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.

Don't Caol Ila chickens before they hatch...

I missed this year's Whisky Live as I had to bring kids overseas. This was what PY bought on my behalf, after strong recommendation from the LMdW staff. He bought for himself an Ardmore 9 years from the same series, but I think the informal tasting I had of it isn't good enough for note publishing. Maybe next time!

This continues my quest for peat in the lead up to Christmas in sunny Singapore, where there are no fireplaces to sit around sipping Lagavulin, so I'll have to make do.

Caol Ila 6 years, Artists' Collective by LMdW (abv 43%)

Colour - Very pale

Nose - Cucumber, zucchini, honey dew, pears. That's all the green stuff coming out straight at me. Strong malty backing. Brioche moistened by wet scrambled eggs. This is a good, balanced breakfast, completed with some jasmine tea notes. Then breakfast ends, with smoke from burning incense. An odd lingering scent of shaven oak. This one stands out if you look for it. Maybe the cask is a little active?

Palate - Oysters, salt. Lemon. Oily without too much viscosity. A touch of smoked ham. Lots of spices - pepper, lots of ginger. Seaweed. A nutty middle, almost like praline. Hazelnut syrup. The sap from a cut ladies' finger/okra. This is a little odd; didn't pick it up the first time round at PY's place. Smokey, without being overbearing.

Finish - Charred oak and lemon juice. Pepper and cloves. The skin of a roasted almond. This roasted almond stays with you for a really long time.

Overall - This is very green, and very good. Clean but complex, apart from the slightly off-putting okra sap. Odd. The bottle alone is worth some money, if you intend to collect this as part of a set. Alas, LMdW Singapore has already run out of most of the bottles in this collective.

That bottle arts looks like some flower illuminati, but I guess it could also mean that all colours converge on one flower (what?)