whisky wonderland

whisky wonderland is what i would call my friend's home, though one has to go through a pair of rottweilers to enter this plonk paradise.
be that as it may, a simple evening of margaritas and chicken fajitas in american chilis bangsar turned to serious whisky when he invited me over for a nightcap. it turned out to be six of the best.
six tumblers of single malt - all different in character and taste.
and all absolutely smashing.
it started with the bowmore cask strength islay single malt, a strong peaty smoky malty whisky that boldly dominated the palate with a taste of dry ash and with a long, long finish.
it lingered on the tongue and warmly spread through the body as i slowly emptied the tumbler.
the rottweilers looked and one of them sniffed me and eyed the tumbler eagerly.
the auburn single malt has 56 percent alcohol by volume and definitely comparable to other cask strength whiskies.
the evening was progressing well as my friend scanned through his wooden trunk of single malts for another bottle.
he settled on the lagavulin 16 years old single malt. a slight colour akin to the weakest of teas, the lagavulin burst in with a more subtle peaty taste that nimbly danced at the edge of my tongue.
the whisky, with 43 percent alcohol by volume, started off drily before strengthening aggressively with a rather oily and salty and fruity flavour, drawing one to sip it slowly but surely.
a rather good contrast to the peatier bowmore with discernible differences that i could appreciate as i finished it rather relunctantly.
it was also time to try something older and tastier.
and out came the glenlivet 18 years old.
the oak-casked whisky is also 43 percent alcohol by volume but very different from the lagavulin 16 years old.
the golden amber liquid was creamier, peatier and so much smoother - and like the bowmore, lingered long after it finished though not as strongly as the bowmore. it also had hints of honey, spice and nuts - flavours to keep one interested in it for a while.
it was time for a classic single malt and the glenfiddich 12 years old special reserve in its distinctive triangular green bottle appeared. the golden liquid is 40 percent alcohol by volume.
said to be the world's best-selling single malt, the 12-year-old has a fresh and fruity flavour with the peatiness solidly in the background. this makes the whisky a great entry-level single malt for one making the jump from blended whiskies and even sweet bourbon.
i can say that with conviction as i used to prefer this over the peatier bowmores. but times change and tastebuds broaden in search of stimulation. indeed, variety is the spice of life.
having said that, my friend fished around the trunk and came out with a single malt quite unknown to me.
the signatory vintage single islay malt scotch whisky was a bottle with a plain label that revealed everything except the taste. initial research shows its one of the only three indepedent bottlers and is actually the smallest distillery in scotland.
the single malt was a vintage 1993 that was bottled in early 2004 - yes, most cask strength is about 10 years old. the light golden liquid was 43 percent alcohol by volume and had a distinct peaty but sweet taste.
this was the fifth tumbler of single malt for the night but it held its distinctive taste, subtle and smooth yet bold with the slightly higher alcohol content.
it was time to relax and the sixth tumbler provided that, something easy to settle the spirit and the mind, the body and the soul.
we settled for the glenlivet 12 years old which like the glenfiddich 12 years old, is 40 percent alcohol by volume and another good entry-level single malt.
the glenlivet is a speyside whisky, smooth and soft with a fruity and floral flavour with some hints of vanilla, striking a different note in the palate. like its elder relative, it is also casked in oak, providing a woody finish to the single malt.
the night was coming to and end. not quite.
we had another bowmore cask strength, one for the road as it were.
a smashing time indeed with six of the best and one to spare.