The Glenfiddich 21 yo Gran Reserva is certainly not the first malt I have come across from this distillery. More commonly known is the 12-year-old, an affordable and good entry-level whisky. But I have had the opportunity to enjoy a 21-year-old from the house before. This was the Havana Reserve and it was really very good. But it was not allowed to be imported into the USA with that name. Today it is only available as a collector’s item.
One of the always very good distilleries is Talisker on the Isle of Skye. They produce malts with and without an age statement. The Talisker 18 yo has a mature age, which welcomes the gourmet with a beautiful golden colour and a strong 45.8 %.
Nose A wonderful aroma welcomes the connoisseur, it cannot deny its origin with sea salt and seaweed. But there are also sweet berries and a light caramel.
The Dalmore Port Wood Reserve is marketed as No Age without any indication of age. However, there is information from the distillery that it is matured for 14 years in bourbon casks before it is finished for 2 to 3 years in Portuguese port wine casks. This makes it at least 16 years old.
Nose The Dalmore Port Wood Reserve pleases, as is to be expected with its finish, with fruity and strong notes.
There are some of the relative cheap Islay whiskies which are in most collections. Like the Laphroaig 10 yo or the Ardbeg TEN. Another interesting one of them, completely without smoke, is the Bunnahabhain 12 yo.
Nose The nose of the Bunnahabhain is strong difference from typical Islay whiskies. It’s a fresh and round fragrance, sweet with a hint of sultanas. and cereals. There are also nuts and very little smoke in the background.
Glenfiddich is one of the great and well-known distilleries of Speyside, for many especially the twelve-year-old found in many shops. But the distillery offers many more variants. One is the Glenfiddich 15 yo Unique Solera Reserve, a fine drop from the house.
Nose The Glenfiddich pleases with a wonderful soft note. Leading the way is a delicious honey, rounded off very lightly by a little banana. Vanilla scents form the background.
In addition to the standard malt, Laphroaig also offers special bottlings from time to time. The Laphroaig 10 yo Sherry Oak Finish with 48% is such a speciality. After American bourbon casks, it still matures in sherry casks and here still specifically an Oloroso sherry finish.
Nose A nice intense aroma hits the nose right off the bat. It contains salt and iodine, but also turpentine. Dark chocolate and wet wood finish.
So far I had not missed generics in Go. Much could be solved via interfaces or closures. And with the disgusting syntactic aberrations of other languages when dealing with generics, I was rather afraid that the elegant simplicity of Go could be lost. As of Go 1.18, Google’s language now handles generics after much discussion.
I have always appreciated the implicit simplicity with which, for example, types in a statement like
The The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 yo with its 47.8% is a special drop. It is not available in every store, I ordered it in France. This was easy for me, even without a previous tasting, as none of my Balvenies have ever disappointed me so far. So also this time.
Nose The nose of this malt immediately greets with wonderful notes. There are fruits such as cranberries and beautiful orange.
A few weeks have passed since the last entry. Which doesn’t mean that I haven’t had any malts. The corresponding tasting notes will follow in the coming days. The first one today is the Glenmorangie Extremely Rare 18 yo.
Nose A pleasant soft and very mild nose with sweet notes of berries and honey. There is also some white chocolate and the mild aroma of caramel. The contrast is provided by light oak notes and the spiciness of ginger.
From time to time, the opportunity presents itself for a decision that would not normally be necessary. However, it opens up the possibility of moving in a direction that is both reminiscent of beautiful points in the past, appealing in its environment and brings a nice new challenge. A few months ago this opportunity reached me through a contact over Internet and with the beginning of this month it has become effective.