Monthly Archives: December 2015

Linkwood, Linkwood, Samaroli

SCOTCH WHISKY ADVENT CALENDAR DRAM # 25 – THE FINAL DRAM – SAMAROLI’S 30YO LINKWOOD, CASK # 5297

 

Region – Speyside – ABV -45%

Day 25 here. Merry Christmas to all that enjoy this holiday.

For me, I’ll enjoy Chinese Food and a Movie on this joyful day.

Silliness aside, we’ve got a 30yo Linkwood in ye old whisky glass. Time to discover the penultimate whisky!

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

On the nose — Deviled eggs (heavy on the paprika) in a walk-in humidor. Let’ me elaborate on the deviled eggs: what I am enjoying here is a rich creaminess with a fair amount of paprika to cover up the overall egginess of the savory snack. So, this is a note I quite like.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015Well oiled elevator shoes, subtle cologne and old Topps baseball cards (sans the brittle chewing gum stick).


In the mouth — Lived in study, more oiled leather, yellow label chartreuse, white pepper, a velvet Elvis picture that’s been sitting in your attic for 30 years, linseed oil and lanolin, wood panel walled finished basement with every board game you can think of.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015The year 1977.

Great mouthfeel.

Finish — Herbaceous and long finish with slight pepper.

In sum — A totally unique whisky and wonderful way to end the calendar. To be honest, I thought I would not like the last whisky given the very VERY pale color of it. However, it was totally delicious and brought me back to a more innocent time in my life.

I hope you enjoyed the holiday that is most special to you!  Cheers!

Dailuaine, Dailuaine, Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015, Weymss Malts

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar dram # 24 – Weymss Malt’s “Old Spiced Balm.” 29yo Dailuaine, Cask # 4339

 

Region – Speyside – ABV – 46%

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

Excited that I’ve got a Dailuaine in my glass.

Primarily used in blends, Dailuaine is another distillery you never see bottlings from unless they’re independently bottled or in a “Flora and Fauna” bottling.

Having said that, Diageo have just released a bottling of a 34yo Dailuaine for around £380/$550.

Not a bad price for a 34yo whisky, I suppose. Could be worse! Could be an over hyped, over-priced bourbon. (I’m looking at you Pappy van Stagg-Weller.)

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

Dailuaine is a favorite of mine and often times reminds me of one of my favorite people: Bill Morgan.  Bill Morgan is a gent who’s had quite a life in the whisky biz and was actually born at the Dailuaine Distillery.

To find more out about Bill, and read a few of his stories, click here.

On the nose — Tamer than the majority of Dailuaines I’ve reviewed.

Softly spiced. Hearts of palm, cigarette ash, mahogany tables, and etrog (slight citrus note).

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015Kicks in a little more here: Havdalah spices (cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, and others), mountain high fall air, new rain on new tar, tarred telephone poles.

In the mouth — Heaven, really.  All of the above in liquid form and with a righteous spicy kick.

Finish — Lasting with Havdalah spices.

In sum — Yet another shining Dailuaine. It started off a bit soft but the whole experience ramped up after a few minutes in the glass and I ended the experience wanting another pour. That’s a sign of a good whisky.

A World of Discovery, Glen Grant, Let's celebrate!

Because it’s a Wednesday, I feel like having some 66yo Glen Grant in my glass. 1948 was a good year, no?

 

Region – Speyside – ABV – 46.6% ABV

Glen Grant 66 years old 1948 cask # 1369

**UPDATE** Shortly after I posted about this whisky, an announcement has been made that a 65yo Glen Grant will be bottled/released by the same Wealth Solutions/Gordon & MacPhail team. I *just* received this email. Kismet!

I’ve been sitting on this sample of the Wealth Solutions/Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant 66yo single malt for a bit over a year now.

There was never one singular moment in time that seemed like the right time to taste this. I’m not sure there would ever be *THE* right time to taste it.

Because of this, I’ve decided not to wait for the right time and just live in the now.

What’s happening now is happening now-now.

Back in May of 2014, there was quite a to-do when this single cask was released:

It makes good sense that this would be released with such fanfare. How often does 66yo whisky get released?

Answer: not often. It’s kind of a big deal.

Without further ado, here is my review of the 1948 Glen Grant, 66yo, cask # 1369:

On the nose — Well, it smells as amazing as you might expect. How does one explain what a 66yo whisky smells like? It goes beyond tasting notes (though we will get to that). You can smell the age here, but it’s not age, it’s oaken maturity.

The initial note that hits me is cocoa butter.  After this I detect muddled mint.  Hay clippings and clean horse stables.

Hidden far beneath a veil of lace-like peat is a wonderful note of key lime sorbet. Grape seed oil.

The warm soft bellies of my kitties – comforting.

In the mouth — Very light, fairly bright. The oak comes through but this in no way is popsicle stick dry. Medium oily mouthfeel.

Fruity, like an astro-pop and spearmint chews. The farmyardiness is gone and is replaced with a floral presence. Wild flowers, not pretty “forgive me” flowers.

Wonderfully nutty and the cocoa butter is detected in flavor, too. Getting more floral now as we near the finish.

Finish — Chamomile and hibiscus and UK smarties. Long. Wonderful.

In sum — Sort of amazing. It’s nice to know that after 66 years the wonderful Glen Grant character is quite present.

The fact that I am lucky enough to have been given a sample of this fine whisky blows my mind. Many, MANY, thanks to the good people at Wealth Solutions for thinking of me.

There actually is a “why” to explain my reasons for tasting this one right now. I raise this glass and experience to a very sick friend. A toast to you in the hopes that you may heal soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxAw8Z-3qOc

A.D. Rattray, Bunnahabhain, Bunnahabhain, Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar dram # 23 – A.D. Rattray’s 27yo Bunnahabhain, Cask # 626

 

Region – Islay – ABV – 55.4%

Advent Calendar day # 23.

I can’t believe we’re almost near the end!  This has been a fun ride and I can not thank Secret Spirits enough for asking me to join in on their Calendar review this year.  Thank you, thank you.

A thousand times, thank you!

You know life is good when you can try a new whisky every single day for 25 days.  I hope you properly thanked the person that purchased this calendar for you.

If you purchased this calendar for yourself, well, you’ve been thanking yourself for the past 23 days!

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015Today is especially good because there is a 27yo Scotch whisky in my glass.

If you’re reading this while you’re dramming on the same whisky, ask yourself: what were you doing 27 years ago and what has happened in your life over the past 27 years.

Perspective is a good thing. It helps me to better appreciate what’s in my glass, that’s for sure.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015On the nose — Like drunkly stumbling into a sherry bodega and smashing open all of the casks, this is a massively sherried whisky!

Heavy oak presence. Burnt biscuits, hot dates, toasted walnuts, fig cake, and rubber gloves.

Overly toasted nooks and/or crannies, singed nose hairs (it does sting the nose a bit), first press virgin olive oil, and olive wood.

With water some wonderful bing cherries come out as does a hint of lingonberry jam.

In the mouth — Massive spice on this one.

Like a driver on his way to the hospital with a pregnant wife, the pepper overtakes you! You’ve really got to ease yourself into this mambajamba.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015Jolt cola, fresh peppercorns, fig newtons, more Jolt cola, salted caramels.

Very fizzy on the tongue. Spice along the sides of the tongue.

With water the oak comes out and tannins kick in.

Ugh, it becomes tired with water. Should not have added water…

Finish — (without water) Really bright and still cola-like. Long and peppery.

In sum — Water was a bad choice but hey, life is a series of mistakes you (should be) learn(ing) from. Did I love this whisky? No. It was a little to peppery and focused on the cola notes. Did I enjoy sampling it? Heck yeah. I hope you did, too.

It was a good deal of fun.

Malt Whisky Company, Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015, Tobermory, Tobermory

SCOTCH WHISKY ADVENT CALENDAR DRAM # 22 – Malt Whisky Company’s 21yo Tobermory, Cask # 13

 

Region – Island (Mull, to be exact) – ABV – 57.3%

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarNot to be confused with Martin Mull, the Isle of Mull is home to a single distillery: Tobermory.

Tobermory is owned by Distell (the same company that owns Bunnahbhain and Deanston) and produces a non-peated whisky known as “Tobermory,” and a heavily peated whisky called “Ledaig.”

Ledaig is pronounced “Le’Chig.” …exactly as it’s spelled.

We’ve had a few really nice whiskies from Malt Whisky Company. I am very curious to know what this 21yo tastes like. Even at 21 years of age, this whisky has a nice, high ABV – 57.3%!

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarQuick note: the little bottle says cask # 13 but it also says that the cask was “Bourbon & Sherry.”

I am assuming that means this spent most of its life in a bourbon cask and then was finished in sherry…

On the nose — It’s got this wet cardboard note upfront but it mixed with some heavier dark fruit notes such as fig and prune.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015There’s a truffle-like earthy-meets-petrol scent here, too.  (Truffle-Shuffle?)

I know Tobermory is supposed to be unpeated but I could swear I detect a hint of peat here.

Wasa Crackers and bitter chocolate can be found here if you *really* inhale.  So can Eeyore’s Thistles.

In the mouth — A mixture of sweetness and acridity (not acidity, acridity) in one fell sip. Man, I like this! Prickly mouthfeel.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015Good sherry-wood presence without being a tannin bomb. Kefir leaves, dark chocolate, mint sprigs, ginger beer. Really browned banana. Decomposing earth – like a late fall walk in the woods. Solid.

Finish — Bruised fruits and fizz, green peppercorn, long lasting to boot!

In sum — Aside from the wet cardboard note that I expect in every Tobermory (and don’t particularly enjoy), this was solid. The flavors were massive and present and wonderful.