looking up.

Upon tasting, it had a sharp front taste, and it immediately began to evaporate off the tongue. After this sharp beginning, it had a nice long finish with quite a bit of complexity. All in all, I wasn't especially impressed; it was good, but not remarkably good. Damon, however, enjoyed it quite a bit (Hell, we all did since it was first, but I think it was quite eclipsed by those below).

Balvenie - 21 year old, Port Wood and Portuguese and American Oak.
This Speyside whiskey had quite an attractive nose to it--a bit spicy and dry, fruity smell. One the first taste, it had a silky texture that was quite pleasing. Once the tastes got going though, the fireworks really began. This was stronger than the Glenfiddich with a nice smoky finish. It was variously described as Tingly, smoky with a nutty finish. Finally, it was quite the dark scotch. Overall, a fine addition to the afternoon that will probabably appear again quite soon.

Ardbeg - 17 year old.
This Islay was very light in color. After reading from the bible, we discovered that this scotch is grouped with the Laphroaig and Laguvalin distilleries. Finally, it seems we've found our holy trinity (see below). The scotch certainly didn't disappoint our expectations. It had a very peaty nose, as one would expect. Once we began drinking, it showed itself to have a very long, smooth finish with a peaty and briny first taste (in a good way). There were also hints of smoke. Of all the scotches we have tasted over the past few years, this was by far the saltiest, and, as John said, "it makes me smile!" Christian wasn't so impressed, comparing the experience to "licking asphalt." Different strokes for different folks.

Note: Transcribed from my original description.

The Scotch Story Thus Far...

Spring 2002
On April 28, we once again had the pleasure of sampling some great single-malt scotch whiskys. This time the lineup included on two new samples, but we also returned to an old favo(u)rite.

• Glenrothes - 11 Year Old. This was a wonderfully packaged, small batch single malt whisky. It's a Speyside scotch that had an invigorating smell and a nice velvetty finish. Although it had a bit of tang to it still, it was very smooth.
• Isle of Jura - 16 Year Old. The initial bouquet was almost non-existant on the cork, but it did gain a bit of strength in the glass after it was baptized (a few droplets of water were added to bring out the flavor). Although nominally and literally an island scotch, it smelled very much like a highland scotch. The taste of this was very buttery and smooth as well with just the barest hint of peat with a bit of a salty taste to evoke its island origins. It also a bit of a almondy aftertaste.

All in all the experience was a pleasant one. Both scotches were welcome tastes to our palates.

The other scotch re-sampled was the Glenfarclas, described below.

Winter 2002
Yes, we gathered once again for a glorious afternoon sampling some of Scotland's finest distillations. This time the line-up included:

• Dalwhinnie - 15 Year Old. A single highland malt from the highest distillery in Scotland.
• Glen Deveron - 5 Year Old (No kidding). More smell than taste.
• McCllelands - Another of the under $20 bottles. Very smoky and peaty. Not Subtle! No age available.
• Glenfarclas - 12 Year Old. Very Smooth with a buttery finish.
• Speyburn - 10 Year Old. Honey bouquet, very fruity. A highland malt from Speyside?! Strong start with a smooth finish.
• Glen Moray - 12 Year Old. Another Speyside malt. Good taste, but not as remarkable as the Dalwhinnie or the Glenfarclas.

And finally, our "German" Scotch:

• Auchentoshan - I didn't taste this one. I do recall making great sport of the name in rather terrible german accents. (It's not really German of course.)

Favorites thus far...

• Laguvalin
• Laprhroaig
• Aberlour
• Talisker
• Ardbeg (NEW!)

Note: Transcribed from earlier description on a now defunct website.