Category Archives: Distilleries

All You Need Is Love, Arran, Need To Bundle Up

Arran “Sleeping Warrior” limited bottling

Islands Region – Limited to 6,000 bottles – 54.9%ABV – $78 | £57

Day one of the Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society’s whisky tour will bring us to the Isle of Arran.  At only 15yrs, and as you might know, Arran is one of Scotland’s youngest distilleries.  Young as they are, the whiskies they’re releasing are top notch and they’re surely making a name for themselves.  A good, good name for themselves.

This whisky is limited and only 6,000 bottles were made available.  6,000 might sound like a lot of bottles but these releases really sell out quite fast.

According to Arran, “A donation from every bottle sold of The Sleeping Warrior will be made to The National Trust for Scotland to help maintain the footpaths on Goatfell, Arran’s highest peak, for the enjoyment of all.”

So, if you want to buy a new whisky and feel like you’re contributing to a good cause, this might be it.

On the nose –  Quite obvious, this is an Arran whisky as it’s got a good deal of salt and brine upfront.

Melting milk chocolate with something bitter in here as well (perhaps some bitter sweet dark cherries).

Walnuts and breakfast food gristle sitting in the edges on the frying pan.

Blood oranges and to top it off, malt and lots of it!

On the mouth – Tip-top mouthfeel!  Reminiscent of the mouthful I got on the 11yo, 15yr Arran Anniversary malt.

Warmed apple and caramel (or vice versa.  Either way, I’m reminded of a state fair caramel covered apple).

So. Very. Warming.

Nutty (let’s hope you don’t have any nut allergies!).

Oily, savory yet sweet.

Baked pears, cinnamon & nutmeg, salted caramels.  This is yummy.

Finish – Milky cafe latte that warms you from head to toe on a cold late autumn of early winter night.

In sum – Perfect for colder days when your loved ones aren’t around for you to snuggle up with.  Love the one you’re with – love this Arran!  I have to say, this is perhaps my 2nd favorite Arran after that 11yo, 15yr Anniversary Arran I mentioned earlier.

Special thanks goes out to Andy Hogan for the sample!

Ardbeg, I'd not drink this one if I were you...

Ardbeg 10yo single cask – bottled by the SMWSA – Cask number 33.91

Islay region – matured in a puncheon cask – 64.4%ABV – $95 (no longer available – only a few hundred bottles available)

Over the next few days I’m going to focus on whiskies by distilleries I’ll be visiting while in Scotland.  I’ll be in Scotland from August 12th – 20th (as part of a tour led by Jason Johnstone-Yellin of GSD and the Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society) and I’ll be visiting:

  • Arran
  • Ardbeg
  • Bowmore
  • Lagavulin
  • Talisker
  • Glenmorangie
  • The Balvenie
  • Glenglassaugh
  • plus others…

During the tour I plan on taking lots of pictures, videos and keeping a tour diary that will be made public and will be made available as soon as humanly possible.

So, today’s whisky is one bottled by the SMWSA.  A young peaty Ardbeg.  Let’s see how she fares…

On the nose –  VERY young smelling stuff!  Fruity new make spirit.

After a couple of minutes to get past the newness of it all and we’ve got notes of barbecued pulled pork (or what I remember of it).

Lime & agave (think silver, unaged tequila).

This is a very aggressive whisky and not the most complex but not unpleasant.

On the mouth – Much softer than expected.

Pussycat attack with honey and burnt sugar.

Some lemon pledge furniture polish.

Salty iodine, fresh sea air.

More like a smoky Mezcal, really.

Those agave notes are really present here.

Finish – A touch of milk chocolate with chili peppers.  Medium long.

In sum – Not what I’m after in an Ardbeg.  Even young Ardbeg (the ones I’ve had) seemed ready.  This one, on the other hand, seemed like it could have used a few more years in the cask (or maybe even to spent some time in another cask).

Special thanks goes out to Chris Kent for the Sample!

Cold Winter, Laphroaig, Springtime, Takin' It Easy

Two Laphroaigs, both independently bottled. One from Royal Mile Whiskies the other from Signatory.

This is going to be a sort of cut-to-the-chase review.

More whisky, less preamble.

I’ve got a trip to Scotland to in a few days, lots to review and little time for posting more than notes.

So, two Laphroaigs, both independently bottled. One bottled by Royal Mile Whiskies, one by Signatory.  A death match to the finish (pun intended).

Laphroaig RMW 10yo 56.8% (this bottle is no longer available)

On the nose – Smoky and abrasive yet fruity… sort of like a fruit orchard on fire.

Lemon custard pie with a side of honeycomb cereal.

Very aggressive nose – at 56.8% I’d expect so but… it seems somehow moreish in the hot-alcohol-on-the-nose department.

Pears, cinnamon and pepper; in that order.

Lastly, some notes of tinned pineapple… Tin and all.

On the mouth– 

Not as smoky as the nose lead on.

Fresh oats and other cereals. Very malty.

Creamy attack loaded with lemons and salted, honey and butter slathered toast.

Finish – nice even, drying finish. Like licking a dry Popsicle stick or tongue depressors.

In Sum – A nice well balanced Laphroaig. Well chosen you choosers of cask! I could easily pour this on a warm summer night or a cold winter day. Sounds odd but very doable!  Actually, I’d love to taste this as beer before it becomes spirit.  I imagine it’s delicious.

Laphroaig 8yo Signatory 46% $53

On the nose – very similar, if you ask me, to the RMW version except softer (a result of the lower ABV?).

Here’s an unusual one: blueberry bramble.

Rubber gloves and other things that start with the prefix “Poly”.

On the mouth – A watered down version of the first Laphroaig.

Much sweeter, however, and less malty than the first one.

Finish – Not a dry as the previous Laphroaig and that’s too bad.

In Sum – Something tells me that this would be really nice as a cask strength Whisky.  I might have enjoyed it more if I went for this before the RMW Laphroaig. Note to self, when reviewing two whiskies side by side and one of them is cask strength and the other not… Start with the lower octane one…  That is all.

Special thanks goes out to David H for the samples!

All You Need Is Love, Kavalan, Let's celebrate!, Summertime

Kavalan King Car Whisky – bottled at 46% ABV

Taiwan — 46% – 200ml sample (thanks to Ian Chang of Kavalan for the sample and patience with the post)

Last November I had the good opportunity to taste Kavalan King Car Whisky bottled at 40%ABV.  Kavalan is single malt whisky from Taiwan.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  What’s more, they’re producing some top notch whisky.

As excited as I was to taste this whisky for the first time, I have a strange prejudice against whiskies that are bottled at the minimum 40% ABV so I was a bit apprehensive.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  What’s more is this whisky is also now bottled at 46% and non-chill filtered.

Before we get to the tasting, I thought I should direct you to images of Kavalan’s beautiful faciliety.  Just surf the web (or, just look below) and you’ll find some truly stunning pictures of their distillery:

 

 

 

 

Picture above in the image on the right hand side is Ian Chang admiring the casks in his warehouse.  If I could, I’d bottle one of those casks myself.  I really am a fan of the Kavalan line.  Ok, enough daydreaming.  On to the tasting…

On the nose — Mouthwateringly fruity – think mangos and tangerine, bananas and honey dew melon.

Honey and sugared lemons.

Freshly ground coffee (just like with the 40%ABV version).

Lots of malt, a bit floral and a touch salty.

Here’s one that brings back memories from weekends at my grandparent’s house…Musty Afghans that have been stored in laminated oak cabinets (I’m referring to the blanket-type Afghans, not the people.  This is not a slur against the Afghani people or the Afghan Whigs).

On the mouth — Nice mouthful yet nowhere near as fruity and tropical as the nose lead me to believe.

Highly vegetal and more of the salt I detected earlier.

Leafy greens, cucumber sauce.

Unsweetened lemon chews (if that makes sense).

Finish — Short but with a bit of a lemony zing to it.

In sum —  The wonderfully fruity nose was very promising and got me in the mood for warmer times.  The salty, more vegetal flavor of this whisky took me a bit off guard which could be a good thing.  Yes, I think it was a good thing.  The finish was just a bit to short for me.  I wanted it to stay with me longer.  Maybe that was purposeful.  It just made me want to sniff and taste more!

Gal of Whisky Israel also reviewed this one recently and seemed to like it quite a bit.

Karen & Matt of Whisky For Everyone agrees, this is a fine whisky.