Above are the whiskies we will be tasting in March, along with the the sample bottles ready for distributing to the tasters. A bit of a mixed group here, from well known, to well-aged (2 are 25 yr olds) to well alcoholled ( 59.2%, a cask strength), and a variety of colors. While it may be somewhat bad form to do a pre-taste, I must admit that some may have made it's way onto my palate during the bottling process.
Should be a good month, there goes that 5th grade education memory... ;>)
Ned here one more time as I finish up my hosting for February. Our tour takes us to the islands this week as we try the Talisker 10. According to the box, this is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye. I admit, that sounds pretty cool and brings up romantic notions of a trip there. Talisker was founded in 1830. Here is a link with some info about visiting the distillery.
Here is a bottle pic, I tried to get a little artsy as I am getting more comfortable with this format.
Scotches from the Islands region are reputed to be heavy on the smoky-peat flavor with a bit of sea breeze thrown in for good measure. I admit to having high expectations for this one. No trepidation here, just excitement.
Color: orangey-gold
Legs: strong
Nose: A punch of peat hits you right away, I do not really notice much around that. Ohh, but I like it.
Taste: OK, there is no hint of smoke here, the peatiness is right in the forefront, kind of up close and personal. There is a nice, pleasant warmth as it goes down.
A stong finish, and quite long.
For the first time I am a little hesitant to add the water drop, do I really want to bring out more peaty flavor? Surprisingly enough, an added drop seems to bring out other flavors without intensifying the peat too much. I am not sure what, but there is a little more here. This is a good one for me. I love a real wood fire. The warmth, the light, the crackle and the smell of the smoke bring out very pleasant emotions for me. Nostalgia for family, friends and good times awash over me whenever I get in front of a fire. The first few sips of this do the same. However, if I got too fast, it gets to be too much, kind of like standing too close to a real flame. If I go slowly, this is very enjoyable, but too much too fast is not. I am not certain I could handle any more peat than this, but hey, it is only week 8, who knows where this journey will take me? As it is, I pour myself a second dram to enjoy for a long time this evening.
If I had to rank this month, I would say it is a tie between the Talisker and the Glenkinchie. The Dufftown is in third with the Dalwhinnie a distant 4th.
I pass along the torch to brother Bob who is hosting March. It has been a blast and I look forward to my next chance to force my family to drink what I want.
Ned again, hosting week 3 in February. Before we start, I want to give a shout out to my dad who is sick and feeling under the weather enough to see the doctor and start a round of antibiotics. The whisky will have to wait for him and with a heavy heart I shoulder the responsibility of drinking his share this week. We continue our Scotch 'tour' with the Speyside entry, The Singleton of Dufftown, 12. Founded in 1896, Dufftown Distillery is in, well, Dufftown, Scotland. Go figure. Here is a link from the Whisky.com site.
From the picture, you can see that the scotch is in a green bottle. For those of you who followed brother Bob's beer blog the past year, you know that if this were a beer, a green bottle from Europe would mean the kiss of death. The bottling of Glenlivet 12 did not do anything to dispel this notion. Again, I enter into my tasting with a little trepidation.
Color: golden
Legs: medium to strong
Nose: maybe a little smoke, a nice creaminess with fruity odors. I really enjoy the nose and can just sit and sniff this one for a while.
Taste: A little more smoke in the taste than in the nose, a nice sweet creaminess as well.
The finish is very pleasant, though not real long
A drop of water does not change the nose much for me, but brings out more of the sweet fruit overtones. Also makes the finish a little more dry, which I do not actually find a real improvement. I think I prefer this without the drop. All in all, a nice taste, but nothing that really excites except the nose. I would drink it over any of the Glenlivets (boy am I beating that horse to death), but I doubt I will seek it out.
Next week is the last week for my hosting duties this month.
Four our second week in February, we will be trying a Highland Scotch, the 15 year old Dalwhinnie. From the box, this claims to be the highest distillery in Scotland, and established in 1898. Here is a link about visiting it. Here is my quick photo. I really should take these with the sun on the bottle so you get a more accurate color impression of the spirit.
A little info about me. To be honest, I am not much of a drinker. I expect some of my fellow bloggers drink more Scotch in a week than I do in a typical year. So why should you care about my opinion? Easy, you shouldn't. However, maybe some of you will be inspired to take your own approach and educate yourself about something new to you. That's what I'm doing and I'm having a blast.
On to the tasting!
Color: pale yellow
Legs: Medium to strong
Nose: a hint of smoke with some vanilla. I actually pulled out a bottle of vanilla extract to confirm.
Taste: As with the nose, a hint of smoke with some vanilla flavor as well. Not overpowering, kind of weak actually.
The finish is long and pleasant. Kind of drying as well.
I was a little nervous (a recurring theme it seems) when the box said it was a gentle, smoky malt. The first taste does not impress me. Maybe I do not like having to search for flavor? A drop of water really brings out the smoke and makes this a much better dram. In fact, the extra drop changes this from a so-so to something enjoyable. I prefer it this way, though the subtle vanilla flavor is almost lost. If it kept the vanilla it might be something very nice. A step above the Glenlivets, but I prefer the Glenkinchie to this one.
Ned here, I'll be your host for February. Brother Rick did a great job, so the pressure is on me now. One of the fun things about doing this is seeing how we bring slightly different interpretations to the concept of Whisky of the Week. I want to try as many different distilleries as I can, but I need a frame work, a place to start so to speak. With that in mind, I plan on trying 4 of the different main regions this month; Lowland, Highland, Speyside and Island.
For Week 5, we will start with our Lowland entrant, a Glenkinchie 12 year old. A Google search did not bring up a Glenkinchie web site in the first couple pages, so I am linking to the information on The Whisky Exchange website. There are many other hits on other web sites if you do a search. This one from Diageo is pretty good also.
Here is a picture of the bottle and box. I know, it is kind of gauche to post a picture from a non-full bottle. It is also paler than this makes it look. The info on the box claims this distillery was founded in 1837.
Enough gabbing, onto the tasting!
Color: Pale gold
Legs: medium to strong
Nose: a delicate aromatic nose, reminding me of some floral scent, maybe roses?
Taste: more of the floral flavor (and stronger on the nose after a taste) with some creaminess. No real smoke, but still a nice complexity. I do not taste the lemon described on the box, but there is more here.
The finish is not very long, kind of drying, but quite pleasant.
I admit to being nervous about this one at the start. According to the flavor map I found on the Whisky Exchange web site, this one is light and delicate of flavor, though not as delicate as the Glenlivet 12. While I agree the flavors are not overpowering, there is a complexity here I did not find in the Glenlivet. A drop of water intensifies the flavor somewhat, but not a huge amount. The blurb on the box recommends drinking as an aperitif or with smoked fish, sushi or scallops. I certainly agree that it would be a fine aperitif, and I would be willing to try it with sushi. Hmm, maybe I will try that for the Super Bowl on Sunday …
I think this would be an excellent first scotch to recommend to people new to single malts. While the flavors are not strong, they are easily enjoyed. I will certainly be bringing this one out again, though probably in the role described above. I liked it enough to pour myself a second little taste. Easier to do since I do not have to share with dad this week.
