All posts by Jewmalt

SuperJew, Husband, Father, Scotch aficionado, Musician, Whisky Society President
Glenfarclas, I'd not drink this one if I were you..., Need To Bundle Up

Glenfarclas 1974 and a good friend

Highlands region – 57.5%ABV – $189

A few weeks ago, while on a trip to Chicago, I met up with my good friend Jason Johnstone-Yellin (of guidscotchdrink.com) and during this time we sat a spell at Lady Gregory’s.  A cool Irish pub with a decent dinner menu (actually, a really great menu if you’re not a vegetarian) and a Whisk(e)y & Beer menu that was… not too shabby!

The tough thing is, for whisky anoraks/reviewers/bloggers like Jason and I, well… we’ve tasted A LOT of whisky.  As an idea or hint; when Jason and I were in Scotland this past August with our friends and tour guests, in 7 days alone, we tasted 134 different whiskies (yes, we counted and kept track).  Not everybody does, I understand this.  In fact we talked about it during our time at Lady Gregory’s (how crazy, ridiculous and awesome it is to get to taste so much whisky).  This being said, while I call the Whisk(e)y menu “not too shabby”, for most it’s an amazing whisky list!  Over 200 whiskies if memory serves.

While going over the list we found two whiskies in particular that really intrigued us so we had to try them/review them together.  The first is this Glenfarclas that’s being reviewed today and the other is a Laphroaig that I’ll post up in a couple of weeks.

As mentioned, we reviewed this whisky together so the notes are combined notes from our experience.

Color — Sunlight on a mahogany chair

On the nose — Attic stored afghans (not the people), cinnamon, candied apples, burnt caramel, mahogany, cherry stones/pits, fresh suburban rain, baked granola bars (freshly toasted oats, oven baked raisin notes, warm honey).

On the mouth — WOOD, lots of wood. Hot, overstewed prunes, the spirit character is a bit lost here.

Finish — Moderate to long, sweet and astringent/bitter cherry juice, continues to dry out the mouth

In sum — It was cool taste a whisky that was almost as old as I am but in the end, the real treat was to spend some time and bullshit with a good friend.

An everyday dram, Bruichladdich, Takin' It Easy

Bruichladdich 10yo – the new 2011 “Laddie Ten”

Islay region – 46% ABV – $45 – $55 | £32 | €45

The complaint, if there ever was one, with Bruichladdich was that there were WAY too many releases coming out of the distillery which made it difficult for people to keep track of or understand the distillery; myself included.

This is not to say that many of the releases were bad releases.  Quite the contrary!  I think the vast majority of whisky reviewers/bloggers would agree with me in saying that the bottles being churned out of the Bruichladdich distillery were, for the most part, top notch releases. Heck, I gave the Bruichladdich Blacker Still an award last year (brill-i-ant whisky!)

So why did our friends at Bruichladdich release so many whisky expressions over that past 10 years?  My guess is that they needed to generate funds to help create and launch this whisky we will be reviewing today.

Bruichladdich does not sell their whisky to blenders.  All of their 750,000 liters (per year, when run at full capacity) goes to their single malt – no blends.  So, if they can’t make money by selling malt whisky for blends, they had to sell of old stock from the previous distillery owners.  Hence, the many many releases from Bruichladdich.

We are told, however, that the frequency of these machine gun fire releases will come down now that a new 10yo expression has been released.  For Bruichladdich, the “Laddie Ten” 10yo expression is all about fresh starts and new beginnings.  New beginnings are something that I am very familiar with (*especially* as of late).  New beginnings can be good things (great things) and for Bruichladdich, they sure are.

On the nose –  A nice, delicate nose overflowing with scents of chamomile and other teas, dandelion jam with a touch of honey.

Before this, however, there was some spice right upfront and coastal notes that are almost reminiscent of a young Springbank whisky with notes of flinty soil, ozone, coastal long grasses.

A bit herbal as well but very sweet smelling overall.

On the mouth – Like a flavor punch to the mouth this whisky is… with a fantastic mouthfeel!

The flavor is very similar to what I got on the nose but there is an addition of sharp cheese in here which, combined with the sweet of the jam and honey really helps to balance it all out.  The roundness comes from a mixture of ex-bourbon & ex-oloroso sherry casks (however, the majority of the whisky in here is from ex-bourbon barrels)

Coming back after a couple of minutes and there is a huge creme brulee quality to this whisky (I’m guessing this comes from some top quality ex-bourbon casks).

Finish – Long in length with a spicy/sweet note that rides the center of my tongue like Jim Morrison’s seven mile long snake…

In sum – A solid whisky that is aggressive yet delicate.  It has a way of saying: “Hey guys – here I am.  I AM BRUICHLADDICH!”  Brilliant stuff that will have a permanent spot on my whisky shelf.  I could easily sip on this most any day.  Great job Mr. McEwan and the rest of the Bruichladdich team!!

Special thanks goes out to Shane H for the sample!!

Arran

Good news for Arran whiskies in the USA!

Good news for those of us living in the US!  You can read the full detail below but the gist of it is that the Isle of Arran Distillers have signed on with a new importer for product into the US: Impex (known for importing Kilchomen, Smokehead, the Cheiftain’s range of Single Cask Whiskies and Isle of Skye blended whisky into the US).

The effective date is January 1, 2012

My hope, which I think will come to fruition, is that with this new deal with Impex (a company that KNOWS whisky), Arran will be bringing in more of their small release products such as the Icons of Arran range, Sleeping Warrior, 12yo cask strength, etc…  It will remain to be seen but Impex knows their stuff and knows the US whisky consumer.

Arran is in good hands.  Read the full details below.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd & ImpEx Beverages Inc

Trading Agreement Announcement

 

Press Announcement

 Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd, a dynamic force in the Scotch Whisky Industry is delighted to announce that effective January 1st 2012, their Single Malt and Blended Scotch will be imported into the United States by ImpEx Beverages Inc.

Andrew Hogan of Isle of Arran Distillers commented that “This agreement with ImpEx will bring us the brand building success that we seek at this stage in our development. I am delighted to have the chance to work with ImpEx, and to benefit from the experience that Ed Kohl and his team brings to the USA whisky market. “Hogan added that he “…looked forward to increased influence within the US market and this appointment was the best news possible prior to the busy holiday selling season. “

For ImpEx Beverages, Ed Kohl stated “We are delighted to represent this prestigious distillery in our portfolio of malt and blended whisky.  Isle of Arran is a new and innovative distillery who is offering an exciting range of single malts and blends to the whisky connoisseur who is looking for yet another new experience.  The combination of our two companies compliments each other extremely well as we move forward with our consumer tasting programs.  Mr. Hogan will also be a valued partner as we develop Isle of Arran in the U.S. Market.”

Field Trip!, Glenmorangie, Interviews

Day 4 – Video tasting with Glenmorangie’s Global Ambassador David Blackmore – Tasting the “Private Editions”

Finally, we are at the finish.

But before we got here, yesterday we discussed Glenmorangie’s Quinta Ruban and Nectar D’or (Port and Sauternes finishes, respectively) and the day before that we lead off talks of their “Extra-Matured” range with the Glenmorangie Lasanta which is a sherry finished whisky.

We began this entire video series a few days ago with the flagship Glenmorangie – “The Original” (here is a link to that video)

So what will we discuss in the end?  The first two of Glenmorangie’s Private Editions: Sonnalta PX, which is a Pedro Ximenez sherry finished whisky and the Finealta which is a replication, they think, of what Glenmorangie’s whisky might have tasted like back in the very early 1900’s and is lightly peated.

As with the others, the below videos are more than just tasting videos.  David Blackmore does a great job teaching us about the whiskies, process and more.

David, thank you very much for doing this series with me.  I look forward to our next shoot when we cover the Ardbeg line.

And thank you to all who’ve follow the series!  I hope you enjoy the videos below.  Cheers!

 And now to video number two:

Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society’s official tasting notes on the Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX & Finealta

Sonnalta PX (as reviewed in April 2010) – 46% ABV –$65 – $90 | £56 | €75

On the nose – Banana peels & cinnamon, Banana chips, candied oranges (strange, even orange Jujubees, sort of a soapy quality but good), The nose really reminds me of the palate on the Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey with all of the yummy banana-i-ness to it.  A very un-Glenmorangie nose.  Wait, I sniffed after typing that and I take it back, notes from The Original Ten Years are popping through honey, apples.  It’s all hiding there waiting to sneak up on you!

On the mouth — Fantastic mouth feel!  Oh, G-d, that’s just so chewy…  Like salted taffy or caramel.  Nuts and root veggies, a touch of chocolate here (sort of like chocolate shavings if you’ve ever had them, a very different taste than a chunk of chocolate), wine soaked raisins.

Finish — Quite long.  Chocolate covered leather (oh, so slight with the leather quality), raisins and fresh fruits.  Huh, slight nutty oak after about 45 seconds or so.

Finealta (as reviewed in December 2010) – 46% ABV –$65 – $75 | £61 | €75

On the nose –Big cherry presence on the nose along with something minty.  An earthy quality to it – fresh potting soil, new ferns.  The peat in here is very light.  Toffee & caramel.  Cadbury fruit & nut bar.  Some soy sauce.

On the mouth – Spiced orange gum drops.  Red ones too.  Lots of nuttiness and now some coffee tones in there.  Solid mouth feel here, folks!  Creamy, ooey – I love it.  Peppery and more soy sauce notes.  Again, lightly smoked & very elusive.

Finish – Now quite tannic.  Quite long too.

You can view days 1, 2 and 3 of this video series, here, here and here (respectively).

Field Trip!, Glenmorangie, Interviews

Day 3 – Video tasting with Glenmorangie’s Global Ambassador David Blackmore – Tasting the “Quinta Ruban & Nectar D’or”

As we enter the second half of our video tastings with David Blackmore & Glenmorangie, I start to get a little sad because I know that tomorrow will be the last day of our Glenmorangie videos.

However, there is some good news (with a spoiler alert – in the Glenmorangie videos we eluded to reviewing some Ardbeg whiskies.  We ran out of time and did not get to them):

The good news? David and I have agreed on a date to video a review of the Ardbeg line and I hope that we’ll get to taste some interesting stuff and learn more about what may be Islay’s, if not all of Scotland’s, most cult single malt whisky.  Expect those videos to go up before 2011 is out!  With hope, these will be some nice Chanukah/Christmas presents for you 🙂

Back to the matter at hand… today David and I will explore the final two of the Extra-Matured Glenmorangie range: Quinta Ruban (Port Finish) and the Nectar D’or (Chateau D’yquem Sauternes Finish).

The Nectar D’or is perhaps my favorite of the Extra-Matured Glenmorangies if not my favorite out of the entire Glenmo range.  The tasting of the two whiskies had to be split over two 10 minute videos.

Lots to talk about, lots to learn, lots to taste.

If you missed the first post, here is a link to it.  If you missed the second post, here is a link to it.

I hope you enjoy Part 1:

And now, Part 2:

Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society’s official tasting notes on the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban and Nectar D’or

Highlands Region – 46% ABV – $45 | £44 | €45

Quinta Ruban – (as tasted in May of 2010 by six of the local Connecticut JSMWS members – the notes are combined group notes)

Initial whiff — Spiced Oranges, Cloves, honey & vanilla, “this one will tickle your nose thinking that’s it’s actually Elmo” (Ok, so I threw in another little analogy…  it is a nose tickler, very spicy stuff).

On the mouth – More tannic than expected, spiced citrus stuffs, honey and vanilla, some good nuttiness follows the nose here, oily mouth feel, coating and chewy.

Finish – Short, left you wanting more, off balance compared to what the nose & palate delivered (though some saw this as an evolution rather than imbalance), though with the addition of a bit of water, a creaminess stays with you.

Highlands Region – 46% ABV – $55-65 | £50 | €65

Nectar D’or – (Tasting notes are mine from February 2010)

On the nose — Apricot jam, actual Sauternes (no initial whisky scents, pure Sauternes wine; delicious!), loads of vanilla, some coconut and a tad bit of smoke, more like apricot jam on burnt toast (after having scrapped off the burny parts with a butter knife).

On the mouth – My G-d, my mouth instantly started watering.  Very fruity, apricots again, pecans, oak and coconuts.  A bit peppery and some gobs of honey, sugared honey.

Finish – Long, this stuff coats your mouth quite well, in the way back of my tongue the pecans came back.  Quite lovely stuff.

You can view days 1, 2 and 4 of this video series, here, here and here (respectively).