Single Malt Lover!

Brora 20yo 1981/2001 (43%, Signatory, Cask#577, 180/403b.)

I actually have several Brora bottles in hand, but I never decided when to open a new bottle.  For me, it depend on the mood.  After a somewhat disappointing Port Wood tasting event.  I decided to let myself have some advanture.

Color: Light Yellow.  Very light color. The very first impression is somewhat Islay/Islands style, even just by nosing.  Complex, Deep.  Thick.  Bring back throat very warming hot.  Clear peat, sulfer, fruity.  Adding water turns weak.  brings out more Iodine.  Though still smooth.  I think 43% is already minimum.  A value but nice dram.  Score 86.

Note: I think I gave it a somewhat higher score because of the dispointing prior tasting.  Later tasting lowered a little bit to 84.

Drumguish NAS (40%, OB, >2001)

Sample from my friend Stephen.  Quite simple nose, a hint fo speyside at the first impression.  Malty, Nutty, Sweet, Finish short, even a little bit bitter. Taste better than nose.  Not my style.  I guess should be at around 8yo.  Score 70.

Glenury Royal 30yo 1973/2003 (50.7%, Blackadder Raw Cask, Cask#6861)

Taste again!  Lovely nose.  A clear winner!  Confirmed my score at Blackadder Tasting Event.  I was not drunk.  Score: 90.

Every other month, I’ll invite some friends to my house for some private tasting. Normally, it’s quite small, around 5 people! As a tradition, we’ll take all the bottles out to share with others. The major reason is not so noble to share with some good drams, but to have others help to consume quicker!

Last night is a little bit different that I invite some of my wine tasting group members for some single malt experience. Normally I’ll have some short introduction and discuss the tasting sequence together. As it was quite a mass, that around 20 people together, I decided only to arrange the bottles by region and let everybody taste by themselves. Surprisingly, everybody was quite happy about the atmosphere, and enjoyed the malts a lot! Probably, most people already have some experience at wine, they have quite some self-control not to be too greedy to take everyone of them. It seems quite successful.

I start with the two low land ones. I am not quite a low land person, it may really source back to the bad experience on Auchentoshan triple wood. However, Rosebank may really be an exceptional one. Rosebank 11yo 1989/2001 (43%, Signatory, Cask# 708+09, 35cl) malty, fruity, quite fresh and has different layer on taste. Score80, seems a good start. It also reminds me an earlier experience on a Blackadder Rosebank 12yo 43%, though not in written note, I think that one scores around 85. Rosebank may really be my low land love. Next, I moved to Linlithgow 26yo 1975/2002 (59.3%, Blackadder, Cask# 30012, 328b. Hogshead) This is the first time I come across St.Magdalend/Linlithgow in Taiwan. I know my friend Richard, who works for the Blackadder Taiwan Agent, always trying to find interesting malt for us, but I’ve never image this one come to the table. Like most Balckadder Raw Cask series, powerful feeling comes first, quite strange for a lowland malt. Though I don’s like low land malt, my limited experience actually shows clear malt smell. This one has the same. Beautiful malt smell with a hint of peat and fruit attract me at the very start. However the taste is quite simple and finish is only OK. Not quite like a 26 yo malt to me. Especially after an above average Rose Bank experience, I am a little bit lost at that moment. Score76.