Fahrenheit 173 - Aged Spirits

Martell VSOP:
Fragrant, rather nice nose with notes of dried fruits (prunes, figs), oak, vanilla and honey. The palate is rich, sweet (honey) and fruity (raisins, orange marmalade) with a note of mint. De­velops spicy oak and grows fairly hot. On the finish the dried fruits return briefly, then it turns oaky, spicy and warming. All in all zesty and en­ter­tain­ing but too hot and spicy. A bit dis­ap­point­ing, actually. (86 p)

Renault Carte Noire Extra:
Subtle, complex and in­ter­est­ing nose with notes of oak, citrus and plums. Also hints of mint and cheese. Light, smooth, clean palate with oak, white pepper and vanilla. It's on the dry side of sweet. Very nice finish with oak, gin­ger­bread and dried fruits. All in all very nice! It's very mild and won­der­fully bal­anced. (Much nicer than a few years ago.) (87 p)

Braastad My Selection:
Complex nose with oak, dried fruits and notes of custard and cheese. Also herbal with notes of black tea and sage. Subtle and a little quiet yet very nice. Rich, sweet, fruity palate with a note of mint. Smooth and bal­anced. Drying, de­velops notes of oak and gin­ger­bread. Oaky, spicy, fairly dry finish. All in all complex, bal­anced and very nice. (88 p)

Bache Gabrielsen Christmas XO:
Fragrant, very nice nose with oak, prunes, vanilla and mint. Rich, sweet, smooth palate. Sweet fruits and spicy oak in a very nice bal­ance. Quite oaky finish with oak shavings, citrus and mint - very nice but perhaps a little too oaky. A rich, extremely well crafted digestif. Will be perfect after the Christmas dinner... (89 p)

Three new Swedish single malt whiskies
A review of Swedish single malts Box "Pioneer", Hven "Merak" and Smögen "Primör".

Five single malts from Cadenhead's
A review of Ardmore 1997, Balblair 1990, Glen Moray 1992, Strathisla 1987 and Strathmill 1995.

World whisky
A review of single malts from the Czech Republic, England, Germany, India, Sweden and Taiwain.

Six Irish whiskeys
A review of Green Spot, Yellow Spot, Tullamore Dew 12, Redbreast 12, Powers John's Lane and Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy.