Category Archives: Autumn

All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Bunnahabhain, Cold Winter, I'd not drink this one if I were you...

Two VERY different Bunnahabhains, both from Feis Ile 2010

I’m going to leave the preamble to a minimum here as I’d like to let the reviews speak for themselves.

I will tell you — last year I got caught up in all of the online hoopla about Islay’s 2010 Feis Ile festivial (thanks be to many blogs and Mark Gillespie’s fantastic coverage through his WhiskyCast Feis Ile Podcasts).  It was addictive.

I was Sofa King jealous of all those who got to go to the Feis Ile festival last year!  Thankfully,  my friend Shai Gilboa (frequent guest blogger on Whisky Israel) was able to go to Islay last year during Feis Ile and he was kind enough to pass some samples onto me – thanks Shai!!

Bunnahabhain bottled by “Queen of the Moorlands” for the Islay Feis Ile festival, 2010 – Heavily Peated – 53.2%ABV – £60

On the nose — Earthy and filled with man-sweat; salty and slightly… off.

Burnt asparagus, salty green leafy vegetables, dead autumn leaves and mountain air fill the nostrils.

Moving on to things a bit more man-made (artificial, not the sweat)…

Think rubber bands, paper bags and the plastic strips that were once attached to Fruit Roll-Ups (the addition of fruit makes an appearance here).

Pared pears, baked to perfection.

With water, the nose dies out.

On the mouth — Very tight and thin.

Less complex in flavor as compared to the nose.

Very rubbery and smokey with a bit of salt and dead grass.

With water the mouth feels gets super creamy but really doesn’t do anything to the flavor as far as adding complexity.

The exception being the addition of vanilla and a touch of pine.

Finish — Smokey and full of salty fizz.

In sum — The nose was really interesting and complex but sadly this one fell flat for me on every other level.

Bunnahabhain’s own special bottling for the Islay Feis Ile festival, 2010 – Pedro Ximenez finish – 51.4%ABV – £150

On the nose — Heavy sherry influence and I’m somehow reminded of sticky, wine influenced fudge.

Dried bananas and spiced black plums (heavier on the spice note than on the plum note).

Cinnamon coffee cakes with some cherry and blueberry jam.

A fantastically fun and gets-you-hungry kind of nose.

On the mouth — Sweet fruits of the dried variety.

Watery mouthfeel yet not thin (perhaps like Jell-o water before it thickens).

Spiced fruit leather and vanilla bean.

Apricots, dates, dried cherries, nutmeg, cloves, a fruity fall-mix compote.

While this is all there and fun is seems to lack a robust power to it.

I guess I was hoping for the flavors to blast.  Instead, they are merely presented to my palate (yet perfectly balanced).

Finish — Every taste bud is pinched and squeezed of all its moisture (read: dry/tannic).

Long with the addition of fresh berries.

In sum — A wonderfully rich and balanced Bunnahabhain.  A perfect evening dram to enjoy amongst friends and good conversation.  This one is a win for me.

Arran, Autumn, Springtime

Arran 8yo Single Sherry Cask #1536, bottled by Arran

Islands region – 59.3%ABV – Somewhere around $75

Spring is here, spring is here!!

G-d damn it if this winter didn’t beat the crap out of me (and anyone else living in the North East of the good ‘ol US of A).

I kid you not when I tell you that at one point this winter we had a snow bank at the end of our driveway that was higher than 10 ft (for those folks who use the metric system, that’s a shit tonne of centimeters!).  Storm after storm, foot after foot of snow, shovel after shovel, vertebrae after vertebrae breaking work… Oy.

Thankfully, the storms of 2010/early 2011 are now a not-to-distant memory and we can (I can) finally move on.  Passover, for us, brought about a good deal of spring cleaning (inside & out of the house) which is still going on but, it feels fantastic!  The warm sun hitting this t-shirted bloke feels right good!

The flowers are popping, there’s a new scent in the air brought about by the various flora that surrounds my woodsy/swampy area.  A combination of scents, really — Wafts of skunk cabbage, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, dandelions, pollen (times a gazillion), chainsaw oil, armpit sweat, sunblock… it’s all in the air and it’s LOVELY!

Spring has a good way of making one feel anew.  I don’t know about you but all winter long I felt as if I was just doing what I could to survive through it.

Like a snake, the spring time allows you to feel as if you can shed the recent past and start again with new skin.  Maybe this year will be different, somehow better than last year.  That, of course, is not something you can just hope on.  You have to work to make that come true.  But perhaps the feeling of this new season might help to give you that strength.  Forge ahead, embrace life and cling on (Klingon) to the unexpected for it’s what helps us all to live.  Not survive but live.

Arran single sherry cask #1536:

Color — Oversteeped tea with a slight ruby hue to it.  Lighter than expected given the fact that this has spent all it’s life in a sherry cask (2nd fill perhaps?).

On the nose — Fragrant, flowery, salty and slightly dusty and woody (sort of like an old church pew type note).

Actually, the more I nose it the more dust I detect.  Really dusty stuff…

Fruity too (think red plum without the tart).

Chocolate covered raisins.

On the mouth — Very juicy entry, nice hot attack without losing the flavor.

Think of a red fruit and, it’s in there.

This is insanely sweet and fruity.

None of the dust I got on the nose.

Notes of lime and even a touch of mint (a fun little combination of flavors).

A very different sherry matured whisky profile.

Finish — Lots of lime of the finish – like a lime ricky.  Very long.

In sum — The fruits and raisins on the nose were nice but I found the dusty element to be almost overpowering.  It’s all about the taste and finish with this one.  Flavorwise, this was delicious; one to enjoy with an assortment of desserts.  If you’re going to go sweet, go all the way baby!

Autumn, Dalmore, Let's celebrate!

Dalmore 21yo Sherrywood

Highlands region – 43%ABV – $|£|€ – ???

Every now and again I will do sample trades with friends, fellow bloggers, readers of the blog and JSMWS society members.  I may have something they want and vice versa.  Sample trades are a great way to expand your palate and horizons; a way for your to find new whiskies you may love (or hate).

This being said, I recently did a swap with one of the JSMWS members from our west coast contingency.  Marshall, the aforementioned member, and I recently had the following swap:  I offered up some Hanyu 18yo single cask #370 and Signatory 17yo single cask Linkwood (1st fill sherry) for some Dalmore 21yo Sherrywood & a 13yo Bowmore that was matured in a petrus wine cask (then bottled by Bruichladdich which threw me a bit…).

Marshall told me that this particular Dalmore is a desert island dram for him – one of his top three whiskies.  Thems is strong words, my friend… strong words.  I’ve had a few Dalmores, most being very nice, with the 1973 being a goddess of a whisky.  Marshall, let’s see if this is as good a whisky as you pumped it up to be:

On the nose — Big mouthwatering nose, chock full of sour oranges, black pepper and extra dark & bitter chocolate.

Cadbury Fruit and Nut bars (a milk chocolatey quality is here in addition to the dark mentioned above).

Candied citrus rind filled fruit cakes.

Increasingly peppery and somewhat way smelling.

A touch smokey after a couple of minutes.

The oak now rears its head (“rears its head…” I like that little phrase.  It’s funny and sounds dirrrrty in a sophomoric way).

Warm, warm oak – toasted oak.

On the mouth — A very minty attack.

Caramel covered oranges.

Slightly soapy, oily and chewy all at once.

Pepper bite, orange creamsicles.

Spiced pears.

Mixed berry candies of the hard and powdered variety.

Finish — Long, peppery and filled with more mixed berries flavors.

In sum — Now THIS is a Dalmore.  After the 1973, this may be the best one I’ve had to date.  Candied and soothing.

This both tastes great and is filling – it’s a heavy whisky but one not to take lightly.

One to celebrate with… that’s if you can find a bottle.

Big thanks goes out to Marshall for the sample swap.  This was some fine whisky indeed!

All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Cold Winter, Glenfarclas, Need To Bundle Up

Glenfarclas 25yo – memories in a glass

Highlands region – 43%ABV – $125 | £86 | €100

I’ve mentioned in the past that one of the things that drew me to whisky was not the enigmatic smells; the delicious and complex flavors or what drinking enough of it does to your body and brain.  No, what really pulled me in were the memories and feelings the smell, taste and experience could provide.

Like how smelling lilacs reminds one of the joys of new life in the springtime.  The way the sound and feel of crunching leaves underfoot brings you back to your childhood days when you first discovered the colors and smells of the season – or perhaps the first time you made a scarecrow…

Whisky can bring you back to those good times in your life – times which comfort you or bring a yesterdays’ smile to your face…  What’s more, whisky can put back, in the front of your mind, your memories of discovery and learning and exactly how it all felt.

There are a few whiskies in particular that do this for me:
•    Lagavulin (instant thoughts of a campfire in the mountains with my dad)
•    Ardbeg (a warm California beach at lowtide and a lemonade stand where I made $4.50 which was a lot of money back in 1978)
•    Glenfarclas (Thanksgiving, Sukkot (which is the Jewish/Biblical holiday the US fore-fathers based Thanksgiving around) and perhaps the feeling I get during passover – it’s the warmth of family and the savory/sweet smells in the house.  Just lovely).

I’d never had the Glenfarclas 25 until now.  The 12yo, 15yo, cask strength 105 and the 40yo are all lovey-dovey malts if’n you ask me.  So, I have to expect that this will fall right into place.  I’d like to thank the nice chaps and lasses at Master of Malt for the Sample.  Much appreciated!

On the nose — Rubber bouncy-balls and cranberry sauce (tin can and all).

Strawberry preserves, warmed honey and a hint of smoke.

Spicy and loaded with vanilla and wintery baking spices.

A very rounded, supple nose.

On the mouth — The texture is like watered down honey.

Sweet and nutty.

A potpourri of flavors (mainly the contents of a wintry potpourri).

This is like drinking a season…

More bouncy-balls and citrus spice.

Finish — Warming, soothing and filled with rum cakes!

In sum — There’s something so very comforting about the Glenfarclas whiskies I’ve had and this one did not let me down.  Round, warm and inviting; this is one to sip on while your spacial lady or special man friend is away.  It’s like imbibing a hug.  I will say, however, that the Glenfarclas 15yo is still my favorite.

Aberlour, Autumn, Kosher Spirits (not for Passover), Loch Chaim, Whiskies

Loch Chaim Aberlour 16yo Single Cask

Speyside region – 43%ABV – $65

It’s been a while since I’ve done a kosher certified whisky and being that the one year anniversary of the Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society blog is getting ever nearer (it’s tomorrow, by the way), I thought it was about time I review another whisky that’s targeted toward the Jewish consumer.

The Loch Chaim line of single cask whiskies has so far proven itself to be a line that’s good for Jew and Gentile alike.

So, what make this kosher?  Well, put simply, whisky is kosher by nature as long at it’s matured in anything other than an ex-sherry/wine/port/madeira cask.  All whiskies in the Loch Chaim line are matured in barrels which previously held bourbon.  Bourbon, by US law, needs to be matured in new charred oak barrels; therefore, there is no sherry/wine/port/madeira influence on the whisky whatsoever.

If you want to know more about the ins-and-outs of why a whisky can be considered kosher or not kosher – you can read this great article by Alan L.

Click here to see all of the Loch Chaim whiskies I’ve reviewed

On the nose – Scented candle shop filled with Christmas wreaths and holly berry scented candles.

Yeah right, like you see a lot of Jewish Latke scented candles at those shops…

A bag of assorted Halloween candies (or Purim candies I suppose).

Soy sauce and some potted house flowers (big begonias).

On the mouth – Very similar to the nose and a thick mouth feel to boot!

Beyond what’s listed in the Nose section is an interesting note of fresh vidallia onion.

White pepper and a bit of bay leaf (like a nice autumn stew).

Increasingly peppery.

Hints of black licorice.

Finish – Ends on a big red peppery note, perhaps a little bit of 9-volt bite.

In sum – Fresh and light like an early summer’s day however very much an Autumn malt.  I liked this.  I think Aberlour shines with their sherried product but take the name Aberlour out of the picture and this is a solid dram.