Troll Rules for Enjoying Whisky

Hmmm, the Old Troll enjoyed the blind tasting over the weekend, but now he is wondering what the experts say about the two drams sampled.  So, let’s see, the JM book rated them both similarly low, but in the opposite order.  So is JM right or the Old Troll?  NEITHER!  There is no right or wrong here, this Troll is just discovering his own tasting preferences.

Troll Rule 1:          Every Troll Tastes Different

(Anyone who has ever had roasted troll knows this to be true.  Clown trolls especially taste funny.)

Also notice that the more expensive malt ended up on the bottom of the Old Troll’s favourite list.

Troll Rule 2:         Just because it is more expensive doesn’t mean you will enjoy it more.

Next on the table for a double blind Troll tasting is:

·         Aberlour 12

·         Cragganmore 12

Troll Whisky Review - OT Sept 24, 2011

An 11 year old Allt-A-Bhainne is reviewed blind with a Benrinnes 12 year old Pure Malt.

Remember, the Old Troll, like all Trolls, is not a professional or an expert.  We are just having fun while learning what we like and don’t like in the world of whisky.  Trolls, feel free to post your own reviews on our Facebook page, or mail them to MaltTroll@hotmail.com .  You can also find the Old Troll on Facebook under “Malt Troll” while MaltTroll.com is finally going to go live after the Web Trolls are done with it.

Hmmm, the Old Troll finds an unopened bottle!  What to do with it?  Troll know, have a semi-blind taste off against something else (but close one eye and squint so that he is semi-blind.)  Let’s see what we have here, Provenance Allt-A-Bhainne, 1996, 11 year old, 46%, no colouring or chill filtering, from a refill hogshead, sounds good.  What to taste it off against?  The very pale colour may indicate not much wood influence, and a Speysider.  Now what in the Troll Cave would be a good match off?  Ah, here right under the bridge is a funny little bottle.  An International Pure Malt from Premium Bottlers of Richmond Hill Ontario (http://www.premiumbottlers.com/) of 99% BENRINNES and 1% Canadian single malt, also a 46% Speysider 12 year old, with no colouring or chill filtering.  For all intents and purposes this bottle BRIN 137 of 388 of cask 1009 is from Benrinnes. As no-one really understands what these things are they can often be obtained cheap or on sale.  The Troll Myth here is that at one point under Canadian law, spirits from another country could not be bottled in Canada.  But, if they were partially Canadian, that law would not apply, hence this odd duck malt with 1% Canadian whisky to make it legal.  The code name on the front lets you know where the scotch is from SCAP = Scapa, LINK = Linkwood, etc.  A little forest creature just let on that they may be going on sale in Edmonton soon.

The colours are still too dissimilar to be a true blind test but a small amount goes of Allt-A-Bhainne goes into glass 1 and a similar amount of BRIN goes into glass 3.  (The Old Troll failed counting in troll school.)  Maybe if Troll really squint, he won’t notice the colour difference.  Ouch, just got a root in the eye, now the Troll really can’t see.  Okay, mix up the glasses, 1 left, 1 right and placed behind bottles so the Troll can’t see the colours.  Let’s start the tasting:

Troll Sniff:

-          Left:  not a strong nose, a little crushed floral, a little bitter, not a lot happening here.
-          Right:  much stronger nose, but still not overpowering.  Floral again, bit of honey, pleasant.
-          If offered a dram from nose alone, the Right has it.

 Troll Taste:

-          Left:  Again, a very light taste.  Light, easy to drink, but why?  A bit of alcohol burn.
-          Right:  Still a light taste with a bit more bite in it.  Again at 46% some alcohol burn.  Interesting, in the Makers Mark book the Troll was just reading, the suggestion for a head to head tasting was to water everything down to 30% to get rid of the alcohol burn and concentrate on taste.

 Troll Still Tastes it in mouth:

-          Left:  A slightly bitter, mildly unpleasant after taste.  The Troll would drink this without complaining, but there are much better Speysiders in the Troll cave.
-          Right:  A longer more pleasant finish, with no bitter after taste.

Troll Tastes it with water running under bridge, A good dollop of water is added, trying to hit the suggested 30%:

-          Left:  That brings out the nose more.  The taste is the same soft florals, and the burn is gone.  The aftertaste is still fuzzy and slightly unpleasant.  This one is not going to win a permanent spot on any Troll shelf.  Maybe in a cocktail?  Oh Rum Howler, we need your mixing skills here.
-          Right:  Again, more nose after the water.  More flavour, and yes, without the alcohol sting, the flavour is more dominant.  Pleasantish, maybe, some barley.  Not setting Trollandia on fire, but the Old Troll will not be embarrassed to offer this to other Trolls at the next private tasting in the Troll cave.

So neither of these should go on to a panic list to buy today or tomorrow.  Both are soft and low keyed, but the Right sample is the clear winner here and it is: BRIN, the cheaper odd ball from Premium Distillers.  Hmmmm, that was unexpected.  Maybe Edmonton Trolls should watch out for that upcoming sale.