All posts by Jewmalt
Two new ‘Old Malt Cask’ whiskies for the US Market: 36yo Glen Grant and a 28yo Dailuaine
I am fortunate in that I’ve had a few new samples of Old Malt Cask sent my way. (Hip Hop Hooray for me!!)
One of the single cask ranges as part of the Douglas Laing family of Independent Bottled whiskies, Old Malt Cask is somewhat unusual as they normally bottle their whisky at 50% ABV rather than cask strength. Though not *that* unusual I suppose as Lombard’s does this as well.
The Old Malt Cask range of whiskies is one that has releases under the brand nearly every month (though the releases get spread out all over so the US might not see new OMC whiskies every month…).
Today we’re reviewing 2 of the four samples I’ve received. Special thanks to the good folks at International Wine and Spirits for the samples!
Old Malt Cask 28yo Dailuaine, refill hogshead, bottled at 50% ABV, 133 bottles – $230 from Binnys.
On the nose – Spicy, industrial, new newspapers, fresh ink.
Wow, I am smelling New York City on a dry, spring day.
Waft of perfume, new leaves, young flowers black pepper and a bit of pastrami sangwich to boot!
On the mouth – One can only dream of a mouthfeel like this. Much like the 27yo Dailuaine from Master of Malt, just a touch more oily.
Flavor wise, it’s very similar to that same MoM Dailuaine in that the Dailuaine qualities shine like a crazy diamond. Spice, lots of it.
Raisins in light brown sugar with a touch of brown spice.
Spiced gum drops (minus the sugar coating).
Finish – A lightly spiced, medium length finish.
In sum – Dailuaine continues to impress the living bejebus out of me. I’ve not met a Dailuaine I haven’t liked and this one is no exception.
This is another late summer dram for me…
Old Malt Cask 36yo Glen Grant, Brandy Finished Butt, bottled at 50% ABV, 150 bottles
On the nose – A touch floral but quite nutty (hazelnuts primarily).
Kefir leaves in coconut soup. Very sweet and light malt, yellow berries, wood spice, seasoned oak.
While not the most complex, it’s still a very, very really loverly nose.
On the mouth – I’ve seen the light! Great mouthfeel!
Light, floral and nutty. The style is somewhat reminiscent of an ex-bourbon Rosebank whisky.
You know you’re drinking an older whisky but this has a vibrancy that let’s itself be known by way of a fizzy-mouthfeel and ripe fruits.
Also in here we have some chamomile tea, baker’s chocolate and highly salted black licorice.
Finish – Lemoney pie crusts, medium long.
In sum – The cask seems to be less invasive on the spirit than I would have expected. This is a great whisky here. Glen Grant really has true character and they’ve captured it in this here cask.
This is a late summer dram. One to enjoy sometime before lunchtime.
Weymss Malt “The Dunes.” A 29yo single cask of Inchgower.
Highlands region – 46% ABV
Weymss is sort of a new bottler for me. Sure, I’ve heard of them but I’ve only had one of their releases until now. That one, btw, was the Smooth Criminal Gentleman I reviewed with the one and only Malt Impostor(s).
The Weymss line of single casks all seem to be diluted down to 46% ABV rather than bottled at cask strength. While I tend to be a fan of cask strength whiskies (especially with single cask), I can understand some of the reasons to bottling at a lower ABV. Primarily, and from the customer perspective, a lower ABV can make whisky a little more approachable to the person just getting into whisky.
So, let’s see what this single cask has to offer.
On the nose — Brittle flat bread.
Sort of like poppadum.
Lots of bright notes but all seemingly restrained: lemon wedges, salted green apples, citrus infused honey.
Jaffa cake bread (less the chocolate).
On the mouth — Whoa, this is some exotic stuff!
Buttered naan.
Candied butter (if there were ever such a thing).
A host of light Indian spices, sweet verging on savory but not savory at all.
Imagine a bake shop (breads and sweets) and a Nepalese restaurant were combined. That’d be this.
Exotic and foodie and surprisingly different than most whiskies out there.
Finish — A touch of spice and lavender (?). Decent length.
In sum — It is whiskies such as this one that makes me LOVE the single cask. This whisky is like a spotlight on the odd, unique and lovely. A whisky well worth your time and consideration. This is a mid-summer whisky, one reserved for drinking in the heat with some ice water on the side.
2012 George T Stagg – An absolutely stunning whiskey.
Kentucky – 71.4% ABV – $79 (good luck finding a bottle, folks. You’ll likely find more four leaf clovers than bottles of this juice)
The 2012 Buffalo Trace collection has been released and I was lucky enough to win a lotto from Julio’s Liquors in Westborough, MA to get a bottle.
Let me be clear, winning the lotto gave me that opportunity to buy the bottle. I didn’t win the bottle.
This hooch is highly allocated and I count myself as one of the lucky ones to have actually gotten my hands on a bottle.
George T Stagg is one of five whiskies Buffalo Trace releases as part of their yearly “Antique Collection.” And it is, by far, the most sought after one in the group. (The other five bottles being: Eagle Rare 17yo, Sazerac Rye 18yo, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye and William Larue Weller Bourbon).
At 71.4% alcohol content, this is the highest-octane stuff released this year by Buffalo Trace.
On the nose — For 71.4% I’m not finding this too hot to handle on the nose. The heat is quite easily transformed in to a good deal of black pepper.
Some burn cranberries and heavily toasted hearty wheat breads become obvious. So far, an inspiring nose!
Heavily peppered molasses and salted meat and burnt pencil shavings.
Brown spices (an old bourbon stand-by note) but there are also some lighter fruits in here including white seedless grapes, as an example.
This is one of those whiskeys that you could nose for a good, long time. I see why people go so nuts for it every year.
On the mouth — For the uninitiated, this is some hot juice, no doubt. However, please reward yourself and press on! Take a smaller sip. Here we go again (are you ready?)…
Yeah, that’s the stuff!
Cranberry relish, black pepper, orange zest, vanilla pods… this is BURSTING with flavor. It’s about as moreish as a whiskey gets.
Lovely mouth feel — both zippy and oily at the same time. Speaking of oil, getting a little gun oil here.
On top of this, heavy wood spice and a good whack of everything that makes lebkuchen. It’s basically lebkuchen and Christmas cakes in a glass.
Wow.
Finish — Drying, spicy and near endless…
In sum — Quite possibly the best bourbon I’ve had in 2012. Actually, this is easily the best bourbon I’ve had this year. Kudos to the distillers. In a word: amazing.
Happy birthday to me. This was my gift to myself this year. A fine purchase. One of the best I made this year.
Two new whiskies for the Gordon & Macphail’s Private Collection. A 19yo Ledaig and a 20yo Balblair
Today, dear readers, you are going to get a two-for-one review session.
I’ve been reviewing whisky after whisky after whisky and have a whole host of notes at the ready. However it’s been a little difficult finding the time to actually post my notes.
That said, seeing as I had a little window of time in which to post up a review, I thought I’d kill two whiskies birds with one review stone.
The two today, to me, are a couple of odd ducks. I’ve never had a finished Ledaig until now. The same goes with the Balblair I’m also reviewing today. Both are wine finished and part of the Gordon Macphail “Private Collection” range of whiskies. Furthermore, both are bottled at 45% ABV which is an unusual bottling strength given that 40%, 43%, 46% and cask strength tend to be the most common…
20yo Balblair finished in Crozes-Hermitage Wood – 45% ABV – $145
Some notes from Gordon & Macphail:
Private Collection Balblair Distillery Crozes-Hermitage Wood Finish was distilled in 1991 and bottled in 2012 and again finished for 40 months from casks from the northern Rhône region of France.
On the nose – Very heavy with the wine influence on this one. It smells of tannins and Acid brand cigars (herbed, herbal, perfumed, perfumal? Nah, just perfumed).
Wow, chili peppers and… salted avocado (???).
Some fruits are hiding behind the winey scents.
Still more, we have some damp, dank sweetness swirling about the glass. A oddly interesting nose.
There seems to be a bit of a fight going on with the scents here.
On the mouth – Similar to what I got on the nose. The chili pepper zing hits the side of my tongue. Mouth begins to water.
Cranberry relish and other tart fruit relishes. Lots of red fruit and an interesting mouthfeel.
There’s a wet-like viscosity that is drying my tongue. It doesn’t make sense but, it’s happening.
Cigars again.
Finish – Long, drying and filled with red fruits.
In sum – Totally NOT what I look for in a Balblair. While it’s not *my* bag but I can see folks loving this one.
If you like your whiskies with a heavy wine influence, look no further. This does a good job highlighting that aspect while still retaining it’s whiski-ness.
19yo Ledaig finished in St. Joseph Wood – 45% ABV – $95
Some notes from Gordon & Macphail:
The expression from Ledaig Distillery was distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2012 and finished in St Joseph casks for 40 months.
On the nose – What’s to be expected from a nice, older Ledaig: Soft peat and nice fruits.
Apple lollipops, even apple schnapps.
Spiced gum drops, allspice. Lots of various candied scents.
A bit of a mishmash and focused on the fruity elements but really nice smelling overall.
On the mouth – Here’s where is begins to get real!
Very wine forward but oh, so pleasantly so (red fruits, black pepper and just a drop of fresh cement)!
A little woody but not in a bad way at all. It helps add in some wood spice elements.
A touch of wet cardboard (I often get this in whiskies where the cut of the distillate has a fair amount of tails. Heck, I get this a lot in most Ledaigs/Tobermorys).
Great mouthfeel.
Finish – Drying with threads of peat throughout. Pretty gosh darned long…
In sum – A very interesting whisky. I enjoyed it thoroughly. While the nose seemed a bit too focused, it really drew me in to taste and this whisky shines in flavor. A even keeled finish with decent length.
I could enjoy this repeatedly.
Thanks to CR for the official samples!!