Google The Olympic Sessions, Day 14
 
 

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Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé!
   
   
 

August 13, 2024
Whiskyfun

The Olympic Session, Day 14

(from London to Taiwan)

We start with France. Well, one from England, ending up in a French cask. Many British celebrities have ended their lives kind of in a French cask, in a way, like Oscar Wilde. I know, calling Oscar Wilde a British figure is a bit of an exaggeration.

Tiffany’s New York Bar at the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong (Tiffany's New York Bar)

 

  

Bimber 2018/2023 (58.9%, OB, England, LMDW, cognac cask finish, cask #327/05) Four stars
Between us, it's quite an achievement to manage to sneak a finishing in the production of such a young whisky, isn't it? But we do love Bimber... Colour: gold. Nose: sweet and gentle, with vanilla and a few raisins, then banana and the usual hint of mango. Tinned peaches do indeed evoke cognac, though we remain quite soft here, with a medium-sized panettone making an appearance thereafter. With water: pure cassata, with plenty of dried fruits. Mouth (neat): slightly creamy and sweet, with citron and bitter orange, a drop of banana liqueur, ultra-ripe apricots, and honey... With water: that slightly liqueur-like side of Bimber, quince jelly, mango liqueur... It works perfectly. And of course, peach jam, probably from the cognac (not entirely sure, S.). Finish: medium length, liqueur-like fruitiness, sweet pastries, crossing into almonds. Comments: it's extremely good and certainly not a 'cognacsky.'
SGP:741 - 87 points.

While we're at it, more muscat! There aren't many whiskies left that don't rely on wine at all, are there?

Bimber 'Oval' (57.56%, OB, England, The Spirit of the Underground, Moscatel cask, cask #282/22, 307 bottles, 2024)

 Bimber 'Oval' (57.56%, OB, England, The Spirit of the Underground, Moscatel cask, cask #282/22, 307 bottles, 2024) Three stars and a half
We know ‘Oval’, but we know ‘Orval’ better. Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves. That said, the connection between the London Underground and Spanish Moscatel seems a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? Colour: deep gold. Nose: good news, it’s not an overwhelming muscat explosion that makes you want to immediately chug a magnum of Perrier. Instead, it offers a pastry-like aroma, reminiscent of galette des rois, frangipane (a bit off-season, aren’t we?), and orange blossom water. Lebanese pastries (poor Lebanon!) With water: notes of sesame oil. Mouth (neat): the woodiness is quite present, with a pronounced white pepper at the forefront, followed by ginger and dark chocolate. Lots of pepper. With water: it becomes more floral, with also Demerara sugar and a hint of beetroot. Yes, really. Finish: quite long, quite spicy, quite vegetal. Herbal. Comments: it lacks a bit the ‘clear line’ of Bimber, in my opinion. In any case, I have the impression that muscat is very difficult to handle generally, but it remains an excellent whisky of course.
SGP:651 - 84 points.

Willet 'Pot Still Reserve' (47%, OB, USA, Straight Bourbon, +/-2023)

 Willet 'Pot Still Reserve' (47%, OB, USA, Straight Bourbon, +/-2023) Four stars
 I must admit, I haven’t yet totally found in recent Willets the magnificence of some older versions. Apparently, this is a batch-distilled bourbon rather than ex-continuous column, unless I’m mistaken (which wouldn’t surprise us, S.). Colour: gold. Nose: sweet, fruity, with cedarwood, vanilla, apricot liqueur, a touch of coconut, a very light varnish, and that ‘liquid patisserie’ note—admittedly a bit nonsensical, we agree. Mouth: no, it’s good, very bourbon, with initial notes of juniper and lavender, followed by vanilla, ripe apple, and white pepper, then a hint of maple syrup. Finish: quite long, easy, honeyed, delicately spiced, with a gin-like quality. Yes, it’s me who wrote that. More wood in the aftertaste. Comments: very good, not taking many risks, for our benefit.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

We want to continue with another small American NAS, which is very cheap indeed. Premiumisation these days, my apple, de-premiumization might be en route.

Knob Creek 9 yo 'Small Batch' (50%, OB, USA, Kentucky Straight Bourbon, +/-2023)

Knob Creek 9 yo 'Small Batch' (50%, OB, USA, Kentucky Straight Bourbon, +/-2023) Four stars
We’ve only sampled Knob Creek once before, and it wasn’t bad at all (WF 83 in 2014). Colour: full gold. Nose: yes, lovely, light, vanilla with hints of sandalwood and incense, juniper, ginger, cedar... Who could object to that? Mouth: but of course, it’s very good, almost perfect, spiced just right, perhaps a tad too oaky, but otherwise, on apples and oranges. An increasingly pronounced rye character – is there a lot of rye in Knob Creek? Finish: of medium length, perhaps just a bit drying. Comments: I like it rather a lot.
SGP:651 - 85 points.

Here you go, we're in the mood to taste a little Nantou/Omar from a few years ago. We have plenty in stock.

Nantou 4 yo 2014/2018 (56%, OB, for Hot Malt, Taiwan, Keeper Richard's Choice 2, bourbon cask, cask #11140817, 210 bottles)

 Nantou 4 yo 2014/2018 'Omar' (56%, OB, for Hot Malt, Taiwan, Keeper Richard's Choice 2, bourbon cask, cask #11140817, 210 bottles) Four stars
A compadre Keeper! One gets the feeling this will go well... A quick reminder that Omar/Nantou is part of a state monopoly in Taiwan. Try this here and within a year, they'd all be round as barrels and not a single bottle would hit the market. Quite. Colour: white wine. Nose: oh, ashes, seaweed smoke, oysters, wet limestone, white pepper... It's magnificent. With water: new plastic, engine oil, nylon, polystyrene... Mouth (neat): superb. Young Lagavulin meets young Ardbeg, 50/50. A bit rough, though. With water: good, but still a tad aggressive. Vegetation smoked with beechwood. Finish: very long, saline, very smoky, arguably a touch extreme. A hint of mercurochrome. Comments: not subtle, but then again, only 4 years old.
SGP: 367 - 86 points.

... and in Taiwan, there is also ...

Kavalan 9 yo 2014/2024 ‘9 years + 363 Days’ (60.2%, Tiffany’s New York Bar Hong Kong, Taiwan, Port cask, cask #O140311068A, 147 bottles)

 Kavalan 9 yo 2014/2024 ‘9 years + 363 Days’ (60.2%, Tiffany’s New York Bar Hong Kong, Taiwan, Port cask, cask #O140311068A, 147 bottles) Four stars and a half
This baby offers an abundance of fun, and we adore that they didn’t wait the extra three days to make it a ‘ten’ (remember, ten = deal). A sublime bit of coquetry from our friends at the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong on this Taiwanese malt! Colour: mahogany. Nose: a carpenter’s workshop, cherry wood, teak, thuja, tomato sauce, cellulose varnish, then blackcurrant buds. A slight hint of young Pommard. With water: incense and pepper, mushrooms, brown tobacco (Gauloise), pine bark, humus. Mouth (neat): it’s really quite excellent, though perhaps a tad over-wooded. Cherry stem tea, cherry liqueur, bitter almonds, Italian cigars (Toscani), cloves… With water: gentler, chocolatey, with kirsch. Don’t add too much water, though, despite the 60.2% ABV. Finish: another whisky that leans slightly towards rum. I’d say a Port Mourant from Guyana. Comments: no, it’s quite superb, very fine cask aging technology, although for me, nothing can surpass the best ex-bourbons from Kavalan.
SGP:461 - 88 points.

 

Current Medal Standing
After Day 13

 

92 - Gold
 
  • TTO Trinidad Distillers Limited 14 yo 2009/2024 'Edition N°1' (62.9%, The Colours of Rum, Up Spirits Club, bourbon cask, cask #106, 259 bottles)
91 - Gold
 
  • JPN Shizuoka 2019/2023 (65.2%, Asta Morris, Japan, peated, pot still K, bourbon barrel, cask #1222, 302 bottles)
  • JPN Shizuoka ‘United S - Summer Edition 2023’ (50.5%, OB, Japan, first-fill bourbon)
  • JPN Yamazaki 18 yo ’Suntory 100th Anniversary’ (48%, OB, Japan, Mizunara, 2023)
  • GUI Uitvlugt 31 yo 1990/2022 (56.2%, Silver Seal, Guyana)
  • FIJ South Pacific Distillery 11 yo 2012/2023 (57.5%, The Whisky Jury, Fiji, refill barrel, cask #12, 292 bottles)
90 - Silver
 
  • JPN Hakushu 18 yo ‘Suntory 100th Anniversary’ (48%, OB, Japan, 2023)
  • NED Millstone 26 yo 1996/2022 (47.7%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, Netherlands, American oak, cask #1372, 264 bottles)
  • JPN Shizuoka 2018/2024 (46.6%, OB, Sushi + Soul Munich, Japan, KS+WS, bourbon, cask #939)
  • TTO Caroni 25-year-old 1998/2023 (60.1%, Impressions by The Colours of Rum, Trinidad, cask #8, 120 bottles)
  • TTO Caroni 25 yo 1999/2024 (57.2%, Jean Boyer, Rum Bullion, Trinidad, cask #198)
  • TTO Caroni 24 yo 1998/2023 ‘Mars’ (61.1%, Jack Tar, Cosmic Series, cask #2185, 195 bottles)
  • LCA Chairman’s Reserve 15 yo 2005/2022 (61.5%, OB, St. Lucia, GotA & RumX, bourbon, cask #06012000, 232 bottles)
  • CUB Cuban Rum 50 yo 1973/2024 (52%, Spheric Spirits, cask #2314302, 258 bottles)
  • BAR Foursquare 20 yo 2002/2023 (49%, The Colours of Rhum, Barbados, N°19, cask #4, 208 bottles)
89 - Silver
 
  • FRA Alfred Giraud ‘Une Odyssée’ (52.9%, OB, France, Collection Singulière, cognac cask, 459 bottles)
  • GBR Bimber ‘Stratford’ (58.5%, OB, England, The Spirit of the Underground, Fino cask, cask #267/16, 325 bottles, 2024)
  • KOR Kimshangsoo Single Cask (52.1%, OB, Korea, Artist Edition, 1st fill European oloroso hogshead, 312 bottles, 2023)
  • AIN Caribbean Rum 30 yo 1993/2024 (60.5%, eSpirit, Liquid Treasures, 15th anniversary, barrel, 282 bottles)
88 - Bronze
 
  • GBR Bimber ‘Wimbledon’ (56.6%, OB, England, The Spirit of the Underground, Vino de Naranja cask, cask #310/5, 298 bottles, 2024)
  • JPN Chichibu 2017/2023 (65%, OB for ePower, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #8279, 176 bottles)
  • USA Copperworks 3 yo 2018/2022 (56.8%, Whisky-Facile, USA, Black Cat Series, virgin oak, cask #287, 239 bottles)
  • ITA Exmu ‘Spirit of Sardinia’ (45.5%, OB, Italy, bourbon, +/-2024)
  • JPN Kanosuke 2019/2023 (61%, OB, for ePower, Japan, oloroso sherry, cask #19421, 281 bottles)
  • TPE Kavalan 9 yo 2014/2024 ‘9 years + 363 Days’ (60.2%, Tiffany’s New York Bar Hong Kong, Taiwan, Port cask, cask #O140311068A, 147 bottles)
  • JPN Mars Tsunuki 6 yo 2017/2024 ‘Yakushima Aging’ (58%, OB, Japan, for Tiffany’s New York Bar and AF Trade, sherry hogshead, cask #2094, 252 bottles)
  • GBR Penderyn 13 yo 2010/2023 (59.5%, OB, Wales, LMDW New Vibrations, second fill bourbon, cask #313/2010)
  • JPN Shizuoka ‘Pot Still W Japanese barley First Edition’ (55.5%, OB, Japan, Japan exclusive, 2,500 bottles, 2023)
  • JPN Yoichi 10 yo (45%, OB, Japan, Edition 2022)
  • GUY Diamond 20 yo 2003/2024 'SVL' (51.6%, The Roots, Guyana, bourbon cask, cask #23, 174 bottles)
  • CVD Sodade 'Cana Rocca Ouro Blanco' (43.1%, OB, Cape Verde, grogue, +/-2023)
87 - Bronze
 
  • FRA Alfred Giraud ‘Intrigue #2’ (51.5%, OB, France, +/-2024)
  • GBR Bimber ‘Germany Edition 2023’ (59.2%, OB, Kirsch Import, sherry, cask #456, 280 bottles)
  • GBR Bimber 2018/2023 (58.9%, OB, England, LMDW, cognac cask finish, cask #327/05)
  • GBR Filey Bay 2016/2021 (63.1%, OB, England, oloroso sherry hogshead, cask #146, 271 bottles)
  • NED Kalkwijck 2019/2023 ‘Higgledy Piggledy Rye’ (44%, OB, The Netherlands, American oak, 480 bottles, +/-2023)
  • TPE Kavalan 2014/2024 (61%, OB for Malt, Grain & Cane, Port, cask #O140201019A, 186 bottles)
  • FIN Kyrö 'Malt Rye' (47.2%, OB, Finland, +/-2023)
  • NED Millstone 2019/2024 (57.3%, OB for The Whisky Jury, refill PX hogshead, cask #2547, 319 bottles)
  • ESP Sherishor 12 yo (45%, OB, Spain, ‘pure malt whisky’, +/-2024)
  • GER St. Kilian 2019/2024 ‘Unpeated’ (59.4%, OB, Germany, single cask, ex Four Roses bourbon barrel)
  • GER The Westfalian ‘Masterpiece Peated’ (64.1%, OB, Germany, ex-Macallan sherry hogshead, cask #TW74, 238 bottles)
  • GER The Westfalian 2012/2024 'Single Grain' (62.5%, OB, Germany, ex-Ben Nevis sherry hogshead, cask #TW8, 266 bottles)
  • USA Westward ‘Cask Strength 125 Proof’ (62.5%, OB, USA, +/-2023)
  • AIN Ron Colon ‘Salvadoreno High Proof’ (55.5%, OB, blend, +/-2022) 
  • TTO Trinidad Distillers Limited 15 yo 2008/2024 (64.4%, Spiritori #1, Trinidad, cask #243, 335 bottles)

 

 

  
   

 

 

 
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