What to drinkPUBLISHED: 05 Jul 2012 00:46:29 | UPDATED: 06 Jul 2012 00:04:20PUBLISHED: 06 Jul 2012 PRINT EDITION: 06 Jul 2012
Talisker 10-year-old [Skye, Scotland]
Struck flinty, crystallised candy characters with a caramelised creme brulee sniff about it. Sweet-waxy, honey-glazed tasting, becoming long, malty and nutty. A fabulous slippery texture. 95/100, 9/10, $70-75.
Sweet amontillado-oloroso sherry oak character, wheatiness and purity of the malt in this. There’s fruit loaf adding complexity. The aromas are echoed in the mouth and resonate off a rich palate. 95/100, 9/10, $80-85.
Caol Ila 12-year-old [Islay, Scotland]
This doesn’t smell especially old but who cares when you get wafts of gorse and icy rockpool brininess floating in the building peatiness. Herbal type tastes staked on a shapely rounded palate. Finishes with salivating oyster brininess. 94/100, 9/10, $100-120.
Out of 100 = empiric rating. Out of 10 = hedonic or how much I like it.
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