Tag Archives: caramel

All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Balvenie, Need To Bundle Up, Refreshed

The Balvenie 17yr Peated Cask

Speyside – 43%ABV – $125 | £68 | €81

Last week I told you about the big Balvenie tasting I organized at my synagogue.  We had over 30 people there and Sam Simmons (aka Dr. Whisky, aka The Balvenie‘s Global Ambassador) led us through 5 of their expressions: Balvenie DoubleWood, 14yr Caribbean Cask (notes to follow), 17yr Madeira Cask, 17yr Peated Cask & their 21yr Port Wood.

Of the 30 plus people we had at the tasting, I’d say about 40% of them were women.  Why do I bring this up?  Well, I can tell you that the favorite dram of the evening was this 17yr Peated Cask and the majority of the women there LOVED this baby.

Why does this matter?  Well, the old stereotype was that women don’t like Scotch whisky (or whisk(e)y in general).  This has since become a bit of a fallacy.  The new stereotype is that women don’t like peated (or smokey) whiskies.  The tasting of this expression last week, and the women’s love for it, helped to debunk that as well.  Huzzah!

Strangely enough, after everything was said and done, and the tasting was over, there was a wee bit ‘o whisky left in each bottle.  Sam was nice enough to gift them to the society.  I gave the DoubleWood, PortWood and Madeira Cask remnants away to a few lucky society members and kept the balance of this Peated Cask Balvenie as well as the Caribbean Cask bottle (for scientific purpose, you know…).

Sam, thanks again for the tasting and for the samples!

On the nose — Wow, it’s amazing what a little bit of peat does to this Balvenie!

Smoked provolone cheese.

Salty maritime notes.

A slight smokiness (like a warm campfire smoke).

Instant oatmeal with brown sugar.

Warm honey & peaches.

I want to curl up in my glass and camp out here for a while.  Really loverly schtuff!

One last whiff before I sip on this juice and I get some nice notes of oranges and burnt sugar.

On the mouth — No doubt in my mind, this is a Balvenie – classic honey notes!!

Peaches are back.

Oak is well integrated.

I’m reminded of what Sam said during the tasting – that the peat in this whisky will remind you of a toasted marshmallow (in smoky style, not flavor).  He’s spot on!  The smokiness is just around the edges but no doubt it’s a part of the whole experience.

Caramel arrives with a side of dried apples.

Did I mention the mouth feel is a chewy one?

Slightly spicy and very vanilla’ed (yes, I understand that this is not a real word.  Sue me.)

Finish — Somewhat lingering with orange lollipop notes arriving after the swallow.

In sum — I’m a longtime fan of the Balvenie’s yearly 17yr expressions and this one is no exception.  This could actually be my favorite of all the B17’s (as I lovingly call them – William Grant & Sons, feel free to use this term in later marketing campaigns.  Royalty free, my gift you).

So, when should you enjoy this?  This, for me, is a cold morning dram.  The slight peatiness will warm you up but the fruitiness will brighten you day.  If the morning dram is not your thing, gather with friends ’round an outside bonfire, queue up some Beach Boys and, later on, make out with your surfer girl!

As mentioned in a previous post, Jason Johnstone-Yellin of Guid Scotch Drink joined me and my society for The Balvenie tasting last week and he went home with a sample of this juice. You can read his notes here.

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

Autumn, Need To Bundle Up, Suntory - Yamazaki

Yamazaki 18yr – wonderfully sherried

Japan – 43%ABV – 750ml –  $80-100 | £60 | €73

I’ll get right to the point here, I loves me some Japanese whisky.  Yamazaki 12yr?  Loved it.  Nikka Yoichi 12yr?  Can I have more?  The Yamazaki Sherry cask?  I will sin for you.  Nikka Yoichi 20yr 1988 vintage?  Sweet fancy Moshe!!

This is the tip of the iceberg.  Here’s my next new love – The Yamazaki 18yr – a fine sherried whisky.

On the nose – Delicious sherried nose. Spicy as all hell with bursts of cinnamon.

Hot pepper peanut butter.

Red grapes and grappa.

Underneath some great notes of prunes.

That high sweet note that I just love from the Yamazaki whiskies.

A salty note is here – celery salt?

Finally, new leather and pipe tobacco.

On the mouth – Chili pepper chocolates.

Crystalized ginger.

Caramels, poached pear (slight).

Fresh lawn mulch.

The mouth feel is so chewylicious….  Not a super winey sherried malt (thank you Suntory!) just, nice.

Finish – Cheyenne peppers and breakfast cereals – Kellogs mini-wheats (sans frosting).

Oak and tobacco.

Lasting & lovely.

In sum – I haven’t met a Yamazaki I haven’t loved.  A finely balanced whisky perfect for the fall time.  Watch the leaves fall, throw on a sweater, get ready for the new year (I’m talking Rosh Hashanah here, folks).

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Cold Winter, Elijah Craig, Summertime, Takin' It Easy

A bourbon break – Elijah Craig 18yr single barrel

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 45%ABV – 750ml bottle – $40-45 | £46 | €54

Man-o-Maneschewitz do I LOVE scotch whisky!  I do, I really do.  In case you couldn’t tell, I’m quite passionate about it.  But even things you have a passion for, you need to take a break from, right?  So, I decided to take a little break from Scotch whisky and go for some American whiskey.

Note: notice the addition of the “e” in American whiskey?  Ever wonder what that was all about?  Check out John Hansell’s, of Malt Advocate & WhiskyFest fame, explanation right here – it’s toward the center of the article which, overall, is a great read.

The good folks over at Master of Malt also have an explanation as to the differences between “Whisky” and “Whiskey” – this is a fine read.

Elijah Craig boasts their having the oldest single barrel bourbon in the whole world.  Well now!  That is saying something.  Come to find out, many bourbons don’t stay in a barrel for more than 10yrs and few at all are single barrel like this one.

Actually, here is exactly what the folks at Heaven Hill have to say about the Elijah Craig 18yr Single Barrel bourbon:

“Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon is bottled solely from one barrel hand-selected by Master Distillers Parker and Craig Beam, not from the mingling of many barrels, which is the practice for standard and Small Batch Bourbons.

Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon is the oldest Single Barrel Bourbon available in the world. Only a handful of the millions of barrels of Bourbon aging in Kentucky have been allowed to mature this long.

The brand carries the name of Rev. Elijah Craig, the man who discovered the method of making true Kentucky Bourbon when he stored his wares in barrels that had been charred in a fire.”

Alright, are you ready for the review?  I’m ready to taste.  Let’s do this.

On the nose — Off the bat – #2 lead pencil & pencil shavings (get ready for a test later folks!), oak and buttered popcorn, fresh corn and caramel covered apples.

This is a no-holds-barred nose, in your face, great stuff!  Again, going back to bourbons, I am always a bit surprised (and not sure why I should be) as to how “in-your-face” everything is.  Nothing extremely subtle but yet, it all works.

On the mouth — Like a bee, you sting me right on my tongue.  Creme brulee with extra burny parts, sweet and spicy (amazed as to how spicy it is being that it matured in a single cask for 18yrs!), chewy mouth feel,  caramel and vanilla ice cream – who needs desert, just drink this!

Finish — Lingering, like the perfect cuddle after “baby-makin'” sex.  This is a finely balanced whiskey and a well chosen barrel.  Thank you Mr. Beam!

In sum — When I went to Whisky Live this past April, I had the good fortune to meet Craig Beam – Master Distiller at Heaven Hill who owns the Elijah Craig whiskey line.  I had such a good time talking with him and his brand ambassador Rob H.  It was VERY apparent that Mr. Beam is proud of his whiskeys and I can see why.  This is quite a nice bourbon and at the price — an 18yr single barrel/cask whiskey… can you go wrong?  No, me thinks.