Tag Archives: Citrus

Glenmorangie, Summertime

Glenmorangie’s Ealanta – a 19yo Scotch whisky matured in heavily charred Missouri oak

 

glenmorangie-ealanta-private-edition-american-virgin-oak-19-year-old-single-malt-scotch-whisky-highlands-scotlandjpgHighlands region – 46% ABV – $109 – $129

Most of my whisky friends know all too well that I am a Glenmorangie junky.  Some might suggest I have a bias toward their whiskies.

Replace “Halfling’s leaf” with Glenmorangie’s whiskies in the following audio clip and you’ll see what I’m getting at:

While I’ll admit that Glenmorangie whiskies are among my favorite (though I’ll bol, I would submit that I have no issue announcing when I do not like a whisky they release.

The Ealanta is the fourth is their Private Edition range as well as the oldest in the series (it’s also the priciest one on the series).

Glenmorangie has access to some of the most premium slow-growth oak trees in Missouri and they usually cut the wood, season it for two years, make up casks, send them to Jack Daniels and Heaven Hill so they could make their whiskey THEN those distilleries send the casks to Glenmorangie so they could mature their whisky.

What’s different here is that Glenmorangie sent themselves the new wood and did the full 19 year maturation of their malt whisky (after having charred the casks heavily).

Something tells me that this might be one for the folks who also enjoy good, high end bourbons.  Let’s find out..

glenmorangie-ealanta-private-edition-american-virgin-oak-19-year-old-single-malt-scotch-whisky-highlands-scotland-1On the nose –  New charred oak goodness!

Actually, what strikes me the most is that there is a zingy zestiness in here that is very rye-like.

Perhaps a little dill, rye seed and fresh cut grass.

glenmorangie-ealanta-private-edition-american-virgin-oak-19-year-old-single-malt-scotch-whisky-highlands-scotland-3That classic Glenmorangie ripe peach note is still present (you can’t beat great spirit).  Pencil erasers.

Toasted tangerine skins (sort of like a tangerine black pu’er tea I have).

glenmorangie-ealanta-private-edition-american-virgin-oak-19-year-old-single-malt-scotch-whisky-highlands-scotland-2On the mouth –  Insanely silky mouthfeel and, flavor wise is much like that tangerine black pu’er tea I noted above.

Vanilla (slight) and honey (heavy).

glenmorangie-ealanta-private-edition-american-virgin-oak-19-year-old-single-malt-scotch-whisky-highlands-scotland-4Sweetness is to this whisky as a wall of death is to a late 80’s/early 90’s mosh pit.  Powerfully sweet, verging on cloying (but not quite there, thankfully).

A touch of salt and black pepper as I chew this one a little more.  And now we have some extra dark chocolate as we reach the finish.

Finish – Drying, long and darkly sweet with a mix of tangerine and more dark chocolate.

In sum – While this has obvious characteristics of a whisky from new oak, it also has some other element in here that I just can’t explain.  The label says heavily charred oak but the color seems light — maybe there’s a mixture of lightly toasted and heavily charred oak?

Either way, it’s another Glenmo that pushes the envelope again with its focus on different types of cask maturation.  Well done.

This is a mid-summer dram for me.

Special thanks to Mr. David Blackmore for the sample!

You may also enjoy the following reviews on this whisky:

Guid Scotch Drink

Malt Impostor

Whisky For Everyone

A World of Discovery, Speyside Distillery

Old Malt Cask 20yo Speyside

 

OMC-Speyside-1Speyside region – 50% ABV – from a single Oloroso Sherry Butt, 150 bottles for the US.  Not sure who got the rest of the bottles from this butt… Maybe a UK/EU Bottling at 700ml?

This whisky reminds me of the theme song to Spielberg’s old cartoon (that I LOVED as a kid/teenager), Tiny Toons.

Here we have single cask of whisky matured in an Oloroso Sherry butt.  What would we usually expect from sherry wood?:  Notes of dried fruits, leather, chocolate, brown spices, cherry stones, cola syrup, etc…  Deep and dark, sometimes cloyingly sweet flavors.

But this cask is breaking all of the rules!

“So here’s Acme Acres,
It’s a whole wide world apart,
Our home sweet home,
It stands alone,
A cartoon work of art!
The scripts were rejected,
Expect the unexpected
On tiny toon adventures
It’s about to start!”

OMC-Speyside-2On the nose –  A wonderfully peppery nose that has hints of coastal grasses, medicinal throat lozenges, model glue and diaper cream.

A hint of peat perhaps – not smoky at all but an interesting waft of peat and vegetality.

OMC-Speyside-3Onion crisps (Funyuns™) malt grist and vinegar.  A touch of honey and citrus comes to the fore.

Not an every day sort of nose for me but I am really digging the components.  Well put together so far and above all, interesting.  Let us carry on, wayward son!

On the mouth –  Much more restrained and fruity than expected.

OMC-Speyside-4That coastal element comes out again (again with the grasses and now salty beach stones) and reminds me a bit of what I love about the Laddie Ten.

Loads of white pepper and a gooseberry sourness to boot.  More onion crisps and a hint of adobo spice.

OMC-Speyside-5Very malty, this one.  Like a malt beverage cut with 2% white cranberry juice.

Mouth feel is like flat soda.

Finish – The flavors dissipate pretty quickly but some zing remains on the tongue.

In sum – A very interesting whisky that would likely do well in a tasting of many different whiskies.  Not my favorite Speyside bottling but the nose get extra points for uniqueness.

It’s whiskies like this that get me excited when looking to explore deeper within a distillery to see what it can offer.  This helps to show why single casks are so unique and sometimes quite special.  Or, in this case, odd and a ton of fun.

Special thanks to the folks at ISW for the official sample!

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, George T Stagg, Let's celebrate!

2012 George T Stagg – An absolutely stunning whiskey.

 

Kentucky – 71.4% ABV – $79 (good luck finding a bottle, folks.  You’ll likely find more four leaf clovers than bottles of this juice)

The 2012 Buffalo Trace collection has been released and I was lucky enough to win a lotto from Julio’s Liquors in Westborough, MA to get a bottle.

Let me be clear, winning the lotto gave me that opportunity to buy the bottle.  I didn’t win the bottle.

This hooch is highly allocated and I count myself as one of the lucky ones to have actually gotten my hands on a bottle.

George T Stagg is one of five whiskies Buffalo Trace releases as part of their yearly “Antique Collection.”  And it is, by far, the most sought after one in the group.  (The other five bottles being: Eagle Rare 17yo, Sazerac Rye 18yo, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye and William Larue Weller Bourbon).

At 71.4% alcohol content, this is the highest-octane stuff released this year by Buffalo Trace.

On the nose — For 71.4% I’m not finding this too hot to handle on the nose.  The heat is quite easily transformed in to a good deal of black pepper.

Some burn cranberries and heavily toasted hearty wheat breads become obvious.  So far, an inspiring nose!

Heavily peppered molasses and salted meat and burnt pencil shavings.

Brown spices (an old bourbon stand-by note) but there are also some lighter fruits in here including white seedless grapes, as an example.

This is one of those whiskeys that you could nose for a good, long time.  I see why people go so nuts for it every year.

On the mouth — For the uninitiated, this is some hot juice, no doubt.  However, please reward yourself and press on!  Take a smaller sip.  Here we go again (are you ready?)…

Yeah, that’s the stuff!

Cranberry relish, black pepper, orange zest, vanilla pods… this is BURSTING with flavor.  It’s about as moreish as a whiskey gets.

Lovely mouth feel — both zippy and oily at the same time.  Speaking of oil, getting a little gun oil here.

On top of this, heavy wood spice and a good whack of everything that makes lebkuchen.  It’s basically lebkuchen and Christmas cakes in a glass.

Wow.

Finish — Drying, spicy and near endless…

In sum — Quite possibly the best bourbon I’ve had in 2012.  Actually, this is easily the best bourbon I’ve had this year.  Kudos to the distillers.  In a word: amazing.

Happy birthday to me.  This was my gift to myself this year.  A fine purchase.  One of the best I made this year.

Cold Winter, Kilchoman, Refreshed, Springtime

Kilchoman 100% Islay whisky. First Edition vs 2nd edition

 

Islay Region – 50%ABV

1st Edition can be found for $?? sold out in most US stores | £77 (£66 ex VAT)

2nd Edition can be found for: $87 | £54 (£45 ex VAT)

I have a lot to cover in my side by side to these two Kilchomans so I’ll keep this quick.  As an opener, know that the 100% Islay series from Kilchoman is quite different from their standard releases:

  • They’re peated to a much lower ppm (25ppm as compared to 50ppm as per the usual Kilchoman release).
  • I’m not sure if the distillate cuts are different compared to their standard spirit runs but over all, these are a different experience from other Kilchomans.
  • Also, both editions of Kilchoman’s 100% Islay are all ex-bourbon matured whereas most Kilchomans are a mix of ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks.

I love that Kilchoman runs this series and look forward to trying 3rd, 4th and, 5th edition 100% Islays!

On the nose — The first edition, in contrast to the latest 100% Islay, comes off as heavy and medicinal.

Truthfully, both are light in character but the second edition is quite sweet and filled with pear drops, a touch of sea air, malt, yeast and the actual sweetness of wash that permeates every inch of their distillery.

The second edition of the 100% Islay is transporting me back to my visit to the Kilchoman distillery.

Turning back to the first edition of this more lightly peated Kilchoman (both are peated to about 25ppm as compared to their standard level of 50ppm), the character is more like a rainy morning at a beach during low tide: salty, sea shells, some lemon, day old linens – comforting & relaxing as I nose it whereas the second edition is more lively and invigorating.

Two very different animals so far.  Both enjoyable.

On the mouth — First edition: great mouthfeel and more of an initial sweetness (something I didn’t really get while nosing it).  Phenolic, canvas army bags, lemons (again), salty to taste and very light vanilla influence.  This is a fine example of a young Islay whisky.  Drying as I get to the finish, too.

Second edition: More exotic in flavor! candied caraway seeds and candied young lime rind.  I am reminded of a Thai dish I was told was called “Ming Com” I had once while in Seattle.  There was some sort of green leaf I used to grab lime chunks and small red chilies – this is the combo I am getting here.  A lighter mouthfeel than the first edition but the flavor combination helps to make up for that.

Finish — First edition: Medium length with just a touch of wood spice on the center of the tongue.

Second edition: a long, exotically sweet finish.

In sum —  Two very different, yet satisfying drams.  For my tastes (at least as far as today goes), the second edition’s style and the invigorating element to it made me really connect with it.  I often enjoy whisky as a pick me up rather than something meant to relax me.

Want to relax?  Get the first edition.

Need a pick-me-up?  the second edition is the way to go!

Special thanks to ImpEx for the sample of 2nd edition Kilchoman.  The 1st edition was my bottle but now I want a bottle of the 2nd edition 🙂

My guess is you’ll enjoy Jason from Guid Scotch Drink’s review of the Kilchoman 100% Islay 2nd edition