The OCUK Whisky (and Whiskey) review thread

Energize said:
Even at low concentrations alcohol is easy to taste in a drink.
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Don't know. I tried some pear cider a few weeks ago and honestly wouldn't have thought it was alcoholic if I'd not seen the label.

A properly mixed long island iced tea could fool a few people too and it's pretty strong.

Anyway, I've got another.

Talisker 10 yo, Isle of Skye Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 45.8%

n. Ice cream soda at first then alcoholic fire at the back of your nose. 21.
t. Peppery heat - maybe a hint of capsicum. Spicy. Burned oak. There's something I can't quite place about this one. Maybe oily fish like smoked mackarel with chillies. 23.
f. Hot. Long and lingering. The burned oak stays with you. Maybe slightly oily. 23
b. Long and complex from start to finish. 23.
Overall. 90.
 
Ziggy said:
Whisky makes me want to vomit, I can't stomach it. Guess I'm a girl. :(
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What you need is a ladies' whisky and maybe add water. Try some Glenturret or Glengoyne (probably the latter).

There's some pretty nasty whisky out there though. The major blends of a few years ago weren't particularly nice, although Bells has improved considerably. Had a really nasty menace of a whisky on a recent trip to Scotland. Had a taste of a random cheap blend they sell in service stations to tourists (thinking it was something else). It was just harsh at first and then the caramel artificial colouring deadened my tastebuds for about 3 hours. Very very wrong.

Saying you don't like whisky when you've not tried many different types is a bit like saying you don't like beer, after only having tried a warm can of Skol.
 
Uriel said:
Omnomnom. No scores? Haven't had this particular Ardberg but heard it's very good. Got a few awards in 2008, I hear.
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Hmm, if it was red wine I could easily score it. Whiskey harder as I've not had the breadth of experience. A mate and myself spent tonight sitting back with a couple of glasses of Ardbeg and more tastes.

His initial impression was a smell of TCP.. once he'd got into this he was reasonably impressed.

I noted a slightly oily texture. If I were to put a number on it - 88-90 - where it's got the greatness of being rounded, with reasonable depth of taste but misses the clarity to hit the upper scores (yes I'm tough to please).

If this was a St.Emillion/Pomerol wine it would be about ~£40/bottle. Certainly no slouch, clear well rounded character giving separate flavours without a hint of acidity or bite but lacks the three dimensional taste of a superb wine from the likes of Cheval Blanc or wine grown from a vineyard on it's boarder.
 
Uriel said:
Don't know. I tried some pear cider a few weeks ago and honestly wouldn't have thought it was alcoholic if I'd not seen the label.

A properly mixed long island iced tea could fool a few people too and it's pretty strong.
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I'll have to try that sometime then, normally I use an alcohol substitue like gbl becuase I can't stand the taste of the stuff, even 5% drinks like beer and champagne taste awful to me, considering the % of whisky it's why I never tried any.
 
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Energize said:
I'll have to try that sometime then, normally I use an alcohol substitue like gbl becuase I can't stand the taste of the stuff, even 5% drinks like beer and champagne taste awful to me, considering the % of whisky it's why I never tried any.
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I'll look up what brand it was. I can immediately tell Bullmers and Magners pear ciders are alcoholic. This was something else.
 
Tonight's nightcap, picked up at the airport on the weekend:

Bowmore Enigma, 12 year old.

Nose (n): Sweet, vanilla-esque with unmistakable sherry tones.

Taste (t): Smokey and peaty from the onset, again with the sweet sherry undertones... actually more dark treacle sweetness as it wears on.

Finish (f): Initially strong after taste, peaty akin to a Lagavulin but not as pungent. Quite strong on the nose to start, but fades off. Taste remains on the tongue for some time, becoming more pleasent as it weakens.

Balance (b): Overall, not a bad dram but perhaps not mature enough to carry off the flavours well enough at this age. Possibly a bit harsh for some tastes, certainly on first sip. Definitely a grower though.

Overall, being quite critical I'd say a 77. Not the best I've tried, but certainly worthy.
 
Glenfiddich Special Reserve Aged 12 Years Speyside Single Malt Scotch 43%

n: Sherry. Maybe a little vanilla. 20
t: Smooth, toffeish. Slighly medicinal and oily. 18
f: Hint of peat and peppery heat. Remains slightly medicinal - more so at the end. Quite long but not that pleasant. 18
b: Pleasant nose and long finish are its redeeming features. It's too oily and medicinal for my tastes. 19
Overall 75
 
Alright ladies and gents. Time to lower the tone: a blend.

It's a triple malt. 3 single malts, vatted. No grain. I'm into new territory here. First time with a vatted malt from more than one distillery. So...

Monkey Shoulder. Scotch vatted malt (triple). 40%
n. Sweet malted barley. Toffee. A hint of wood varnish. Maybe bourbon. 20
t. Buttery and a little salty. Toasted teacakes. Shortbread. Dry. Building to hot and peppery. 23
f. Peppery - or maybe peppermint. Moist and juicy. Quite long. A bit of bourbon about it again. 23
b. If I was just commenting on undiluted it would be a score in the 80s, but add a splash of water and all sorts of stuff comes out. Something about it sort of reminds me of an unsweetened aftershock but I'm not sure why. Something of cereal about it too. 24.
Overall: 90. Not bad for £20 from Sainsburys.

Edit: nearly forgot to say - this stuff is oily. When you add the water it takes much longer than usual for visual uniformity to be restored.
 
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Just back from an Ardbeg tasting. The Beastie Mobile tour Ardbeg Beastie Mobile

Didn't take notes so no scores but will post some general impressions.

Got to try 3 different whiskies. Firstly there was the very lightly peated Ardbeg Blasda. Very nice and malty with a hint of peat and smoke. Very smooth though, not at all harsh. It's an easy drinking islay, possibly a good introduction to peated whisky for someone that generally likes speysides or lowlands.

There's the standard Ardgeg 10 yo - very peaty and smoky, long finish. Bought a bottle (as it was the cheapest. They were all nice).

Finally, got to try Ardbeg Uigeadail. Wow. This was interesting stuff. Cask strength and with a very peaty kick to it. I didn't use water but maybe I should have. First impression of the nose was strong sherry. The sort of nose I'd expect from a MacAllan. The peat comes through eventually but isn't the first thing to hit you. Once in your mouth there's no mistaking it's an Ardbeg. Wonderful earthiness, leading to a long and powerful dry peaty finish. When I think back I'm almost regretting getting the 10yo rather than this, in spite of the price difference.
 
Ziggy said:
Whisky makes me want to vomit, I can't stomach it. Guess I'm a girl. :(
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I'm the same, now. A mere whiff.

Some friends once dared me to drink as much whisky as I could in as little time as possible.

I woke up, drooling on the floor. :o
 
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