Tag Archives: Citrus

All You Need Is Love, Arran, Autumn, Need To Bundle Up

Arran Amarone Cask finished 50% ABV

Islands region – 50%ABV – £38 | €45

Week #2 of my Arran reviews.  To view all of the Arran Malt whiskies I’ve tried so far, click here.

As the holiday season is about us, I’m reminded of just how thankful I am for all of the little things I’ve got.  For me, the holidays are all about getting together with friends and family.  In my family, because we are so spread out, this time of the year is about the only time I get to see some of my family.

So, forget the presents.  Nothing can replace that little conversation you get to have with the uncle you’ve not seen in 355 days.  Or being able to see your cousins, nephews or nieces grow up to be strong men and women…  Or sharing in some nice wine with everyone as your aunt demands you eat more food (even though you’ve already had to unbutton your pants to make room for the 3rd course).

One thing I do not have in my family, believe it or not, is a whisky drinker!  Yeah, my dad will dip into some Dewar’s from time to time and basically any single malt I throw in front of him but he’s not passionate about it like some of my other family members are about their wine.  For that camaraderie, I’ve got my society, fellow whisky bloggers and you – the readers of my blog.  So,while I am thankful for a great many things in my life, I am most thankful for you all.  I really appreciate you coming to the blog and continuing to return for more.  Todah Rabah (Thank you very much – Hebrew).

Oh, I’m also very thankful to Andy Hogan for the samlpe of this whisky!

Color — An interesting pink hue to this whisky!

On the nose — Lite-Brite nose chockfull of dry wine and pomegranate or perhaps cranberry juice.

Dry Rose champagne.

Grapefruit jolly ranchers.

Real apples with a leaning toward apple Fruit Roll-ups.

Sweet grass and morning dew.

Hints of RC cola.

On the mouth — Thin-ish mouthfeel.

More notes of Rose champagne.

Paper lunch bags.

Star fruits and golden raisins.

Some hints of cumin spice.

My mouth is now watering which, joining schwartzes with the whisky, is now giving this a much more chewy mouthfeel.

Finish — White pepper and white chocolate.  A touch more cumin.  Medium in length.

In sum — The influence of the Amarone wine on this whisky is big.  I loved just starting at the pinkish hue of this whisky in between sips.  Sweet & dry – a nice one for early fall time.  Actually, a perfect Sukkot whisky.

Cold Winter, Connemara, Need To Bundle Up

Connemara Turf Mor – Peated & Cask Strength Irish whiskey

Ireland – 58%ABV – $80 | £51 | €60 – soon to be released – 20,000 bottles total

A short time back I was asked by the good folks at Cooley Distillery (currently, the only independent AND Irish owned distillery in operation in Ireland) if I was interested in trying a whisky that was yet to be released and if I’d post my thoughts on it.

My initial thought upon seeing this email from them was, to quote Jeffery “The Dude” Lebowski, “Does the pope shit in the woods!?”

For those who’ve not yet seen The Big Lebowski — go and rent it ASAP!!  Or, watch this summation (a word to the wise – there are a few cuss words in this video…):

OK, back to the matter at hand – peated Irish whiskey.  So, what’s it like?  You’ll see below.  I’ve reviewed their standard Peated Cask Strength whiskey here.  Let’s see how this differs…

On the nose — Fishing rubbers, bouncy balls & rubber chickens… I think you get the idea – very rubbery.

Lemon peel & espresso.

Raw, uncooked rhubarb.

A wee bit of soy sauce.

On the mouth — Peaty yet not a smoke-bomb; earthy yet sweet; wet stones & flint yet grassy.

Immensely fruity — think citrus and over-tart purple plums (more tart, less plum).

All the bite you get in pickled ginger without the ginger.

Wicked mouthfeel – all of these flavors make your mouth water something fierce making the experience a nice creamy one.

Finish — Almond paste with the most minor hint of vanilla.  Tannic, hot and pretty lengthy.

In sum — I’m not going to lie — this whisky is not for everyone.  However, if you like the more medicinal/peaty/earthy whiskies – this will please you.  It’s a powerful whisky for sure – one for the colder season (smart of Cooley Distillery to release it in December).

An everyday dram, Summertime

Arran 9yr Single Cask – Bottled for the SMWSA – Cask number 121.32

Islands region – 56.3%ABV – $90 (no longer available – only 312 bottles available)

The Single Cask, Cask Strength goodness of Arran Malt whisky brought to you (me) by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

One of the beautiful things about whiskies that are drawn from a Single Cask is that they are 100% unique whiskies, never to be repeated again (the adventure seeker in me LOVES this).

Also, you can find whiskies from a single distillery that will often times be quite different from that distillery’s standard offerings.  Some good examples of this is this Macallan I tasted here, and these Bowmore whiskies I’ve had here.

So, what will we find with this SMWS bottling of this nine year old Arran cask?

On the nose — Fruity nose filled with lemons & a good helping of pineapple in a light syrup.

Strong nose – it’ll git ya!

Toffee cremes & salted butter.

Birch beer.

Vanilla bourbon goodness!

Buttered corn, creamed corn, corn grain.

On the mouth — Insanely creamy mouthfeel.

Like drinking caramel (there’s a sting with it, however – it’ll git ya!).

Malty, bread-like.

Apricots & warm apple pie.

Tangerines.

Very tannic – a drying sensation throughout the mouth.

More toffee tones.

Finish — Long and creamy with lemon lozenges.

Apricots galore!

In sum — A big bourbon influenced dram.  Another win for the SMWS if you ask me.  Insanely approachable, fruity and yum-yum-yummy.  Enjoy in good company.  Share this with close friends on a nice summer’s day.

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.