Secret Speyside 2005 SV 17 DRU17 A106 #27, WB: 230466

Glasses: Schott-Zwiesel, Blenders Glass, Colour: cola. Mood: terrified. Series: October Faction. Secret again, what is this secrecy all about? Some ‘spirit’ ubered another one, which it shouldn’t have done?

Supposed to be a Macallan. Instantly Whisky Defcon 1: Sulphur Monster or Maybe-Friend? Colour creates synaesthetic tasting. Drool and Catcalls. Nose after 2-4h: Boiled down dark fruit with oregano and a bay leaf. Monsters cook unusual jam from dates and raspberries. Pfft, was obvious, becomes rhubarb compote, in the background a plot of plums and cinnamon, grape must, maple syrup and soy sauce. Furthermore, tomato mozzarella with basil and lots of balsamic with sticky sweet overripe honeydew melon fight for supremacy. Very umamish battle. Blood Magic.
Mouth: All coffees, strong ristretto to French Press with slow roasted beans Mexico Olmo. Darkest chocolate in the darkest alley, tannins stab you BACK. Finish: Astringent and heavily caramelised sweetness, oily and mouth coating, very long finish. Very intense soy-balsamic blend, hints of sage and marjoram linger. Water? No-can-do's-ville.
Turned out to be a very tasty sherry monster! Warlockish indeed.

93 / 100

 

Jim Beam Lineage 15 Batch 1, WB: 189718

Jim Beam Lineage

Glasses: Unity Sensis Plus, Blenders Glass. Mood: full of expectations. Series: Strange new worlds. Oh my! What a wooden box, classy but not overdone. Modest, simple, yet noble. The bottle with screw cap in a wooden frame, somehow Japanese - banzai. Jim Beam - I know it from Whisky-Cola, supermarket, what cruelty awaits me, what am I doing to myself - Smile! So the only way to discover the terrible future is to live it. - Pike. Nose after 1h, shall we? Engage, make it so, take her out, Execute, Get It Done, Just Do IT, Hit It - Punch It! Candy shop, candyfloss, already clumping. Crème Brule. Werther's Real Cream Candy. Lots of vanilla and a hint of Patex on the street. Warm rice pudding with muscovado sugar and cinnamon. Gingerbread aromas in the ether, in the infinite expanses. Exploration can exact a heavy toll. Not here. Dough and freshly baked bread, brown sugar caramelising again. Baked apples with vanilla sour cream. Freshly poured Fritzcola. Brewed black tea. After 3 hours: cellar mustiness. Old books, umami. Mushroom mince pan with cream and truffle. With water 1 tsp changes the nose to pistachio ice cream, other nut ice creams whipped very creamy, fresh waffles. Reconciling my divergent cultures of origin is complex. The journey is challenging. Mouth: Oily, waxy, coating the mouth, sticking everything together, but without Patex. The mouth is in a permanent smacking loop. Demerara raw cane sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg - MUS-KAT-NUT! Peanut butter, gingerbread, gastric bread with espresso. Panna Cotta. Cream sweets, dates and figs. Marzipan potatoes dipped in lots of cocoa. Water is unnecessary: the whiskey becomes oaky, tannins are more prominent, nutmeg grated (again!), tequila. Finish: Eeeeeternal long, nice Kentucky Hugh. The warmth moves in slow motion down the oesophagus, while hustle and bustle and everyday life come to a halt - strike again. Cinnamon spiciness and some white pepper slap after the nice embrace. Water lifts the slow motion. The Hugh disappears. The whiskey becomes astringent. Even in space, growth - sometimes, remarkable growth - is possible." -Pike

92 / 100

 

Balblair 2006, WB: 227004

Balblair 2022

This one has been matured in an Amontillado Sherry cask since 2006 and was bottled for The Whisky Shop. Uncle Google says: Amontillado is a unique wine produced from the complete fermentation of palomino grape must. The fruit of the fusion of two different types of ageing processes (both biological and oxidative), Amontillado is resultingly an extraordinarily complex and interesting sherry. - Don't expect perfection at first. Colour: Old amber in hue. Glasses: Luxbe (Snifter like), Blenders Glass. Mood: Everything will be fine. Series: Studio Ghibli. Nose after 3h: ripe apricots, candied fruits, all kinds: Pineapple, coconut, ginger. Dark fruits, dried fruits, apples, sultanas, dates. Crème brûlée? Who knows? Lübeck Marzipan Manufaktor, industrious hands knead the sugared almond mixture into shape. Jammy. Christmas spices? No, Orient, dough, spices from Persia, Persian pastry. Mouth: marzipan, walnuts, trail mix. Some grains of salt don't find their way. Oolong tea with lots of dark candy. Oily. Persian pastries, date paste. Turn Your Face Toward the Sun, and the Shadows Fall Behind You. Finish: forest floor, dusty porcini mushrooms, freshly brewed coffee. Sticky sweet figs. A little Kentucky Hugh. "Trees and people used to be good friends." - My 
Neighbor Totoro.

Golden liquid bliss,
Whisky warms the soul within,
Sip, savor, repeat.

91 / 100

Glendronach 21 2022, WB: 218967

Glendronach 21

Mood: veeeery disappointed. Glasses: I don't know, all kinds. Series: The Madalorian. Colour: amber. Why, the great Glendronach 21. Makes the pulse beat faster, awe and humility come over me. So this one is supposed to be about 27 years old, if the numbers are right. I like those odds. Gone are the days when I bought this for about 90€. Tried this one with many glasses and over a longer period of time, double-blind, blind, non-blind. I am a whisky aficionado, glasses and time are part of my religion. Glasses, mood, water, an empty bank account, a free nose and lots of time. This is the way. Nose 3-5h: Toffee, milk chocolate, cream pudding. Chocolate mousse with white chocolate. Forest floor with rum sultanas, very sweetened black tea, Dunnage Warehouse, wet clothes, Martini dry. Mouth: White and red pepper blast their way through the palate. Cinnamon and gin make a bad mix. Cherry juice added unmotivated. A dusty olive. That's not saying much. What does it taste like now? Double-brewed black tea. Too thin coffee. Bad espresso from the wannabe-original-Italian-pizzeria around the corner. Vodka, spicy. Water? Doesn't belong here. Finish: Kirsch, Black Forest cherry, sage, thyme, nutmeg, doppelkorn, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and other dusty spices. Oh no, what happened to this drink? It tastes like a poorly matured 16 year old scotch made from thirdfill sherry butts. Where is the depth, where are the dates and dark fruits? Where is the everlasting finish? Style GD according to C. M.: rich, sweet creamy - only reminiscent. Does this have something to do with the lack of non-chill-filtered? Diplomatic answer: no idea. Maybe I'm not worthy of this GD anymore. However, I have tasted enough other very awesome GDs that this one breaks my heart.

I have spoken. - Kuiil, Ugnaught.

85 / 100

Ballechin 2004, WB: 229138

Ballechin 2004

Mood: Curious. Series: Jack Ryan, Colour: dark amber, Glasses: Luxbe, Blhas. The oldest ballechin I've ever had that even exists in 2023, who knows. Reason to break the fast early. Sometimes you have to break a few rules just to get the job done. Nose after 1-2h: Sweaty horses, being fed, malt and oats mixed with fruits and fermented apples, Chardonnay on top. Riots, blockades and unrest. Garbage not picked up. France? Hamburg? Middle East! Tyres and furniture on fire. Smoke bombs maybe fireworks. Street fights dirt, sweet fruit, rot. Between all the plastic, a sausage grills along. It's better to be on the inside, maybe be able to change something, than be on the outside and not be able to change anything. Mouth: Spiciness, black pepper. Oily. Must and calvados. Some Federweisser. With water the drink loses intensity and sharpness, but also depth and becomes watery. No gain. Finish: Acidic, rotten fruit, burning - like the barricades, they stay late into the night. On both sides injured, hospital, disinfectant, troughs, plasters and all sorts of medical smells. Somewhere a tyre is still burning. The country will not rest. We have to examine every angle, consider every possibility. Especially the one that's staring us right in our face. - Greer.

82 / 100

Macallan 2000 - 2022 GM, WB: 223324

Glass: Blhas. Series: The Last Kingdom. Mood: War weary. Color: Cola, Black East Frisian Tea.

Wetting: Blended Scotch Whisky Meadowside Blend MBl WB218929 and Wee Mongrel 19-year old LBDS WB222603. Fear Is Within All Of Us. As Is Strength. Very afraid to try this one, afraid to be really disappointed. Courage Is Finding The Will To Overcome Your Fear, Nothing More. Nose after 5h: I underestimated the wetting actors immeasurably, turn out to be true Aethelings. This skirmish has turned into a major war zone and has eaten up a lot of time. A King Must Be A King On His Own Terms. Very elegantly sneaky, the nose develops cola-sinalco, sparkling, caolabraus tablets of ahoy brewed out. Dates and rum raisins overlook the battle from the sidelines. The fight, however, is very un-Danish, very distinguished. The flavors caress the nostrils, finest chocolate mousse. Some orange, cream candy. I hold the sword - pardon - the glass with both hands, trying to sink the nose even deeper, to become one with this smell. A warm carpet of pure bliss. Each perception a bud bursting open, each aroma molecule a firework of dopamines. A hint of tobacco in the air or the last wisps of smoke from the last battle. My Journey Continues, My Path Leads North to Blood Fields. Mushroom pan with cream, allspice, black pepper and 3cl maple syrup. Quinces are cooking in, want to be jam. Cotton candy, Turkish candy store. Heavily ripened peach, burst dried figs with sweetness oozing thickly from them. Herbs such as rosemary and sage perfume ahead. Mouth after timeless hours: Effervescent tingle, allspice heat, cola plant, Coca-Cola, boiled down syrup of 1-2 plums and 2 apples. Danes attack again, One path looks like another. Peppery spiciness, powerful and sweet. A place in Valhalla is safe. Finish - end of battle: burning, lovage, astringent. Espresso, strong coffee, dark chocolate. A bit cardamom does not know where to go. This whisky can caress sweetly or strike mercilessly unexpectedly with fierce flavors. "The future is fate, it won't change. Destiny is all." - Uhtred

Glenfarclas 1991 S22, WB: 222588

Glass: Blhas, Spiegelau Snifter. Series: Invincible, Mood: Avnosatdoonawday. Color: black tea, very black.Wetting the palate: tried various scenarios, bourbon e.g. this WB225512, sherry matured scotch e.g. this WB219589 and old woody grain WB218656. How to start, can't you just enjoy a malt like this? That's the tricky part of the job, balancing what you wanna do, with what you need to do. Nose, caught after about 4h - 7h: Snifter: confectionary shop, next to it a market - stall with Arabic dips, dates, candied ginger, coconut and other dried fruits. Dough. Milk chocolate and a bag of trail mix. Blhas: pencil shavings, sawdust. Dried porcini mushrooms. Wild boars feasting truffle mushrooms dressed with balsamic and soy dressing, plus fermenting dark fruit on forest floor. I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, and I'm the only one of us who can't fly. Apple juice, tobacco lit from about 10m away. Woooooonderful. Someone Thinks They're Too Clever For Us. They All Think That At First. Dunnage Warehouse, old books in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. Startled wild horses gallop across the moss. Saddle leather, sweat, black tea Ceylon. Mouth after 4½ h: varies according to pre-wetting. Sometimes milk
chocolate, sometimes bittersweet. Often smooth. Oh, I'm In So Much Trouble. Creamy sweets, espresso macchiato at its best. Pepper. Amazing, now and then bright juices like apple. Fnish: warming, Kentucky Hugh or just hot soy broth depending on the weather. Incessant. Friends Tell Friends The Truth. Exactly - somehow knowing, beginning to understand. Only what. Oily, mouth coating. "Hit Me And Let Me Prove You Wrong." - Mark. 

97 / 100