Matthew's Journal

Whisky Advent 24

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 19:02:48 GMT

The XL blench batch 1 £549. Another example of how it's good to taste the whisky before figuring out the 3cl bottle would cost upwards of £20 to buy :) Notwithstanding the tasting notes, I thought there was a distinct Port note on the nose. This is a complex and well-balanced whisky (perhaps heather, smoke, and some woodyness) with a long finish which I enjoyed, but. I'm not sure it's my favourite of the 24, and I don't think I'd find myself shelling out for a bottle any time soon!

So that's it for the advent calendar. Thanks again to the friend who very kindly bought it for me (you know who you are :-) ) - I tried a number of whiskies I would probably have never thought to try otherwise, and some of them were real winners :)

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Whisky Advent 21-23

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 07:56:25 GMT

I'm not actually drinking at this hour of the morning, but I tried these a couple of days ago, and not had time/space to write them up. But I'm running a bit ahead of schedule this morning, so, before I entirely forget...

Aberfeldy 12yo £33. A slightly sweet, gentle malt.

Balvenie Peat Week 14yo 2003 vintage £60. As the name suggests, this is a pretty peaty offering. What surprised me was how round it was to taste - plenty of smoke, but not quite the mouthful of phenol you sometimes get with very peaty whisky.

Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair £38. An Islay malt finished in sherry casks, which I thought worked rather well. I'm rarely convinced by the suggestion of maritime notes in whisky, but I thought there was a slightly briny hint here

Number 24 later this week, perhaps...

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Whisky Advent 19-20

Sun, 22 Dec 2019 23:41:08 GMT

After a lot of singing today, whisky is medicinal, right? :)

Jim Beam Rye £25. Nice enough, but there's not a lot going on here.

Peat's Beast £42. No, not a joke about management style at work, this one does what it says on the tin. Very smokey, phenolic whisky.

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Whisky Advent 17-18

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 21:53:43 GMT

I'm in danger of not getting to 24 before Christmas again, but I'm not giving up just yet ;-)

Irish Single Malt #1 13yo from That Boutique-y Whisky Company £60. A real winner this, smooth and sweet with just a hint of smoke.

Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength £47. Good assertive scotch, even watered down somewhat. Dried fruit, perhaps?

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Whisky Advent 16

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 22:41:52 GMT

I thought it might be worth returning to the whisky advent calendar, what with it being Advent again :-)

Number 16 is Rock Oyster £37. It's a blend of island malts, and felt a little over-peated to my taste.

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Whisky Advent 14-15

Sun, 10 Mar 2019 22:49:02 GMT

The first of these I had a while back, but didn't get to writing up; the other was this evening's accompaniment to some GoT...

Kavalan Single Malt £54. I think the first whisky from Taiwan I've ever had. The tasting notes talk about mango and tropical fruits, which I didn't get at all, but there is a gentle sweetness here.
The Glendronach 12yo £39. I wouldn't have said "very heavily sherried", but there are some sherry hints.

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Whisky Advent 13

Sat, 12 Jan 2019 22:45:00 GMT

...is Cardhu Gold Reserve £39. It's a slightly sweet, warming comfortable dram. It's not the most complex whisky, but I enjoyed it :)

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Whisky Advent 11-12

Sat, 22 Dec 2018 23:04:49 GMT

Time for a couple of drams this evening...

Cotswolds Single Malt £47. The first expression from the Cotswolds distillery; some pleasant sweet notes to this, although I couldn't detect any hints of the red wine casks its spent time in.
Kilchoman Machir Bay Whisky £43. I do like a good Islay, and haven't had this one before. Plenty of smoke, but it's not overpowering nor one-dimensional. A winner :)

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Whisky Advent 10

Sun, 16 Dec 2018 21:56:04 GMT

...is Kirkwall Bay £36, from a distillery on Orkney. It's quite gentle for a single malt from one of the islands.

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Whisky Advent 6-9

Sun, 16 Dec 2018 17:37:18 GMT

I'm still quite far behind on these; but this gets me up-to-date with the ones I've actually tasted (a few evenings this week):

Hudson Baby Bourbon £50. This is made from corn spirit, and did have an unusual smell to it; interesting, but perhaps not my thing.
Monkey Shoulder Smokey Monkey £30. A gently smoked whisky; nice but not doing anything very complicated.
The Glenrothes 12 Year Old £41. A nice, slightly sweet Speyside.
Nikka Whisky From The Barrel £33. 51.4% abv, so needs a fair bit of water to make it more drinkable. Even then, I was not really impressed (which is strange, as we have a bottle of this, so I was obviously keener on it at some point!)

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Whisky Advent 5

Wed, 05 Dec 2018 22:06:38 GMT

This one is Benriach 12 yo sherry wood £43. It's nice enough, but I don't think the sherry casks have done much for it, to be honest!

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Whisky Advent 1-4

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 22:27:53 GMT

A friend very kindly bought me a whisky advent calendar for my 40th. I don't necessarily plan to drink one a day, but I am going to at least drink them in order, and enjoy doing so :-) I'm tasting them before looking them up, which led to a surprise yesterday...

Yesterday atreic and I tasted drams 1-3, and I've had dram 4 this evening. Prices are for a 70cl bottle (rounded to the nearest GBP or so) unless noted otherwise.

The Lost Distilleries Blend Batch 11 £350. This was the nicest of the 3 we tried yesterday, a bit more complex and smooth. But I'm sure I'd say it was 7x as good...
Starward New World Malt Whisky £50. I didn't even know they made whisky in Australia! Quite a sweet whisky.
Single of Dufftown Malt Master's Selection £35. Aimed as a "gateway single malt", this was OK, but didn't really do much for me. I'm pretty sure I prefer their regular expression.
Brenne Cuvée Spéciale French Single Malt Whisky £56. I've not had French whisky before, and I like this, it's a bit unusual. Perhaps a slightly floral smell, and an intriguing flavour. Possibly my favourite so far, but that might be because it's the one I'm drinking right now...

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