Despite doing a quick internet search before venturing up to Derry – I’d failed to uncover anything that got close to my definition of a Whiskey Bar as described in my blog here.
That’s not to say Derry doesn’t have some lovely bars that happen to sell whiskey.
An attractive looking corner bar with decorative windows caught our eyes off the Guidhall Square – so we went in.
A fairly simple open square space adorned with nick-nacks & packed with friendly customers greeted us. I happily spotted a selection of Scottish malts to try & started out with a Talisker Skye.
Being an NAS – non age statement – brother of the 10 Year Old I wondered if it would hold up to the bold peat I’d experienced and enjoyed with the aged expression.
The peat certainly still satisfied – but a soft sweet note at the start tamed down the overall experience which left me preferring the 10 Year Old.
A collection of colourful characters inhabited the bar and we enjoyed the jovial comings & goings as well as the friendly banter that ensued.
I spotted a Laphroaig Lore on the shelf & went for it.
This is another NAS release from a big peat hitter finished in Oloroso casks in this instance.
Again I found the peat hit had been softened by this finish to a more soft & mellow smoke which gave it a more rounded & complex taste than the benchmark Laphroaig 10.
2 – nil to the age statements.
Mentioning there was a Wetherspoon pub near to our hotel we decided to have a last one there for the evening.
Now I frequented many a ‘Spoons’ bar when I lived in London and their dedication to craft beer & ales is certainly well received – but there were only a few whiskeys on offer.
A Jura 10 Origin neatly provided a peated trio for the evening.
Oh dear!
Yes there was still peat – but the dominant note of vanilla sweetness let me down.
Big, bad & bold is what I was looking for – but all I got was soft, smooth & sweet.
A bit too much added caramel I think.
A bit like Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle who hails from Derry
Interestingly both Talisker & Laphroaig add caramel too – which would explain the sweet notes I detected. I just don’t understand why they have to do this with single malts. The sweet notes turned me off all 3 expressions.
But when it comes to your age statements versus NAS – Jura came bottom of the list.
The Talisker Skye came out tops – even although I’d prefer the 10 Year Old.
I generally don’t look down on an NAS bottling – but I’m increasingly looking down on added caramel – the proof of the pudding is in the eating however. All 3 of these whiskies tasted overly sweet to me – the Jura decidedly so – which was more of a deciding factor rather than the NAS or age statement issue.
Meanwhile the more variety of styles, tastes, finishes and ages – or not – out there the better in my book.
By trying them all out you begin to appreciate the differences & start to hone down your own particular style.
If you find a whiskey you like – embrace it – regardless of what others say.
We are all individuals with our own taste preferences and idiosyncracies – much like the whiskeys we drink.
Sláinte.
Nice outing! I had exactly the same feeling about the Talisker Skye. Interestingly the only time I’ve tried the Jura 10yo was on a night out and like you it was the last dram I had. In hindsight it should have been the first because it’s too light a whisky to punch through anything more dominant drunk before. One of these days I’d like to give it a try as the first dram but only at a blind tasting. I have too many negative preconceptions about the Jura 10yo to trust myself to give it a fair hearing if I know I’m drinking it.
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Thanks for the comment David.
My preconceptions of Jura 10 were positive – but based on tastings my experiences are decidedly negative.
Move onto better stuff – I know I will be.
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