Archives

Reisetbauer Single Malt (Austria) 56%

Nose: Exceedingly odd. Herbs, tending towards flowering garden shrubs (bird cherry?), sweet, apples. It kind of smells like a whisky, but somehow wrong, even so.

Palate: Apple tree. Frighteningly drinkable at 56%

Comments: Probably not a new favourite, but not off-putting. Very, very strange, but not vile tasting at all.

Score: 3.5 out of 10 (this close to a 4)

McCarthy's (Oregon, USA) 40%

Nose: Sweet, wooden cabin (warm), rubber, sun-drenched car tyres, wellingtons left by the fire to dry. After adding water I find the wellingtons overwhelming.

Palate: Much the same.

Score: 3 out of 10

Swissky 42% (Swiss)

Nose: Flowers, banana-flavoured sweets, raspberry sweets, pear drops, orange.

Palate: Woody, vegetational, sweet, boiled sweets.

Comments: This was actually rather nice, it just didn’t taste like whisky at all, which detracts from the score.

Score: 4.5 out of 10

Amrut (India)

Nose: Wet wool, oil, cod liver oil (smells like a sheep dipped in fish oil).

Palate: Suprisingly ok when you can ignore the smell, a little uninteresting, perhaps. A hint of spice and some nuts.

Score: 2 out of 10

Lammerlaw (Wilson's Dist., NZ) Cadenhead, 50.2%

Nose: “Nothing” – veeeery vaguely spicy.

Palate: Coal, cold wooden cabin where there has once been a fire in the fireplace, old charred wood.

Score: 4 out of 10