Penny for Your Thoughts - Bunnahabhain Ceobanach, Craigellachie 13, BenRiach 16 Sauternes, Talisker
I've fallen behind badly on samples from recent trades, and made an effort to catch up this weekend by trying out some of my backlog (which consists of at least 30-odd samples, so you can rest assured that I'm not short of whiskies to review).
Bunnahabhain Ceobanach (46.3% ABV) - Well, this may be the winner for hardest to pronounce name in the scotch world. A cursory Google search yields the meaning of the name: "smoky mist," a fitting appellation for one of this distillery's few peated expressions (an unusual distinction among Islay's whisky makers). Based on this sample, Bunnahabhain's choice to go unpeated for their main line really is a choice, not a lack of ability. Wow, this scotch is a dead ringer for Ardbeg 10 on the nose: smoke, clay, and lemon cakes. There's something in here that's similar to Caol Ila 12 as well, although with the sweetness dialed down. On the palate, a strong bite of smoke, followed by that salty, briny, spicy combination that calls to mind grilled shrimp drizzled with lemon. The finish is comparatively mild, medium in length, and again features a pleasant mixture of smoke, herbal peat, chives or some other grassy note, and citrus. It's Ardbeg 10 by any other name. Or is it Ardbeg's own doppelganger, Kilchoman Machir Bay? Close call, close enough not to matter much. It's more expensive, at $70-80, so I don't see a clear reason to prefer it over its brothers from another mother (twin-bill from another still?). I'll knock it down a half-grade for the higher cost. B+
Craigellachie 13 (46%) - For some reason, people associate the word "meaty" with this scotch from Speyside. I'm not sure what that means, as this dram does not exhibit any of the savory notes that I find in some sherry-aged Islay single malts. This is actually a fragrant, aromatic scotch, at least to me. The aromas are enticing: pear, white peach, some salinity, and hay. Maybe some young, unripe apples too. This whisky exhibits first-rate texture on the palate, with attractive thickness and viscosity. Perhaps it's that rich, full nature that people describe as "meaty" -- if scotches were soups, this one would be a chowder. The palate features oatmeal, whole grains sprinkled with sugar, and that cornucopia of fruit. If anything, there's some sharp citric acid supplementing that complexity. The finish balances out cream, smoke like a brulee, and apple again, almost as if this was a mildly peated scotch. This scotch also features generous doses of pine and oak; this is a whisky that acts its age. There's something bitter or somewhat off-putting at the end, which is the main flaw. Nonetheless, if you can find this for under $50, it's a pretty strong value. B+
BenRiach 16 Sauternes (46%) - I'm a fan of this distillery, at least based on the two bottlings I've had so far. This single malt is aged for 16 years and then finished in Sauternes casks, Sauternes being a style of white, dessert wine. This scotch puzzles me a little bit. I smell a lot of fresh saplings, snapped in half, along with some Riesling, and gravel. To describe it in the best light, it's a vineyard after a fitful spring rain. But it's a hard scent to pull out of the glass, and at times manifests as a watery, faintly sweet echo of its best self. Then there's a wonderful harmony of flavors of ripe orchard fruit, tannic wood, and toasted malt. It's not overly sweet, which is an achievement in a wine-finished whisky. If anything, it hews a little bit too far on the side of bitterness, and it finishes like a dry white wine. Unlike the spectacular BenRiach 18 Albariza, I'm pretty sure this expression is not peated at all. Given how well BenRiach's distillate takes to some moderate peating, I suspect it would have been to this expression's benefit to up the smoke level a little. At or around a pricey $100 a bottle, I wouldn't classify this as a must-have scotch. B
Talisker Dark Storm (45.8%) - This review basically could be condensed down into a cross-reference to my prior review of Talisker Storm, with the caveat that this whisky has more assertive notes of barbecue smoke, sweet caramel, and chili pepper. I tried this in an airport duty-free shop, which is the main place that you can find this travel retail exclusive. Compared to Storm, Dark Storm strikes its notes with more power and clarity, which makes it the better pick in my book. It's surprising that two scotches bottled at the same ABV and aged using similar techniques (apparently the main difference is a higher char level for this expression) could differ so much in perceived strength. Blind, I would have guessed this was an amped-up, 50% ABV version of Storm. It's also reasonably priced at something like $70-75 per liter, so this might be the rare travel exclusive that's worth picking up. A-