Monthly Archives: September 2011

Arran, Balvenie, Let's celebrate!, Rittenhouse

L’shanah Tovah! Happy new year! Some whisky suggestions for you…

Tonight starts the Jewish New Year – the holiday, as most of you know, is called Rosh Hashanah (which translated from Hebrew means: “Head of the year” or the “Start of the year”).

There are some traditional foods people eat during the new year:

  • Apples
  • Honey (dipping the apples in honey then eating the, is done as a symbolic way of welcoming the new year & hoping that it is a “sweet” one)
  • A round shaped Challah bread (round to symbolize the circle of life)

What I’d like to suggest is a whisky accompaniment or alternative to these foods.

Why an accompaniment?  Well, you might like to pair whisky with what you’re eating.  Why an alternative?  Maybe you’re not Jewish or maybe you are Jewish but don’t celebrate Rosh Hashanah or you’re not a traditionalist.  Or perhaps I’m just doing this for fun.  Either way, I think there are some good whisky equivilents to the three traditional foods so I wanted to share them with you:

To accompany or replace Apples:

Arran 14yo – Islands region – 46%ABV – $70 | £38 | €45

On the nose – Big, big apples!  Wow!

Lemongrass.

Malty goodness.

Getting fruitier, this time a bit more tropical…mango and star fruit.

Caramel syrup.

A big fat fruity & juicy nose that makes me very happy!

On the mouth – Fizzy-fizzy goodness (however I was hoping for a slightly chewier mouthfeel).

More floral in taste as compared to the nose.

Interesting…  Malt, top notch belgian beer (Duvel, my favorite).

Youthful notes – I’d love to taste what the new make spirit is like, my guess is that it’s strong personality is showing through to the final product.

Turkish delights minus the nuts.

Rose water.

A nice saltiness here.

Cereal notes.

Apple peels.  Dried apples.

Finish — Lasting, still fizzy.  A briny & fruity finish.

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To accompany or replace Honey:

Balvenie 15yo Single Cask – Speyside – 47.8%ABV – 750ml – $55-65 | £47 | €55

On the nose – The higher ABV for this one is dead on.  Most whiskies from the Balvenie are released at 43%ABV (in the US — 40%ABV elsewhere).

Big bright fruits peaches (in white wine) & cantaloupe.

Marzipan – sharp almond notes.

Thai yellow curry & lightly buttered couscous (even getting some lime leaf here).

And floating on top of it all, those classic Balvenie honeyed notes.

On the mouth – Pure honey and citrus.

Great mouth feel – thick and sweet but not overly so.

The sweetness is pushed aside and now there a nice tapioca pudding quality to this.

Hints of water cured ginger.

A slight brininess to this.

Finish – There’s a fizziness throughout my entire mouth and lingering citrus and honey notes.

A delicious nuttiness returns (reminiscent of the marzipan note from before though, less sharp).

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To accompany or replace Challah:

Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey – 50%ABV – 750ml bottle – $20 | £25 | €30

On the nose – Initial few whiffs are very deceiving offering up softer notes of buttered crumpets and dark chocolate.

After nosing is for a bit longer, however, the bite starts to kick in and great vanilla and blueberry notes (yay rye whiskey!) pop as do gingerbread cookies and cinnamon sticks.

A great nose though very stinging (I like that – it lets me know I’m still alive and kicking).

If the ABV weren’t so high I could continue to nose the shit out of this one.

On the mouth – The entry here is soft (yes, even at 50% ABV) and the fluid feels, not tastes, feels like thick Kool-aid drink – take a Kool-Aid packet and add about 10% less water and that’s the feel you get.

Starts off like over-cooked butter then gets earthy.  Fresh soil and crystalized ginger – Oh, this is getting stronger, and stronger – alcohol infused flan – Oh, this is good.

Finish – Long and longer.  Strong and stronger.

True, this last one may not have the notes of Challah bread but there are those bready notes which are just fantastic and the finish, with it being long & strong, represents my wish for you:

May you all “Live Long and Prosper”

(Leonard Nimoy is a Jew so I can get away with this).

Glenmorangie, Let's celebrate!

Glenmorangie 18yo – another whisky in the “let’s open this one, it’s time to celebrate!” column

Highlands region – 43% – $79 – $89 | £77 | €88

After tasting this whisky, for some reason or another (perhaps it’s because my brain works in movie clips) the scene below seemed to sum up my experience.  Invite me over for dinner and offer me some Glenmorangie 18yo and I might act just like Jack Black, Amy Poehler and their kids.

Perhaps you should read the review AND THEN watch the clip.  Enjoy:

On the nose –  Lychee nuts and syrup – pretty amazing how dead-on the lychee notes are!

Lemon citrus nose with an oaky backbone.

Grapes skins and maybe a little chocolate sauce.

This is such a nice juicy nose – ripe peach just oozes out of my glass.

Very inviting and, for me, perhaps one of the nicer noses Glenmorangie has to offer in the standard line.

On the mouth – Oak is more prominent in the taste as is some vanilla bean extract.

Banana skins and actual banana arrives and even a little honey and sugared white plums.

Some more citrus with a focus on the lemons (again) and a bit salty.

Some salted apples (salted apples sounds odd but the notes do hit me side by side) and now lovely butterscotch notes help in flavor and in creaminess.

Joshua is a happy boy right now.

Finish – Fairly long and fruity.  Actually, really long… about 2 minutes later and I’m still experiencing some oak and butterscotch.  Maybe even some of the lychee I got on the nose.

In sum – This really is one to celebrate with.  Very luxurious – you feel like you’re treating yourself to something with this here whisky.  Go ahead, have a baby; graduate college; get married then pour some Glenmorangie 18yo.

Special thanks to David Blackmore for the sample and Mazel Tov to you and your wife on the arrival of your first baby!!

Master of Malt

The Bloggers’ Blend now has a name: St. Isidore – design the label & win a £250 Shopping Spree at Master of Malt!

You might remember a few months back that I (along with 9 other prominent whisky bloggers/writers/journalists) was asked to participate in a competition to design a new whisky blend for Master of Malt.  After all was said and done, I gave you my tasting notes on the every single blend and a short while after that, it was announced that blend “I” was the winner.

Now that we have a winner and a name for the whisky – Master of Malt is looking for a label for the bottle.  You might have read their blog post about this yesterday but below is the official press release regarding your chance to design a kick-a$$ label for some kick-a$$ whisky and win a £250 shopping spree at Master of Malt.  Good luck!!

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Design a label and win a £250 shopping spree at Master of Malt!

Calling all Graphic Designers! Master of Malt has recently launched a competition to design the label on a very exciting new whisky, and the winning submission will receive £250 worth of vouchers to spend at Master of Malt!

The label will be used for the winning blend from a competition aimed at whisky bloggers, in which Master of Malt asked ten of the top spirits bloggers to create their own blended whiskies, and then asked the public to vote for the best one.

The blend which was chosen will be called “St Isidore” after the patron saint of the internet, and Master of Malt is calling on graphic designers to come up with label designs for the new bottle, and the brief is simple: create a label which sums up St Isidore, the blend, and the whisky blogging community. Try and make it as amusing and as creative as possible.

Not only will the winning design receive a £250 spending spree at Master of Malt, they will also be credited on the back of what will certainly be an incredibly popular new whisky!

The competition closes on the 5th October 2011, and the winning submission will be announced that same day.

To enter, simply email your label design to labeldesigns@masterofmalt.com

Technical Specifications for the label.
Please ensure your submissions meet the following criteria:
Dimensions: 10.5cm by 9.2cm (4.13 inches by 3.62 inches)
3mm Bleed
Resolution: 300 DPI
CMYK Colour

Tasting Notes for St Isidore (as provided by Master of Malt)

Nose: Sweet creamy aromas that meld well with a cool, oily, almost coastal wood smoke. It instantly transports you to Islay, whilst offering just a hint of plum wine, wood shavings and lapsang souchong tea. Time in the glass brings out notes of guava, warm custard and rhubarb crumble.

Palate: Thick, warming and balanced as it hits the tongue, it offers notes of really good vanilla ice cream, black pepper, and rum spices, whilst retaining a solid backbone of sweet woodsmoke and freshly-sawn timber. Hold it on the tongue for just a touch of salty popcorn and crème caramel.

Finish: Beautifully warming and spice. It fades away on freshly grated cinnamon and sugared peels. A faint flutter of pear juice on the very tail.

Overall: A perfect smoky blend. This is a very old school whisky, combining the smoke of Islay, and the rich, honeyed tones of the Highlands. A superb winter fireside dram if ever there was one.

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An everyday dram, Ardbeg, Cold Winter, Need To Bundle Up, Takin' It Easy

Ardbeg Alligator – A surprising little snapper!

Islay region – 51.2%ABV – $89 – $139 (big, dumb price variance.  Can you say price “gouging”?  I know some US retailers can) | £58 | €67

Man-o-Maneschewitz, was the cat let out of the bag on this one or what?!

That’s right.  On January 14th, 2011, it was prematurely announced that Ardbeg would be releasing a new whisky: Alligator.

I remember this day quite well as the whisky world was in a tizzy and the folks at LVMH were scrambling a bit (or so I heard).  Think of all the time, planning and money spent on marketing to help create the “buzz” and poof…  Oh well.

Cats out of bags or no, Ardbeg’s website/online shop was still temporarily shut down due to sales traffic when the whisky was finally released!

Initially released as a “Committee release” (see image on the left), this whisky sold out damn quick!  With only 1000 Committee Release bottles here in the US (and I think a total of 6,000 world-wide (please someone correct me if I’m wrong on that number), this $hit sold out right quick!

I was able to get seven of those committee bottles.  I sold four (at no profit mind you!) and kept three.

So, what is Ardbeg Alligator?  It’s a mixture of 60% Ardbeg 10yo and 40% Ardbeg 10yo (or so) whisky that’s been matured in heavily charred bourbon barrels.  The name “Alligator” comes from they type of charring that’s been done to the barrels.  The char is so heavy that it resembles alligator skin.  Fun!

Now, what I find interesting is that this has been bottled at 51.2%ABV and nowhere on the bottle does it say cask strength.  At 51.2%ABV and only being around 10 years old, cask strength should be closer to 58-60%ABV.  Ardbeg normally bottles their whiskies at either cask strength or 46%ABV so, why the 51.2%??

Yes, the whisky is damn good at 51.2%.  Maybe that was the driving factor – it was the optimum strength to meet the flavor and mouthfeel.  Or maybe, it was bottled at 51.2% so that they could bottle more whisky.  Or maybe, just maybe, there will be a cask strength version down the road…  Only time will tell.

Just so you’re aware, the ABV on both the Committee Release and the new standard bottling as the same: 51.2%ABV.  I am told from a few hi-ranking birdies that the juice is the same from the Committee Release to the standard bottling.

Let taste this schtuff:

On the nose –  Whoa, I like this one here!  Burnt and briny and lemony custard tarts.

Bacon – pure, unadulterated bacon (like walking into a mid-western diner on a Sunday morning?).  This smells wonderful.

Bonesucking Barbecue sauce, vanilla and pencil shavings in the background.

Ballpark hotdog mustard.

Rounded, balanced and oh so sniffable!

On the mouth – Big creamy attack full of vanilla then an assault of charcoal ash (with hot embers still in the center).

Lemony sweet and tart – really affecting the sides of my tongue!

More of the pencil shavings I got on the nose (focus on the wood rather than the graphite).

Grilled and burn asparagus.

Tough to get past the creaminess on this one until we get to the finish…

Finish – Drying and medium in length

In sum – Balanced quite nicely, this is a whisky to just drink and enjoy rather than to pick apart.  I found this absolutely delectable to sit and relax with and that’s what I suggest here.  Work hard then relax with a nice glass of this fine whisky.  I can easily drink this every day.  Though at $99/bottle (or $139 at some places), it might break the bank…

A bit of a let down..., Springbank

A slightly older Springbank – 1972 (bottled in 1994)

Campbeltown Region – 46%ABV -$/£/ € A lot (good luck finding a bottle – this was bottled 17yrs ago)

Many years ago, the Campbeltown region of Scotland was the epicenter of Scotch whisky distilleries.  Today, there are only 3; Springbank, Glen Scotia and Kilkerran.

Springbank is an unusual distillery as it creates 3 different whiskies using three very different distilling practices.  The three whiskies that Springbank produces are: Springbank, Hazelburn and Longrow.

Hazelburn is an unpeated whisky that is distilled 3 times (like most Irish whiskies).  Longrow is a heavily peated whisky that is distilled twice.  And lastly, Springbank is a lightly/moderately peated whisky that has been distilled 2-1/2 times (the only distillery that uses this practice).

What, 2-1/2 times distilled?  What on G-d’s green earth does that mean?  How is that possible?  Jason over at Guid Scotch Drink gives a good explanation of this process.

Let’s move from the whisky lesson over to the whisky review…

On the nose –  Mint, perhaps unlit menthol cigarettes (with the addition of dried tobacco).

Sour sugar and a lovely mix of golden raisin and beeswax.

Delicious golden delicious apples both of the fresh and baked variety.

Lightly malted, salted and citrusy (the salty citrus combo reminds me a bit of a margarita sans the agave notes).

Fresh poured and paved road tar.

This is a confident nose.  Not aggressive in anyway just present in every way.

On the mouth – Very shy upfront (even a bit watery).

More mint and a touch of smoke with a thin/watery mouthfeel.

Some slight fizz on the center and sides of the tongue with some nondescript fruit notes… maybe some apricot.

A good bit of salt as we get closer to the end and a bit more [dried] fruit.

Finish – Dry on the finish and I would venture to say there’s a bit of sweet creamed corn in here (an odd note).

In sum – A nice older dram to get my nose on, that’s for sure.  Truth be told, while the nose was grand, I was let down by in the tasting of it.  I hoped/anticipated that the palate would have had the same confidence as the nose.  I guess I shouldn’t complain though.  I consider myself lucky to even have a chance to taste a whisky that was distilled before I was born (even if it was only by one year)!

Special thanks goes to Marshall N and the good folks at the LA Scotch Club for the sample!