Style: May 07, 2021

52 Style | Drink
Three cheers
The table was set with a trio of whiskies, each a different tier of taste.
Hayden Preece explains the difference.
Words Kate Preece
It is possible to spend a similar amount on two bottles of whisky yet return home with vastly
different drams. We explore three rungs of the whisky ladder, from easy drinking for the
beginner through to something more challenging for a discerning palate.
Glenfarclas 105 Cask
Strength
At 60%, this one’s a real sinus-clearer.
Almost tropical-citrus on the nose,
it’s sharp right to the end – a stab to
the throat.
Expect tannins to prevail on the
tongue. Think roaring hot cedar hot
tub and how the wood smell leaches
into the water.
The wood flavours border on
bitter and give way to peppered heat.
Overwhelming to unconditioned
taste buds, it opens up with a touch
of water, if you’re that way inclined.
The top of the table, it’s an
example of a thinking man’s whisky.
Nurse a glass and dismantle its
complexity over an evening. Though
daunting at the start, by the end you
can really pick it apart.
Oban 14
This one triggered a memory that I struggled
to put my finger on. It reminded me of
root beer and the almond sweetness of
marzipan.
With lashings of butterscotch and salted
caramel, a bitter note evens out the syruplike
aroma.
The taste is all fruit, like a toffee apple
from a country fair. Roll it around the mouth
for a bit of sweet melon. Then comes a
waxy smokiness.
A stereotypical Highland, this intermediate
whisky is more refined, honing in on
a singular flavour profile on the taste
spectrum. It’s real back-of-the-tongue stuff.
Penderyn Myth
This Welsh single malt has a subtle buttery,
banoffee pie nose – almost Werther’s
Original. There’s a hint of overripe banana, a
little like when you’ve left some bananas in
the fruit basket, gone on holiday and a sticky
brown mess has oozed onto the bench – but
nothing that nasty.
It’s a sweet whisky to drink, heavy on
orange rinds and with a bourbon flavour. It
seems unfinished; the palate is left wanting
more but there’s nothing left to give. In saying
that, its simplicity makes it a good introductory
whisky that goes down smoothly.