Single Malt Scotch Tasters of
Chapter I
Tasting Notes - 2003 Home
| Color: | Dark rich mahogany doorway. |
| Nose: | Sweet, complex, sea salt with clean notes of sweet cream, heather, and citrus. |
| Flavor: | Quite complex, smokey and sweet with touches of licorice, chocolate, vanilla and spice. |
| Finish: | A magnificent long complex embrace that lasts and lingers on. Hints of anise, spice, and oak. |
| Brief Comment: | An ode to the seductive mysteries of it's tradition. One of the greats. |
| Score: | 93 |
Highland Park Bicentenary,
(40 %ABV)
| Color: | Light mahogany with highlights of gold, honey, and amber. |
| Nose: | Distinct light vanilla with clean citrus, oak, smoke, and caramel notes. |
| Flavor: | Mild vanilla sweetness with smooth spicy hints of peat smoke. |
| Finish: | Non aggressive, quite long, and smooth . Vaporous sweet lime and spice. |
| Brief Comment: | A hearty substantial taste of Orkney. Wonderfully smooth. |
| Score: | 88 |
| Color: | Light honey, pale golden straw |
| Nose: | Hints of sweet vanilla and remote elusive peat |
| Flavor: | Smooth with touches of sweet honey and vanilla |
| Finish: | Short and fruity with aspects of spice and vanilla |
| Brief Comment: | Very drinkable lowland, but the least of the Classic Malts |
| Score: | 76 |
Banff 23 (Silent Stills)
54.5%ABV
| Color: | Pale straw with aspects of hay, tea, and Chardonnay |
| Nose: | Sweet citrus, fruity, floral and clean with hints of nuts, baked cookies, and buttery caramel |
| Flavor: | Quite sweet, creamy, and herbal. Hints of citrus |
| Finish: | Sweet and of medium length |
| Brief Comment: | Very good----------sweetest scotch ever |
| Score: | 81 |
| Color: | Pale golden straw with hints of honey |
| Nose: | Peat, smoke, and salt with strong aspects of citrus fruit |
| Flavor: | Smokey, smooth, and oaky ---- a taste with a narrow character |
| Finish: | Smooth and lingering but not much character comes through |
| Brief Comment: | They range from "a great one" to "disappointing" |
| Score: | 77 |
| Color: | Sunlight influenced golden amber and straw |
| Nose: | A clean floral lightly smoked lemon with traces of creamy spicy fruit. |
| Flavor: | Feathery on the tongue smoke, peat, spice. Complex but not well defined. |
| Finish: | Medium length with traces of sweet spicy heather contrasted with a bit of oily bitterness |
| Brief Comment: | An enjoyable smooth complex malt, but does not compare with the great Island malts. |
| Score: | 85 (June, 04, 03) |
| Color: | Amber with highlights of gold and honey |
| Nose: | Sweet, oaky, and fruity caramel having aspects of eucaliptian peat and faint elusive smoke. |
| Flavor: | Exceptionally sweet and creamy with a distinct light smokey and salty touch. Hint of vanilla. |
| Finish: | Of medium length, with smooth, mellow, and spicy overtones. Focused but not ennobling. |
| Brief Comment: | An classy quite palatable malt, but light on inspiration or striking elements. |
| Score: | 83 |
| Color: | Light golden honey and straw with aspects of dusky pale amber. |
| Nose: | Markedly sweet creamy citrus and vanilla with faint evasive touches of honey, taffy, and sea breezes. |
| Flavor: | A very clean sweet vanilla with aspects of creamy light salt. Incisive but round. |
| Finish: | Quite long and lingering with soft characteristics of smooth cream, citrus, and fruit.. |
| Score: | 84 |
| Color: | Warm radiant golden amber with honey highlights. |
| Nose: | Sweet buttery smoke with hints of clean smooth fruit . |
| Flavor: | Complex full rich round oak with creamy hints of peat, smoke, and aspects of salt and sweet. |
| Finish: | Keeps original tang exceptionally long and then gently recedes, creamy sweet. Smooth, smooth, and smooth. |
| Brief Comment: | Unique --- striking --- confirmation of the greatness of the Balvenie distillery. |
| Score: | 90 |
| Color: | Very dark mahogany with tones of maple syrup and coffee |
| Nose: | Pungent sweet caramel, with aspects of butter, raisins, alcohol, and burnt cork |
| Flavor: | Sweet complex chocolate, aggressive, striking but eventually smooth, touch of toffee and molasses. |
| Finish: | Forever, long, burning, spicy, sweet. powerful, abruptly diminishing pain. |
| Brief Comment: | They range from "One of my favorites" to "The most unbalanced Scotch we've tasted". |
| Score: | 81 |
| Note: | Of all the whiskies the SMSToR has tasted to date, the club was most divided on this whisky, as evidenced by the range of scores and comments. |
| Color: | Left out because this is a vatted whisky. |
| Nose: | as above |
| Flavor: | as above |
| Finish: | as above |
| Brief Comment: | Manos: Light and
sweet like a desert scotch. Not much nose and not much value for the money.
Enjoyable, but not distinctive. Phillip: Sharp bite - not rich or complex - but has a focused , very "alcoholic " punch. Scott: A fine drink with some smoke and character - the greatest blend of all time, but I will stick to single malts. $100 overpriced. Raj: Man, what a sweet smell. It also has a sweeter taste ---- smooth. Try drinking water just after and it is sweet. Great one. Tony: Very smooth and drinkable, but not worth the price. Gunne: A smooth dram but not distinctive. Overpriced. Leonard: I probably would not order it, but I would not turn it down. Bruce: A grand whisky, but it isn't the same as a great malt. Overpriced. Bob: Not much personality. I'd drink it but would not buy it. Paul: I wasn't knocked out. Very good, but not a good bang for the buck. |
| Score: | 79 |