Tag Archives: Chocolate

Balvenie

The Balvenie 17yr Sherry Wood

Speyside – 43%ABV – 750ml – $80-100 (another HUGE spread!) | £85 | €104

And so I begin Balvenie week.

You may have noticed, if you’ve poked around the blog a bit, that I’ve only reviewed one expression of The Balvenie so far: The Balvenie 17yr Madeira Cask.  Truth be told, Balvenie whiskies have always been whiskies I’ve held very dear and, until now, I haven’t really wanted to share my thoughts and notes on them.  Selfish, I know.  But, they were mine.

Well, times have changed.  And as I tell my daughters every day, Sharing is Caring™.  So, all this week, I will be sharing my thoughts on some very nice expressions from The Balvenie.

What’s more is, every day this week, in addition to my notes, I’ll be featuring some exclusive videos of people from The Balvenie distillery and they too will be sharing with you.  They will share what their favorite Balvenie expression is and why.  A BIG ‘ol thank you to Sam Simmons (aka Dr. Whisky) for the footage!

Video #1 – Stuart Watts, Distillery Manager at The Balvenie:

While I won’t be reviewing the DoubleWood today (that review is forthcoming…this week), I will give you my notes on their 17yr Sherry Wood:

On the nose – A strange nose of this Balvenie.

Sherry, for sure but hints off the bat of salted meats (while I’m not smelling this here, I’m struck with a memory of roast beef and mayonnaise sandwiches for lunch in the 3rd grade – I wasn’t raised kosher or vegetarian.  My, how things have changed).

Smoked cheese and cinnamon.  Some slight dried fruit and chocolatey notes.  Shaved dark chocolate.

Big sherry now but the Balvenie honey notes smooth out the sharpness I find in many sherried whiskies.

On the mouth – Soft, almost watery entry.  Let’s try this again…

Soft for sure yet, less watery – thinned oil (in texture).

Third sip and, wow!  It’s like a game of whisky tennis in my mouth – Balvenie honey & citrus notes bounce over to prunes and Ice Cube chocolates (the candy), back to the honey then soft vanilla.

This whisky is so soft that this can be lost on the sherryheads out there.  This is not an attack of sherry.

This, like most Balvenies I’ve had, just screams of elegance.

Finish – A slightly salty finish, medium long and with traces of almonds and dark chocolate.

In sum – This is one to relax with but also one to get your mind going.  Start concentrating on the whisky then move onto bigger life issues.

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Cold Winter, Glenmorangie, Let's celebrate!, Need To Bundle Up, Refreshed, Springtime, Summertime, Takin' It Easy

Glenmorangie Signet – Wonderfully different yet so quintessentially Glenmo!

Glenmorangie Signet

Highlands region – 46%ABV – 750ml bottle – $150–200 | £110 | €134

Hi, my name is Joshua and I loves me some Glenmorangie.  But, let’s back up a little bit, shall we?

Growing up I was a fat kid.  Yeah, that’s me with the man-boy boobs and the feathered cow-lick on the left there.  We’re looking at 1984 – 1985 or so.  I was 11 or 12.  This is the summer I started getting into the Dead Kennedys and got hooked on The Goonies (can’t you just picture me doing the truffle-shuffle?) and Back to the Future.

Why do I bring this up and what does it have to do with Glenmorangie?

Well, it was the summer of 1985 where I ate ‘G-d knows how many peaches’ in one sitting after watching the Cool Hand Luke 50 egg scene just to see how many I could eat (I never did vomit, by the way).  We had 10 peaches and yes, I ate them all (shit, look at that picture of me!).  You see, I love peaches & nectarines.  Always have.  I actually prefer nectarine (they’re like peaches that got a Brazilian wax).

“Dear Joshua, what does this have to do with Glenmorangie?”  Well, I’ll tell you.  Ardbeg is known for peat & lemons.  The Balvenie has their “honeyed” notes.  And, Glenmorangie is known for it’s, among other notes, peach notes.  It’s all coming together now, right?  Love for peaches, love for Glenmorangie… see??

Ok, its a stretch.  I needed a chance to show fat Josh (yeah, right) so, there you go.  Let’s review this.

On the nose – Aero milk chocolate bars.

Wonderful scents of paraffin wax.

Whiffs of recently extinguished candles.

Notes of ripe lush oranges and freshly brewed coffee.

Stewed figs and prune juice.

Underneath all of this lies the juicy peach notes (seeeeee!) that I always search for when having a Glenmorangie.

Finally, some great blasts of pipe smoke (how did I not detect this right off).

On the mouth – Oh, G-d damn.  Brilliant and warming notes of melting chocolate chips with bits of cookie attached.

Whole milk and steamy lattes.

Fine dry wine.

Like some Clarets I’ve had – soft but tannic.

The mouth feel is right up my alley, lush.

Walnut shells and cherry skins.

Finish – Zucchini bread and/or carrot cake with walnuts minus the cream cheese frosting.

There’s a drying nuttiness that pops up about 45 seconds after the swallow.

Yes, this is a nice, long finish!!

In sum – I’ve had many-many a Glenmorangie in my whisky tasting life.  Of all the whiskies I’ve had, I’ve had more expressions of Glenmorangie than any other brand of whisk(e)y.  This expression was as much un-like a Glenmorangie as it was like the quintessential Glenmorangie.  Brilliantly different yet so dead on.  Beyond this, it’s unlike any other whisky I’ve ever had.  A bit of a conundrum but, that’s a good thing.  Kudos/Bravo Glenmorangie and Dr. Bill Lumsden!  If you have the money, this is most likely one of the nicest every day drinkers for you to have.  It’s that good.

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Nikka, Springtime

Nikka Yoichi 20yr 1988 Vintage

Japan – 55%ABV – 700ml bottle – $|£|€ ???

No matter where I look, this whisky is sold out.  And, I think I know why  (see my notes below) – here’s what the good folks over that The Whisky Exchange have to say about it:

“A follow up to the incredible Nikka 1987 vintage 20yo that won the World’s Best Single Malt at last year’s World Whiskies Awards, this 1988 is a full-strength mix of both light and heavily-peated whiskies from new oak, refill casks, bourbon barrel and sherry butts – sounds phenomenal.”

Phenomenal??  Hell yes.  A HUGE thanks to The Whisky Wall for the sample!

On the nose — Oh mercy, what an amazing nose!

Very strange notes of baklavah, pipe tobacco (being smoked), kim chee and sherry.

Deep dried fruit (like a fried compote filled with plums and apricots – actually, I’m reminded of a Charoset I had a couple of years back.).

Insanely easy to nose.

A tad spicy and (like many Japanese whiskies I’ve had) some sweet top notes that remind me of bourbon.

Green tea and dark chocolate with elegant peat smoke.

On the mouth — Like chewing on chocolate covered fresh tobacco leaves.

Both salty and smoky (like smoked capers).

Dried dates and papaya.  Floral potpourri.

Stewed fruits then a highlight on sweetly smoked lemons.

Finish — Lasting fruit – every dried fruit imaginable, lovely & lasting.

In sum –– Quite remarkable, really; nearing on ridiculous (or ludicrous) as to how good this whisky was.  The balance is remarkable and at 55%, with the nose/palate/finish combination it’s very drinkable.  Only 3500 bottles were made available and, you guessed it, not in the US.  Feck.

This is a very contemplative dram.  If you can get your hands on some of this, save it for some “YOU” time.  Sit back, enjoy the cool breeze (maybe throw a sweater on, light a fire) and think about “what it all means”.

All You Need Is Love, Macallan, Takin' It Easy

The Macallan 18yr

Speyside region – 43%ABV – 750ml bottle in the US, 70cl in the UK and elsewhere – £70 | $90-$120 | €84

Wow to you oh whisky peeps, for a dram was bought by me to have (because the notes, they sounded so good).  Let him who hath understanding wreckon the number of the dram [that turned me on to The Macallan].  For it is a Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America number.  It’s number is twenty-four point one-one-one.  (sorry, my inner Iron Maiden fan could not help himself).

I am so very thankful to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America for helping to open my eyes once more to The Macallan – for that review, click here.

I received a sample of The Macallan 18yr early last week (special thanks to Igal!) and was not sure what to expect.

I’ve mentioned in the past that their standard 12yr didn’t do much for me (again, I’ve not had their 12yr expression in a bit more than 2 years) so I was not expecting much from their 18yr bottling.

After pouring the whisky into my Glencairn, here’s what I got:

On the nose – Plump dollops of sherry notes travel up my nose.  These notes are covered in chocolate and there is more than a hint of oak and vanilla.

Dried fruits are here — think prunes, dates and fig.  The more I smell it, the more I like it.  Leather & suede.  Big grapes appear in the final sniff.

On the mouth – The first thing I get here is sulphur but that is quickly pushed aside (thankfully) to reveal an incredibly smooth chocolate note.

Pipe tobacco and leather jackets.

Root veggies galore!  I’m even getting a hint of beets here – like whisky borscht (it’s slight but, I am getting it).

The smoothness of this whisky is really remarkable and, it’s nice and chewy too.

Finish – Medium length but there are some long lasting bitter notes to it that really offset everything I just smelled and tasted.  This, I think, is a good thing.

Yes, it’s a good thing.

In sum – This oozes of luxury and all things “comfort”.  This is something to break out for Shabbat (non-Jews, Shabbat is the Hebrew word for the Sabbath which many Jews, myself included, treat both as a holy day and a holiday – read here for more info) for sure!

Blind Tastings, Kosher spirits, Refreshed, Summertime, Takin' It Easy, Tequila, Tequilas, Tonala

Rick’s Mystery Dram series – Week 4 of 10 – Sample #4

Well folks, it’s Monday again which means we’ve got another mystery dram to solve.

As I mentioned in the last mystery dram post, I’ve decided to make this a wee bit more interesting by sending out a mystery dram to the correct guesser of the week’s mystery dram or, if there has been no correct guess, the sample goes to a commenter (randomly chosen).  Last week, Gal of Whisky Israel won the mystery dram.  Details on how to win a mystery dram sample (which will be Scotch or American whisk(e)y, your choice) are listed below, after the review.

For previous “Rick’s Mystery Dram” entries :

Here’s Mystery Dram #1 (which ended up being Parker’s Heritage First Edition)

Here’s Mystery Dram #2 (which ended up being Parker’s Heritage Golden Anniversary)

Here’s Mystery Dram #3 (which ended up being Evan Williams Single Barrel, 2000 vintage, barrel # 234)

Review time!

On the nose – It’s quite obvious that Rick is trying to throw me for a loop here.  The first three drams were whiskeys.  American Whiskeys.  He decided to go south of the border this time and secretly switched my whisk(e)y with Tequila.  Based on the deep color, I’d say it’s an Anejo but, from the very first sniff all I could smell was agave and oak.

This is a sweet nose, but not seemingly as juicy as the Don Julio Anejo I reviewed a few months back during Passover.

Toasted wood and chocolate notes (strange, never got chocolate notes in a tequila before…) pop as does some marijuana (Man, this brings back memories.  Break out your double LP of “Frampton Comes Alive”), spicy notes and a good bit of agave for sure.  Sandalwood and Nag Champa incense.

On the mouth – Light and watery tequila (is this even 40% ABV?).  This is a nice sipping tequila for those nervous about the stuff (or remembers the headaches from college).  Chocolate notes return and some nice ruby red grapefruity notes appear.  Not as sweet as the nose but oh, so drinkable.  I was hoping for a whisk(e)y dram but, this is a welcome change.

I change my mind, it’s got an oily mouth feel but it’s as if it’s been watered down a bit.  Strange – insanely smooth.

Finish – Short to medium length.  Nothing too-too special but not disappointing in any way.

In sum – Rick, you did it again.  You’ve managed to fool me but, I’d say that you may have fooled my readers as I’m guessing not many of them know a whole heck of a lot about tequila.

Then again, I could be totally wrong.

Clues –

  • Low ABV (I’d be surprised if it were more that 40%)
  • Very woody (my guessing from the extra aging to make it an Anejo)
  • Chocolate, marijuana and sandalwood notes
  • Produced in Mexico 🙂

JMSWS antes up!

For those who attempt to guess – each week I will be sending out one mystery dram (a small 5cl bottle) and the first person guesses correctly wins the dram.  Actually, if there are no correct guesses for the week then a winner will be chosen at random.  You win whether your right or not (like a weatherperson – right or not, s/he still has a job)!

So again, I will be awarding a free whisk(e)y sample every week to one lucky winner (whether you guess correctly or not).

How do I enter to win you ask?

Easy, comment on this post with what you think the mystery dram of the week may be.  It’s that simple.

I will let you choose the type of mystery dram — Scotch or American Whiskey (though that’s all you’ll know about it).  And if you’d like, you can send me your tasting notes and I’ll post them for my readers to guess at.  If you’d prefer the blind tasting to be between just you and me… that’s cool too.