Category Archives: Summertime

All You Need Is Love, Arran, Summertime

The Arran Malt 14yr

Islands region – 46%ABV – $70 | £38 | €45

I’m going to skip the preamble today.  As I type this, it’s Thanksgiving weekend and there’s a lot of family schtuff going on so I’m tired and my time is a bit short.

Anyway, the Arran 14yr is much more exciting than anything I have to tell you.

Here we go y’all:

On the nose — Big, big apples!  Wow!

Lemongrass.

Malty goodness.

Getting fruitier, this time a bit more tropical…mango and star fruit.

Caramel syrup.

A big fat fruity & juicy nose that makes me very happy!

On the mouth — Fizzy-fizzy goodness (however I was hoping for a slightly chewier mouthfeel).

More floral in taste as compared to the nose.

Interesting…  Malt, top notch belgian beer (Duvel, my favorite).

Youthful notes – I’d love to taste what the new make spirit is like, my guess is that it’s strong personality is showing through to the final product.

Cereal notes.

Apple peels.  Dried apples.

Turkish delights minus the nuts.

Rose water.

A nice saltiness here.

Finish — Lasting, still fizzy.  A briny & fruity finish.

In sum — Reminds me of a young Balblair with a set of balls (especially on the nose).  This is a very summery dram.  Bright and refreshing.

Catoctin Creek, Kosher spirits, Springtime, Summertime, Takin' It Easy, Whiskies

Catoctin Creek – Mosby’s Spirit & Roundstone Rye – organic & kosher (not for Passover)!

What’s that?  Oh, you haven’t heard of Catoctin Creek?  Wait, are you serious??

Actually, I believe it.  And I wouldn’t expect many to have heard about these folks.  Well, things are going to change, my friends!  Catoctin Creek is surely the new kid on the block (please, no Donnie Wahlberg jokes, people).  They started in 2009 and are the first distillery to open in their county since Prohibition.  The brain child of Scott & Becky Harris, I think these folks have something quite good on their hands.  And this something is only going to grow!

For my tree-huggers out there, all of Catoctin Creek’s products are certified organic.  And for my Jews in the audience, their products are kosher certified (Star K).  Oh, and for my booze lovers on the other side of the computer or smartphone screen, their whiskies are really good and… award winning!

Sadly, as it stands now, Catoctin Creek spirits are currently only available in California, Virginia, Maryland & Washington DC.  In speaking with Scott Harris, however, he told me that they are currently working on wider distribution.

Update – Schneider’s of Capitol Hill will ship Catoctin Creek nationwide (USA).

Rather than put it all on the post here, to learn more about Catoctin Creek, click here.

Now, let me learn you on these whiskies.  First, I’ll review their “Mosby’s Spirit” which is unmatured rye spirit, straight off the still then diluted to 40% ABV.  The second is their “Roundstone Rye” which is their “Mosby’s Spirit” aged in new oak barrels for an unspecified amount of time.  Both are 100% rye with no other grain influence.

Mosby’s Spirit – Virginia, USA – Awarded a bronze medal by the American Distilling Institute – 40%ABV – 750ml – $39

On the nose — No doubt about – if the label on the bottle didn’t tell me, or the crystal clear color of this rye didn’t clue me in, this is white dog, new make spirit, what ever you want to call it – it’s straight off the still rye!

Slight citrus notes.  If I didn’t know better, I might confuse the scent of this for a silver tequila.

Hints of gooseberries.

Very sweet nose.  Very clean as well.

Rye bread (duh!).

On the mouth — Thinnish mouth feel.

I enjoy the flavor much more than the nose.  Very drinkable.

A slight saltiness to this.

Here’s a strange note for you: fresh cement.

Light & clean white wine.

Some unripened peach tones in there.

Tinned oranges.  Actually a tin of many fruits (including that one single solitary cherry they throw in for you).

Finish — Medium in length with some of the rye from the nose and an interesting cranberry flavor that popped up.

In sum — I went into reviewing this whisky with the thought that it’s nothing more than a rye for mixing purposes.  Nosing the stuff and I still felt this way.  Tasting it changed my mind.  I would be happy to sip on this stuff, especially in the summertime but I’d equally be happy to make a nice Manhattan with it.  Think I’ll pour a wee bit more…  Nah, have to review the Roundstone Rye now…

Roundstone Rye – Virginia, USA – 40%ABV – 750ml – $39

On the nose — It’s interesting what one year in an oak cask will do.

Upfront with the vanilla and a few hits of coconut.

Wet oak.

Rounded out with soft caramel apple

Peachy peach.

On the mouth — Big and rich in flavor and a nice mouth feel.


Cinnamon sticks.



Grilled apple slices.


Still a good deal of new make-i-ness in there but, I’m a fan of young spirit so no complaints here and after only a small amount of time in a cask, I would not expect anything else.



Unripened peach (just like with the white dog).

Finish — Medium in length with some great notes of caramel and rye.

In sum — A very approachable rye, especially for those just getting into them.  It might benefit from a slightly higher ABV (maybe 46%) but still, a solid whisky (and yes, Catoctin Creek spells it “whisky” without the “E”.


Many thanks to Scott Harris for the generous samples!

Linkwood, Springtime, Summertime

Linkwood 15yr – Old Masters Collection

Speyside region – 59.2% ABV – $|£|€ – ???

I am increasingly becoming more and more fond of single malt whiskies produced by Linkwood – nearly all of which are independently bottled, by the way.  For the most part, the fluid is used in various blends such as Johnnie Walker, Bells & Haig.  This is a shame for those who prefer a single malt, but, good news for those who also enjoy a good blended whisky (I represent both of these types of people) as Linkwood whiskies tend to be nice, rich and complex – the perfect addition to a blend to enhance its deliciousness.

The name “Old Masters” is somewhat new to me.  When you think of independent bottlers some companies come right to mind: SMWS, Signatory, Duncan Taylor, Douglas Laing (who does the Old Malt Cask, Provenance & Premium Barrel lines), etc…

So, let’s see what the Old Masters get us with this Linkwood:

On the nose – Strong spirity nose with an initial attack of blue nail polish remover/acetone.

Big malty notes.  Belgian beer.

Tropical fruits like pineapple and dried papaya.

Shoelaces (think “fat” laces from the old school hip hop days a la Grand Master Flash & Run DMC).

This is some strong stuff so, I decided to add a wee bit of water.

With water, the nose softens tremendously…

Now some big oak and sweet sugared grapefruit halves are revealed.

Vanilla.

On the mouth – Big malt.  Big, big malt.

Hot mouthfeel.

Spicy notes and those tropical notes carry through.

Something highly sour about this schtuff too.  Can’t place it.

Adding water now…

The mouth feel gets chewy and that sour note evolves into lemon pith and dry white wine sangria.

Finish – Long and stinging in feel thought short-ish in flavor.

Like a mouth full of whitehead hornets (poor Winnie the Pooh!).

With water the finish is still very long but with a few less bees a’buzzin’

In sum – A lot going on here.  Very complex but not sure it all worked out in the end.  If you were to go for this whisky, and I’m not sure I’m suggesting such a thing, I would reach for it in the late spring/early summer time.  Very bright & fruity.  I didn’t hate this whisky I just think it could have used a few more years in the cask or perhaps it should have been transferred to a new cask for a Re-JEW-Vination™ of the spirit.

Truth be told, I reviewed this whisky more than a month ago or so and it wasn’t until yesterday when Chris at The Whisky Wall reviewed the same whisky.  You should hop over to The Whisky Wall to check out Chris’ review.

An everyday dram, Kavalan, Summertime

Kavalan Single Malt Whisky – King Car Whisky

Taiwan – 40%ABV – 200ml sample (thanks to Ian Chang of Kavalan for the sample)

I first heard about Kavalan single malt whisky back in January when Luxist posted the details of a blind taste test with Charles Maclean as a taster:

“In a blind taste test organized as part of Scotland’s Burn’s Night festivities a Taiwanese Whisky shocked everyone by coming out as the clear winner over its Scottish and English rivals.

The contest took place in a hostelry north of Edinburgh and when the results were announced whisky connoisseur Charles MacLean exclaimed “Oh my God, is this an April Fools?” The scores tallied up with Taiwan’s Kavalan receiving 27.5 points out of a possible 40, with the next place (the premium Scottish brand Langs) scoring only 22 points.  The other competitors were Scotland’s King Robert (20 points), England’s St George (15.5 points), and Scotland’s Bruchladdich X4+3 (only 4.5 points out of the possible 40).

Kavalan comes from Taiwan’s first distillery, which was built by a firm from Banffshire, and uses Scottish malt in its production.”

This is the beauty of blind tasting.  Take away the label and all presumptions dissolve.

For the next four days, Gal of Whisky Israel and I will be sharing our thoughts on the Kavalan range.  While I’m not tasting these whiskies blindly, Gal and I will not be sharing our thoughts on these whiskies prior to our posting them.  Be sure to check out Gal’s notes on this whisky (a link to Gal’s review is listed below my notes).

On the nose – Light nose.

A touch grassy and very honied.

Hints of pears.

Coconut soup with all of the fixings but mainly some lime leaf.

Sugared hard candies.

On the mouth – Perfect mouthfeel – almost succulent.

Citrusy.

Fresh ground coffee.

Cooked sugar.

Finish – Sweet finish.

Medium length and traces of tropical fruits.

In sum – While not an overly complex whisky, it’s balanced quite nicely and dangerously drinkable.  Though not an everyday dram, I can picture myself reaching for this any day I’m looking for something light.  A nice summer dram.  Enjoy in warmer weather.

You can read Gal’s notes here.

Compass Box, Refreshed, Summertime

Compass Box Hedonism

Blended Scotch grain whisky – 43%ABV – $70 – $80 | £47 | €53

Compass Box is currently celebrating 10 years in business — 10 years of creating fantastically innovative Scotch whisky blends.

This particular blend is a mixture of grain whiskies – no malt.  Most blended Scotch whiskies are a mixture of malt whisky (whisky from a barley) and grain whisky (other grains, corn, etc…).  This, as mentioned, is a blend of 100% grain whiskies.  An interesting animal indeed.

Many people, for a variety of reasons, have a bias against whisky blends.  Yes, some are pure shite — some are good for mixed drinks only — some are decent — some are good and Compass Box blends, in my opinion, are just top notch (and put many single malts to shame).  Here’s a link to all of the Compass Box whiskies I’ve reviewed so far.

So, how does this blend rate?  Right good if you ask me:

On the nose – The color tells me it’s Scotch whisky (very light in color, perhaps a light gold like the water in a pot after boiling corn).

The initial whiff gives it away – it’s a grain whisky.

She noses like a bourbon – sweet gingerbread notes. Nutmeg is here to.

I’m getting, now, some interesting notes of pineapple.

Oak was there from the get go but it just hit me now.

Coconut cream and vanilla bean.

On the mouth – Buttery smooth mouth feel with hints of creamy milk chocolate and flaky pastries.

More gingerbread, less nutmeg.

Light nuttiness to this (almond perhaps?).

Finish – Very pleasing burn on the back of the tongue and back to some of those bourbon type notes I got on the nose.

However, there are some great melted caramel & toffee notes that appear as well. Yum!

In sum – One for the bourbon drinkers out there for sure (perhaps it’ll help turn them on to Scotch whisky).  I’ve had some single grain Scotch whiskies, this is my first blended Scotch grain whisky and I have to say, this is quite the nice whisky!  I’d reach for this in the dead of summer and, hold onto your seats, may even enjoy this over some ice!  I imagine this would help make an amazing julep!

Special thanks goes out to Robin Robinson for the sample!