Michel Couvreur 12yo (43%, bottle #52293)

Appearance:
Light honey

Nose:
Strong butter with hints of toffee and honey.

Palate:
The same as the nose.

Finish:
The finish lingers a bit, with the honey intensifying greatly before the taste fades.

Comment:
This one has an interesting story. The single malt scotch is purchased by a Frenchman and then placed in burgundy casks and aged in the same caves as the wines.

Grade: A-

Caol Ila 18yo (43%)

Appearance:

Pale gold.

Nose:

Smoke and peat. Adding a few drops of water dramatically reduces the quality of the nose.

Palate:

The peat and smoke come through clearly in this very smooth scotch with buttery undertones. A few drops of water made this scotch markedly sweater and reduced the smokiness. The buttery undertones also intensified.

Finish:
The peat lingers for several minutes. With water, the buttery taste lingers as well.

Comment:

I've learned one lesson tonight - do not sully this spectacular scotch with even the smallest amount of water.

Grade: A

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey (Batch #6, 47%, Distilled 10-6-04)

Appearance:

Rich gold.

Nose:

Buttery, almost caramel.

Palate:

The same rich, buttery flavor comes through, in the initial palate, but adding a few drops of water unleashes a burst of sweetness and adds a creamy dimension to the whiskey.

Finish:
The finish lingers pleasantly with hints of vanilla coming through.

Comment:

I wasn't overly enthusiastic with any American whiskey when compared to European counterparts, but Stranahan's has changed my mind. I'm really looking forward to the 2005 bottling and hopefully a visit to the distillery during my next trip to Denver.

Grade: A

The Glenlivet Nadurra 16yr (2006,Batch 0606A,57.2%)

Appearance:

Light gold.

Nose:

Honey & fruits (possibly pear). With water, distinctly more biscuity.

Palate:

Fiercely alcoholic with hints of smoke. With water a more floral flavor with the smoke almost completely dissipated.

Finish:
Only the alcohol induced warmth last initially but with the addition of some water, the mild biscuit flavors linger for almost a minute.

Comment:

While this is only the second cask strength scotch I've tried, I found it more approachable then the Macallen cask strength. Overall a very enjoyable drink on a frigid Minnesota night.

Grade: B+

Talisker 10yo (45.8%)

Appearance: Liquid clings like glue, producing legs which descend at medium pace.

Nose: Divine medley of seaweed, iodine, peat smoke, iron oxide, and stewed peaches. Nutty sherry beneath it all. Light scents of fresh biscuits.

Palate: Slightly grainy and well-rounded but firm. Soft, clean oak profile. Elegant peach fruitiness immediately mirrors that of the rich smokiness. Swift undertow of sharp salt and licorice. Peppery alcohol lends a fiery glow while complementing the campfire smoke and understated tarriness. Deep rooted seaweed struggles upward through the blanket of peat. Deeply smoked, but there's plenty of fruitiness to enhance it. Distinctly peppery. Medicinal characteristics numb the palate.

Finish: Of course the peat smoke lingers for an eternity, as nutty sherry and iodine provide additional complexity.

Comment: There's a stunning assortment of complexity in this dram, and what fun it is to explore the depths each and every time. An exceptional whisky.

Site Changes

I made a few changes to the layout yesterday, mostly to the graphics (or lack thereof) and fonts. Let me know if anything's hideous or if something doesn't appear correctly for you. I also stuck the "Topics" on the sidebar so that we wouldn't have to scroll to the bottom to find a specific post and shortened the number of posts appearing on the page, so that scrolling all the way down wouldn't be such a pain.

Also, I know I've probably missed adding some really good websites to our resource section below. If you have any that aren't on there, go ahead and add them and indicate whether it's a retail or information website.