Ahhhh! my first review after a month off (more or less) the booze. I'm almost at the end of my second bottle of this stuff. I tried to write a review based on my first bottle but that one was a work based bottle enjoyed among colleagues over many a Friday arvo and sometimes it's nice to just enjoy company and relax with a drink rather than getting all introverted and analytical over a dram. This second bottle I picked up for sharing with friends at a whiskey club tasting quite a few months back. Everyone enjoyed it but I have to say I've noticed that this improves over time as the bottle goes down. The fruitiness of the nose really opens up with a little oxidation.
Price: 45 - 50 AU$. This is good value when compared to many other malts available over here - 6/6
Appearance: Amber gold with narrow closely bunched legs forming slowly on the glass - 6/6
Availability: I can get this in supermarkets and most bottleshops over here, not very common in pubs though I'm sure it's available in good whisky bars. I've never seen this in duty free - 4/6
Marketing: The website is a fairly basic non- flashy affair. The home page tells us that this is light whiskey which I would certainly agree with. It provides some history and insight to the distillery and the coat of arms which appears on the label. It lets us know that the distillery is open for tours and that there are a wide range of bottling's available some of which I'm sure to try in the future as they are available to me and are well priced. There's nothing really interesting to see on the website but nothing stupid either, very average - 3/6
Packaging and label: The label is nice and understated and the bottle is clear glass with lovely curves on it which are reminiscent of a pot still. The label tells me this is a 10 year old Speysider that has been entirely aged in chardonnay wine barrels in traditional low roofed warehouses. There's no mention of caramel colorant addition or chill filtration - 4/6
Nose: Fruity sweet and rich with marzipan, buttery chardonnay, sweet ripe pears/ baked pears, apricot jam, malt creeping in and maybe a little sherbet zing too or acid drops I'm not sure.
Lovely stuff - 17/20
Taste on entry: hmmm, nothing unpleasant but not bursting with flavor either, fruitiness is there but understated - 12/20
Mouth feel and body: Not bad! Feels alright, coats the mouth pleasantly - 8/10
Finish: Medium to long finish, slightly dry with honey and grape sweetness, pepper and ginger too - 14/20
Total score -74/100
This is a whiskey with a good price point and a lovely nose. A decent daily dram but I'll probably take my time coming back to this one again. So many other whiskies to explore.
Slainte
Caoimhin
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