World whiskies: Holland

Distilled Old Maltky (35%, blend of real malt distillate & neutral spirit, Bottled +/- 2000, Holland)
Nose: This has very little to offer besides the prickle of alcohol.
Taste: Surprisingly dull and watery at first, quickly growing  bitter.
The finish is surprisingly long. Normally, that  would be reason for joy - but not with this one.
Score: 10 points - classifying this as a 'benchmark' which rates 'just short of horrible'.

Frysk Hynder NAS (40%, OB, red wine cask, Bottled 2005, Holland)
Nose: Pungent and extremely winey. The sour notes dominate the spectrum, little else.
Taste: Like the nose, the wine influence overpowers everything else. Chalky & gritty.
Score: 36 points - it's only 3 years old, but already the cask completely overpowers the whisky.

Millstone Dutch single malt whisky (40%, Zuidam Distillery, Bottled +/- 2010, Holland)
Nose: Clean and malty. Some butterscotch and Caramac. Nice, but not overly expressive.
Taste: Smooth and sweetish with a touch of tangerines. Toffeeish. Quite a long finish too.
Score: 67 points - which is quite a bit higher than I originally expected.

For many years, Holland was
only involved in the production
of whisky as a tax haven for
large corporations like Diageo.
However, a few years ago two
small Dutch distilleries started
producing real Dutch whisky;
Zuidam and Frysk Hynder.
 
Like many European 'world
whiskies', the Dutch whiskies
are produced in relatively small
quantities. They are mostly
novelty products for the local
market which do not compare
favourably to Scotch whisky.

World whiskies: New Zealand

Lammerlaw 10yo (48.2%, Cadenhead's World Whiskies, Bourbon barrel, Bottled June 2003, 240 blt.)
Nose: Grainy and quite sweet. Fruits and organics. Great development over time.
Taste: Quite smooth for a malt at this strength. Lively and fruity. Pretty good.
Score: 74 points - the best Lammerlaw bottling I've tried so far; it beats the official bottlings.

Lammerlaw 10yo (43%, OB, Wilson Distillers, New Zealand, Bottled +/- 1999)
Nose: Interesting and surprising bouquet. Oily, yet perfumy. Some peat, too.
Grapes? Bananas! Very light and a bit sour.
Taste: Rather harsh and rough, with a bitter aftertaste. Peaty later on.
This one seems to improve after a few months of breathing in the bottle.
Score: 70 points - the first 'antipodean' malt I've tasted, and not at all bad for a non-scotch.

Milford 12yo 1990 (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 2002, New Zealand)
Nose: A little bit oily and greasy at first, growing grainier. Nutty later on. Fairly restrained.
Shoe polish? It really needs a minute or ten before it grows more interesting.
Taste: Ouch... Flat and boring. Like beer that has been left in the sun for a few days.
Oily overtones as well. Growing strangely sour and fruity towards the gritty finish.
Score: 61 points - it definitely showed some improvement over time - just not quite enough for me...

As world whiskies go, the stuff
they make in New Zealand is
not bad at all. I've only tried
a few different bottlings, but
based on these few experiences
it would seem that the whisky
made in New Zealand are just
as good as those from Australia
and Tasmania.
 
Well, I guess that makes
sense because I imagine that
the 'traditions' are similar.
After all, most immigrants
came from (Western) Europe
in roughly the same period.
Climates on the islands of New
Zealand and Tasmania could
be relatively similar too.

World whiskies: Wales

And that's the list of assorted tasting notes so far. The list of whisky producing countries at the top of this
page is by no means complete. In fact, not even half of all the countries where whisky is produced are on
the list. Many brands are only available locally or in a small number of markets. For example, I've sampled
Flat Country (40%) from Hungary and Jack & Jill (40%) from Slovenia, but these are not available outside
the country of origin. All these products are labelled as 'whisky', but the differences from Scotch whisky can
be huge. With that in mind, the synonym 'Scotch' doesn't really apply to all these local distillates...

Penderyn NAS Madeira Finish (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2004, single malt, Wales, +/- 3 years old)
Nose: Started out with lots of glue and paint thinner, but after just a few seconds it blossomed.
it grew more 'organic' and interesting. Not comparable with most Scotch single malts though.
Malty with a hint of marzipan. Rice crackers? The nose is nice enough but lacks some complexity.
Taste: A real surprise; big, sweet and fruity. Very pleasant indeed, an easily accessible profile.
Score: 64 points - given its tender age it puts some of the 12yo Schotch single malts to shame.

I've sampled other samples
from the Penderyn distillery
in Wales, but I haven't been
able to locate any other
tasting notes so far - sorry...

When it comes to 'world whisky', the Scotch laws don't apply. This means that producers in other
countries can make up their own rules as they go along. For example, distillers can use any grain
they like or even other produce like molasses (often used in India) or potatoes (sometimes used in
Eastern Europe). Although these are all 'brown spirits' (matured in oak casks like whisky, cognac,
armagnac, rum, etc.), they can be very different in character and style style from Scotch whisky.
'Different' doesn't mean they are 'worse', mind you - I've sampled some excellent whiskies from
Japan, Ireland, India, Australia, Sweden, France, the USA, New Zealand, Taiwan and South-Africa.

So, it's safe to look beyond the borders of Scotland when you're looking for new experiences.
And why limit yourself to whisky or whiskey if you're looking for some alcohol to (responsibly) enjoy?
There are plenty of other beverages & spirits that could be used as a suitable alternative for whisky.
I actually used to enjoy cognacs and armagnacs a lot before I discovered single malt whisky - and I
still know how to mix a mean cocktail if I may say so myself...
 
However, that's a completely different story...

Scotch Whiskies:
 
Blended whiskies
Grain whiskies
Single malts
Bastard malts
Vatted malts
 
World Whiskies:
 
Australia
Canada
France
Germany
Holland
India
Ireland
Japan
New Zealand
Sweden
Taiwan
Turkey
USA
Wales
 
Other Beverages:
 
Armagnac
Beer
Brandy
Calvados
Cognac
Champagne
Gin & Jenever
Liqueur
Port
Rum
Shandy
Sherry
Tequila
Vodka
Wine
 

World whiskies: Belgium

Belgium is known for its beer
and its fries, but since a few
years they also have their own
whisky: Goldlys. It is produced
by gin producers Filliers who
have been distilling gin since
the late 19th century. Filliers
uses malted barley, rye and
maize for the unique recipe.

Goldlys 3yo (40%, OB, Bottled 2007, Belgium)
Nose: Sharp and grainy, cattle feed, rotting grass. Glue. Very much like a gin without the juniper.
Taste: Fairly flat start. A little buttery  and oily. Reminds me of grappa or gin again. Not my cup of tea.
Score: 29 points - too many rough edges for me, and not nearly enough character of its own.

Goldlys 10yo (40%, OB, Bottled 2007, Belgium)
Nose: Wet newspapers. cardboard. Rather dull & stuffy, but a lot friendlier than the 3yo.
Taste: Very slick with a touch of smoke. Heavy tannins in the finish. Like blue grape skins.
Score: 62 points - much, much better than the 3yo, but dragged down by Campari bitterness.

World whiskies: Pakistan

Murree 8yo 'Malt Whisky Classic' (43%, OB, Pakistan, Bottled +/- 2006)
Nose: Mostly paint thinner at first. Later sweeter notes emerge, but more 'molasses' than 'grains'.
Nutty, oily, buttery. I have a sweet tooth, so I don't mind sweetness - but there's little complexity.
Hey, wait... After 15 minutes there IS some development and it opens up a bit. I kind of like it...
Taste: Weak start, then a long prickling centre. Depressing finish that takes a bitter turn in the end.
Score: 43 points - the nose isn't that unpleasant actually, but there's no fun to be had on the palate.

Murree 12yo 'Millennium Reserve' (43%, OB, Pakistan, Bottled +/- 2006)
Nose: Nutty start. More complex than the 8yo with more fruity notes. Passion fruits. Hint of dust.
Fruits take over from nuts and passion fruit remains the dominant element. Slightly metallic?
Hey, and unlike the 8yo, this one shows quite some development. Still, the passion fruit remains.
Taste: A little perfumy in the start. More fruits later on - passion fruits again. Dusty finish.
Score: 62 points - but once again the finish pulls it down. The nose alone reaches the upper 60's.

Because the majority of the
population of Pakistan is of
the muslim persuasion, it may
seem weird that they have their
own brewery/distillery there.
Export of their alcoholic products
is illegal and in 1977 complete
prohibition was introduced for
the whole country. Fortunately,
some of the restrictions were
lifted again afterwards. Murree
now produces beer and spirits
for restaurants, clubs and bars.

World whiskies: Latvia

LB (40%, Bottled +/- 2003, Latvia)
Nose: Starts out sharp and alcoholic. Glue. Cardboard. String beans? Sorrel. Rhubarb. Veggy.
I have to admit that the nose is expressive - but it's also fairly unpleasant to my sensibilities.
Taste: Ever so slightly fruity. Salmiak? Speculaas? 'Veggy' as well and quite similar to wodka.
Score: 21 points - it's no fun on the palate; all in all it's a fairly pitiful attempt at making whisky.

Aleksandrs (40%, Bottled +/- 2003, Latvia)
Nose: Even less character than the LB, but with such a disaster drink that's to be applauded.
Very 'veggy' in the nose after some breathing - raw rhubarb? A little grassy, leaning towards perfumy.
Taste: Grassy on the palate as well. Nothing else noteworthy. Even further from the beaten track.
Score: 15 points - these Latvians seem utterly inept when it comes to producing a proper whisky.

I've tried a few fairly decent
Eastern European whiskies,
but the whiskies from Latvia
were not among them.
 
However, please notes that
I've only tried two different
Latvian whiskies and both were
bottled around 2003. Thing
may have improved quite
a bit since then. 

World whiskies: Czech Republic (part of former Czechoslovakia)

Gold Cock 12yo (43%, Bottled +/- 2003, Czech Republic / former Czechoslovakia)
Nose: Quite odd, but impossible to describe. It needs some ten minutes to open up a little.
Some vaguely pleasant fruity notes, then more and more organics emerging.
Taste: It's very dull but not entirely unpleasant on the palate. It feels a little weak.
Score: 39 points - hard to believe it matured on wood for 12 years - maybe they kept it in steel oilcans?

King Barley 6yo (43%, Bottled +/- 2003, Czech Republic / former Czechoslovakia)
Nose: Malty, spicy and a little fruity. Then organics emerge. A developing, fairly 'Scotchy' profile.
There's a hint of glue, but it's quite pleasant - and rather similar to the bouquet of the Printer's.
Taste: Unfortunately, it's very flat, bitter (grape skins?) and watery on the palate.
Score: 45 points - the nose isn't bad, but the score is dragged down to 45 points by the palate.

Printer's (40%, no age statement, Bottled +/- 2003, Czech Republic / former Czechoslovakia)
Nose: Hey, that's considerably better than the Gold Cock and King Barley. Big, fruity and a little malty.
Over time some spices and organics emerge in the nose at first - this is actually enjoyable.
Taste: Not terribly complex, but nice enough. It loses points on the gritty palate and the short finish.
Score: 49 points - almost likeable and not too bad at all, to tell you the truth.

Countries in Eastern Europe
have a long and proud history
of distilling spirits, although
these were usually made from
local fruits and vegetables. With
the rising popularity of whisky
in recent years, many distilleries
are now experimenting with the
production of whisky.
 
Based on my research so far,
I'd have to say that whiskies
from the Czech Republic grow
worse with age, not better. But
then again, I've only sampled
three different expressions so
far. This makes my 'research'
hardly statistically significant.