Tomatin 18 y.o. (ABV: 46%, NCF)
- Nose: [19] - Sherry, Malt, Oak, Vanilla
- Taste: [20] - Barley Sugar, Sultana Raisins, hint of dark cherries
- Finish: [19] - Warm, Pepper, Malt, Caramel, and a hint of oak
- Balance: [22] - Almost annoyingly balanced, nothing really takes the lead here. Just when you think you have locked down a taste or aroma it fades and something new comes your way. But this balanced nature makes this really easy to approach.
- Summary: There is nothing bad here, it is all good, but there is also nothing great. It is a enjoyable drink, but I expect a lot more complexity from an 18 year old whisky. It is married in oloroso sherry casks, but honestly the sherry is barely there and I would lean toward the Aberlour 12 Double Cask over it (and it is half the price). TL;DR - It is good, but not great, probably wouldn't buy again.
- Score: [80/100]
Bruichladdich Laddie Classic Edition_01 (ABV: 46%, BOT: 2009, NCF, NC)
- Colour: Pale Straw [I will only talk about colour now when I know there is no E150 present]
- Nose: [21/25] - Floral, Barley, Dried Fruit [Think apricots and peaches], Vanilla, and a splash of sea-salt
- Taste: [20/25] - Malted Barley, Molasses, Cheerios, and the faintest hint of Sweet Tobacco
- Finish: [23/25] - Malt, Caramel, Peat, Spicey Pepper
- Balance: [20/25] - The scale is tipped towared the Barley & Fruit notes that are here, but in a good way, it really works for this dram.
- Summary: To me this dram is about layers and evolution. The nose starts off young and strong, hitting you with heavy floral and barley notes. The next few sniffs bring your to the Dried Fruits and Vanilla, and floating around the edge is the sublte sea-salt brine. At first taste, you are taken aback with a sharp and dry Malted Barley, but as your return for another it has calmed down a little and allowed some Brown Sugar / Molasses [almost rum like] flavour to emerge. As your let it sit in your mouth well chewed Cheerios come through. Sitting on the sidelines is a Sweet Tabacco a unique taste that I love. The finish kicks in nice and warm, showing this drams youth. Malted Barley and Strong Caramels at first. These fade after the first few tastes, letting a very mellow Peat note to come through. Present through every taste is Spicy Pepper just sitting there backstage letting everyone else take the spotlight, never once stealing the show.
- Score: [84/100]
Johnnie Walker Green Label (ABV: 43%)
- Nose [21/25] : The nose here is quite good, with nothing really standing out overtop of anything else. Malt, Smoke, maybe peat way back there, brine, oak, vanilla and hints of sweet toffee.
- Taste [23/25] : Delicious malty flavours, smoke (similar to the Talisker 10), light salt, and those toffifee things.
- Finish [24/25] : More wondrous malt, spice - like anise or liquorice. The finish reminds me of the Bruichladdich Laddie Classic_01.
- Balance [23/25] : A "pure malt" blend should be balanced, and this one is. It is great tasting and fun to drink.
- Summary : I think what I have come to love about this is how it reminds me of other favourites When I first tried it, I had no experience to draw on and I think it's subtle complexity was lost on me. But now it is like catching up with old friends. Which only adds to the soul crushing depression I feel when I realize that it is gone. *sigh*
- Score : [91 / 100]
The Macallan 10 Fine Oak (ABV: 40%)
- Nose [18/25]: Floral, Fragrant, Heavly Oaked white wine, green wood, like sherry notes and faint vanilla. The heavy oak here hurts it for me, and there is something like dept. store perfume counters sitting somewhere in the background that comes out after I have been sitting with it for a while that I was a little bothered by. I added a little water, which toned down the wood and floral notes, allowing some honey / beeswax to come through - which I did enjoy.
- Taste [19/25]: Light body, the initial feel is sharp and dry, more of that young oak coming through. There is vanilla and creamy toffee in there, but it is nearly obliterated by the oaky notes. It isn't that it tastes terrible, it just doesn't have much that makes it stand out as much more than a white wine on the palate to me. Water opened up the fruits and caramels in this.
- Finish [18/25]: Warm and short, a little pepper, floral perfume, and more of that young green wood. Something sharp and bitter here too that comes in long after the majority of the other notes have faded, I have no idea what to relate it to but I tried to not let it influence the majority of the experience too much.
- Balance [17/25]: The strong oak / wood on every aspect here was a little too much, this is the only Macallan I have tried so far, is it what I should expect? I drank nearly 1/3 of the bottle to make sure I was giving a fair review. Trying many different things (water, resting, coffee/chocolate before, etc) to see the different aspects of it.
- Summary :I hope I had a tainted bottle here, as most of the reviews I had read about this one seemed so promising. I can see the promise of what this dram could be. I talk like I hated it, but it wasn't bad, just not great. I will come back to it someday, with a new bottle, in hopes of having it be redeemed. I will note that a few drops of water worked a little magic and did make it more enjoyable. Water giving maybe a +5 overall to the score. +2 on the nose, +1 everywhere else.
- Score : [72 / 100], with water [77 / 100]
