Tag Archives: Fruity

All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Balvenie, Cold Winter, Takin' It Easy

Balvenie 17yr Madeira Cask – Like a sexy cougar, you come to me

Speyside – 43%ABV – 750ml – $95 – $140 (another HUGE spread!) | £64 | €75

I have been a huge fan of madeiras for some time. Madeira, ports, nice hearty dessert wine…

I loves me a port finished dram but never had a madeira one.

Initial whiff — Spiced dried fruit (imagine a fruity pot pourri), big grapes (not like sherry.  Sorry sherry heads, this is MUCH better than a sherry bomb (I.E. A’bunadh) for me), honeyed oakiness and a side of Kim Chee. Yes, there’s a slight sour & spicy cabbage smell here that I get upon the 3rd whiff. Somehow, it works and it’s nice.

On the mouth — The nose tells you what you’re going to get. I like that. The spice is pronounced here. Grapey but not overly so. It’s chewy too, almost like a spiced gum drop (an orange one, much like the High West Rendezvous Rye I tasted the other day – there’s a little citrus here).

Finish — Honeyed oak with a long spicey vanilla type deliciousness.

In sum — One thing I’d say is, as nice as this drop is, it would benefit from from a higher abv, perhaps 46%? Just to add to the spice,  maybe add a bit more bite…  I liken this dram to a sexy 40 something cougar. Voluptuous, sensual, spicey. This dram knows what it wants and it wants you to drink it. Seductive. Dare I say, even more so than the 21yr portwood. This dram is a hot MILF (Did I just say that?! Yes, yes I did).

Cold Winter, Glenmorangie, Need To Bundle Up, Refreshed, Summertime

Glenmorangie “Traditional”

Highlands region – 57.2%ABV – cask strength – 1 liter bottle – Not sold in the US – £71 | €82

Holy cow! This liquid proves you do not need to be a smokey/peaty whisky to be a manly whisky.

Initial whiff — This thing punched me right in the face with a handful of oak, cloves and more spirit than the “holy ghost”

On the mouth — Fruity, cherries (tons of them, the maraschino type), vanilla, oak and some unexpected, albeit a slight amount of, smoke??

Finish — Long, spicy, burny, fruity. This is a “should not have had this on lunch” type of dram. Big fan!

In sum — A great effort on behalf of the Sixteen Men of Tain.  I think I liked this more than the Astar.  Someday I’d like to do a side by side; the Traditional vs. the Astar to see if I’d make the same statement again.