The Taster's Results

After only two weeks, the taster sent me a document with his intermediate results. I was pleasantly surprised by the diligence he applied to his participation in the experiment - I had, after all, enlisted a complete stranger who could just as well have downed the whole 17 bottles and sent back a quick note to say they were ok.

The following is his intermediate report, translated into English. If you are curious, just let the mouse pointer hover over the code letters and a "tooltip" will reveal the whisky name. Of course you can also peek at the complete list, or wait a bit longer and play the guessing game.

I must apologize for a few strange words and expressions you will encounter in the following text; being unfamiliar with "Gourmet English" I have done my best to give you an impression of what the taster meant to say. If in doubt, the German version is authoritative!

(Photos added for illustration purposes only; they were not part of what the taster submitted.)

Intermediate Results

Process: Nosing
Going from darkest to lightest

D	peat/smoke → Islay (Lagavulin?) Don't taste now, save for hard times
G	very pleasant, full aroma (Sherry)
J	also full-bodied, but less than G
C	smoke/peat → Islay (Laphroaig?). Phenol touch
O	second nosing, same verdict, the worst until now
H	unobtrusive, fine aroma (Vanillin), possibly something good
M	second nosing, same verdict
A	smells like Bourbon, and not a good one
K	unobtrusively smoky, but complex; possibly something good
E	aroma rather expressionless, but that's not necessarily bad
N	again, unobtrusively smoky but complex, much like K. Direct comparison shows K distinctly more smoky
Q	smoke and peat → island, but not as severe as the well-known Laphroaig
I	slightly stingy, almost "cheap" aroma
B	very unusual aroma, seems not characteristical for whisky on first nosing
L	slightly spirity, not very inspiring
F	not spectacular but not bad

(Note: Of course quality suffers as the whisky comes in contact with oxygen; on opening the bottles a second time, one could notice the diminishing intensity.)

H very good	Very interesting results from nosing. Strong alcohol aroma in the glass, but very complex. Fine, grand. Long finish. I know this whisky, tasted it before. Very characteristic LONG finish (more than 5 min). Macallan? (Colour would support this.) Delicious, warms stomach → cask strength?
G lower middle class	Aroma comparison G-H: similar, H is a bit more smoky. Burns a little, much like H, but distinctly less classy; could be a blend mainly consisting of H. [Postscript: Might lose out because it was tasted directly after H.]
J very good, but cannot compete with H	Appreciable aroma, slightly on the sour side, a bit like B, but less concentrated. Very soft, full-bodied, pleasant. Vanillin aroma is released after a while. Lowland Malt? Almost caramel-like. Not so sure with Lowland though. Still good after second sip. Slightly artificial touch (plastic? rubber duck?). Almost no finish, but still very pleasant. Very, very slight smoke aroma, almost not noticeable.
B very good, better than J, loses out against H	Strange aroma. Burns slightly on the tongue. Also very soft. Malty. Needs to be compared directly to J. Good and long finish. Might be a higher-class malt. Very interesting. Slightly fruity touch in aroma and taste when diluted.
M Middle class, better than G	did not impress on first nosing. Aroma is better in the glass. Seems familiar. Smells like "ordinary bar whisky", Johnny Walker or similar. But tastes better. Malty, smells refined, but strong on the tongue. Good blend or bad malt. Chivas Regal? Finish is rather unpleasant, probably more in the Johnny Walker direction.
I good, similar to J	First nosing impression cannot be confirmed; smells much more malty, rounder. Has a kind of B-Touch. Complex aromas. Passes tasting test very well, much like J! Slightly smoother even, with finish, very pleasant. Lowland? Burns a little. Longer finish than J, more than 5 minutes. Almost impossible to expel from the glass.
N Middle class, similar to M, different flavour but similar quality	Positive nosing results confirmed in the glass, but less smoky, almost not noticeable. First tasting is not overwhelming; slightly sour touch, could be an average Highland malt. Finish reminds me of blends, but decrescendo does not. Compared to the promising aroma, tasting is rather disappointing. Proably a blend.
K good-very good good Highland malt, but no match for H	Very pleasant aroma, indeed much like N, but distinctly smoky. Same impression from tasting. Malty, smoky, almost no burning sensation. Good Highland malt, maybe contained as a component in N? Exceptional finish. (Oak casks?)
D very good Lagavulin 16 H is better	Peat and smoke aroma, but unobtrusive. Tasting: First guess Lagavulin 16yr is confirmed. Delicious. No more comment required.
P good, but suffers from contrast to previously tasted Lagavuiln, definitively not better	In the glass, also has smoky, peaty, sea-like aroma. Island malt smell. Very soft, but slight burning on the tongue. Malty, long finish, but not great. Could nevertheless be a higher-class malt, not sure. Bad form today?
E very good, very interesting, but unusual. Not as good as H, which remains the favourite.	Sweetish touch on second nosing. Nothing spectacular in the glass, alcohol dominates. Slight fruity touch (raspberry?). The longer I smell it, the more interesting. Also in taste - fruity touches, a candy-sour finish, resonates for a long time, sweet, fruity, pleasant. A very good dram, but too atypical to be your everyday whisky. Even diluted very delicious - the taste almost cannot be removed by water. Second place behind H until now.
F lower middle class, the worst until now	The big glass is a disadvantage here too, alcohol dominates. Smells a bit like B. Taste: burns, not very complex, rather unpleasantly spirity. "Bar whisky" that smells better than it tastes. I guess it's a blend, in the lower price band. But maybe it is just the same problem as with the G-H pair, where the good results of one diminish the other's results? (Postscript: Glen Grant - because of colour?)
Q very, very smoky aroma. Smells like Laphroaig, direct comparison to C shows a lot of similarity. This calls for a simultaneous tasting.
direct comparison C and Q
C Outside of competition Laphroaig	this is clearly Laphroaig 10yr. Hm. The taste fits, but I do not remember it being so soft. Maybe the bottle has been open for a while? Yes, this is Laphroaig in character.
Q Outside of competition perverse island malt	in the glass, there's a rather unsavoury smell, like urine or manure, in addition to the iodine/phenol Laphroaig fume. Tastes better than it smells, however. Should be re-tasted in another glass, maybe this improves the experience. Peat, smoke, island malt, but in a similar price band to Laphroaig. I really dislike the smell, but the taste is ok.
A poor even worse than F	Aroma in the glass: This seems to be the toughness test. Oh my god. Bottom shelf liquor, spirit. If you wait a bit longer, ist gets better. Um, not really. The aroma of B seems to be somewhere in that spirit cloud, a tasting confirms this. A cheap blend with dark memories - Johnny Walker Red Label? It costs quite an effort do drink it. Last drink in a bad hotel bar where nothing else is available. And even there I drink it with a shudder. Brrrr. A punishment.
L Middle class Glenfiddich?	It can only get better after A. The aroma is not bad, but there is a B grade. What is it? Just the grain spirit touch? Taste: not bad, but not really good either. Could almost be Glenfiddich. The colour would agree. Yes, this is probably Glenfiddich.
O lower middle class nothing special	has been slightly disregarded until now. Second chance: gets away with better results this time, but still nothing spectacular. Smooth (oxygen?), result "middle class" unchanged.

preliminary tasting results:

Top class:
H (best!), then E and B, then J, D and K. I maybe.
Middle class:
P, L, M, N, O in this order. G is at the very bottom of this league.
poor:
F, very bad: A
outside of the competition:
C, Q

What next?
A second tasting run, in the order of perceived quality, from bad to good.

End of Intermediate Results

About two weeks later, I received the final results. There were minor changes in ordering, but on the whole the intermediate results were confirmed.

Taster's Final Results

Category 1 "Excellent"

A whisky of this category elates me. It has an immensely diverse taste, each sip contains new nuances of taste - sensual fireworks. Even minutes after drinking, the taste buds are still on full alert. One wants to take a bath in this whisky, and it would be a handsome death to drown in it. This category encompasses:

1. H (winner of this test)
2. D, E (D = Lagavulin)

Category 2 "Very Good"

3. K
4. J
5. B

Category 3 "Upper Middle Class"

There is nothing so say against these whiskies, but they are not a particular challenge to your taste buds. They are "easy drinking":

6. I
7. P
8. L (L = possibly Glenfiddich)
9. M

Category 4 "Lower Middle Class"

Unassuming whiskies in which a spirity touch already dominates but which are not an offence to your taste buds. One can drink them if nothing else is available - and if one is invited. I would not buy these whiskies.

Category 5: Poor

It is an ordeal to drink one of these whiskies. You wouldn't even want them if offered for free.

12. F
13. A (the worst in this test)

Category X "Outside of the Competition"

1. C (C = Laphroaig)
2. Q

End of results.

• Blind Test Idea and Setup
• You are here: The Taster's Results
• The Bottle Contents
• My Conclusion
• Taster's Comments
• Readers' Comments
• Index Page

A similar experiment with 56 participants was conducted in late 2006.