Author: MaltKlaus | Page 33 | MaltKlaus' Daily Drams

June 28, 2014July 5, 2017

Tasting: Ardbeg Auriverdes

Dram data:

Distillery: Ardbeg
Bottler: Original Bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2014
Age: ?
Limitation: 6600 (inofficial sources)
Price at the time of purchasing: 89€
Casks: ex-bourbon with freshly toasted lids
Alcohol: 49,9%
Uncoloured & Unchillfiltered
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: Red gold. The nose is typically Ardbeg. Salty, briny, iodine, burnt newspaper, ground coffee, vanilla sweetness. A bit more burnt vanilla than the standard Ardbeg Ten, but that’s the only cask influence I can detect. Liquorice, honey and caramel in the background. Continue reading “Tasting: Ardbeg Auriverdes”

June 23, 2014July 5, 2017

Tasting: Macallan 1990 by Whiskybroker

Dram data:

Distillery: Macallan
Bottler: Whiskybroker.co.uk
Distilled: 23.01.1990
Bottled: 05.03.2013
Age: 23
Limitation: ?
Price at the time of purchasing: – (sample)
Casks: Hogshead
Alcohol: 34,9%
Uncoloured & Unchillfiltered
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: Dark straw. The nose is rather funny – my first impression was one of rather old, stuffed cupboard – I guess that’s the influence of the cask which let this dram slip under the 40% mark. Continue reading “Tasting: Macallan 1990 by Whiskybroker”

June 20, 2014July 5, 2017

Tasting: Glenfarclas 25

Dram data:

Distillery: Glenfarclas
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 17.03.2009 (lot-nr 314:30BB)
Age: 25 years
Limitation: unknown
Price at the time of purchasing: 85€
Casks: Ex-Sherry
Alcohol: 43%
Most likely chill filtered & natural color
Whiskybase link

(Blind) Tasting notes:
Colour: Amber
Nose: Fresh and fruity. Wild berries, lemon and orange zest, orange juice, canned tangerines, peaches, honey, slight background maltiness. Continue reading “Tasting: Glenfarclas 25”

June 11, 2014October 7, 2016

Tasting: Longrow Peated NAS

Dram data:
Distillery: Springbank (Longrow brand)
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2013 (bottle code 13/89)
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Price at the time of purchasing: 38€
Cask: –
Alcohol: 46%
Unchillfiltered & natural color
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:

Colour: pale gold. On the nose there is an initial intense smoky note, but it is a bit more refined and not as phenolic as the offerings from nearby Islay, very distinctive. Continue reading “Tasting: Longrow Peated NAS”

June 3, 2014July 5, 2017

Tasting: Glen Garioch 1990 21y cask 252 by “Archives”

Dram data:

Distillery: Glen Garioch
Bottler: Archives
Distilled: 28.12.1990
Bottled: 05.01.2012
Age: 21
Limitation: 267
Price at the time of purchasing: – (sample)
Casks: Hogshead
Alcohol: 54%
Uncoloured & Unchillfiltered
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: bright gold. On the nose I get an immediate impression of a fresh summer fruit basket. Red apples, pears, gooseberries, strawberries, plums. Continue reading “Tasting: Glen Garioch 1990 21y cask 252 by “Archives””

May 30, 2014July 5, 2017

Tasting: VAT 69 Vintage Austrian Import bottle

Dram data:

Distillery: Blend
Bottler: WM Sanderson & Son Ltd
Distilled: –
Bottled: 1980s? 1990s?
Age: – (probably 3 years)
Limitation: unknown
Price at the time of purchasing: –
Casks: –
Alcohol: doesn’t say! Most likely 40%

Tasting notes:
Colour: Well, E150a reddish-gold. On the nose I get quite a sharp alcoholic first impression with a bit of old glue mixed in. Continue reading “Tasting: VAT 69 Vintage Austrian Import bottle”

May 27, 2014April 15, 2024

On scoring whisky and how I score

When you start tasting whisky you unavoidably encounter the moment when you think about scoring and scores. Do you score whiskies? How do you do it? Can you put scores on something as individual as taste? There are many rating systems I’ve encountered over the years, all of which have their pros and cons. I’ve seen systems using US school marks, some scales from 1-5, 1-20 and different variations of the 1-100 system. There are scores made up of individual sub-scores like Jim Murray does and then there’s those who don’t publish scores at all.

Continue reading “On scoring whisky and how I score”

May 26, 2014October 7, 2016

Tasting: Caol Ila 1996/2012 cask 14611 by Ian MacLeod’s Chieftain’s Choice

Dram data:

Distillery: Cao Ila
Bottler: Ian MacLeod / Chieftain’s Choice
Distilled: 10.1996
Bottled: 03.2012
Age: 15 years
Limitation: 308
Price at the time of purchasing: – (sample)
Cask: Hogshead 14611
Alcohol: 50%
Possibly Unchillfiltered / Natural Colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: ripe barley. On the nose I get a huge initial hit of alcohol followed by fiery, spicy smoke, pepper, citrus oil and limes. Continue reading “Tasting: Caol Ila 1996/2012 cask 14611 by Ian MacLeod’s Chieftain’s Choice”

May 24, 2014October 7, 2016

Tasting: Caol Ila 18

Dram data:

Distillery: Cao Ila
Bottler: Original Bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2011
Age: 18 years
Limitation: –
Price at the time of purchasing: – (sample)
Casks: –
Alcohol: 43%
Possibly Chillfiltered / Colouring added
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
On the nose I get a big hit of lovely peaty smokiness initially covering most other flavours. Some vanilla peeks through, white pepper, green apples, orange rind, orange juice, a very subtle honey sweetness in the background. Continue reading “Tasting: Caol Ila 18”

May 21, 2014October 7, 2016

Tasting: BigPeat Tweet tasting

I was selected as one of the lucky tweet tasters for the Douglas Laing @DLaingWhisky #BigPeat tweet tasting hosted by @TheWhiskyWire on the eve of the 21st of May 2014. Big thanks to DouglasLaing, Steve Rush and all the fellow tweet tasters for the great evening! Worthy of a repetition in my book!
In preparation for the tasting we all received a lovely little package from Scotland (see picture on the right). It contained five mystery samples (which were tasted blind) and a few assorted goodies like a bottle of rainwater, peat cones (to fill the air with lovely peat flavour), an Islay pebble to chill our dram on hot summer days and a mystery key to Big Peat’s house (still waiting on this mystery to be solved…) – all in all a very lovely package – very well thought out!

Without further ado, here’s my tasting notes for the five drams: Continue reading “Tasting: BigPeat Tweet tasting”