One session, Two Parts (Redbreast 12, Glenmorangie Quarter Century, Lagavulin Distiller's Edition)

The Auld Alliance is turning into a hang-out of choice whenever DW, XW, EP and I meet. Tasty gatherings, these tasting gatherings. We had 5 glasses between the 4 of us, and everyone got to try a bit of everything. I'll first pen down my notes for these first three. Two Scotches, and one Irish (St. Patrick's Day??). Two Japanese ones to follow later over the weekend.

The crowd at the Auld Alliance is pretty young, mostly Asian, and most seem to know what they are ordering. Well, most. There was once JP and I were there, and some of our friends from one of the larger countries in the world did not really know what sort of place they have just stepped into. But any way. I guess the crowd at the Auld Alliance is a fair indicator of the clientele of whisky drinkers in Singapore. Not sure how many of these regular drinkers are also collectors, but most seem to have a sense of what they are looking for. Which is good for the industry. The absence of the older folks can probably be explained by the fact that the older folks usually can afford to buy their own bottles, and already have their own preferred bottlings and stuff. Whisky is becoming more popular among the younger crowd here in Singapore, for sure, though many are in thrall to Japanese whiskies and some of the bigger brands, like The Macallan.

So, the three for today...

Redbreast 12 (40% abv) - The first Irish whisky I've every had, I think. Remembered it being really smooth.

Nose - Some suggestions of nuts, a bit of grass, then a lot of vanilla, honey and caramel. A suggestion of wood. Very pleasant. Creamy, almost.

Palate - Yes, this is what I'll describe as creamy. No hint of alcohol. Very slight salt playing on the tongue. Otherwise, honey, vanilla, a bit of grass. Very ripe fruits here. A touch of spice. Just a light touch.

Finish - Very short finish. A reminder of some wood, a touch of spice, a bit more of the honey, then it goes down like cream. Irish cream made using Redbreast 12 would be a dream.

Overall - Very pleasant. Some criticize the Redbreast 12 for being too smooth, and having no structure to its taste. I like how everything in it blends together. It's a combination of flavours that fit together well, and which have sufficient similarities for the various flavours to slide around. Pretty good daily dram in my books. Better than the Redbreast 15, in my opinion. The 15 stung more, and loses some of the creaminess for more fruit. Maybe the 21 would be amazing. Something to try next time.

Glenmorangie Quarter Century (43% abv) - I'm a regular reader of whiskyfun.com and the good website gives this one a high score of 90, even naming it as the best Glenmorangie tasted. DW was looking for something that's similar in style to the Balvenie 30, which is big on honey and fruits. Off the top of my head, I thought that this might be a good comparison - similar, but somewhat different, being Highland and all that. We'll see how this goes.

Nose - Vanilla and oak. Seems like a mix of bourbon and sherry casks, but it feels like the bourbon is more dominant. Some suggestions of coconut, which, to me, seems like a sure sign that bourbon casks were involved in the process. Ripe red fruits, like ripe grapes and strawberries, and a lot of honey. However, the bourbon-like vanilla feel seems to mask everything else.

Palate - A smooth customer. Honey and vanilla are the main notes on the palate. A bit of oak underlying all that. It's not very rich, nor very distinct. Some sherry richness, but its fairly withdrawn. Master of Malt described this as creamy, but I think it's hardly anywhere as creamy as the Redbreast.

Finish - Some fruit lingers, but not distinct enough to tell what fruit it is. The sweetness of the fruit seems close to honey. A bit of oak. Fairly short finish.

Overall - Well. I wouldn't give this a 90. Smooth, pleasant, but seems a bit lacking in character for a 25 year old. Could it be due to the light distillate that Glenmorangie produces? Some have argued that the light distillate produced in Glenmorangie's tall stills makes the whisky a good canvas for cask manipulation, as can be seen from the proliferation of new fancy packaging  whiskies. The Quinta Ruban, Nectar d'Or and Lasanta were perhaps one of the first few, but they've been followed by an army of new NAS Glenmorangies. Some of those cask experiments work; I quite liked the Quinta Ruban, but maybe not enough to finish a whole litre of it (thanks PY for splitting the bottle!). This Quarter Century, I feel, suffers from being too light. The cask has certainly done its job, but perhaps the distillate was just too light, and the cask too gentlemanly. Decent, but perhaps too old and expensive for it to be just decent. I would probably score this at...80? 82? Same as the Redbreast 12, in any case.

Lagavulin Distiller's Edition (43% abv) - something that I've been wanting to try ever since I got into my head that I want a smoky sherry bomb/sherried peat monster. This one has drawn great reviews every year. Lagavulin is, according to some reviewers, the one distillery that no one has a bad word to say about. The 16 was great, in my opinion. The balance of smoke, peat and fruit was impeccable. What would a finishing in PX cask do to this great balance? Which way will it tip?

Nose - Mmmmmm. Lagavulin through and through. A meaty, savoury smoke and peat. A hint of leather in the background, and a sweet citrus fruit, like ripe cranberries/blueberries. Did that come from the Pedro Ximenez? Smells delicious.

Palate - Even though EP doesn't like peat, she found this very good. Which is testimony to how good Lagavulin is in general, and this Distiller's Edition in particular. A hint of wine on entry, then peat takes over for a bit. A touch rubber and leather, then some nuts. The meaty, savouriness makes a return, but it's balanced out by some vanilla. This is really, really good. Instead of throwing things off-balance, the PX cask has added a new dimension to the Lagavulin 16.

Finish - A bit of smoke, charred meat, and some pepper. There's a bit of eucalyptus and mint at the back of the throat, and it ends with a bit of dryness, like tea.

Overall - Excellent. I'm considering getting a bottle for myself, maybe when I finish the Oban 14 (which I still have about slightly over half a bottle left). This one is really good. Lagavulin will be a definite stopover if I ever go to Islay. This one is worth a 90 points in my book, though the Laphroaig 32 is probably, as things currently stand, a 95 and above kind of whisky.

DW said that he can imagine me becoming a full time whisky sipper after retiring, going round the globe visiting distilleries and trying all sorts of whiskies. Sounds like a good idea, but it seems a bit churlish to plan for retirement when I've not even gotten through my trainee phase. Whatever the future holds, this night at the Auld Alliance was fun, though the Glenmorangie was a bit of a small disappointment.

Hibiki 21 and an Ichiro's Malt in a couple of days' time! Goodnight!