S.A.D.

It promised to be a good day. Left work slightly earlier to head over to Holland Village to meet friends for dinner and drinks. Took a train ride down to Bishan from where I worked, transferred to the Circle Lin, and a short 40 minutes later, I was late. By just a little bit. Headed over for dinner, walking along the swanky but not snazzy underpass, and had dinner at the food centre. However, before dinner, there was an exchange that needed to happen. I passed PY a small bottle of Kilchoman 2008 vintage. In exchange, he passed me a nightmare. Meet the Hong Thong.

To be fair, I asked for it, and PY had it first. He was in Thailand, and decided to try this. A small bottle, about 350ml, was going at SGD$6. And, the producers market this as a premium blended spirit. Wonder how cheap the non-premium options are. PY tried it. Was horrified when he tasted it neat, then conceded that it may be ok if mixed. With lots of mixers and ice. Ok. I was curious. So I asked for a bit of whatever was left. The usual bottle looks ok, but what I was passed...

...looks like a trip to the doctor's:

Yes. It looks like a very dehydrated someone took a pee test. I hope it wasn't PY. I frankly may not have been able to tell. He's been fairly dehydrated.

So Hong Thong is from Thailand. Strictly speaking not a whisky, but some kind of blended spirit made from molasses and rice. Why I'm reviewing it here is because some people call it a whiskey, maybe on account of it being brown. Should I try this after dinner, and let the taste be the last thing I remember? Probably not. I'm gonna have it before dinner, then eat, so that I forget the taste. Good decision. A much better one than the one that landed me this nefarious concoction. I wonder how nasty the non-premium options can be. Oh dear...

Hong Thong (35% abv)

Enough foreshadowing. On to the..."tasting notes"...

Colour - amber. But there's something about the viscosity that doesn't seem right.

Nose - Alcohol, some sweetness, I guess. Caramel.

Palate - Flat. Nothingness for a long time, then a wee bit of caramel. Alcohol burn and bitter. To be fair, a hint of eucalyptus. A very very very vague hint. I must be imagining it.

Finish - Oh dear Lord. Does this abomination never end? How long, oh Lord, How long!! This lingers and lingers. A nasty linger. Prickly, bitter, and some unsavoury yet vague sweetness, antiseptic. Is there pure alcohol added into this? Ugh.

Overall - the worst is not to have a bad dream. The worst is when the nightmare never ends. The lingering finish prolongs all the pain. The nose is inoffensive, as is the palate. Though they are bland, no one complains about normal smelling air. The finish though.

I'm not finishing this bottle. Probably not keeping it either. Some online forums are asking if it's true that drinking Hong Thong can cause blindness. I think you are already blind if you chose to drink Hong Thong willingly on your own free will, if other options are available.

On an unrelated note, I developed stomach flu in the middle of the night, after the Hong Thong. Not saying there's any causal relationship, but the correlation is currently at a solid statistical 1.

Last Glenfarclas...

This is the last, and oldest, of the trio in the sample gift set that CO got for me from The Whisky Exchange in London. I've had this before, a couple of years ago, as part of a Glenfarclas flight at Auld Alliance. Ah, haven't been back there in a long time...In any case, I remember liking this for the light smoke behind the sherry. Let's see if I remember correctly.

Glenfarclas 25 (abv 43%)

Colour - Amber.

Nose - There's sherry alright. Dried cranberries, raisins, cloves. Caramel and burnt sugar, a hint of chocolate fudge. There's also a bit of honey, butterscotch. Coriander. Subtle smoke and charred wood.

Palate - This is very sweet! Lots of honey and syrup. Toffee. Sweet, fortified wine. Closer to port, almost, if I didn't know better. Chocolatey in the middle. Floral and gentle...then the spices kick in. Coriander and mint, then cloves and cinnamon. Mm. A touch of bitter wood, much better integrated this time, than in the 21 or 15. A bit of fire and smoke in this. There's a bit of alcohol burn despite the age, but that tongue burn complements this touch of smoke and pepper well. Not super amazing, but pleasant enough. A little rougher than expected, but I think there's about enough flavour to carry this. Odd though, that 43% should burn. I never had these issues with the Inchgower, which was at 50%.

Finish - The alcohol burn takes a while to recede, making the finish a little hard to pinpoint. That's a fairly big minus. When it does though, there's nice oak and spices - maybe some saffron - left all around in the mouth. A fairly full finish, then. A little bitter, like dark chocolate with high cocoa content, and the sweetness of the entry isn't very prominent. Very dry.

Overall - I'm not an age-ist, but I really do think that this 25 year is the best of the three in the set. Best balance, and a sweetness that is really surprising, given that the nose is less obviously so. I like this, though it's flawed, especially in the finish.

And...that wraps up a really disappointing Lunar New Year. Maybe next year will be better.

CNY Drink 2 - Glenfarclas 21

The Lunar New Year is running out, and this will only be my second new whisky this festive season. I need to repent. As per the previous Glenfarclas, this comes from a small sample bottle, courtesy of CO and her husband, JC. 

Glenfarclas 21 - 43%

Colour - Gold

Nose - Initial burst of sherry and cranberries, then rather more muted. Deep nosing brings out some maltiness, a little leafy. There's something meaty here that reminds me of a braised pig trotter, with that bit of umami and cloves.

Palate - Ouch. Pretty big on alcohol. Thicker sherry here. Cranberries and grapes. Cocoa and dark chocolate, and the aftertaste of black coffee. Maybe a couple of roasted peanuts tossed in too. There's a little trace of sours - like lemon zest, or orange peel. But pretty big pepper to go with the alcohol. Turns bitter again, like the 15. Why do they do that? Fairly malty, with notes of porridge. Consistent with the nose, I guess. With some time in the glass, some floral notes come out, like flower petals and nectar. Pretty pleasant, worth waiting for. I feel it smooths out some of the sting.

Finish - Syrupy and a little caramel. There is some lingering smoke, and pretty big pepper. The pepper comes in a burst, then retreats to leave behind some toffee at the back of the throat. This then transits into sweet oak, but the last word is the slight bitterness of what feels like caramel colouring, so that's not very pleasant.

Overall - It's got more depth than the 15, I think. A little more variety and development, though I don't think I necessarily like this better. It's got the same flaws, I feel, with the bitterness that's a bit artificial, if you get what I mean. Not the bitterness of charred wood, or something smoky/peaty. This bitterness feels like it sits outside of what the whisky is setting itself out to be, and laughing at it through the window. Get what I mean? No? So, not too bad, but not my favourite Speysider, again. Standards are pretty high, eh?

In any case, the results from the first round of judging at the World Whisky Awards have been announced...