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...)

Ardbeg Uigeadail

Ardbeg Uigeadail (54.2% abv) - fairly affordable if you buy this Duty Free. Otherwise, it's slightly under $200 SGD at some places. And slightly over at others...

Nose - Initially burst of sherry's wine/raisin sweetness. Then the Ardbeg peat and smoke takes over. A hint of vanilla comes through to balance against the peat. The peat on the nose isn't ashy, but is more grassy. Nice touch.

Palate - A touch of sherry sweetness, then grassy. The peat takes over from there, with a bit of alcoholic burn, probably from the high strength. Ashy. This changes to smoke, and then rubber and tanned leather. Vanilla peeks through a bit. A little bitter too. Oak. This is a rather complex taste, for something that has no age statement. Some have complained that the quality of the sherry cask has gone down through the years, but this is still pretty excellent.

Finish - A little minty. Lots of tea. English Breakfast? Drying, with strong wood accompaniment. A bit bitter at the end too. The minty feel lasts quite a while. As does the drying tea tannin.

This one is courtesy of XT, who did a little swap with me. Gave him my leftover Talisker 18, and got a glass of this in return. Pretty good trade. Much as I like the Talisker 18, I think the Uigeadail is actually more complex in the flavours on offer. I think I like Ardbeg's peat more than Laphroaig's. Ardbeg is going to be one of our stops if we ever go on a distillery-hopping tour in Scotland. Together with Lagavulin and Bunnahabhain on Islay, Highland Park from the highlands, Balvenie from Speyside, Springbank in Campbeltown, and maybe Talisker on Skye. Pretty exciting. Gotta start saving.

CNY goodies part 4 - "World" whisky tasting

Our battle against time continues. 15 whiskies in 15 days. Can it be done?? Today is Day 13. No time to lose if the challenge is to succeed.

A bunch of stuff in today's bag of tasting notes - Hibiki 12, Ardbeg 10, Penderyn Aur Cymru Madeira, and Yamazaki 12. 

Hibiki 12 - This one has been discontinued, and prices have skyrocketed since the discontinuation was announced. Used to be one of the staples of the Suntory line of whiskies. A nice, amber colour.

Nose - Fruity. A little plum, somewhat like the Hibiki Harmony Master's Select. But this one is more complex. There's some sweet oak, and caramel. A little sherry? Some sweet red fruit in any case. Vanilla, and a little floral. Pleasant, well-balanced.

Palate - sweet. Suggestions of a little nut, like almonds. Oak. Sweet plum. Vanilla, and some spices. This one is really more complex and better than the Master's Select, in my opinion. Or maybe I just haven't given the Master's Select a fair hearing.

Finish - A little short. Some tannin, and thus, a little drying. Spices and wood.

A good, balanced dram. Japanese craft evidently on display.

Ardbeg 10 - Ardbeg is the quintessential peat monster. This tasting was contributed by PY, who is definitely a guy, despite having a name that often gets mistaken for being feminine.

Nose - ash and meat. Like a barbecue. Then some charcoal smoke. Exactly like a barbecue then...oddly, some vanilla as well. Or something sweet.

Palate - Immediately a bit drying. Herbal/medicinal, ashy, and more charcoal smoke. Sweet as well. Spicy on the way down. There's a little alcohol burn in this one. On second sipping, an odd taste. Reminded me of the brine in canned tuna. PY gives me an incredulous "huh? canned tuna??" Guess it's just me then.

Finish - spicy, and some drying tea tannins. Fiery, like swallowing warm coals. Leaves a little sweetness at the back of the throat.

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Second session consisted of the following 4 drinks. With me tonight was JP, who gave the taster bottle of Yamazaki 12. He got to try the Kavalan Solist Sherry and the Edition Santis. I won't be writing new notes on those, but just noting some of his remarks that differed from mine...

First up was the Penderyn Aur Cymru Madeira (46% abv). This one came courtesy of CP, who also helped me to get the Santis. Thank you!

Colour - straw

Nose - Leathery. Tanned leather. A little grain, and a little yeast, with that bit of sour scent that yeast has. Doesn't smell very promising, but we'll see.

Palate - a little sour. Then it becomes bitter. According to JP, this is the bitter that comes at the back of traditional Chinese medicine. Licorice, then rubber, tar. A little peppery. JP and I were making funny, grimacing faces at one another. Maybe some people like this profile of flavours, but we don't.

Finish - rubber and licorice. Burns a little.

Overall - mm. As the first Welsh whisky that I've ever come across, it was worth a try. Like an adventure in a YOLO sort of way. But I don't think I'll be rushing to get a full bottle anytime soon.

Yamazaki 12 - Less famous than it's 18 year old brother, but prices are also going up.

Nose - Sherry was the first to hit. A little bit of a citrus fruit. First word that came to JP was yuzu. Hmm. I thought it was something a little heavier than yuzu.  A bit of oak. Quite a lot of honey.

Palate - Sherry on entry. Rather sweet. A bit of spice and just a small whiff of smoke in the middlle. Vanilla backdrop. A lot of honey. This one is sweet.

Finish - a bit drying. Light smoke and spice. Like honeyed water with cinnamon.

On the whole, very nice. Not in the same class as the 18, but you can taste the progression. Some distilleries produce whiskies whereby the various ages are matured in very different ways, and thus taste very different. This one tastes just like a younger version of the 18. The 18 becomes richer, rounder, and more matured, but the basic is the same. Good quality and product control by the folks at Yamazaki.

JP's impression of the Santis and Kavalan: 

Santis - not really beer-like until the finish, as opposed to the beer I found upfront. He smelt more vanilla than I did, and some icing sugar. I can see why he found those notes, but perhaps that's not quite how I would describe them. On the whole, we agree that this is nice, pleasant, too dangerously easy to drink. JP says that he can almost taste the Alpine water that went into this whisky. JP also very versatile, being a good sipping dram as well as something to round off a more complex drinking session.

Kavalan - JP did not enjoy this much as I did, with the rubbery notes hitting him first. He found the rubber quite off-putting. Concluded that he wasn't much of a sherry bomb guy. Ah well.

So, 6 whiskies over 2 sessions that take us around the world. 1 Scotch, 2 Japanese, 1 Swiss, 1 Taiwanese, and 1 Welsh. That was fun!
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We are on 14 now...Getting really close...Will we succeed...? Or will I have to cheat...?!? Bring out an old tasting note? Write a new note on something that I already have a review for? Or what?

The clock is ticking.