Category Archives: Summertime

Exclusive Malts 1984 Tormordor (Tormore for those non-geek-types out there)

July 18, 2013 Jewmalt

Speyside region – 51.4% ABV – $230

With the exception of having a name that inspired the following statement: having absolutely nothing to do with the whisky at hand, I thought there’s no better time than the present to tell you that I secretly refer to Tormore (a Pernod Ricard malt whisky distillery) as “Tormordor.”

Mordor as in Sauron’s Mordor of Middle Earth. Sauron as in the creator of the One-Ring, forged in Mount Doom itself and apparently a lover of fine whisky!

Yes, this guy right here:

Tormore-2

In all seriousness, I have little nicknames for a few distilleries and this “Tormordor” happens to be one of them.

Looking through my blog, I noticed that this is the first Tormore I am publicly reviewing.

Tormore is known to be a *very* spicy malt. The only ones I’ve ever had were older (like this one) and all seemed to drink younger than their stated age. Like Sauron himself, perhaps these whiskies are seemingly ageless?

Let us see how this one for the Exclusive Malts range pans out. It’s a 29yo distilled in 1984 and from an ex-bourbon cask.

On the nose — The ex-bourbon, bourbony character comes straight through to your nose. Wow. And, at 29 years old, it does not smell old or tired in any way. There’s a peppery, spicy liveliness to this whisky.

Almond brittle in a cardboard box, minus the wax paper. Spiced vanilla chai latte.

Very prickly in the nose and, as expected, still very spicy. Torrone Itailian almond nougat.

Light fruits, pears and a touch of baked apple as well. A nice, well rounded nose.

On the mouth — Very soft and silken in the mouth. The flavors, however, are fairly shy from the first sip. Sip # 2:

A bit sour upon initial entry but that subsides to notes of casaba melon, peppery melon juice and heavily honied baklava (thought not as nutty as I found on the nose).

The mouthfeel is that of caramel sauce, warm and sliding down the back of the throat. It’s really quite a lovely texture.

Finish — Growing and peppery but not overpoweringly peppery in anyway.

In sum — Tormore has a voice all its own in the malt whisky world. Good Tormore is great Tormore and great Tormore is Tormordoriously delicious!

In all seriousness, I quite enjoyed this whisky. A bit shy in flavor to start but a little time is a lot rewarding. Dare I say, some might like this in the dead of summer and with an ice cube. Not me though. Those other people might like to do that…

Special thanks to SF and the rest of the good people at ImpEx for the sample!

Glenlivet, Refreshed, Summertime

The Glenlivet Alpha [Dawg] invades my mouth and sense and I share my opinions with you. Fun!

June 7, 2013 Jewmalt

Highlands region – 50% ABV – About $150. Good luck finding some! Only 3350 bottles were made available.

So, what in the blue $#%@ is Glenlivet Alpha?! Well, there were a lot of people wanting to know just that. Glenlivet, those sneaky little buggers, decided to make this whisky a big ‘ol secret: bottle the whisky in a black bottle with zero info, packaging came with zero info and there what, guess what? Zero info around the web as to what this whisky was all about.

So, what do we know? It’s bottles at 50% ABV which means there is no chill filtration needed. And, at only 3350 bottles and this being sort of a special one-off and coming in a black bottles, I am guessing no caramel coloring.

So, that’s really all we know about this whisky.

What about the name? Alpha? Hmmm… Alpha *is* the first letter in the Greek alpha (hey, there’s that word again) bet. (not to be confuse with Aleph or Aleph Bet). First? First fill? But first fill what? Bourbon, I’d guess from the lighter color.

So, here in the whisky blogging world there were a lot of cranky bloggers upset with Glenlivet that A) they charged so much for a NAS (no age statement) whisky and B) this expensive bottle of whisky came with ZERO information! I’ll come right out and tell you that I was one of those crotchety bloggers. Big price for a NAS whisky with zero information. I was upset but I was also intrigued.

What intrigued me more is I came to find out this week that Glenlivet were going to do a big reveal on the whisky. That I liked! I like, too, the fact that Glenlivet seemed to be getting out of their comfort zone of 12yo, 15yo, 18yo, 21yo, etc… and decided to do something a bit whacky! Good on ye, G’livet!

So, I tasted this whisky right before the big reveal. I will post the reveal below my notes but, let’s see what I get:

On the nose – Highly malty with a sweet and tangy quality to it. Perhaps just a whiff of smoke? Either there’s are good deal of refill barrels in the mix allowing a stronger spirit quality to come through or there is a higher proportion of young whiskies in here.

This bright and vibrant. Light lemons (or orange) and pear, more lemons than pear. There’s some black pepper in here, too. It’s fun and refreshing so far!

I do detect some older, more wood influenced whisky in here. Smaller casks? Nah, methinks older whisky is a component. Maybe some Cognac cask maturation in here? Hmmm, not sure. Must sip.

On the mouth – A very viscous mouth feel but a touch hot. The malt carries through as does that hint of smoke I got on the nose.

I think I change my mind about the Cognac cask influence. I change my mind about the smoke too. This is a dodgy duck!

Notes of star fruit, unripened mango and fresh rain. Yummy stuff! The heat is gone after the 2nd sip, btw. Highly sweet and malty! Is there some Bere barley in this make up?

I know the Nadurra was with Triumph barley. Maybe this is a them delving into different barley with less active casks? Whatever it is, it’s delicious.

Finish – Lasting, peppery, toffee-like, sweet and malty.

In sum – If the price was lower and if there were more than 3350 bottles, I’d say this is an everyday, easy drinker! This was a fun experiment to get people’s minds working and getting them to think about the whisky. I am glad that there will be a reveal as to the make up of the whisky because if there weren’t, if this were all no-info marketing, it’d be a big joke without a punchline. Kudos to Glenlivet, I say. Kudos!

Glenmorangie, Summertime

Glenmorangie’s Ealanta – a 19yo Scotch whisky matured in heavily charred Missouri oak

February 13, 2013 Jewmalt

Highlands region – 46% ABV – $109 – $129

Most of my whisky friends know all too well that I am a Glenmorangie junky. Some might suggest I have a bias toward their whiskies.

Replace “Halfling’s leaf” with Glenmorangie’s whiskies in the following audio clip and you’ll see what I’m getting at:

While I’ll admit that Glenmorangie whiskies are among my favorite (though I’ll bol, I would submit that I have no issue announcing when I do not like a whisky they release.

The Ealanta is the fourth is their Private Edition range as well as the oldest in the series (it’s also the priciest one on the series).

Glenmorangie has access to some of the most premium slow-growth oak trees in Missouri and they usually cut the wood, season it for two years, make up casks, send them to Jack Daniels and Heaven Hill so they could make their whiskey THEN those distilleries send the casks to Glenmorangie so they could mature their whisky.

What’s different here is that Glenmorangie sent themselves the new wood and did the full 19 year maturation of their malt whisky (after having charred the casks heavily).

Something tells me that this might be one for the folks who also enjoy good, high end bourbons. Let’s find out..

On the nose – New charred oak goodness!

Actually, what strikes me the most is that there is a zingy zestiness in here that is very rye-like.

Perhaps a little dill, rye seed and fresh cut grass.

That classic Glenmorangie ripe peach note is still present (you can’t beat great spirit). Pencil erasers.

Toasted tangerine skins (sort of like a tangerine black pu’er tea I have).

On the mouth – Insanely silky mouthfeel and, flavor wise is much like that tangerine black pu’er tea I noted above.

Vanilla (slight) and honey (heavy).

Sweetness is to this whisky as a wall of death is to a late 80’s/early 90’s mosh pit. Powerfully sweet, verging on cloying (but not quite there, thankfully).

A touch of salt and black pepper as I chew this one a little more. And now we have some extra dark chocolate as we reach the finish.

Finish – Drying, long and darkly sweet with a mix of tangerine and more dark chocolate.

In sum – While this has obvious characteristics of a whisky from new oak, it also has some other element in here that I just can’t explain. The label says heavily charred oak but the color seems light — maybe there’s a mixture of lightly toasted and heavily charred oak?

Either way, it’s another Glenmo that pushes the envelope again with its focus on different types of cask maturation. Well done.

This is a mid-summer dram for me.

Special thanks to Mr. David Blackmore for the sample!

You may also enjoy the following reviews on this whisky:

Guid Scotch Drink

Malt Impostor

Whisky For Everyone

Fettercairn, Royal Lochnagar, Springtime, Summertime

A pair of “off-the-beaten-path” Old Malt Cask whiskies today…

January 31, 2013 Jewmalt

Challenge

Pronunciation: /ˈtʃalɪn(d)ʒ/

Definition of challenge
noun

call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength: he accepted the challenge
a task or situation that tests someone’s abilities.

Today I was challenged to taste and review whiskies from distilleries I’ve had little, if any, experience with: Fettercairn and Royal Lochnagar.

While I can say with 100% confidence that my physical strength has not been challenged in any way, my nose and palate surely were. Very few people can say they have had whiskies from these from these distilleries and I think I’ve had maybe one whisky from either of these producers.

Fettercairn only recently started releasing whiskies (Fior, a 24, 30 and 40yo) and Royal Lochnagar has a 12yo expression but is mostly used in blends such as Johnnie Walker Blue.

As with all Old Malt Cask bottlings we’re looking at the single cask (yet diluted to 50% ABV).

The provenance of the casks is a bit elusive. They are both ex-hogsheads but the first liquid held in them is unknown as both are 2nd or 3rd fill.

Both whiskies are very light in color.

Let’s dig in and see if I’m up to the challenge!

Old Malt Cask 16yo Fettercairn 50%ABV Single Cask

On the nose – A affront of dusty, sugary lemon flavored American Smarties.

Public pay phones (the smell of the receiver to be exact). Dungeons and Dragons dice. For those of you that don’t the smells of either of those previous examples, think of clean and hard plastics. Not rubbery and pungent but clean and plastic-y.

Green and unripened apples and maybe some watermelon pith. Quite unique.

On the mouth – This one actually tastes exactly like the smell so I’m going to focus on the texture:

Very oily, coating the center of the tongue and zapping the sides of the tongue and cheeks forcing my mouth to water profusely.

Finish – Drying and growing with white pepper-like spice then, drops suddenly.

In sum – This is very much an aperitif whisky, something to welcome friends with. It’s not overly complex but it is enjoyable.

Old Malt Cask 14yo Royal Lochnagar 50%ABV Single Cask

On the nose – Very much an elusive whisky.

You shy pup, come out and play! Ok, ok… I’ll be a bit patient here. (taps fingers, looks at the clock, checks email, posts something cheeky on Facebook…).

Alright. Are you ready for me now, little whisky?

Well, there’s some apple cider vinegar but it’s light in scent. Some malt grist but again, light.

Wait a mo, now you rear your head (did I mention I love that term?). Freshly skinned English cucumbers in Saran Wrap. Cucumber yogurt sauce (aka Raita).

On the mouth – Much like the Fettercairn, this is candied like American Smarties. More apple-like in flavor than lemon-like but there is some lemon in here now that I swish it about.

Tinned fruit cups with a focus on the tin.

Lightly oaked and just a touch of sandalwood. This is almost gin like (minus any juniper).

Finish – Very short finish but drying as well.

In sum – Much like the Fettercairn this whisky is one to start your evening with. It’s way too delicate to have after a meal or other drams.

Special thanks to all of the wonderful people at ISW for their help and samples!

Cold Winter, Craigellachie, Glen Kieth, Jura, Summertime

Three various Single Casks in the Chieftain’s range: Jura, Glen Kieth and Craigellachie

November 27, 2012 Jewmalt

Various regions of Scotland… 3 different single casks bottled for the Chieftain’s range.

After a few quick points, we will get straight on to the reviews today!

Special thanks to the folks from ImpEx for the cask samples!

To learn more about the Chieftain’s Range in general, click here.

Chieftain’s Glen Kieth 17yo bottled at 54.9% ABV

On the nose – A light peat influence here, or so it would seem.

Salty, hay and a touch of candy-like lemon drops (a thread of smoke?).

Sherry-like influence (getting hints of Amontillado) but also sort of bourbon in character (think wood spice, honey and even a shake of white pepper).

A fun little nose, if a little confused.

On the mouth – Light white berries, unripened plums, sugared plums as well.

Biscuits, undercooked. Pie crusts… Oh! Gooseberry pie. This is nice.

Somewhat simple but nice and focused.

Lightly oily slightly effervescent feel to it.

Finish – Shortish with, again, a thread of smoke.

Chieftain’s Jura 12yo bottled at 58.4% ABV

On the nose — Few whiskies yell at me from the glass saying, “Hey Hatton, I was distilled at such and such distillery… duh!!!” like Jura yells at me.

It always seems to start off with a note that I can only call Eeore’s thistles – like burning pricker bushes.

On top of this is a slight soapy quality. People get a little freaked out about a soap quality in a whisky. For me, done right, the soap “quality” can be just that, a “quality.”

The soap on this is within tolerance but surely on the higher side.

There’s also a touch of lavender in here as well as calking.

On the mouth — Very industrial to taste, window putty, calking, wet cement.

Pushing these notes to the side and now we discover some great gristy notes. You can taste the wash (beer to be distilled into spirit) but it’s very beer-like. Lager-like. But, a good lager (sans hops, obviously).

Rainbow candy buttons.

Finish — Short and slightly drying.

Chieftain’s Craigellachie 21yo bottled at 58.3% ABV

On the nose — You can see why they use so much of this malt in the Dewar’s blend. It’s got a nice, balanced nose.

Let me start of with the fact that, even at 58.3%ABV, it’s not hot on the nose. The scents are all right there.

This noses like a 21yo: Wood spice and dill covered lemon slices. Green wood and honey spice. Apple sauce with brown spices. Are you catching a theme here? Tough to get beyond the spiced quality.

I’m a fan of the spice bombs so, let see how it translates in the flavor profile.

Adding a dash of water brings out some notes of pool water and gobs of malt!

On the mouth — Yeah, yeah… this is it. This is what I look for in, say, some of the older Dailuaines… Fruity little spice bombs.

This is, however, just a little hot. Without water, we’ve got baked pears with a slight hint of cloves. Also, vanilla. A good deal of vanilla. Yeah, water is needed with this one.

Not just to temper the heat but the water *really* opens up this whisky!

Ooey flan comes to mind as I take another sip. Browned sugar and candied fennel.

Finish — A long and overly spiced finish. Perhaps a bit too spiced (if there were such a thing). Wow, very long.

In sum…

Glen Kieth: An interesting whisky. My first Glen Kieth. Over all, I liked it. I wonder what a few more years in the cask might have done for this whisky…

Jura: Yeah, this is an odd one. Over all, while it was a little all over the place, I enjoyed drinking it. Nosing it was enjoyable mainly because it’s got that Jura oddness that has you coming back for more. This really is a winter-warmer-upper!

Craigellachie: With a dash of water, I am incredibly impressed with this cask. It tells a wonderfully balanced story from beginning to end (with the spice volume turned up just a touch too high at the finish). Without the water….well, I suggest you add a dash. Should you get a bottle, you’ll see what I mean. This is one where the extra H20 makes an incredible difference.

For more solid reviews of Chieftain’s reviews, be sure to check out Peter’s (of “The Casks” fame) reviews.

Jewmalt Whisky Reviews