Amrut Kadhambam

Amrut Kadhambam

Official bottling
Single malt - Bangalore
Amber
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, pears, red grapes, chocolate, orange peel, hints of chillies. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, thickens slightly, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Brown paper, red grapes, chocolate, raisins, hints of raspberry jam. 
Finish: Long. Brown paper, red grapes, raisins, hints of toast. 

Comments: 

Kadhambam means 'mixture' apparently. This is a mixture of peated and unpeated Amrut, but it's fair to say that the sherry influence of the cask has overpowered most of the peat. Besides a hint of toast in the finish, it's all jammy, chocolatey sherry notes. This is good stuff though.

Verdict:

I like this.

Ma1

Ma1

Elements of Islay, Specialty Drinks
Single malt - Islay
Golden
54.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, apricots, cookie dough, vanilla, tangerines, hints of peat. With water, applesauce, pink peppercorns. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loose, airy, slightly fizzy. 
Tasting:  Sour. Burning leaves, apricots, tangerines, lemon zest, hints of vanilla. With water, pink peppercorns, applesauce, tangerine marmalade. 
Finish: Long. Burning leaves, tangerine marmalade, peat, lemon zest, vanilla. 

Comments: 

Margadale, which Ma stands for, is apparently what we call peated Bunnahabhain. This wasn't too peaty though, gentle hints of burning leaves maybe. That note overlays jammy fruit, with touches of vanilla, and with water, turns slightly peppery and spicy.

Verdict:

I like this.

Ledaig 18 yo 1997/2016

Ledaig 18 yo 1997/2016

Celebration of the Cask, Carn Mor
Single malt - Islands
Light gold
55.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, raisins, chocolate, maraschino cherries, ink, panko breadcrumbs. With water, oranges, caramel, cherry jam. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, oily, sticky, syrupy . 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Peat, cherry brandy, ink, chocolate, iron filings. With water, cherry jam, candied oranges. 
Finish: Medium. Chocolate, cherry brandy, ink, hints of coffee. 

Comments: 

Cherry bomb! This tastes like ginja, the Portuguese cherry brandy. There are only a few whiskies that taste like that. I'm lucky to have found this one. It's metallic and inky on the tongue, with floral notes of maraschino. Delicious, turns jammy with water.

Cask #643023.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Teerenpeli 10 yo

Teerenpeli 10 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Southern Finland
Gold, tinge of green
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon zest, chocolate, grapefruits, cream, malted grains, hints of cotton sheets. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens slightly, oily, slightly sticky. 
Tasting:  Salty sour . Chocolate, cotton sheets, grapefruits, white grapes, rolled oats, hints of peanuts. 
Finish: Medium. White grapes, rolled oats, vanilla, lemon zest. 

Comments: 

It's taken me a while to get round to another one of these, from Southern Finland. This is an older expression. It's tart and slightly sticky, complementing those sour notes with a comforting veil of freshly laundered cotton sheets, even a tad cardboardy (but in a good way). Plenty of tart fruits on the tongue and the finish.

Verdict:

I like this.

Smögen 3 yo 2011/2015 (Cask 20/2011)

Smögen 3 yo 2011/2015 (Cask 20/2011)

Official bottling
Single malt - Bohuslän
Golden
60.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, smoke, blueberries, toffee, vanilla, hints of orange peel. With water, lemon zest, stewed apples, blueberries.
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens, oily, warming. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Orange peel, chocolate, toffee, vanilla fudge, peat, hints of stewed apples. With water, sweeter, chocolate, salt caramel, blueberries. 
Finish: Long. Stewed apples, vanilla, tamarind, hints of lemon zest. 

Comments: 

Oof. This is pretty uncompromising, and to tell you the truth I wasn't looking forward to it. But it's quite good, with notes of orange peel and blueberries wreathed through with smoke. Quite a sour finish though.

Verdict:

I like this.