Dramming away at the break of a new day...

Some Andersonian rephrasing here, but since I've stopped going to bars and started working late evenings I find it more fulfilling doing my whisky tastings earlier in the day. It's not that I ever get drunk or anything, but unless you are going to operate a vehicle, I see no harm in having a small drop of whisky in the mornings. This I have recognized having some very positive effects on my daily life.

1. I drink very little whisky, because the whole house(family) is up by the time I pour my first cl. At late evening/nighttime, I often find myself in a quiet house with nothing more than the bed to look forward to. So it's easy to just keep dramming then. Now I rather just sleep.

2. I am more thorough with each whisky. In the morning, as long as I've had a good nights sleep, I'm sharp, invigorated and inspired. Which makes the tasting experience much more fun.

3. I get better sleep. No matter how little, or much, alcohol one consumes before going to bed, it'll make you more awake, and thus having a harder time falling to sleep.

4. I get up earlier, which pretty much says itself, and means I get more out of the day.

5. It gets my brain started early on. Believe you me, tasting a whisky is a great way to focus your brain. I sniff, memorize other/similar odors. I taste, then memorize other/similar flavors, times, places and so on. I get my momentum for the day, and I'm already loaded with inspiration the minute I walk out the door.


Just a bit of personal experience, but thats what diaries are for?

Old Fettercairn 10yo 43% OB Whyte & MacKay Porcelain Decanter

I've had Old Fettercairn 10yo at 40%abv and 43%abv, from miniature bottles as well as standard 70cl bottles, I've even had it from plastic decanters, but this pot still shaped ceramic 37.5cl is a new one. I've had some bad level experiences with old ceramic decanters before, especially some from Signatory's holding Port Ellen. Let's hope the contents in this one is more intact. The cork was so fragile it fell into the still when I opened it. The fill level seems good. The color is dark golden, almost auburn. Much darker than what I usually find the 10yo. It smells sweet, pistachio, vanilla, malty, coconut flesh, a bittersweet musty note, tartness. The taste is at first nutty, custard, malty, rich sweet notes, hazelnuts, honey, light vinegar. Then it turns more peppery and peaty, some menthol, oaky notes, but most of all I'm pleased with this unusual peatiness. The finish is tannic, drying, rich, smoky, heather and cinnamon.

Takes me back: 9



Next tasting: Fettercairn Distillery

Statesman NAS 40% Blend Blackstone

Why not do a cheap blend for once, just to see what one can get for around 3 quid these days, now that single malt prices are increasing at the level it is. It's got all those nice words such as "Special Quality", "Finest Old", "A rare selection", "Perfectly blended" and "Fully Matured", which all really tells me nothing about the product. It's imported and bottled by german company Blackstone. The color is golden. It smells light, perfumy, malty, some cereals, candy floss, stearic, a bit spirity, surely much young spirit. The taste is sweet, malty, some hay, slightly bitter, but really there's no off-notes or anything, just a very safe and plain spirit/whisky for those that barely can handle their Vodka. Don't get me wrong, there are great Vodkas out there, but this is a very basic whisky.(?) The finish is salty, barley, citric, lemon peel, orange peel, nice bitter notes, a pleasant surprise after the initial vagueness.

Hard to score, the quality of the finish surpasses the nose and palate by miles: 4



Next tasting: Fettercairn Distillery

Ardmore 22yo 1991-2013 53.8% Malts of Scotland cask#13018

I don't think I ever had a sherried Ardmore, not even from from port or wine wood. Only bourbon-matured ones, so this one from a rum-barrel should be something else. For me, Ardmore is the best peated Highlander, there, now I've confessed! The color is golden. It smells fresh, minty, cloves, peat, fennels, ashes, vanilla. This is one of the freshest and cleanest Ardmores I've nosed. The taste is sweet, smoky, barbecue sauce, cinnamon, leeches, honey, ashes, salted butter, a rich and sweet whisky. The finish is a bit oaky and rubbery, tannic notes. All in all a lot of Ardmore, the strange cask haven't tampered with the evidence...

A worthy alternative to the otherwise good bourbon-matured Ardmores: 7



Next tasting: A rather cheap scotch blend

Caol Ila 13yo 1995-2008 59.1% Alambic Classique

Only 60 bottles, most likely a shared cask then? IB Caol Ila is always fun as its usually much more affordable than Ardbeg, Lagavulin and such, but not necessarily inferior in quality. And at a decent age and strength like this, we could be in for a real treat. The color is golden. It smells peaty, earthy, gasoline, clay, baking powder, old attic, lemon zest. The taste is camphor, licorice, butterscotch, rich vanilla and leather. Actually, the nose was much more Islay-style than the palate. The peat on the palate is excellent, but its a very rich and thick palate as well. One might think it was matured in some sweet wine cask, but then again it could be. Info lacking. The finish is peppery and short.

A rich Caol Ila that lacks a bit on the finish: 7



Next tasting: Ardmore Distillery

Edradour/Ballechin NAS 46% OB Batch#6

This was a surprise mini sample I got when purchasing a Talisker at Loch Fyne Whiskies webshop. Ballechin is a peated version of Edradour, I'm a bit unsure to what level it is peated. It's 100% bourbon-matured. I think I've got just about 1cl of this so I will unfortunately not have the opportunity  to investigate it as thoroughly as I usually do. Now Edradour is owned by IB Signatory, and claims to be one of the smallest, if not the smallest, distillery in Scotland. It has no big following, and is often looked upon in a grim light, so to speak. I've had good ones, and also rather unpleasant ones, but very few peaty ones. Was Glenforres peated? The color on this is light golden/straw. It smells buttery, ginger, honey, dark chocolate, a bit raw and spirity, damp and earthy notes. It shows there's no fancy wine finishing to camouflage any unwanted nuances. The taste is fruity, vanilla, banana, mango chutney, meringue, canned pears and peat. How weird. The finish is short and peppery. Btw, stating a code on the label instead of the whiskys name was a clever way to lure me back to the whiskysite, and hopefully lead me onto another whisky purchase(!).



Next tasting: Caol Ila Distillery

Glenkinchie 12yo 43% OB

As the ones of you following this blog on a regular basis may have noticed, I have had quite a number of standard bottlings from Diageos Classic Malts range lately. I'm sort of reintroducing my palate to the basic. I must admit, having a period of very old whiskies, very peaty whiskies, and heavily oak-influenced ones over a period of time does something with your appreciation of other, more mundane whiskies, in general. The color is golden. It smells citrus, lemon, lime, mango, raspberry, hay, appletini, tonic water. What can I say, its sure classic lowland in style. The taste is sweet, lemon tart, grassy, apple cider, lemongrass, rhubarb, well-balanced and just a bit of vanilla sweetness in the end. The finish is short on laurels, garlic and starch.

Great stuff, perfect everyday dram: 7.5



Next tasting: Peaty Edradour

Why we must not blindly trust a whisky review?

A bit of shooting my own foot here, but it seems that these days, points from outer references are becoming more and more important when one wants to buy a new bottle of whisky. Popular Whiskyfun.com of Serge Valentin is often used, also the Malt Maniacs and Whiskybase.com, Ralfy deserves a mention, and so on. I myself often read those reviews after first having tried the whisky. I mean, a whisky at 93+ points anywhere is usually a universally good whisky, but that's not always the case with lower scores. The reasons can at times be pretty simple. I believe that  the elite of whiskies, those that score 93+points is of the kind, and often price range, that it justifies such a score. When you drink whiskies that fetched scores in the 80's and 70's I believe personal taste play a bigger roll. Is the taster a sherry or bourbon fan, is he/she a peat-head? Does he/she love oaky notes, young spirits, wine casks, high strengths or others? (one does not exclude another, I know). Does the taster use little, non or lots of water, lets he the whisky breath for a short or longer period? All these things are factors that can affect a persons opinion of a whisky. I myself try each whisky both with and without added water. I try to taste every whisky from an as newly opened bottle as possible. (That is hard to pin when tasting samples).
One thing conserning many whiskies is that a drop of whisky from a newly opened bottle taste quite different than what the last drops from a bottle that's opened a couple of months ago does. I mean, every so often I get a whisky that I initially find extremely good, often from port wood or heavily peated youngsters. Then I find it more or less faded just within a week of opening the bottle. So, to be fair with the score I would have to try the whisky at at least two stages of fill level to catch the whisky's lifespan quality from when opening the bottle till its empty.
Another is the batch differences. I once had a HP 18 that I scored about 5/10 points, which came from an ill batch. I've since tried it from other batches and found its a solid 8/10 in my book. I know Ardbeg is one of those distilleries where batch differences can be recognizable. There must be many more shades of this issue to enlighten, but I will leave you with this last comment:

Your best scale will always be yourself.

Oban 14yo 43% OB

Since my memories of what used to be the spicy speysider in the Classic Malts range from Diageo, Cragganmore, way surpassed my experience of it a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd have a similar go at the 14yo Oban from the same range. I remember it as a characterful, spicy highlander, and it was one of my first ever whisky-experiences. The color has been adjusted to the level I remember :-). It smells heather, cumin, honeysuckle, peat, ashes, biscuits, sour milk, leather, wax, coal. The taste is sweet, musty, cumin, strong mustard, cinnamon, fennel tea, malt, peat, dry port, yeast, ginger ale, most of all there's unusually strong hints of fennel(!). I can't recall getting the notion of fennel in many whiskies. Adding water makes for a heavier malt, more citrus notes like lime peel and sour fruits, also a bit more malty notes. Unfortunately both the peat and the fennel disappears. All in all I must say this whisky is not far of what I recollect from many years ago, thoughts wander to peated/older Glen Garioch, Clynelish,  and other typical highlanders.

A classic malt that truly carries its stamp: 8



Next tasting: Glenkinchie Distillery