Lately, I’ve been trying more Bourbon & Rye Whisky but Scotch is so unknown to me I needed a push from a friend to try more options. He happens to have a lot of Scotch so we did a tasting last night of a few of his favorites. I took some notes and photos:
Springbank 10 Year old – ropey
89
Golden honey color. Pretty sweet nose. Hand made rope and rusty nails. Hay as well. It actually starts like a cotton candy but it instantly changed to charred oak and oily. Finish really leave behind ham juice and the mouthfeel is big and sticks around for a long time
Glenmorangie 10 Year old – Original – Boozy
77
Pale yellow. robittusin show polish and acidic leather. Taste is distinct. I get booze for the whole taste. Sweet bit chewy like a very fruit forward pie. The alcohols burn is a turn off
Laphroaig Quarter Cask – Brown Sugar
86
Pale orange. Cough syrup and smoke stack and brown sugar on the nose. Taste is pretty intense. It jumps out with chalky dry enamel stripping booze with a lot of moss and earthy sweet finish. Tastes like the seashore
Talisker 10 Year old – Cedar Chips
72
Golden orange Tons of sea salt and charcoal on the nose. Peat obviosly. Cedar chips. Tart finish. Very woody like tannic and a touch of celery. More charcoal.
Cragganmore 12 Year old – Bacon
81
Pale orange. Grapes and herbal crunch granola. Nose. Starts with cranberry, prunes and birch. Then tobacco and bacon. Finish is a chimney and coal fires
Ardbeg 10- Chimney Soot
73
Very pale urine color. The nose makes me want to sneeze. Chimney sooooot and charcoal. Caramel and overwhelming campfire. Lots more salt and finish is candy corns.
Balvenie 12 Year old Double Wood – Honey and Roses
84
Very light orange. Lots of honey and crisp hibiscus and Roses. Sweet with little off nose. Not offensive taste. Lots of sweet and a tiny bit of sour old hay and the finish is dark fruits and honey for miles
Laphroaig 10 Year old – Orange Zest
89
Nose is sharp and floral. Hits the back of the throat with orange zest. This is a very fruit forward scotch. The burn of the abv carries on for a while. Sweetness is hanging out and Mossiness and cedar are sharp but leave quickly
Greg also shared with me a 2008 Sazerac 18 and it’s totally a different beast than the 2013 I’ve been sipping on. I prefer the 2013.