Thread: Scotch/whiskey of the day

I like to smell the glass after it dries to see what scents I can identify. I didn't know it was a thing until now.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

I like to smell the glass after it dries to see what scents I can identify. I didn't know it was a thing until now.

Don't know if it's a thing either, but that makes at least two of us!

ChrisL

Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey
Un-Chill Filtered
46% ABV
50ml mini
Finish - 6 months in rum casks


25ml
Copita glass

1st Nose Full Strength: Toffee, Candy Corn, Fruit Cake, Raisins, Melon, Cucumber, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Banana, Green Grape Juice.

2nd Nose ABV 38% (added 5.3 ml water): Oak, milk chocolate, poppy seed, veg tanned leather,

Taste: Very faint molasses, very faint vanilla, faintly sweet and only at the beginning of the finish. cask char,

Finish: Grapefruit and vegetal, green grass

I look forward to tasting the other half of the 50ml mini bottle to rule out the possibility that having salty foods today as I did may have thrown off my palate. I say this because this whiskey wasn’t particularly robust in nose, but it offered more in the nose than it did in taste. I had higher hopes for this whiskey. I could say it was either rather uninteresting or you had to work hard to pick up the subtleties of the notes. Afterward, I actually decided to pour a few drops (10ml) of Bunnahabhain 12 to give me more satisfying experience this evening.

Based on the rating scale below, I would rate this whiskey an: 82

80 - 82 (B-) = Not-too-bad - no major flaws, worth tasting

ChrisL

Bunnahabhain 12
Un-chill filtered
uncolored
46.3% ABV

10ml sample in Copita glass

First nose full strength: dialed down oily peat, canvas, fresh plum, cocao, brine, eiswein, cracked black pepper, floral notes

2nd nose at 38% ABV (2.2ml water): / clouds immediately with the addition of water - evidence of its lack of filtration / dried fruit notes/prune, oak, vanilla, ocean air

Taste: Oatmeal, astringent sweetness, light yet well blended full bodied flavor at the same time,

Finish: wisp of peat which fades into a memory followed by subtle sweetness

Ghost: Sweet barley malt, dark chocolate, floral

Certainly the most ethereal of the Islay whiskies I have tried. I’ve read some suggest that Bunna is a very good Islay whisky to introduce to those who are uninitiated to peat so as not to overpower them or turn them off to peated whisky. I can understand the suggestion; however, I would suggest the opposite. The peat is so light in Bunnahabhain that someone who has not experienced heavier peated whisky could easily overlook it here. Peat experienced tasters will identify Islay in this whisky.

Heavier peated whiskies are like rapids in a river, the force of the rapids ascending with the level of peat; whereas Bunnahabhain 12 is that same river slowing to a lightly babbling brook.

I have a bottle of Bunnahabhain 12, find it worthy of having a place in the spirits stable and rate it an 89.


87 - 89 (B+) = Great - always want to have a bottle

That sounds very interesting indeed. I've been considering getting hold of a glass with a lid for a while and now I think I will. At least a small glass plate, I gather they're pretty cheap on amazon.

Bunnahabhain 12 is very good and fairly light for an islay whisky. I'd like to try an older bottling at some point.

Tonight, I'll be cracking open the Glen Garioch founder's reserve...

Tonight it's a dram of Laphroaig 10 year old.

I think Ardbeg and Glenfarclas are at the top of the list for trying next.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

Tonight it's a dram of Laphroaig 10 year old.

I think Ardbeg and Glenfarclas are at the top of the list for trying next.

I haven't tried either as of yet. I'm drawn toward the Glenfarclas. I like what I've seen so far in regard to it being family owned. Seems like a friendly distillery. They also apparently don't caramel color and I don't think they use bourbon barrels just sherry casks? I could be wrong on that.

ChrisL

What do we have here?

Bourbon with an age statement? Yes.
It'll do you one better....
Barreled on 7.12.06
Barrel #14 to be exact
Bottled on 4.1.15

Nice! Nearly nine years of aging has done this bourbon well. Evan Williams apparently has done an annual single barrel vintage each year since the eighties I believe. I look forward to many more!

Cost wise? I bought this a few months ago and recall paying less than $30 for the bottle. Could you imagine an age statement Scotch with such specific age info selling for anywhere near that amount?

Good stuff. I want to run to that liquor store and buy another bottle to pack away for a later date.



43.3% ABV
25ml
Copita glass with lid

1st Nose: White Oak, Vanilla, Fruit, Maraschino, Caramel,

2nd Nose: 38% ABV (3.5ml water): Oak/Cedar, Banana, Tropical, Pineapple, Mango, Faint Wood Smoke,

Taste: Moderately Sweet, Char, Vanilla, Grassy, Licorice Root, Roasted Sweet Corn

Finish: Sweetness fades to oak,

This is a woodsy bourbon. I’ve done my share of woodworking with a variety of woods, and white oak specifically comes through on the nose and taste. White oak has a sourness in the smell that red oak doesn’t. A fair amount of water does not drown this Whiskey; it retains a pleasant nose as well as a full bodied taste. Islay whiskies have the distinction of peat, while bourbons have the varying degrees of fresh oak for distinction. This whiskey does not disappoint; it offers a pleasing and multi layered nose as well as taste. If peat or smoked whisky is not your thing, don’t try most Islay Scotch. If oak is not your thing you might not like this whiskey.

Based on the rating description below I rate this bourbon an: 87

87 - 89 (B+) = Great - always want to have a bottle

ChrisL

Never had it before, but a friend from the States was up and gifted me a bottle of Makers 46.
Kentucky Bourbon, and actually I liked neat. Got the Caramel, and the oak very nicely, the vanilla was more a taste in my breath than on my tongue if that makes sense.
Really, washed down my HH cigar quite well. Will be added to the cabinet regularly if it's available up here.
Cheers.