Tag: SMWS

Whisky – 137-141 (Campbeltown)

137 – Springbank Cask Strength 12
Rubber, fake Parmesan cheese, oil paint, glue, toasted nuts, toffee, sea salt. Charcoals, soot, bracken, toffee and coffee.

138 – Hazelburn 12 Sherry Cask
Toasted peanuts, oil paints, raisins, dates, honey, chestnuts. Cream, herbs, bone, bracken, peppercorns, salt

139 – SMWS 93.56 (Glen Scotia) Moby Dick meets Alan Titchmarsh
Rubber, glue, paint, vegetable stew, salted eggplant, tobacco, honey and turps. Seaweed, iodine, pepper, tobacco and honey. 

140 – Springbank 18
Honey, leather, salt, pepper, clove, dry ginger. Green sticks, pepper, glacé ginger, slight salty butter, Xmas cake.

141 – Longrow 10 100% Proof
Glue, heather, clove, shortbread, flowers, lemon zest. Coffee, bracken, dry wood, flowers with rubber, rice flower, brown butter.

   
 

Whisky 2015 – 123-126 (Back in Oz)

123 – Douglas of Drumlanrig Ben Nevis 18
Pine resin, dark chocolate, banana cake mix, hazelnuts, orange zest. Orange rind is really strong, dried figs, pepper and a hint of vanilla cream.

   
 124 – The Arran Malt Port Cask
My mums strawberry jam on picklets, instant coffee, formic acid, wood resin, star anise. Some thyme and banoffee pie, salt and pepper.

125 – The Arran Malt Amarone Cask
Orange pastels, strawberry jam, banana cake, fruit cup cordial, juicy fruit. Vanilla cream and gentle summer fruits and berries, salted cultured butter, dry ginger.

126 – SMWS 66.66 Ginger makes Fred smile (Ardmore)
Burnt butter, bacon grease, BBQ meats, dried and green figs, dates and gassy cream. Campfire, dates, dried fig, watermelon(?). Not a peat guy but this was good. 

  

Whisky 2015 – 113-116

  113 – SMWS 123.9 The Big Fat Tipsy Wedding (Glengoyne)
Chocolate, menthol, pine needles, dates, maraschino cherries, pink marshmallow, cinnamon ice cream. Spicy, cola, star anise, nutmeg and eggnog.

114 – Blackadder 1991 Glencadam
Prunes, marzipan, vanilla pudding, slight plastic note, light cinnamon and chocolate mousse. Orange marmalade, salt, herbs, citrus, glacé cherries. Slightly bitter finish that isn’t quite right but gives way to marzipan.

115 – Glenfarclas 103 Proof 15 Years
Liquid paper, peach schnapps, chocolate pudding, pain aux raisin. Big fruitcake, stone fruit and raisins. Nice.

116 – Glendronach Tawny Port Finish 18 Years
Chocolate, cucumber, Brazil nuts, Mexican hot chocolate, dates, overripe banana. Sweet and elegant – slightly rubbery, chocolate and cake spice. Had a refreshing finish, almost like an iced tea with some salt and pepper.

Whisky 2015 – 108-111

108 – New World Double Cask Release #1 (port refill port first fill)
Brown bread, butter, malt, vanilla. Vanilla, pepper, malt. Best New World in ages. The huge banana bread thing is gone. More elegant and interesting. Great length due to the subdued sweetness.

109 – SMWS 119.14 (Yamazaki) Raspberry Imperial Stout
Freeze dried raspberries, vino cotto, chocolate, fake cherry flavoring, something green I can’t quite place, some woody notes, egg whites. Raspberries, maraschino cherries, cloves, slight cream, umami, cinnamon.

110 – Silver Seal Glendronach 22 years (Distilled 1990)
Musk sticks, flowers, golden syrup, molasses, honey, vanilla, yoghurt, stewed apricots, chocolate chips, rocky road. Woody, sarsaparilla, creaming soda, butter.

111 – Cadenhead Glendronach 23 year (Distilled 1990)
Coconut lemon cake, almond meal, eggy cake mix, bran. Grain, eggplant, almonds, weak honey and lemon. A bit disappointing next to the Silver Seal.

  

Whisky 2015 – 96-99

96 – SMWS 112.9 Cooper’s apron; perfumed mink (Loch Lomond)
Wood shavings, whipped cream, digestive biscuits, chocolate coated almonds. Candy sweetness, very thick and syrupy, vanilla icecream, oat biscuits.

97 – The Balvenie 15 Year Single Barrel Cask:10130
Rubber, Sherry, vanilla, dried fruits. Beautiful caramel hit followed by dried peaches and apricots, cardamom, cloves, vanilla bean and warm cola.

98 – Ben Nevis 10 Year Old, 2002 bottling
Sulphur, rose petals, rubber, vine leaves, caramel. Peppery, salty, sugary sweetness, sulphur and leather.

99 – Dramboree Ledaig for Whisky Exchange
Fresh shucked oysters, seaweed, like the rind on Camembert, some honey. Camembert and oysters, lick of paint. A very different dram for me – I was tasting Camembert for the next 2 hours.

Whisky 2015 – 92-93

92 – SMWS 120.7 (Hakushu) Sweet, fragrant and satisfying
Soy sauce, pepper, cloves. Rubber, vanilla cream, coffee trifle – almost like I’ve taken a spoonful of brown sugar. Quite dry.

93 – Limeburners Sherry Barrel Cask Strength
(You’ll think I’m crazy but the guys and I at Whisky and Alement problem solved this one) Pine wood shavings and (wait for it) frozen McCains pizza, specifically the frozen red capsicum on the pizza. Really vegetal like old cucumbers and wood. Not very nice.

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 – 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 – 46-49 – SMWS Japanese Madness

 46 – SMWS G13.1 (Chita) A complete revelation
Mango, dried coconut, tropical cordial, powdered ginger, pineapple doused in rum and cinnamon, chocolate, woody notes, marshmallow, vanilla, lime cordial. Ginger, lemonade spider, dry pound cake.

47 – SMWS G12.1 (Nikka) oh so sweet
Banana paddle pops, dulche and marshmallow. Sweet sweet sweet banana lollies and a touch of dried pineapple. It becomes more complex with opening up including hints of my mum’s lime coconut drizzle cake.

48 – SMWS 120.8 (Hakashu) a sweet surge of peat
Soap (in a good way), salt, pepper, popcorn and musk, salted preserved lemon. Bacon drippings, a smokey fruity sugar punch.

49 – SMWS 124.4 (Miyagikyo) full of secret pleasures
Muscat, port, Sherry fino, rubber, dry warmth, oil soaked rags, spices cloves and anise, maple. German spice biscuits, a rubber fire, cocoa, liquorice, toasted bran, so much going on. Jeezus!