Monthly Archives: October 2010

All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Balvenie, Need To Bundle Up, Refreshed

The Balvenie 17yr Peated Cask

Speyside – 43%ABV – $125 | £68 | €81

Last week I told you about the big Balvenie tasting I organized at my synagogue.  We had over 30 people there and Sam Simmons (aka Dr. Whisky, aka The Balvenie‘s Global Ambassador) led us through 5 of their expressions: Balvenie DoubleWood, 14yr Caribbean Cask (notes to follow), 17yr Madeira Cask, 17yr Peated Cask & their 21yr Port Wood.

Of the 30 plus people we had at the tasting, I’d say about 40% of them were women.  Why do I bring this up?  Well, I can tell you that the favorite dram of the evening was this 17yr Peated Cask and the majority of the women there LOVED this baby.

Why does this matter?  Well, the old stereotype was that women don’t like Scotch whisky (or whisk(e)y in general).  This has since become a bit of a fallacy.  The new stereotype is that women don’t like peated (or smokey) whiskies.  The tasting of this expression last week, and the women’s love for it, helped to debunk that as well.  Huzzah!

Strangely enough, after everything was said and done, and the tasting was over, there was a wee bit ‘o whisky left in each bottle.  Sam was nice enough to gift them to the society.  I gave the DoubleWood, PortWood and Madeira Cask remnants away to a few lucky society members and kept the balance of this Peated Cask Balvenie as well as the Caribbean Cask bottle (for scientific purpose, you know…).

Sam, thanks again for the tasting and for the samples!

On the nose — Wow, it’s amazing what a little bit of peat does to this Balvenie!

Smoked provolone cheese.

Salty maritime notes.

A slight smokiness (like a warm campfire smoke).

Instant oatmeal with brown sugar.

Warm honey & peaches.

I want to curl up in my glass and camp out here for a while.  Really loverly schtuff!

One last whiff before I sip on this juice and I get some nice notes of oranges and burnt sugar.

On the mouth — No doubt in my mind, this is a Balvenie – classic honey notes!!

Peaches are back.

Oak is well integrated.

I’m reminded of what Sam said during the tasting – that the peat in this whisky will remind you of a toasted marshmallow (in smoky style, not flavor).  He’s spot on!  The smokiness is just around the edges but no doubt it’s a part of the whole experience.

Caramel arrives with a side of dried apples.

Did I mention the mouth feel is a chewy one?

Slightly spicy and very vanilla’ed (yes, I understand that this is not a real word.  Sue me.)

Finish — Somewhat lingering with orange lollipop notes arriving after the swallow.

In sum — I’m a longtime fan of the Balvenie’s yearly 17yr expressions and this one is no exception.  This could actually be my favorite of all the B17’s (as I lovingly call them – William Grant & Sons, feel free to use this term in later marketing campaigns.  Royalty free, my gift you).

So, when should you enjoy this?  This, for me, is a cold morning dram.  The slight peatiness will warm you up but the fruitiness will brighten you day.  If the morning dram is not your thing, gather with friends ’round an outside bonfire, queue up some Beach Boys and, later on, make out with your surfer girl!

As mentioned in a previous post, Jason Johnstone-Yellin of Guid Scotch Drink joined me and my society for The Balvenie tasting last week and he went home with a sample of this juice. You can read his notes here.

A World of Discovery, Autumn, Cold Winter, Eades

Eades Double Malt – Double Post – Speyside & Highland expressions

Moving forward with my vatted malts and blended whiskies series; moving on with the Eades Double Malts.  Last week I posted about their great vatted Islay expression.  I thought, seeing as these are “Double Malts” (the combination of two wine cask finished single malts into one expression) that I’d do a double post today – two different Eades Double Malt expressions.

So, what’s left in their line?  We’ve got a Double Malt Highland expression which is comprised of 50% Clynelish (a 10yr single malt finished in a Chateau LaFitte Bordeaux cask) and 50% Ben Nevis (another 10yr single malt finished in a Grenache Blanc Cask).  We also have their Speyside expression which is 70% Dufftown (a 12yr finished in Red Zinfandel) and 30% Mortlach (a 15yr beauty finished in a Callejo Tempranillo cask).

Special thanks goes out (again) to Pat of the Virginia Distilling Company for the samples!

Let’s start with the Highland Malt:

A Highland vatting of Clynelish & Ben Nevis – 46%ABV – 750ml – $70

On the nose — And odd yet interesting nose we have here…

Off the bat, notes of a wet cinder block.

Malt vinegar & chocolate.

Both vinegar & chocolate notes are slight – as if they were watered down in some way.

Buttermilk biscuits (malty, buttery).

Unripened pears.

Strong vanilla and oaky notes that, given the combination, are reminiscent of a bourbon (or the sweet result of a heavily charred barrel).

Soured milk (perhaps this is the vinegar note better realized?)

On the mouth — Very sweet with notes of english toffees.

Hot cinnamon on pears.

Nutmeg spice (back to that sweet bourbony feel).

Something sweet yet earthy in here.

Finish — Medium length.  Caramels, nicely salted.

In sum — Hmmm… perhaps, like the make-up, I’m a bit 50-50 on this one.

There’s a lot going on with the nose but once sipped on, the palate gets somewhat narrowed down (or funneled) into something a bit more focused.

It sounds like a nice thing but I was hoping for a little joyride like I was given with the nose on this one.

Now for the Speyside:

A Speyside vatting of Dufftown & Mortlach – 46%ABV – 750ml – $70

On the nose — Big, thick nose filled with dates and dark chocolates.

More dried fruits, juicy and nicely chewy (chewy like figs).

Salty and slightly smoked.

Stewed prunes and canned prunes.

Almonds via marzipan.

A dusty attic with no-longer-being-used furniture.

Very happy with this nose, thank you muchly.

On the mouth — Nice mouth feel.

The prunes regain the life they once had and turn back into plums.

That smoke creeps back.

My tongue gets licked back by light hints of leather and perhaps freshly dried tobacco leaf.

After becoming plums, said fruits then get distilled turning into a fairly hot slivovitz.

My mouth is now happy as well.

Finish — Medium length filled with melting chocolates.

In sum — A nice cold night dram.  Sit back and enjoy.

Ardbeg

Where I stand

OK, so if you’re like me, you read A LOT of whisky blogs.  Lots of reviews, great articles, opinions, news, etc…

One thing that’s come up as of late is us whisky bloggers feeling the need to tell you where we stand, ethically speaking, with respect to tasting samples we receive, trips offered to us, etc…  Part of me feels like we’re all just telling each other where we stand but, that’s OK.  Issues of ethics do need to be raised.  How can you to trust me (or any whisky journalist or blogger) knowing that we sometimes post reviews based on free samples given to us?

This is a fair point; one that needs to be addressed.

A while back I told you about my relationship with Master of Malt.  I wanted to be upfront about this relationship as my reviews are, and will remain to be, completely independent and not influenced in **any way** be it by free samples or payment [from Master of Malt in the form of commission if you chose to purchase through them to claim the “Drinks by the Dram” free whisky sample].

I went on further, stating: If I don’t like a whisky, I’m going to tell you.  If I like a whisky I’ll tell you.  My nose, my tongue, my reviews.  It’s this simple. – This statement still stands.

So, let me lay it out again and let me be clear[er]:

A) Yes, I do receive samples for review (both by distilleries and sample swapping with other bloggers) – in case you haven’t been keeping track of the prices I’ve been listing, this stuff is expensive!  I’ve got hundreds of whiskies reviewed (posted).  I can’t afford all this fluid on my paycheck!

B) Though I think I’ve been doing an OK job letting you know when I am reviewing from a sample, moving forward, I will make sure to clearly mark my reviews with some sort of a statement letting you know where I got the sample from.  Cool?

C) I have yet to be offered a trip or accommodations by any distillery or firm.  Would I pass up the offer?  Tough to say.  I’ll cross that bridge if it’s ever presented to me.

As I think about the subject of trip sponsorship, I am reminded of Mark Gillespie’s (of WhiskyCast fame) trips to Feis Ile and, more recently, WhiskyLive Paris, Ballantine’s lab and Midleton.  I really like his approach to the subject.

Before I made this post, to make sure I wasn’t mixing his words, I asked if he would clarify his stance on trip sponsorship and he was kind enough to do so.  I posed to him what I thought he said on the subject and here was his response:

Let’s clarify…I don’t think I quite said it that way…the trip [Feis Ile 2010] would not have been possible without the financial support of the distilleries, and that’s generally the way it is when I travel outside the US. In this case, each of the 9 distilleries paid an equal share of the costs to travel and produce the series. My policy is that if I receive financial support to cover the costs of producing an episode, I will always disclose it on the show. That’s what I did with this week’s episode from the Ballantine’s lab and the Midleton visit a couple of weeks ago. In addition, La Maison du Whisky and Whisky Magazine France invited me to Whisky Live in Paris last week, and covered my airfare and hotel bill…and I acknowledged that during each episode. In a perfect world, I’d cover all of my own expenses, but that’s just not feasible…and this is the most transparent option available.

Mark, thanks for talking with me and for your great response! I can personally identify with a statement such as this but again, this is not a bridge offered up to me just yet so I can not cross it even if I wanted to.

I hope that this spells it all out for you.   If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me: jewmalt [at] yahoo [dot] com

L’chayim/Slainte/Cheers!!

Joshua

Whisky Round Table

We Knights of the Whisky Round Table convene in Germany for this month’s question

The Whisky Round Table consists of 12 noble knights who discuss all things whisky on a monthly basis. This October issue was raised by Keith of Whisky Emporium:

I have recently had a few discussions relating to the differences between whisky bottled today and that bottled in past years. A good example of this is the comparison between two MiltonDuffs which I recently tried. They were both OB 12y offerings, one bottled in the early 1980’s, the other in the late 1980’s and they were drastically different. In addition both are completely different to more modern Miltonduff 12y expressions. Also, compare the OB Talisker 10y of 30 years ago with the ‘same’ offering of today and I am sure you’ll find them completely different. One of my discussions on this subject led to my counterpart suggesting that any differences in taste were due to ‘bottle ageing’ and could not be explained solely by differences in distilling procedures or raw meterials being used.

So, this month’s question is as follows;

I know that officially the ageing or maturation of whisky is defined as the time spent in oak casks, but apart from that, do you believe in any form of ‘bottle ageing’ being accountable for changes in the flavour of whisky over a period of years whilst still in the bottle? (I am also talking about originally sealed and unopened bottles, as we all know that once a bottle is opened, oxidisation of the whisky can and often does occur).

Follow this link for the twelve answers to this great question.

As a reminder, the valiant knights (and links to their blogs) of this round table are:

Chris – Nonjatta
Keith – Whisky Emporium
Karen & Matt – Whisky For Everyone
Ruben – Whisky Notes
Mark – Glasgow’s Whisky (And Ale)
Neil & Joel – Caskstrength.net
Lucas & Chris – Edinburgh Whisky Blog
Jason – Guid Scotch Drink
Gal – Whisky Israel
Mike – Whisky Party
Peter – The Casks
Joshua (hey, that’s me!)– The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society

A World of Discovery, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Eades, Takin' It Easy

Eades Double Malt – Islay

An Islay vatting of Coal Il & Bowmore – 46%ABV – 750ml – $70

A while back, during my last trip to Chicago, I was in Binny’s checking out their selection and these Eades bottles caught my attention.  Eades Double Malt.  What is a Double Malt?

We know what Single Malt means, right?  Malt whisky from a single distillery.  So, what’s double malt?  It’s the combination/marriage of two single malts by Jim McEwan of Bruichladdich for The Virginia Distilling Company.  For the Islay Double Malt he took an 18yr Caol Ila and a 10yr Bowmore, matured them further in a Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes & Grenache cask (respectively).  He then took 30% of that Caol Ila and 70% of the Bowmore, mixed them up, bottled them up and bam! – we have the Eades Double Malt – Islay.

Sounds interesting right? Right.

Before I go much further, I need to thank Pat J for the samples of this and the soon to be posted Speyside and Highland Double Malts.

Let’s see if this stuff is worth it’s weight in whisky:

On the nose — Big, thick nose filled with burning twigs and smoldering Birkenstocks (cork, rubber, leather – slightly charred).

Push this aside and now I’m confronted with royal jelly.

That classic Bowmore soapiness rears it’s head (you know, anytime I hear the term “rears it’s head” I get the impression of… well, think about it for a second… got it?  Good).

Tannins are there.

Indian summer – humid, damp… fresh rain on asphalt.

Cranberries.  What a nose!

On the mouth — Sweet smoke and a super succulent mouth feel.

Very smooth and silky.

The smoke now moves to the background as fall like flavors come to the fore.

Think of cloves and nutmeg.

Some nuttiness and apricots in there (the Sauternes influence for sure).

Drying leaves and honeyed herbal teas.

That fresh rain note is in the flavor as well.

Delicious!

Finish — Toasted apple peels.  Honey, subtle smoke.

In sum — Oooof!  What an interesting combination of aromas and flavors!  There is a lot happening here!  Insanely drinkable as an easy-goer but you can deconstruct the heck out of this too (if you want).  One to enjoy with friends.  Start it off as a conversation piece.  I guarantee you’ll be coming back to it no matter where the conversation goes.  For the academia folks out there – this is a back to school dram.