Postie's been today - must be time for a whisky tasting thread.

[Stan_Lite]

I was getting a bit low on whisky so I ordered the following:

1 Glenkinchie 12 Year Old - An old favourite.
2 Glenrothes 1990 / 18 Year Old / Sherry cask - Big fan of Glenrothes but haven't tried this particular expression before.
3 Bruichladdich 12 Year Old / Brown & Tawse 125 - Again, big fan of Bruichladdich but never had this expression before.
4 Suntory Hakushu Heavily Peated - Love the Yamazaki from Suntory so thought I'd give this one a try - 'Heavily Peated' sounds like my sort of thing.
5 Dailuaine 16 Year Old - Never even heard of this one, never mind try it so looking forward to it.

It arrived today so I'll be doing the obligatory tasting session tonight - the sacrifices I make :p

https://sn2files.storage.live.com/y1pdfT5yzXyIpBrtUomTNloAB8nEsdNoLtf-hQBbMdrsjFyKXMUL1lJIMSxJsq7m3QXdvz_3DBS6-g/Drinks2.jpg?psid=1

Check back later for my thoughts (if you feel so inclined).

[Stan_Lite]

Forgot to add: The Bolly is for a special occasion in the future and won't be part of tonight's tasting.

[Stan_Lite]

Lets start with the cheapest (it's as good a place to start as any) - Glenkinchie 12 Year Old.

https://sn2files.storage.live.com/y1psfCXb_JeeNr1LRH6_4vHkH1lBgxjuE0y3uB7WgAm-0h-S7t60-fj9qdPs4__jmaHCuIrPggcbiA/Glenkinchie.jpg?psid=1

Colour: Pale gold

Nose: Floral. Citrus.

Palate: Floral. Citrus. Slightly sharp.

Finish: The sharpness of the palate soon gives way to a smooth sweetness. Relatively short finish.

A nice, if unremarkable whisky. Has the usual floral characteristic common in Lowland malts. I like it because of it's simplicity - you can just drink away at it without paying too much attention to it. Good if you're having a few.

This costs £38.95 for a litre bottle from The Whisky Exchange (http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/) (in fact all of these were bought from there.

[Stan_Lite]

Next up, Dailuaine 16 Year Old. Never had this before so I've been looking forward to trying it.

https://sn2files.storage.live.com/y1p37bJsBEVH1npEZwDXH1SLRrLCuppYY-2isBIJ--9nGJQk3kjPEXC4v2YUoA8zOfIqNqZZv_Qhdg/Dailuaine.jpg?psid=1

Colour: Light brown.

Nose: Sherry. Fruit cake. Slightly oaky.

Palate: As nose, sherry with dried fruit and slight oak with a light touch of spice.

Finish: Quite a long finish with sweet sherry taste and a little spice.

A very pleasant whisky, I'm glad I bought it. Nice and fruity like a good Speyside malt should be and nicely smooth and rounded on the palate as you'd expect from a whisky that's been in the cask for 16 years. Very good.

This costs £37.95 for a 70cl bottle and is worth every penny.

[Stan_Lite]

Next up, Glenrothes 1990 / 18 Year Old / Sherry cask. Always been a fan of Glenrothes and have had several different expressions. This is a first time for this one though. I'm hopeful this will live up to expectations - I'm a big fan of whiskies matured in sherry casks.

https://sn2files.storage.live.com/y1p9QJ-Q9DkDxekyVXtwMSl4jHOXJ-rNXkUPDP2AKFDGgLV18rhb7Ge3nDlJ6grZoR4nDc2oHJjDxs/Glenrothes%201990.jpg?psid=1

Colour: Dark gold.

Nose: Faint smell of sherry. Liquorice. Hint of toffee. Slight spice.

Palate: Slightly sweet. Hints of liquorice and sherry. Slightly woody and a touch of spice.

Finish: Medium length sweet and spicy finish.

Nice whisky (I'd expect nothing else from Glenrothes). Not as much sherry influence as I would have liked but tasty nonetheless. Liked the liquorice flavour in there. Not as smooth as one would expect from an 18yo (careful Finbarr :p) but very acceptable.

This costs £39.95 for a 70cl bottle and is well worth it.

[Stan_Lite]

Next up, Bruichladdich 12 Year Old / Brown & Tawse 125. Again, I've had quite a few different Bruichladdich expressions and haven't had a bad one yet. This one was made to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Dundee steelmerchant Brown & Tawse (not sure what the connection is - apart from they share a birthday with Bruichladdich).

https://sn2files.storage.live.com/y1pl7EFAVG-hU984uZIMhgHkj8q7kQTg1xtAMqbyYFyDp9b_1dmuD5O7H1t7N 2z_cYgnxh1rNMLNeA/Bruichladdich.jpg?psid=1

Colour: Gold.

Nose: Salt spray. Lemon. Slight smoke.

Palate: Smoky. Peaty. Slightly spicy. Slight sweetness.

Finish: Medium length spicy and peaty.

Pretty much a textbook Bruichladdich. Tasty and sharp but smooth enough to make it very palatable. A good whisky for waking up your taste buds. Not as pungent as most Islay malts so would be a good starter for someone who wants to get into Islay malts.

This costs £41.95 for a 70cl bottle. If I'm being honest, I'd say it was a tad overpriced. You'd be as well getting the standard 12yo (2nd edition) for £7 less.

[Stan_Lite]

Finally, Suntory Hakushu Heavily Peated. The Suntory Yamazaki is a very nice whisky. The 10yo is a bit young and the 18yo is lovely but in the dear side. The 12yo is a happy medium and is a whisky I buy regularly. Looking forward to trying this offering from it's sister distillery, Hakushu. There is no age stated on this one.

https://sn2files.storage.live.com/y1pq8AoN8gKkIcyOw9KDBlVcblrKtCwslZso9QNA52pumOizn4 WiwcLbOouDswyOubut7nOnivjiFM/Hakushu.jpg?psid=1

Colour: Pale gold.

Nose: Peat. Vanilla. Grass. Wood. Hint of tar.

Palate: Peat. Oak. Slightly sweet.

Finish: Slightly sweet and smoky - slight licquorice. Lingering.

I continue to be pleasantly surprised by Japanese whiskies. This is another very competent Japanese malt. I'm not sure on the age but I suspect it hasn't been matured for as long as it should. Like the 10yo Yamazaki, I think it would benefit from another couple of years in the cask. Keep up the good work Suntory.

This costs £63.95 for a 70cl bottle. That's a bit steep. If it had had another couple of years in the cask, I think it would have been worth it but not as it is now. Shame really as it is a good whisky but has the potential to be an extremely good whisky. My verdict: Good whisky but not worth 64 quid.

[Flibster]

But the real question is... Do any of them compete with the Welsh Whisky? ;)

[volospian]

The Dailuaine sounds interesting... I may keep an eye out for that one...