Just the other day, as I left the dining room, the empty, dusty green Ardbeg bottle on my bookshelf arrested me for a second. What?? What's going on here...? I'm....I'm...craving Scotch again, in a serious way. This means summertime is over.
Join me tonight as I ease into "Scotch season" by heading to the highlands, and sampling the delightful Macallan 12 year, matured in three different types of oak casks, seasoned with both sherry and bourbon, resulting in an interesting and oak-spice-heavy flavor palette, which offsets and complements the heavy sweetness and honey/vanilla/stewed fruit notes of the whisky.
LET'S GO!
(NOTE: I've changed my rating system from a 1 - 5 stars template to a 1 - 10 star system because I need more room to rate nuance!)
Nose:
Solvent, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, stewed apricots and spices invade the nostrils. Undertones of moldy book, and slight intimations of brown leather.
Body:
Solvent punch. Stewed fruits. Cinnamon. Vanilla and honey mixed with a slight oily feel and offset by powerful oak spices.
Finish:
Pure spice. Lingering cinnamons and vanillas. The oak oils and spices hang on 'til the very end of the ride.
FINAL RATING: 7 out of 10 Stars.
A nice, easy Scotch for fall. Nothing too challenging, but satisfying and warm all the same. Perfect for an easy September or October night on the porch with friends.
*
PREVIOUS REVIEWS:
- The Six Isles Scotch Whisky Review
- LaPhroaig An CUAN Mor Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review
- Chivas Regal 12 Year Scotch Whisky Review
- Voluntary Scotch: Five Single Malt Whisky Reviews (feat. Malts Bar "Jackie Brown," Niigata)
- Ardbeg 10 Year Scotch Whisky Review
- Bowmore 12 Year Scotch Whisky Review (Collabo w/ Steemit Blogger @Boxcarblue!!!)
- Bruichladdich Octomore 07.2 / 208 PPM Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review!
- The Voluntary Scotch Review, First Official Episode!!!: The Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky
- Arran 10 Year Scotch Whisky Review
- Glenfiddich 12 Year Single Malt Whisky Review
- Nikka Rare Old Super Whisky Review
- Bourbon Whiskey Review: Maker's Mark Bourbon Whisky.
- Shit Whisky Review: Suntory "Tory's Classic"
- [Japan Photo Blog] Vol. 23: Meeting up with fellow Steemian @nicksikorski for whisky, Shinto shrines, and Voluntaryist freedom plotting!
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)