A Blur of Scotch Whiskeys

I looked for the collective noun for Whiskey on the interweb and all I could find was a "blur" of whiskeys, which makes sense, I suppose. Anytime I have had occasion to open multiple bottles things have tended to get a bit blurry.

BTW - this will be of little interest to the non whiskey drinking oenophiles out there, but I wanted to write a bit about the eight different single malts I picked up as I made my weary way home every week from Auld Reekie, over the last few months. Also, I don't think wine and whiskey are that dissimilar in terms of the effort and time required to produce a drink of great quality.

My intent was to buy something I had not tried before, at least every second bottle, to force me to try some new styles and producers. I also decided to buy the standard (youngest) expression of each whiskey. In terms of cost, apart from the final two bottles (£38), all were around the £30 mark. See below for how successful this experiment proved to be.

The whiskeys in the pic above are in purchase order (l-r) with the first purchase, a Cragganmore 12 yo, now sadly finished.

Caragganmore 12yo
Very smooth and very tasty. A good whiskey to give to a non regular whiskey drinker.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? Hit

Talisker 10yo
Perhaps more of an acquired taste than above - it's a little peaty, a little salty and I think rewards the more adventurous drinker.
Experiment? No
Hit or Miss? Hit

Old Pulteney 10yo
A lighter, sherried cask style of whiskey for when something sweeter is required.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? Hit

Caol Ila 12yo
I bought this because I had a bottle of the 18yo some years ago and it was fabulous, not overly peaty but rich and complex. The 12yo expression tastes a bit bland for me. There is some peat going on but not much else. Disappointing.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? Miss

Glenmorangie 10 yo
The standard exoression from this distillery is wonderful - Incredibly rich, spicy and complex on the palate.
Experiment? No
Hit or Miss? Hit

Highland Park 1998
I couldn't find the standard 12yo so I plumped for this Airport only "1998" (there is also a "1994" and a "1990"), assuming erroneously that it would be the same or within spitting distance of the 12yo (which I love). Alas, I was mistaken. Jim Murray, in his "Whisky Bible" 2011 finds it "pleasant but disappointing by HP standards". It just doesn't do it for me. It tastes like a photocopy of the 12yo. I made the mistake of reading this review before trying it and so it's entirely possible I am not giving this whiskey a fair go, but the damage is done now.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? Miss (mostly)

Dalwhinnie 15yo
Another fantastic Highland single malt. Warming, smooth and another whiskey to tempt the non-whiskey drinker with.
Experiment? No
Hit or Miss? Hit

Dalmore 12yo
I tried this immediately after renewing my acquaintance with Dalwhinnie, and it came off as a little rough and ready. However I did sample it again a couple of weeks ago and it performed much better on its own. It's not a subtle whiskey - big, bold and fiery. If this is your style of single malt then fill your boots, lofty.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? TBC

Note1: The Dalwhinnie, the Cragganmore and the Talisker and part of Diageo original "Classic Malt" range, which I was unaware of. Not a bad place to start, as it also includes Oban 14yo (Fantastic), Lagavulin 16yo (A peaty monster), and Glenkinchie 10yo (perfectly fine)

Note2: Apologies for the blurry picture, it wasn't intentional. I had to use my old smartphone as my brand new super duper HTC is in being fixed (long story short - great multi media device/crap phone performance).