Johnnie Walker is the story of a brand that started as a humble grocery at Scotland and became one of the best selling whisky company in the world.
Share your thoughts! Tasting in honor of Laphroaig Live 2012, five proposed whiskies. I have all of them but Ardmore so I will taste three Laphroaigs and Connemara.
I missed the online event for a matter of hours so I sorted the whiskies as I though it could be best. I think that the drams has been sorted slightly different on the online tasting with Connemara and Ardmore being tasted in last place.
Talisker is a great distillery situated on the Isle of Skye on the north of Scotland which now is linked to Scotland using a new bridge inaugurated in 1995.
One of the first things that attracted my focus over Wemyss malts were their awesome names, whiskies like the Hive, Peat Chimney or the extravagant-named single malts can’t be bad. So in one of my whisky raids on The Whisky Exchange I found several miniatures of 8 and 12 years old Wemyss blended malts.
I have been around three weeks without much whisky. First, I got holidays and I have been doing some repairs at home and then I have been out at beach. So no whisky for me during the last 23 days.
That’s quite a record. And also the fact that I have done while on holidays mojitos using gin because all the rum ran out.
By the way, here is a photo of the beach. A must-visit one at Conil de la Frontera.
I wanted to return with something nice and special! So I grabbed my box of samples and voila! I wrongly took the Islay box :) Who of you can say no to a nice peat punch?
So let’s taste the stuff. I just grabbed five drams for my first tasting: three Smokehead single malts and two secret distillery from Islay. One of them with a very nice score from Malt Maniacs.
This dram has a white wine-like color.
Nose (89): more than average. smoke, honey, citrus, wood.
Palate (90): oily. peat, earth, honey, citrus, chocolate.
Finish (89): longer than average. peat, honey, wood.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Smokehead Extra Rare 1l with 89 points over 100.
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (89): more than average. smoke, honey, wood, spices, citrus.
Palate (89): powerful, oily. peat, honey, citrus, wood, spices.
Finish (90): longer than average. peat, spices.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Smokehead with 89 points over 100.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (90): average. honey, floral, candies, peat, wood.
Palate (90): oily. peat, honey, citrus, wood, spices, cocoa.
Finish (89): average. peat, candies.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Smokehead 18 year Extra Black with 90 points over 100.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (91): more than average. honey, peat, toffee, citrus, spices, vanilla.
Palate (89): oily. peat, honey, citrus, wood, spices, pepper.
Finish (90): longer than average. peat, honey, wood, floral.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Islay Storm with 90 points over 100.
This dram has a cooper-like color.
Nose (90): more than average. nuts, peat, honey, citrus, wood. This sherry aged whisky smells like some of the best Bunna I have had.
Palate (92): powerful, oily. peat, nuts, honey, wood, smoke, spices. Oh my! The cask strength really does the work.
Finish (91): longer than average. peat, honey, nuts.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Breath of Islay 12 Year Old 1999 (Adelphi) with 91 points over 100.Yep, definitively Malt Maniacs know about whisky. Breath of Islay is by far the most solid dram of this flight and a very good whisky on itself,
On the following months I plan to start writing about my tasting sessions instead of just isolated bottles. I think it is more fun for both of us. And it is possible because I finally sorted and classified my samples library. :)
I would love to read what you have been drinking this summer.
I have joined Jean-Marie Putz of whisky-distilleries.info and twenty other whisky zealots in the fifth blind tasting session of this year.
The principle is that whisky producers supply whisky they select themselves, according to their marketing goals. The sent whisky bottles are sampled and sent to about 20 tasters who write their impressions about every whisky. Their impressions and their quotation are published in Whisky distilleries blog.
The Whisky Tasting sessions are a flight of six whiskies tasted blind. Usually bottles are from independent bottlers that are really strong sellers in central Europe.
The samples arrived a few weeks ago in a supercool box. Each samples was 2.5cl and bottled in a small flask. Work has been been delaying me on tasting the six samples but finally this Thursday I had a few spare hours to taste them.
Usually I try to short the samples as explained in the how to taste whisky article, but this time I just decided to enjoy and go ahead. Mainly because if I sort the samples I will lack of time to taste them properly.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (87): more than average. floral, honey, spices, vanilla, citrus. Very irish style.
Palate (90): powerful. floral, honey, spices, citrus, vanilla, peaches, wood.
Finish (90): longer than average. floral, spices, citrus, honey.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Macduff 1980 Malts of Scotland with 89 points over 100.
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (88): more than average. honey, vanilla, citrus, toffee. Powerful toffee aroma. Like a Cadbury box
Palate (89): . honey, floral, spices, citrus, wood, chocolate.
Finish (88): average. toffee, spices, vanilla.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Aberlour 17 years Anam Na H-Alba with 88 points over 100.
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (89): more than average. toffee, floral, vanilla, peaches. Very closed nose but really nice.
Palate (90): smooth, powerful, oily. honey, wood, vanilla, citrus, spices, cinnamon, tobacco. I am sure I have tasted this one before... umm... no clue right now.
Finish (89): average. honey, tobacco, vanilla, wood.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Macallan 1989 Whiskies of Scotland with 89 points over 100.
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (91): more than average. toffee, vanilla, citrus. An Cnoc! It must be an Cnoc! Delicious!
Palate (90): smooth, oily. honey, vanilla, floral, citrus, wood, spices, anise, cinnamon.
Finish (89): longer than average. toffee, vanilla, citrus.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Blended Malt batch 116 Dailuaine 1999 & Linkwood 1998 with 90 points over 100.
This dram has a tawny-like color.
Nose (90): more than average. honey, sulphur, peat, citrus, nuts. Old sherried japanese single malt style whisky.
Palate (92): powerful, oily. honey, peat, wood, citrus, spices, cinnmon. Very nice.
Finish (91): longer than average. peat, honey, spices, maritime.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Bunnahabhain 20 years old Wilson & Morgan with 91 points over 100.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (90): more than average. honey, citrus, spices, cinnamon, candies, smoke. Old whisky here...
Palate (90): powerful, oily. honey, spices, pepper, floral, citrus, nuts.
Finish (89): longer than average. honey, spices, nuts.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Macallan 1990 Fino Sherry Hogshead Malts of Scotland with 90 points over 100.It has been a very nice tasting, really fun. And I have tasted two Macallans! Tasting the first one I was really really sure that I have already tasted it. Also really impressed by a very nice Bunnahabhain with its incredible peat and sherry style.
My favorite has been the Bunnahabhain whisky, very similar in style to the impressive bottling of The Whisky Barrel for Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Islay is an island in the west of Scotland that produce a style of single malts that you either love or hate: peated whiskies.
(Photo on top of one of the Jura Pups looking south overseeing the Isle of Islay by Gregor Haslinger)
You may wonder why such an small island have so many distilleries and I hope this article enlighten you and share with us the passion for peated whiskies.
I have tasted already many of the whiskies created at Islay but I really wanted to taste them all in a row so I can compare them side by side. I hate when I taste blindly a whisky and I can’t decide if it is a Caol Ila ( most are ) or an Ardbeg.
So come with me in this trip around Islay in nine drams. Oh man! I am sure you can smell the smoke from there.
It was around three months ago that Oliver Klimet, the Malt Maniac behind Dramming.com blog was looking for 20 persons to join a blind tasting game proposal.
Read about the wildest blind-stick tasting that I have done. Lots of surprises and the winner just scored 32 of 125 possible points.
March is now gone and I am on holidays right now. So looking back I have tasted this past month lots of interesting whiskies. There have been several whiskies above 90 points and I have tasted several interesting things as the Macallan the 1824 Collection, Buffalo Trace Vintage releases of George T Stagg, William Larue Weller, Thomas H Handy, Compass Box Last Vatted whiskies or the winner of this month and perhaps of the year…
So I poured the whisky and then it just happened, there it was, with its great dark mahogany color, looking so good. Laphroaig adds caramel to Quarter Cask whisky so they may do the same to this one. But then I nosed it and I was conquered, all my walls collapsed and I was in front of one of the best whiskies I have ever had. This was like being abducted to a sherry bodega in Jerez and then being at the same time at the shore of Islay.
What about you? Did you tasted any great whisky during March?
Please write about it in the comments.
Do you drink whisky? Do you enjoy single malts? Do you appreciate it? Great so you have a lot of the way already done. Tasting whiskies is mostly about finding aromas and memories inside the glass and translating them into words.
Whisky is one of the most fascinating drinks I have tried and with these seven steps I will show you how to best appreciate single malts.
Are you ready to learn tasting like a pro?
Did I said that whisky tasting only make sense when comparing each of them against the others? Whether you are rating a whisky or just tasting it, everything makes more sense when done against others.
So grab no more than five or six whiskies that you want to taste.
You can also get a bottle of a whisky that we will call calibration dram. Fine calibration drams are Glenfiddich 12 years old or Glenlivet 12 years old: not expensive, not to dominant in any profile and easy to buy. This whisky will help you tune in so you can compare others against this whisky and see if they are better or worse than it.
You can go ahead without a calibration dram too. I usually does without.
Try to taste similar whiskies in a single tasting.
If it is not possible then sort whiskies using the following guidelines.
Usually old single malt whiskies are very complex and need and deserve lots of time and attention to get all the details going around. On the other hand, younger whiskies are most of the times simpler and unidimensional. So to give a fair chance to those whiskies taste them first.
As you progress in your whisky tasting, not alcohol but flavors and aromas left a mark on you, so it is fair to think that light whiskies will left a smaller mark than a sherried whisky.
Some general guidelines are:
– Lowlands, Highlands, Islands, Speyside, Islay
– Blended, Single Malts
– Irish whisky, Scotch, Bourbon
After tasting a peated whisky like Laphroaig, it will severly impair you to fully appreciate lighter whiskies like a grain whisky. So as long as it is possible, try to left peated whiskies for the end of your tasting.
Usually the best whiskies that any distillery can produce are bottled at cask strength, that is a value that ranges from 40% to 70% usually. As you nose and taste a high strength whisky it will impair you to appreciate the subtle details of a lower bottled whisky. So as long as it is possible, sort them using alcohol content.
Hey! But what happens when two of your guidelines collide? Well, you need to guess. Try an order and if you are not happy with the result, try another day a different approach. The best way of learning this stuff is tasting, tasting and tasting.
Here you have some suggestions to start tasting whisky
Let’s walk around Islay tasting some of its great peated whiskies.
Some of the greatest Speyside whiskies are aged in sherry casks, give yourself a treat and taste some of this sherries jewels.
Still there? Great!. Now go a grab a few things that you will need during the tasting.
– Glasses
– Mineral water
– Glass lid or pieces of paper
– Tasting notes sheets
– Pen
Not all glasses are good for tasting whisky, so try to choose a nice glass and make sure you have enough of them. Place them on the table in front of you.
Identify each glass, either by placing them over a numbered piece of paper or just by placing behind it the bottle that will you pour on it.
Now pour on each glass a small measure of whisky, I usually work with 1.5 – 2cl of whisky. If you pour less it is really hard to nose it, and if you pour more you won’t reach whisky #5.
Done? Now cover the glass, either with a lid or with a squared piece of paper.
Now grab the glass. Look at the color of the whisky.
Swirl it and see how the whisky return to the bottom of the glass.
Done? Great. Now just forget it. Cover the glass and let it stay calm for a minute.
Color doesn’t matter at all as it can be obtained using burnt sugar and you will see how whisky feels on mouth in a minute.
Take your glass and slowly approach both glass to nose and nose to glass.
Slowly take a short inspiration and appreciate it.
Move the glass, tilting it to find the way the glass delivers aromas best.
How is it? Light? Strong? Powerful? Write down.
What do you think? How it smells? Bad? Good? Mean? Awesome? Give it a score if you want.
Now try to detail what the whisky smell of? Think of the honey, the barley, the species, the fruits, flowers, the wood of the cask. The whisky is singing about its origins. Just listen to it. Many single malts are really complex, so aromas will arrive to you as a delicious mess. Just write whatever the whisky hit on your mind, most of times you will be right.
If you need close your eyes, yeah! even if it makes you look stupid, as it helps your brain to concentrate on one sense: nose.
Nose the whisky again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. You are done with it once you are sure about what you wrote. Keep in mind that all whiskies evolve when they are exposed to open air, so give the whiskies a few minutes to open itself up.
If you want to send your tasting notes to A Wardrobe of Whisky so Whisky-o-matic can use it you need to write the nosing in a special way. Write down the things you nose in the order that appears on the glass, which usually is from most powerful to most delicate aromas, and try to detail as much as possible aromas you get.
So instead of campfire near the seashore that is very poetic you have to write something like peat, smoke, salt, iodine. Got it? If you are not sure if it is apple or pears for example, write fruits or fruits, apple so whisky-o-matic can understand what it is going on.
Take a small sip of the whisky we are nosing.
How does it feel on the mouth? Is it light, or dense? Does it burn or is it a smooth whisky? Tick, tick , tick.
Take another sip, a generous one, and this time keep it on your mouth while rolling it around. Write down how it taste, it is a similar approach to what you did on the nose. Does it taste sweet? dry? of fruits? Write down.
Swallow it ( or spit ).
What do you think of it? Nice? Bad? Too dry? Too sweet? Score it if you please.
Have another sip and check that you are happy with what you wrote.
As we did on the nosing, we have to write the most specific terms in the order they appear. For example: honey, malt, spices, cinnamon, nuts, cocoa. Again if you are not sure about the exact term use a generic one like: sweet instead of honey.
Bad news! You need another sip.
Have it, swallow ( or spit ) and wait a few seconds. What taste do you have in your mouth right now? How long is it? Do you like? Score it.
You are almost done.
Nose a last time to see if everything is as you wrote and now the hardest part.
Try to summarize the experience in a few lines of text, what memories this whisky brings you, which feelings does it trigger on you? Be creative.
Now you can release the poet you have inside, write the most creative two or three lines you can about your whisky.
We will use this on the tasting note.
Now you can upload your tasting note to A Wardrobe of Whisky. Just find the bottle you have tasted and scroll down until you see Tasting notes section
Now you are done with this whisky. Repeat the process with the rest of them until you are done.
Now before finishing, just ask yourself which one has been your favorite.
Is the favorite the best scored whisky? It should be if you want your scores to be useful for you.
In case it isn’t, just check on the whiskies where the problem could be.
Blank Tasting note Template
A Wardrobe of Whisky Social
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