Welcome to this years festove episode of the show in which I’ll be taking a look at some unicorn whiskies from the likes of Laphroaig, Brora, Tomatin, Glenfiddich, Hanyu and Arran.
The Good Dram Show with Chris Goodrum Episode 575 – If Pigs Might Fly, What do Unicorn’s do?
Filmed in The Revamped Study Nottingham
Featuring
Arran ‘The White Stag 3rd Release’ 21 year old 52.5% www.arranwhisky.com
Ichiro’s Hanyu 1985 – 2000 ‘The Joker’ 57.7% specialitybrands.com
Glenfiddich ‘Ultimate’ 38 year old 40% www.glenfiddich.com
Brora 1978 (38 year old) ‘12th release’ 48.6% www.malts.com
Tomatin Cù Bòcan 1989 (24 year old) 53.2% tomatin.com
Laphroaig 15 year old (200th Anniversary Release) 43% www.laphroaig.com
Living Souls 15YO Blended Whisky, 46%
The annoyance of people still talking rubbish about blended whisky is rather grating in the modern world of whisky. Just get over yourselves. Nobody cares if you only like single malt. People want to actively not talk to you at parties.
Anyway, this is one of the most brilliant after dinner whiskies I’ve ever come across. The scents and smells of Spain run through this thing like a bull on the streets of Pamplona. Red grapes, cherries, almonds, cider vinegar, deli meats, tapas selection, it is all in here in bucket fulls. A delightful addition to my bar, and one of the most pound for pound whiskies that delivers for the price point.
Living Souls 18YO Tobermory/Ledaig, 41%.
I don’t think I’ve ever tried a combination of Tobermory and Ledaig in the same bottle before. Folks of Tobermory distillery should be paying strong attention to this bottle. This wasn’t the most complex whisky of the Living Souls releases that I’ve tried, but what it did, it did very well. The combination of sharp green apple, cheddar cheese, Parmesan and a little hint of something soft and sweet has really brought this profile together as a wonderful dessert alternative liquid.
To be fair, this is cheaper than most standard, older releases of Tobermory and Ledaig, maybe with the exception of Ledaig 18YO. However, despite this being a joint scare with the 40YO release, it is still a wonderful example of west coast distillery style, and a showcase of how both single malts from one distillery can be radically different, yet complimentary.
