Laphroaig Islay 10 year old Whisky

Work outing, the hotel bar was disappointing, @laphroaig 10 yo was the only whisky (Haig club was there but that’s not whisky 😉 ). But I don’t like peated whiskies, or so I thought. Hated Talisker, Highland Park, and a couple of others I’ve tried, but this is lovely:)

Peat isn’t overpowering, it’s smokey, tasty, so when I saw it in Sainsbury’s with £10 off, I treated myself 🙂 Really enjoying it, subtle sweetness and feint flowery taste and slightly peppery.

Laphroaig Islay 10 year old Whisky

Glengoyne 10 year old Highland Single Malt Whisky

This has been on my wish list a while, after a friend visited the distillery and recommended it, but it’s another that’s never discounted, as it’s not one of the “big boys”.

However, I was lucky enough to see it, and some other spirits discounted in M&S, end of line, I assume they’re going to stop stocking it.

It’s very nice, it’s quite a mild, mellow whisky, no burn. It’s subtly fruity, not overpowering, hints of apple and raisin, caramel.

Glengoyne 10 year old Highland Single Malt Whisky

Aerstone 10 Years old Single Malt Whisky: Sea Cask

Been a while since I’ve “reviewed” a whisky, odd coincidence about a year ago! Some things never change, £10 off (£30-£20) in supermarket, so treated myself. Well, not really much of a treat sadly. “Smooth and easy” is code for bland boring unfortunately😞 yes, it is smooth, and doesn’t have much going for it, I think I can taste the salt amongst the spices, but that could just be because the label mentions it!

There’s sadly not much I can say to describe this whisky, it’s drinkable neat, but there’s just not much too it, no real flavour, just sort of tastes like whisky. for £20 you could do worse, but for £30 you could do much better.

Maybe it’s just not sweet, or fruity enough for my liking, but I’m really not sure who this would appeal to.

Aerstone 10 Years old Single Malt Whisky: Sea Cask

The Woodsman

The Woodsman

I decided to give another blend a go, this was a bit more expensive than Johnnie Walker Red, but was reduced in the supermarket from £28 to £18. It’s another case of a quite nice whisky, very drinkable but doesn’t do anything to set the world alight unfortunately. Worth trying at £18, not worth £28, I think it’s another of those whiskies that is often on special offer somewhere.


Not too much burn, very mellow, smooth, quite sweet, quite drinkable, hints of vanilla, pear, and well, not much else.


I tried it with a mixer, and there’s no distinguishable flavour to really come out, so just a bit of a waste, better off neat.


So, in short, another NAS (no age statement) run of the mill blended whisky.

The Woodsman

Johnnie Walker Red Label

Johnnie Walker Red

Not that I’m a snob, or an expert, but I usually drink/buy single malts. Johnnie Walker was on special offer in the supermarket (there’s a surprise, me buying whisky that was on offer 😉 ) and I thought I’d give it a go, I’ve bought it in a pub a couple of times and liked it.

I guess it’s the Glenfiddich of blended whiskies, as it’s probably the most famous blend, and I’d guess like Glenfiddich a household name when it comes to whisky. They say it’s the most popular, and like Glenfiddich I guess that may be true because, well, it’s nice.

That’s it, it’s nice neat, or with a mixer. There’s nothing wrong with it, but there’s nothing special about it, it’s safe. I’d drink it again, but I doubt I’d buy a bottle again, it’s just a nice whisky. It’s smooth, there’s next to no burn, it tastes of vanilla, spice, sort of like whisky should I guess. You can add a mixer to it, that’s fine, tastes like whisky and lemonade “should”.

If it’s on special offer, it may be worth having in the house for when you fancy a drink, or have guests, but if you want to experiment with blends then shops like Lidl or Aldi do more interesting/better value for money bottles.

Johnnie Walker Red Label

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple Liqueur

JDApple

Wouldn’t be my normal choice of drink, but it was on special offer, it sounded interesting, I remember enjoying apple schnapps (Apfelkorn) in Germany many years ago, so decided to give this a go, even though I’m not a massive fan of normal JD.

It’s very nice! Quite sweet, sort of toffee apple, smooth, too easy to drink, and that’s neat! Usually I drink whisk(e)y neat, measure myself a double, and sip at it over an evening, and enjoy it, just the one. I was quite surprised the following morning when I realised how much of this I had drunk in one evening, it’s quite moreish, but on the plus side didn’t give me horrible hangover 🙂

There’s not much more to say really, it’s 35% and taste of apples, rather than JD, which in my book is good. I did try it with lemonade as well, which was fine, but a mixer in my opinion isn’t necessary and doesn’t add anything, just removes some of the pleasant green “appleness” of it! Perhaps it’s better with soda water or a premium tonic.

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple Liqueur

Glen Scotia – Classic Cambletown Malt – Single Malt – Double Cask

GlenScotiaSmall

I bought this, as it was reduced in M&S, I’m beginning to warm to it, my first impression wasn’t great, vanilla, not too spicy, hint of pepper, or is that the salt spray?
It lacks body, it’s strong at 46%, but is sort of watery? On the plus side, the vanilla is quite strong, so it’s sweet and very smooth, very little burn, not sure if that’s good or bad?
Perhaps it’s the slight smokiness I find off putting? It’s not peaty, (I don’t like peaty whisky), but there’s something I’m not sure about!
I don’t dislike it, and I’m glad I bought it, nice to try something different, but I won’t buy it again.
Glen Scotia – Classic Cambletown Malt – Single Malt – Double Cask

Penderyn Legend Single Malt Welsh Whisky

Penderyn

I bought this ages ago, after seeing it on special offer online, after warming to the Penderyn Madeira Finish.

Maybe I’ll warm to this one with time, but it’s a bit of a disappointment, it doesn’t seem as complex as the box notes suggest.

At 41% it is surprisingly mellow, very smooth, very little burn, and tastes quite mild, a lot milder than the Madeira Finish from what I remember. This is another fruity one, but it’s more subtle, pear maybe, some vanilla.

It’s  a bit bland, I won’t be buying it again. Out of curiosity I added a drop of water to it, and tried another with some lemonade, but it doesn’t have a strong enough flavour for a mixer, and so I’d imagine it would be pointless using it in a cocktail.

Penderyn Legend Single Malt Welsh Whisky

The Balvenie 12 Year Old Doublewood Single Malt Whisky

theBalvenie12

This has been on my wishlist to try for a while, a couple of friends have recommended it, but it’s never on special offer in the supermarket, and costs a bit more than I usually spend. £39 is not expensive in the grand whisky scheme of things, but is at the more expensive end in your average supermarket, and it’s a lot of money to spend on a whim to try something new.

Anyway, at Christmas I caught up with a friend who doesn’t live near me, and he was kind enough to surprise me with a bottle as a gift, as he had been banging on about it as a friend of his introduced him to it on holiday.

I’m very grateful, it’s very nice, and well worth the money, which isn’t something I very often say about the whiskies I review, yes, I would happily pay full price for this, it’s that good!

It’s very smooth, next to no burn, but you know it’s there. It’s sweet, without being sickly, starts off with warm vanilla, then the subtle fruits come through, which according to the tube comes from the oak cask which is used first, then the sherry cask.

I wish I had some Yamazaki left to compare it to, as I think that’s the only other whisky I’ve had which is comparable in terms of quality.

If no-one buys me this for Christmas this year, I may treat myself, or even try one of their other affordable whiskies.

Also, I’ve only drunk it neat – seems a waste to pollute it with a mixer 😉

The Balvenie 12 Year Old Doublewood Single Malt Whisky