The end is near and I’ve been gathering at least some points over the last few days. Before that it was utter crap when I finally got to a half decent position. The scores on average are a little bit higher than they were last year, so everybody has a bit more points. Does this mean we’re getting better at this or are the chosen whiskies less obscure?

Sniff:

Glenmorangie 15, 56.1%

Lots of vanilla cream and custard. Wood and alcohol, but there’s something fresh in the background too. Nutmeg, ginger and other spices and herbs. Lots of bourbon influence and I even think I can taste the bourbon corn sweetness in there. Autumnal with fallen leaves as well, with pepper and caramel kicking in a bit later.

Sip:
Lots of pepper and that bourbon sweetness again. Autumn leaves, vanilla and sweet juicy pears. Very warm, very tasty. Sweet honey and some beeswax.

Swallow:
It quickly smoothes out but does have a sharp edge to it. It’s just not as burning as you’d expect from some cask strength whiskies. Honey deserts, baklava en very, very late there’s a hint of lemon. The beeswax is there again too.

Greta Garbo

What I picked up on was the waxy bit and that sent me towards Clynelish. The rest of the profile fit that distillery as well, although it is one of the most inconsistent ones I know. I missed the herbal note that, in hindsight, is present with mint and such. That would have made it a bit more clear I guess.

It turned out to be another SMWS bottle, a Glenmorangie this time. It’s called Greta Garbo, but I don’t know why exactly. I put in the Whiskyman’s Clynelish, 15 years old, 53.5%. I knew I didn’t pick the exact correct one, since the alcohol was too low so in the end I felt kind of dumb for not scoring more points… It would have been in the margin though.