Sandy's Impression of the 2017 Whisky Advent Calendar

Yippie -I am caught up - doing the 13th on the 13th! Nose: Wow- for 46% abv -very strong alcohol - but not overpowering - then - wood and gentle smoke,a touch of peat, followed by green grass and a touch of bitterness, something like red grapes, a few almonds Colour: Clear, light gold Palate: Starts with subtle fruit, then you get some musky wood and smoke notes, a bit of orange peel on the finish, with a smooth woody finish the tapers off nicely to a sweet note Very nice. I like this alot. What happens with a tbsp of water: Nose: Green grass, Smoke, Peat,grape Palate: A touch of caramel, the fruit and sweet fruit, a bit of smoke and peat (just a touch of salt/kelp), still get that touch of citrus, and a smooth woody finish. Gosh, this is tough. I really like this whisky - but the one I have listed so far as also all really good. Where do we end up? 2017-12-11 Samaroli - Samaroli Islay Blended Malt 2017-12-05 Secret Spirits Caol Ila 8yo Single Malt 2017-12-06 Samaroli ...

Still one day behind, so tasting this on the 13th Nose: Apple, green grass, a tiny bit of caramel, some Ketones, for 63.4% abv whisky, the alcohol bite is not bad, some woody notes, a well integrated complex nose Colour: Light gold, almost like apple juice Palate: Apple, Caramel, a touch of well integrated bitterness, smooth finish where the apple lingers, a very slight touch of wood I like this. Smooth and complex. I think the tbsp of water will do well with this whisky Nose: Not much change really - still  apple, green grass, caramel, a touch of ketones, mild woody notes, and remains well integrated Palate:  The fruit comes forward, the bitterness changes to a tart acidic yummy middle note, with that bit of apple that lingers on your tongue, a touch of sweetness on the finish that was not there until the water was added. This is really nice. I think it needs to into the top 5. The question is where - this is a well integrated whisky which shows the beginning of th...

Catching up! Today is the 12th, so still one day behind. Nose: Smoke, peat, oak, toasted nuts, a touch of liquorice, smooth,complex Palate: Smoke, peat,effervescence, liquorice,complex,smooth I forgot to note the colour.The alcohol is 43% -but the tbsp of water gets tried Nose: some of the ketones come forward in the nose, sweet apple, smoke, peat Palate:  rich smoky peat, oak, blended sweet fruit including apple, smooth woody finish. This is my favourite so far. Very rich and complex. I am torn - I almost want to go to a top 6 - but - I am going to stay with 5 - at the end of 25 days - let's get a list of what I think is the top 20% 2017-12-11Samaroli - Samaroli Islay Blended Mal 2017-12-05 Secret Spirits Caol Ila 8yo Single Malt 2017-12-06 Samaroli Glenallachie 8yo Single Malt 2012-12-10 The Lost Distillery Jerico Archivist Blended Malt 2017-12-07 Ainneamh The Malt 12 yo Blended Malt Links Samaroli The Singlemalting review

Still running two days behind!Actually tasting this on the 12th. Nose: Nice - caramel, toasted nuts, Green grass, bit of strawberry Colour: Dark gold, crystal clear Palate: Fruit forward, caramel, very smooth I like this quite a bit. At 46% abv, not sure what a tbsp of water will do. Let's find out Nose: Smooths out the caramel, still get the toasted nuts, and some sweet fruit - nice - just a touch of  smoke Palate: Brings the caramel forward, fruit in the middle, a touch of bitter wood on the finish - very nice I like this alot. It seems complex, yet stays smooth.The fruit, nuts and caramel on the nose are very nice; and the palate is smooth and complex. This needs to get slotted in to the top 4. Darn - this is when it gets tough, I think this is open to debate. I would say it was: 2017-12-05 Secret Spirits Caol Ila 8yo Single Malt 2017-12-06 Samaroli Glenallachie 8yo Single Malt 2012-12-10 The Lost Distillery Jerico Archivist Blended Malt 2017-12-07 Ainneamh T...

I did not get to this until the 11th - but better late than never! Nose: Green Grass, Plum, the 54.5% abv adds a strong alcohol note, but the sweet plum comes through nicely, a bit of musk Colour: Clear, golden tone Palate: Yikes - the first attempt at a sip was a fail - the high alcohol made me cough! O second try, the touch of musk from the nose, the plum is clear, a bit of a bitter bite on the finish - I think this is the high alcohol A tbsp of water Nose: After sipping at full strength,my nose seems a bit dead, I still get a touch of plum, with nice musk on the finish, but that is about it. After waiting a minute of two, nose comes back - and the plum and musk is what I get Palate:Much smoother, needed to cut that alcohol, a bit of plum, some musk Frankly, I am not a fan. Lets see what happens in a few minutes. Ok, as I continue to smooth out from the initial overdose, I get a touch of honey, and this generally smoothes out. But - I am still not a fan. My top 4 remain:...

Nose: Apple, the 54% abv gives it an alcohol bite, a touch of pepper, green grass, almost a touch of mint Colour: Very clear, medium gold Palate:  Sweet apple, pear,  A tbsp of water Nose: backs of the alcohol, apple, a touch of flowers, a hint of woody smoke Palate: Apple, A bit of oak on the finish,  This whisky is just fine. But - frankly - it does not impress me. I just get mostly sweetish apple - nothing much complex about this. I will be happy to finish it - it is fairly tasty. But - my top 4 from yesterday remains unchanged: 2017-12-05 Secret Spirits Caol Ila 8yo Single Malt 2017-12-06 Samaroli Glenallachie 8yo Single Malt 2017-12-07 Ainneamh The Malt 12 yo Blended Malt 2017-12-04 The Lost Distillery Dalaruan Classic Blended Malt Scotch Whisky As I continue sipping while I write this review, my impression of the whisky continues to improve. It has a very nice finish and I start to pick up some complex caramels. Very nice. Links ...

Nose: A touch of smoke/peat, cherry, green grass, a bit of lemon Colour: A nice rich gold, with just a touch of haze -no chill filter or colour - so very natural Palate: the cherry is more like apple, nice bit of peat and smoke in the middle, a touch of wood on the finish So far, I like this. The alcohol is 40% abv. Lets see what a tbsp of water does Nose: Sweet fruit forward, smoke, peat, wood Palate: Very smooth, apple and cherry, peat on the finish I like this very much. It  behaves like a nice blended malt whisky should. As I keep sipping and nosing, I start to get a bit more complexity than I did initially. Before today, the top three were: 2017-12-05 Secret Spirits Caol Ila 8yo Single Malt 2017-12-06 Samaroli Glenallachie 8yo Single Malt 2017-12-04 The Lost Distillery Dalaruan Classic Blended Malt Scotch Whisky It is tough to rate exactly when not back to back (back to back presents another set of problems - depending on the number of whiskies). This has goo...