What Flavors Don't You Like?

This is a tough one for me because I try to appreciate each dram on its own merits. ....but, by floral, do you mean light whiskies like Dalwhinnie? The infamous Bowmore FWP? What whiskies do you consider to be floral? Name names!

So far, the only thing I really do not care for is a mezcal-like smell and taste that I pick up on some peated whiskies. Notably, the Compass Box Flaming Heart, and the Longrow CV, and a Bruichladdich Port Charlotte. I am sure I would not be happy if I bought anything with a similar profile.

Sickly sweet stuff like entry level Chivas or Jameson's. It reminds me of throwing up on the sidewalk outside a bar in my early twenties. It's the reason I stayed away from whisky for ten more years until I tried a bottle of Lagavulin in my early 30's. That started a slow progression back towards the wonder of discovery, knowledge, and good taste.

Aromas I dislike in my whisk(e)y: Acetone, cheese, "sick", artificial cherries (like some cheap bourbons), mustiness

Tastes I dislike in my whisk(e)y: Chili (the "hot" poorly made spirit), flat and watery grain (like in a bad Blended Scotch), artificial sweetness

Everything else I don't mind. Sulphur, woody oak, dirty peat, bandages, bitter herbs etc. don't phase me.

I can't stand the baby spit / baby vomit note I get from young non-peated Bruichladdichs. Ick.

@talexander, I totally agree. I can't say that I have experienced this note very often in newly opened bottles but I think this is quite common when drinking whiskies at a bar (not Bruichladdich whiskies necessarily but any whisky), especially when the bottle has been sitting for some time. Whenever I go to a whisky bar I always expect to get a good whiff of baby sick. Not a big deal though, just let the whisky breathe for a little while and it dissipates.

@CanadianNinja, I opened a Bruichladdich Bere Barley and the first thing I got off the nose and palate was baby sick; and some years ago, I experienced the same thing with the Organic, right at opening. So I feel like it is a quality of the naked spirit (I don't get that note from older Bruichladdichs, or young peated ones like Octomore). But who knows, as I've never tried the new make?

For me:

Kiss of Death: soapiness, all chemical or unnatural-tasting/smelling flavours, strong sulphur, cloying sweetness

Relative turn-offs: unbalanced sour citrus, strong anise/black licorice, unbalanced sweetness, sour finish, unbalanced bitter finish...and, for me, wheat and rye rarely combine well, nor does either wheat or rye with either peat or wine flavours.

@Victor, could you think of a whisky where the wheat and rye combination works?

@Jonathan The specific whisky that has both the floral and honey that I don't care for is the batch of Glenlivet Nadurra that's currently out. I'd heard so many awesome things about Nadurra and when I picked it up I found it to be overly floral and honeyed.

I personally try to enjoy each whisky for it's own virtues as there are so many different styles and variations that at times there's just no comparing two different whiskies, however that specific bottle is one that I've almost finished and I still can't get into it, no matter how hard I try. But it's not just that whisky, I find whiskies with strong floral notes or what I perceive as strong floral notes usually take me a few drams before I can get lost into them. Mind you I've found some of the Japanese whiskies that are floral, or a wee bit floral quite lovely.

@talexander Thank god I've never come across baby vomit in any of my whiskies, I know I couldn't handle that!

@Systemdown I can handle acetone in small amounts in my whiskies and I will tolerate small amounts of sulphur, but I personally usually find them to be flaws, not always mind, sometimes they just feel right in a particular whisky and I personally think that it's usually pretty blunt when they shouldn't be there, but year I'm with you.

@CanadianNinja, short question, long answer. Examples of wheat combined with rye which work for me? So far I haven't found an American whiskey in which they worked well together, but there are only a few of them on the market, and I haven't tasted most of them. For example I haven't yet had the opportunity to taste the Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Four Grain expression, which was generally well received. I do have an unsampled birthday present waiting for me 50 miles away of the new Parker's Heritage Four Grain. Corner Creek Bourbon is a good example in which I consider the wheat and rye flavours to clash. Canadian whiskies often combine wheat and rye, as you know, which is a feature which to me diminishes their potential. Sometimes they do work well, such as that rare excellent batch of Crown Royal Reserve which Mr. Murray named 2012 Canadian Whisky of the Year. I had a bottle which must have come from that same batch as Mr. Murray's. It was great, but, alas, probably irreplaceable. Nobody else I know had one that good, and I tried a couple of them myself. That CRR didn't have a strong wheat presence, though, and the rye controlled the grain flavours. I would like most Canadian blended whiskies more if they removed the wheat completely from them, and left the rye to give the grain flavour...or, worked with the wheat without the rye. Among wheat, rye, corn and barley for me it doesn't much matter whether you include corn or barley or not, because they blend in. Wheat and rye are too strongly flavoured to blend in, unless they are castrated by high proof distillation which removes the flavours. That high proof distillation occurs a lot with Canadian whisky and with blended Scotch "grain" whisky. And the residual wheat flavours in blended Scotch are what are to me the weakest feature of the genre. Even though the wheat has been neutered by having been distilled at 90+% ABV, truly near-vodka levels after dilution, they still give enough flavour to clash with the peat and wine flavours most of the time...at least they do, for me.

Bottom line: while those are my preferences, I am always open to finding exceptional whiskies which work despite having ingredients which for me usually clash. I don't usually want any wine influence in my bourbons or ryes, for example, but the Abraham Bowman Port Finished Bourbon works well for me. (Nope, I part company with many in not liking Angel's Envy Bourbon,...at all.)

I am new to single malts, but i still remember my first smell of Laphroiag 18. I couldn't help but think of turpentine/paint thinner on the nose. I like Laga, talisker, ardbeg nose and taste, but Laphroiag just puts me off. However, i do have a Quarter Cask waiting in the wings for another try! On the palate, i don't like the occasional slight muddy finish which i have noticed more recently with my Talisker 18 and HP18.

@alteredstate In terms of the Laphroaig QC, the thing I noticed in particular was a smell of freshly cut olive branches. Very interesting and nice.

I like most flavours I've found up to this point. Not sure if there's anything in particular I've disliked.

@talexander But what do you really think? ; )

@SquidgyAsh RE: sulphur and acetone in small quantities - I'm with you there, they can be okay. Had my first big sulphur encounter the other day with the OMC Mortlach 15yo - there were match sticks, gun powder and was quite "flinty" on the palate - loved it! I think the big body of the Mortlach just sits well with the sulphur in my opinion. Each to their own and now I'm on the hunt for more Mortlach..

Not a big fan of anything reminding me of tequila. I also don't like soapy tastes or scents, floral scents are on that list too but there are exceptions though.

Total turn-off: rubber and sulphur. Dislike: Too sweet, too dry, too weak.

@Jonathan To me - the 12 yr Glenkinchie is definitely a "floral" single malt which I happen to enjoy from time to time (gotta be in the mood for it - very 'grassy').

Personally I'm not too much of a fan of the "candied fruit" flavour that can be found with some sherried whiskys such as the 12 yr Glenfarclas.

Am I the only one who loves baby vomit? Lol...kidding can't stand vomit, mine, yours or the whisky's.

Feinty, acetone notes are no good for me and too much sulphur, or particular sulphur notes are no good for me either. There's a whisky I have which is all gunpowder and...raw asparagus. Weird.

One of the comments here reminded me of a Dimple that I tried ages ago, and tasted like dishwashing liquid, so add me to the folks who don't like the soapiness.

@talexander I used to get the vomit from Bruichladdich, but no more. Now it's one of my favourites. Actually, I'm sipping the 10 year old as I'm writing this and loving it. Not a hint of puke ;-)

@broddi The Laddie 10 is fantastic - maybe that's the magic maturation number for Bruichladdich?

@talexander Maybe, but I honestly think that often, our palates mature faster than the spirit in the barrel, and in my case, I still taste the distinct Laddie baby vomit, but I like it now. I can also taste it in the Port Charlotte, which happens to be my favourite whisky at the moment, but I appreciate it now and I experience it as a robust savoury character rather than vomit :-)

I'm with SquidgyAsh that I'm not a fan of big floral notes, though I've never experienced it in the taste of a whisky a few I've tried had a really overpowering floral note on the nose. I generally don't like it when there is a note in a whisky that is completely overpowering on the taste and smell, such whiskys just get boring after a glass. Though that said I do like peat bombs it's just not something Id have every week. After reading Jim Murrys whisky bible I noticed that he hates the note he describes as 'sulfur'. Does anyone know what notes he means by that? I don't think I've had anything that I'd decribe as solfur like.

@broddi Ha! Very mature of your palate to appreciate it! Perhaps for me, it takes me back to the trauma of when my baby daughter barfed all over my face.

Getting a little off topic but I can do you one better than that @talexander! When my son was four we were going home on the subway in Nagoya. I was carrying him when transferring from one line to another when bam... he threw up all over me...

Being in a city of about 8 million and transferring to one of the busiest subway lines there were literally hundreds of people around us both staring and trying to get away!! And of course, I happen to be wearing a relatively new jacket. Not a good time!

@CanadianNinja Yikes!! Yep, you win :)

@Jason0142 - Sulfur is often associated with burnt matches, or the sorts of odors that you cover up by burning matches.......;-)

See: www.scotchblog.ca/scotch_blog/blog/

Scroll down to the Whisky Wheel on the right side of the page. Click to open it, then expand the window. The sulfur (grey) section of the wheel has a list of the flavors and aromas associated with sulfur.

I weakness of mine is that I am immediately bias towards any whiskey coming my way. Before I even see them, my appreciation for the industry influences my impression of all whiskey. I would have to say that there is a certain sewage note that comes out in some blended whiskeys. One that I have in mind is Grant's Family Reserve. I actually really enjoy Grant's, but there is that sewage note that always sweeps by through all of it's complexity. I just ignore it. But I definitely would avoid many bottles if that sewage appeared with more intensity in them

I'm a firm believer that one person's nectar may be another's poison when it comes to single malts so when I read a review I always keep that in mind. A month or so ago I was wandering around the LCBO and saw Glenkinchie 12 year old on the shelf. I confess, I don't know much about this whisky, so rather than purchase it, I decided to first try it and then if I liked it, buy it. We have a very good bar in my town that has a wide range of single malts and as luck would have it, they had it in stock. I tried it and it did absoluetly nothing for me. No flavour that T could determine and the tasting notes seem to having their own personal battle in my mouth. My wife asked...."so"? My response, "I'd rather listen to fingernails being scraped across a chalkboard than have another drink". My thoughts in the following order were "good thing I did not buy" and perhaps I'm being too harsh. So to be fair, when I got home I read some reviews...they were not kind...the one that stuck out most was this one..."the most redeeming comment I can make is this was an export to Canada and therefore, it saves the rest of us"

Again, to be fair. I read reviews on their other offerings and they were positive. I think I'll chalk to this up to the distillery had a really, really bad hair day 12 years ago when they put this whisky down.

There's nothing that completely puts me off. There are flavors, however, to which I am sensitive. Generally, I've been less keen on 'green apple' and 'light & floral,' but there's a place for them especially if I'm in the right mood. On the 'green apple,' it really makes a difference how it fits into the general flavor profile (the nose doesn't bother me at all); when it's well done, it's great. If it's a significant flavor, it's generally too much for me, though I still try to appreciate the overall quality of the spirit. It just sticks out to me. With the light and floral type of whiskies, especially when they're brought down to ~40%, I just feel like they tend to be too weak. It's a tough balance because if there's too much, it's like soap. And if I am going to spend the time, alcoholic intake, and money, I don't want to wonder whether there's something happening.

As long as it's well done, I'm a-ok with them.

I haven't had it as much in whiskies as I have in brandies (especially from the major cognac houses), but the added sugar that tastes like artificial sweetener is just immediately off-putting to me.