for the rest of my Whisky Journey 2020 posts, do check out the collection label here.
when i started Whisky Journey 2020, i knew that my evenings would involve lovely spirits and photography (at least, roughly in that order). sure, there were some places that lent themselves better to artistic creativity than others, though for the most part my visits largely involved a few shots (camera, not alcohol) to begin the evening, and then i would put it away to enjoy the spirits.
so it was that notwithstanding the amazing selection of whiskies available, i certainly didn't expect to spend as much time admiring (and taking photos of) the ambience and decor as much as i did on my recent trip to Malts.
for Whisky Journey 2020, Malts has a fantastic range of whiskies from Glencadam distillery - the Glencadam 1825 "The Rather Elegant" is the free 10ml pour for this location, and they also showcase a considerable eight others from the same distillery.
i redeemed my free pour of the Glencadam 1825 "The Rather Elegant" (40% abv) which was a lovely start to the evening. the first sniffs of this are sweet, a honey caramel lavishly spooned over cooked apples and combined with a banana cornbread. the same sweetness carries over onto the palate, though it's surprisingly short-lived - before i knew it, there was a strong woodiness coming through on the tail end of the palate with a good amount of pepper. the wood persisted through the medium-length finish with nary a trace of the original sweetness; all things considered, this one was quite a bittersweet experience and not really of the sort of whisky i'm more inclined towards. i'm glad to have tried this for Whisky Journey to broaden my perspective, but it's just not enough in my personal preferences for me to be craving another pour in the near future.
apart from admiring and experimenting with different perspectives to capture the lighting in the bar, i decided to pick two other whiskies from the range. on the recommendation of helpful bartender Wei Han, i went for the Glencadam 21-year-old "The Exceptional" (46% abv), which he had described as a 'warm hug'.
like with the previous one, i found that the nosing was much more enjoyable than the tasting; on the nose, this was a wonderful snack platter of golden raisins, honey, wax and soft pears. these translate similarly onto the palate, a full-bodied sweet complexity with a threat of spiciness that (thankfully) never materialises. with time, the sweetness finds itself tempered (and eventually beaten into submission) by a more medicinal grassy note; this is a bit herbal, a bit bitter and a lot of sweet all rolled into one. unfortunately my enjoyment of this one was as brief as with the first, as a familiar bitter wormwood emerges on the similarly medium-length finish, as if hell-bent on reminding me that the two are related.
as i sipped this one, i can get where Wei Han was coming from with his descriptor of a "warm hug" - not being a fan of more woody bitter notes myself, i would say that this one felt to me more like hugging a scratchy-bearded uncle whom you only see once a year at christmas - it's nice but a little foreign, sweet yet slightly awkward... takes some getting used to but you can appreciate the sentiment and intention behind it. i can't say i'm a fan of this one either, but i'm glad that i tried it.
last but not least, i went for the Glencadam 19-year-old Sherry Oloroso (46% abv) which, truth be told, came across not dissimilar from other oloroso sherry finished whiskies. the nosing on this one was relatively straightforward (if you know what to expect with a sherry finish) - a strong helping of sweet red fruits and berries with a touch of creamy vanilla to smooth out any tartness. the palate is likewise brimming with the same sherry touches, a relatively full-bodied experience. i was enjoying this up until the point - yes you guessed it - the characteristic bitter woodiness began to creep in yet again, and before i knew it, i was back again at the same finish as with the other two. i would hesitate to call it a 'bad' thing, just that on a personal preferences side of things i don't think it's the kind of whisky that i recognise to be in my wheelhouse.
slàinte!
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this review is of a product that i had purchased at regular price with my own money. i wasn’t asked to review this as a condition of purchase and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with The Whisky Store, Malts or any of the other participating bars / distilleries, and as always, all opinions remain my own.
Malts is at 01-07/08 Marina Square, 6 Raffles Boulevard, Singapore 039594.
all information correct at time of publishing.
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