The day myself and my partner came back from Scotland, we decided to hold a whiskey tasting of all the bottles we brought back with us. While we were in Orkney, I had read that their cheddar cheese is one to try so I ended up buying a normal cheddar cheese alongside a smoked version to take away with us. These two cheeses formed part of the food offering we had alongside 85% dark chocolate, orange and salted caramel chocolate and a range of salamis aiming to provide a range of tasting notes. Overall, the salty notes from the cheddar seemed to work very well with the majority of the whiskies bringing out their sweeter notes and dampening down on anything smoky. The salty salami also seemed to work well with most of the whiskies we had, apart from the Old Pulteney where the spicy notes coming to the fore were not so pleasant. Read on to find out what we thought of the whiskies we tried. I have tried to provide some background to each distillery as well as going through their core range, any unusual offerings as well as tasting notes from their website on each of the whiskies we brought back with us. I then talk about the tasting notes we got from each bottle, as well as anything that stood out when we combined the whisky with food. As I am finishing off writing about each whisky, I do so alongside another dram of the one I am discussing and I have found that new flavours and scents have jumped out at me. These are usually mentioned when I discuss each whisky. I provide links to each distillery at the bottom of the page if anyone is interested in finding out more on each distillery and getting gold for their whiskies.
Jura
Originally established in 1810, it has fallen into disrepair a number of times, finally being re-established permanently in 1963. Its home is the Isle of Jura in the Inner Hebrides. It has its own hotel, which would be handy when attending their tasting tours, considering that the drink driving limit in Scotland is almost 0. Their core range is a collection of 6 whiskies, starting with Journey, followed by a 10 year one, 12 year one, seven wood, 18 year and 21 year old versions. They’ve recently added a new winter edition to their core range, which also contains a red wine cask and French oak editions. Their whiskies combine subtle smokiness with sweet notes of tropical fruits and chocolate.
Jura Journey was the one we tried in the tasting with the distillery’s tasting notes talking about aromas of vanilla spice, citrus and a hint of light smoke with Cinnamon, pears, pecans and toffee fudge on the palate. During the tasting, we got notes of brown sugar, caramel and spice on the nose. I sit writing this with a small pour of Journey again and am getting extra notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as some heather on the nose. This ties in really well with the taste of cinnamon and brown sugar on the palate. It feels very creamy and clean, clinging onto your tongue and the back of the throat like double cream. There are also subtle notes of smoke and pepper as you swallow. Overall, it is a very creamy, easy going, drinkable whisky with very subtle smokiness that is a really good introduction into smoky whiskies, if you aren’t a big fan like us. Trying it with dark chocolate, we found that the bitterness really brought out the sweetness in the whisky a lot more.
8/10 on that one.
Auchentoshan
This is the only distillery in Scotland to triple distil their whiskey to remove all impurities and bring flavours of fruit and citrus to the fore. The distillery has been on the outskirts of Glasgow since 1823. Their core range of whiskies include an American oak one, 12 year aged one and three wood aged one. There also do an 18 year and 21 year aged whiskies alongside more specialist versions aged in different types of barrels, including ones used in aging red wine. When we went to the distillery, they had two special bartender editions, one smoky, the other not. Their whiskeys lean on the sweeter side, with one of the bartender editions the only smoky one they do. We brought back two different bottles from Auchentoshan, the American Oak and 12 year ones, with the American Oak one being the version we looked forward to the most in trying, as it promised notes of coconut on the nose and palate.
On the nose the American one boasts notes of vanilla and coconut with layers of zesty citrus fruit, while the taste is of vanilla cream, coconut and white peach. The 12 year version’s tasting notes include an aroma of crème brulee with a burst of citrus followed by a nuttiness, with sweet notes along with hints of tangerine and lime on the tongue. Neither of the two claim any hint of smoke.
On the nose we found that the Auchentoshan American Oak was rather smokier than we were expecting, as it was not supposed to be smokey at all. The only smokey version that they had was supposed to be one of the bartender expressions, which we did not bring back with us. The scent itself is not too overpowering overall and I am also getting hints of green olive as I am drinking it while writing this post. On the palette, there is nothing too harsh about it, hitting you immediately with some pleasant sweetness of orange, blending immediately with an aftertaste of smoke. The flavours don’t linger at all. I find that the smoke kills any taste of coconut or peach in the whisky. Tasting it with food, we found that soft, Orcadian cheddar cheese really brought out the spicy, sweeter notes, getting rid of the smoky flavours. Avoid salted caramel chocolate with this whisky, as it completely overpowered everything else.
On the nose, the 12 year Auchentoshan provided notes of smoke and black pepper with a sour note. Inhaling the aromas while writing this post, I was hit with notes of tobacco, coffee, green olives and a dry dustiness. Go try figure this last note out as I have not seen any whisky described as smelling dry and dusty. On the palate, I get a chilli pepper and sauerkraut note, echoing the sourness we picked up on the nose initially. It is very pungent when it's swallowed, going right up your nose and coating your throat and mouth well. The soft, Orcadian cheddar brought out a very pleasant creaminess in this whisky. Overall, this is the whisky we preferred, giving it a 8.5/10 compared to 6/10 for the American Oak version. Both are very drinkable and I would very much like to try more from them, especially the one that was aged in red wine barrels. This had a very appealing dark red colour with notes of raspberry, damson plum, vanilla and maraschino cherry on the tongue. I would like to try another bottle of the American Oak expression, just in case they have placed the wrong label on the bottle we brought back.
Talisker
Talisker is the oldest distillery on the Isle of Skye built in 1830 on the shores of Loch Harport. By 1898, Talisker had become one the best selling whiskies in the country, allowing further developments in infrastructure with the addition to the distillery of a pier, a tramline and worker housing. With the abandonment of triple distillation in 1928, there was a downturn to the distillery’s fortunes, with it being forced to close during the second world war to preserve grain. A number of fires in the 1960’s sees the destruction of parts of the distillery, however, it manages to adapt and recover, continuing to distil whisky into to this day. The core range has a 10 year, 18 year, 25 year, Skye and Storm versions. The flavour profiles cover a peaty smokiness with notes of spice, pepper, dried fruit and butterscotch.
We brought the distiller’s edition back with us, which claims to be sharp and well-focussed with no lingering smoke and sultana sweetness on the nose. On the palette, the Distiller’s edition claims to blend from crisp peat into rich, sweet, toasty malt with a heathery dryness. The best way I can describe the smell of after trying it is barbecued pork flavoured with paprika, black pepper and salt with a sharp, clean note behind this. Once tasted, the flavour, for me, is a mix of toffee and green apple with an aftertaste of smoke. Although Tom (my other half) could taste the smoke from the very beginning. There is also a black pepper and salty note as you swallow. We did not like that particular whisky, giving it 4/10, although I suspect it might work very well with barbecued meat.
Oban
This is a small distillery in the town of Oban and set up in 1794, continuing to use only 2 stills. For this reason it prefers to concentrate on quality rather than the quantity of whisky produced. This is a highland whisky with notes of warm honeyed spices, subtle smoke and salt of the sea air. Their youngest whisky is 14 years old, with other offerings at 18 years, Little Bay and Distillers Edition. Although we did not go to Oban during this trip, we have visited the town previously and brought back a bottle of the 14 year old when we visited Talisker.
According to the distillery’s tasting notes, the Oban 14 year old smells of oranges, lemons, and pears, with a hint of salt and peat and tasting like dried fig, spice, and a hint of smoke. When tasting it, the whisky smelled of lemons, pepper, salted caramel with a hint of smoke. On the palate it has large doses of spicy black pepper, combined with the chewy sweetness of dried fruit with a little smokiness, which is not overpowering at all and blends well with the other flavours. The smoke does linger on in the aftertaste, which is rather pleasant as opposed to the harsh notes as seen in other whiskies, like the Talisker in this tasting. Food pairing wise, we found that the soft cheddar brought out the sweet notes, while the smoked cheddar brought out the spicy pepper notes. 7/10 for this whisky, and I would love to explore more from Oban.
Scapa
This distillery claims to be one of the few manually operated ones left, requiring it to be manned 24/7 to keep an eye on everything. No peat is used to dry their grain, meaning that their whiskies are sweet and tropical. Any leftover grains from the mashing are also fed to the local cow population, ensuring nothing is wasted. They only use two stills for their distilling whiskies, one of which is barrel shaped with a wide, tall neck, and the only one left that is still in use of its kind. This particular type of still produces a fruitier new spirit (this is what ends up in the barrels to age). The liquid is then aged in american oak casks, that give it vanilla flavours. Their range includes 10, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18 year old bottles, all with flavours of tropical fruits, apples, toffee, vanilla and spice.
We brought back a bottle of Scapa Orcadian that is delicately scented with floral notes with a hint of fresh pear, sweet and fruity pineapple notes and citrus. On the palate, the distillery notes claim notes of ripe honeydew melon, fruity pear and sherbet lemon. Once we tased it, we got notes of orange and milk chocolate on the nose, with flavours of peach, apricot, honey, orange and salt on the palate. It does not linger much after swallowing, although the aftertaste is very sweet and pleasant. Salty cheddar cheese would bring out those sweet notes even more. 7.5/10 for this whisky.
Old Pulteney
Established in 1826 at the height of Wick’s herring boom, Old Pulteney is one of the northernmost distilleries on the mainland UK. The distillery had to close when Wick became a dry town in 1930 for the next 25 years, not reopening until 1951, when demand for whisky in post war Europe increased. After changes in ownership and developments in the process of treating grain throughout the 1950s and into 1990s, Old Pulteney 12 year old is released internationally, going on to be well received and winning various awards. The shape of their stills have also gone on to inspire the shape of their whisky bottles, producing a more fragrant whiskey. Their core range consists of 5 different kinds ranging from 12 years, through to 15, 18 and 25 years old. Each of these introduce different levels of sweetness and spice, with some briny notes. Their oldest whisky dates from 1983 and they also release various limited edition traveller bottles.
The bottle we brought back with us was the 12 year old one with notes of brine on the nose with the taste of vanilla, citrus, brine and honey. When we tasted it, notes of burnt dark chocolate on the nose immediately stuck out. Inhaling the scent while writing the post, I got further notes of brine and seaweed. On the palate, the whisky is immediately sweet and salty akin to salted caramel, closely followed by a light spiciness that lingers at the back of the throat. The smoky cheddar kills any notes of spiciness, bringing out the sweetness of the whisky. The salami on the other hand brought out the spicy notes minus any sweetness, which was not very pleasant on the palate as there was no balance. We decided to give that one 7.5/10.
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