Category Archives: Need To Bundle Up

A bit of a let down..., Caol Ila, Need To Bundle Up

Islay distilleries explained thru Rock and Roll comparisons – Part 3 – Caol Ila & my review of their 2007 Distillery Bottling

Islay distilleries and their whiskies explained through Rock and Roll – Part III (of VIII)

I started this series just two weeks ago and I can say with pure delight that it has, so far, given me my two most trafficked posts (Part one: Bruichladdich as The Sex Pistols, Part two: Ardbeg as Slayer) since I started this blog.  Thanks for tuning and chiming in, y’all!   I really appreciate it.

My two previous posts in this series started off with the whisky review first then the Rock band comparison just after.  I’ll run this one the same way.  Why buck the trend, right?

Caol Ila 2007 Distillery Only bottling 58.4% – £65 at the distillery and they still have some as of August 2011 (when I got my bottle)

On the nose — Smoky, sooty, rusty pipe water…

Hmmm, I’m afraid I might have summed this one up in only 3 words and described it as something you probably don’t want to drink… Let me come back to this one…

One week later and minus my bad mood (seriously)…

While the rusty pipe water is still here, I’m getting some nice oak notes I wasn’t getting before.

Lots of vanilla in here too.  Big unripened peach and pear.

Very industrial smoke – city construction.

On the mouth — Highly medicinal, Listerine (original “flavor) and a boat load of smoke.

Vanilla is huge here too – not to be ignored.

Lots of burnt pie crust and notes of melon along the sides of the tongue (thankfully).

Finish — Lasting and oozing with smoke.

In sum —  Not the most complex whisky and, truth be told, I just don’t really like it so much.  The melon notes aside, it’s got too much of a one track mind: Smoke and vanilla – vanilla and smoke.

While I wouldn’t kick this whisky out of bed for getting cracker crumbs in the sheets, I wouldn’t reach for it either…

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Caol Ila – The Decade! — Caol Ila, you are the 80’s!!  Wait, wait… Let me explain.

Let’s think about it for a second…

Caol Ila is the largest distillery on Islay and it produces over 5 million liters of spirit per year.  Functioning 7 days a week, 95% of the whisky that comes out of Caol Ila is used for Diageo blends.  (Can you say Johnnie Walker?)

Only 5% of Caol Ila whiskies are saved for single malt expressions: 12yo, 18yo and an occasional unpeated, cask strength whisky.

There is also a yearly distillers edition plus a bit of an oddity, a whisky called “Moch” that seems fairly hard to come by.

So, what-in-the-what-in-the-how is Caol Ila the 80’s?  Think about it.  The 80’s was basically a decade where record labels were signing and releasing band after band after band with little, if any dissimilarities.

The 80’s Juggernaut that we know and love churned out hair band after hair band: Trixter, Slaughter, Cinderella, Poison, Great White, Winger, etc…  All of these bands were so very similar, they all added to the “Hair Band Blend.”

What about the various bands that made up the “New Wave Blend” – Flock of Seagulls, The Style Council, Wang Chung, Men Without Hats, Men at Work, etc…

Furthermore, like Caol Ila with their single malts, the 80’s did an amazing job of churning our some fine, fine bands:  The Cure, The Smiths, The The, Violent Femmes, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Rites of Spring, The Pretenders, Polysics, XTC, Joy Division, that one song from Ah-ha, Talking Heads, Suzanne Vega, The Psychedelic Furs, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, U2, Guns and Roses (damn, I hate to admit that I like these guys now), Blondie, etc…

So while I like the 80’s as a decade (and Johnnie Walker as a set of high quality blends), I love the 80’s for it’s true shining stars.

Thank you the 80’s and, THANK YOU, Caol Ila!

Armagnacs, Cold Winter, Kosher spirits, Need To Bundle Up

A couple of Armagnacs by Marquis de Montesquiou – VSOP & XO

France – both bottled at 40% ABV

WARNING & DISCLAIMER – For those who keep, these Armagnacs are not certified as “Kosher” or “Kosher for Passover” (For my kosher keeping friends, imbibe at your own discretion.)

Being that Pesach (Passover) is right around the corner I thought it’d be a good idea to review some non-grain alternative distilled spirits.

I’ve reviewed some Armagnacs in the past and, in general, I find Armagnac to be quite a pleasant and complex spirit.  I would not go out of my way to drink some but I’d never turn it down and I’d surely drink Armagnac over most whisky blends (sorry to sound like a whisky snob.  I actually really like blends – especially Compass Box which is in a league of its own.  When it comes to Compass Box, I think the operative word is *love*).

What is Armagnac?  Wikipedia tells us:

“Armagnac (French pronunciation: [aʁmaˈɲak]) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of Armagnac grapes, including Baco 22A, Colombard, and Ugni Blanc, using column stills rather than the pot stills used in the production of Cognac. The resulting spirit is then aged in oak barrels before release. Production is overseen by INAO and the Bureau National Interprofessionel de l’Armagnac (BNIA).

Armagnac was one of the first areas in France to begin distilling spirits, but the brandies produced have a lower profile than those from Cognac and the overall volume of production is far smaller. In addition they are for the most part made and sold by small producers, whereas in Cognac production is dominated by big-name brands.”

For more information from Wikipedia on Armagnac, click here.

To find out more about Marquis de Montesquiou, click here.

To find out how these Armagnacs fare in a nosing glass, read below:

Marquis de Montesquiou – VSOP – $49.99

On the nose –  Lots of oak influence on this one with waves of vanilla and citrus zest (think Minneola Orange).

Not unlike prunes (boozy ones at that) mixed with red currant.

Some coconut off in the distance with dried mango to the fore.

More dried fruits – like a mixed bag of dried fruits.

On the mouth – Cinnamon ribbon candy followed by white flesh peaches, dried apricots and oodles of vanilla spiced chai.

Middle of the road mouthfeel.  This is quite delicious.

The spice really comes through and there’s a touch of a floral freshness to it that reminds me of a blossoming apple orchard (yet without tasting floral – it’s just a feel).

Finish – Spiced rum cakes, decent length.

In sum – I’m happy to have had this Armagnac.  Fine, refined, balanced.  Perfect as an after dinner drink in place of a Port or Madeira.

Marquis de Montesquiou – XO – $129.99 (suggested retail – could not find an online retail source.  It’s imported by Impex – tell this to your local bottle shop and they should be able to help out)

On the nose –  Full of fresh berries – blue, red an incredibly ripe and juicy.

Spiced berry compote and vanilla bean ice cream – being melted by said compote.

Cantaloupe (?) with anise seed powder sprinkled about.

On the mouth – Much more present in mouthfeel than the VSOP however, the flavors are a bit more reluctant to rear their heads.

Trying another sip…  A much more subtle Armagnac than the VSOP.  The fruits are not here but the vanilla remains.

Touches of brown sugar and waxy, candied orange peel.

Finish – Warming and long.  Burnt potpourri.

In sum – A different animal compared to the VSOP.  If I had to choose (based on flavor, overall experience and price point),  I’d go with the VSOP.

However, this XO does offer you a drink that’ll warm your bones as well as any peaty whisky.

Special thanks to the good people at Impex Beverages, Inc for the samples!

Autumn, Bunnahabhain, Cold Winter, Need To Bundle Up, Takin' It Easy

A new one for the US market – A peated Bunnahabhain by the moniker of “Toiteach”

Islay region – 46% ABV – $75-$80 |  £50

Today, along with the next few days as I catch up with my whisky reviews, I’m going to have to keep some of the preamble short and try to get right to the whisky review.

A few weeks back I got an email from Jeff K with Burns Stewart asking if I’d be interested in reviewing a new Bunnahabhain to the US market – a peated ex-bourbon Bunny.  Quite a stretch from their more standard, sherried, lightly (if at all) peated whisky.

My response to Jeff?  “Yes,” and “Thank you!”

So Jeff, thanks for the official sample!

This whisky is set to be launched in the US on April 1st (or there abouts).  No, this is not an April Fools Joke.

One more thing before I get to the review – I have to say kudos to Bunnahabhain, once again, for releasing their whiskies now at 46%+ ABV and non-chill filtered!  I hope other major distilleries follow you (yes, I’m looking at you GlenWhisky!!)

On the nose –  Wow, not what you’d expect from a Bunnahabhain – Pungent, briny, high tide, seaweed.

Good bits of toffee and floating about is a touch of lavender.

Sand buckets filled with wet sand from your trip to the beach with the kids last week.

Cigarette tray from a ’70’s Chevy Nova (with hints of Naugahyde in the background).

On the mouth – Welcome to the industrial age.  Jackhammer smoke and contraction sites.

Fantastic mouthfeel, quite oily.

Bursts of Dragonfruit slide down the back of the tongue.  Pears and apples quite browned but minus and and all brown spices – just the baked fruit.

Strip all I said away, bring it down to brass tacks and this is a solid, solid peat monster – and a bit peppery one at that!

Finish – Sweet and smoky with a fair amount of laminated cardboard candy boxes.  Medium length to the finish.

In sum – This 14yo whisky is one kick ass peat monster.  To be used as a really enjoyable way to warm the bones.  Good one, you little Bunnies!  Very nice to see that Islay’s more gentle whisky can hang with the other Islay peat monsters with head held high!

Autumn, Kininvie, Need To Bundle Up

Kininvie Hazelwood Reserve 17yo bottled at 52.5%

Speyside region – 52.5%ABV – £650

Who in the who is Kininvie?!  If you’re an American, chances are, this is a very valid question.

Kininvie is a distillery owned by William Grant & Sons (same folks that own The Balvenie, Glenfiddich, Hudson Real American Whiskey, Tullamore Dew, Grant’s blend and a few other whiskies & spirits companies).  Kininvie is one of the key components in the Monkey Shoulder vatted malt, I mean, blended malt whisky.

It’s pretty rare that the Kininvie distillery releases a single malt.  In fact, I think there have only been about 3 or 4 bottlings to date (Mr. Sammy Simmons, if you see this post, feel free to correct me here…).  So, when they do release a single malt, being the rare birds that they are, you can imagine that they’d command a high price like the one given here (£650!!)

A big thanks goes out to Marshall N and a few others at the LASC for getting me this sample!  These guys are always treating me to some fine stuff and they need to be thanked.  So, consider yourselves thanked (and expect some more thanks down the road).

Matured in first fill sherry (type of sherry is unknown to me) casks – let’s taste this one…

On the nose — Here we have all things one might associate with autumn – roasted nuts right off the county fair nut kiosk.

Carrot cake less the cream cheese frosting.

Dried fruits (apricot, sugar dried dates) and brazil nuts (N.V.T.S., NVTS!).

French vanilla latte with a cinnamon dusting on the frothy head.

Very drying nose – some woody influence here as well.

On the mouth — Intensely drying entry that makes the mouth water to counteract the dry.

Fresh cocoa beans.  Spicy, woody and now even more spice.

A touch of orange peel and also a lot of what I got on the nose.

Creme brule, burnt sugary top and all.

Finish — A touch of clove, vanilla a sugared carrots

In sum —  Insanely lucky to have had a chance to taste this stuff.  All of the scents and flavors did a good job of playing to the yearly Fall-Fever I get (most people get Spring-Fever, I get Fall-Fever…).  The one detractor I found in it was the dry attack right from the get-go which affected the mouthfeel.  This aside, the smells and flavors were so, so nice.  Good luck finding a bottle!  I’ve found a source with The Whisky Exchange: they’re both rare & expensive (£650!!)

In the end, this made me really want some Balvenie 21 Portwood (one of my faves) so, I poured a bit, relaxed and discovered that life can be good.

A World of Discovery, Autumn, Cold Winter, Glenglassaugh, Let's celebrate!, Need To Bundle Up, Springtime

Tasting three Glenglassaughs – 28yo, 36yo and 37yo single cask, cask strength whiskies

There are many whisky writers/bloggers and statisticians that will tell you that we are in a golden age of whisky.  Sales of the Scotch whisky have soared in 2011 over 2010.  Micro-distilleries are popping up all over the place in the US.  Sales of both Irish and Canadian whiskies are growing by leaps and bounds AND more and more countries are starting to distill and sell their whiskies worldwide (France, Taiwan, Sweden, New Zealand, South Africa… just to name a few).

If you’re a whisky geek/anorak like me, then perhaps you’re equally excited about another aspect of whisky growth – specifically in Scotch Whisky – and that is the reopening of previously closed or “moth-balled” distilleries.  I am, of course, referring to Glenglassaugh today.

Mothballed in 1983, Glenglassaugh was reopened in 2008 and is about to launch their first Whisky expression later this year.  It’s a NAS (no age statement), yet 3yo, whisky simply called “Revival”.  (a review of that is forthcoming)

Three years ago when Stuart Nickerson bought the distillery, along with the facility, equipment, buildings, warehouse buildings, etc… he got just over 400 casks of whisky as part of the deal.  Think about it, just over 400 casks of whisky.  Compare that to some of the larger warehouses that have up to 80,000 casks… only 400 casks?!  Talk about hens teeth!!   And all of those cask are holding older whiskies (doing the math — moth-balled in 1983 and there’s nothing younger than 28/29 years old in that older stock).

Today we’re reviewing some of that old juice  With such limited stock and all of it being “older” stuff, you can imagine that it’s going to be quite pricey.  We’ve got a 28yo, 36yo and a 37yo – all are single cask, cask strength bottlings.  Let’s see what we get from them:

Glenglassaugh 28 year old “Master Distiller’s Select 1983 Sherrywood” – 49.8%ABV – £180

On the nose –  A bit shy on the nose.  I’m going to give this one a little time to open up.  Maybe swirl it around in the glass a bit…

Lightly sweet and a bit peppery and even a tad herbaceous.  This is now opening right for me. That pepper is really coming through and there’s a very jam like quality to the nose (red fruits?).

Added to that are notes I usually associate with Japanese whiskies (mizunara oak and a high sweet note) like green tea (sweetened, however) and pipe tobacco.  Sweet tobacco leaves – fresh.

Some late autumn apples and soft notes of smoke in the background.

On the mouth – Oily and mouth coating.  Warm and melty – reminds me of salted caramels.  Very chewy stuff.

Baked apple is here too (macintosh).

Plastic cafeteria trays and freshly opened CD cases – picking that a part a bit and it’s a flavor that matches the smell of fresh paper and hard plastic (I do like the smell of fresh, new paper).

Imitation chocolate (slight and somewhat spicy like a chocolate Necco wafer).    Also, and I don’t know how I did not find it from the get-go, black grapes.

Finish – Medium long with notes of… taking that back, long!!  The flavors burst back with notes of oak and vanilla and spice.

In sum – Take time with this one.  If I just jumped into it I would have been a bit let down.  Some patience let this one open up in a very nice way.  This is 28 years old so, give it time.  Show it some respect and you’ll be rewarded.  Take a big breath.  Let the crap of the day roll over you.  Pour some of this.  Take another breath and start to enjoy.

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“Aged of 30 years”, 36 year old – 43%ABV (spending 34yrs in a refill hogshead then 2 years in an ex-Sauternes barrique) – £400.

On the nose –  Savory and comforting with loads of marzipan, flaky pie crust and even butternut squash soup.

Autumn leaves both burnt and freshly fallen.

I’m also picking up notes of Naugahyde (pleather) and water balloons.

Menthol too?  There’s some serious notes of 1974.

I’m now getting notes of baked potato, white pepper and chives – This is a very “foodie” whisky.

On the mouth – A bit watery on the attack (sort of like one of those water balloons I detected popped).

Soft in the mouth and less watery on the second sip – spicy too.

Sweet spiced chocolate covered marzipan (almond paste).

Rhubarb pie (minus the strawberries) – sweet and buttery.

Finish – Short finish yet drying.

In sum – No doubt about it – an absolute killer nose.  A joy to jam my sniffer in the glass.  The attack and over all experience on the palate seemed a bit restrained though, at 43%, it is at natural cask strength.  This would be a good one to to enjoy on a cool fall night by the fire with some John Fahey playing in the background.  I’m still thinking about the nose of this whisky.  Stunning.

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Glenglassaugh “Master Distiller’s Select” 37 year old, Sherry Cask – 56%ABV (exclusive to the North American Market) – $599

On the nose –  Aggressive (well, it IS 56% ABV).  Hot, hot tea with a side of biscuit and Seville orange marmalade (course cut).

Balsamic vinegar reduction and a used bookstore.

Some nice bourbon qualities come through – vanilla, pencil shavings (I know I use this note a lot but it’s the first that comes to my mind).

A bit hot on the nose but not overly so.  Just enough to notice (similar to the slight burn I get when nosing Knob Creek 9yo which is bottled at 50%ABV).

On the mouth – Amazing mouthfeel – oily and warm but the flavor is like licking some of those used books I smelled earlier.

Sort of heavenly for me!!  Used book is in my top 5 for favorite scents.

There are other flavors in here to be discovered, however.

Big, bold and spicy, this whisky seems to demand your attention.  A bit winey/tannic and oaky yet still vibrant and engaging with a bit of effervescent zing on the back of the tongue.

Finish – Medium in length, drying in effect and winey and spicy in flavor.

In sum – A massive whisky.  Perhaps my favorite of the three on the whole.  This hits all of my high points and I would love to sip on this then next chance I get.  That being said, I’m currently taking donations.  No amount is too small.  Thanks 🙂

Special thanks goes out to RR for the samples!

Jason over at guidscotchdrink.com also had the 36 & 37 yos and seemed to enjoy them as well.