Chinese New Year Escapades - 15 days of CNY, 15 new tastes??

Maybe I'll manage to pull together some notes on 15 different whiskies for these 15 days of CNY. Some are things that I've had before, and had occasion to try again, and others are going to be new tastes. May not be able to give detailed tasting notes on them, but I'll see what I can put together...

Starting with 3 that I tasted while at DW's home for the Chelsea-Man U game...in increasing order of preference.

Crown Royal North Harvest Rye - It is now legal requirement to mention that this Canadian blend was Jim Murray's Whisky of the Year. However, I would like to register my polite disagreement - this might be good rye whisky, but whisky of the year is utter rubbish. In any case, I could be biased, as I was put off by the very very intense syrup nose and palate. Only took a small sip, and I was done. Maybe rye whiskies are not my thing. Way, way too sweet and syrupy.  Cough syrup, specifically. DW added ice, and it lost its cough syrup feel, to become corn syrup. Urgh. Some spice, not much else came to me. Overpowering sweetness. Not nice. And not worth the price it now commands, after Jim Murray's endorsement.

Johnnie Walker Blue King George V - Marketed and priced as a luxury product, a statement and not just a product. The packaging for this blended whisky is beautiful. 

Just look at that packaging! 

The whisky itself...

Nose - One can tell that it's a blended whisky straightaway. Notes of grain, cereal and malt. Some indistinct fruit, though that could be because it was a newly opened bottled. I notice that noses tend to become more developed with some time. A whiff of smoke. 

Palate - Don't remember this being good enough to blow me away. Smooth, as one would expect from a quality blend. Malt sweetness. Nice touch of smoke/peat. I later found out that this blend has a portion of Port Ellen, though it is not disclosed how much Port Ellen goes into it. Some of the oak comes through. Hmm. I'm willing myself to taste more in this, but frankly, it isn't very complex. Some fruit, like apples and oranges. Balanced, smooth, but not blown away. And I expect to be blown away at this price point.

Finish - Smoke, oak, a little 'dusty", like the smell of dusty, wooden furniture. 

On the whole, nice, smooth, a good drink. But definitely not worth the price JW is asking customers to fork out. Good thing to display on the shelf, but I can think of many other whiskies that are cheaper and just as satisfying, if not even more so.

And my favourite of the night...

Taketsuru 21 - Nikka's Taketsuru is a regular winner of the World Whisky Awards' Blended Malt of the Year. I'm not sure how many entries there usually are, or how stiff the competition is, but, having had the Taketsuru 12, I'm confident that the 17, 21 and 25 will be amazing too. Time to test the 21.

Nose - Really nice. It's smokier on the nose than the 12, perhaps suggesting a larger percentage of Yoichi in comparison to Miyagikyo. The fruit that come up so readily in the 12 are more mature and reserved, but firm. I think oranges on the nose. A little bit of leather, and a bit of the ocean that reminds me of oyster sauce. Captivating and inviting.

Palate - Smoke stays on the palate throughout. The savouriness turns out to be more like the plum sauce that goes with Chinese roasted meats at restaurants. A little bit of orange too. 

Finish - Medium length. Tea tannins, like pu-erh. A bit of smoke, and a bit of plum. A touch of mint on the way down. Tasty.

This one is on sale at lazada.com's whisky page for about $400. Feels worth it, especially since the King George is selling at about 800 to 900 SGD... 

The Japanese premium affects Nikka less than Hibiki. The Hibiki 21 is selling for above $1000, but the Taketsuru is of good quality, and at less than half the price. Still, at $400, it's in premium category. Not one for regularly drinking by poor people.

Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask

Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask (Cask no. S100209019A, abv. 56.3%), bought at Changi Airport DFS.

Colour: Mahogany. It's a darker shade of colour than the teak wood furniture I have in my room. 

Nose: Raisins and vanilla. It smells like very rich rum and raisin ice cream. Rich in rum, raisins, and vanilla. The raisins are so rich, this smells like a brandy than a whisky. With a little bit of swirling, chocolate notes rise up. Fruit cake. The sort that I grew up eating with preserved fruits and a little bit of something that smells like cereal. Guess this is a whisky after all. A little smell of tanned leather. Faint, and rather pleasant. The vanilla comes out more readily when the whisky has had time to breathe. This is true from the nose through to the palate and finish.

Body: Not very thick and mouth coating. Feels kinda watery in the mouth. Very richly flavoured water.

Palate: Raisins. An explosion of raisins. Neat, the high strength burns a bit, but it quickly fades into a warming chocolate. Like chocolate coated raisins. A bit of leather, and some other fruits. Like...stewed strawberries? A small bit of bitterness, like what you get from chewing coffee beans. Vanilla is released slowly, and a bit of wood comes out as well. A second sip brings out some sour notes, like a slightly acidic wine, with nice tannins. The sherry cask did a very thorough job on this one, I think. 

With water: The raisins explosion gets tamed a little, but somehow the alcohol stings even more. Odd. A bit more leathery/rubbery, and a little more woody. Otherwise, its character remains largely the same.

Finish: Wood and spice, a little like spiced wine at 56.3% abv. The finish is fairly short, but breathing through my mouth brought back sensations of chocolate. Yum yum. A bit of vanilla lingers as well.

On the whole, this is, I think, my favourite thus far. Richly sherried, and a nice mix of flavours. I'm sure there are other flavours in this that I'm not picking up due to the powerful raisins, but I've never complained about having too much rum and raisin ice cream. All is well. This is a great dram. Perhaps the Solist series isn't as polished, smooth and refined as some other 30 year olds, but it's a superb sherry bomb for its age. Apart from the slight burn, this tastes like something that's been sitting in a sherry cask for more than 20 years - it's sherry flavours are richer and more intense than the Glendronach 18 Allardici, for example. It's richer in raisins than the Aberlour a'bunadh (batch 50) as well. Stay away from the Kavalan if you don't like sherry. But if you do, this is fantastic.

For single casks, one always runs a risk when buying - it's not likely that a buyer is going to get a bottle from the same cask as the reviews he/she's read, so there is going to be some variation between the reviewed bottle, and what the buyer can find. Between batches, there might be some differences. The Kavalan Solist Sherry, however, should be fairly safe. Almost every batch has received great reviews, except for one - whiskyfun.com rated several Kavalan Solist Sherry five stars, but gave only 2 to #S081217038. Apparently, it was too sulphury. No idea why. But apart from that, nothing but good reviews.

Price wise, many places in Singapore are selling this at about $250. Compared to the prices of other stuff, maybe this is a bit over-priced. The Aberlour a'bunadh can be found at under $200, the Gldndronach 15 and 18 are both under 200 as well. I've seen a bottle of Amrut Intermediate Sherry for less than $150. Guess that's what being a multiple award winner does to you. 4 gold medals were awarded by the Malt Maniacs in 2015, and 3 went to different casks of the Kavalan Solist Sherry, with a couple more picking up silver medals. 

At the airport Duty Free Shop, however, you can pick up a bottle of the Kavalan Solist Sherry at about $130. Which, in my opinion, is real value-for-money. I bought mine at the DFS, and I'm really pleased with the purchase.

Happy sipping!

Laphroaig 18

Laphroaig 18 - Another peaty one - Why am I having so many peated whiskies? With the Lunar New Year around the corner, I suspect I might end up trying a few more peaty ones...Seems like that's what my friends tend to prefer. Personally, I'm thinking of trying a smoky sherried whisky. The Bowmore Devil's Cask sounds good, but Devil's Cask 3 is priced at a very very steep $380. It's matured in both Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez, but it's an NAS, and double the prices of the first two editions. I'm not sure if it's going to be worth the price. Any recommendations?

Anyhows, the notes for the Laphroaig were from a couple of weeks ago. I got to try it, courtesy of my friend Gim.

Nose - Peat. Big peat. But it's a very clean nose. The flavours are clearly layered, and not much whispering or hiding. Fruity with honey overtones. A bit of brine as well. When the brine and honey comes together, I was reminded of toffee.

Palate - Peat again. Not as medicinal as other Laphroaigs. A little iodine, but more ash than medicinal. After some time, it becomes fruity. Ripe pears, I think. A little salty, like a sea breeze (this seems to be a recurring taste in the island whiskies). Not too much honey on the palate. The peat is balanced by the oak. A bit of coconut.

Finish - Ashy peat, a little spice - a wee bit of pepper and maybe cloves. A little savoury on the finish too, which is very welcomed. Gim says that the wide range of flavours makes the Laphroaig 18 feel almost like a full meal.

On the whole, very nice. It picked up a lot more flavours, when compared to the 15. While the Triple Wood has a little more fruitiness going for it, the 18 lasts longer, and I think, the stuff that's in the 18 is better represented. The Triple Wood has different flavours, but they're less mature, a little more nervous, a little more muted. The 18 is more confident of what it is. Guess that's something that only age can do.

Having tasted many peated whiskies, I must say that Laphroaigs and Ardbegs are perhaps a little too peaty for me. I can appreciate why they are good, but they're not going to be my favourite drink. To each his own, and may my next whisky review be for something non-peated (probably the Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask)...