Jon Glaser does some for the masses and some for the whisky snoots. This one is for the snoots. Tobias intrigued me enough to purchase a couple of bottles for our member hour at Peatin’ Meetin’. It’s not easy to get as its SRP is set at $500, and is sold for hundreds over that. TatA is blended malt, which used to be called a vatted malt or pure malt, and means it’s all malt from multiple distilleries without any grain whisky. Technically we could call it a double malt as it is a product of Clynelish and Caol Ila. I’ll let them speak for themselves about what’s in the bottle:
“The expression is a blend of just over half 24-year-old malt whisky from Highland distillery Clynelish, which was aged in American oak hogsheads, and peaty whisky from Islay distillery Caol Ila “of a considerably older age”.”
Palate: Fun and spunky. Damp antique furniture in a tropical environment with salted caramel. An oiliness coats your mouth and keeps it tingling as if a little electrical current is running for a full minute. The Clynelish definitely asserts itself in the first second before the Caol Ila says ‘howdy’ . You can’t stop chewing on this one. I felt like a dog licking peanut butter off the roof of my mouth. This one is old and refined, yet lively. It’s like an old gentleman dusted himself off to cut a rug at his granddaughter’s wedding.
The 2018 release of Game of Thrones was a fairly brilliant marketing plan by Diageo to cross-brand one of the world’s most famous TV shows with many of the world’s most “whatever” distilleries (plus Lagavulin and Talisker.) There has been some grumbling in the community that these bottles are no better (or perhaps no different) than their non-Westerosi versions. We’ll look at what only one person thinks of them (me), in the order from worst to first.
Cardhu Gold Reserve – House Targaryen
“Fire and zzzzzzz”
Nose: Cheap fake wood furniture.
Palate: Well, this is pretty dull. It’s like wood finish lost its flavor (does that make sense?) It’s like a blander cheerio.
Pretty bold move making this the House Targaryen (possibly to spur sales on a hohum dram). I thought I was getting Balerion, but I got Puff.
The Singleton of Glendullan Select – House Tully
“Family, Blandness, Waste of Money”
Nose: Lumber soaked in sugar and alcohol.
Palate: Noticeably too watered down. Mild sourdough bread. Boring and pointless.
It’s the Season 8, Episode 2 of scotch whisky. It takes the high expectations we have for Glendullan and kinda meets them.
Oban Bay Reserve – The Night’s Watch
“My Watch Tastes Blended”
Nose: Very moldy citrus.
Palate: Cereal in musty closet. Also, that’s about it.
Mortlach 15yr – The Six Kingdoms
“Westeros At Its Worsteros”
Nose: Sourdough and matchsticks
Palate: Bitter wood. Generic grains. Could be any decent blend. Could be any recent under-interesting Mortlach release.
Royal Lochnagar 12yr – House Baratheon
“Ours Is The Whatever”
Nose: Old orange peel.
Palate: Moldy fruit on wheat bread. No finish.
Dalwhinnie Winter’s Frost – House Stark
“Winter is Boring”
Nose: Very floral. Maybe honeysuckle.
Palate: Thin and forgettable. A rose petal in water. Makes you feel like, wait, what was I reviewing, again? Can’t remember, nevermind.
Clynelish Reserve – House Tyrell
“Growing Nowhere”
Nose: Bowl of not-quite moldy fruit.
Palate: Bitter peaches and pears. Bit of citrus toward the end but never defines itself.
Lagavulin 9yr – House Lannister
“A Lagavulin Always Peats His Malts”
Nose: Fake leather. Like being back in the ’70s Toyota Corona. Road trip to the Wall!
Palate: Earth and bitter greens. Like eating a garden, soil and all. Clearly young. Sort of metallic finish.
Earth, metal, and bitterness… like having the Dragon Queen stamp your broken dead Lannister face in the mud.
Talisker Select Reserve – House Greyjoy
“We Do Not Disappoint”
Nose: Watermelon saltwater taffey.
Palate: Salted sugarcane. Little bit of generic fruit jolly rancher toward the finish. Easy to drown in.
And so there you have it. Please see below for the grading scale (which means everything, doesn’t it.) Quite frankly, only the Lagavulin and Talisker are worth getting off your seat for. Lagavulin 9 is easily overshadowed by its cheaper, older, and better big brother, Lagavulin 16. The Talisker is the only expression I’d really recommend buying, but then only at its original price which seems only available in Europe. If, of course, you’re a whisky and GOT geek who just loves the fun of it (I have to admit the packaging is kinda cool) then you’ll have to go find a flipper who bought them up so you couldn’t. Hopefully the prices have dropped now that the premiere has aired.
If these reviews seem brief, I will say this… most of them didn’t earn more words. If there is nothing in a malt, then there is nothing in the review. I don’t make up words to fluff more than is really there. I’m glad I could make the sacrifice so you don’t have to. Special thanks to Nim Shah, who didn’t donate samples, he donated an entire set.
