Category Archives: Let’s celebrate!

Karuizawa 32yr Single cask – 1977 – Cask number 4592

Japan – 60.7%ABV – full bottle is 70cl, my sample from Master of Malt was 3cl – $243 | £150 | €173

This is not available in US stores and not available in a full bottle from MoM anymore though, as of November 8th, 2010, you can still get a 3cl sample for $14 | £8.65 | €10 – I’d grab a sample while you can.

We in the United States of America are deprived.  Deprived and sheltered I tells ya!  When it comes to whisky, Japanese whisky that is, we in the US don’t have much to choose from.  Please do not misunderstand – I’m not discounting the Japanese whiskies we do have.  The Yamazaki 12yr and 18yr whiskies are fantastic.  So is the Hibiki 12yr blended whisky (to be reviewed soon).  We do not have, however, any Nikka whiskies like the cask strength beauty “Nikka Whisky from the Barrel” or any of their Yoichi whiskies like their vintage and younger single cask series, 10yr, 12yr, 15yr, 20yr, etc…

On top of this (and many, many other great ones out there), we do not have local access to any Karuizawa.  A crying shame.

These 1977 single cask Karuizawa bottles sold out from Master of Malt in about a day (update — these bottles sold out in 17 minutes!).  At £150 each, that’s impressive (if’n you ask me).  I had to get a sample – a mere taste of this stuff to see what I was missing.

Thankfully, the good folks at Master of Malt were kind enough to gift me a sample (todah rabah, gracias, danke, you rock).

Beyond the tasting notes I’ve read (I usually try not to read other people’s tasting notes prior to a review of a gifted sample as I do not want to be influenced in any way), I was intrigued by how the color of this whisky was described.  The folks at Master of Malt say “the whisky is tinged slightly green in colour, a product of the cask maturation.”  Let’s see if they’re right…

ColorDeep gold – no, green.  No… gold.  Perhaps the color of oloroso sherry but with a tricked-out iridescence to it.  Very cool.

On the nose Big hot pokers up my big Jew nose – at 60.7% ABV, I shouldn’t expect much less.

Getting past this now…

Boiled red cherries and crushed sesame seeds.

Thick cut orange marmalade.

Sort of a meaty quality to it.

Swedish meatballs.

Deeply sweet and savory at the same time.

On the mouth Not as hot as the nose but there’s a big sumo pepper fight going on in my mouth.

Light and bright in both flavor and feel then, a savoriness kicks in…

Roasted walnuts.

After the second sip, the mouth feel changes completely – this is some big league chewy stuff.

Unlit cigars with a side of Godiva chocolates containing ooey cherry and raspberry filling.

Finish It’s all on bitter cherries and walnuts.

Long and pleasingly hot.

In sum This is a G-d damn powerhouse of a whisky!  I’d say I only scratched the surface of its complexity.  Flavor-wise the balance was impeccable; everything worked.  It was so dead on with the palate but the nose was a bit hot for me.  While I wanted to add water to calm the nose down, I was a bit nervous to adversely affect the flavors & mouthfeel so I just manned up and dealt with the heat on the nose.  This is a contemplative dram, there’s no doubt about it.

Angel’s Envy – Release 10/10 – Port Finished – Straight Kentucky Bourbon

Kentucky Straight Bourbon – finished in ex-port barrels – 43.3%ABV – 750ml – $49.99 (yet to be released)

So, yesterday I posted up my interview with Wesley Henderson, COO of Louisville Distilling Co., producers of what I am about to review – Angel’s Envy Bourbon.

I’ve been in contact with Wes for the past few months, tracking the progress of Angel’s Envy.  Initially, Angel’s Envy was to be released on October 10, 2010 (10.10.10).  I’m sure many dollars were spent on marketing which included this cool and unusual release date.  However, the whiskey was not released on time.  Was this because balls were dropped or because deadlines were missed sourcing bottles, corks, etc…?  No.  And actually, they didn’t miss the deadline – they passed on it.  As Wes explained to me, Lincoln Henderson (Wesley’s dad and creator of this whiskey) felt the whiskey was just not ready to be bottled.

This is not just a whiskey expression, this is an expression of Lincoln Henderson.  If he’s says the whiskey isn’t ready, it’s not ready.

Well, earlier this week I received a finalized sample from Wes (thanks again!).  Let’s see if this whiskey is ready for mass bottling and mass consumption…

On the nose Noses quite different than your standard bourbon.  What I’m initially grabbed by is the softness to this whisky.

If I could compare smelling this to a feel, I’d say it’s like squeezing a marshmallow (with your nostrils).

Is it the lower ABV or the port finish?

Let’s go back to it – raisin scented wax candles, paraffin smooth.

Orange brandy or, brandy soaked oranges.

Cinnamon Drakes brand coffee cakes!!

A joy to nose, very elegant.

Perhaps a little dark chocolate, too?

On the mouth Wow, interesting mouth feel – juicy yet a bit thin.

Spicy raisin notes.

More dark chocolate – more pronounced here as compared to the nose.

Very decedent.

Getting some golden delicious apple notes (albeit with a good amount of cinnamon and perhaps slightly baked).

Finish Medium in length filled with spiced berried (you name it, red & blue, they’re in there).

In sum A really well designed expression.  All of the parts fit quite nicely.  Well balanced and with every sip I sort of felt like I was treating myself to something special.  Like I said – decedent.

Quite the celebratory whiskey but, at the price point, you can treat yourself perhaps more often than you should.

Thankfully, I have another dram’s worth of this nectar which I will enjoy tonight for Shabbat, and will then wait patiently until I can buy a bottle from my local bottle shop.

Bowmore 11yr Single Cask – Bottled for the SMWSA – Cask number 3.156

Islay region – 700ML – 750ml bottle – Go here to join the society & gain access to their bottles

I am really enjoying these single cask Bowmores!  First I had the Master of Malt 26yr Bowmore, then the 3.154 SMWS Bowmore and now this.  The Bowmore really seems to shine as a single cask.  Then again, it could just be that there are groups of really smart people choosing exceptional casks.  My guess is that it’s a combination of the former and the latter.

Either way, Joshua is a happy boy.  This expression follows in the shoes of the other Single Cask Bowmores I’ve tried in the sense that it is delicious.  Notes:

On the nose Flowery & sweet.

Reminds me slightly of the candy sweetness of the Master of Malt Bowmore 26yr Single Cask.

Hopscotch on hot asphalt, August 1977.

The smoke is there for sure.

A sweet smoldering fire (like a Swisher Sweet cigar has just been put out).

Lemon lollypops.

Surgical soap (I feel like I’m about to get another tattoo).

On the mouth Perfect mouth feel.

Not super chewy, not thin at all, just lip-smacking.

Much smokier than the nose had suggested.

Like burning flowers.

Think mums and daisy (sweet and earthy).

Finish Increasingly floral.

And now an herbal blast of chamomile and jasmine (Hard to think that there could be a “blast” of something as soft as chamomile or jasmine but, the notes did come on strong for me).

Mouth is slightly numb.

I’m ready for some dental work.

In sum Truly lovely.  The balance between the sweetness, florality (did I make up a word here?  I think I did.  Where are you Oxford English Dictionary people??) and smoke is scrumditiliumptuous and perfect.  A great summery smoker of a dram.

Loch Chaim Arran, Single Cask, 13yr old – the Bar/Bat Mitzvah dram

Islands region – 43%ABV – $84

Being that the Jewish New Year began last night (L’Shanah Tovah to all of my Jewish readers — health and happiness to all of my readers), I figured I’d begin a new limited series focusing on kosher certified whiskies.

Loch Chaim whiskies are Single Malt, Single Cask whiskies (not cask strength, all taken down to 43% ABV) specifically bottled for kosher keeping Jews (but happen to be completely delicious for anyone who loves good whisky).

Being single cask, you can imagine that the availability of these whiskies is limited.  You can find this line throughout New York, New Jersey and in pockets of Washington DC & Los Angeles.  You know, the Little Israels of the US. 🙂

All of these single cask expressions are matured in ex-bourbon (or, at least non-wine influenced) barrels.

I’ve got five different Loch Chaim whiskies and I thought it’d be good to start with the 13 year old Isle of Arran:

On the nose Big bourbon fresh nose!

Salted green tomatoes.

Browning lemons (perhaps the largest component here) and pear notes.

Rhubarb preserves.

Light and inviting.

Not the most complex nose but…nice.

Something slightly earthy about this nose too…

On the mouth Very peppery.

Barbecue sauce and sweet ketchup (where in the blue F did this come from!?).

Fruit jams comprised of slightly more bitter fruits.

Cinnamon, nutmeg and a bit of cardamom.

Finish The pepperiness continues.

There’s a decent length here.

In sum So while I was trying to figure this one out (what with the strangeness from the bourbon light fresh nose to the family barbecue pallet), I realized what’s happening here.  This is, after all, a 13yr old whisky AND a kosher whisky.

What happens to Jewish boys & girls at age 13??  You guessed it, the become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.  This whisky became an adult!  It became a Bar Mitzvah in my mouth.  Hmmm, that doesn’t sound right…

Glenglassaugh 40yr

Highland Region – 44.6%ABV – 750ml or 700ml outside of the US (with crystal decanter with 2 cut crystal glasses in a wooden gift box)– $2525.00 | £1400 | €1680

After having tasted the 26yr Glenglassaugh, I could not resist in tasting my sample of their 40yr cask strength whisky (a big, huge, ginormous thanks goes out to Alan for the sample!) – an IWSC trophy winning whisky!

This whisky will be available in the US through Purple Valley Imports (well, through stores who have access to the whiskies they import).  And actually, as I am told to understand, there will only be one bottle allocated to the US for the fair price of $2525.00 (suggested retail price).

You can also get this bottle through Master of Malt and other purveyors of fine spirits in the UK.

I’m not going to blather on any longer, I just need to taste this fancy juice:

On the nose Youthful nose filled with cherry tarts and fresh citrus notes (think Mineola oranges).

Quince jam – maybe with a bit of strawberry mixed in??

Hot soy latte.

Licorice twists.

Brown sugar oatmeal & fresh oats.

Oaken church pews.

More coffee notes – like lightly roasted, fresh ground beans.

Finally some garlic.

On the mouth Like liking the inside of a humidor thats got Acid “Liquid” or “Kuba Kuba” cigars (oh, to taste that smell!  Ab-Fab!).

That quince jam from the nose is back and along with it came some gorgeous honey and perhaps some fennel seed.

Cinnamon and indian spices (you name it, it’s in there – wow!).

Finish The spice remains throughout and a nice fizziness lasts a good long while.

In sum Ok, my birthday is coming up (sort of).  Remember this date: December 6th!  If you feel so inclined to buy me a bottle of this masterpiece, I thank you. 😉

Truly exquisite.  Layer upon layer of goodness.  Immensely complex and not what I’d expect from a whisky that is older than me (by four years) – youthful yet wise.

One to share with the closest of friends who happen to be whisky geeks/lovers.  One to impress the father-in-law with.