15th taster from the Advent Calendar. All I can say, it’s a whiskey. It’s not particularly good or bad, in my opinion, maybe has a bit longer aftertaste and warmth than most, but nothing that would amaze me.
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Category: *.BAK
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Misono UX10 knife
Decided to use my visit to the US to purchase Misono UX10 knife, that isn’t sold in the UK. For those that don’t know, this knife is heavily promoted by America’s Test Kitchen:
What’s interesting about this knife is that although it’s made in Japan, the steel is from Sweden. Also, it has an asymetrical edge: 12 degrees on one side, 20 degrees on the other. Most European kitchen knives are 20 degrees, and Japense are 15 degrees. It is also much lighter than any other knife of comparable 18cm length. Hell, Wusthof Icon 16cm weights 179g, and Misono UX10 is only 155g.
But… the knife isn’t very sharp. Which is funny, because out of the box, they should be the sharpest you can get them. But Global is sharper. And Wusthof is more comfortable.
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Wemyss Spice King batch strength whiskey
The 13th taster was a Bruichladdich 12, which I know by now, so I’ll jump to 14th, “Wemyss Spice King batch strength” instead. The key component here is “batch strength”. I’m not a fan of blended whiskeys, because, well, it’s easy to hide imperfections when you blend everything together. But this one is indeed tasty and spicy. Not something I would probably buy for myself, but interesting nevertheless.
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Speyburn 18 Year Old
12th whiskey from the Advent Calendar. At that pace, I may keep it until the next Christmas.
It’s a proper 18 year old whiskey for sure. Has the kick, has the taste, has the warmth. Maybe not 83GBP they ask usually, but for 72GBP, a good bargain.
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HORL 2 Sharpener
I made a full circle, and bought the HORL 2 sharpener a couple of weeks ago. It stays. The great thing about it, is that it maintains the angle itself, while WorkSharp Benchtop can help you get the angle correctly, but you still need to maintain it through the motion. As simple as that.
It is also much smaller than I expected. Not a coffee mug, but more of a whiskey glass, maybe.
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Fettercairn 12 Year Old
At first I wasn’t impressed by the sharp taste, despite some floran afternotes. But it does give a nice lightheadiness, that may convince me to explore if not the 12, but the 16 year old ones.
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Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old Whisky
10th whiskey from the Advent Calendar.
For its price, it is a very good whiskey. Sweet, if a bit sharp around the edges. With a bit of warmth.
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Salomon Quest 4 GTX
I love Salomon. Specifically, I love their X Ultra 4 so much that once I wore a pair down, I just bought a new pair.
And when I decided a need a mid Salomon boots, I at first just thought of buying the mid version of X Ultra 4. But then I decided to try something else.
It didn’t worked out. Got blisters in all the unexpected places. One above my thumb, another just above the ankle joint. And that wasn’t a rough walk, it was literally a walk in the park.
So I’m sending those back.
Next in line are X Ultra 360 now.
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Deanston Virgin Oak
9th bottle from my Advent Calendar, this one is absolutely disgusting. Yes, they sell this stuff that smells like alcohol and tastes just a tad better for 33GBP. But then you could grab heavenly Aberlour for the same price sometimes. So this is just an offence to any whiskey lover, really.
It all started with a Facebook ad.
I had a Vulkanus pullthrough sharpener for at least 5 years. But then I saw an ad for a strange rolling knife sharpener called Tumbler, or something like that.
After a short investigation, I discovered that it’s a cheap Chinese knockoff of HORL knife sharpener: https://www.horl.com/gb/en/
And unlike Tumbler, HORL is actually considered a good sharpener. Then I started digging deeper. And turns out there isn’t as much choice among knife sharpeners, as one would expect. There’s unimaginatively named Chef’s Choice electric knife sharpener line, and then there’s WorkSharp, that produces both manual and electric sharpeners.
A lot of sharpening enthusiasts were swearing by the WorkSharp Field Sharpener. But since I didn’t need something too compact, I decided to get the benchtop version.
After sharpening half of my knifes, I can confirm, that it’s good, very good. Not something for people in a hurry.
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Stigbergets Cacao
It’s astonishing that at 12.5%, this is not even the strongest beer from Swedish Stigbergets.
It’s a fantastic Imperial Stout throught and throught, though. Surprisingly sour, which means that it tastes like 90% chocolate, and very smooth. Makes you light, not heavy. Something I definitely would buy if I ever find it again.
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Dalmore 12 Year Old
8th whiskey from the Advent Calendar.
Nothing to write home about, as would be expected from a whiskey that is sold in the supermarkets and has a stag on it.
It is the most tart whiskey I can remember, though. And it has some interesting spicy aftertaste.
But defintely wouldn’t buy it for myself.
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Nc’nean Huntress 2022
7th bottle from the Advent Calendar, and so far probably the best yet.
It has almost no smell, pleasant or otherwise, but hits you with a warmth, quiets the head, and is quite sweet.
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Mad Squirrel Dusk Porter
I think I got this from the random crate, but I’m not sure. Been meaning to taste Mad Squirrel just for the sake of the name.
It’s a nice porter. Not much gas, which is good. Has some sweetness, some smokiness, doesn’t leave you with a headache. For 3GBP or so, not bad at all.
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Fourpure Nightbus
Got it from the same Beer52 random crate I’m still struggling to finish. It’s a nice surprise, pretty sweet and tasty for a cheap 5% stout. Not sold on their site directly at the moment, so I couldn’t get it even if I wanted to, but all their other beers are ridiculously cheap:
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Old Pulteney 15 Year Old
5th in the Advent Calendar was Glenfiddich 18. Once I had a whole bottle of it. I don’t consider it a good whiskey. My opinion didn’t change after this taster.
To the Old Pulteney 15 Year Old now. It’s excellent. Surprisingly sweet, a bit sharp for my taste, but leaves with an excellent warmth. At 73GBP per bottle, it’s a bargain.
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Gordon Xmas beer
Finally tried it (it’s March, I bought it before Christmas). And it’s exactly what I’d wish from Christmas beer. Chocolate or coffee notes, some spiciness, sweet, but not too heavy.
If I could get it next year, I would.
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Glengoyne 12 Year Old
4th taster from the Advent Calendar.
Some people describe it as easy, and I’d agree. It is not overpowering, just slightly malty, you don’t feel the 43%, but it numbs the mouth nicely. For 45GBP, you can’t wish for much more.
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Glen Moray 2014 Oloroso Matured
3rd bottle from the advent calendar. This one is down my lane, so to speak: sweet and warm. Something I would definitely buy for myself:
https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/glen-moray/glen-moray-2014-oloroso-matured-warehouse-1-whisky/
78GBP for what is basically 10 years old whiskey is a bit steep, but is definitely a nice discovery.
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Samsonite Ecodiver Travel S backpack
I’ve been using North Face backpacks for many years now. And grew slightly disillusioned by them with time. So after trying out a couple of Samsonite backpacks at the airport, I decided to give them a chance.
Ecodiver line is the water resisting one. That’s easy. Considering the fact that my North Face Surge got soaked quite a few times, I view it as a considerable benefit. The more complicated part is that inside the lineup, there’s Travel Backpack and Laptop Backpack. And smallest Travel Backpack (38L) is larger than the largest Laptop Backpack (26L). Since my surge is 32L and I don’t consider it to be too large for my needs, I went with Travel S model.
Things I like:
- Two pairs of compression straps, top and bottom
- Vertical organizers in the large compartment. This is useful for storing a water bottle, for example.
- The external side compartment also has a zip pocket. On Surge, those were open, and stuff would fall out of it unless you secure them
Things I’m neutral about:
- The glasses compartment is a mesh inside the large compartment. Don’t see why, could be made a small compartment accessible from the outside and still be waterproof
Things I don’t like that much:
- Hip belt can be tucked away, but you can’t remove it. I never used hip belt, and don’t expect to, so I’d prefer it to be removable
- I’d prefer two side pockets instead of one.