Tag Archives: Chewy

Bruichladdich, It's not too bad. Nothing to cry home about though., Octomore

Rest and Be Thankful Whisky Co.’s single Sauternes cask Octomore, Cask # 16746

 

Region – Islay – ABV – 63.8% – now sold out but was $228.

A bit of a rarity here – an independently bottled single cask of Octomore which was bottled at 6 years of age at the nice ABV of 63.8%.

Being that Comus 4.2 (Bruichladdich’s 5yo Sauternes cask matured Octomore) was easily my favorite Octomore (still to this date), when I saw this bottling released, I had to have one.

The difficult part for me was in purchasing a bottling from an independent bottler I was not familiar with.  The packaging seemed nice enough and, hey, single cask Octomore? I had to give them a go, right?!

What was the result you may ask?:

On the nose — A fair amount of peat on this one (it is peated to 167 ppm). Not too overwhelming though.  Some bicycle inner-tubes come across at first but this is backed crushed almonds as well as raw filberts.

Rest and Be Thankful Octomore SauternesPear drops, too. Proper English scones. Sun dried water balloons. With water I detect some hot cinnamon, too.

In the mouth — Without water it’s incredibly hot and tight with obvious pear and more sun dried water balloon notes.

Water is needed with this one.

Rest and Be Thankful Octomore Sauternes

With water it’s got a great and oily mouthfeel. Quite sweety and peaty with more focus on the peaty. It’s quite phenolic. Think burning o-rings (viton as well as silicon), and new nitrile gloves.

Some tropical fruits here, too. Think passion fruit and persimmon, and a touch of papaya and even a little guava.

Finish — Long and peaty with hints of marzipan, lemons and even a little slivovitz.

In sum — Not sure if it could have used less or more time in the cask.  I never do score but if I were to compare this to Octomore Comus, and Comus were a 10 (on a scale of 1 to 10), this would be a 7. Defo one for colder weather and one to share with friends.

 

Glenrothes, Glenrothes, Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar dram # 11 – Weymss Malts “Kumquat Cluster” Glenrothes Sherry Butt # 3343

 

Region – Speyside – ABV – 46%

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarDram # 11 brings us a Weymss Malts whisky entitled “Kumquat Cluster” which is a 21yo Glenrothes single sherry butt, cask # 3343.

Based on the color, which is fairly light, I’d have to say this is a refill butt.

There is a joke in there somewhere. I’ll leave you to that.

The Glenrothes and I normally do not get along. The spirit character usually doesn’t sit with my palate but I know they have a great following.

Though, truth be told, I do wish their OB bottlings were at a higher ABV. They’re usually at 40% or 43%, chill filtered and with caramel color added. I think if they slowly moved to 46%, they’d do a great job bringing their followers to the world of non-chill filtered and no-caramel color added whiskies.  The grass is greener on this side, people.

Still, they put out a host of whiskies, various vintages, that people go head over heals for. They must be doing something right, right?

Back to the whisky at hand though. As an independently bottled cask of The Glenrothes, this, I would hope, offers something that the OB releases do not offer. At first glance, it’s 46% NCF and no caramel color is added. That’s a start. At 21 years of age, this will be the oldest Glenrothes I’ve had to date.

Let’s see what happens.

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarOn the nose — Citrus laden melting caramel cubes.  Some attic wood and a hint of sour milk (in a good way, trust me on this one).  Pecan pie filling, young strawberries, Alpha-Bits cereal sans the marshmallows, a hint of Ovaltine.

The attic wood tells me this is a Glenrothes but everything else just falls into place so nicely.

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarIn the mouth — Now I see where they got the Kumquat Cluster name. It’s like drinking fresh kumquat juice, skin and all.

A touch of pepper, lots of malt, hints of fresh and dried figs, date rolls (sans almond), mint tea, some Chinese Five Spice to boot!

Finish — Long, malty, citrusy, hints of pepper.

In sum — Cracking whisky. I was really dreading this one but, wow, I was impressed. This is a whisky I’d reach for on a daily basis. Quite nice indeed.

Caol Ila, Caol Ila

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar dram # 5 – A.D. Rattray’s 9yo Caol Ila, bourbon hogshead # 303050

 

Region – Islay – 56.7% ABV

On the fifth day, G-d filled the seas with fishes and other water animals. In to the air above the earth s/he put many birds of all kinds and colors and sizes.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

  • 5 Golden Rings
  • 4 Calling Birds
  • 3 French Hens
  • 2 Turtle Doves
  • 1 Partridge in a Pear Tree
    • Actually she brought me nothing because Chanukah is early this year…

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarOn the 5th day of the Scotch Whisky Advent calendar, we are having a 9yo single cask of Caol Ila bottled by A.D. Rattray.  The color is quite light so I am assuming that this is a refill bourbon hogshead which suggests the flavors will be more spirit driven rather than cask driven.

This dram shall set us free:

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarOn the nose — A good bit of cayenne spice upfront mixed with puffs of schoolroom chalk and well cooked bacon. Now the bacon overtakes and seems to have been smoked with applewood.

Pink salt and crushed green peppercorns on a plate in the middle of a hot/dry attic (so there is some wood presence here!).

In the mouth — Incredible mouth feel here. Oily, ooey, chewy, mouth coating goodness.  This dram is why I’m a lover of Islay whisky.  More applewood smoke, and the taste of the smell of a French patisserie. Biscuits and salty tarts galore!

A lovely note of lavender is quite present here, too. Nice.

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarBurnt edges of waffles covered in warm salted honey.

Finish — Near endless. Salty, spicy and sweet.

In sum — I need a bottle. It’s as simple as that. This is perhaps the best Caol Ila I’ve ever had (not bottled by me).  Man-o-Maneshewitz!

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015, Weymss Malts, Weymss Malts

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar dram # 4 – Wemyss Malts “Velvet Fig” blended malt Scotch whisky

 

Region – a blend of regions mayhaps – 46% ABV

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarHere we are, day 4 of the Advent calendar, and 21 more days to go!

Today in our glasses we have a Wemyss Malts-malt called “Velvet Fig.”

Aside from Wemyss Malts creating cracker after cracker, they come up with some inventive names to describe the whiskies they bottle.  “Velvet Fig” tells me that this dram should be soft, silky, perhaps a little sexy, rich, and comforting.

Bottled at 46%, it should be very approachable, too. While I generally stand by the motto of “Go Cask Strength or Go Home,” I will abide a minimum of 46% ABV. It’s at 46% ABV where you defo do not need to chill-filter the whisky and there is no artificial caramel coloring (or colouring, depending on where you hail from).

Let’s see how sexy-soft-silky-rich this whisky is…

On the nose — Ah, younger sherried whisky!  Reminiscent of a younger Glenfarclas bottling I’ve had.  Not very soft but wonderfully rich.

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarRum cured raisins, Nürnberger Lebkuchen, crushed cherries soaking in grappa, a hint of peat around the edges (perhaps my mind’s playing tricks on me), recently extinguished apple pie scented candle.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, spice, and everything nice.

In the mouth —Here’s where the velvet comes in. This whisky slides on your tongue like warm walnut oil slides across a teflon coated pan.

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarWhile the flavors do take a moment to kick in, when they do, we’re presented with: fig preserves meets navy style rum meets milk chocolate bars filled with raises and filberts.

Brown sugar toaster tarts covered in brown sugar frosting leads into a softening finish…

Finish —  This ends just as softly as it began on the palate. Short and quiet yet the flavors and scents we experienced bring you in for more.

In sum —  Not a bad little dram. I would have liked a little more of a finish but I could see myself just having some much needed me time with a glass of this whisky.  When the kids have gone to bed, pour this one, open your favorite book and just relax…

Tuthilltown

Tuthilltown Spirits – the tale of two Maple Cask Rye Whiskey releases

 

Region – Upstate New York – $40-50 for a 375ml bottle

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyThis here post was something I started just over a year ago.  I often find myself traveling throughout Upstate New York and when I do, I like to stop in to the Tuthilltown Distillery. I do this in part to see the non-stop updates to the distillery (it never ends there!). I also like to say hello to Ralph and Gable Erenzo.  Two super cool and humble guys that really want to just make and sell good hooch.

On one of my visits last year they happen to have a new release: Maple Cask Rye Whiskey. “Well, hello there!” I thought.  I had to have a bottle.  Actually, I had to have two bottles so I bought two bottles.  I figured I’d have one to drink and one to keep.  I meant to review my drinking bottle shortly after the purchase but hey, they’re only 375ml in size and I drank/shared it all before I could review it. Dang it!

Wouldn’t you know it but a year passed and Tuthilltown decided to do a 2nd release of the Maple Cask Rye Whiskey.  I heard about this in advance of its release this time and drove out there expecting to get a couple of bottles.  I totally jumped the gun. I got to the distillery the day they were bottling rather than the day they were selling the bottles. Oy.

Gable, being the gent he is, let me have a taste of the whiskey from their holding tank and it was exactly what I had hoped it would be: delicious.  Gable, again being the gent that he is, also sent me a sample bottle for review (thanks again, Gable!).

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyBeing that I had this 2014 bottle for review I figured I should crack open the bottle I bought in 2013 to do a side by side.  That brings us here now.

Here are my reviews of the 2013 & 2014 Maple Cask Rye Whiskey from Tuthilltown Spirits:

 

2013 Version:

On the nose – Thick and warm Weetabix covered in sweetened cinnamon and nutmeg.

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeySugar daddy pop gives birth to a box of sugar babies (would that make it a sugar mama?).  If you mixed slightly effervescent vanilla cream soda and RC cola, that’d be a perfect note. Let’s just, for the sake of argument, say that that combo exists.

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyOn the mouth – Red hots meets high-milk chocolate meets maple sugar candies meets cola syrup meets honey sticks meets bit o’honey meets Mary Janes (the candy, not the stuff you smoke).

All of this wrapped up in a solid and oily mouthfeel – all of this starts to dry your palate a bit as we get to the finish..

Finish – Red hots and rye spice continue on for a nice long finish.

2014 Version:

073-002Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyOn the nose – Not as heavy as the 2013 version.  Lightly sugared celery root (another odd combo my brain is creating here).  Muesli, heavy on the oats (powder and all) and golden raisins instead of the regular dark raisins.

Mead!!  Lots of honey wine on this nose.  Very different from the 2013 version so far.  After about 10 minutes in the glass I smell Douglas Fur wreaths.

On the mouth – Not as complex as the 2013 version.  Wait a sec. I spoke too soon!  Salted beef jerky along the sides of the tongue followed by browning apples.

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyMaple cooked sausages (where the heat from the pan starts to make the maple syrup burn & solidify a bit).  Some of those honey sticks I got on the 2013 version, albeit maple honey sticks!  Decent mouthfeel. Not overly dry but not overly oily, smack dab in the middle.

Finish – Lasts with some honey and cracked black pepper and a touch of nuttiness.

In sum — Those other *flavored* whiskeys on the market are really for mixing and for the non-whiskey drinker.

These are the real deal as they are not flavored whiskeys but whiskeys matured in casks that previously held maple syrup.

These are Maple whiskeys for people that actually like and know whiskey.  Well done, Tuthilltown folks!  You know how to construct good whiskeys.  Nay, great whiskeys.

Thanks again for the 2014 sample, Gable!