Category Archives: Let’s celebrate!

A World of Discovery, Highland Park, Let's celebrate!

Highland Park and Linn partner up to release 40 bottles of 40yo whisky and 40 turntables

 

Islands region – 48.3% ABV – £25,000 or $40,000 (40 bottles that each come with a Linn Sondek LP12 Turntable).

Ummm, yeah…. so… something crazy just happened in my mouth.

I just poured and tasted some of the oldest Highland Park whisky released to date (their 50yo being older than this one, obviously).  As I sat here nosing and tasting the whisky, besides taking notes as fast and furiously as I could, I began to wonder: how on G-d’s green earth could I be so lucky as to taste this juice?!

I am reviewing a whisky that few people in the world can afford.  And, even if all the folks in the world that could afford a bottle tried to get a bottle, they couldn’t.  Forty bottles.  Forty.  Four Zero.  40 bottles released in total.

I can not argue with the price tag of £25,000/$40,000 given the scarcity of the juice and what a bottle comes with:  A Linn Sondek LP12 (and one made with a Highland Park cask).  I was a music geek before I ever got into whisky.  On top of this, I have been a collector of vinyl for years.  I am well aware of Linn as their turntables are the holy grail of turntables. Limted edition Linn Sondek LP12 meets limited edition 40yo Highland Park?!  Where was that bank I wanted to rob???…

Here are my notes for the Highland Park 40yo:

Highland-Park-Linn-Sondek-LP12-1On the nose  –  The first word(s) that comes to mind is wood-tar creosote and an almost mesquite-like, warm-autumn day fired up grill.  Fresh spring rain with old style raincoats as well! Mix in dark chocolates and we are in Wowsville!

Have you heard this one?  A 55 year old maintenance worker walks in to a used book shop with an old wooden tool chest in one hand and teak-wood polish in the other.

Waiting for the punchline?  Don’t those were tasting notes, my friend!!

Truly a lovely Highland Park here with tons of distinguished character.

Yes, I know he's not a Yale professor but I love him nonetheless
Yes, I know he’s not a Yale professor but I love him nonetheless

This is what a Yale professor of bio-ethics drinks on the last day of his career, methinks.

On the mouth – Quite lively on the tongue with a lightly viscous mouthfeel.

Highland-Park-Linn-Sondek-LP12-3Candied orange rinds, polished wood (a la Violin Hero) and 70’s Good and Fruity candies.

Highland-Park-Linn-Sondek-LP12-4After a little time in the glass my next taste reveal cooked, carmelized sugar and powdered police donuts.  There’s an Astropop like quality both in flavor and in the feel of the fluid against the tongue.

Better put, there’s a waxiness to this whisky that I usually only find in Brora or Clynlish (well, sometimes Old Pulteney).

It’s sort of amazing.

Finish – Long, drying finish with some menthol at the very back of the palate.

In sum – 20 minutes in the glass opened this whisky right up.

I will try to explain how luck I am to have tasted this whisky…

A) it was distilled in my birth year, 1973

B) There are only 40 bottles available

C) You can only get a bottle by buying this Linn amazing turntable (which, sadly, we can not afford for my 40th birthday).

D) I don’t currently have $40,000 unless I tap into my 401k which would, of course, initial a divorce.

I’ve got a large vinyl collection that’s just screaming to be played on that turntable while I enjoy some 40yo Highland Park.

Register here for your interest in the whisky and turntable.  Contact me if you need a shipping address to accept your wonderfully generous gift! 🙂

This whisky is in the running for best whisky tasted in 2013.

Special thanks for SR for the sample!

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Let's celebrate!, News and interesting bits

Happy (J)New Year!! Sorry for the silence as of late…

 

More reviews and risky/whisky opinions to come in the new year – 5774 that is!

I hope my Jewish readers have a sweet new year.  I wish (for all my readers) that you have a wonderful chilly fall season filled with lots of friends, family and drams.  Rock on!

L’shanah Tovah!

L'shanah Tovah - Happy New Year
L’shanah Tovah – Happy New Year

 

Breakfast Whisky, Let's celebrate!, Springbank, Takin' It Easy

Springbank 15yo Single Cask, re-charred Sherry Butt 58.3% ABV

 

Springbank 15 recharred sherry buttCampbeltown region – 58.3% ABV – $139

It is a very true statement that Springbank is a Scotch Whisky that is in a league of it’s own.

The quality of their products tend to be a few notches above the rest and the whisky’s character is, well, unique.  Very unique.

Could the essence of their individuality be connected to terroir (Campbeltown and they, Springbank,  being one of only three distilleries in Campbeltown)?

Perhaps it’s their distilling process (2.5 times distilled which is explained here)?  I think not as their other products, Hazelburn (3 times distilled and unpeated) and Longrow (2 times distilled and heavily peated) still have that Springbankiness to them…

Maybe it’s the fact that they handle every step of the process whisky-making process from malting on up?

Perhaps it’s the fact that their wash (beer to be distilled in to spirit) spends 70 hours or more fermenting in Boatskin Larch wash backs? (Most Scottish distilleries ferment their wash between 48 & 54 hours in either Oregon Pine or Stainless Steel).

I am not sure any one of the above points really offers up answers.  Regardless, Springbank Scotch Whisky  is pretty amazing stuff.  While I am a known Glenmorangie freak, I have to say that Springbank produces my favorite whisky.  Ever.  And when they do it right. Boy howdy, they do it right-right!

Today’s Springer is a 15yo single cask matured in a re-charred sherry butt.  This is a highly unusual style of Scotch whisky and it sounded simply super fun and interesting to me so I had to get a bottle.  Had to.

On the nose — As I might have guessed (and surely hoped), the nose is very Bourbon-like due to the re-charred oak.  There’s a high sweetness here and a sharpness in scent.

Springbank-recharred-Sherry-Cask-1Brown sugar and peat!  What a combo!  Paraffin wax and molding clay.  Pencil shavings, albeit burnt pencil shavings.  A wide combination of dried fruits (dates, prunes, dried banana, etc…), pickled walnuts and cherries pits.

Springbank-recharred-Sherry-Cask-2There’s a salty/briny quality to this as well.  Heavy leather gloves (well used) and a brush fire.

This is like nosing a 50-50 mix of George T Stagg and a sherried Springbank.

Springbank-recharred-Sherry-Cask-3On the mouth — Big, salty and massively sherried (but without being like a run-of-the-mill sherry bomb).  There is no unidimensionality going on here.  In fact, there’s a lot going on here and it’s part of a nice flavor story:

Springbank-recharred-Sherry-Cask-4Salted dates floating in a bowl of Mexican vanilla extract and grated chicory.  Soft yet driving peat and dank malt (a la Malta Goya).

A lovely mouth feel.  Very bourbon like in experience (mouthfeel, very sweet and prickly on the sides of the tongue, charred-oaky-goodness) with the addition of cherry-twizzler sweetness!

The nuttiness returns but it’s like a nutty-syrup mixed with unlit cigars.

Finish — Medium finish loaded with dates and a touch of salt.

In sum — As if Springbank was unique enough!  This is a wildly fun ride of a whisky that would impress the Bourbon lovers out there.  Heck, this should impress whisk(e)y drinkers anywhere.  Very tasty and quite balanced.

One could sit and dissect this whisky or just relax and simply enjoy it.  This is a desert (and dessert) island dram for me.  I better get another bottle before you all buy it out on me!!

Bunnahabhain, Let's celebrate!

Abbey Whisky’s Bunnahabhain from their Rare Casks series. A 23yo elegant stunner.

 

Abbey Whisky BunnahabhainIslay region – 44%ABV – £80 (only available from Abbey Whisky)

I’m going to limit the preamble in today’s review because the whisky is going to be better than anything I have to say.

Let me quickly say, however, that Abbey Whisky seems to be on to something here, and that something is choosing good casks of whisky to bottle.  First they released a 17yo Caperdonich and now they have this 23yo peated Bunnahabhain.

Peated Bunnahabhain can be hit or miss but this one, good people, is a total hit.  Check it:

On the nose –  Peated Bunnahabhain is *so* peated Bunnahabhain.  Quite unique.

Peppery upfront but the peat is soft which I am guessing is due to the 23 years in the refill bourbon cask.

Abbey-Whisky-Bunnahabhain-Rare-CasksSmoked and dried granny smith apples.  Bit-o-Honey candies (a wonderful honey and nutty mix of flavors).

Wildflower greens (minus the flowers) gives this whisky a very late summery feel.

A touch of pool water here as well.

Though bottled at 44% ABV, the peppery quality gives it a touch of sting in the nose.

Abbey-Whisky-Bunnahabhain-Rare-CasksHeavily salted Tomato Juice (like the V8 Spicy Hot stuff).  So far so yummy.

On the mouth – Soft, delicate and nowhere near as peaty on the mouth as it was on the nose.

Very vegetal (as the nose suggested) with hints of lemon, minus any sugar that might be associated with lemons.

Abbey-Whisky-Bunnahabhain-Rare-CasksMedicinal and Listerine like but in a very comforting way.  Those wildflower greens are gone but the flowers make themselves know.

This is, ummm, lovely stuff and it begins to grow in intensity as the finish nears.

Finish – Lovely spice and great Islay character.  The finish sticks to your gullet and you’re happy for that!

In sum – One of the better, older, peated Bunnys I’ve ever had.  Like grilled peanut butter and jelly on seeded rye bread, all of pieces go together so well for me.  I sort of wish I had a full bottle to open and share with friends in a single night.  We’ll finish together in a few hours.  Yeah, it’s that good.

Special thanks to MS of Abbey Whisky for the surprise sample!

Keys to the Clan, Let's celebrate!

Keys to the Clan – 50ml mini bottles of Single Malt Scotch Whisky – and now, to taste the whisky!

 

KeyToTheClans_Smith+Macleod+CameronA couple of weeks back you might remember me waxing on about the Keys to the Clan minis program (programme, for my friends on the other side of the pond).

Here’s the link to the post, just in case you missed it.

In short, there have been 48 different Clan minis released into the US market and our friends over at ImpEx were kind enough to send me three minis.  All from a different clan.

Thanks to ImpEx, SF and EK for the samples!

Being a New Englander and basically growing up knowing this and that person who knew or was related in some way to the Kennedy family (as in JFK, RFK and Teddy of the famous Chappaquiddick incident) and having a life-long crush on Jackie Kennedy Onnassis… I decided to open the Kennedy mini.

Note: all of the minis contain the same juice, I just wanted to drink a Kennedy under the table.  

Here are my notes:

keys-to-the-clan-kennedy-whisky-1On the nose –  Young yet pleasant.  I know it says single malt but it almost has the vibrancy of a nicer high-malt-content blended Scotch whisky; orange creamsicle, pears, sherbet and the slightest hint of smoke.  (The smoke could be my imagination playing tricks on me.)

keys-to-the-clan-kennedy-whisky-2A bit of pineapple cake in here as well and then some sugary angel food cake.  This is quite the dessert-like dram so far.

All this fruit makes me think of Balblair a bit, to be honest.

On the mouth – As to be expected with 40% ABV, there’s very little attack upon entry which is just fine for the newbie whisky drinker as it’s quite fruity and very approachable (no burn).

That touch of smoke returns, yet the fruit doesn’t go away.  But now there’s something sour in here that I can’t quite place my finger on.  Not offensive, just sour-like.

keys-to-the-clan-kennedy-whisky-3Oat cakes lead us in to the finish…

Finish – Shortish finish with slight pepper and that sour element I caught on the palate.

In sum – While this is not really a “sit and ponder” sort of whisky, it holds it’s own well enough.

keys-to-the-clan-kennedy-whisky-4All I can picture is 200 Kennedys at a wedding or something like that and toasting to the husband and bride.

Mazel Tov, I mean, Kampai, I mean Slainte!!