Bushmills 10yo 40% OB Northern Ireland
Oldest distillery in the world.. Smells light and malty, green leaves, dried herbs, very pleasant and not as "thin" as I find many of the other triple distilled irish whiskeys. The taste is very grainy, almost spirity, and very bitter. A disappointment after the interesting nose. I'll give it some water just to see if it changes in character. Now its lighter that's for sure, a bit sweet, almost amontillado sherry-like richness, as well as some bitter herbal notes at the end, much better.
Experiment with water on this, and see how it can improve a whisk(e)y: 5
Swn Y Mor NAS 40% OB Welsh Whisky
A blend, that from what I've read online is actually a scotch whisky blended in Wales, so no Welsh single malt in this blend. I won't be biased in what to believe so I'll try it as if it were a Welsh whisky, that meaning having no clue of what to expect. Oh, this smells far more spirity and raw than the Bushmills, probably very young grain whisky here, reminds me of the 12yo Cameronbridge that can be found online nowadays, and some of the young Signatory 46%abv. grain bottlings. After a while it settles down a bit, but still it's spirity above all else. The taste is actually not that bad, just extremely light and sort of like chewing on woolen clothes, remember when y'were younger ant tried to eat the arm of the pajamas? No? Guess it's only me then. It's a nice beginners whisky, very undemanding, some saltiness, nuts, tea, all in all a bit boring, but perfectly drinkable. I'd have this one any day, but just as an aperitif.
Light stuff: 4
Locke's 8yo 40% OB Cooley Irish Whisky
I don't think they produce Locke's anymore at Cooley? Doing some online research I've found this one was awarded gold at the International Wine and Spirits Competition back in 2001. Could this be a treat? Smells good, not unlike some lowlanders, say Rosebank and Glenkinchie. Light, crispy, grassy, waxy, light toffee and some fresh minty leaves. The taste is at first fuller and fatter than the ones up until now in this session, and it has a smooth finish on dark chocolate and freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Yes, I find cinnamon on the palate as well, but not as expressive as in the finish. The palate is a bit bland to be frank, not too much going on here. I have to say its somewhat a disappointment as at only 8yo I expect a bit more of a savage whisky.
Very ordinary everyday dram: 3.5
Shackleton's whisky NAS 47.3% Charles MacKinlay's Replica
If I'm not mistaken (which I very well could be) it's the glorious nose of Richard Patterson who has helped selecting the whiskies used in the blend. I have been told there's an amount of Dalmore in this, but other than that I'm clueless, and when tasting for a first time, that's really all for the better if you ask me. It smells extremely fresh and minty for a blend, not much grain influence here. the rich subtleness that I usually find in Dalmore is here as well as some caramel, cinnamon and toffee-pudding. I never thought I'd say this bu this is actually worth every penny, the taste is sweet, malt syrup, honey, toffee, and I have sort of a sweet-tooth when it comes to whisky. A good alternative to some of the very heavy Oloroso-whiskies out there. Sweet and light with this spicy finish on chili and cumin.
A well done job, wish I'd get to taste the original: 7
Penderyn NAS 46% Madeira Finish Welsh Whisky
Since its highly questionable if the Swn Y Mor is a produce of 100% Welsh whisky, I'll give the welsh another shot with this pretty recent Penderyn whisky. Penderyn is a single malt, and can be found with many different cask finishes although the produce not likely to be any older than 8-10yo. Cask finishes seems to be the choice of new distilleries trying to make a name for themselves, like the Arran distillery. Smells a bit like fino, bitter, not as sweet as I find some of the madeira finishes to be, i.e. the Glenmorangie. I also believe there may be a qualitative reason that Madeira casks aren't used as much as port or sherry, although the output is pretty much the same worldwide. But let's try this one without going there. The taste is very clean and sweet, madeira influence? Reminds me of rum, not much aftertaste. My palate picks up just(!) three thing in this. It's clean, it's herbal and it's sweet. I see potential in this one, and I think in two or three years there will be a 12yo or 10yo on the market.
Looking forward to the continuation: 4
Chapter 9 3yo 2007-2010 46% st. George's Distillery English Whisky
A 3yo Peated whisky. I remember having a 3yo Bowmore in my early blogging days back in 2008, and to say the least, it wasn't something I'll ever buy again. Maybe this english one can improve on my impression of peated newmake(almost). England is one of the last wealthy european countries to embark on the trail of making their own single malt, although my own Norway seems to be the last one due to a retarded (excuse my french) government policy when it comes to creating jobs and capital when it comes to the dark side of the beverage business. But back to the english whisky. It smells lightly peated, a small disappointment as I'd hoped for a cracking english peat-beast. Hay, butter and whipped egg-whistes seems to be the deal. The taste is peppery and peaty, much to my liking, no saltiness though, more like some of the peated versions of highland whiskies that we saw during the early 2000's, say the Old Ballantruan. A clean, easy-going peated whisky, not much more to say.
Can't be criticized, it just lacks a firm signature: 5
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