tore.torden.org

Heya!

Since I came to Svalbard, I’ve been working hard to rid myself of whisky-newbdom and to get more tasting experience with the many fantastic scottish whiskys. Longyearbyen - and Karls-Berger Pub in particular - is a great place to try out various whiskys. Alcohol is cheaper up here than on the mainland because of less taxation and Karls-Berger pub is also among the top-ranking pubs when it comes to having a wide selection of whiskys behind the counter. Anyways, I’ve compiled here a short list of the single-malt whiskys I know I’ve tasted so far. I’ve had more speyside glens I’m sure, but their names are hard to remember.

Here’s my list so far :

Single malts I know I’ve had so far :

• Aberlour
• Ardbeg
• Arran
• Ben Nevis
• Bowmore
• Bruichladdich
• Caol Ila
• Glenfiddich
• Glenkinchie
• Glenlivet, The
• Highland Park
• Iona
• Isle of Jura
• Knockando
• Lagavulin
• Laphroaig
• Macallan, The
• Oban
• Scapa
• Talisker

I think it’s a pretty good list. Of these - Arran, Laphroaig and Scapa are the ones that made the biggest impression on me. I also quite like the other islays besides laphroaig as well as Talisker and Knockando. Except for the latter, I’m (so far) not such a fan of the speysides, so I know some classic glens are missing from my list. My favourite whisky up here at the moment is still Laphroaig quarter cask, a really peaty and oaky explosion of taste. It’s a young whisky and it’s like an islay fist in the mouth - only in a good way. With a few drops of water and a cold beer alongside to soften the impact, it’s very nice indeed.

But what about my whisky future? A friend, Anders Krabberød, brought a very special flask of Arran to me and Christianes moving-in party in Oslo. It was an amazing whisky, easily up there with my finest and most satisfying whisky-tasting experiences. Thus, I really want to get my hands on a bottle of Arran. Hopefully, I can get something similar to what we had that night. I also would like a bottle of Scapa, I quite like the 14 year old. The only problem is that it’s out of production, so it may not be the easiest one to get a hold of anymore, but bottles should still be on the market. My father also recommended both of these brands for me.

But these are brands I’ve already had - if only on one or two occasions - but what about the whiskys I’ve yet to taste? If you know a whisky that I should definetly try, please leave a suggestion with a comment to this post and I’ll add it to my whiskys-to-do list!