I’ve fallen further behind on the posts, but again, it’s okay. I’ll just keep this going into August and make up the time there. Before August arrives, let’s talk about whiskeys.
Let me preface this by saying that I’m grossly unqualified to talk about whiskeys. There are a few that I like, and there are qualities in various whiskeys that I’m able to latch on to and identify as something I enjoy, but I don’t feel like I have the experience or the vocabulary to do most whiskeys justice. I’m a fifty-year-old whiskey novice. Ask me to talk about writing and I can bend your ear for hours. Ask me to write something about alcohol and you’re only going to get about a page and a half.
My favorite, go-to whiskey is a single malt scotch called Grangestone.
Quick note: I have decided to take the 9 whiskeys in my house and sample them for this blog post so that I would have fresh experiences to draw from. I’m streaming this as I do it, so if anyone wants to see my get slightly inebriated as I do this, they’re welcome to join the fun. As I write this, there is no one else in the chat, but I feel better with the idea that someone could show up, and then I’m not sitting in my office on a Thursday night drinking alone.
This first sample is my go-to, and it is a 21 year old Grangestone. Single malt. The container doesn’t say anything about how it was aged or what casks were used. The tin says, “… it embodies the style, flavor, and heritage of the HIGHLAND REGION. Complex & smooth with mellow VANILLA & HONEY notes and hints of spice & fresh fruit.”
When I smell it, I get the sense of a campfire, which I’ve always associated and enjoyed with my favorites. Drinking it, there is the alcohol fuminess that is inescapable as it coats my tongue, but that’s followed by more of that smoky campfire sensation I enjoy in the smell, and maybe something sweet in the aftertaste. It is completely inoffensive to me.
My next sample is an unremarkable Grangestone, as it doesn’t give an age, but simply says “aged to perfection.” This small bottle came in a sampler, I believe, and the bottle has more to say on how it was aged. Apparently, double maturation. Stage one in white oak. Stage two in bourbon oak casks. So it is bourbon cask finished. I’m guessing from googling that this is a 6 year old. It is also single malt. I don’t remember enjoying this one very much, but we’ll sample it tonight and see.
The scent of it is much sweeter than the first Grangestone, and while there is campfire notes in the fragrance, it is much more subdued. The alcohol sharpness that I have never grown fond of is stronger in this first taste. The aftertaste is not nearly as pleasant as the first Grangestone. It finishes very bitter. This is not my favorite. If I’d saved it for last in these samplings, I might have enjoyed it more because I’d be more inebriated.
The next sample is Jameson. A blended Irish whiskey. I think everyone knows Jameson, so I’ll just go straight to the sample and record my impression.
It smells a little like vanilla, to me. I really like vanilla, so this is very pleasant. The sharp slap of the alcoholic fumes is not as loud as the last sample, but still there. I get a sense of spice and warmth as it coats my tongue. There is still more of that hint of vanilla, though it’s not as strong as what I could smell in the glass. The aftertaste is a little on the bitter side, but not entirely unpleasant. I enjoyed this Jameson more than I remember enjoying it before.
Next up: Shieldaig, an 18-year-old single malt scotch. The bottle also says “speyside” on it. I don’t know if that’s a place or if it means something about the whiskey itself, and I’m too lazy right now to google it.
The smell is not encouraging, as I’m mostly getting acetone in my nose. Under that there might be a sense of subtle sweetness. Drinking it, I get more of the acetone. At the front end was a little bit of spice that lit up parts of my tongue that the other samples haven’t touched yet. The aftertaste was much hotter, almost burning the back of my throat. As I’m typing this, I can feel it like an ember in my stomach.
Fifth sample: The Balvenie. It is a double wood, aged 12 years, sing malt scotch. I think the Jameson might be the only whiskey in our house that isn’t a scotch. According to the bottle, The Balvenie acquires its unique characteristics from being aged in two different types of oak cask.
The smell is very gentle with regards to the fumes. My best words to describe it is “clean and sweet.” I had high hopes for sipping it, but it mostly hit me with the acetone, and I didn’t find the aftertaste particularly remarkable. I guess that’s why we’ve had The Balvenie for as long as we have. I don’t remember buying it, and I don’t see it getting consumed any time soon.
Sixth sample: The Glenrothes, which comes in a very humble bottle that looks a bit like a simplified version of the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. It is a speyside single malt scotch, bourbon cask reserve. The very simple presentation of the bottle sets my expectations lower than others.
Bringing the glass to my, I can barely smell anything with this one. Drinking it… good lord. It has all the characteristics of sipping a bottle of fingernail remover. More of the sense of burning in the aftertaste. I did not enjoy this one.
Moving on to sample 7: Craigellachie. Another speyside single malt scotch. I looked it up, finally: speyside refers to where the scotch was distilled. Cool. This one says it is 13 years old. A wee teenager.
After this many samples, I’m wondering if my sense of smell is diminished, as again, I’m getting very little from the glass when I put it to my nose. The taste on this one is fascinating. It is spicier than the previous samples, with notes of pepper. The aftertaste is warm and a little bitter, but not terribly so. My pours have started to get a little bit heavier, so I’m wondering if I’m getting more forgiving as I go. I’m starting to feel a little bit of the effects.
Eighth sample: The GlenDronach Port Wood. Another single malt scotch. No age given on the tin or on the bottle. The bottle does say it was enriched in port pipes in Portugal. I don’t know if this means anything, but the scotch is a darker color than the other samples.
I’m able to smell this one. The trouble is, I’m having difficulty putting what I can smell into words. The descriptor I gave before of “clean” is appropriate here, but maybe it’s “clean and spicy.” The spice might be leftover from the Craigellachie. Except I couldn’t smell that one very much. I don’t know.
I didn’t enjoy the flavor of this one. It tasted sour, and spoiled, and a little bit like burned rubber. The acetone aspect of the drink gave it an impression of someone trying to clean up a nasty spill. The after taste was unremarkable. Still a little bit sour at the end. For a moment, I thought it was going to taste a little bit like a savory bread, but then it turned and went to the dark side.
The final sample: Glenmorangie Signet. Another Highland single malt scotch whiskey. I don’t have the age or anything else on it. This is the bottle that Melissa gave me for Christmas many years ago, and I set aside until I had the excellent publishing news I was waiting for. I got to open this when I learned that The Repossessed Ghost was getting published, and at Baycon, I had the opportunity to share it with my publisher. He and Michael Gallowglas have both given it extremely high marks.
The scent is very light. It has some of the campfire scent that I really enjoy in the earlier Grangestone. Tasting it, I get a lot of spiciness like I received from the Craigellachie, though without the hints of pepper. It finishes with strong acetone, but by that time, it’s just warmth going down my throat and into my belly. The acetone dissolves into a second helping of subtle spice, and maybe a hint of that campfire that I enjoy.
That’s 9 different whiskeys. There are three that stand out to me: Grangestone 21, Craigellachie, and Glenmorangie Signet. It occurs to me that there is Jack Daniels and an unremarkable rye in the house, too, but I don’t think I need to review those.
This turned out to be longer than a page and a half. Thanks, Michael Gallowglas, for giving me this topic.