May 2015 – grey whisky

Whisky 2015 – 73-77 Ardberg Day

Happy Ardbeg Day! A silly event but a good excuse to drink some Ardbeg. I went to the tasting at Whisky and Alement – let’s see how they went down.

73 – Ardbeg 10
Mulch, autumn leaves, smoked meats, iodine, brown sauce. Green, tobacco, salt, some candy sweetness.

74 – Ardbeg 10 (Early 2000 bottle)
Jules at W&A explained that due to the closure of Ardbeg in the 90s it is likely that there was 1981 distilled whisky in the bottle. It was rounder and gentler. Still that lovely autumn leaves thing also a slightly oily note. More honey sweetness and less candy.

75 – Ardbeg Auriverdes
Chocolate and plasticity, warm spices in there like clove, brown sugar – still that green peaty note. Sweet candy, vanilla, bracken.

76 – Ardbeg Perptuum
Leaves, iodine, sweetness of roasted shallots. Soft, salty, brine, pepper, some fruit sweetness and a touch of that green bracken. Very easy to drink!

77 – SMWS 33.118 “Good bye to care” (Ardbeg)
Cloves, pepper, tobacco, vanilla. Dry, short, autumn leaves, vanilla and iodine.

Whisky 2015 – 70-72

70 – Heartwood Beagle 3
Pine resin, the sweet end of turps, marijuana, chocolate, crushed ants, tomato vine. Tobacco, leather, pepper, beef jerky, super powerful vanilla – it’s really chewy and salty. With time pina colada on the nose and beautiful rich thick caramel. Wow! Really impressed. One of the best for 2015.

71 – Duthies Linkwood 23
Yeast, brown bread, butter, slight banana. Light on the palate with some nice grain.

72 – King Car Whisky
Simple, elegant, lovely tropical fruit. Vanilla, coconut and mango maybe. The type of whisky you’d drink all night.

Whisky 2015 – 67-69 – Australian Moonshine

67 – Crazy Uncle Moonshine
Neutral alcoholic nose, slight tequila like nose. Warmth of grain comes through, little complexity as expected but quite satisfying all the same.

68 – Crazy Uncle Moonshine Barrel Aged
Slight caramel hit on the nose with some warm rye bread and touch of butter. Like a really weak coffee that is alcoholic. It’s quite interesting.

69 – Ironbark Corn Rye
Truffles and twisties cheese powder, I’m not kidding. Grape like sweetness and rye bread.

Whisky 2015 – 64-66

64 – Artist #4 by La Maison du Whisky
Musk, apricot, chocolate, sulfur. Gaseous and wonderful stone fruit sweetness. Lovely whisky.

65 – Long Row Fresh Port Cask 11 Years
Plastic, butter, salt, pepper, peanut butter and maple syrup. Candy, salt bush, pepper, butter, some peat and iodine.

66 – SMWS 29.157 Heidi’s holiday in Islay
A beautiful caramel nose, salty, green grass, beefy. Slight smoke, tropical fruit, BBQ meats and dry chilli.

Whisky 2015 – 61-63

61 – SMWS 116.20 Fascinating complexity and finesse (Yoichi)
Some real funk to it, young pine, model glue, chocolate mousse, vanilla, citrus and lemon rind. Like I’ve been smoking pastrami and opened the smoker, pepper, understand shiitake from the tasting notes. Very complex.

62 – lagavulin distillers edition 2012
Seaweed, salt, sugar syrup, slight gooseberry. Easy drinking, integrated peat, rain at the seaside and young green twigs.

63 – Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Chibi Daru 2014 2227/6200
Beautiful clear vanilla, crushed ants, chocolate mousse, apricot, egg whites, salt. Apricots, cream, cigars, toasted grains, intense and such a beautiful fruit sweetness.

Whisky 2015 – 56-60 – Last Great Malts tasting.

Dewar’s Last Great Malts tasting at Whisky & Alement.

56 – Aberfeldy 12
A little rubber, sea salt, touch of vanilla fudge, slight oil, cucumber skin, pepper, dried orange zest. Slight salty, flinty and mineral, honey.

57 – Aultmore 12
Rubber, salt, cultured butter, chamomile, slight dusty note. Salt, grains, bracken, chamomile.

58 – Aberfeldy 21
Oranges zest, marmalade, pepper. Old leather and salt, dry and dusty. Delicious. (This was not part of the tasting)

59 – Craigellachie 13
Butter, stewed apples, custard, slight rubber. So buttery initially on the pallet, rubber and sulphur and some sugar.

—
After the tasting I introduced a couple of mates to the Signatory. The savvy Yao suggested the Old Malt Cask… but unfortunately with all the other drams I don’t think this one came through.

60 – Old Malt Cask Craigellachie 18
Suffers next to a half dram of the signatory. Buttery but I can’t pick up much else. I got some crazy like watermelon flavor in there.

53 – Signatory Craigellachie 2002 11 years
Butterscotch, glue, rubber, sultanas, raisins, custard, fucking goddam strudel. Salt, huge caramel, sultanas steeped in brandy and vanilla.

Month: May 2015