A toast to Mr. Samaroli - Highland Park 'Flowing Feature', 1992/2016

Mr. Silvano Samaroli is a legend in the whisky industry. He made his name in the industry as the importer and bottler of Scotch whiskies in Italy, and has a reputation for bottling some pretty astounding stuff. Those lucky Italians. In any case, Mr. Samaroli passed on a couple of weeks ago. The whisky world loses one of its great men. In honour of the good work done, I had a Samaroli whisky this weekend.

Mr. Samaroli visited Singapore's The Auld Alliance a couple of weeks before his passing. The friendship between the Italian and The Auld Alliance saw an expansion in the menu here - there are now Samaroli flights that you can try, priced at $40 for the entry level blends, and $80 for single cask single malts. The one I tried was a Highland Park named 'Flowing Feature', and bottled at 45%. It was from a 1992 vintage, and bottled just last year. The bottle's really pretty too. I asked H from The Auld Alliance if they could give me the bottle after it's empty, and he very kindly said yes. Bless him. I actually knew H from the time he was a student in university, so I'm glad to see him doing something he enjoys.

Highland Park 'Flowing Feature' 1992/2016 (abv 45%)

Colour: Straw. This is fairly pale for a single cask whisky that's been maturing for 24 years. Probably a refill cask.

Nose: Oooh. This is a Highland Park, without a doubt. Orange, grapefruit, honey. Then, a big perfume and floral rhapsody that's very captivating. I normally don't like whiskies that are so perfumed, but I think I can make an exception for this one. There's some liquorice and oak, and then, a malty, porridgy undertone. Mmm. This might be close to what S. Valentin of whiskyfun.com describes as "wet dogs".

Palate: Sweet entry, with the honey notes coming to the fore, then some kind of floral tea - both floral, and a little tannic. Dried flowers - that'll be potpourri, I believe. Cloves and maybe one sprig of parsley. Dried orange peel and some lingering citrus notes that remind me of grapefruit. Then, as on the nose, the malty side starts to show itself later in the background, but comes across fairly strongly. What I really like about this, as with the Port Ellen reviewed a couple of weeks ago, was the texture. Thick and viscous, it felt like honey upon entry, like a blob of something viscous entered your mouth, rather than liquid. Ok, that didn't make sense. Viscosity is only used to describe liquids. Okok.

Finish: Mm. Spicy and oaky. Tannins from black tea this time, a little bit of honey and vanilla - odd, I didn't pick this up earlier. Fairly mineral too - wet rocks (no, not wet dogs. Rocks). Some floral suggestions linger, like the time I went to Korea and had a Bimbimbap that used edible flowers instead of vegetables. The finish is fairly long.

Overall - I really like this. The texture is a huge plus for me, and any whisky that combines deep flavours with such a texture will score high in my books. Many thanks to Mr. Samaroli for bringing us such great whiskies for so many years, God bless his soul.

Age to Age - Auld Alliance Irish Single Malt

Another year older, another year wiser, another year drunker. Thinking about what whisky to celebrate my birthday, I thought, why not drink something distilled in the same year I was born? Brilliant. And I know exactly which whisky to get.

When The Auld Alliance re-launched their menu, a couple of whiskies were advertised quite prominently. One of these was an unidentified Irish whisky distilled in the year 1988. Been eyeing that for a year, actually. Finally got to try it, and my my, was it worth the wait.

The Auld Alliance Irish Single Malt Whisky 1988/2015 (51.2% abv)

Colour - light gold

Nose - Intensely fruity. Pineapples, tinned peaches, syrup, figs, some light grapes, some oak in the undertones...This is a massive fruit basket! The fruits are fresh, and the nose is a little sharp, which aids in the delivery of the citrusy nose. There's also notes of some spice in the nose, but man, that's one sexy fruit basket.

Palate - Pineapples on entry, transiting into...I'm pretty sure of this - pink guava. No, not kidding. Pink guava. There's some berries as well - strawberries, and with some time, it becomes closer to something more tart. Raspberries, perhaps? Figs are still there, and the oak tells as well, but the big fruitiness keeps everything fresh and beautiful. With some time, a more malty side emerges. Slight metallic twang, a little bit of black tea, and some toffee at the end.

Finish - Not too long. I think this goes down a little too quickly, actually. Some oak, a little spice. Slightly malty and porridgey too. But nothing lasts very long. Pity.

Overall - Pretty good! Feels very fruity and young for its age, but this is deep and complex. Love the fruits and freshness, though the finish is perhaps not perfect. Many many thanks to EP for celebrating my birthday and enjoying this dram with me! I think she preferred her Whisky Sour better though...

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.