In a previous blog about Auchentoshen I stated that perhaps there are no bad scotches just different flavors.  At the time I was mesmerized by the multiple dimensions of flavor, like when I first learned about string theory.  Well, that honeymoon is over.  I was kind to Auchentoshen when I reviewed it.  As I worked my way through the bottle I actually considered pouring it down the kitchen sink.

Yesterday I was at the liquor store and looking for a decent low cost single malt, as my bottle of Ardbeg 10 year is almost gone.  I saw Bowmore 12 but thought that it would be nice to write a blog about a new scotch.  The bottle of McClelland’s Islay called to me.  It had all the right attributes, Single Malt, Islay (my favorite region of Scotland at this point), and cheap at about 25$ per bottle.  It didn’t have an age though, and that concerned me.  I looked it up on line, 5 years.

This is not a great scotch.  It’s flavor reminds me a little of Dewar’s White Label which I have had many times in the past.  But White Label is about 5$ to 10$ cheaper for the same bottle.  That’s about all I can say bout the flavor.  I was expecting something comparable to Bowmore 12 but that was my mistake.  At the end of the day it was better, actually much better, than Auchentoshen.  Since I have stocked Jameson’s, Jonnie Walker Black and Dewar’s White in my collection for times when I just want a hit and don’t want to waste the good stuff I might consider getting this scotch again but I was disappointed in it.  It didn’t really taste like an Islay single malt and I can’t get over that.  Eh.

This is a really good scotch.

Bowmore Islay Single Malt 12 year.  Bowmore is supposedly the oldest Islay scotch.

As I stated in a previous blog single malts seem to be getting more expensive, by 5 t o10$ per bottle in my area, depending on the brand.

My favorite is Lagavulin 16, but that’s about 85$ per bottle.  I usually keep a lower priced but good bottle around for more frequent consumption.  Bowmore was a good candidate at 54$ and being an Islay scotch I knew it would be closer to my flavor category than Glenlivet or Glenfiddich.  I picked up a bottle and was immediately impressed.  It’s 5 bottles later and I’m finally getting around to this blog.

The aroma and flavor are really impressive.  Many of the Islay scotches lean towards the same flavor profile, smoky, salty, peaty, medicinal goodness.  Ardbeg, for example is quite salty, briny.  Lagivulin very medicinal and peaty.  All are strong.  I have had many friends who like highland scotches like Glenlivet and Belveine immediately turn off to Ardbeg, Lagavulin and other Islay scotches because the smoky peaty flavor was overwhelming.  I think they would like Bowmore.  The flavor is medium strength and there is a nice honey or caramel flavor that balances the smoke and peat, making it more complex and balanced.  While the flavor really stands out as extraordinary without comparison to others I would recommend this as a first taste of Islay scotch to friends who usually like highland scotch.  It’s almost a transitional scotch from sweet winy and fruity to peaty smoky medicinal.

I can’t say enough good things about this scotch and even though I still prefer Lagavulin 16 I haven’t bought any since discovering Bowmore 12.

That’s right 30 year old scotch, moving up in the world.

This was a gift from my parents on their last visit, thanks dad and mom.

In a previous blog I had mentioned how Lagavulin 16 reminded me of fond childhood memories.  Highland Park 30 had a similar effect.  I poured myself a healthy glass, about 1-1.5 inches, brought it up to my nose a took a deep breath.  The first thing I smelled was exactly the smell of a new vinyl LP, some of you may remember these devices used for recording music in ancient times.  That was a wonderful surprise.  I also noticed turpentine or nail polish remover, probably similar to the vinyl smell.  The taste was somewhat complex with many flavors from different flavor categories.  What I noticed right away was a unique combination of smoky and sweet.  The sweetness was more in the after taste and not subtle, it was like white granulated sugar.  There are hints of wood and tobacco in the smokiness but it’s not as strong as an Islay scotch.  There is a little bitterness, a rubber flavor in the after taste.  Ice makes the sweetness more pronounced.  All in all I really like this, not just because I didn’t pay for it.  It is a really good scotch and a great experience every time I drink it.

copyright 2014

Have you even gone swimming in the ocean and accidentally swallowed a huge mouth full of salty sea water?  Well, that’s Ardbog.  Sorry.

All of the Ardbeg scotches (at least the few I’ve tried) are in the same flavor group and have common flavors.  I was very excited to try Ardbog when I first saw it in the liquor store.  My first Ardbeg experience was Corryvrecken and that changed me forever.   However, the cost of Corryvrecken and lack of availability prevented me from making it a regular part of my diet, hence Ardbeg 10 year.  For details on these see my other blog reviews.

Ardbog was disappointing.  It has almost the same flavor profile as Ardgeb 10 year in my opinion with the following exception, Ardbog is very salty whereas Ardbeg 10 year has a slight mild saltiness.  The salt flavor in Ardbog is overwhelming and shadows the peat and smoke flavors that I enjoy in the rest of the Ardbeg family.

copyright 2014 David R Bergman

God blessed the earth when he made Scotland and the Scots blessed the lord with Lagavulin.

This is one of my favorite single malts.  I was introduced to this around new years in India at a family reunion on my wife’s side on the family.  One of her cousins from CA brought a bottle of Lagavulin 16 year with him.  We all had a shot and after that I think I polished off the entire bottle one ounce at a time.  This scotch brings me back to my childhood.  Not because I drank Lagavulin, I did not of course.  Neither did any member of my family, my parents have never drank alcohol a day in their life and don’t keep it in the house.  It brings me back to my childhood because I used to love building and painting plastic models and I also used to oil paint.  The smell of Lagavulin reminds me of the sweet smell of Testors model paint, Grumbacher oil paints and paint thinner, and thickener.  My room smelled like that all the time.  Also, since my room was in the basement it was a little musty, the smell of old slightly moldy books is also here in this scotch.

The nose is strong, smoky, musty, grassy (or peaty).

The taste is also strong with definite presence of liquorice, salty, turpentine, smoky peat.  The flavors are perfect and oddly enough, thought it is a very strong scotch it doesn’t burn or leave a bitter or burning after taste.  It’s actually pretty damn smooth.  The after taste is a bit salty and rich with peat and medicinal flavor.

Lagavulin have a very singular taste, I’d know it anywhere.  There is not a lot of complex dimensionality to this like I find in Laphroaig 25 year.  But it’s the perfect taste.  I don’t know what they did but they better keep doing it.  This is nectar of the gods.

copyright 2014 David R Bergman

My wife likes the aroma of Corryvrecken, she says it smells like a meadow.  I do agree and think it reminds me of cut grass in the summertime.  This is an amazing tasting scotch.  In general Ardbeg is on the peaty smoky medicinal side of the spectrum so it’s kind of a sure thing that I’d like it.  The flavor of Corryvrecken is not quite like the Ardbeg 10 year I reviewed earlier.  Perhaps not surprisingly it’s flavor is similar to Lagavulin 16.  However, there are differences.  Lagavulin is strong and smooth, amazing.  Corryvrecken strong and stronger.

The nose is, as I said, like fresh cut grass, a little smoky too but actually fresh.  I recall saying this about Ardbeg 10 year.  This is an interesting feature of Ardbeg, whereas other’s in this flavor group are musty, and heavy Corryvrecken is almost refreshing!  There are hints of salt, brine and smoke but a meadow is the scent that dominates.  The taste is straight salty smoky peat.  Not musty, no old books or leather.  Very nice indeed.  When I want just this flavor and not messing around this is the medicine.  I’d have to say that my favorite in the under $100 category is a tie between Lagavulin 16 and Ardbeg Corryvrecken.

copyright 2014 David R Bergman

In a previous post I had mentioned that my usual 12 year choices had suddenly jumped in price, some by as much a 10$ per bottle.  So last time I went to buy a low priced bottle I used it as an opportunity to try something new.  That’s when I came across a bottle of Tomintoul 12, Limited Edition Sherry Cask.  I think I was enamored by the ‘Limited Edition Sherry Cask’ and the fact that the price was right, low 40$.

I had to try a few glasses over time before writing this review.  The nose is very nice but difficult for me to identify.  The label says creamy but I don’t know what that means.  The more I smell it the more I think bakery, I smell crushed cashew, like marzipan, and a malty scent.  There is also the hint of wine, and there is sweetness present, like bubblegum.  So, in short I’d say the nose is baked goods, bubblegum and wine.

To me the taste is strong, initially very spicy, with a robust dry red wine flavor.  There is a strong spicy flavor and bitterness, like rubber and or motor oil.  There is also the flavor of bread, definitely a cake/bread/baked goods flavor.  The bitter rubbery taste is the after taste.

The bottle advertised light sweet balanced delicate flavor with a hint of sherry.  I’m not sure I am tasting what the maker intends but I like it a lot, the flavor is more like the kind of scotches I usually like.  This was an interesting surprise, I’d say a success.  I find myself thinking about the flavor of this scotch long after drinking it.  It has a very interesting flavor that seems to reveal something new each time I try it.  I am impressed with this scotch and will ration it for some time.

copyright 2014 David R Bergman

Now that I’ve read through Whiskey Classified I’ve changed my mind about a few things.  I find the variety of flavors available out there to be very interesting.  Now I consider it a challenge to identify different flavors and, even though my favorite scotches are on the smoky medicinal side, I am curious to taste every type of scotch out there.  Second, since what I consider good scotch is driven by how smoky it is I would have tended to rate Laphrioag as being better than Glenlevit or Glenfiddich.  My guess is that I will always prefer smoky over sweet and fruity but it is a jump to judgment to say one is better than the other.  At this point I am starting to form the opinion that there are no bad scotches just ones I don’t like, we’ll see how long that lasts.  As previously stated, I consider it a challenge to identify the flavors in different scotches.  That was the motive behind purchasing Auchentoshen 12 year.  This type of scotch is the opposite of what I usually choose in terms of flavor.

As usual, I pour a healthy glass and try it neat.  There is not much nose, a subtle citrus perhaps orange flavor, and a spicy scent that reminds me of fresh chopped or grated ginger.  The taste is fruity and acidic but also bitter, it is as if I am tasting a piece of citrus rind.  This actually makes it more enjoyable for me as I usually don’t like sweet fruity tasting scotches, the bitterness is a pleasant surprise.  There is definitely spice in the flavor and as it sits in my mouth it definitely tastes like ginger.  There is also a floral taste, like edible flowers, though they all smell the same to me so I can’t identify the type.  But there is definitely a floral taste.  The after taste is not strong, and somewhat bitter, a little like a citrus rind.

I’m not sure what I think of this little experiment.  I was not blown away by the taste of this scotch, I’m not a flavor convert.  But compared to other scotches on this side of the spectrum, which I find a little too sweet, I find this more to my liking.  If I’m ever in the mood for something fruity I’ll grab another bottle.

copyright 2014, David R Bergman

I tend to have very expensive taste in everything.  My favorite scotches tend to run $80 to $100 per bottle, and I tend to consider this “affordable”.  I like to keep a regular supply of inexpensive single malts in my collection to enjoy on a regular basis, saving the 18 year and up and special editions for special occasions (e.g. when company is not coming over).  Don’t get me wrong, inexpensive doesn’t mean poor quality.  In general the younger scotches are cheaper than their older counterparts.  My go to affordable scotches tend to rotate among Glenlivet 12, Ardbeg 10, Glenfiddich 12, Glenmorangie 12, Balvenie 15.  This set represents a diverse cross-section of the flavor spectrum and tend to cost less than $45 for a 750ml bottle.  Though I’ve previously stated that I prefer the smoky, peaty, medicinal scotches I do sometime crave a smother sweater flavor.  Variety is the spice of life, right?

But this is a review of Glenfiddich 12 so let’s get to it.  A deep breath through the nose reminds me of an apple jolly rancher.  The fruitiness is obvious and is accompanied by sweet and sour overtones.  The taste is medium in strength.  There is a strong presence of fruit, apple and or pear.  Almost like an apple pie or tart, baked crust or bread is present in the flavor too.  I also taste a little cinnamon and honey.  There is definitely a honey after taste.  Despite this description its not at all too sweet or fruity.  There is still a bit of smoke flavor and something like rubber.  That’s right rubber.  The smell of a car tire is present in the flavor.

The fruit flavor hits you right away with cinnamon and spice when you swallow.  After swallowing there is a honey flavor followed by a nice smoky rubber after taste.  All these flavors are medium, not over powering at all.  With ice added, I don’t know why but with it tastes more rubbery, unless my ice machine is broken.  Also there is a stronger spice flavor with ice added.  This scotch tastes much better neat in my opinion.

This is a good tasting scotch.  Very enjoyable, very drinkable.  Too easy to drink.  The last bottle I purchased was $39.99 on sale and this was a surprise.  I’ve purchased this bottle before for only $32.