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Hi, you're in the Archives, May 2015 - Part 2
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May 31, 2015 |
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Sunday malternatives,
today four American rums |
The American craft distillers (I mean, the ones who are genuine distillers) are in full swing these days, and do not only make whiskey, vodka or brandy, some also make rum, often out of locally grown sugarcane. But you see, some are real crazy people… |
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Old New Orleans ‘3’ (40%, OB, Louisiana, +/-2015)  A funny one that used to be advertised as a 3 years old on the label, and yet the website says that this “blend of aged rum spends up to three years in charred American oak barrels.” Oh well, a matter of definition, I guess. This is molasses rum, but not too sure about the stills they use; pot still plus column still, apparently. Colour: gold. Nose: fine, rather light, with bananas and a cane-y greasiness we’re always looking for. Also the usual liquorice and light brine, which would rather give this baby an ‘agricole’ feeling. All for the better. Mouth: we’re midway between a sweet Cuban style and some greasier, tarrier notes, a wee tad Jamaican. I find this style pleasant and very well balanced, with some character. More caramel and vanilla coming through after a few seconds, as well as a little marmalade. Finish: not too long but it’s got a ‘good’ taste of fine molasses. And, above all, no excessive sweetness. Comments: a fine crossbreed between English and French style rums, I’d say. A little more powa would have been welcome. SGP:462 - 78 points. |
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St. George 'California Agricole Rum' (43%, OB, California, Harvested 2014)  This is white. I wanted to try this baby because of the use of the word ‘agricole’. Hum-hum. Bah, the Californians have been using ‘Champagne’ for ages, after all. Colour: white. Nose: waah this is rough! Almost feinty, with yeast and vegetables, diesel oil, fresh paint, fermenting grass, charcoal and… burnt gherkins? Not sure this was ready, but it’s quite an experience. Mouth: extremely young, rough, ‘straight from the still’, with grassy, burnt, herbal and molassy notes. Burnt asparagus, perhaps, and draff – the stuff they use to feed lucky Highland cattle in Scotland. The good news is that more cane-y sweetness appears after a short while, with some lime, gherkins, and perhaps capers. Finish: quite long, green, briny. Comments: fun stuff – probably more showcase rum than something you’re supposed to sip in an old chesterfield armchair. Maybe is it a first attempt at making clairin? Some maturing time in ‘open’ glass or better yet, in stone jars may be needed. The packaging’s great. SGP:261 - 59 points. |
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St. George 'California Reserve Agricole Rum' (40%, OB, California, +/-2015)  Apparently, this one has spent four years in French oak casks. Colour: pale gold. Nose: bingo! It hasn’t lost its funny unlikeliness, but time and oak have mellowed it down, making it rather rounder, and without any off notes this time. The gherkins aren’t burnt anymore, the diesel oil’s better, the paint is gone, and some artichokes, sugarcane, liquorice wood and hay have appeared in the combo. Great briny style. Mouth: indeed, this is fun! We’re somewhere between some real agricole and mezcal, with plenty of smoky grass, pickled ginger, maybe even small sweet onions, humus, seawater and… a rooty concoction. Almost forgot to mention grapefruits. Goody good. Finish: long, salty, zesty, slightly Laphroaiggy. Yes. Touches of pineapples in the aftertaste. Comments: a massive difference. Another world, a great spirit. This, at 50%, pah pah pah pah pah… SGP:452 - 85 points. |
A last American rum if you don’t mind. Please fasten your seatbelts… |
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Lost Spirits 'Navy Style Rum' (68%, OB, California, +/-2015) By the crazy people who make Leviathan whisky, kings of experimental aging and masters of time warp machines. Well, they had still thought this baby would need 4 years of maturing in oloroso-seasoned oak. Oh and this is pot still rum, made with molasses. Colour: red amber. Nose: it’s quite rounded and mellow! Some oak (pencil shavings), blackberries and cassis jelly, then rather black tea, Russian black tobacco, coffee beans, ripe bananas, blood oranges, a curious maltiness, and rather Pedro Ximenez rather than oloroso. No off notes that I can find. With water: gentler, with very lovely touches of balsamico, soy sauce, a touch of rubber and leather, tar, and… say umami? Mouth (neat): thick, a bit caramelly, certainly quite oaky and gingery, with growing liquorice. This is almost salmiakki! The style of their whiskeys is there again, between extremeness and… shall we say engaging delirium? Burns a bit, but that was to be expected at 68% vol. With water: plenty of caramel, fudge, café latte, vanilla… All that combining very well with the smoky and tarry style of this extreme rum. At times, you cannot not think of some great old heavy Demerara. Port Mourant? Finish: as long as an uncut Kurozawa movie (what the…?) Perhaps a tad too oaky and coffeeish at this point? The aftertaste is quite tarry/herbal. Comments: the wizards may have benchmarked some 1974 Port Mourant or something. I wouldn’t say they failed, even if this baby’s obviously simpler. Good, same score as the other great Californian. SGP:462 - 85 points. |
 Check the index of all rums I've tasted so far
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Today: FUNK. Performer: something very funky and American to go with the rums, the band Tribe. Track: We've Got Work To Do. Please buy their music... |
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May 29, 2015 |
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Three rather extreme Aultmore |
We like to try ‘shy’ distilleries as often as we can at WF Towers, and today that’ll be Aultmore. We’ll kick this off with some of these very young and super-potent new ones that are popping out here and there these days, and then try an oldie. Not a weak one either, mind you… |
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Aultmore 6 yo 2007/2014 (53.7%, Kintra, cask #900026) Colour: gold. Nose: typical of these good spirits that have matured in rather active American oak, maybe with a little sherry thrown in. I guess we could call this style ‘Starbucky’, because there’s more vanilla, candy sugar, chocolate, hazelnut liqueur and bonbons then normal. And apples. And marshmallows. With water: gets raw, barleyish, a little feinty. Some earth, humus, beer… Mouth (neat): young malt whisky from active oak, with spices that give it a curry-like feeling after a few seconds. Gets a wee tad bitter, perhaps. With water: sweet oak, coconut, sweets, all that. Fanta. Finish: good length. Strawberries, orange squash, sweet barley, sweets. Comments: maybe a little young? But hey, what the distillers do, the indies can do as well. SGP:551 - 78 points. |
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Aultmore 2007/2015 (67.4%, Archives, sherry butt, cask #900016, 172 bottles)  Most probably a sister cask (yeah, like, that’s smart, S.) Let’s hope that given this strength, this one won’t rip our head off in no time. Colour: deep gold. Nose: wood glue, sawdust and high-strength rye, plus coffee and marshmallows. Let’s not push our luck… With water: same, just mellower. Chocolate, Mars bar, cornflakes, café latte, dried bananas… And of course much less glue. Mouth (neat): pencil shavings and… pencil shavings. And fruit syrups, but at this strength, I couldn’t tell you which ones. Quick… With (a lot of) water: this feeling of rye whisky that we found in the nose. Demerara sugar, even rum… And quite some sweet oak. Finish: same, plus sweets, Haribos’s best of… A touch of muscovado sugar in the aftertaste. Comments: quite simple, very straightforward. Bourbon from Scotland? And I find it pretty good, just a little monolithic. SGP:641 - 81 points. |
And now, an old official monster… |
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Aultmore 16 yo (63%, OB, centenary bottling, 1997)  A monster in what seems to be a Dalwhinnie bottle, launched for the 100 years of the distillery (1897-1997), just before Bacardi bought the distillery and parent company Dewar’s from Diageo. So yeah, this is a Diageo bottling, or maybe a United Distillers one (merged into Diageo in 1997). Colour: red amber. Nose: it’s strange that a feeling of high-end bourbon exists yet again, with these pencil shavings, stewed apples and pears, pears poached in wine, eucalyptus, leather, cigars (Pappy’s)… With water: the sherry comes out more. It’s a clean one, rather fruity then ‘cigary’, with an oak that’s quite in the front. Touches of strawberry jam. Mouth (neat): sherry in full swing, with limestone, rose jelly, Turkish delights, quince jelly, sweet mustard, a bit of gunpowder, more quince jelly… Who could be against quince jelly? And menthol, and a little liquorice again… Attacks your gums a bit, at this strength... Waaah… With water: remains a little aggressive and oaky. Blackberry jam, cinnamon, nutmeg, more cinnamon… Finish: long, compact, on Linzertorte. Comments: a modern style avant l’heure, I’d say. The cask(s) have been pretty active. SGP:551 - 84 points. |
| Pete McPeat and Jack Washback |
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May 28, 2015 |
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It’s a huge honour to be able to taste Speyburn again. Remember Speyburn is the favourite whisky of the honourable Jon von Fiddler, good friend of the Prince of Monaco and distinguished member of the world-famous Clog-Clog Club that gathers the fine fleur of Scotland’s only-half-inebriated youth. What an honour, what an honour… |
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Speyburn 10 yo (40%, OB, +/- 2001) An older version, just to be sure… Colour: straw. Nose: there’s something antique in this nose that starts with pineapple-scented shoe polish (what?) and sauvignony gravel (re-what?), not to forget quite a lot of lamp oil, cod liver oil, old rusty tin box and various herbs straight from the vicarage’s garden. Chives, parsley… In short, a nose unlike any other, deliciously un-modern. Mouth: honeydew and mead all over the place. This is extremely Buckfasty (if I may), totally unusual, and I’m sure quite a few bees have been involved in making this. Or some clever clogs have added honey to this wee bottle, you never know with friends… Finish: medium, very honeyed. It’s almost mead. Comments: otherworldly. Some personality. Well I don’t quite know what to say. SGP:641 - 78 points. |
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Speyburn 10 yo (40%, OB, +/- 2014)  Colour: straw. Nose: it’s a fruitier, younger, easier and simpler nose. Pears are very obvious, as well as tinned fruits. A fruit salad, tinned pears, tinned peaches… All the oils and waxy/phenolic touches that were in the older 10 have vanished. Mouth: simple sweet easy fruity sugary malt whisky. Hard to say anything against it, it’s just not extremely inspiring. No I won’t tell you that joke about the Scottish chef who always cooks with whisky again… Finish: same. We’re just above regular good-quality blends. No flaws, no thrill, but it goes down gracefully and with ease. Comments: very fine, just not extremely inspiring. To quaff without noticing. SGP:441 - 76 points. |
Will the indies have something to say?... |
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Speyburn 8 yo 2005/2014 (46%, Douglas Laing, Provenance, cask #10437) These are great series, they have many young malts from rather inactive wood, which is great if you want to have a better grasp of the distillates’ styles. I know, prices… Colour: pale gold. Nose: we’re close to the recent 10, but this one has got a sour side that’s not obligatorily very pleasant. Cider from last night, chalk, dairy cream, supermarket white Port (does white Port belong to a wine shop anyway?), a touch of soap, new plastic bag… Not too sure… Mouth: better, cleaner, sweet, very malty, candied, honeyed… Some corn syrup, praline, caramel, Kellogg’s most sugary, Ovaltine… Well, this is malt whisky for sure. Finish: quite long, extremely malty. Maple syrup. Comments: good body. The palate was nice but the nose was… well this is no nosing whisky, I guess. Ueber-malty malt whisky. SGP:541 - 77 points. |
Next Speyburn session, November 15, 2018. Stay tuned ;-). |
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May 27, 2015 |
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Glenallachie, a wee verticale |
Another ‘little’ malt we’re very keen on (because it’s little, precisely), Glenallachie. Enough with Macallan, Bowmore or Springbank, let’s have Speyburns, Deanstons, Glenburgies, Glendullans or, for that matter, Glenallachies! Wait, I have an even better proposal, let’s do a proper Glenallachie verticale. Game? |
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Glenallachie 6 yo 2008/2014 (54.7%, Duncan Taylor, Dimensions, cask #900699, 351 bottles) I know, you’re wondering why someone bottled a 6 yo Glenallachie as a single malt and is selling it for 77€ a bottle. Let’s see… Colour: pale white wine. Nose: no. Raw, immature, with pears and yogurt plus yogurt and pears. Having said that, the whiffs of sauvignon are pleasant (bone dry Sancerre). But not too convinced so far. With water: ale, pear spirit, kirsch. Raw young malt whisky straight from its barrel (in the warehouse). Mouth (neat): new make. Good new make but new make. Kirschenwasser, zwetschke, barley, grapefruits. With water: sweet barley, malty, pearish. Finish: same, plus a touch of lemon. Comments: it’s another trend we’re seeing these days, malt spirit taken almost as white as white rum, mezcal or tequila. Why not, but of course not at 77€ a bottle. No, cask strength doesn’t do it. SGP:531 - 71 points. |
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Glenallachie 17 yo 1996/2013 (43%, Signatory Vintage, casks 5238+5239, 792 bottles) Always liked this humble series, always very fairly priced. Colour: white wine. Nose: not much happening. Hay and grass and apple peelings. That isn’t much, but.. hold on, I seem to get herbs, myrtle, juniper… Even bay leaves. It’s whispering, and as Art Blakey would have said, it’s whispering low, but that adds some dimension. Mouth: sweet, easy, fruity, simple, pleasantly fruity malt whisky. Fruit salad plus Demerara sugar, tinned pear juice, green tea and sweet bread. This is well malt whisky. Finish: medium, malty and fruity. Comments: good to season some fruit salad, or to quaff on ice with slices of kiwi. Maybe. Not mindboggling but very honest and loyal. SGP:541 - 78 points. |
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Glenallachie 18 yo 1995/2014 (46%, Càrn Mor, hogshead, 587 bottles) Two casks. Colour: straw. Nose: exactly the same profile as that of the Signatory. Perhaps a tad more leafy/rooty? And maybe a tad more beerish as well. Green bananas. Mouth: same. Plain malt whisky ex-refill wood, without much character, but with a pleasant, err, maltiness. Nothing bad to say against this one, but I’m not sure I’ll remember it tomorrow. Unless I start to read my own very lousy prose, which would start to become scary. So, this is malt whisky of moderate age (feels like 8), of which they must have 10 million casks sleeping in central Scotland. Finish: good length, sweet, malty. Comments: very good, just a little boring, IMHO. What was that again? SGP:551 - 79 points. |
So, what do you need to make most malt whiskies interesting? That’s right, time… (no, don’t always listen to our friends the brand ambassadors, of course flavours are more important than age, but it’s age that makes flavours! That’s what I think, at least…) |
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Glenallachie 37 yo 1973/2010 (46%, Mo Or Collection, bourbon hogshead, cask #6746, 266 bottles)  Colour: gold. Nose: b.i.n.g.o. I mean, bingo. Makes you want to kiss Chronos. Stunning notes of old earthy teas, tropical fruits aplenty (green bananas, papayas, proper avocado), waxed papers, cigars, pot-pourri, old leather jacket, Connolly leather polish (whatever), white chocolate, chamomile tea (and while I’m at it, manzanilla, which means chamomile anyway in Spanish), bandages and embrocations… A great, great nose. Mouth: perfect from Perfect’s. Astounding combination with herbal teas, rather green tropical fruits, soft spices, more herbs, plantains, cough syrup, chartreuse, Bénédictine, verbena… and green anise, cardamom… Whoo-hoo-hoo, some ride, especially after the young ‘mundaners’. Finish: quite long, slightly briny, very complex, spicy, mentholy, medicinal… Comments: a beauty, an ode to age and to time, and more proof that any distillery can make some world-shattering spirit, providing you give it… time. And yeah, time is money (wow, S., you’ve outdone yourself on that one!), SGP:651 - 92 points. |
I had planned to stop this session here, but that little 1973 was too good, let’s have another one if you don’t mind… |
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Glenallachie 38 yo 1973/2011 (50.4%, The Whisky Agency, bourbon barrel, 218 bottles)  Always watch The Whisky Agency on ‘little names’, they’re very good at that. Nah, forget about that Inchmoan… Colour: gold. Nose: I’m afraid it’s pretty much the same whisky. A shame and a glory. Stunning leafy, medicinal, earthy, muddy notes that combine so well with the tropical fruits (slightly unripe ones)… What a tango! Mouth: honeydew, papaya juice, grapefruits, lime, cough medicine, skins and zests, green walnuts, grass. A touch of rubbery wax. Finish: that’s where it gets a little more problematic, the grassy side tends to take over and to make it a little acrid and, well, too green and even a little plasticine-y. A pity and a shame, otherwise we’d have had an utter winner. Comments: the name’s Glenallachie. All you need is 38 years and you almost reach perfection. Almost. SGP:561 - 89 points. |
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Today: JAZZ. Performer: Steve Khan. Track: heal any wounds with Dr. Slump. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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May 26, 2015 |
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All over Europe in several flights - part 5 |
It’s going to be our last day with European whiskies, but we’ll do this again soon, although we might fly to Asia and America before that happens. In the meantime, since we ended yesterday’s session with a good Swiss Langatun rye, let’s start this one with their Swiss… bourbon. |
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Langatun 4 yo 2009 'Old Mustang' (44%, OB, Switzerland, 'bourbon whiskey', +/-2014)  Not too sure you can call something that’s not made in America ‘bourbon’ – unless you make it in French Bourbonnais, maybe. Right, maybe not. Colour: gold. Nose: rather light, it seems, with rather notes of grain whisky instead of bourbon. A little varnish, vanilla, Haribo jelly beans, other sweets, marshmallows, dried coconut… You see what I mean. Mouth: sweet and easy, with the same flavours plus rather more peppery oak, a little gritty. Again, rather grain whisky than ‘bourbon’ in my opinion, with a mouth feel that’s a little thin, beyond the oak. Finish: rather short, with some green oak. Comments: I have to say I enjoyed Langatun’s Old Eagle much, much more. SGP:640 - 65 points. |
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Thursky 12 yo 'Final Edition' (52%, OB, Egnach Distillery, Switzerland, +/-2014) This baby comes from Thurgau. We might be a little late with Egnach since this is their very last bottling. The distillery’s been mothballed in 2007. Colour: deep gold. Nose: nice! Rather on sweet vanilla-ed oak than on anything else, but that works – and we’ve seen this style working at many other places. Butterscotch, earl grey tea, more vanilla, a little grass… Indeed, this works. With water: gets rounder, vanilla-ed, cake-y, with whiffs of menthol. I find this nose lovely and frankly, this is a surprise. Noses like some high-end Canadian, I’d say. Mouth (neat): creamy and rich, unexpectedly complex, with vanilla, ginger cake, hay, tea, cherry stem tea, a little nutmeg and cinnamon… The cask(s) were top notch in my opinion. With water: truly excellent, even if the oak got a tiny-wee tad too loud. Perfect creamy vanillaness plus ripe mirabelles. Finish: the oak gets a little green and tannic, but other than that, it’s fine, clean, and quite long. Comments: and excellent surprise. A shame that it’s the final edition – this world is unjust. SGP:551 - 84 points. |
Let’s quickly drive to Germany… |
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Coillmor 2010 (46%, OB, Liebl Distillery, Bavaria, single malt, cask #81, 895 bottles) I think this one’s peaty. Colour: gold. Nose: smoked pumpernickel and other breads. You have to like your whisky bready, I do. Also smoked fish, coal, old stove, Bakelite, and leatherette. What’s not to like? Mouth: I like this much better than earlier bottlings of Coillmor that I could try in Limburg or else. Sure this is a little unlikely at times, and maybe not totally balanced, but we’re pretty much in the style of some cool new American peaters, with this feeling of quaffing a blend of seawater and engine oil in which various breads have macerated for a few weeks. Fun stuff – I like. Finish: quite long, rather salty, smoky, and ‘engine-y’. Oh and bready. Comments: quite wunderbar, even if balance and subtlety may well not be this baby’s main assets. It’s great to see all these continental distillers managing to improve their whiskies. Because five or ten years ago, you could often count your vertebras while downing their ‘whiskies’. One, two, three, four… SGP:356 - 80 points. |
We were in Bayern, let’s stay in Bayern… (as the great musician Frank Ribéry would have said)… |
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Slyrs 'Edition No. 1 - Amontillado Fass' (46%, OB, Bavaria, single malt, +/-2014) From the neat and very tidy Slyrs Distillery. It’s a finishing, no full maturing. Colour: straw. Nose: a lighter style, with hay and nuts and brioche and vanilla, plus a touch of walnut, probably from the amontillado. Nice touches of coffee and malted barley, then more and more hay, with also touches of bubblegum and maybe fresh strawberries. Mouth: easy, fruity, relatively light. Same feeling of strawberries, hay, apple pie, sweet cereals, muesli… Isn’t muesli rather a Swiss thing? Finish: medium, sweet, with an oakiness that comes more to the front. Strawberry-flavoured green tea. Comments: another one that’s fine, even if the youth feels a bit. SGP:451 - 78 points. |
A last Bavarian and we’re done… |
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Slyrs 'Edition No. 1 - Sauternes Fass' (46%, OB, Bavaria, single malt, +/-2014) Same, it’s a finishing. If it’s a genuine Sauternes cask then it’s French oak, while the sherry was certainly American oak. Colour: gold. Nose: a little more freshness and more fruitiness, as expected. Some plums, quinces, apricots and honey come through, together with golden raisins and, quite bizarrely, aromas that you’d rather expect from gewurztraminer. Litchis, roses, something muscatty… Mouth: it’s quite amazing how close we are to Glenmorangie’s own Sauternes finish, Nectar d’Or, even if this one’s lighter. Honey, stewed fruits, candy sugar, apricots, then rather gingerbread, cinnamon, raisins… It’s a well-rounded palate, sweet, easy, pleasant… Finish: medium, sweet, with a spicy oak. French oak indeed? Comments: great progress as well am Schliersee, it seems. I’d love to see older whiskies by them on our shelves. SGP:551 - 79 points. |
I’m very happy with these session, it seems that very good whisky’s made (almost) everywhere these days. Not quite like at the ueberkistchy Eurovision song contest that, this year again, managed to make some oysters laugh, err… But tomorrow, back to Scotch! |
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May 25, 2015 |
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All over Europe in several flights - part 4 |
After Liechtenstein on Friday, we could head east, to the Czech Republic. And then, we’ll see… |
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Hammer Head 23 yo 1989 (40.7%, OB, Czech Republic, single malt, +/-2013) We had tasted a first, younger version of this baby a few years ago, and found it more than pleasant (WF 78). Let’s see what three or four more years have done to this juice that, if I’m not mistaken was distilled when that was still Czechoslovakia. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s light, but it’s pleasant, with notes of overripe apples, chamomile, hessian, almonds, engine grease and linseed oil. A little amount of damp cardboard as well, but that’s rather ‘a style’ than ‘a flaw’ here. Mouth: good freshness, but also a touch of sugar. There’s a cognacqy side, flowers, peppered butterscotch and touches of rhubarb jam. Or gooseberries? Light body. Finish: not too long, always with jams and sugar, touches of flowers again (acacia honey) and rather brown sugar in the aftertaste. Comments: really a fine drop, that rather hints at a blend. Good, one more point! SGP:341 - 79 points. |
Should we drive to Austria?... |
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Pfanner ‘Classic’ (43%, OB, Austria, single malt, +/-2014)  We’re actually in Vorarlberg, where the countryside’s so beautiful. Apparently, this baby won something like ‘Best Austrian Whisky Award’ at the IWSC. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s young and a tad feinty at first nosing, with some plasticine, apple peelings… It’s a very dry and grassy style, maybe not quite nosing whisky, but let’s check the palate… Mouth: indeed, grassy and pretty cardboardy. Something dusty, perhaps, but the background is pleasantly bready. A handful of sultanas, which improves it. Finish: medium, still grassy, a little maltier. More oak in the aftertaste. Comments: may lack definition and focus, but it’s not unpleasant to drink (while gazing out of the chalet’s windows at the Vorarlberg’s superb mountains.) SGP:231 - 69 points. |
And from Austria? Switzerland, of course. Grüezi mitenand! |
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Säntisblick (48%, OB, Switzerland, single malt, +/-2014) Apparently, Säntisblick Distillery has nothing to do with the well-known Säntis. This malt was matured in Madeira wood. Colour: straw. Nose: oh fun! Coal smoke, new rubber boots, linoleum, laspang souchong… This is very smoky, quite brutal as far as styles are concerned, and not totally unlike that bizarrely smoky Balcones from Texas. You’re right, the name’s Brimstone. So this is Brimstone from Switzerland. Mouth: same feeling, this is very funny. I’m not sure it’s balanced, and it’s certainly not orthodox malt whisky, whether peated or not, but I find, yeah, lots of fun in this very smoky rubberiness, this feeling of crunching brown coal… of chewing a latex dress (S., what goes on in your personal life is not our business!) Finish: long, acrid, ultra-dry. And very smoky. Comments: excellent bad whisky ;-). You won’t quaff a whole tankard of it, though. SGP:358 - 80 points. |
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Säntis Malt 9 yo 'Edition Formosa' (53%, OB, Switzerland, single malt, 432 bottles, 2014) Some Appenzeller whisky selected by some excellent Taiwanese whisky people, how unlikely is that? In fact, it’s not. This baby was matured in an old beer cask and finished in sherry. Tell me about haute cuisine. Colour: rich amber. Nose: quiet please… This is something else. I didn’t know you could distil packs of Werther’s Originals! And Mars bars! And millionaire shortbread! A lot of caramel indeed, chocolate, brown ale (drops), fudge… And I’d swear there’s some fruity hop inside. A rather spectacular nose, for sure. With water: it’s a kind of very fragrant bourbon with high rye content. I especially like the touches of mint, myrtle and camphor that come out. Mouth (neat): same feeling again. A thick chocolate and praline and caramel, plus candied cornflakes, plum wine, triple sec, and reduced spiced wine. Cloves and caraway cooked in a PX sauce. The whole’s very thick, but not stuffy. With water: excellent! Spicy and rounded at the same time. Reminds me of some excellent sangria with some gin poured in. But not just that… Finish: quite long, with some fruits now. Grenadine, strawberries… Comments: a movie malt. Very well made – and selected. Säntis did it again. SGP:552 - 86 points. |
A last one… Let’s stay in good old Switzerland. |
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Langatun 4 yo 2010/2014 'Old Eagle' (44%, OB, Switzerland, rye, 300 bottles) Colour: gold. Nose: right, after the monsters that we just tried it’s getting a little difficult. Indeed this one’s much lighter, more on brioche and pastries – say croissant , with some sweet oak and burnt bread. Overtoasted toasts. I do not seem to find an obvious rye-ness. Mouth: well, there’s much more happening on the palate. The rye’s there, there is some earth, spicy herbs, then more toasted bread and pastries, kugelhopf (warum nicht?), drops of dry Madeira (perhaps), a touch of salt, maybe triggered by the Madeira notes – but I doubt there’s any Madeira in there, a little pepper, lavender bonbons (nothing soapy here), vanilla… It has got an American side for sure. Finish: quite long, with a lot of rye, fudge, vanilla and spicy oak. Comments: not a wham-bam nose, but a wham-bam palate. There’s also a version at 60.7% vol., that one should be explosive. I think the Swiss have really improved their whiskies, and that Switzerland may well be becoming another great whisky nation. A shame that the Swiss Franc became so expensive. SGP:452 - 83 points. |
So we may have more Swiss whisky next time… Hoppla! |
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May 24, 2015 |
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Malternatives, two nice spirits from Paris |
Yesterday I’ve been wandering through the little streets around Place de la République in Paris, and first found a small Polish shop that had some virtually unknown spirits (to me). And then I went to visit the lovely new Distillerie de Paris near Gare de l’Est, where I tried quite a few new spirits (especially their great gins) as well as some of their baby whisky. Excuse me, their malt distillate. So let’s simply taste one spirit from each place today, which spirits won’t have anything to do with each other. Agreed, how unlikely but that's often how you come across good - or bad - surprises. |
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Rhum ‘Petite Marie’ (51%, OB, Distillerie de Paris, 2015) This is concentrated cane juice from Marie Galante (Guadeloupe islands) distilled in Paris in a very state of the art Holstein still – that’s actually much more than a regular Holstein. It’s been aged for a few weeks in small French oak casks. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: pure and fresh at first nosing, with very lovely notes of citrons and white asparagus, a moderately smoky grassiness, some waxed paper and fabric, and then pure sugar cane juice blended with just a little mezcal. Perhaps. It’s the freshness that’s impressive here, we’re far from the heavies and far from the sweetened ones. Kind of anti-molassy. Mouth: starts with a lot of liquorice and lemon, with a hot and burning side - but that’s normal – before touches of smoked ham and, again, asparagus become bigger and bigger. A wee hint of lavender, perhaps. Finish: very long, with a little juniper on top of the sugar cane and asparagus. Comments: a different one, very zesty, and beyond a rather impressive complexity, one can feel that purity was the aim. A few oddish notes (ham) should disappear after a little more ageing. SGP:551 - around 80 points. |
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Sliwowica Podbeskidzka (50%, OB, Poland, Toorank Distilleries, +/-2015) As I understand it this is a kind of slivovitz, so damson plum spirit, which I found in a little Polish shop in Paris, called La Petite Pologne (Little Poland). Colour: white wine. Nose: plums indeed. Wheelbarrows of fresh and ripe purple plums plus a touch of vanilla and cake. No complex spirit but it’s clean and if you enjoy damson plums, this will work a treat. Mouth: in my experience – and because I’ve been distilling plums myself for decades – plum spirit can get dirty and/or a little burnt, which isn’t the case at all here. Balance is achieved, the plums are singing loud, together with overripe apples and a wee feeling of rotting oranges. Nothing dirty, though. Sadly, there’s also a little too much sweetness coming through after twenty seconds, as if sugar had been added. That coats your tongue a bit, but we’re way below the limits of unbearability. Ahem. Good mouth feel, and the 50% vol. do not feel much. Finish: quite long, fresh and zesty. Lemony aftertaste, with perhaps something a little burnt in the end of the end. Comments: quality drink, but we knew the Poles were very good at making plum spirit. SGP:740 - around 78 points. |
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May 22, 2015 |
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All over Europe in several flights - part 3 |
We were in Brittany/Bretagne, we’ll stay in Brittany/Bretagne…. |
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Armorik 12 yo 2002/2014 (55.7%, OB, France, Bretagne, oloroso, cask #3298, 723 bottles) Colour: full gold. Nose: starts with whiffs of old musty wine cellar, some camphor and some mint, a flinty side, something chalky (or would that be aspirin tablets?) and then unfolds on peonies and stewed red fruits, seasoned with cloves and ginger from the oak. With water: it got much gentler, rounder, smoother… Sweet grains, cassis jam on a Breton ‘crepe’, soft ginger ale… Mouth (neat): heavy, leafy, kirschy and peppery. Quite pungent and acrid, this baby bites you. With water: once again it got rounder and easier, but the oak’s spices keep singing a little loud. Ginger cake, white pepper… Finish: good length, with Seville oranges, marmalade and more ginger cake. Comments: very, very fine, but I think I liked the excellent ‘Maître de Chai’ a little better. SGP:461 - 81 points. |
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Kornog 'Taouarc’h Chwec'hved BC14' (58.2%, OB, Glann ar Mor, 2014) Anyone able to properly pronounce Taouarc’h Chwec'hved wins my eternal consideration ;-). Colour: pale gold. Nose: starts a tad solventy but that goes away and quick. What’s behind that is really superb, I have to say. It’s a kind of vegetal smoke balanced with tobacco and tea leaves, graphite (pencil lead), lamp oil and linseed. Sharp, in a great way. With water: the barley comes out, together with some hessian, seaweed, almond oil… Mouth (neat): perfect, with this Ardbeggy side that I already found in other expressions of Kornog. In fact this one’s a little lighter than, say Ardbeg Ten, but it’s got the same ‘no-compromise’ kind of clean and chiselled coastal peat. The lemon’s perfect too – and you need lemon to balance young peaters. Creamy mouth feel, from bourbon wood I suppose. With water: lovely lovely. Bitter almonds and maraschino plus lemon and smoked fish. The peat is pronounced. Finish: long, very clean, a little more herbal again. Comments: they can’t grow riesling in Bretagne, because of the wet climate (I know I know, in Bretagne it only pours on idiots – that’s what they say to tourists who keep complaining about the weather). But this Kornog’s as close to a good mineral riesling as whisky can get if you ask me. SGP:457 - 90 points. |
I think we’ll stay in France, but drive towards the Alps… |
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Domaine des Hautes Glaces ‘Les Moissons’ (42%, OB, France, single malt, 2014) I’m a fan of Domaine des Hautes Glaces aka DHG. They only use barley from their own estate, and organic at that. The opposite of large-scale distilling by multinationals – but as we all know, not only small is beautiful in whisky (and conversely). Colour: white wine. Nose: smelling a fistful of fresh barley, with earthy touches, many kinds of bread (it’s like at a Tyrolean breakfast), some humus, fresh porcinis, lime, peaches, and then an unexpected coastal side. Shall we say anchovies in salt? It’s true that the Mediterranean is only 300km away (a wild guess). Mouth: high high high. These young guys know what they’re doing. Love this saltiness that’s back, the fresh marzipan, the raw barley, the notes of very fresh brown bread, the drops of lemon juice… It’s got something of a coastal peater, and yet it’s no coastal peater. What’s the trick? Finish: unusually long given the strength, salty, almondy, earthy and barleyish. Everything is to like. Comments: so young and so good! What I love even more is that like mezcals that taste of agave and rums that taste of sugarcane, this tastes of cereals. True aquavitae, very well done! And there’s no obvious oak in the way. SGP:362 - 87 points. |
Let’s fly to Segovia in Spain... |
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D.Y.C. 10 yo (40%, OB, Spain, single malt, +/-2013) D.Y.C. stands for Destilerias Y Crianza, which is owned by Beam, and that used to own Lochside. Ah, if only they could replicate Lochside! Colour: pale gold. Nose: crush two kilos of rose petals, blend with orange and litchi juices, add a little vanilla extract, a handful of small cherries, that’s it. And it’s quite pleasant, very fragrant and very light. Mouth: that perfuly side doesn’t work too well on the palate, I’m afraid. A light and slightly sugary profile, with a little cardboard in the background, some vanilla, touches of sour cream (or readymade supermarket custard), and some corn syrup. Calls for ice. Finish: short, sugary, okay. Comments: my bad, we shouldn’t have had this very light malt after the fierce Bretons and Alpine. Apologies. I think I liked DYC’s blends, including the 8, better. SGP:440 - 65 points. |
Let’s head north again if you please, and have a last one… Would a Liechtensteiner do? |
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Telser 2008/2014 (43%, OB, Telser, Liechtenstein, rye, Laphroaig finish) Granted, with a layer of Laphroaig, it might be a little difficult to have a good grasp of this wee spirit from that wee country. But rye can be big, so let’s see… Colour: gold. Nose: funny. Imagine some cider, mixed with rye indeed, bread balls, a bit of cardboard, crushed violets – or Parfait Amour, apple peeling, one zest of orange and a drop of ginger liqueur with a little curry powder inside. I’m sure you’d think this can’t work. You would be wrong, especially since Laphroaig’s very, very quiet. Mouth: some kind of earthy and spicy apple juice, with some beer (say good IPA) and again, a bready side. Bread with cumin and poppy seeds. I find this fresh, funny, unusual, and good. Finish: good length. Spicy beer and cider, with a bready aftertaste. The rye’s more obvious now. Perhaps some Laphroaiggy smoke, but I’m not too sure. Comments: I find this pretty good, and fun. Huge progress since the first ‘Telsington’ from six years ago or so. SGP:451 - 78 points. |
Where shall we go next time? We’ll see, stay tuned… |
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May 21, 2015 |
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All over Europe in several flights - part 2 |
Last time we stopped in Sweden, with Mackmyra and Smögen. Let’s stay in Sweden for a short while, if you don’t mind… |
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Mackmyra 'Midnattssol' (46.1%, OB, +/-2014) This one was finished in silver birch wine. Some Swedish stuff, apparently. Colour: gold. Nose: I don’t know. I find plenty of bananas. A slightly simple nose, not unpleasant at all, unfolding on sweet cornbread, manzanilla wine (no, not chamomile… wait, now that you mention it, there is a little chamomile), walnut cake and vanilla. Simple, young, clean, pleasant. Mouth: some sour wood, yoghurt, vanilla cream, white beer… I’m not a fan of this sourness, I have to say. Some unsweetened lemon juice. Good body, but the sourness – possibly from the wood – is a little too unusual. If I may. Finish: quite long, but bitterish and still a little too sour. Comments: not too sure about this one. The cask did a lot of work, but I find the end result too sour in my own little book. I’d tend to call these whiskies ‘the anecdotals’. SGP:371 - 65 points. |
Speaking of anecdotal whiskies, let’s fly to England! |
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English Spirit 'Expedition Number 2' (42%, OB, malt spirit, +/-2015)  ‘Stuff that’s distilled 5 times and matured briefly in English oak’, according to the very adventurous people at Master of Malt, who’re afraid of strictly nothing (which we love, because when you taste a lot of stuff, the enemy is boredom). Colour: straw. Nose: yess! Immature for sure, yeasty and feinty as sure as 2+2=4, but funny in all its unlikeliness. We’re between barbecued sardines (f****ng neighbours) and long-forgotten yoghurt. Let’s not forget ‘old tin boxes’. Maybe stale mango juice. And burning books. So funny! Mouth: the power is too low. If I may, when you issue unlikely spirits, better raise the voltage. Vase water, old mangos, sugarcane syrup, Moroccan spice mix, earth and dirt. Finish: sour, flabby, unlikely and uncertain. Comments: loved it! SGP:321 - 39 points. |
Okay, let’s carefully avoid Scotland and Ireland, and drive straight to Wales… |
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Penderyn 'Myth' (41%, OB, Wales, +/-2015) Penderyn, great people, but I’ve always had troubles with their whiskies. It’s me, it’s me. Now, if this is already mythical, we should be up for some wonders. Colour: gold. Nose: heeeey, wait! This works, it’s not British in style, rather kind of American, with a body that’s a little thin but also a thick layer of aromas over it. We’re talking pencil shavings, apple peeling, multi-vitamin fruit juice, vanilla, ‘light’ smoke, coconut and all that. A fine, easy nose. Mouth: Whiskyfun is about having fun, and some fun there is here. Where else would you find maracuja ice cream, pink grapefruits, mangosteen, burnt praline and old Madeira wine? Nowhere else. Finish: unexpectedly long, fruity, candied, with touches of sweet oaky vinegar in the aftertaste. Apple vinegar. Comments: I find this one very pleasing, it’s lost its feinty side. This at cask strength please! SGP:631 - 78 points. |
Where shall we go from Wales? Brittany would be the obvious choice… |
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Armorik 'Maître de Chai' (47.3%, OB, France, Bretagne, 1000 bottles) Armorik’s made by Warenghem, in Lannion. A maître de chai is a cellar master. Colour: gold. Nose: there is a little new oak at first nosing, all that on a rather light distillate, but the freshness and even the coastality work well, and give it a lighter Bruichladdich style. Wheat, cake, a bit of leather, old books, a touch of humus, a bit of eucalyptus… The whole is rather dry. Mouth: oh! Well done! Spicy pear cake, sweet bread, liquorice, light vanilla fudge, ginger cake, fresh walnuts… This baby keeps its distances, but there is a feeling of fullness. Gets very brioche-y over time. Finish: good length, bready and brioche-y, so civilised, malty, with some spiced-up Starbucks coffee in the aftertaste. I know, Starbucks and coffee don’t go well together. Comments: great work. The oak’s still a little too obvious, but this baby’s way above earlier bottlings from six or ten years ago. IMHO. SGP:441 - 83 points. |
Good, we said five, so one more, and let’s stay in Bretagne… |
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Kornog 'Taouarc'h Pempved 14BC' (46%, OB, Glann ar Mor, France, Bretagne, bourbon barrel, 2014) Is Breton less or more boring than Gaelic? Discuss… ;-) Anyway, you may remember than Kornog is the peated version of Glann ar Mor. Colour: white wine. Nose: Kornog is becoming more and more Islayesque. Indeed this baby’s got the medicinal side of Laphroaig – albeit toned down -, the light coastal side of Bruichladdich, the leafy smokiness of Caol Ila, and the tarry/oily side of Ardbeg. It remains a light peater, but it makes me think of lace. Peaty lace. Mouth: smoked pineapples and seawater and oysters. The body’s not bigg and phatt, and indeed this is rather a light, yet slightly earthy peater, but the citrus that kicks in after just two minutes further lifts it and makes it extremely drinkable. Fish oils, lemon, smoked water, smoked fish. Caol Ila’s not far on the palate. Finish: unexpectedly long, smoky, clean, salty, kind of easy. Comments: the easier side of peated Glann ar Mor. Easy, but irrefutable. Yec'hed mat! SGP:456 - 85 points. |
What’s gonna be next? Which countries? Which unusual whiskies? Stay tuned… |
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Today: JAZZ. Performer: the late Daevid Allen. (yes, Gong and Soft Machine's Daevid Allen). Track: My Funny Valentine. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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May 20, 2015 |
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All over Europe in several flights - part 1 |
Let’s simply have a bunch of European whiskies overy a few days. Oh and may we start with one classic French whisky that I had never tried before? |
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Wambrechies 8 yo (40%, OB, Distillerie Claeyssens, France, single malt, +/-2015) North of France. One of the pioneers of French whisky. The distillery sells this bottle for 22.50€, which I find extremely reasonable by today’s standards. Colour: pale gold. Nose: a bit hot, maybe, but I enjoy these notes of baked pears and… guess what, speculoos. I even find some genever, knowing that the distillery’s also famous for its… genevers. A pleasant spicy breadiness. Mouth: warm, with a coherent profile, some candy sugar, these bready notes again, a feeling of caraway, certainly genever/juniper, a touch of chouchen perhaps (honey fermented in apple juice, a Breton thing), a drop of kirsch… It’s fine, I think, nice character. Finish: good length despite the strength, a bit sugary but with a pleasant spiciness. Right, juniper… Comments: more than fine! We’re probably a little closer to some young ryes than to Scotch malt, but that works. Maybe a little too eau-de-vie-ish? SGP:441 - 75 points. |
Let’s go a bit south (hardly a 150km drive), to Champagne… |
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Guillon 'Cuvée 42' (40%, OB, France, single malt, +/-2014) Matured in white Bourgogne wood, so French oak for sure. Early Guillons have been pretty unconvincing in my book, but I’ve tried one two or three years ago that’s been very okay (cuvee ‘Champagne’, WF 78). Colour: gold. Nose: sweeter than the Wambrechies, fruitier, jammier, with notes of Sauternes (ripe apricots and such) – so much for Montrachet ;-) – and a curious meaty side, with some ham and some… would that be oysters? On top of that, a creamy vanilla. I quite like this nose. Mouth: it’s bizarre. Grapefruit liqueur, oak spices, liquorice rolls, a bit of smoke (smoked kippers), then more liquorice, jelly babies, a touch of verbena liqueur (verveine du Velay)… Quite unusual globally, and I’m not sure I’d down a double-magnum, but there are interesting sides to this. Finish: a bit sort, with a feeling of coal smoke and more jelly babies. Smoked Haribo stuff. A wee dirtiness in the aftertaste (cardboard?) Comments: funny and not badly made at all. SGP:542 - 72 points. |
Up north again… Oops, we’re in Belgium! |
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Goldlys 12 yo (43%, OB, Filliers distillery, single malt, Oloroso cask finish, cask #2632, +/-2014) This is whisky from Belgian Flanders. It’s got a very good reputation, but sadly, it’s very expensive. 75 Belgian Euros a bottle! Colour: gold. Nose: I don’t know if that’s got something to do with The North, but this baby’s got something of the Wambrechies, with a spicy side, some candy sugar, a touch of wholegrain bread, a serious maltiness and then more citrus. Marmalade and limejuice liqueur. Little oloroso, but some juniper indeed. I like this nose. Mouth: again, well in the style of the Wambrechies. Spicy, gingery, junipery, with bitter oranges, ale, nutmeg… I find the oak a tad loud – and drying - but other than that, it’s a fine Belgian tipple. Finish: rather long and quite spicy. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger. Comments: the oak’s a little too prominent, perhaps. The distillate’s very, very fine. SGP:551 - 76 points. |
Further north, to Holland… |
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Millstone 2004/2014 (58.6%, OB, Holland, Zuidam, for The Whisky Exchange, cask #667, 245 bottles) The fact that the excellent connoisseurs at TWE have selected a Dutch single cask may say a lot. Not about TWE, mind you, about this whisky… Colour: amber. Nose: no surprise. No surprise because I’ve tried some rye by Millstone before, and found it excellent. It’s very American, in fact, with perfect oak, syrups, ryeness, jams (strawberry jam’s very obvious), fudge and tamarind. All perfect, let’s move on. With water: lovely, pencil lead, engine oil, fresh oak, fresh butter, maple syrup… Mouth (neat): paw bang! Huge, powerful, rich, American indeed but with an added layer of coconut, and I almost feel shame because I’m no easy-coconut lover, and yet I find all this coconutty coconut pretty lovely. Maybe that’s because the spirit underneath all this coconut is characterful enough to stand that coconuttiness. With water: gone the coconut – well, almost – hello oranges, rye, lavender sweets, aged gin, strawberries… Finish: long, still very creamy. Spicy bread, oranges. The aftertaste is a little too bitter, perhaps. Comments: I was ready to go higher, but the aftertaste was a little drying. Other than that, it’s extremely fine Americanodutch whisky! SGP:661 - 85 points. |
A short break after that big rye, and then we’ll fly to… |
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Mackmyra 2008/2012 'Carpet Crawler's Choice' (51.7%, OB, Sweden, Extra Rök, cask #08-0689) With a name like that, this was obviously bottled for some fans of the band Supertramp (1). Colour: deep gold. Nose: oh! But this is quite perfect! Putting your nose over an old bottle of turpentine that would have been ‘blended’ with liquid smoke, engine oil, oysters, orange syrup and gingerbread. With water: as tarry, oily, mineral and medicinal as whisky can get. Very funny! Mouth (neat): not all Mackmyra’s have convinced me, and this does have some extreme side, and even some rather biting oak, but this combination of concentrated liquid smoke, smoked salmon (quite a few fish) and smoked birch (or something akin to that) just works, even if it’s very, and I mean very extreme. Phat mouthfeel, the whole becoming more and more medicinal. With water: some sweet oak, acrid herbs (myrtle), strong bitter green tea, fish eggs (you may call this a caviary dram) and plenty of cloves and juniper. Finish: very long, sticks your tongue onto your palate. Comments: extreme, certainly unbalanced, but I’m not sure balance was needed. Wouldn’t that rather be Motörhead instead of Supertramp? (1) SGP:577 - 84 points. |
I’d like to stop this first stage here, but since we’re in Sweden, we could as well try this ‘for the road’… |
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Smögen 3 yo 2010/2013 ‘S.’s own vatting’ (66.2%, OB, single malt, Sweden, cask samples #1/2010+3/2010) I’m being very silly now, but you see, I had these cask samples from Smögen’s… And I thought we could as well mix them together to get a better grip of the new shining star of Sweden. Colour: amber. Nose: totally huge! Chocolate, a new box of Cuban cigars, humus and mushrooms, rye (yes), buttered caramel, tree bark, pumpernickel, gingerbread, mulled wine, cloves… And a rising smoke. Lignite smoke? |
With water: something coastal (at +/-45% vol.) Ozone, seaweed, some kind of smoked ginger… Mouth (neat): a heavy concoction, totally smashing, hitting, fighting, and bursting with spices and peppery smoke. One of the strongest liquids I’ve been given to try, but then again, this is no ‘commercial’ bottling. With water: it’s still a bit on the heavy side, but there’s a sweet and spicy oak that works very well. Green peppers cooked in honey. Can you do that? Finish: very long, gingery, clove-y, bready (hurray)… Comments: would probably kill an elephant when taken neat, but this spectacular Viking juice, while not taking any prisoners (oh too easy, S.!), has got some complexity. And in whisky, complexity is life. SGP:474 - around 83 points. |
That was some very active oak, as the colour suggested, but I’ve also got some ex-bourbon Smögen, let’s quickly have it. |
Smögen 3 yo (cask strength, OB, single malt, Sweden, fresh barrel, cask sample, 2013) Some more neutral wood, should be interesting. Colour: white wine. Nose: sure it’s more discreet, humble, narrow, and probably spirity… No easy move after the heavy monster. My bad. With water: fresh barley, gravel, beach sand, almond oil, lamp oil, lemon skins. Sounds a bit Islayish, doesn’t it. Mouth (neat): heeeeeyyyyy! This is great! As sharp as a blade (not from that very silly Game of Throne thingy), perfectly chiselled lemony and peaty spirit with a slightly sweet edge (manzana verde), this could have been made at the very distillery that lies right between Laphroaig and Ardbeg. Great, great distillate. With water: makes you kneel down, conquered and vanquished. I know we now sound like and Aston-Martin brochure. Finish: long, whistle-clean, precise, peaty, smoky. Kippers. After all, Islay was one of the Vikings’ islands (for a good while), wasn’t it. Comments: very, very impressive distillate. Depth and glory (err, you’re going a little too far, S.) SGP:458 - around 87/88 points. |
(1) Nah, I know that’s early 'The Lamb' Genesis, no need to send me angry emails ;-) |
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May 19, 2015 |
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Glenlivet Founder's Reserve and others |
There’s this newish NAS Glenlivet, the Founder’s Reserve that already made quite some ink and kilobytes flow. Well, rather kilobytes, because kilobytes are cheaper. What I wanted to do today was to use it as a kind of stepping stone, and then start to plunder WF’s sample library completely at random. But only Glenlivets, of course… |
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Glenlivet 'Founder's Reserve' (40%, OB, 2015) Currently between £33 and £37 a bottle in the UK (that's still in Europe, isn’t it?) while the price for the regular 12 yo rather lies around £29. Where else have we already seen these moves? Now there already was a ‘Founder’s Reserve’ back in 2010, and that one was excellent (WF 89), but it had been bottled at 55.5% vol. Colour: light gold. Nose: a wee touch of varnish and beer at very first sniffs, then rather pear syrup and tinned pineapples, with drops of lemon juice. A little crème brulée, apple peelings, vanillin (oak) and a tiny-wee drop of glue. Noses young, but the whole combo isn’t unpleasant. A little menthol as well. But noses are one thing, and then there’s the… Mouth: it’s got body and structure, starting with honey and green apples plus white chocolate and earl grey tea, but you can feel that there isn’t a massive depth. Malt, marmalade, oak. Finish: rather short, honeyed and vanilla-ed, plus apple juice. Tea tannins in the aftertaste. Comments: some parts remind me of Jameson’s blends. It’s very honest, easy stuff, a kind of smart crowd pleaser. Not sure about the price, though (remember, the problem with modern NAS isn't about quality, it's about price positioning). Younger plus more expensive, almost an oxymoron. SGP:441 - 78 points. |
Are you expecting me to try the 12? Wrong, my dear… |
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Glenlivet 'Nàdurra First Fill Selection Batch No. FF0714' (48%, OB, 2014) Aged dropped again. There’s also a version at a much higher strength (63.1%). Both were fully matured in first fill American oak. Colour: white wine – so very pale for first fill. Nose: quite the opposite of the FR, this is much more dry, more austere, leafier, grassier… That’s a little surprising, I had expected bags of vanilla. All for the better in my book. There are these touches of glue again – I don’t hate that – and an earthy, rooty woodiness that I quite like. Paper, gooseberries, peelings, maybe a wee touch of bubblegum. Mouth: sweet malt, sweet beer, sweet stewed fruits (rhubarb, apples), sweet almonds and ale, all that being coated with custard and maple syrup. And this works, I think. Finish: quite long, with touches of pepper and ginger from the oak. Rather peppered grapefruits in the aftertaste. Comments: I’ve always enjoyed the various inceptions of Nàdurra, especially the 16 yos. This one should be younger, but it’s still to my liking. SGP:451 - 82 points. |
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Glenlivet 18 yo 'Guardians' (55.7%, OB, cask #2911, 2011) Please don’t rub it in, I know I’m late. As you know, the Guardians is Glenlivet’s consumer club. Colour: gold. Nose: classic, very malty, raisiny, chocolaty, with some ale and apples again, then rather coffee and vanilla. I also find hints of old oloroso, mushrooms, and even a little wood smoke. It’s complex. With water: musty wine cellar, hessian, raw cocoa, raisins, Banyuls, cigars… Mouth (neat): I really enjoy this big, very malty style. Ovaltine, chocolate, a drop of pinesap, honeydew, blood oranges… Really big stuff, with a huge retro-olfaction. Tastes like refill sherry, but I’m not too sure it is. With water: really very good. Malty raisins, apple pie, cinnamon, fino sherry (sweet mustard, walnuts, brine)… The oak comes rather more to the front (black tea). Finish: long, a tad acrid and herbal, but other than that, all is fine. Comments: had it at +/-88 until the finish. Very good, IMHO. SGP:561 - 86 points. |
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Glenlivet 7 yo (75° proof, Peter Thompson, early 1970s) Peter Thompson used to be wine and spirit merchants in Perth, Scotland. They were also making very silly stone bottles and miniatures under the brand name ‘Beneagles’ as well as the recently revived ‘Old Perth’ whisky. Colour: amber. Nose: perfect. Very young malt matured in glass for almost fifty years, displaying massive amounts of coal smoke, old papers and oils, plasticine and Play-doh, engine oil, ink, carbon paper… One for the office indeed. So it’s ultra-dry! Mouth: amazing. Some sweetness now, drops of brine, glazed chestnuts, ‘sweet’ leather, walnut wine, old sherry, tobacco, old wooden boxes, attic… It became totally tertiary, like some great old white wine. The body’s perfect. Finish: long, a tad sweeter, with raisins, a touch of very old cognac (soon on WF!), more tobacco, sweet meat, some camphor… It does ‘the peacock’s tail’. Comments: honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. How wrong I was! An ode to perfect OBE, and to ‘tertiary’ whiskies – the opposite of modern ‘secondary’ ones. SGP:452 - 92 points. |
While I’m at it, let me quickly remind you what I'm meaning with the word ‘tertiary':
- Primary aromas come from the spirit.
- Secondary aromas come from the cask (and seasoning, wine and such)
- Tertiary aromas come from the interplay (not just the mixing) between the spirit and the cask – and possibly its environment. In my experience and opinion, time in glass adds tertiary aromas as well over a longer time, which is why very old bottles of young spirit can have become very complex.
You got it, tertiary flavours can only come from time! That’s also why I’m not too much into young NAS, even if primary and secondary spirits can be excellent.
Phew… let’s go on!... |
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Glenlivet 35 yo 1979/2014 (51.6%, Mackillop’s Choice, cask #6102, 235 bottles) I enjoy what Mackillop do with their labels. They never changed them, implying that it’s what’s inside that counts. Colour: gold. Nose: it seems that it’s one of these old whiskies that got rather mentholy and pine-y over the years, but in this case the whisky was big and potent enough to stand that and to wonderfully combine with this herbal side. In fact, this is pure honeydew. With water: more of all that. Honeydew, mead, sweet malt, Weetabix, overripe apples. Mouth (neat): indeed, liquid honey plus high-end cider and just a touch of sour wood. Perfect, fresh, fruity, herbal, zesty, and yet ‘Glenlivet luscious’. Like it a lot. With water: perfect malty goodness! More grass, leaves, peelings, tobacco, that menthol again… And some liquorice! Finish: long, even maltier. Wasn’t that old malt whisky, by any chance? Comments: great stuff, aged to perfection. Rather tastes 25 than 35, but yeah, it’s great. SGP:561 - 90 points. |
A last one if you please… Let’s choose it carefully… |
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Glenlivet 1946/1972 (43%, Berry Bros and Rudd) It’s said that immediate post-war whiskies used to be peatier, because coal and oil were in very short supply. So the maltsters were supposed to be using more peat again to malt the barley (and not just to aromatise it)… Colour: dark amber. Nose: peat? You bet! This is as smoky and herbal as a garden bonfire, extremely phenolic, but also very cardboardy, metallic, ‘used’… That’s bad news, I hope this baby hasn’t got stale and oxidised. It’s true that the whisky isn’t limpid… Mouth: yeah, the arrival is weakish, and the strength low. We’re almost sipping some kind of very old dry sherry. Which, in a sense, is great, but this lack of oomph and power is a problem. Pu-erh tea. Finish: not that short, unexpectedly salty, nutty and herbal. Did a prankster fill this wee bottle with old manzanilla? Comments: this is the fate of many an old bottle of whisky. It was lovely at times, but otherwise very frustrating. Still beats quite a few very new ones, mind you. SGP:232 - 77 points. |
I agree, we just couldn’t leave it at that. I know what we’re going to do, we’ll try to find another Glenlivet by BBR. Found one!... |
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Glenlivet 30 yo 1983/2013 (58.8%, Berry Bros and Rudd, for A. Light, cask #2877) Colour: dark amber. Nose: sherry. BBR have already had quite a few very lovely sherried Glenlivets, I’d even say they’re specialists, just like G&M. Sure this one starts with burnt matches and gunpowder, but everything that comes out after that is perfect, from honey to raisins and from Ovaltine to triple-sec. Classic. No, rather ultra-classic. Also love these hints of Iberico ham and soy sauce, and pipe tobacco. With water: some kind of sauce to use on spare ribs. Mouth (neat): huge leathery and meaty sherry. Seriously, this is like Iberico ham indeed. Plus ultra-thick very old balsamico. Spectacularly thick. With water: the fruits come out. Figs, oranges, raisins… But the meatiness remains. Sweetened beef bouillon. Finish: long, meaty, almost salty. Bouillon indeed. Comments: someone trying this blind may have thought it was Mortlach. SGP:462 - 88 points. |
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May 18, 2015 |
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There are two official Laphroaigs that I really wanted to try, so we’ll have them today. And then we might add a few indies for good measure… |
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Laphroaig 15 yo '200th Anniversary' (43%, OB, 2015) This baby needs no introduction. The older 15 had always been a favourite in the house, since the early ‘white label, red letters’ version. It’s been discontinued a few years back and replaced with a 18. And now it’s back, on time for Laphroaig’s 200 years. By the way our dear friend Marcel van Gils has written a superb book for the occasion. I’ve only seen a few highlights, but I know it’ll be smashing stuff. I’ll post a link as soon as it’s out, do not miss it! In the meantime, back at the ranch, let’s have this new 15… Colour: gold. Nose: I find less tropical fruits, and less ‘femininity’ than in the older 15 (not talking about the powerful older ones), and much more ‘big stuffy smoke’. I don’t think we’ve ever been closer to some peat burning in a fireplace, burning papers (with perhaps a bit of plastic), antiseptic, creosote and ozone. In the background, oysters and wet limestone. What I totally adore is the fact that there are no oaky smells that I can get. How un-modern, how smart! This is an anti-Select. Mouth: you would have thought they could have pushed it to 46% vol., but no, that would have been unnecessary. Totally Laphroaig, a bit acrid, very smoky, quite medicinal, very smoky, and yet candied and sweet, with grapefruit syrup and a little limoncello. It’s got this blade-y side that’s so thrilling, but also some sweeter liquorice, orange drops, and perhaps a couple of cheap whelks (my favourite seafood beyond oysters, don’t ask me why.) Excellent. Finish: long, much saltier. Drinking seawater and liquid smoke. Some coal smoke in the rather dry aftertaste. Comments: phew! I think this is extremely well done, kudos to John C. and staff. Oh and very smart, older fans must be pleased. SGP:357 - 90 points. |
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Laphroaig 25 yo 'Cask Strength 2014 Edition' (45.1%, OB) The last 25 CS I had tried was the 2009 edition (with a virginal white label), and my feelings had been mixed (WF 84). The strength is lower today – maybe not natural cask strength – but let’s see… Colour: pale gold. Nose: I find it calmer, more mineral, shier than the new 15. More dry white wine (that vinho verde that our Portuguese friends make), chalk, butter, dairy cream, rather coal smoke than peat, hessian, raw wool, wet clothes, fresh asparagus… It’s rather dry, vegetal, pretty austere… Mouth: ah! Big and sharp, extremely mineral and medicinal, we’re almost eating aspirin tablets and leaves while drinking coldish green tea from Yunnan. Then come the lemon, the grapefruits, the brine, the oysters, the walnuts, the bitter apples, that famous ‘salty tang’ (that you’ll find in any brochure from any distillery on Islay), the fresh almonds… I have to say I find this much, much, and I mean much better than the earlier batch. Even if I wouldn’t say it’s any better than the 15. Same territories anyway. Finish: long, leafy, lime-y, and very smoky. Rather less medicinal than expected, though. Comments: I just couldn’t tell you which one I liked best. Well one is cheaper than the other, but who counts? Money’s so cheap a concept… SGP:357 - 90 points. |
Good, let’s have one or two indies, and we’re done. This is already ‘a session’. |
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Laphroaig 14 yo 2000/2015 (55.4%, Riegger's Selection, cask #4126, 102 bottles) Colour: straw. Nose: perfect. Really. Clean mineral, leafy, almondy, briny, barleyish, kilny, smoky. These notes will be short. With water: water makes it even saltier. Great vintage, great little bottling. Ausgezeichnet! Mouth (neat): perfect again. Smoked pears and lemons, plenty of almonds, hay, smoked almonds, smoked salmon, smoked anything. Fish oil. Almost forgot the lemons. With water: totally great. Fat and sylphlike at the sale time. The smoke is huge. Finish: very long, salty, mineral, lemony, and kippery as Dave B. would say. Comments: more Diane Kruger than Monica Bellucci - I'm only saying this because we have the Festival de Cannes these days. Same score as the others. SGP:368 - 90 points. |
Three 90, this might be boring. One more try, with a bit of sherry, perhaps… |
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Laphroaig 15 yo 1998/2014 (61.6%, Signatory Vintage, La Maison du Whisky, refill sherry butt, cask #700356, 554 bottles) Black is back. Colour: amber. Nose: chocolate, leather, guns, rocks, fireworks, very strong black tea. This is a working samovar. Careful now… Because it’s very strong. With water: horse saddle, pemmican, pipe tobacco and cigars, stones, matches, humus, 500g of dried porcinis, moss, exhaust fumes… In truth, this is very extreme. Mouth (neat): cream sherry, smoked and mixed with basalt and coal. Plus the bitterest marmalade. Not easy, not easy. With water: it’s become sweeter and rounder, but the leafy and leathery side is still there. Smoky, mineral, matchsticky (apologies), chocolaty… Finish: very long, thick, smoky, leathery, pipe-y… But quite miraculously, the aftertaste is kind of zesty and even fresh. Smoky pu-her tea. Comments: we’ve lost a part of the freshness in the process, coz the sherry was really heavy. Some ultra-whisky for ultras freaks, perhaps. Probably a wee tad too heavy for this sissy of a taster. SGP:467 - 84 points. |
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May 17, 2015 |
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Malternatives on Sunday,
today Andalusian brandies |
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Do not expect a large session today, my dear wife made me try a sauce without checking its temperature before and I almost burned my mouth. But we’ve seen worse, I’m feeling better already, and normal service will resume right tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s have too humble Andalusian brandies…
Bodegas Malaga Virgen 34 anos ‘1885’ (40%, OB, brandy de Malaga, +/-2014) It is very difficult to be sure that this is 34 years old, especially given the price (I’ve seen it at 30€, 40€ and 50€). But it’s great to learn that, according to some company pdf, it’s made using a ‘distillation system in copper cask above direct heat from fire wood’. Capice? Colour: brown. Nose: close to some entry-level armagnac, with something stale. Currants, liquid caramel, melted chocolate, profiteroles, with a hottish side as well as hints of aniseed. Pastis and chocolate liqueur, plus a little pipe tobacco. Mouth: very creamy, grassy and caramely. Some sugar feels, which isn’t too nice. A small medicinal side again, with some artimisia beside aniseed, more liquid caramel, a touch of cumin and pepper. Maybe a touch of smoke as well. Very round mouth feel. Finish: sweet and rather dusty. Too much raisins. Mint liqueur in the aftertaste. Comments: heavy-ish, a tad rubbery, and, above all, too sugary for my taste. This baby’s supposed to be top range brandy, but it feels tampered with. Now, when chilled, it does go down your throat (under the hot Andalusian sun). SGP:740 - 49 points. |
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Lepanto 'Solera Gran Reserva' (36%, OB, Gonzalez Byass, brandy de Jerez, +/-2014) This was matured in ex-Tio Pepe casks, which might be a little scary. Colour: amber. Nose: fresh and very fruity, as if you were nosing muscatel or a fresh PX. So we have raisins everywhere, a little honey and maple syrup, a touch of vanilla, and then more and more sweet wine. More some thick sweet wine than brandy so far, but that’s not unpleasant. Simpler and cleaner than the Malaga, for sure. Mouth: a little light because of the low strength (I’ve seen it at 40% in some countries where, I suppose, you can’t call brandy something that’s lower than that – good call.) But it’s fresh, sweet, extremely raisiny, with a grapy side behind that, and a touch of salt. Also a little praline and chocolate. Finish: short and sweet, on raisins, as expected. A little cumin in the aftertaste. Comments: easy and quite good, this baby won’t do you any harm. By the way, the name comes from the 16th century naval battle where the Spanish armada defeated the Ottoman fleet. The Spaniards often use such references, the cleverest being La Gitana, who are selling a (very good) sherry to the UK under the name Wellington, and another version to France under the name Napoléon. Well done! SGP:730 - 70 points. |
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Today: BOSSA NOVA. Something sweeter than Spanish brandy today! Performer: the very lovely Eliane Elias. Track: The Continental. Please visit her website and buy her music... |
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May 15, 2015 |
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Talisker from no oak to a lot |
Today we’ll try to do something unusual, that is to say taste more or less the same spirit with various degrees of sweet American oak, from virtually none to heavily recharred/rejuvenated US oak. Not sure this will work, though… As they say, don’t try this at home! |
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Talisker 6 yo 2008/2014 (46%, Hepburn's Choice, 363 bottles) I agree we could have chosen the official 10 instead as #1, but this ultra-young and mega-pale Talisker (from blending stock, I suppose) should be the closest you can get to ‘the spirit’. Colour: white wine. Say sauvignon-white. Nose: ah yes, we’ve tried several very young Taliskers by DL and affiliated houses, as well as Milroy’s if I remember well. A similarly perfect mixture, with wet dogs (we’re sorry, dogs), soaked grains, farmyard, burning seaweed, brine, caraway, and damp hessian. Milder than an Islay, with more spicy herbs and less smoke. And more green pepper (almost forgot to mention that). Kind of irrefutable. Mouth: brine, sea water, black and white peppers, samphires, lemon juice… and that’s all. I guess 6 years wasn’t enough to make it more complex, but it’s very well-chiselled young spirit. Finish: long, rather on grapefruit and very smoky brine. Comments: excellent, not unlike white mezcal or Haitian clairin. Someone should try to blend mezcal, clairin and Talisker one day. Hey, why me? SGP:358 - 86 points. |
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Talisker 10 yo (45.8%, OB, late 2014) Colour: gold. Nose: better rounded, and rather more herbal than I remembered. Caraway, cumin… Then more damp chalk and clay, antiseptic, braking fluid, creosote, notes of overripe oranges, bandages, oysters ‘from yesterday’… There is some wildness, and yet it’s clean and precise spirit. Love it. Always loved it. Mouth: amazing. Everything’s perfect. Lemon, wet clothes, raw wool, grains, porridge (not my favourite food, though), pepper, some kind of green curry, seaweed (the stuff our Japanese friends serve as salad, the name escapes me)… Frankly, this is great whisky. Finish: long, salty, clean, and yet complex, and yet finely delimited (what?) Comments: bang for your buck! Having said that, I’m feeling that Talisker’s becoming more medicinal these days. And maybe peatier again. Nice cure, nice cure. SGP:367 - 91 points. |
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Talisker 'Skye' (45.8%, OB, 2015) Ahem. I don’t know what to say. You know, you’re feeling like an old 911 lover who came across a 924, a few years back. Ahem… Colour: gold. Nose: oh. More caraway and ginger from the oak, less wet dogs and peat and smoke and seawater and everything. This baby gets nowhere fast after the 10. I don’t know, I really don’t know, I really really don’t know… what to think. Let’s call it a ‘blendish’ Talisker, or a 924 indeed. Mouth: er… Spicy oak, cumin, ginger, other oak spices… I mean, er… I don’t think Talisker lovers will need this. Finish: quite long, oaky/spicy. Comments: dispensable. More spicy oak, less ‘spirit’ (in all meanings of that word), that’s exactly what we do not like much at WF Towers. Yes you may call me an elitist or a snob or a purist or whatever you like. I’ve seen that a part of the blogosphere quite loved it. Well, I’m probably not part of that crew… Now, maybe we should have tried this little Skye before the stunning 10. This is almost squandering heritage, friends. SGP:375 - 76 points. |
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Talisker 'Storm' (45.8%, OB, +/-2014) Colour: gold. Nose: more like it. Fresher, cleaner, more maritime, I find this closer to the 10 than to the ‘Skye’. Sure there are pencil shavings, but at least there aren’t any excessive oak spices. I also enjoy these mangos, papayas, vanilla-ed fruit deserts… Mouth: yeah, it’s a rounder ten, with more body, less complexity, more easiness… In a way, it’s a more commercial ten, whatever that means. An easier drop, a bit thicker, a little less complex, but yeah, I find it very very good. And it should go well on ice cream! Finish: long, Taliskery, briny… The vanilla never gets in the way, no mean feat. Comments: I prefer the 10, but I find this rather excellent. Kills the ‘Skye’ like Mayweather killed Pacquiao. SGP:367 - 87 points. |
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Talisker 'Dark Storm' (45.8%, OB, +/-2014) Because, you see, we must. Colour: deep gold (agreed, that’s scary). Nose: to tell you the truth, I do not find many differences between the Storm and the Dark Storm. The colour is darker, but the whisky’s similar. Maybe a little more pencil shavings? Bread crust? Tea? Oranges, perhaps? Mouth: same feelings. A little more body, thickness, spicy oak, also more spices, ginger, caraway… Cumin, pepper, aquavit… I think the Storm was better chiselled, but this is good, no doubt. Finish: long, but oaky spices are in the front. Comments: one of the hardest sessions I ever did. It only strengthened my feelings, that is to say that oak is whisky’s best friend, and its worst enemy. SGP:367 - 84 points. |
Conclusion: I’m about to start a Talisker 10 Appreciation Society! And I think it would be nice that the very distinguished owners would rather launch a 'natural' youngster with an age statement. Even 5 or 6 would do, see the Hepburn! |
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Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only
Glenallachie 37 yo 1973/2010 (46%, Mo Or Collection, bourbon hogshead, cask #6746, 266 bottles)
Glenlivet 7 yo (75° proof, Peter Thompson, early 1970s)
Glenlivet 35 yo 1979/2014 (51.6%, Mackillop’s Choice, cask #6102, 235 bottles)
Kornog 'Taouarc’h Chwec'hved BC14' (58.2%, OB, Glann ar Mor, 2014)
Laphroaig 14 yo 2000/2015 (55.4%, Riegger's Selection, cask #4126, 102 bottles)
Laphroaig 15 yo '200th Anniversary' (43%, OB, 2015)
Laphroaig 25 yo 'Cask Strength 2014 Edition' (45.1%, OB)
Talisker 10 yo (45.8%, OB, late 2014)
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