Going South

To South Asia for this review, and we're going to take a look at Amrut Portonova. Big, big whisky. Deep colour, high alcohol strength, port finishing... This whisky takes no prisoners - you're going to either love it, or absolutely hate it.

Amrut Portonova (62.1% abv)

Shamelessly taken from Master of Malt

Colour - While the port finishing time period can't have been very long, this whisky is fairly dark. Probably the equal of any sherry cask matured 12 year old Scotch.

Nose - Creamy, prunes, grapes, vanilla. This is a sweet, fragrant nose that manages to punch you yet remain subtle. The high abv is to blame, partially, but that helps to deliver some of the subtler notes - menthol, a slight sharpness, like pineapples, and a little grist. Spicy, probably, but it's hard to tell amidst the high abv. With water - tones down the sharpness of the alcohol, giving it more roundness and bumping up the spicy side, but largely remains the same nose.

Palate - The high abv kicks you, but that kick delivers an explosion of flavour. Like hitting a pinata really hard (which is sort of the point of hitting pinatas. But never mind). You can almost feel the whisky evaporate, and the tasty vapours that emerge carry lots of grapes, prunes, and other flavours you associate with good red wines. Some vanilla and honey...maybe toffee...ok. This needs some water. With water - there, calm down. I probably only added enough water to bring it down to...50%. That's really crazy high abv. Same flavour profile, but more vanilla, toffee, lots of cinnamon and cloves, maybe a bay leaf too.

Finish - Long. This stays with you. Ginger, pepper, honey. Then lots of fruits. Grapes, and a return of something like pineapple. With water - drags out the finish, and introduces more obvious oakiness.

Overall - I brought this to a gathering, and in the whatsapp chat, people were offering bottles to share. First volunteer offered an aged Jack Daniel's. Second offered to bring an exciting 21 year old. Someone else offered to bring something even younger and tastier. Then I offered to bring something Indian. First response from the group was that the whisky night was not about who could bring the worst whisky. Meant as a joke of course, but somewhat shows that Singapore isn't really aware of the great Indian whiskies from Amrut and Paul John. This was really, really good. A little pricey though, at slightly below $200. Of course, I brought it to a gathering where the most vocal people were, well, Indians.

Benromach 25

Finally back at the Auld Alliance again. Such a crazy, crazy week...Something to sooth the nerves here...

Benromach 25 (43% abv)

Nose - Lots of pine and resin. Vanilla, oak, wood varnish, pencil shavings, then once the wood fades, lots of fruits. Apples, pears, peaches, maybe even a bit of papaya. All dipped in honey.

Palate - More of the same, but laced with a touch of spices. The fruits are really complex, coming in layers after layer of rich, honeyed fruity goodness. Subtle too, with the fruits, wood and spice so well integrated that it's a complete fruit salad in every sip. A hint of leather adds complexity.

Finish - A little short here. Oak, a touch of ginger, honey...that's it.

Overall - Classy dram, really. Great stuff from Benromach. Perhaps lacking a bit of...structure. In that sense, the experience of this dram reminded me of Redbreast 12, though the fruits are subtler and less punchy than the Irish one. Good dram, but perhaps not big, rich, impactful enough to be top drawer. Or maybe I just tend to like whiskies with particular stand-out traits.

Singapore Exclusive Single Cask Auchentoshan

One of the big whisky Events in recent memory is the release of a Singapore exclusive, 30 years old, single cask Auchentoshan. This was on sale for $888 at 1855 Bottle Shop's Wine and Whisky Week (with an Auchentoshan 21 as a free gift), and available for tasting at Whisky Live 2018. The people I went to Whisky Live with swerved this bottle, due to an inherent bias against Auchentoshan. Being a triple distilled spirit that is best known for being...smooth and innovative with casking, did my friends perhaps fail to give this old, rare, exclusive whisky a fair hearing?

They did not, but they were right anyway. I tasted a small pour, but actually poured most of it away. Was not worth my limited alcohol intake quota. Sigh. I should have known - if you can buy a 30 year old single cask and get a 21 year free, all for SGD$888, there must be something wrong. This is a country in which regulation Glenfiddich 12 is sold at $120. Oh, the disappointment.

Auchentoshan, single cask, 1987 vintage, Singapore Exclusive (abv 55.1%)

Colour - This is single sherry cask, so it is fairly dark gold

Nose - Alarm bells already. Sulphurous notes that sometimes come with sherry casks. Leather, meaty, red wine tannin, parsley, cloves, cinnamon dust, vanilla. This is...I mean, not unpleasant, but I don't know where the Auchentoshan went to.

Palate - Sherried, definitely. Similar notes to the nose, with more honey. Meatiness and tannins again. This was not a sweet sherry cask. The sherry fruitiness comes out, but more dark and preserved fruits than bright, fresh fruits. So, some rum soaked raisins? And a bit more cinnamon powder

Finish - Slight peppery tingle, lots of wood, drying tannins.

Overall - This isn't bad. But you can't taste the distillate under the 30 years of oak influence, and it wasn't even that active or dominant a sherry cask. Auchentoshan is perhaps a little too light to mature for that long a time? I think this reinforces my generally lower opinion of Auchentoshan as a spirit that is useful for drawing flavours from the cask, but is relatively bland itself. $888 for this and a bottle of the 21? I rather get 3 

Never Been to Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis is one of those distilleries that I really like for its distillery character. I think I've found my sweet spot - the balance between light peat, fruitiness, and a nutty, leathery side. So, that narrows me down to Springbank, Talisker, Highland Park, Ben Nevis, Mortlach, Benromach, Glendronach...usually. These probably are more likely to hit that spot for me, though there are many many honourable mentions everywhere, though in other distilleries, I maybe tend to like individual bottlings than the distillery in general. Hm. Only way to be scientific about this is to test many bottles.

Here's a bottle procured via Vom Fass.

Ben Nevis 17 years old, World of Orchids (50.5% abv)

Nose - This is really complex. Many subtle hits all round. Which makes it not very focused, but leaves lots to be explored. Smells oily on first nosing. There's also a touch of the sea on this. Kelp, mackerel. Citrusy too, with lemon and orange peel. There's a classy pine note on this, which mixes very nicely with the mint and eucalyptus scents, like nosing a Fisherman's Friend lozenge (supposedly something only my father's generation eats in Singapore. That's not true.) Give it some time, and you get some honey and vanilla. Pretty great nosing!

Palate - Big, big grapefruits. Plenty of seed oil. And wow. Big pepper punch. Fades to ginger and maybe some kind of chilli. There's a menthol and liquorice edge, and something savoury that reminds me of smoked salmon- without the fishiness (wait, is that still smoked fish?) Coconut. Turns a little bitter, unfortunately.

Finish - Mint, pepper, and a bit of seaweed. There's even a whiff of smoke at the end.

Overall - Good, really good. Not flawless, not perfect, but I really liked this. Perhaps not as classic Ben Nevis as, say, the Traditional Malt 10 years, or something, but still good!

Bunny 18

Bought this bottle in Taiwan in June, and by my standards, this has gone very, very quickly. Really good stuff. This is the Bunnahabhain 18 that says "Small Batch Distilled". 

Bunnahabhain 18 (abv 46.3%)

Nose - Toffee and salt. The tasting notes on the bottle are believable, for once. There's a caramel sweetness and butterscotch too. Spices if you sniff deeper, and toasted bread. 

Palate - Honey on bread. Some cinnamon and clove, more butterscotch and toffee. This is very pleasant and coherent. There's...a hint of smoke on this. At the part after you just swallow...so that's between the palate and the finish? Do we need names for that? 

Finish - I got a hint of smoke, and then some woodiness. Honeyed throughout.

Overall - This is not blow your mind out of this world, but a very pleasant sipper that you can drink everyday. At about $180 SGD, it was a steal. But that was Taiwan prices...If you try to find this in Singapore...actually, where can you find this in Singapore?

Baying for Blood

Screen grab Master of Malt

The World Cup's over, France won, I don't have any French whisky...so...French...wine...wine casks...guess we're doing Auchentoshan's Blood Oak today. Impeccable logic.

The Auchentoshan spirit isn't the most complex. At its best, it is "subtle", which is some way of saying that it hints at many things, but doesn't really have any real stand-out profiles. But if well-balanced, contains breadth, changes over time, then subtle can also be bloody brilliant. However, for something that's at plus-minus $100 from Duty Free, you're probably not going to get top notch Auchentoshan. The secondary maturation, or finishing, is therefore usually of great help.

The Blood Oak is matured partially in red wine casks that are, I don't know, oozing with red wine residue in the wood as a result of some deep charring thing. Ok, too much chemistry for this time of the night. Bought for me from DFS by CO. More than a year ago, just opened a month back. Thanks!


Auchentoshan Blood Oak (abv 46%)

Colour - Blood. Ok, kinda like most other red wine whiskies...dark amber-ish

Nose - Raspberries, a particular type of red currant syrup drink that my church sometimes uses in place of the Communion wine substitute (yes, a cheap replacement for cheap wine). Vanilla and coconut, a certain creaminess, like custard. Spicy, on...nutmeg?

Palate - Surprisingly a little hot. The vanilla and cream helps to take some sting off. Slightly tannic and meaty, like some varietals of reds. Nutmeg, cloves, a little herby too. Bitter, like orange pith.

Finish - More red currants and raspberries, some continuing spicy notes, meaty wine notes.

Overall - Decent whisky at a decent price! The wine casks do the Auchentoshan spirit a big favour, I think. I've placed this whisky on the backburner for quite a while before finally opening it. Been about a year. Won't say I'm missing out on a lot by not opening it sooner.

Artists and their whiskies

Bought this at a LMDW sale earlier this year. Let's see...

Image from whiskybase

Caol Ila, LMDW Artist Collective, 6 years (abv 43%)

Colour - pale, pale gold.

Nose - Butterscotch, lemon custard. Peat, algae, salt. This is pretty classic Caol Ila. There's notes of fish on this too. Grassy, with almost a floral note. The maritime note grows too, almost like oysters.

Palate - Smoke and charcoal. Salty and buttery. I like salted butter, by the way. None of that tame margarine thingy. Pity that's the only one at home now...for health reasons, of course. There's a growing lemon edge, reminding you that it's Caol Ila. A little bubblegum too. Some bitter fruit peel on the way down...and a bit of a meaty side. Elusive, but I think it's there.

Finish - more of that smoke. I imagine like a cigar. Spiciness grows in the finish, more so than on the palate. There's a bit of oak and bitterness.

Overall - This is good Caol Ila. Is it special? Different? I think it's not unexpected from Caol Ila, which is good if you like a Caol Ila to be like Caol Ila, but maybe nothing special for an Indie bottler. Maybe sweeter and meatier, but otherwise, fairly standard Caol Ila.

The partnership between artists and whisky makers is pretty interesting. I think that people who work a craft have so much in common - dedication to tradition, innovators finding their own voice. Something from a bygone era finding new relevance today...I've a bottle of Glentauchers that was bottled as a commemorative for an Art Museum. Let's see...maybe next month...

Supernova

Once in a while, you come across a unicorn. Those limited edition bottles that everyone says is awesome, but were launched and drunk before you came to know whisky, before you were born even. And then you see it in a secluded shop in the middle of nowhere. Continuing with the Taiwan theme, this bottle was bought by XT after I told him I spotted it in Taiwan. I would have bought it, but did not have sufficient cash on hand then. 

It was only at his place a couple of days ago that I realized that this was of 58.9% abv. Which makes it the first public release of the Ardbeg Supernova. This was, I think, one of the rarer times when the committee release was of the same abv as the public release, based on what I'm seeing on Whiskybase. So, an older release. Which is apt, since the light from Supernovas only reach Earth many light years after the actual event (that's pushing the analogy, isn't it...)

This is, in a way, a belated make-up for not being able to go to Feis Ile (why do I need an excuse??)

Ardbeg Supernova (abv 58.9%)

Nose - Nothing but peat and smoke. Lots of charcoal fire. A really roaring flame. Give it some time, and a touch of vanilla and honey. What are they roasting in that flame?? A sharp edge throughout, on lemons...grapefruit? With water: wow. The peat tones down a lot. I added almost...1 part water to 5 parts whisky. Passion fruit! More honey! This is really fruity! There's even a mildly floral side to it. It noses like a highlander now. Really dramatic change! (maybe it would have been less dramatic had I been more careful with the water)

Palate - Lots of smoke. Burnt sandalwood, charcoal. Peppery and oaky in equal measure. Some ginger and liquorice. But between the abv and the smoke, it's all smoke and mirrors. With water: again, the difference is yuuuuuuuge. Passion fruit, lemon, honey dew, grapefruit, honey, vanilla, bread. When you dial down the smoke and alcohol, this whisky has a lot to offer. The mouthfeel somehow gets a lot thicker too. Hm. Wait, is that sherry I find? Some dark chocolate, leather and prune.

Finish - Long, with or without water. Water doesn't change much in the finish. You just become a living chimney.

Overall - At release, this would have been about SGD$200. Which is phenomenal. At $500+ (the price that XT got this at from Taiwan), it's worth a try only because of its rarity and pedigree. Adding water is great, so you're essentially getting 900ml of whisky for a 700 ml price (not sure if bang-for-buck calculations work this way...)

The Dog Life in Taiwan

Headed over to Taiwan with a couple of friends, and thought of getting a bottle of something to share on the journey. After popping by a couple of shops, we settled on this - the Scallywag Year of the Dog Limited Edition. Really cute bottling, with the usual terrier in some Chinese New Year garb. Was this released world-wide? Or only in Chinese-speaking countries? Are targeted releases going to be a thing, and how are producers going to differentiate? Are Ireland exclusives all going to be Leprechuan themed?

This bottling was found in a random shop in Tainan, near a really good beef hotpot restaurant 阿欲牛肉火锅. Only NTD1688, which is about 70-ish SGD.

Scallywag Year of the Dog Limited Edition (48% abv)

Nose - oranges and spice. Sherry influence is noticeable - grapes and some wine. Vanilla, and grapefruit.

Palate - hm. Feels a bit young with an alcohol attack upfront. Oranges again. Very apt for a Lunar New Year bottling. More obvious spices now - clove and cinnamon. Fruity without being clear what fruit it is. Some kind of...pineapple-lychee mix? In any case, a little sour.

Finish -not long, making this a very quaffable whisky. Spicy, a little oak tannin.

Overall - at less than $100, and a limited edition, this is a no brainer. Drinkable as a daily dram. Why are whisky prices so affordable in Taiwan? There's also currently a newly launched Kavalan Distiller's Select. Not sure if it's a distillery exclusive, but it's currently going at NTD1000. Didn't get to taste, but it smells like great fun.

Kilkerran 12

A very belated post, since the bottle is now empty. Oops. This is the first release of the 12. Not sure if there's significant batch variation, but I guess a first release is always a landmark.

Kilkerran 12 (abv 46%)

Colour - gold

Nose - There's a soft mossy peat on this that is immediately apparent, which reminds me of more mature Longrows. Vanilla floats to the top, and there's a distinctive maltiness to the nose too. Slightly yeasty, if you strain to find it. Then very fruity - passion fruit and pineapple.

Palate - A little smoke. The wood isn't very apparent, but it is there. An oaky backbone, if you will. As all whiskies should. Spicy, on cloves and nutmeg. The sherry wood influence isn't very strong, though you can detect a pomegranate-like tartness. That's very well-balanced by the sweeter side, with vanilla coming back, and quite a lot of honey. Then there's the malty side returning too - oatmeal cookies and a traditional Hainanese bakery.

Finish - Malty and oaky, with a strong honey comeback. Some ginger and herbs. Not too long, but that's about right for a 12 year old.

Overall - As widely-anticipated, and now widely confirmed, this is good. Amen.

Exclusively Yamazaki

Friend and brother JE was in Osaka for a holiday and managed to persuade his missus to go visit Yamazaki. He graciously brought back bottles. One, the 2017 Yamazaki Limited Edition, and two, the Yamazaki distillery exclusive bottling. The LE comes in a 700ml bottle, while the distillery exclusive is in a 300ml one. Such consideration to travellers' duty free allowance...or a nefarious marketing ploy to get people to buy more - it probably is the same thing.

First up, the Yamazaki 2017 Limited Edition (43% abv)

Nose - A lot of umeshu up front. The plum liquor is followed by some faint spices, some raisins, a bit of vanilla. Some grassy scent, oak...I've seen reviews that describe this as a deep nose - can't say I smell the depth here. Maybe my nose is off, but this is good, not great.

Palate - Some fruity profiles...mango? Plum liquor getting in the way of everything. With some time, oak comes out, spices too. I guess this might be what you call...delicate, if not for the umeshu. Some hints of flowers, a bit of honey...but really, that plum liquor. Good, but somewhat off-balance.

Finish - tannic, woody, spicy. Some honey sweetness sticks around, but not a long finish, I think.

Overall - There's supposedly some 20 year old Yamazaki in here - they maybe should have left it alone as a super premium once-off bottling. This Limited Edition was brought back by JE from the distillery itself, where this bottle was sold for about SGD100. Which is about the right price. Retailers in Singapore are selling it for $400 though. That's a rip-off.

Yamazaki Distillery Exclusive

Nose - Ok, if you ever wondered what Yamazaki smells like without the powerful sherry influence in the 12 and the 18, this is it. Mangoes, malty porridge, a bit of baked bread. There's some coconut in this, and a touch of eucalyptus.

Palate - More of the same on the nose. I like this style of Yamazaki! More oak and tropical fruits than the Limited Edition. Certainly younger though.

Finish - short, clean.

Overall - This is naked, no frills Yamazaki. Good, and makes for a welcome change to the usual Yamazaki. Rougher, but somehow, I think I can grow to like this. It works great in a highball, by the way.

Thanks JE for the generosity!

Old Pulteney 25

An early day that popped up out of nowhere allowed me to drop by 1855 Bottle Shop's Wine and Whisky Week at Suntec, and boy am I glad I went. Most of the offers were for fairly standard stuff - you've got the usual Diageo entry range, Balvenie and Glenfiddich from William Grant and Sons, Suntory trying to pass off non-aged Hibiki as worthy successors, and so on. LMDW was there this year too, and boy was I glad they were.

For sampling was the usual Amruts and Kavalans. And, by sheer luck, Khai was on duty, saw me, offered to let me try anything I wanted, paused, then said, "But you've already tried everything on display, right?" Which is true. And I need to repent for the amount of time I've spent in the lovely bar that La Maison has. Tongue-in-cheek, I pointed to the bottle of Old Pulteney 1983 vintage (RP: about $900) and said that I've not tried that one. That one was, unfortunately, not open for sampling, but there was the Old Pulteney 25, if I did not mind the plastic cup that he had to use for the event...

Old Pulteney 25 (abv 46%)

Colour - Beautiful. Deep golden with a teak-ish hue.

Nose - plastic cup probably interfered a little, but this is eff-ing beautiful. My gosh. The sheer richness and balance is the best I've nosed since the 50 year old grain at Whisky Live two years ago. There's a very sprightly fruity touch. Grapes, raisins, some prunes, and maybe half a banana. But behind that. A dollop of cream, baked bread, slightly salty notes, very classy notes that remind me of a French Oak single cask Chichibu, lots of honey. A little more time, and the spices come out. This is from a newly opened bottle (I did ask if he was sure this was for sampling). Bloody hell.

Palate - Raisins and grapes come back. That must have been a really active sherry second maturation. Same as the nose, the sherry influence is but an added flourish on a very excellent whisky from the first 22 years of bourbon oak. Vanilla more present on the palate (I blame the plastic cups for the lack of vanilla on the nose), butter and milk cream, which goes very well with the viscosity. Really nice when what you taste matches the texture. Spices here, more of that classy wood notes I associate with French oak. Very fruity still, on lychees, I think. There's a light peat on this, which I didn't detect on the nose. A little bit of salt and eucalyptus oil. This is one beautifully aged whisky.

Finish - gets spicy and then drying, feels like an over-steeped fruit tea, due to the strong fruity elements. But there's a hit of peat too...so...fruity lapsang. Like my colleague DDW mixes in the office by putting a lychee teabag and a lapsang teabag into the same pot. This Old Pulteney works better, buddy. You might want to age your tea for 25 years.

Overall - I think $580 might be worth the money for this, if you have bottomless cash. But I don't, so not getting this on balance. But if money isn't a problem, buy 2 of this. One to drink, and another to drink later.

A Sour Taste in the Mouth

It has been a really long time since the last post, which can only mean that I had to find a balance between tasting whisky, and earning money so that I can continue tasting whisky. Horrible. Evidence, if any were needed, that we do not live in an ideal world. Did Marx foresee this? Perhaps. The capitalists keep us working by dangling carrots and drams in front of our noses, until we become so busy chasing that we no longer have time to do any tasting. A belated happy birthday to Karl.

This long break leaves a sour taste in the mouth, and it must be quenched by some new whisky, the next high (abv), the next experience. To anticipate my trip to Taiwan next month, here's a Taiwanese dram to whet the appetite.

Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask, bottled for The Auld Alliance (56.3% abv)

Colour - Very dark. Or maybe it was the lighting at the bar. But it appears to be mahogany. Or at least teak. Like all the other whiskies in Kavalan's Solist Sherry cask range. It isn't specified what type of sherry this is, unlike the much more premium Amontillado, Pedro Ximenez etc. I wonder how Kavalan's staff distinguish between what gets markets as Solist Sherry, and what gets marketed as a specific type of Sherry. (Edit: If it says sherry only, it looks like it's Oloroso)

Nose - Porridgey and lots of oats on the first attack. Pretty strong alcohol vapours. Wood varnish comes out quite strongly, as do notes of leather and rubber. This is very...challenging. After some time in the glass, it gets sour too. Sour prunes.

Palate - Ouch. Big alcohol burn, and the tingle remains throughout. The cask did not tame the whisky here. It was bottled in 2017, and based on the number stamp, it looks like this batch was laid down in 2010. 7 years, but the alcohol hit is still pretty big. And that's not very common for Kavalan. Hm. Sour. Sour prunes, grapes, green mangoes, sour plum. Was. Not. Expecting. That. My face is all scrunched up. Lots of wood varnishing again, and very heavy oak presence. Leather, rubber, some red wine's that already turned sour. This is...very...hard to like. Maybe it's meant to be a manly drink, but I can accept industrial, fresh lemon, brine, barbecue, etc. But this is tough.

Finish - Some spices peak out finally. Some cloves, star anise. But mostly wood.

Added a fair amount of water, and some vanilla turns up on the nose. Less leathery, and the sourness tones down a bit, but what emerges? A little bit of nutmeg, but otherwise, more of the same, just less intense.

Overall - This was hard to love, and left a sour taste in the mouth. Let's hope I'll find nicer stuff when I bring my friends to Kavalan's distillery next month.

Longrow Red 13 years Malbec

Part of the yearly crazy release from Longrow. Some years are brilliant, others are misses that didn't work so well, but when the base spirit is that good, how wrong can you get? Ok, maybe the wine clashes with the spirit, but I trust the folks at Springbank to get it right more often than not.

This bottle can hardly be found in stores, so it was a minor miracle that PY and I spotted one on a website that sells whisky here in Singapore. But they only had 1 bottle left. After an intense arm wrestling match to rock the ages, PY won the right to the bottle, and he's been generous enough to give me a dram from it.

Image from The Whisky Exchange

Longrow Red 13 years Malbec (51.3% abv)

Colour - amber, with a strong reddish hue. This is one of the reddest whisky I've seen (the Kavalan Solist Sherry cask was more mahogany and brown)

Nose - Very meaty on the nose, followed by lots of tannins and liquorice. There's a peaty character to this, though the peat is more vegetal and herbal than ashy. Cherries, prunes, and maybe some dates too. The wine is unmistakably Malbec, with Malbec's meaty character coming through. The nose is meaty, leathery, with suggestions of coffee. This is a really big nose.

Palate - Ooomph. The peat comes through more heavily, but doesn't dominate. The wine is still having a big voice here. Leathery, dark red fruits, meaty, with a slight touch of savouriness. There's some honey, and you taste the oak a little. There's quite a lot of spice on this too - ginger, cloves, pepper. Despite being more alcohol than water and fairly young, you don't feel much of a tongue-burn. Texture sits between being waxy and oily.

Finish - Spices, liquorice comes back, together with the leathery, oaky finish one gets on a good Old World red wine. Fairly long too, though the meatiness on the finish may put me off having more than 1 dram.

Overall - While not as rounded as last year's Longrow 18, this is big, rich, and more than holds its own. It's not got the velvety feel of its elder sibling, but the Malbec adds a lot of character to an already good, young whisky. Think the extra year in the wine cask (compared to the past 2 years' release) helped, whereas for some of the previous years' Longrow Reds, some reviewers say that the wine (fortified or otherwise) had too much of a say. One to sip on a day when you only want one solid dram.

Tomatin 18

A bottling that has been phased out for fancier packaging. Tomatin has given itself a bit of a makeover in recent years, though the focus of the whisky is still on what it knows best - slightly sherried Speysider with a fruity characteristic. The sherry doesn't hide the fruit underneath, and this un-sherry-bombness helps the distillate to shine.

This Tomatin won a best in category at the 20145 World Whisky Awards.

Tomatin 18 (abv 46%)

Image courtesy of the Whisky Exchange

Nose - Honey, grapes, some raisins. This is somewhat spicy too, with a light dusting of cinnamon. There's also a light suggestion of smoke and meatiness. Promising!

Palate - This reminds me a little of a Craigellachie - there's a meatiness under all the fruitiness that's quite distinct. Not quite sulphurous yet, but it's there. On top of this meatiness, there's quite a lot of fruit - grapes, apples, figs. Grape peel. A light, lingering tendril of smoke comes through.

Finish - Fairly long, with some tannins and spice. Clove and black tea, my guess.

Overall - PY split this bottle with me, and it was quite worth it!

CNY Whiskies

I attended a Lunar New Year whisky event at LMDW over the weekend, and it was great. A limited ticketed event meant that the crowd was of a manageable size throughout the 8 hours of the event. The small crowd added to the experience because it allowed everyone to get some personal attention from the knowledgeable and friendly staff at LMDW. Absolutely top class.

The rules of the event were simple - pay $58, and you get to try 8 half drams from a selection placed on the bar. About half the bottles were limited editions, or unique bottlings for La Maison. I went with PY, which meant that, on top of our own 8 drams, we stole sips from one another's as well. And PY brought a friend too. So all in all, I tried, maybe 16 different whiskies? The ones that I remember are:

Kavalan Solist Moscatel - Thick, syrupy feel, very much in the same style as the Solist Sherry. Sweeter, less raisins, more syrup. Finish is a little more drying, but spicier as well. The wood has done a thorough job, which is pretty much par for the course for Kavalan's Solist series. A little too pricey though.

Compass Box Double Single - Smooth, great, but the contrast between the two doesn't really show up. Or was that the point of the blend? Complex, with many subtle changes in flavour, and blended well together.

Compass Box Phenomenology - This was confusing. Meaty, fruity, smokey on the finish, spicy and sweet on the palate, slight sour note on the nose. Great for experimenting, hard to drink more than a glass. The whisky transforms a lot over time and with water.

Compass Box No Name - Big and smokey, the component parts were obviously from Islay. Sherried too, lending this a dry, leathery note. The sweetness of red fruits didn't really show up, or maybe my tongue was already dead to them.

Compass Box Three Year Deluxe - Bloody fantastic. Smooth, complex, sweet honey, vanilla, the wood tells, but is finely balanced by fresh apples.

Compass Box Spice Tree Extravaganza - A rather fruity and berry-led attack. Think that's the sherry cask talking. There's a touch of rubber, forming a good counter-taste to the fruitiness. Velvety, some notes of butter. Honeyed, sweet, and, not surprisingly, spicy. Though spices hardly lead the way here. This is a very well-constructed whisky.

Linkwood 2008, Signatory Vintage for LMDW - Ok, this wasn't that great. Very sweet on the nose, icing sugar, some heather honey, fruit salad dressing. Palate felt a little thin.

Blanton's, 55% abv - A misadventure. Pretty good bourbon, but was reminded of why I don't really like bourbon.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Secret Distillery 9 years - This is bloody amazing. Thick sherried goodness, fresh citrus. Slight meatiness on finish. PY guessed Arberlour, Sarah from LMDW guessed Glenfarclas, and I said Macallan, for academic purposes. Guess we'll never know.

Artist Collective Glenlivet - a rather unusual Glenlivet. Leads on sherry cask fruitiness. This is supposedly a blend of 5 different casks. It's got apples and pears, but also a lot of other notes - spicy, and even some charred oak. Some light tea tannins too. This is Glenlivet with character.

Whew. Did I manage to get everything down? Not quite, but these events are a great way to taste a whole bunch of stuff at a reasonable price. Just realized that half the memorable drams were from Compass Box - the guys there are making blends exciting again. There were other sips of heavily peated stuff I stole from PY - Octomore from the Rest and be Thankful series, Port Charlotte from elements of Islay, etc., but they're just a smokey haze in my memory, so shall refrain from trying to write about them...

And I bought an Amrut Portonova too. Wonder when I'll open that. Hopefully soon. But then, I've got a really long backlog of untasted/unopened whiskies...

Tormore or Not Tomore

It's 2 years after LMdW's 60th Anniversary, and I'm still drinking stuff from back then. Got to up the pace!! 

Bought this at last year's private sale. I was looking for a non-sherried Speysider to add some variety to my drinking. Looked around, but many of the Speysiders were either too expensive, or too sherried. I think there were 2 options I narrowed down to eventually - a Sansibar bottled...Macallan(?) and this Tormore. Under $200 after discount, and the good people at LMdW (it was Mauricio, I think) were full of praise for this exceptional whisky. Very limited bottling, with only 251 bottles coming from a single cask.

Tormore 20 years old, for LMDW 60th Anniversary (46% abv)

Nose - This is pretty special. Pineapples and mozarella. Cinnamon and figs. Pears and lemons. Almonds and yeasty, malting barley. The pineapples stand out though. Big, juicy pineapples. I learnt recently that a pineapple is a cluster of berries. What. There's a hint of marzipan after a while, and a bit of paraffin as well. This is alluring. 

Palate - More pineapple juice, but there's a hint of bitterness here. Feels like black tea and charred oak. Not quite smokey territory, but almost. The bitterness is rounded out by some active wood, giving this whisky a rounded woody flavour. Lots of spice. I'm detecting a touch of salted butter, but this takes a backseat. Fruits come to the fore. Pineapples, passion fruit, coconut, almond (not a fruit), orange pith.

Finish - The spices grow and grow on you. A dash of pepper, clove, maybe a hint of cardamon...but the bitter note is there, more prominent than on the palate. That's sticking out like a small bit of cardboard.

Overall - I like this, all the way till the bitter end. Then the bitterness stays a bit longer than is welcomed.

Linkwood 12 Flora and Fauna

Linkwood 12 Flora and Fauna (43% abv)

Nose - Light smoke, strangely savoury in a nice way. Strange because I didn't expect it. Butter and oyster. There's a steamed oyster with butter on sushi thing at Genki. Never tried it though. And then a truckload of orange zest falls on your head. Some pears. Pretty grassy and herby on parsley.

Palate - Pears, oranges, quite a bit of barley sugar. There's a bit of yeastiness in this, giving it a touch of the malting barley. There's a light smoke on this still, and then turns a little rubbery too. The texture is fairly oily, and the parsley is still in the whisky. Probably should not have dipped it for so long. The oranges in this are very fresh and juicy, but these are combated by spices. I picked up ginger, pepper, and a bit of five spice powder.

Finish - Not very long, but quite a lot of wood comes out, with spiciness for a kick.

Overall - I quite liked this. There's a touch of the old-school Speysider with this, and the taste profile reminded me a little of the amazing Craigellachie 31 sans sherry. A new distillery for me. I think this is the first Linkwood I've ever had. Good start!!

Old Pulteney for the New Year

Finally went back to the Auld Alliance after 4 months away - the folks still remember where I usually sit and ushered me to the corner of the bar. Aww. Bless them. Decided to try something a little older this time.

Old Pulteney 21 (46% abv)

Nose - noses of salted butter - creamy, vanilla, sea-salt toffee. This is a very nice opening nose. Buttered croissants. A little more rye bread after a while, though the creaminess stays. Thick fruits too - some jackfruit, pears, a dollop of honey. This smells very inviting.

Palate - Mm. Sea-salt toffee and lots of rich caramel, the kind that you find inside a Cadbury chocolate bar. Fruits come out more prominently, though it tastes like overripe peaches. Mouth feel is somewhat syrupy. A hint of oak and vanilla, though these form more of a backdrop. Not very malt forward, but the suggestion of rye bread is still there. Some mint and pepper.

Finish - Not very long, but whatever lingers feels like oak, honey and a bit more salt.

Overall - Again, not something that I would agree with Jim Murray on, scoring wise, who rated it the best whisky in the world in 2012. But this is definitely good whisky, and its a pity that the rumours about its discontinuation turned out to be true. At last year's Whisky Live, the brand ambassador was trying to convince visitors that the shape of the bottle mouth influences the taste - I'm guessing she's referring to the stills used in Old Pulteney, which the bottle mouths are modeled after. The rich caramel and toffee gives this a fairly unique texture-and-taste mix, feeling quite luxurious, though it's not very complex or challenging. Told H about what I heard regarding the discontinuation, and he immediately said that they should seek to stock up on the OP 21. Guess it's fairly popular then? I can see why. Old, inviting, velvety. This should be a hit with most whisky drinkers, if a little unchallenging for those seeking something more complex. Will definitely be missed now that it's gone.