Tag Archives: Citrus

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Glenfiddich, I'd not drink this one if I were you...

Four Glenfiddich Single Malts all under one review – 15yo, 15yo “102”, Glenfiddich 21yo Rum Finish & Snow Phoenix

Speyside region – Four expressions from Glenfiddich.

As I write this post, I am holed up in a hotel room room with my two little girls asleep in a king-sized bed in the next room while my wife and I are cuddled up on our hide-away couch/bed.

You see, we’ve been sort-of victimized by hurricane Irene.

Thank G-d (B”H) we and our family not hurt and our house is damage-free.  I consider us lucky compared to some people I know who’ve had their houses completely flooded; trees down on their houses, etc…  We’re lucky.  We’re only victims of an extended power outage.  Power should be restored sometime next week and once we have power, we’ll have water.  Not to get to graphic but, toilets are only good when they work.  It’s a shitty situation.

I hope and pray that all those affected by the storm can return to normal life ASAP.

So, what to do when you’re finally in a place where you have electricity?  Well, I don’t know about you but, I like to write whisky reviews so that’s what I’m’a doin’ right now.

Special thanks goes out to Heather Greene for the samples of the four Glenfiddichs below.  I had a lot of fun with them and fell in love with two of them!

Enjoy (I did)!
Glenfiddich 15yo Solera – 40%ABV – $35 | £32

On the nose — Very woody – more so than I expected from a 15yo whisky such as this.  It’s not a bad thing, just a strong note.  Let’s hope there’s some spice or fruit to balance it out.

Moving on.

Honey and apricots and almond slivers.  Laminated cardboard and a warm… scratch that, hot sauna.

On the mouth — Here comes the fruit I was looking for – casaba melon, red pear and red plum.  Honey and spice and a wisp or thread of peat smoke.  Increasingly spicy or, spiced.  Soft and mouth coating yet tannic.

Finish — Very dry finish reminiscent of a light yet dry wine.

In sum —  I had this whisky a few years back.  Actually, if was my first Glenfiddich and I liked it quite a bit.  Upon a return to it, I didn’t appreciate it as much as I did the first time around.  I think there’s just too much wood it’s a bit too drying for me.  I’d not say no to this if it were offered to me and I may choose it over other whiskies (old 12yo Bunnahabhain 40%ABV, I’m looking at you).  Then again, if I had a choice between a whisky at 40%ABV and a higher or cask strength version, I think I’d pass on this one – give me the Cask Strength version please!  The higher ABV let’s you play with the whisky a little more (adding water & how much?)  Speaking of which… let’s move on, shall we?

Glenfiddich 15yo “102” – 51%ABV – $55 | £40

On the nose — Thick, fat, meaty mafia don sherried type nose.  Perhaps some root veggies in there (sugared as it were).  Ginger and nuts.  New sneakers, fresh in the box.  Big and rich raisins still in the cardboard box.

Just an overall pleasing, sherried nose.

On the mouth — Pow!  The taste of this stuff is picking up where the nose left off.  Fried walnuts, dirty socks, sour apples and toasted apple skins.  Warm almonds and loads of popsicle sticks (wet and sugary).  Caramel, fudge and hazelnuts – Toffifay!

Oh, yum!

Finish — Long with hints of plastic bags, walnuts and graham crackers (graham crackers??  Where’d you come from?)

In sum —  It’s nice to taste a Glenifiddich in it’s natural cask strength.  Sort of a rare-ish opportunity to show you what the whisky is like in it’s natural state.  This is one for a late night and a good book or as part of a sherried whisky tasting event.  This’ll hold it’s own for sure!

Glenfiddich 21yo Gran Reserva Caribbean Rum Finish – 40%ABV – $120 | £77

On the nose — Snooty college girls puffing on clove cigarettes.  NYC library.

Gobs and gobs of vanilla and a tad (just a tad) of honey mustard.  Black raisins, currant.

On the mouth — Massive oak attack.

Tiramasu soaking, even dripping, with rum.  Back to the NYC library (like a warm oaken room).  Burnt sugar.

The mouthfeel is thin but then again, many of the rum cask finished whiskies I’ve had have had a thin mouth feel.

Finish — Long and sweet with wine soaked grapes.  Buttery and oaky

In sum — A lovely grouping of flavors and a nice little ride but, similar to the 15yo bottled at 40%, I really think this stuff would benefit from a higher ABV and no chill filtration.  Very nice smell and flavor-wise (great balance) but slightly…tired and I did not care for the mouth feel.

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix – 47.6%ABV – $89 | £93

On the nose — Big bright and rambunctious nose.  This is like the Pippy Longstockings of whisky.

Very fruity, slightly tropical but more like super fresh and sugared pears with a cinnamon dusting.  Light hay, honey, buttermilk biscuits.  What most notable about this whisky is just how lively and inviting it is.

Just a joy.

On the mouth — Great malty attack with bursts of that initial sweetness/fruitiness I got on the nose.  Spicy, lemony (though not sour in anyway, very, very sweet).  Raisins in Reisling.  Incredibly fizzy and lively – this stuff just dances on your tongue.

There’s a slight off-note in here, like the rind or pith of a fruit.  Forget what I said about no sour note, it’s there (though integrated quite well).

A mere hint or thread of smoke in here (perhaps a wood effect?)

Finish — Interestingly woody, long and spicy.

In sum —  I’ve had many a ‘fiddich but few, if any, I found to be as lively and engaging as this one.  This will cure the summertime blues (forget what those guys say, there is a cure!).  I hope this experiment is one that the folks a Glenfiddich can use to help gauge what an additional direction for Glenfiddich could be.   I’ll be singing the glories of this whisky for some time to come…

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Glenmorangie, Let's celebrate!

1981 Glenmorangie Pride

Highland region – 56.7%ABV – $2699 | £2500 (limited to 1000 bottles)

Yes, yes, I know… the bottle looks like something off of Sephora’s website.  And yes, I’m sure LVMH could have saved a £50-60 (maybe more) putting the whisky into a slightly simpler vessel.

I’m not posting here to talk about the whys & whatfors of corporate marketing.  Yes, I do work in sales & marketing and I understand the whys & whatfors but I’d prefer to focus on the liquid that Dr. Bill Lumsden created, not what the good folks at LVMH have cracked up to sell the stuff – as smart and fancy as it is.

Glenmorangie Pride 1981 is a 28yo whisky that was aged for 18 years in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and then extra-matured exclusively in Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes casks for an additional 10 years before being bottled at 56.7% ABV.  Sounds sexy to me!

Color – Deep gold with tints of green (I don’t always mention color but this is some attractive fluid!)

On the nose –  Thick jams (quince and even some fig).  Black strap molasses and ginger snap cookies (spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon).  Sweet, sweet marzipan.

Damp and earthy.  Man, I am taken by this nose.  This juice demands your attention.  Part of me doesn’t even want to dissect it, I just want to enjoy it as a whole.

But carry on, I will…

The Glenmorangie character is strong here and will not be ignored: Think citrus zest and even some peach; thoroughly ripe and juicy peach.

Walnut oil and even a bit of sauternes-drown golden raisin.

Vanilla extract and in the distance, toasted oak and almonds.

Coming back to the nose after a sip and there’s a very noticeable high lemon note just floating on top of it all.

On the mouth – Thick and insanely mouth coating – it’s invading every part of my mouth (like that scene in The Matrix where the liquid metal is taking over Keanu Reeves’ body until it goes down his throat).

Sticky sweet jams (like the ones mentioned above).  A touch of citrus but not as much as on the nose.

Creamy, creamy but also a bit like thick honey when it starts to crystalize (tiny, tiny sugar crystals throughout the honey).

Speaking of honey, this stuff oozes with it.

Warm apricot jam over toasted almonds.

As the fluid starts to go from juicy sweet to drying on to the finish, booze soaked oak notes round out the flavor experience.

Finish – Long, drying, warm; and sitting like a king on the top/back portion of my tongue is the actual sauternes itself – apricots, peach, nuts and woody tannins.  After a short bit, an interesting watermelon note popped up followed but some of that lemon note I got on the nose.

In sum – I can see why Dr. Bill Lumsden refers to this whisky as his “Pride”.  If this whisky were a college bound student, she would have full scholarships to the Ivy League school of her choosing.  This is so balanced, so well constructed and thoroughly enjoyable.  Pride is as full and robust as it gets (without peat or sherry).

I come back to this over and over again, Sauternes finishes are my absolute favorite.  Done right (like this whisky here), and it’s light years ahead of nearly any sherried whisky I’ve had.

There are only 1000 bottles of this stuff on G-d’s green earth and if you can find & afford one, I won’t say no; I’d accept the gift very graciously :).  However, if you decided to keep the stuff for yourself, I would not blame you at all.

I will suggested, however, that you open this for the most celebratory of occasions but what’s more is that you NEED to open this.  Don’t just buy and collect because NOT tasting this stuff (if you have the $$ to afford it) is doing yourself an injustice.

Huge thanks goes out to David Blackmore for the sample!

An everyday dram, Talisker

Talisker 57 North – this stuff is crack-a-lackin’!

Islands – 57%ABV – 700ml bottle – £49 (sadly, this whisky is not readily available in the US so you’ll have to go to your favorite UK whisky shop or pick it up in a duty-free shop where it’s sold in 1L bottles!)

Looking through all of my reviews I noticed that I’ve only reviewed one Talisker to date and that’d be the Talisker 18.

Being that I’m headed there next week I figured I’d change that and right quick!

This Talisker started out, if memory serves, as a duty-free exclusive bottling but due to popularity made its way to UK shelves.  Now, I say “if memory serves” because this whisky was released a couple of years ago.  That being said, I think I’m the last whisky reviewer on earth to review it.

Better late than never!

On the nose –  Is there such a thing as vanilla lemonade?

Loads of citrus and pepper, black pepper.

Salty sea spray on a late autumn morning while fishing for blues – this one is really bringing about some nice memories.

Nice round peaty smokey notes and a load of seaweed.

On the mouth – Oily and very *round* in flavor and a bit effervescent as well.

Nothing on the front of the tongue but the top and sides of the tongue are getting some great notes of lemon pastries and pineapple danish.

Oak and apples with still more salt (kosher-type, not sea salt) and delicious peat.

This is a very nice Talisker, tasty through and through.

Finish – The fizz continues as does some smoke and lemon.

In sum – Like most Taliskers I’ve had, this is just plain lovely.  An easy every day drinker for me… if it were easily available in the US.

Nicely balanced, thoroughly delicious and wholly Talisker.  There’s not mistaking it.

Special thanks goes out to David H for the sample (I think you gave it to me, it was a while ago!)

Balvenie, Takin' It Easy

Balvenie 25yo Single Cask bottled at 46.9%ABV

Speyside – 46.9%ABV – 750ml – $404 (wowza! This was originally about £100/$200 when it was first released 5 years ago)

It’s not secret that I’m a fan of The Balvenie.  I’ll be headed there as part of the JSMWS tour this month and have been counting down the days until my arrival there.  I was hoping to meet up with Mr. Sam Simmons while I’m out there but sadly, we’ll be missing one another.

In case you missed my video series on The Balvenie (special thanks goes out, once again to Sam on that one), you can check them out here.

The Balvenie has always nailed it with the 15yo single cask series, let’s see what another 10 years and an added $350 dollars does for this whisky…

On the nose — Lemony goodness right up front.

Indian cooking spices; turmeric and a breath of cumin.

This is a nice bourbon fresh nose.  Oaky, honey, tangerines.  Fresh cotton.  Pineapple and mangoes.  Ripe banana.  Banana peel. I’m almost getting some blue raspberry in there.   This list goes on and on…

Pears, bruised macintosh apples.

This is all rounded out by what seems to be lightly salted peanuts (the smell, not the taste).

On the mouth –– Hot and clean (an oxymoron in the adult film community).

Malty.  Tannic.  Limes.

So far, I enjoyed the nose much more…  Let’s take a break, maybe add a bit of water…

Water calms this one down quite a bit.

Cooked sugar and orange butter.  Malty.  Insanely clean and fresh.

Dried apricots.  Toasted coconut.  Creme brulee.

Finish — Hot, long finish filled with banana, honey and a touch of apple.

In sum — Oh, you tease!  The nose was brilliant.  I can not stress that enough.  The flavor of the whisky was a bit too shy but water woke her up just enough to make it all worth while.  While normally I prefer a higher ABV, I think this one benefited with the addition of water.  This is a watch-your-kids-play-in-the-sandbox-on-a-cool-summer’s-day type of dram.  I’m not sure I know what that means but perhaps it’s the mix of parental pride and relaxation.

Special thanks goes out to Sam Simmons for the sample (sorry it took me so damn long to post on this one!!)

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, An everyday dram, Autumn, Springbank

Springbank 15yo – A whisky shelf must.

Campbeltown Region – 46%ABV –$75 – 90 | £44 | €50

I submitted the following to the Edinburgh Whisky Blog in the hopes to win a small sample of The Glenlivet 70yo.  My entry was among 13 favorites chosen by Lucas (one of the two fine chaps who run the blog, in case you’re not familiar…).  I had some tough competition and in the end did not win but hey, it was fun to write and I was happy to be chosen as one of Lucas’ favorites.

Here’s a link to all of the entries.

I’m reminded of a story my father once told about his trying to listen to, and appreciate, Bob Dylan. All of his friends were talking about this protest singer with a gravel-like voice that was telling it like it is. We’re talking circa 1964/65. He picked up two albums suggested to him by friends: “Bob Dylan” and “Freewheelin’”. He listened to these albums but could not get into it — he couldn’t understand what his friends liked about him. But he knew, from all of the praise about Bobby D, there had to be something. So, he listened to them over and over and over again and then realized that he kept playing them because he could not stop listening. He fell in love.

The story near mirrors my experience, from many years ago, with Springbank 15yo. It tasted like no whisky I’d had before and no whisky I wanted to have ever again. Yet EVERYBODY LOVED this whisky. There had to be something to it. I had to come back to it over and over again. It took me about 650 ml of my 750 ml bottle to fall in love. Now, it’s a staple bottle on my shelf (along side many other springers)! The moral is that it may not be the whisky that’s “bad” but our nose or palate that’s not ready for what it has to offer.

On the nose – Flinty soil, coastal hay/grass and a good touch of tinned pineapple and fresh orange juice.

Smoked & oily whitefish – salty stuff!

Peat smoke and burning brush (so well integrated).

Apple juice and mulling spices… a bit waxy in scent as well.

A fun mix that can take a bit to get used to but all-in-all thoroughly enjoyable.

On the mouth – This smacks of doused campfires and morning orange juice.

Candy/chalky wafers (yes, the Necco type).

Very sweet with notes of dried fruits (dates, mostly).

Even mouthfeel with both a juicy and tannic quality.

Browned lemons, grilled lemons and a bit of the fishiness I got on the nose.

Turnips and freshly paved roads.

Finish – A slightly winey finish, tannic, long and notes of burnt wood.

In sum – First & foremost, I threw a lot of scents and tasting notes out there for this one but I must try to express that on the whole; as a summation of all that’s going on here, this is uniquely “Springbank”.  Springbank is thoroughly unique and pretty damn unmistakable.  This is a good thing!  I’d enjoy this one as often as you could and keep it on your shelf – I do!