Links: Whisky ranking
Chivas Regal 12 vs Mackmyra Första Utgåvan: Chivas slightly darker. Mackmyra has a quite non-typical whisky aroma, a bit grappa-like. Chivas very mild and subtle aroma. Also tasting Mackmyra is an unusual experience, quite fruity (again like grappa) with some vanilla. Chivas would just have to bring some standard mellow speyside flavours to the glas to win, but chivas really disappoints, very little flavour and quite much pure alcohol feeling. So anyone who didnt want a whisky in the first place might prefer Chivas, but I taste with the idea that I appreciate both whisky and flavour, and I think Mackmyra is better.
Highland Park Cask Strength vs Redbreast 12: Redbreast slightly darker (after adding not so little water to HP). HP rather dry, malty aroma, not very peated. Redbreast has a sweet vanilla aroma. I taste Redbreast and it is like a soft and balanced bourbon. HP is more sour, even peated. I like the HP, but I think Redbreast is not only easier to drink but also a step better.
Highland Park 18 vs Tobermory 12: HP is a bit more dark and red, Tobermory a bit more light brown. Tobermory has not so little vanilla on the nose, soft sweet and balanced. Highland Park is not so different, a bit more rich and floral. Tobermory has a fresh kind of salty vanilla and caramel flavour, soft and very balanced. HP is more peated, more sophisticated but less accessible. Back to Tobermory, it is really easy to drink and enjoy, perhaps a bit too (sweet and soft) much so. I think I can say that for the whisky enthusiast HP is the more rewarding whisky and I give victory to HP, but Tobermory is damn tasty.
Arran Quarter Cask vs Ballantines 17: Arran is paler, even before I add water. Ballantines has a light, dry, malty classic aroma. Arran is sweeter in a more unusual way, a bit spicey or like punch. Back to Ballantines it is the more subtle whisky on the nose. I taste Ballantines and it is quite simple, straight, not sweet but quite flawless. Arran is more caramel and honey, and a bit only that. Back to Ballantines it still holds and it lingers nice and soft. Arran is more odd. I prefer Ballantines.
Bushmills 12 vs Svensk Whisky för Ukraina: Bushmills is darker, more red and amber. Ukraina is quite sweet on the nose, some bourbon, and a bit raw/young. Bushmills is softer, more subtle. Back to Ukraina it is also a bit salty. I taste Bushmills and the taste impresses more than the smell, soft, caramel and in lingers nicely. Ukraina, almost peated just before I drink it, quite complex, quite young and a bit unrefined. Back to Bushmills, no new impressions but it is still very nice after the more powerful Ukraina. This is quite close, Ukraina is more interesting but it also has less of an identity (it is a blend of 9 distilleries), Bushmills is very well produced and easy to like. I prefer Bushmills.
Springbank 9 Local Barley vs Springbank 11 Madeira: Local Barley is paler, both are cask strength. Local Barley is fresh and malty, Madeira is obviously more fruity and sweet. I add water to both. I taste Local Barley and find it salty, a bit peated, warming, lingering, very nice. I taste Madeira and it has a more common fortified wine matured flavour, that hides much of what I find in Local Barley (if it was there at all). You may or may not like Local Barley, but tonight I find it a fantastic whisky and Madeira can not compete.
Glenlivet 18 vs Springbank 11 Madeira: Glenlivet a bit darker. On the nose, the difference is not that big so it is not so easy. Glenlivet is a bit more subtle and balanced, a bit more Speyside nut and caramel. Springbank has an obvious and sweet origin. Tasting Glenlivet it is surprisingly fruity. Very balanced and soft, with the maltiness more in the finish. Madeira is a more sharp, short flavour with more questionable oily finish. Glenlivet wins.
Glenmorangie 18 vs Glenmorangie 19: 18YO slightly darker. On the nose 18YO is a bit more fruity sweet and 19YO more classic speyside character. They are similar, caramel, nutty and no dirt, leather or peat at all. Tasting is same conclusion, 18YO is slightly sweeter and 19YO a bit more dry and malty. However 19YO is more even and lingers longer in a nice way. So it is a narrow but clear victory to 19YO.
Glenlivet 18 vs Glenmorangie 18: Glenlivet is darker, with a malty nose. Glenmorangie is more caramel. Glenlivet is quite dry, a bit salty on the nose. Glenmorangie is more sweet, with a caramel and nut finish. I can appreciate a more dry and salty whisky, but Glenmorangie is very good and the way it lingers makes a difference.
Dufftown 18 vs Springbank 18: Similar color. Dufftown quite light, fresh, slightly fruity aroma. Springbank is more oily, dirty, leather. Dufftown has a very ordinary typical whisky flavour, unfortunately a bit alcohol flavour in the finish. Springbank is heavier, with oil and leather and it is quite soft. But it kind of tastes old in a not so good way, and hints of sulpur. I add water to both, more to the stronger Springbank. Dufftown is ok but boring, like I would want to remember a decent blend. Springbank got softer with water and it has a richer flavour than Dufftown, but a bit bitter. I kind of have to say that Springbank is the better whisky, but I can see myself choosing the Dufftown for something easier to enjoy.
Highland Park 18 vs Springbank 18: HP a bit darker, with a lighter fresher and fruitier nose. Springbank smells like a horse. Tasting HP it is a bit salty, rather fresh, soft and balanced. Springbank tastes dirty, almost like something is wrong with it, and a bit of sulphur in the end. I will drink more of both but HP wins.
Glenfarclas 12 vs Glenrothes 12: Quite similar color, I think Glenrothes is slightly more dark and brown. Glenfarclas is very dry on the nose, a bit of alcohol smell, some fine maltiness too. Glenrothes is more sweet, but not in the sherry way, but more as strange oiliness from the distillery process. Both smell a bit suspicious to me. Tasting Glenfarclas, it is dry, salty and malty and that is good, and it kind of tastes more than it smells. Tasting Glenrothes it tastes a bit sweet blend, quite short finish, and it kind of tastes less that it smells. The base of Glenfarclas is nice, but there is a pure alcohol flavour that makes it through. For Glenrothes, those alcohols tastes like other things than ethanol, more unclean. Glenrothes tastes like I imagine people who don’t usually drink or like whisky experience drinking whisky. I prefer Glenfarclas.
Deanston 12 vs Mackmyra Reserve Förlagrat Refill Gravity: Deanston is darker. Mackmyra has quite much bourbon aroma, a bit in the Irish way. Deanston at first seems more dull, quite malty. Waiting a bit Deanston also is quite much bourbon and malt, back to Mackmyra it smells candy. Tasting Deanston, this is an excellent non-peated malt, it tastes like grain and casks, just what you would expect to come out of a whisky distillery, and soft lingering flavour. Mackmyra is ok, but very many flavours that do not quite match or fit, quite chemical. Deanston wins.
Deanston 18 vs Mortlach 20: Mortlach a bit darker. Deanston has a complex spicy malty nose. Mortlach a bit sweeter and more oily. I taste Deanston and find it quite dry, balanced, malty. Mortlach is a bit sweeter, which comes with some bitterness, and at least initially it reveals less complexity. Back to Deanston it has a hint of some funny chemical scent I cant describe, and it is a lighter whisky than Mortlach. Not so easy to pick a winner, I think Mortlach is more solid.
Bowmore 12 vs Ileach: Bowmore a bit darker with a less peated nose. Bowmore has a more complex aroma, quite balanced for a peated whisky, with some maltiness and after a while not so little bourbon. Ileach is more only peat, hints of candy and a bit chemical. Tasting both is kind of the same experience. I have not been so impressed with Bowmore 12 before, but this time it tastes very nice, being not so peated so other flavours come through. Ileach is a cheap peate Islay, not much more. Bowmore wins.
Ledaig 10 vs Ledaig Rioja: Not so surprisingly Rioja is a bit darker. I dont seem to fell much peat today, at least not in my nose. 10YO has a dry and quite fresh nose. Rioja is more sweet and heavy. I taste Rioja, it is probably cask strength (my sample bottle does not tell), and it is definitely a peated whisky. Some overwhelming sourness at this ABV. Adding some water makes it a bit softer, but the peat and the wine gives a sourness and also what I think of as sulphur. Standard 10YO does not have this sourness and it is more malty, getting used to the peat I can feel the bourbon cask flavour. I enjoy 10YO quite much, and Rioja not at all.
Ledaig Rioja vs Port Charlotte 2003-2015 Sherry: Rioja really looks pale reddish! Port Charlotte has this sulphur nose, I add water right away, and it gets a bit better. PC is more powerful on the nose still, with a raw sweet aroma. Rioja a bit fruitier. I find these two hard to describe. I taste PC and since I added enough water the sulphur is kind of gone, and it tastes quite decent. More sulphur in Rioja so I add more water to that one too. Both being rather watered down both are quite drinkable, not very enjoyable. Rioja is the milder one, PC still has quite much sherry character, if that is a good thing. I think PC wins, because it has more flavour, is more complex and it probably tastes a bit better to properly watered down.
Ledaig Rioja vs Longrow 14 Sherry: Rioja is pink, Longrow has a classic amber color. No water, Ledaig has a fruitier aroma, Longrow a more raw sweetness. Still no water, Tasting Longrow, the flavour of fatty old margarine dominates. Rioja without water is better, the flavours I pick out are not very whisky-typical, I think of some pink Gin Tonic (and that would have been nicer). I add not so little water to both. Ledaig is now thinner, less sulphur. Longrow has a very nice flavour at first, without the sulphur, and then comes the sulphur. More water to Longrow and it becomes quite complex, soft soft and interesting. Ledaig, hopeless.
Deanston 15 Organic vs Glenrothes 12: Deanston is more pale, with a light aroma, more alcohol than whisky. Glenrothes has more classic bourbon notes with caramel and vanilla. Deanston is a bit dry, not exactly soft, some sweetness. Glenrothes also in the mouth quite sweet with bourbon and caramel flavours. If this was a blind tasting I would have thought Deanston was younger than Glenrothes. I add some water to Deanston and it softens up a little and has some complexity, some bitterness. Deanston is drinkable, but it is hard to find anything to enjoy, Glenrothes at least has a soft bourbon flavour. Glenrothes wins.
Glenrothes 12 vs Knob Creek 9: Knob Creek is darker and stronger so I add water. Quite similar bourbon aroma, Knob Creek is obviously heavier and more bourbon. Glenrothes is a bit half/half (bourbon/scotch) on the nose. I taste Knob Creek, so much flavour, almost overwhelming. Quite nice bourbon flavour, not the perfume I feared, and it lingers warm in the mouth. Glenrothes is, less sweet and more bitter. And while Knob Creek is a bourbon with bells and whistle, Glenrothes is no bourbon. But Glenrothes qualities of being a scotch are not very convincing. Knob Creek is crisp and clear and loud. Glenrothes is numb and dumbed down, losing.
Bowmore small batch vs Laphroaig 10: Laphroaig a bit darker. Bowmore is a bit more peated, but that is kind of it. Laphoaig is softer with both more balance and complexity. Bowmore stands up good, but Laphroaig wins.
Bunnahabhain Staoisha vs Laphroaig 10: Quite similar color. On the nose Laphroaig is a bit more mellow, malt, caramel. Bunnahabhain has this more fruity and sour hint of sherry cask. I have added a bit of water to Bunnahabhain and it has an immediately surprisingly fruity aroma, after that classic peat, and it all fades away quite quickly leaving nothing bad. Laphroaig is more sea, iodine, medicine. Back to Bunnahabhain it is apart from fruity a bit burnt and bitter. Back to Laphroaig it is obvious that this is a quite even game where the winner may be about pure preference. I find the more classic (non-sherry) Laphroaig more pleasant.
Glen Moray Peated vs Ledaig Rioja: Ledaig is copper coloured while Glen Moray is classic golden. Glen Moray has a simple fresh peated nose, more grain than sea and salt. Rioja, I would way it actually smells a bit of red wine, less peat than Glen Moray. Back to Glen Moray it is a bit raw wood. I taste Ledaig, it is stronger than I prefer, it is wine-sour, and there is some sulphur in there. Glen Moray is really thin, watery in the mouth, with a thin whisky flavour as base and some peat on top – I must consider if my sample bottle has gone bad. Over again to Rioja with water, it is softer and more balanced, definitely red wine, not quite my cup of tea but I can kind of enjoy it. Glen Moray tastes like a very young whisky. Ledaig wins.
Glenmorangie 18 vs Mortlach 13 (2021 Special Release): Glenmorangie is darker, with a soft caramel bourbon vanilla aroma. Mortlach is more like white wine on the nose, some maltiness and bourbon in the background, but a more powerful aroma than Glenmorangie. Tasting is similar, Glenmorangie har a very nice soft sweet caramel and (not so little) bourbon flavour, tasting very well engineered. Mortlach is interesting in that it has no peat, no sherry and (almost) no bourbon flavours, not much cask flavours at all I would say. Yet it is full of flavour, dry, fruity almost sparkling. It is possible to prefer either of these fine whiskies. I think Mortlach is both the more interesting and the better tasting whisky.
Glenrothes 12 vs Motörhead: Glenrothes is paler, more yellow. Motörhead is red ripe fruit sweet on the nose. Glenrothes is more malty, more chemical, a bit more bourbon and arguably the one with more powerful aroma. I taste Motörhead and it is fruity sweet, also a bit fruity sour, not much classic whisky flavour. I taste Glenrothes and I have this chemical feeling of a crude destillation, gives me the feeling of a cheap blend, but it has more flavour than that. I find Glenrothes more sour than sweet, and the best I can say is that I find some bourbon notes there. Motörhead barely tastes like a whisky but I find it marginally nicer than Glenrothes to drink.
Bunnahabhain Staoisha vs Hven Tycho’s Star: Very similar color. Bunnahabhain has a fairly light peated aroma. Hven is more oily or heavy on the nose, but less peated. Bunnahabhain is a bit lite fire smoke, Hven more like something burnt in the bottom of a pot. I taste Hven, it is quite light, definitely peated, slightly burnt, nothing bad. I taste Bunnahabhain and it is saltier, more iodine and sea, it lingers much longer. Back to Hven, not much peat now, a bit sweetish. Back to Bunnahabhain, complex, quite balanced. Hven is ok, but Bunnahabhain is much better.
Bunnahabhain 8 Heavily Peated vs Bunnahabhain Staoisha: Staoisha is darker and more red in color, and more smoky on the nose, like fresh burnt wood and fire. Heavily Peated more smells like an old library, closet or attic. I taste Heavily Peated and it is soft and complex with the peat very integrated in the experience. Staoicha is more raw (probably stronger) and not quite so balanced. I prefer Heavily Peated.
Bunnahabhain Staoisha vs Mackmyra Svensk Ek Extra Rök: Both cask strength, Mackmyra is more dark and red, and it is also a bit more powerful on the nose. Both are a bit sweet and raw (young) burnt wood, but Mackmyra is more over the top. I taste Bunnahabhain and it has a nice peat and a nice sweetness, but it lacks complexity and it is not so interesting. Mackmyra is sweeter, more so than peated, and the sweetness come with a strange chemical flavour, like getting into a brand new car or something. Back to Bunnahabhain it is more classic and conservative and now when I go to Mackmyra it is very obvious that Bunnahabhain is better.
Ardbeg 10 vs Bowmore 1999 Bourbon Hand Filled: Ardbeg is much paler, and on the nose more dry. Bowmore aroma a bit more wood and some sweetness. Ardbeg in the mouth, complex, rough, almost everything you can wish from Islay. Bowmore has a lot of citrus, orange, quite different from Ardbeg. Back to Ardbeg, it is more bitter and burnt than the sweeter Bowmore. After a slight break I am back finishing Bowmore first and Ardbeg second. I would say these are very equal in quality yet different in character. I would say Ardbeg wins.
Bushmills 12 vs Writers Tears: Bushmills is darker, a bit sweeter, more bourbon and fruitier on the nose. Writers Tears is more spicy. Writers Tears is quite fresh and light, yet a bit oily, kind of creamy and spicy. Bushmills has more sherry flavour, both sweeter and a bit more bitter. Writers Tears is very easy to drink. Those who prefer sherry flavour will prefer Bushmills, I am not particular sherry fan and I appreciated Writers Tears for what I feel is a quite natural flavour. Writers Tears wins.
Nikka Coffey Malt vs Writers Tears: Nikka a bit paler. Nikka is more creamy and spicy on the nose, Writers tears a bit more bourbon. Tasting Nikka it is rather dry, Writers Tears a bit more sweet and a bit more bourbon. Back to Nikka it has somr. odd chemical flavours. Both are soft whiskies, easy to drink, I think I find Writers Tears a bit more complex and tasty.
Macallan 12 Sherry Oak Cask vs Writers Tears: Writers Tears is more milkish and yellow, Macallan is more reddish. Macallan has a fruity, obviously sherry but not so dominant, aroma. Writers tears is more dry, not malty, but sweet (I know, dry and sweet shoul d be opposites). Macallan tastes good, it is balanced, soft, a bit sweet, fruity, but there is something slightly off about the flavour that I do not like. Writers tears is more straight (a bit stronger), less complexity. There is something fake about Macallan to me, Writers Tears has a bit more attitude, is simpler, but I think it tastes better.
Longrow 11 Red vs Longrow 13 Red: 11YO is more red or dark orange, 13YO is more classic sherry color. 11YO is not particularly peated, a bit raw and some bourbon. 13YO is more peated, more sulphur, less fruity. I add a little water to both and find 11YO quite straight and balanced, with a salty almost rusty raw flavour. 13YO is more sour and more sweet, a bigger flavour. They are quite similar. If I really liked the flavour 13YO is the better whisky, but I think the 13YO is a bit too much, and thus 11YO becomes easier for me. Back to 11YO it is quite sour in a not very fresh way. More complexity in 13YO, I have to prefer 13YO.
Longrow 11 Red vs Longrow 14 Sherry: Red has a more red/orange color and a sweeter aroma with more fruity wine notes. Sherry is more raw and perhaps salty. I taste Sherry and it is nice first, but with not so little sulphur coming. Red is more neutral, if that is possible. I add more water to both. These are pretty unique and quite similar whiskies, I can understand people value them highly, but in my mouth they are not very tasty. I prefer the more straight and less sulphur 11YO Red.
Longrow 11 Red vs Deanston 9 Oloroso: Longrow is more red, almost pink. Deanston has a fresh aroma, balanced mix of bourbon and sherry. Longrow is more raw and salt. I taste Deanston and find it quite creamy and balanced. Longrow is a more complex and rough experience, but now compared to Deanston I feel the sulphur. I prefer the smooth Deanston.
Macallan 12 Sherry Oak vs Mortlach 12: Macallan is darker. Mortlach has a very fresh fruity aroma. Macallan is a bit thicker and sweeter. Mortlach on the other hand is more malty. Tasting Mortlach it is rather light and fresh, with some sweetness, and it lingers nicely. Macallan has this to me artifical sweetness that is a bit unfresh and also a bit bitter. Mortlach wins.
Longrow 11 Red vs Writers Tears: I add a little water to Longrow and it is still more red. WT has a creamy aroma, LR is definitely peated. After a while LR is leaning towards sulphur, WT towards bourbon. I taste WT and find it sweet with a honey flavour. Longrow is more sour and raw, some bitterness lingering. I give more water to both, especially LR. WT is now softer, not an amazing flavour but not bad either, easy to drink. Longrow got too much water. Longrow is obviously more interesting and challenging, but I think I would prefer a Writers Tears on most occations.
Longrow 11 Red vs Macallan 12 Sherry Oak: Macallan more brown, Longrow more red/pink. Macallan has an aroma of (overly) mature sweet fruits. Longrow is more raw and rough. Macallan has a soft fruity flavour, not fresh but rather ripe. Longrow is saltier, with a hint of sulphur. I dont particularly like Macallan, but I prefer it to Longrow.
Bowmore Small Batch vs Mackmyra Extra Rök Svensk Ek: Bowmore is much paler, with a light almost citrus and peat aroma. Mackmyra is more oily, heavier, sweeter and more smoke than peat. Bowmore is surprisingly thin and subtle in comparison and Mackmyra even if it is a bit odd tastes quite nice. Mackmyra wins.
Deanston Oloroso Finish (9Y) vs Linkwood 13 Oloroso (Cask Viking): Linkwood a little paler, more bourbon than sherry on the nose, nice! Deanston is more sweet fruity. I taste both cask strength, that is nothing for me, and I add water to both. Linkwood has a clean, straight flavour. My sample bottle says 1st fill Oloroso and I can not believe it. Deanston is sweeter, thicker, richer, a hint of sulphur. I add more water to Linkwood to see if it reveals more. Unfortunately quite not. I find Linkwood a bit flat, a bit bitter. Deanston is not perfect, but it is better in most ways.
Glenfarclas 12 vs Linkwood 13 Oloroso (Cask Viking): Glenfarclas is paler, but as I add water to Linkwood the difference disappears. Glenfarclas has a dry, spicy aroma. Linkwood is softer, slightly sweeter, more fruit-candy. Glenfarclas kind of tastes a bit roasted (not peated). Linkwood, some bitter slightly artifical caramel flavour. I like Glenfarclas better.
Deanston 15 Organic vs Linkwood 13 Oloroso (Cask Viking): Deanton is the palest, with a subtle nose, at best. Linkwood has a soft creamy nose. Deanston has a dry malty thin flavour. Linkwood has more sweetness to it, and is softer. Linkwood wins.
Bushmills 10 vs Linkwood 13 Oloroso (Cask Viking): Linkwood a bit darker. Bushmills smells a bit of dry hay or weed. Linkwood is more caramel and lighter. Bushmills is soft, slightly salty, some complexity, balanced and a bit nutty finish. Linkwood is more sharp, less soft and complex. Overall it is more pleasant to drink Bushmills.
Hudson Baby Bourbon vs Linkwood 13 Oloroso (Cask Viking): Hudson much darker. Hudston has a strong spicy bourbon aroma, quite raw. Linkwood is more sublte, a bit waxy. Hudson, quite classic bourbon flavour, and against a bourbon Linkwood has a quite classic scotch flavour, more balanced and less powerful. Unless you have a particular disliking for bourbon I think Hudson is better. Much more flavours, and I think it is as easy to drink as well.
Johnny Walker White Walker vs Linkwood 13 Oloroso (Cask Viking): Linkwood is darker. Now I feel the subtle Oloroso origin in Linkwood, and white walker has more of a chemical aroma. Tasting white walker it is surprisingly sweet, quite smooth, a bit like punch, and not so little bourbon-flavour. Linkwood is more like single malt, a bit more wood-raw. I prefer Johnny Walker, if I have to drink any of them.
Bunnahabhain 12 vs Bunnahabhain 12 CS (2021 Edition): CS slightly darker, at least until I add water. Regular 12 has a rich mellow aroma with bourbon. CS, still no water, a bit more chemical and less bourbon. I add some water and my impression remains. I taste CS first (with water – I like it that way) and it is quite crisp, some chemical flavours, some bourbon, reasonably complex, not very soft. Regular Bunnahabhain tastes more bourbon, is a bit lighter (but it could be because it is more watered down), more soft, but perhaps less flavour and complexity. I have to say they are quite similar, but not the same. A regular 12YO I expect very many casks to go into the mix and with a “2021 Edition” fewer casks are mixed, meaning the regular 12YO has its edges and corners softened for good and for bad. Tasting these two whiskies, this many-casks vs fewer-casks is exactly what I think I taste (it is easy when I know what I am tasting). If I just want a tasty drink I would not pay extra for the 12 CS, and I would probably choose the Regular 12 even at the same price. That said, a special edition is always interesting, and there are those who much prefer a cask strength whisky. To me Regular 12YO wins.
Bergslagen Two Hearts vs Bunnahabhain 12 CS (2021 Edition): Bergslagen slightly darker, with a more rough aroma. Bunnahabhain is more bourbon on the nose. I taste Bergslagen and it is quite complex, somewhat balanced, a bit on the sour side and not so soft. Bunnahabhain is soft and smooth, more refined. I prefer Bunnahabhain.
Bunnahabhain 12 CS (2021 Edition) vs Macallan Fine Oak: Bunnahabhain slightly paler. Macallan has a quite wine-like aroma with sherry influences. Bunnahabhain is is more raw, dry and bourbon. Tasting both gives me an impression in line with what I felt with my nose. Quite similar quality, Macallan is perhaps slightly lighter but also more complex, and the easier whisky to drink. Close victory to Macallan.
Aberfeldy 16 vs Bunnahabhain 12 CS (2021 Edition): Aberfeldy a bit paler, and with a softer, lighter very classic speyside aroma. Bunnahabhain a bit more burnt and rough. I taste Aberfeldy and it is soft and balanced, also lingering nicely. Bunnahabhain is more burnt and bitter, with a bit more character. I prefer Aberfeldy after all.
Glenrothes 12 vs Johnny Walker White Walker: JW is paler and with a more creamy and smooth aroma. Glenrothes is more sour, chemical. JW is more subtle on the nose, and tasting it, kind of a honey flavour. Glenrothes is a bit more sharp and bitter, but also more fully bodied. I was leaning both ways, but then I realise that JW tastes like nail polish remover. I prefer Glenrothes.
Glenrothes 12 vs Jameson: Glenrothes is darker, with a sweet aroma, a bit bourbon and a bit fruit. Jameson is very subtle on the nose, at least it is soft. I taste Jameson and it has a nice soft flavour, classic whisky, not so sweet as I could have guessed of an Irish whiskey, some caramel and nuts. Glenrothes has more flavour, more burnt, a bit bitter and some bourbon and sherry notes I think. Back to Jameson, it is a bit chemical. If you are looking for subtle and soft Jameson is a good option, but I think Glenrothes is a better whisky.
Glenmorangie 18 vs Old Pulteney 18: Same color. Old Pulteney is light, dry, fresh malty with some caramel. Glenmorangie is more sweet, hints of sherry but not so much. Tasting Old Pulteney is good, kind of what I expected. Glenmorangie is a bit sweet, it does not quite take off, a bit bitter, I prefer Old Pulteney.
Bushmills 21 vs Springbank 9 Local Barley: My ranking list requires med to compare these two whiskies, and very unsurprisingly I found Springbank much paler. Bushmills has a rich soft fruity aroma, still whisky. Springbank at first smells quite peated, a bit sour, quite dry and a bit chemical. Tasting Bushmills it is almost flowery, soft but still with a mild kick at 40%. Springbank comes cask strength so I have watered it down, it is pure, not soft but quite balanced, full of flavour, and I water it down a little more. The target audience is obviously not the same and many people would pick a winner just on the character. I think both whiskies have a clear idea what they want to be, and both get quite close to a perfect whisky of that type. That said, I think Springbank gets its message through better, it is more distinct, more uncompromising, more confident.
Bunnahabhain 12 CS (2021 Edition) vs Deanston Kentucky Cask Matured: Deanston is much paler, with a honey vanilla aroma. Bunnahabhain (with some water already) is a bit mora salty, raw, dry. These are actually rather similar on the nose. Tasting Deanston it is quite light, nice creamy bourbon and honey flavour, a bit chemical finish. Bunnahabhain is more burnt, more powerul, more flavour but not as soft. I add more water to it. Back to Deanston it is not a bit dominated by some nail polish remover flavour. Bunnahabhain is the more stable choice.
Deanston Kentucky Cask Matured vs Highland Park Valfather: Deanston much paler. Highland Park has a heavier slightly peated aroma. Deanston has a nice light bourbon and honey aroma, but the aroma is a bit too light and becomes a bit chemical. I don’t find much more when I taste these two whiskies, Valfather is not so complex and balanced, after tasting it I dont feel Deanston is so chemical any more. I could pick any winner, but I think I prefer Deanston.
Glenrothes 12 vs TX Texas Straight Bourbon: Glenrothes is a bit paler and more brownish. TX has a pure vanilla bourbon aroma, Glenrothes definitely has bourbon traces but it is a also less sweet, more bitter and chemical on the nose. I taste Glenrothes and it kind of tastes like a sweet Speyside the way I imagine people not used to drinking whisky experiences it. TX does not taste as soft as it smells, but it has a quite typical clean bourbon flavour, a bit of perfume but not too bad. Blind tasting I would probably guess Glenrothes is a blend. Somewhat surprisingly I find the flavour of TX more narrow and distinct, even more thin, than that of Glenrothes. Glenrothes is less balanced. I prefer TX.
Bergslagen Two Hearts vs Highland Park Cask Strength: Bergslagen is darker, with a sweet fruity somewhat dirty smell. Highland park has a much lighter nose, I add some (more) water and wait a bit. A few minutes later, HP has a lightly peated slighly salty, nice aroma. Back to Bergslagen it smells a bit thick sweet now. I taste HP, still too little water for me, but it has a nice peated flavour. Bergslagen tastes quite sweet, quite nice but with a somewhat raw and strange wood flavour. HP now came down in alcohol to a nicer level, and then the flavour also got a bit thin. I would say HP is a quite solid moderatly peated whisky while Bergslagen is quite experimental – a quite successful experiment – but anyway a bit too odd for my taste. HP wins.
