Below are the most recent 4 friends' journal entries.

Sunday, December 20th, 2009
singlemalt [ fudjo ]	8:36p	Tasting notes: Ardbeg Lord of the Isles I bought this one around this time last year as a birthday present to myself, but it had to be shipped to a friend's UK address and I didn't have it in my hands until July of this year. I waited until my birthday of this year (Dec 10) to finally try it out: Ardbeg Lord of the Isles (46%) Nose: toffee, cream, smoky, sweet, heathery floral late in the nose, fruity Palate: caramel/toffee, smoky, a little tobacco, a little earthy, some salt, lightly oily, smooth, nutty, fruity Finish: sweet, sooty smoke, full and long, faintly salty adding water... Nose: fruity sweet, some smoke, some dark chocolate Palate: sweet, toffee, smoky, a little salt, fruity Finish: creamy, smoky, sweet, salt, nice and long A great one from Ardbeg. Rich and full and tasty. Definitely one to relax to and savor. I lucked out and got it from Ardbeg's online shop when it was about USD$300, and as great as it is I'm not sure if it's quite worth $300. That said, I certainly don't regret having it! :) Unfortunately, it's out of stock and going for around $400 in auctions these days - there are certainly better ways to spend that kind of money on whisky. (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
singlemalt [ fudjo ]	1:00a	Talisker 57' North and a cask-strength Bladnoch Talisker 57' North (57%) Nose: sweet, cereal, constrained, whiff of hot pepper Palate: definitely tastes like a Talisker, cerealy, spicy, faint hot pepper, oily, lightly smoky Finish: smoky, cerealy adding water... Nose: definite hot pepper, sweet, cerealy, oily Palate: hot pepper, cereal, black pepper, oily, touch of sweetness Finish: light smoke, cereal, sweet, touch of banana Oddly, this one isn't salty like the Talisker 10-year. At any rate, I loved this one! I saw it at a duty-free shop a couple of years ago in Schipol Airport, Amsterdam, but I had to sprint to catch my flight. A local friend happened to have a bottle and was gracious enough to share! If you like Talisker, you'll love the 57' North! Bladnoch 1985 (Scott's Selection, 12-year, 60%) Nose: lemon, cereal, olive oil, whiff of alcohol, hay, perfumey Palate: oily, cerealy, faint citrus, some alcohol, faint herbal bitter, rich Finish: hay, oil, faintly bitter, faintly citrus adding water... Nose: sweet, lemon, hay, flowery Palate: sweet, lemon, hay, oil, spice Finish: lemon, oil A marvelous Bladnoch, and I'm glad Joe Howell from Federal Wine & Spirits in Boston recommended it! (Comment on this)
singlemalt [ fudjo ]	12:37a	A tale of two madeira finished scotches! Arran Madeira finish (8 years in oak casks, 10 months in madeira casks, 50%) Nose: sweet, orange marmalade, toffee, nutty - very fragrant nose on this one Palate: very sharp alcohol, sweet orange, toffee, nutty, vanilla, bit of wood Finish: orange, nutty, wood, medium length Definitely enjoy this one with tiny sips. It's not a casual, social sipping whisky, but rather one with which to sit down and pay attention. The nose is marvelous, but the palate - while very tasty - doesn't quite live up to it. Balvenie 17 Madeira finish (43%) Nose: peachy/melony, but drier than I'm accustomed to from madeira finishes. faint wood, faint caramel, nutty, toffee Palate: light, semi-sweet, peachy, melony, nutty, very smooth, faintly buttery Finish, peachy, melony, a touch of dried apricot, nutty, faintly woody, medium length I like this one a lot more after having a full dram of it, rather than the quick sample I had a while back. Rather nice, but not worth the $115 MSRP. Luckily, my roommate got it on sale for $75, and it's about worth that. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
singlemalt [ smaugchow ]	9:32a	Opinions on Glenrothes 1991? My local giant grocery store with an enormous attached liquor department seems to have their Glenrothes 1991 mislabeled (and under-priced appropriately) as the Select Reserve. I have had the Select Reserve and didn't care for it but I have read that it is a poor representation of the distillery. Can anybody give me some insight on the issue? Is the 1991 any better than the SR? (2 Comments |Comment on this)