Tag Archives: scotch

Single Malts

Glenfiddich 21 year

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Glenfiddich is not a member of my favorite flavor profile but I do like these scotches.  I’ve tried their 12, 15 and 18 year scotches but I’ve only reviewed the 12 year on this blog.  The thing that’s interesting about Glenfiddich is that each of these has a distinct flavor.  In a nut shell 12 year is apple and/or pear, 15 year honey, and 18 burnt wood.  I loved the 18 year when I had it the first time since I love smoky scotches.  So, I decided to treat myself to a bottle of 21 year.

If I had to give this a single word description it might be spicy candy.  Spice is definitely the most noticeable quality in this scotch.  The aroma is light with some citrus.  The flavor starts out light, becomes stronger in the mouth but is very smooth on the way down.  Not too sweet at all but a candy aftertaste, the toffy flavor is there but spice is stronger.  This is not a sweet tasting scotch.  Finally, there are hints of vanilla.  Very smooth, reminds me a bit of Balvenie Caribbean Cask and Dalmore King Alexander III.  The price was a mere $180, not bad.

Copyright 2016 David R Bergman

Single Malts

Talisker 10 year

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Happy 2016!  It seems like just last year that I was ringing in 2015 with a Scotch reveiw, why change a good habit.  So here we go with Talisker 10 year.

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Years ago when I lived in Maryland I used to frequent a store there called The Perfect Pour.  It was a good store, great beer and wine selection.  They had a large collection of single malts there but the prices were unreliable.  One thing I always looked forward to was the small samplers are the check out.  Of course they had the 1oz Jack and Jim, but they also had a 3 piece sampler of Balvenie, 4 piece Ben Riach, and 3 piece Talisker.

At the time I was not very impressed with the Talisker, something about it didn’t sit well with me.  It was hard to put my finger on but after much consideration I described it as an Islay with a lot of spice in it, almost like hot salsa.  At first I was put out by the spice, but my tastes have somewhat changed over the years.  Especially with Dark Origins and Black Arts, both very spicy.

The aroma is light, sweet, and fruity, like a fruit pastry.  It reminded me of apricot Rugala.

Taste wise this is one of the spiciest scotches I’ve ever had.  It really fills up the sinuses!  Clears out congestion.  Other spicy scotches are more candy-like, cinnamon, ginger, etc.  Some are like black pepper or red pepper.  This is just pure heat and it just gets more intense after you finish it, like Wasabi or a mouth full of Horseradish at Passover.  The heat is strong enough to overwhelm other flavors, which is what I didn’t like about it the first time.  But there is clearly smoke and salty medicinal flavors here as well.  There is very pleasant after taste.

Takisker is not an Islay scotch but very similar in flavor.  It is the only distillery on Skye, west of the Northern Highlands.  Talisker 10 year is 45.8% abv and about $65.  I’m not sure if I’d buy Talisker 10 over Laphroaig or Ardbeg but I will try other members of the Talisker family.

Copyright 2016, David R Bergman

Single Malts

Caol Ila 12 Year

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This is a very complex scotch and especially for an Islay scotch (in my opinion), compared to Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg and others this has a much broader spectrum of flavors and is smoother than its fellow Islay scotches.

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The scent is smoky and sweet but mild.  The first flavor I get is malt followed by smoke.  In fact it initially tastes a little like Glenlivit 12 year or other Highland scotches for a second then the strong smoke fills your mouth.  As soon as you swallow a mouth full there is a sweet, fruity, floral taste that dominates.  It goes down smooth but leaves a spicy, smoky, and floral after taste.  This is one of the more interesting scotches I’ve tasted and I’m impressed with the complexity.  That is not what I typically go for.  If you read my blog you know I typically lean to the smoke and peat side.  Being an Islay scotch I expected that but the plethora of flavors is intriguing.  More so because they are all hidden in there.  They don’t come out at once.  To really appreciate this scotch you need to track the flavors in time.  Hold it in the front of your mouth for a few seconds, swish it around then swallow.  Each phase brings new flavors.

At 43% abv the price was $75, which is pricey for a 12 year but worth it for the flavor and complexity.  It’s in my price point for a good Islay, Lagavulin 16 year etc.  I would buy this again or keep a bottle in my collection for guests.

Copyright 2015, David R Bergman

Single Malts

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte

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I am a little disappointed.  I had a bottle of Black Arts by Bruichladdich that was amazing.  I want another someday.  So I was very eager to try this, it has all my favorite features among which are being from Islay and being Peated, Heavily Peated.  If I compare this to Ardbeg they are about 80% similar but I appreciate Ardbeg a lot more after tasting this.

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The color is light amber and the odor is earthy, peat, smoky, very promising.

Hold a swig in the front of your mouth and you will get a burning peaty wood flavor.  But I was surprised at how sweet this was when I swallowed it.  The initial taste is very sweet, way too sweet for my taste.  It almost seems like they created a very artificial sweetness to balance the peat.  For those of us that like, smoke, peat and medicinal flavors this ruins it (at least for me).  It has a long aftertaste that is more peaty and smoky.  The finish is the best part, it is here that you get straight smoke and peat and for me the flavor of an intense Chinese medicinal herb tea.  That was a pleasant surprise.  All in all, 10 years old, 50% abv and about 65$, if I had to do it again I’d go for Ardbeg 10 year.  The sweetness is what killed it for me.

Copyright 2015 David R Bergman

Single Malts

Dalmore King Edward III

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A trip to the liquor store and a search for something new led to my discovery of Dalmore King Edward III.  Based on my research this contains a blend of various Dalmore casks some of which date back to 1990.

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The color is very red and the nose malty, nutty and creamy.  I’ve tried scotches before that claim to have a creamy odor or flavor and I’ve never been able to identify it until now.

When I first drink it I taste apricot, licorice, malt – baked goods, and a hint of vanilla.  The aftertaste is stronger than the first taste with a little smoke and black pepper.  The strongest flavors to me are the malts.  This scotch leaves a sting on the tongue and lips but goes down like water, no after burn in the throat.  It’s very smooth, one of the smoothest I’ve tasted.

I generally don’t gravitate to the malty, fruity, scotches but I’m always trying new things.  It’s a challenge to identify the flavors in the scotch and my tastes are changing with exposure to new things.  This was not a strong scotch.  Flavors were not bright or bold but more subdued.  The price was about $160 per bottle and 40% abv.

Copyright 2015 David R Bergman

Single Malts

Ardbeg Perpetuum

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I’ll get to the point.  Ardbeg’s newest creation Perpetuum is consistent with their flavor profile.  Salty, briny, mild iodine and medicinal.  In my opinion it is similar to their 10 year in flavor.  Corryvreckan and Uigeadail are unique and Ardbog was a little too much, way too salty for me and I gave it a sort of negative review.  This one is somewhere between 10 year and Ardbog.  My main issue with it is that it isn’t unique enough to justify the 100$ price tag.  Ardbeg is usually stronger than the average scotch, this one is 47.4% abv.  It tastes great with or without ice but does not distinguish itself from the rest.  It isn’t bold enough or unique enough.  Sorry but they can’t all be good.  I’ll drink mine and enjoy it but I’d rather get Corryvreckan next time I have 100$ burning a hole in my pocket.

Copyright 2015 David R Bergman

Single Malts

Highland Park Dark Origins

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Dark Origins

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As I’ve said before and I’ll say it again my favorites are the Islay scotches but I’m always up for a new experience and I’m trying to expose my palate to a little of everything.  So when I was at the liquor store I was in the mood to try something new-ish.  A while back I had reviewed Highland Park 30 year.  That was extraordinary, perhaps because of the age.  I’m not usually a highland drinker but I liked Highland Park, the northern most distillery on earth, you can’t get higher than that.  I decided to try Highland Park Dark Origins.  The bottle looked really cool and since I like Highland Park 30 year I thought there was a good chance that more Highland Park would be a home run.  I was right.  I don’t know how old this scotch is, it doesn’t have an age on it.  It’s roughly 80$ per bottle and 46.8% ABV.  My account of the flavors is based on my experience and may differ from that found on the Highland Park web site.

The smell is mildly sweet and spicy with the smell of roasted nuts.  The most noticeable cents are licorice and cedar.

As for taste, the first sip is spicy.  This is one of the spiciest scotches I’ve tasted.  It is a hot spice like black pepper and chilies.  This gets noticeably hotter the more you hold it in your mouth.  There is also a noticeable malt flavor and smokiness.  Swallowing releases a refreshing sweetness, sugar, caramel and honey.  The after taste is floral, a little bitter, and stays for a long time.  This is a complex tasting scotch.  There are some similarities with the 30 year I’ve had but this is very distinct.  The 30 year wasn’t spicy at all, I recall that being a nice mix of smoky and sweet whereas Dark Origins is more complex and balances spicy and sweet with a myriad of other flavors in the background.  I was impressed and I’m starting to move away from Islay and over to Orkney.

Copyright 2015 David R Bergman