Whisky, Coffee, and Other Adventures

Wonder is a central tenet in our content. We want to share a personal experience that is colourful and delightful, contextual and somewhat profound. We strive to maintain a balanced sense of perspective in an ever-changing, often negative world. For us, experiencing the world evokes emotions and memories, a sense of self and of place. This blog is a reflection of that experience.

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Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Distillery Edition Single Malt Scotch Whisky

A Well-Executed but Short-Lived Glenfiddich Cask Strength Offering

I was tentative in approaching the Glenfiddich 15YO Distillery Edition because the Solera version is so well-loved. Thankfully, it keeps many of its promises, pulling me to a world of flavour so light that its mist disappears with the sun. 

Immediately, I recognize the easy aromas that make this such a great entry into the world of Scotch. On the nose is varnish, dressed in lemon skin and enmeshed in dried and dark fruit, particularly raisins. There is a hint of fresh strawberries as I pull the glass away, invigorating freshness that eventually blossoms like a well-aired flower shop. It takes me further still into the country, where short grasses sway under the large, watchful leaves of large trees. I’m surrounded by the smell of newly cut wood, muddled by the play of waxy crayons, before nectarines ripen on the branches, a little tart but still honey-sweet. As I move further into the glass, the whisky serves a large slice of Madeira cake --thick, moist, and spongy. This heavy flavour overhangs the easy, welcoming aroma of butterscotch candy.

The smell is whimsical and light; amazingly, its taste is a mature expression of these smells. After that short time outdoors, it brings me to a kitchen where I’m stuffing my face with bready, milk cookies, the vanilla radial as it swoops out with sweetness and spice. Pepper and raisins swirl on the palate, again touched by refreshing green apples and two flavours of wood, light and dry like kindling. I’m still very much in the comfort of a home, hints of fresh laundry sitting in a cupboard for a week and unloading the promise of sleep in the air. On the deep exhale, there is a dash of iodine and smoke, and then a crowd of nuts.

Despite the bustle of flavour, I don’t notice its ABV of 51% in the slightest, nor is there any lingering oiliness to smack my lips against. I wish there was more length and density to this; like any good memory, it should linger in the way the aforementioned flavours deserve. Instead, this well-conceived tableau disappears like paint that’s too thinly applied. It is incredibly easy to drink, but disappointment overshadows a story that is far too linear and short. I find myself wanting more! In fact, I was under the impression for months now that what I had tasted was the non-Distillery Edition until I looked at the tasting bottle labels from SMWhisky more closely. For its great taste but uncomplicated, too-safe execution, I give it a 6.5 out of 10.

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Lagavulin 16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

The Smoky Lagavulin Crowd Pleaser

The Lagavulin 16YO on the nose is the promise of a long, leisurely drive by the coast, the rubber tires of a new car spinning against warm asphalt. My head is out the window, taking in a bright, marshy aroma as wetlands flank us on one side, and the cloudy ocean on the other. There is only a little wood in this drink and it is richer, with underlying dark chocolate that breaks down into slithers of plastic. 

On the taste, it’s as though we’ve finally found a good spot to get out of the car and sit by the sea. A bonfire has been lit in stark daylight, drawing all heat to itself as the day turns colder, crisper. It is comfortingly, subtly sweet, and the plastic from the nose drifts past the back of the tongue and forward with a lazy trance of honey. The flavour sits on the tongue like a treasured memory –childhood laughter brought to relief, chasing away my world-weariness –a reminder that these years and decades on can be just as bright as the days of my youth. This reminder matures with a very long and very pleasant tobacco aftertaste, cleaved every now and then by the tang of dried wood. This feels very much like wading in the shallows of the ocean; the wood floats away and slowly I’m aware that the brine is distinct, drying the mouth with a thin layer of iodine. 

It’s that gentle introduction to Islay whiskies, more reckless with its sweetness. I’d enjoy this dram once or twice a week, clocking in at a less aggressive 8 out of 10. This is a lot of whisky for what I usually pay, which for certain specials at a local bottle shop can be below $90 AUD. It’s a wonderful representative of Islay classic malts, readily available in Melbourne, and the best introduction to peatier stuff! 

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Lagavulin 8 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

An Off-Centre Lagavulin with Incredible Finesse

On the nose, the Lagavulin 8YO is refreshingly coastal, seaweed maturing to sweet and pungent kippery as it sits longer in the glass. Visiting it two more times summons the engine oil and wood-smoke that build an image of day-time drives along the coast of the Mornington Peninsula. The windows are open, sunlight peeking through the clouds every now and then, while deafening motorcycles overtake on the narrow roads. It is also the cusp of spring, freshly cut grass and mildly scented flowers staining the air. With water, the freshness blossoms into fruit, apples and citrus tumbling onto the sidewalk.

On the taste, it shows its hand in a structured reveal, impressively varied, sourcing a deck that’s been shuffled to give me the perfect game. With water, the wood-smoke drives the flavours forward, while the engine oil slows to a sweet, plastic version that Kris recognises as vanilla and bubblegum. The coast is in the background, breathing salt into the room through a large window, light dabs of savoury smoke from seafood grilled on a far-away beach. 

Peppery sweetness dashes the tongue when I drink this neat, the exhale spotted with cumin. Its aftertaste is long and satisfying, tendrils of smoke weaving tirelessly as it stretches time, before crumpling into the addiction of wet paper, Kris recognising this as earthiness and wood. 

This is a complex whisky without being fatiguing, just as engaging as its 16YO cousin and even more affordable. It is also incredibly fun, just like a tabletop game with friends. I give this exceptional Lagavulin 8YO an 8 out of 10! 

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Glendronach 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Everything We Absolutely Adore in a Sherry-Matured Whisky

When I first tasted this, it was a sample from SMWhisky of a 2018 bottling. On the nose, this possesses a subtle expression of sweetness and spice, the aromas wafting past the glass and skirting into almost-smoke. It has that older grace, which I’ve been tempted to call unremarkable. However, just like lost treasure covered in soot, the years flush over one’s tongue, burnishing into gold as the whisky lingers. That first taste evolves and impresses with flavours that practise incredible restraint across the different settings of its simple but engaging plot.

Raisin and rum pour in with strong flavours, splashed with a single imprint of lemon. As the taste lingers, spreading like the first blush of warm weather, hazelnuts roll forward and fresh grass follows shortly after –that glorious vibrancy we get as we arrive at the warmer parts of spring. The grassy outdoors fade into the vivid examination of a filled canvas in an enclosed room, awash with paint and intensified by acid drops. 

Just like a master’s painting of a sun-bathed landscape, the Glendronach 18 Year Old is incredibly coherent and warm. The entire drink just makes sense and in the many instances I’ve felt lost through a seemingly endless Melbourne lockdown, a dram of this never failed to centre me. It reads like a great book, enjoyable at every page, ready to be opened once finished to be read yet again. It’s the comfort and defense of an enjoyable habit, to use as a buffer when the world becomes hostile and unfamiliar. 

I’d pour myself a glass of this incredible nectar every night if I could, if it wasn’t already overpriced given the recent demand. I give this a very solid 9 out of 10. 

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Ledaig 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

An Underrated, Blinding Success from the Isle of Mull

When I smelled the Ledaig 10YO both in its crowded container and then in a bigger glass, I knew that Kris and I were both going to like it, a definite first on our journey! Practising balance across a small number of distinguishable aromas, the sea here is calm and welcoming, an embrace that spritzes with faint iodine like a newly shucked oyster, bacon at the seams of salty brine.

There’s a hint of something floral, and then one is clothed in delightful, warm leather, as though relaxing in a dimly lit, luxuriously comfortable den furnished with aromatic hardwood. 

The taste is just as simple, but infinitely charming. It goes down smoothly, a warm and untroubled sea diluted to perfection. Delicate salt is dusted across the tongue, transforming at the finish to a very long note of prickling pepper. With a bit of water, the flavour of nuts stutters forward, and then slight rubber extends into abiding smoke, folds and unfolds on the tongue even minutes after I’ve swallowed. There is no confusion to this drink, only quiet confidence that reassures and then sweetens as its memory lingers well after I’ve emptied my glass.

I love that it hooked us in gently, bursting at the seams with its long finish, its comparable balance, and with an unexpected richness especially for a whisky at its price range. I am so, so happy to have been introduced to it, and even happier to enjoy it with Kris over the Melbourne lockdown. I rate this an 8.5 –and would even bump it up to a 9 for sheer value –out of 10.

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Aberlour A’bunadh (Batch 66) Single Malt Scotch Whisky

 A Sherry-matured Whisky at Cask Strength for Great Value

The very first time I tasted an A’bunadh, my taste buds hadn’t gotten over the proverbial “wall” needed to enjoy high ABV drinks. Vaguely, I knew that it was good despite being painfully alcohol forward. I hadn’t expected the sheer immensity of a cask strength Aberlour. This bottle brought with it an intriguing blend of less than 10 year old to greater than 15 year old whiskies matured in oak sherry Oloroso butts. It’s only been this year –after having tasted more than a dozen other whiskies –that I’m able to fully appreciate why this is popular with everyone.

The A’bunadh (Batch 66) is the promise of effervescent laughter at the dinner table, the enjoyable apprehension before opening gifts, the fleeting and precious warmth of companionship and love when surrounded by friends or family you’d have to part with after the holidays. 

On the nose, it reminds me of fruit cake sliced on a large, wooden table –the hard wood polished by dozens of hands from many generations –laden with black cherries and ripe apples. Intense vanilla and honey waft from a newly opened oven, a warm sponge cake joining the feast. 

Kris recognises the quick pleasures of newly burnt creme brulee –cream and caramelised sugar. On the taste, the revelry continues, louder this time with a shout of varnish –strong alcohol giving way to even more cake and vanilla as water softens the blow. It reveals the warming tableau of revelers sitting back after a sumptuous meal, keen on conversation and dessert. 

When taken neat, the sugar sharpens and the burn is peppery toffee, lengthening to a medium-long, woody finish. Later, this oak-wide flavour tapers to the dry sweetness of grapes and then the bitterness of fresh grass.This is a favourite for many reasons. The Aberlour 12YO was the first whisky I ever liked and this is the cask strength expression of the intense magic which goes into the 12YO. It’s an exceptional drink to be enjoyed as a dessert whisky while loved ones open gifts to the background of pealing, infectious laughter. Just like friendships that last for years, it opens and deepens the longer it breathes in the bottle and in the glass. 

I give the A’bunadh a happy 8 out of 10. It’s been described as Christmas in a bottle and Batch 66 is a splendid whisky to open for similar, special occasions.

[whiskyaway]

First whisky post! Talisker 10 Year Old Whisky Review

This is an old-time favourite, a staple from Scotland. We pour a classic from the sea, and Skye!

The start of another round of lockdown, the impending deadline of a large project, and the general unpredictability of the next few years had me in a pretty bad mood. I wasn’t up for the simple comfort of the Jameson and busted out the Talisker 10YO, hoping that the gamble I made when I bought it without tasting would pay off.  It didn’t disappoint and my spirits lifted!

It has traces of all our favourites. The smell is a steady seduction, large notes of seaweed and iodine offset by the savoury smell of glazed ham and subtle smoke. I’m happily stranded on an island of cliffs, surrounded by choppy waters, the breeze warm on my face and the day a little overcast. As the glass sits, the ocean becomes more immediate, turning pungent like seaweed left to dry on the sand with subtle notes of wood and vanilla promising sweetness.

The taste is a fulfillment of that promise and the sip enchants with consistent, warm satisfaction. The sweetness of fresh fruits are a constant flourish, delivering savoury notes that become a calming haze of sea spray. There is a hint of cooked mushrooms –Kris recognizes it as umami flavour –and it tickles the back of the throat long after the swallow. The finish is cereal-like, transporting a long train of wood and smoke through a land covered by sea water. We don’t need to add water or ice to the Talisker 10 and could only ever have it neat. As it sits for minutes on the dining table, the landscape matures. Flavours become sharper –the valleys of sweetness deepen, the peat rises, the sea calls like a siren. 

It reminds me of a milder version of the Ledaig 10YO, a welcome ghost of the Lagavulin 16YO, and would serve as a great introduction to peatier whiskies. Also, it’s priced well enough to be a staple in my cabinet without hurting my wallet. For this, I score it a very solid 8 out of 10. This has become a quick favourite for us because of its easy introduction, consistent delivery, and deft grace. Hopefully, I enjoy the rest of the bottle, because I’ve definitely grabbed more for my whisky cabinet! 

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Whisky+Away is moving! Tumblr here we come!

Here we are on Tumblr, instead of hosting on our own site, a far less stressful way to blog and share. I’ll be posting a wider variety of things than in the original whiskyaway blog, including our (my partner and my) love of coffee, sport, art, health (both mental and physical) and other adventures. I’ve been on Tumblr for longer than I can remember, so what what better place than here to post about hobbies and other random things?

I wax poetic and take photos of my experiences --whether it’s whisky, coffee, biking, football, or any number of things I take delight in. I’d love to share through this blog, with wonder as a central tenet, to share personal experiences that evoke colour, delight, and maybe something profound. Balance is foremost in a world that always changes. This blog is an expression of what evokes emotion and memory, a sense of self and of place.

I can only hope to inspire, linger on favourites, and encourage anyone on the journey to try new things!