The OCUK Whisky (and Whiskey) review thread

clockwork.satan said:
Recently finished the last of my Ardbeg 'Uigeadail', which is possibly the nicest whisky I've ever had and am pondering on what to try next. Recommend me a really nice, peaty smoky Islay.
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Gribs said:
How old was your bottle of Uigeadail? It's not a patch on what it was a few years ago so don't rush to replace it. I'd highly recommend a Lagavulin distillers edition, the last couple I've had have been brilliant.
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I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Lagavulin Distiller's edition either. I've had a couple and they were really good. For smoky and peaty, you can do a lot worse than Laphroaig (especially the Quarter Cask). Caol Ila is another good one (I have a Caol Ila Distiller's Edition at the moment and it's lovely).
 
Tried a Bowmore 15 "darkest" at the weekend. Suffice to say it tasted like it had been brewed in a pit-masters BBQ. Never tasted a smokier whiskey in my life.
 
Have been on a brief holiday round some of the islands on the West Coast of Scotland although sadly due to time and weather we couldn't make Islay for the distilleries there. I did try the Arran 10 y/o and that's quite a nice delicate whisky with a slightly fruity taste. The only distillery I did manage to go see was Talisker on Skye and that was quite enjoyable on what was otherwise a terrible day weather wise - at the end of the tour they give you a taste of Talisker Storm which is quite a smoky whisky but pleasant to drink, apparently this is part of many distilleries moving to a more "flavour-led" approach so rather than having defined age whiskies it's based on what they decide gives the right flavour profile and they mix various different ages (as long as they're at least 3 y/o) to create the whisky. I've taken that to mean they want to get whiskies out the door quicker to meet demand but maybe I'm being unfair and it's purely for the taste...

We also picked up a bottle of Talisker Port Ruighe which is finished in port casks and it's another non-age statement whisky but sweeter than ordinary Talisker or Storm. It's actually tasty and easy to drink. I did pick up a bottle of Glenlossie 10 y/o as well, primarily because I'd never even heard of it before but haven't tried that one yet.
 
Went for a tour around Strathisla distillery today/yesterday, in Keith, which was very good. Contributes majorly to Chivas, and owned by Pernod-Ricard, it releases a 12 year old malt which is actually really rather nice. Nice tasting involved four single measures of Strathisla 12, Strathclyde single grain, Chivas 12 and Chivas 18. Well worth the £7.50 the tour costs. Only downside is that we didn't get to taste the wash, which I would have liked, albeit it probably wouldn't be pleasant.

Standard...I came away with a bottle from the gift shop. Instead of going with the Strathisla 12 (which I would recommend), I bought a Longmorn (also owned by Chivas) 15 year old special edition cask strength which I'm currently 'sampling'. I've just finished a bottle of the Longmorn 16, which was my favourite malt. This has now defeated it. Absolutely stunning.
 
my currently most recent opened

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the glencadam is not bad, but the benriach (finished in a sauternes cask) is on a totally different level, so smooth and with a rich sweet finish, perfect whisky for after a nice meal
 
Off to the Wee Dram Fest in Bakewell today. It sells out months in advance every year.

Basically you pay the £25 entry fee and then for up to 5 hours a bunch of drinks companies and distilleries (about 15-20 stallholders) repeatedly pour you small samples of (10ml IIRC) their finest wares (about 90% single malts and a handful of other stuff). There's no ticketing system so all samples are included in the entrance fee.

If I post this afternoon, don't expect it to be especially coherent.

Edit: Okey dokey. After a lot of different whiskes tried during the day I would say the highlights for me were: Ardbeg Corryvreckan, Glengoyne 21yo, Kilchoman Madeira Cask and two independent bottlings from Ardmore (one peated 1996 single cask from G&M and one unpeated 1997 single cask from the Wee Dram).

I bought a bottle of the unpeated Ardmore (wee dram's own bottling)
 
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Put in an order with the Whisky Exchange over the weekend which arrived today. On a bit of a budget this month as I forgot to submit my timesheet for days away last month so only got my basic salary :o I decided to limit myself to £200 and wanted to try to get 6 bottles of good whisky for that money.

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The only ones I haven't tried yet (will do tonight) are the Benriach Curiositas and the Ileach. I've had Benriach before but not the Curiositas. I'd never even heard of the Ileach before. The reviews were a bit mixed - people either loved it or hated it but, at £25 a bottle, I thought it was worth a punt.
The other four, I know are all good whiskies - not just good for the money but good, good.

All six bottles plus delivery came to £199.75

I'll give the two strangers a try and get back with my thoughts.
 
OK. I've tried the Ileach. Not much to report really. Colour was a dark gold which, for 25 quid made me suspicious (caramel?). On the nose, slightly peaty with a sweet vanilla aroma (more evidence of caramel) and not much more. Palate is unremarkable - again, a slight peatiness and not much else except .... you guessed it, caramel. Tried a spot of water in it but that just washed away what little flavour there was. Finish is virtually non-existent.

Overall, this is obviously a very young whisky with some caramel bunged in it to make it look more appealing. At 40% there's very little to redeem it. It's not foul in the way Bells or High Commissioner is but I'm always disappointed when distilleries/bottlers put caramel in whisky - I find it dishonest.

Verdict - Cooking whisky (i.e. whisky to use in cooking or to drink while cooking or otherwise distracted) :p
 
I'd heard the Ileach has been inconsistent over the years. Probably whatever they can get hold of and it's luck of the draw. There were some very good bottlings in the mid 2000s. I tried some at the Wee Dram fest this year and it was... alright I suppose. Fairly nondescript Islay. Not too heavy on the caramel though. Caramel often ruins a whisky and I didn't detect it at all. It may be that we've tried different batches though.

Just ordered some Longrow Gaja Barolo finish from an Italian whisky shop. Tried it a few years ago and regretted not buying a bottle. Very difficult to get hold of in the UK now but there are still some stocks abroad at decent prices.
 
On to the BenRiach Curiositas. A peated Speyside malt; which is a bit of a curiosity - hence the name I suppose.

Colour is medium gold. Nose has some peat, a bit of fruit and maybe a hint of spice. palate is peaty and slightly sweet with a hint of vanilla oak. You can tell the difference with this more mature whisky when you add a touch of water. Whereas with the Ileach it washed the flavour away, with the Curiositas it releases phenolic aromas and flavour and sets the spiciness free; giving a nice tingle to the tongue. Finish is on the short side - a little sweetness and a warm spiciness - quite pleasant.

All in all, a decent whisky. Better with a little water (but not too much - it's only 40% ABV).

This could be an interesting couple of months - five of the six whiskies I've bought are 40% ABV. I'm so used to drinking cask strength whiskies, it could take me a while to get used to it :p As if to prove the point, I just poured a glass of the Laphroaig Quarter Cask (48%) and it's just perfect. It remains, in my opinion, the best value whisky you can buy.

As a bit of an aside: While I was looking for my six bottles, I nearly cut it down to five so I could get one dearer bottle so I was looking in the slightly higher price ranges for a short time. From my point of view, the "sweet spot" for whisky is £65-£80. There was a plethora of excellent whiskies in that price range - many of them whiskies I buy regularly. Whilst I'm relatively happy with my cheaper malts this time, I wish I'd remembered to put my bloody timesheet in :p I'll get a couple of dearer ones next month when I get my days from last month.
 
Uriel said:
I'd heard the Ileach has been inconsistent over the years. Probably whatever they can get hold of and it's luck of the draw. There were some very good bottlings in the mid 2000s. I tried some at the Wee Dram fest this year and it was... alright I suppose. Fairly nondescript Islay. Not too heavy on the caramel though. Caramel often ruins a whisky and I didn't detect it at all. It may be that we've tried different batches though.

Just ordered some Longrow Gaja Barolo finish from an Italian whisky shop. Tried it a few years ago and regretted not buying a bottle. Very difficult to get hold of in the UK now but there are still some stocks abroad at decent prices.
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Interesting. That may account for the wide range of reviews on the Whisky Exchange website.

I've had a Longrow before but can't remember for the life of me which expression. I seem to remember being impressed.
 
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