Three Whiskies at Once

There was a math conference in Edinburgh the week after Easter. In my field, there were a few big names in town. They’re big names in mathematics so if I told you their names you wouldn’t know the difference. Nonetheless, I went to dinner with some of them the first night as the fill in host since the actual host, Jared, was ill. The next night, I went to dinner with two of them as I had promised we would then go drink some single malts at Leslies! One actually bailed to do math, but Jared fought his illness to enjoy some fun times at Leslies. So I couldn’t take notes and can’t exactly tell you the appropriate categories and all. But, as I’ve mentioned in the past, that isn’t so useful anyway. Instead, I’ll tell you what I drank, my recollection (the night after) of my impression, and if I recommend that you give it a try.

These are presented in the order they were consumed. This matters in that by number three, I might have liked straight vodka, who knows. I had read that Gelnfarclas was fantastic and better than the Balvenie Doublewood. I went there first. Then I went with a selection made by our guest, Joel. Finally, as you always should, I journeyed to Islay to try Caol Ila.

Glenfarcas 10yr, Speyside, 40% – surprisingly stern, intense alcohol, substantial finish. I have to say I didn’t love it. Smelled more like alcohol than anything. If stuck in a closet and the only way to get out was to drink Glenfarcas, don’t worry about me, I’ll make it out. However, given a selection I’m not ordering this. If I were you, I wouldn’t either unless you feel the rest of my single malt reviews are way off base.

Clynelish 14yr, Highland, 40% – this was lovely, but remember that it came after something I didn’t like. I think the amount that I liked this may have been overstated due to the meany above. Anyway, it was soft and fruity, finished nicely, and had a nice scent. It was lovely to drink.

Caol Ila 18yr, Islay, 43% – ummmm, amazing! Smells very very smoky, almost as smokey as Lagavulin (they guy next to me let me smell his Lagauvulin when I thought he had incorrectly given me Lagavulin) . This is fun to smell. The taste is substantial, but here’s the amazing part: the finish is instantaneous. It was phenomenally smooth. Here I warn that this was the ml 71-105 of single malt, but I am quite confident that this finish was authentic. Granted, I drank a bit of whisky before this one, but nothing could have over amplified the finish to make it so smooth. If I wanted a smoky Islay that was super easy to drink, I’d order this.