Category: Tasting notes

Laphroaig 1989 23 years 48.9%

This is a special bottling Laphroaig did last year exclusively for the Scandinavian market.

Nose: Smoked and barbequed meat, bonfires and cheese. I get Applewood vibes and that is never a bad thing. With water there is less meat and more ashes, but also red berries and smoked seaweed.

Palate: Less interesting than the nose, but very nice. Fridge ice and ashes. Water sharpens the taste and brings out a slight bitterness and orange peel.

Comments: Perfectly drinkable at full strength, but water gives it another dimension. A great dram. The only negative thing I can think of is a somewhat short finish, the smoke lingers but nothing else.

Macallan 1996 13 years Adelphi 58.8%

the_whisky_bar-3Nose: Toffee with a hint of mint. Dry oak and vanilla. With water it develops raisins and baked apples, but the vanilla gets a somewhat rotten side note.

Palate: Too much oak? After only 13 years that’s actually kind of impressive. Oak, varnish, slightly rotten wood. With water it develops some bitterness, which for once is a good thing as it kills off the note of decay.

Comments: I’m ambivalent, but land on “No”. Too much cask and it’s also all over the place and tastes different for every sip.

Aberlour 2000 11 years Adelphi 55.8%

the_whisky_bar-4Nose: Toffee and fudge, vanilla, cream and burnt sugar. Some raisins. With water herbs, coriander maybe, appear.

Palate: Cheap milk chocolate with a proper caramel filling. Like a cross between Cadbury’s Caramel and a pound shop Christmas calendar chocolate. With water the caramel develops a burnt edge.

Comments: I’d have liked more, mostly because it was hard to get a grip on it and 2 cl didn’t seem like enough. Nice, though not overly complex.

Balmenach 1988 23 years Adelphi 54.2%

the_whisky_bar-2Nose: A little sickly and “chemical”, malt and yeasty dough. Water helps by bringing out citrus, mostly lemon, a light oaky perfume. Still a lot of malt and bun dough.

Palate: Malt, yellow apples and sweetish glue. With a drop of water it’s much better, as the glue disappears and it tastes of apple pie with custard. More water adds a vague taste of vomit.

Comments: A drop of water was good, more a bit of a disaster. Once the water was added it was almost undrinkable.

Dalmore 21 years 43%

This bottle has been languishing at the back of our cupboard for a while. Purchased at Kastrup for a ridiculously low sum some years back.

Dalmore_21Nose: Apple and pear compote, but not an overly sweet one. Light oak and vanilla. A hint of menthol. The menthol is emphasised with water and other herbs and juniper wood also appear.

Palate: Vanilla and dried apricots. Dry wood on the finish. With water menthol appears on the palate as well, green wood and conifer needles, possibly from juniper.

Comments: An attractive 21 year old. It’s rather surprising that the bottle has been left untouched this long, I think we may have to do something about it.

Mortlach 1992 21 years Director’s Cut 56.7%

From a sherry butt.

mortlach_dircut_1992-1Nose: A lot of oak, clear sherry note, but dry sherry and oak rather than dried fruits, very little sweetness. With water I get dried cranberries, candied orange peel and milk chocolate, but it’s still on the dry side.

Palate: Dried cranberries and raisins, but also a lot of oaky dryness. Vanilla. With water I get both oaky bitterness and sherry sweetness, vanilla and oak chips, floor varnish.

Comments: Even though there’s not even a whiff of burnt rubber, my main impression is “over oaked”. It tastes of oak chips. The nose is beautiful, but can’t make up for the taste. It’s not a bad dram, but it’s no where near worth the asking price (2495 NOK at Vinmonopolet, I paid 200-something NOK for 2 cl at The Whisky Bar in Oslo).

mortlach_dircut_glass-1