Whisky:
Rating:
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Talisker Storm
★★★
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Score:
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68/100
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ABV:
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45.8%
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Region:
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Isle of Skye, Scotland
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Body:
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Medium
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Intensity:
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Medium
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Texture:
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Watery-medium
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Balance:
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OK
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Best served:
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Neat
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Theme(s):
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New spirit, wet dough, peat, sea salt, diluted
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In a nutshell:
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Brittle and unexciting on the nose, this whisky was dominated by the stench of new spirit as peat and a salty ocean breeze struggles to surpass it. On the palate it seemed a little watery with bursts of peat alongside sea salt and earthy jagged rocks. The oak plays a minor role, as this whisky portrayed a youthful theme that seems out of touch for a Scotch whisky.
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Likes:
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–
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Dislikes:
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Youthful theme, new spirit smell, brittle, watery
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Category: Islands
Highland Park 30 Year Old
★★★★★★
Score: 97/100
Body: Full
Intensity: Perfect
Texture: Perfect
Balance: Perfect, heavenly
Best served: Neat
Likes: Dense mystique of age with perfect balance
Dislikes: None
Price: $500 in Australia
Highland Park was founded in 1798. As an Australian, I find that to be amazing. The perfect place to savour this Highland Park 30 Year Old would be overlooked the smashing waves carried by gusts of salty sea breeze. So here I sit, with my Scottish King Charles Cavalier by my side, about 17000 kilometers away from the icy cold coast of Orkney enjoying a whisky a stone’s throw away from Altona Beach, Melbourne (Australia). Perfect. Altona Beach is part of Port Philip Bay, which was first visited by British ships in 1802. That is about 4 years after Highland Park was founded! Puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
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Corpus Christi College, Oxford |
Highland Park 12, 15, 18, 25 and 30 Year Old
This page is all about my blind tastings of Highland Park 12, 15, 18, 25, 30 and 40 Year Old. It is particularly exciting to be able to taste and review all these Highland Park expressions side by side in blind tastings, so on a few occasions I lined a row of five crystal cognac glasses and meticulously blind tasted these five expressions.
Visit Highland Park here:
- Highland Park 40 Year Old – 98 points;
- Highland Park 30 Year Old – 97 points;
- Highland Park 25 Year Old – 96 points;
- Highland Park 18 Year Old – 92 points;
- Highland Park 15 Year Old – 88 points;
- Highland Park 12 Year Old – 82 points.
The density of the whisky’s character was the main difference between the ages (the HP 25, HP 30 and HP 40 were much more fragrant, while the others were dull and almost non-existent in comparison while their malty alcoholic content was amplified); a great example why some aged whiskies are well worth their price (they need to be tasted and compared with whiskies that you might think are great but which may, once tasted together with an aged whisky, seem very ordinary indeed). I did not know what I was tasting during the blind tasting, but after the whiskies were reveled it was clear that – in this case – age does matter. I need to emphasise that this post is about comparing the different expressions. The 12, 15 and 18 year old are very good on their own, but when compared to the 25, 30 and 40 year old they are dull and lifeless in comparison.
The 12 year old was dull and malty with the distinct aroma of new spirit, the 15 year old and 18 year old were slightly more interesting but did not leap out of the glass … but then there was the 25 year old, 30 Year Old and 40 Year Old. All burst with character and while the 25 Year old was a little too oak influenced with dry bitterness the 30 year old and 40 year old were heaven, with fireworks of character and boasting a powerful presence in the glass that was almost like a dense fog. Clearly, in this case, age matters I think.
So it happens… I have been introduced to a new league of whisky in the Highland Park 30 Year Old and 40 Year Old. You can see from the Malt Mileage Whisky & Spirit Rankings that they are in a league of their own.
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Blind tasting of HP 12, 15, 18, 25 and 30 |
Highland Park 40 Year Old is either a masterstroke or serendipity, but either way it works its magic. It retains that dense rich old library smell identified in the 30 year old and retrains a Highland Park theme, but the difference is that it emits some beautiful vibrant Christmas themed aromas and tastes that act as a counterbalance to the musty and sometimes duty aspects of the whisky’s character. This is a breathtaking creation by Highland Park.
Talisker 10 Year Old
★★★★★
ABV: 45.8%
Body: Light-medium
Intensity: Medium-high
Texture: Medium-oily
Balance: Heavenly
Best served: Neat
Likes: Soft peat with bursts of spice and fruit
Dislikes: Bumpy finish
Price: $60
Talisker is the only distillery in the Isle of Skye, which is located far up north off the Scottish mainland. This is an island whisky which offers the soft breeze of peat and smoke fuming off diverse cutting spiciness that is moderated by sweet bursts of fruit and the most gentle – almost unnoticeable – sea breeze. It is this lovely balance of flavours that makes Talisker 10 Year Old a brilliant whisky for those cold nights!
Nose
Gentle fumes of smoke deliver mild mannered peat that wafts up with juicy orange and bitter-sweet zest. The earthiness is also noticeable, as the oak cuts through the fruitiness with its sparks of spiciness. Cocoa pierces the nose as vanilla caresses it, almost apologizing for the spicy onslaught!
Taste
On the palate hot coals glowing red burn dry grass, as the spark of gentle peat releases a mild smokiness that is delightful. Moving on without disruption from the nose is that citrus fruit – orange and some lemon – which adds sweetness to the mild spice rack on the tongue; cocoa and cinnamon with bursts of cayenne pepper. The saltiness of cured meats also develops gently with the gentlest sea breeze.
Arran 14 Year Old
The Arran distillery is located on the Isle of Arran, which lies off the west coast of Scotland. It is a fairly young whisky distillery by Scottish standards and the Arran website explains that production commenced on 29 June 1995. This whisky is bottled at 46% alcohol volume.
Jura Superstition
★★★★
♟
