Tag Archives: Butter

A World of Discovery, Amrut, An everyday dram, Angry, Takin' It Easy

Amrut Single Malt Whisky 46%ABV & Cask Strength – head to head

India – 46%ABV – $50 | £27 | €31

Indian whisky, eh?  Whisky from India?  Damn straight and, why not?  Malt whisky is malt whisky & you can make it where ever you want so long as you have:

Barley (check – The barley is specially grown in the foothills of the Himalayas and the whisky is matured at 3,000ft at Bangalore.)

Water (check – have you see the Himalayas lately?)

Yeast (C’mon, this stuff is everywhere)

A place to mature your whisky (Check – the whisky is matured at 3,000ft at Bangalore and these particular expressions are matured in New American Oak and ex-bourbon before bottling).

For this head-to-head comparison between the Amrut Single Malt bottled at 46% and the Cask Strength version, I decided NOT to add any water to the Cask Strength version figuring that the 46% ABV version did this for me already.  A big thanks to Amrut for catering to my lazy side.

On the nose – New York City tap water (from a Connecticutian’s perspective) or perhaps clean fresh rain.

Spiced butter on freshly baked sesame bread (oh, I like this – a lot!).

A bag of dried grains (think oats & barely).

There’s a savory warmth in here that keeps drawing me in.

Cinnamon rubbed apricots, stewing.

Gruyere cheese.

Vanilla and macaroons.

On the mouth – Excessively chewy.

Chlorinated pool water

And, as much as I wanted to steer clear of indian food references, mango chutney with noticeable gingery notes.

Pine nut and basil pesto (with a clear focus on pine nuts).

Finish – Savory finish filled with buttery breads and more pine nuts.

In sum – Highly enjoyable.  The mouthfeel alone had me in a happy spot.  A nice balanced whisky that is unique.  Easy to approach and exceedingly yummy.  This is a great every day dram, no doubt.

And now onto the cask strength version which has nearly 16% more alcohol by volume…

India – 61.8%ABV – $68 | £34 | €39

On the nose – At 61.8%, the first thing I notice is a blast of grain alcohol.

Yes, I know this is a malted whisky but this was the initial impression I got.

Very forward.

Dry popsicle sticks.

Melon pith.

Band-aids.

On the mouth – Hot but, strangely accessible (sort of…).

Sugared melon (honey dew).

Very sweet with notes of caramel apples.

Soy sauce soaked sesame seeds (say that three times real fast!).

Cardamom & fennel seed.

Apricots.

Finish – Blisteringly numbing but now those popsicle stick are back.

Very sweet.

Notes of dry, uncooked pasta.

In sum for the Cask Strength and the overall experience between the two – Someone PLEASE put my mouth out!!  Hot damn, this stuff will wake you up (and put to right back to sleep if you have too much of it!).

The cask strength expression can be reserved for days when you’ve just had enough and want to say “F### it all!”. I’ve never suggested this before but, go ahead, knock it back and start bitching with your friends!

I’ve got to say, between this cask strength version and the 46% ABV version, I much prefer the 46% ABV (it really is a nice every day dram and one I plan to keep on my whisky shelf).

Special thanks goes out to Raj at Purple Valley Imports for the tasting samples.

A World of Discovery, Autumn, Cold Winter, Eades

Eades Double Malt – Double Post – Speyside & Highland expressions

Moving forward with my vatted malts and blended whiskies series; moving on with the Eades Double Malts.  Last week I posted about their great vatted Islay expression.  I thought, seeing as these are “Double Malts” (the combination of two wine cask finished single malts into one expression) that I’d do a double post today – two different Eades Double Malt expressions.

So, what’s left in their line?  We’ve got a Double Malt Highland expression which is comprised of 50% Clynelish (a 10yr single malt finished in a Chateau LaFitte Bordeaux cask) and 50% Ben Nevis (another 10yr single malt finished in a Grenache Blanc Cask).  We also have their Speyside expression which is 70% Dufftown (a 12yr finished in Red Zinfandel) and 30% Mortlach (a 15yr beauty finished in a Callejo Tempranillo cask).

Special thanks goes out (again) to Pat of the Virginia Distilling Company for the samples!

Let’s start with the Highland Malt:

A Highland vatting of Clynelish & Ben Nevis – 46%ABV – 750ml – $70

On the nose — And odd yet interesting nose we have here…

Off the bat, notes of a wet cinder block.

Malt vinegar & chocolate.

Both vinegar & chocolate notes are slight – as if they were watered down in some way.

Buttermilk biscuits (malty, buttery).

Unripened pears.

Strong vanilla and oaky notes that, given the combination, are reminiscent of a bourbon (or the sweet result of a heavily charred barrel).

Soured milk (perhaps this is the vinegar note better realized?)

On the mouth — Very sweet with notes of english toffees.

Hot cinnamon on pears.

Nutmeg spice (back to that sweet bourbony feel).

Something sweet yet earthy in here.

Finish — Medium length.  Caramels, nicely salted.

In sum — Hmmm… perhaps, like the make-up, I’m a bit 50-50 on this one.

There’s a lot going on with the nose but once sipped on, the palate gets somewhat narrowed down (or funneled) into something a bit more focused.

It sounds like a nice thing but I was hoping for a little joyride like I was given with the nose on this one.

Now for the Speyside:

A Speyside vatting of Dufftown & Mortlach – 46%ABV – 750ml – $70

On the nose — Big, thick nose filled with dates and dark chocolates.

More dried fruits, juicy and nicely chewy (chewy like figs).

Salty and slightly smoked.

Stewed prunes and canned prunes.

Almonds via marzipan.

A dusty attic with no-longer-being-used furniture.

Very happy with this nose, thank you muchly.

On the mouth — Nice mouth feel.

The prunes regain the life they once had and turn back into plums.

That smoke creeps back.

My tongue gets licked back by light hints of leather and perhaps freshly dried tobacco leaf.

After becoming plums, said fruits then get distilled turning into a fairly hot slivovitz.

My mouth is now happy as well.

Finish — Medium length filled with melting chocolates.

In sum — A nice cold night dram.  Sit back and enjoy.

Compass Box

Compass Box Oak Cross

Blended Scotch whisky – 43%ABV – $40 | £28 | €33

I am about to review a very nice blended malt whisky put out by the good folks at Compass Box.  It’s called “Oak Cross”.   This is a blend of Clynelish and Teaninich and (I think) Dailuaine whiskies.  I’d like to propose that this whisky be finished in ex-maneschewitz casks – then we can call it… you guessed it, Oak Star (or Oak Magen Dovid).

Kidding aside (or am I kidding?…), I’ve been very pleased with these Compass Box whiskies so far.  While this is my second post on them, I’m about four samples into their line and I’ve not been disappointed yet.  Unique blends with lots to offer many palates.

So, how does the Oak Star, I mean, Cross taste?:

On the nose – Just like with the Asyla, we start off with butter – this time think buttered biscuits or perhaps rye toasty bread.

Oak for sure (hence the name!).

Honey & vanilla.

And, get this, a can of emptied Country Time Lemonade (man, I used to be addicted to this stuff as a child and I loved smelling the empty cans – don’t ask why).

Green apples.

Pineapples.

On the mouth – An overwhelming spiciness quickly pushes aside a very oily entry.

This is a sweetie (though, slightly drying/tannic)!

Some maltiness – actually, a fair amount.

A fruity mystery Dum-Dum lollipop?

Finish – Shortish.  The oak and malt are fighting for dear life but, in the end, I win.

In sum – I’m not quite sure where to place this.  For my tastes, I actually preferred the Asyla.  Not knocking this stuff at all.  It’s a solid vatted /blended malt for sure.  Just trying to figure out where to put this on the Mood-And-Season-O-Meter™… Perhaps the best place would be – in good company.

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Glenglassaugh, Let's celebrate!

Glenglassaugh 26yr Whisky – 46%ABV

Highland Region – 50%ABV – 750ml (or 700ml outside of the US) – $260 | £150 | €180

After a few days of tasting “spirit drinks”, it’s nice to get onto some actual whisky.  Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed the past three spirits I tasted but, to me, whisky is where it’s at.

Older Glenglassaugh whiskies are, well, old of course, but also very rare and therefore very expensive.  What we have here today, however, is a fairly old Glenglassaugh at a price that’s… not too bad (given the age and rarity of it).  Believe me, I understand $260 | £150 | €180 is A LOT of money for many people (myself included).

Let’s put the money out of our minds for a second and perhaps focus on the whisky itself.  As opposed to their 40yr (that review is forthcoming) and their 30yr expression, this whisky is NOT cask strength.  However, it’s still bottled at the fairly strong ABV of 46%.  Still acceptable, if you ask me (if it were 40%, I may have shuttered a bit but hey, that’s me).

This 26yr old whisky was distilled only 2 years before Glenglassaugh was mothballed back in 1986.  For more history on Glenglassaugh and it’s grand reopening back in 2008, you’ll find links at the bottom of this post to an interview I did with the distillery’s Managing Director, Stuart Nickerson.

Without any further ado, my review:

On the nose – Smells juicy and fruity (think sugared lemonwheels).

Brown paper lunch bags.

Oaky new humidor scent.

The more I nose it, the more prickly on the nose hairs it becomes.

Vanilla and caramels.

More oak but, not over oaked – extremely inviting.

Smoke deep in the background?  Could it be?

On the mouth – Oak and butterscotch.

Buttered cinnamon crumpets (my favorite breakfast treat!).

Such an wonderful balance, very well integrated.

Warmed nuts at a baseball game (on another type of  blog, this statement would mean something quite different).

The mouth feel is pleasant.  Not big and chewy like I prefer but nowhere near like holding water in the mouth.

Finish – Short and nutty with that brown paper bag note I detected in the nose emerging from the palate’s belfry.

In sum – Another celebratory whisky from Glenglassaugh.  Perfect for when the air starts to cool as summer rolls into autumn.  The bottle is both sexy and regal (and can be reused as a decanter).

For Jason of Guid Scotch Drink’s notes, click here.

I recently had the honor and good opportunity to interview Stuart Nickerson (Managing Director of the newly re-opened Glenglassaugh distillery).  If you’ve not yet had a chance to read it, you may want to do so right now. Part 1 & Part 2

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Glenglassaugh, Let's celebrate!

Glenglassaugh 30yr 55.1% – a true celebratory malt

Speyside region – 55.1%ABV – 70cl Decanter (yes folks, a decanter.) – £390 | €469

I’ll be upfront here.  Many folks out there will not have the chance to try this stuff.  It’s rare and it’s very expensive.  Before you start calling me a Daddy Warbucks I will tell you that I reviewed this dram from a sample.  A big, *BIG* thank you goes out to Alan for the sample!  Cheers He’bro!

Why am I so excited about a bottle I could never afford?  Well, because A) some of you good people out there can swing the squids for a bottle and B) Glenglassaugh is a newly re-opened distillery and if this whisky is any indication as to what we’ll see coming out of their stills & casks, well…  let’s say we should all be excited.

On to the whisky!

On the nose – Light & fruity nose filled with a mist of lemons (better yet, Etrog) and white pepper.

A hints of lovely oak to it.  Sweet flowers and Sharpies (black markers).

Honey salted butter (unmelted butter – a fresh stick).

Black licorice.

Sugar cubes and almond oil.

On the mouth – Fruity – Apples and berries.

Loads of toffee and burnt tea leaves.

Rose water (oh, I love this!).

This is getting hotter by the second — cayenne and jalepeno notes pop in right as it heats up – brilliant.

Black grapes and cherry skins.

The mouthfeel went from oily and chewy but we go quickly over to thin and hot.

Finish – Prickly pears both in taste and feel “prickly” tongue and cheeks.

In sum – I am thankful to have had a chance to taste this stuff.  I was only 6 years old when this was distilled.  That aside, there’s a reason this is an award winning whisky.  Powerful and truly enjoyable Scotch whisky!  Another dram to break out for the most special of life cycle events such as the birth of a child, marriage, bar/bat mitzvah (for my heebs out there), Christening (because I’m an equal opportunity whisky lover), etc…

Last month I had the good opportunity to interview Stuart Nickerson (Managing Director of the newly re-opened Glenglassaugh distillery).  If you’ve not yet had a chance to read it, you may want to do so right now.  Part 1 & Part 2