Whisky Tasting Notes - January 2023

Much as with my other tasting notes, for each Whisky I've taken the liberty of compiling an identifiable name, it's ABV, and it's price (at time of listing) on the Master of Malt website (the company from which I purchased the calendar).

Where applicable, I've also tried to list the country of origin (though I have omitted Scotland, and I've probably missed some). Flavours listed with a question mark are those I'm not sure if I was reading correctly, or were possibly confused with another flavour.

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#1

Benrinnes 15 Year 2006 Old Particular - 51.5% ABV - £100

Note: Single Cask from a distillery that pretty much only makes Whisky for blends (see: Johnny Walker)

Colour: Light Gold, a wee bit flaxen I might say

Nose: Hints of Pepper, Buttery with some Apple?

Palette: Cinnamon explosion, needs water, Apple or Pear, with a hint of Buttery Pastry towards the end

Finish: Sloooooow, with some more Buttery Pastry, and closes with soft pepper

Overall: Explosive before water, 13 drops if you're curious, but opened right up afterwards.

Verdict: Very nice to drink, but it's not my thing

#2

Highland Park 15 Year Viking Heart - 44% ABV - £80

Nose: Leathery, hint of peat, and malted pears

Pallette: Floral smokiness, soft herbs, a bit chemical and almost hospital-like?

Finish: Very smoky, almost like a cigar.. and not a good one

Overall: On the nose the smoke is soft enough to lull you into thinking it won't be that sharp, but as soon as you get it onto your palette that goes into overdrive. Following that the smoke and chemical feeling only increases.

Verdict: No.

#3

The Lakes Colheita Cask - 46.4% ABV - Sort of out of stock everywhere, so prices are anywhere up to £250

Note: I've been here, wasn't overly impressed; be expected though because they're one of many newer English "distilleries" setting up that just mixes grain Whisky with Scottish malts (usually stuff no one else wants) and tries to finish it in a unique way .. none of them are particularly interesting yet. Give it 100 years and they might be though - once they start making their own stuff, properly.

Nose: Apricots, Plums, Ginger, Malted Spice, nothing out of the ordinary given the blends in this

Pallette: Oh, Smoke, absolutely no depth to it, some Cinnamon, and maybe burnt toast?

Finish: Long and a bit chemically again, mild sweetness after the smoke dies down, but still no real depth

Overall: as expected, almost no depth brought to this be the finish - And it is clearly majority grain.

Verdict: Nothing from this distillery is worth considering until they start making their own real whisky.

#4

Berry Bros & Rudd Blended Malt - 44.2% - £33

Note: Blended Malt is a bit of misdirection, it only means the constituents of this Whisky are all Single Malts; and it should be made clear that this is not itself a Malt.

Colour: Light Gold, and a wee bit yellow

Nose: Very fruity, Orange/Lemon Peel, Pineapple, Apple, and Honey, Golden Syrup and some mild spice too

Palette: Soft Fruit, Apple, Pear, Creamy Vanilla, quite a bit of spice though, and loud

Finish: Loud on the palette, softened by water (10 drops), then mulls to Citrus Zest and a hint of Burnt Sugar / Fudge

Overall: An interesting Dram, though a bit too shouty on the palette for me (clearly no sherry involved)

Verdict: Nice, but not for me

#5

High Coast Timmer (Swedish) Peat (uh oh) Smoke - 48% ABV - £49

Colour: Very pale whitish gold

Nose: Heavy Peat, with mild Pineapple, Citrus and Rosemary/Wood?

Palette: Smoke, oof, and a hint of bitter Lemon?

Finish: Salty, with Soft Ginger?, with Oak smoke

Overall: Peat is not something I enjoy in a Whisky, so I'm a bit biased when I say I'm not a fan of this; it's also a bit loud on the palette as a result of the high ABV.

Verdict: For me, nope