My wife, being the awesome wife she is, picked me up a very sexy whisky calender for Christmas this year. 24 different whisky samples from around the world, differing ages, differing styles, different countries....
God it's enough to make a man grin!!
I'd drunk all the whiskies that I'd had before, then I started in on the entry level single malts that I'd never tried before.
Still got a few of those left to be honest.
But I decided to change things up the last couple days and move into some blended whiskies before heading back to single malt territory.
I'd tried Johnnie Walker Gold Label 18 yr old the other day, but now it was time to move into the farmyard.
Into Pig's Nose territory!
Now I'd tried it's big brother, Sheep Dip Old Hebridean 1990 Vintage, a smokey giant vatted whisky involving malts from Ardbeg, Dalmore and Fettercairn.
Pigs Nose however is not a vatted whisky, but a blend and from what I've heard there are something like 26 different single malts that have gone into this little guy, malts from Islay, Speyside and the Highlands.
I'd really enjoyed Sheep Dip Old Hebridean quite a lot so I was looking forward to the Pigs Nose.
So I crack the cute little sample bottle with it's red wax seal and pour the contents into the glencairn.
Surprisingly dark for such a young whisky, I believe it comes in at around 8 years of age, so I'm willing to bet that there is a fair amount of caramel coloring that have been added, but I could be wrong.
But enough about it's looks, it's time to nose!
Sweet, very very sweet. There is a hint of peat to it, quite a bit of honey, citrus, specifically pineapples, some other fruits in there, hints of sour apple, sultanas, peaches, caramel, underneath it all a hint of pepper.
Very very sweet.
It's not bad, just a sweet nose. Actually it's sorta sucking me in the longer I nose it.
Time for a drink!
Sweet!
Woooeeee! That's sweet.
Initial burst in the mouth is caramel, then honey, oranges, more caramel, hint of stewed prune, lots of different spices, bit of pepper.
However it's gone sickly sweet, too young.
Short spicy dry finish with the caramel and honey coming through clean as day. The peat reappears for a second and then disappears again.
Not bad for a blend, however the over the top sweetness kills it just a bit for me. It's nothing that I could have more then a dram of at a time, however it might be nice to use with people who think all blends are the same.
However the price is where I start sighing, I want to say that it sits at around the $75 to $85 price point which is sadly too much to pay for this in my opinion. If I want something sweet I'd head to Macallan 12 yr old, if I wanted something complex I'd head to Talisker 10 year old (and save $20 or so dollars) if I wanted a blend I'd grab Johnnie Walker Green Label (grab it while you still can my friends because they're going fast!) But I don't think I'd pick up a bottle of Pig's Nose. Just too sweet for my palate.
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