Tag Archives: Coffee

Amrut, Let's celebrate!

Amrut single cask bottled for WhiskyBase, first fill bourbon, cask # 3434

 

Amrut WhiskyBase ShopRegion – Bangalore, India – ABV – 62.8%

True story:

A handful of months back my company bottled a 5yo single cask of Amrut under our Single Cask Nation label (as of 4th Jan, 2016, we still have a handful bottles left, btw).

Around this time, a single cask of Amrut was bottled for the WhiskyBase shop out of the Netherlands.

Back in November 2015, Serge Valentin over at the wonderful whiskyfun.com reviewed 6 different Amruts. Both our bottling and the WhiskyBase bottling were amongst the reviews and we both captured the highest rating of 89 points!

As far as Serge’s reviews go, 89 points is pretty damn high. Not too often does Serge give a 90+ rating. We were chuffed and obviously the WhiskyBase chaps were, too.

If you’re new to whiskyfun.com, where have you been?! Go there now. Read, learn, have fun!

Anywho, just after Serge’s review, we and WhiskyBase chatted over the interwebs and agreed upon a bottle trade.

The end.

Review time — I hope they enjoyed the Single Cask Nation Amrut as much as I enjoyed theirs:

Amrut WhiskyBase ShopOn the nose — Loads of caramel and toffee. Quite nutty, too.  Caramel covered almonds. Yum!  Moscato soaked apricots.

This is quite heavy (and dark, too. Much darker than you would think for a 5yo ex-bourbon cask).  Boatloads of vanilla, Kahlua, and dulce de leche. Holy heck, this smells wonderful.

Water brings out some brighter elements such as pear and quince.

In the mouth — Much hotter in the mouth than it is on the nose. This needs a touch of water.

Just five drops of water tames this whisky.  Cheap Oolong tea (but in a great, familiar, and comforting way), big spice on the sides of the tongue. Great oily mouthfeel.

Amrut WhiskyBase ShopHints of chicory and cornus kousa fruit (I have a cornus kousa dogwood in my front yard).  More vanilla and a fair amount of roasted almond pieces.

Finish — An interesting turn of events with notes of mandarins and golden raisin. Long and spicy, too.

In sum — This is up there with some of my favorite Amruts. This one seems to be an atypical example of Amrut but it’s damn good. I will be nursing this bottle for years to come.

All You Need Is Love, Kavalan, Let's celebrate!, Summertime

Kavalan King Car Whisky – bottled at 46% ABV

Taiwan — 46% – 200ml sample (thanks to Ian Chang of Kavalan for the sample and patience with the post)

Last November I had the good opportunity to taste Kavalan King Car Whisky bottled at 40%ABV.  Kavalan is single malt whisky from Taiwan.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  What’s more, they’re producing some top notch whisky.

As excited as I was to taste this whisky for the first time, I have a strange prejudice against whiskies that are bottled at the minimum 40% ABV so I was a bit apprehensive.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  What’s more is this whisky is also now bottled at 46% and non-chill filtered.

Before we get to the tasting, I thought I should direct you to images of Kavalan’s beautiful faciliety.  Just surf the web (or, just look below) and you’ll find some truly stunning pictures of their distillery:

 

 

 

 

Picture above in the image on the right hand side is Ian Chang admiring the casks in his warehouse.  If I could, I’d bottle one of those casks myself.  I really am a fan of the Kavalan line.  Ok, enough daydreaming.  On to the tasting…

On the nose — Mouthwateringly fruity – think mangos and tangerine, bananas and honey dew melon.

Honey and sugared lemons.

Freshly ground coffee (just like with the 40%ABV version).

Lots of malt, a bit floral and a touch salty.

Here’s one that brings back memories from weekends at my grandparent’s house…Musty Afghans that have been stored in laminated oak cabinets (I’m referring to the blanket-type Afghans, not the people.  This is not a slur against the Afghani people or the Afghan Whigs).

On the mouth — Nice mouthful yet nowhere near as fruity and tropical as the nose lead me to believe.

Highly vegetal and more of the salt I detected earlier.

Leafy greens, cucumber sauce.

Unsweetened lemon chews (if that makes sense).

Finish — Short but with a bit of a lemony zing to it.

In sum —  The wonderfully fruity nose was very promising and got me in the mood for warmer times.  The salty, more vegetal flavor of this whisky took me a bit off guard which could be a good thing.  Yes, I think it was a good thing.  The finish was just a bit to short for me.  I wanted it to stay with me longer.  Maybe that was purposeful.  It just made me want to sniff and taste more!

Gal of Whisky Israel also reviewed this one recently and seemed to like it quite a bit.

Karen & Matt of Whisky For Everyone agrees, this is a fine whisky.

A World of Discovery, Cold Winter, Laphroaig, Rosebank, Summertime

A couple of SMWS single cask bottlings (and they could not be more opposite from one another)

Back in March I had the good opportunity to attend the Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza in NYC.  You might remember that post.  If not, here it is.  It was a fantastic event and I plan on attending two of the Fall Events: one in Boston, one in Chicago.  Details on the Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza Fall schedule to follow in the coming months.

The good folks at the SMWSA were kind enough to give me some samples of the whiskies they were pouring at the NYC event for review.  So, before I get to the actual reviews, I’ve got to say thank you to Aron S for the samples!

Today I’m reviewing sherried Laphroaig peat monster and a light little ditty from Rosebank.  Why am I reviewing two completely different whiskies in the same post?  Well, it is MY blog after all.  “I do what I want!”

Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, on to the review…

SMWS 29.88 – Laphroaig – Ex-Sherry 9yo 60.9% ABV

On the nose — It’s very easy to get caught up in the soot and ashes that are all over this nose…

However, getting past that, I found some great bread pudding notes.

After that it’s gets very sea-like…

with loads of fresh caught fish.

Nori wrapped brisket and olive brine.

Rusty pipe water.

On the mouth — Rusted iron frying pans soaking in a low-tide pool of sea water which is filled with flint stones and dying crabs, cracked shells and all.

I like this… sort of.

Honied ham sandwich slices and old brown lemons.

It all sound a bit too odd but, in context, it quite nice.

Chicoried coffee (like Luizzianne).

Salted caramels and chocolate covered toffee.

Finish — Full of coffee, chocolate and overcooked prunes.

A tad nutty as well.

All in all, it’s got a decent length.

In sum — Very much a whisky for specific moods.  I liken this one to a drink one should drink when they’re ‘pissed the *BLEEP* off’.  (to use the parlance of our times…).  A really, really odd duck but one that I imagine you’d like if you’re a fan of the Ardbeg Uggy.  Very complex and crazy stuff.

SMWS 25.55 – Rosebank – Ex-Bourbon 19yo 60.8% ABV

On the nose — A lightly fruited nose (think pear & pineapple) with hints of herbal teas.

White pepper and even some notes of sweet hay.

Milk chocolate and a touch of light caramel (nice notes I often find in Rosebanks).

Back to the fruits now (the same as before).

What amazes me is how easily, at 60.8%ABV, this one can be nosed.

You’d think this is a low ABV whisky.

Rose pedals and sugared & honeyed chamomile.

On the mouth –– Bright, effervescent and loaded with lemon fizz candies, over-sugared apple sauce.

Lemon, lemon, lemon, lemon, lemons.

Did I mention lemons?

How about… Lemons?

Oh, wait….Lemons?

More white pepper and now some white bread toast.

Finish — Juicyfruit gum (like, dead on!), more white pepper and sugarcane.

Lasting peppery finish.

In sum — A very one sided whisky but one that is so easily consumed.  Perfect as an aperitif, a mid day pick-me-up or a late summer relaxer.

An everyday dram, Kavalan, Summertime

Kavalan Single Malt Whisky – King Car Whisky

Taiwan – 40%ABV – 200ml sample (thanks to Ian Chang of Kavalan for the sample)

I first heard about Kavalan single malt whisky back in January when Luxist posted the details of a blind taste test with Charles Maclean as a taster:

“In a blind taste test organized as part of Scotland’s Burn’s Night festivities a Taiwanese Whisky shocked everyone by coming out as the clear winner over its Scottish and English rivals.

The contest took place in a hostelry north of Edinburgh and when the results were announced whisky connoisseur Charles MacLean exclaimed “Oh my God, is this an April Fools?” The scores tallied up with Taiwan’s Kavalan receiving 27.5 points out of a possible 40, with the next place (the premium Scottish brand Langs) scoring only 22 points.  The other competitors were Scotland’s King Robert (20 points), England’s St George (15.5 points), and Scotland’s Bruchladdich X4+3 (only 4.5 points out of the possible 40).

Kavalan comes from Taiwan’s first distillery, which was built by a firm from Banffshire, and uses Scottish malt in its production.”

This is the beauty of blind tasting.  Take away the label and all presumptions dissolve.

For the next four days, Gal of Whisky Israel and I will be sharing our thoughts on the Kavalan range.  While I’m not tasting these whiskies blindly, Gal and I will not be sharing our thoughts on these whiskies prior to our posting them.  Be sure to check out Gal’s notes on this whisky (a link to Gal’s review is listed below my notes).

On the nose – Light nose.

A touch grassy and very honied.

Hints of pears.

Coconut soup with all of the fixings but mainly some lime leaf.

Sugared hard candies.

On the mouth – Perfect mouthfeel – almost succulent.

Citrusy.

Fresh ground coffee.

Cooked sugar.

Finish – Sweet finish.

Medium length and traces of tropical fruits.

In sum – While not an overly complex whisky, it’s balanced quite nicely and dangerously drinkable.  Though not an everyday dram, I can picture myself reaching for this any day I’m looking for something light.  A nice summer dram.  Enjoy in warmer weather.

You can read Gal’s notes here.

I'd not drink this one if I were you..., Nikka

Nikka Yoichi 5 year old Single Cask #400862

Japan – 64%ABV –  $|£|€ ???

There are many great truths in the world.  Some are quite simple:  2+2=4, “I” comes before “E” except after “C” (with a few exceptions), kittens are really quite adorable.  Some truths are not so simple, but are truths nonetheless:  Chaos theory, String theory (yes, I know these are theories but there’s a certain amount of truthiness to them), your pee after a side of asparagus is going to smell really funky!

My whisky simple truth?  I love Japanese whiskies.  Arigato Japan.

My not so simple truth?  The fact that I have to tell you how much this whisky made me want to throw up in my mouth.  Just a little.

On the nose – I am instantly hit with notes of sour milk and peat.  I think the word “notes” is a bit too soft a word for what I am experiencing here.

I am not digging the sour milk note, I’m going to let this breath for 7 or 8 minutes…

Man, the acridity to the nose on this whisky is almost overwhelming.

Quite gamey and almost like rotting meat (am I going to drink this?  It’s quite the stink!).

Soft peat and molasses.

The milk is back but it from sour to sweeter than previously detected.

Out of the blue some very nice coffee notes, almost like a latte.  A touch of mocha.

With water it’s all on spirit and oak but, mostly, spirit.  Strange that water would increase the spirit quality and not cut it…

On the mouth – Amazingly hot and big toasted oak notes.  Toffee as well.

Must. Add. Water.

With water, it gets very sugary (sugar water).  Skim milk and biscuits.  Thin mouth feel.

This whisky needs a ton of time to open up.  After about 25 minutes (yes, I waited this long) the peat smoke evolves and almost seems to transform this whisky into a coffee-toffee treat (albeit a high octane moonshine infused coffee-toffee treat).

Finish – Long and warming.

In sum – There is *a lot* going on with this whisky but most of it I just didn’t like.  Those acrid and rotting notes I got just turned me off.  When would I enjoy this?  Maybe after it matured for another 10 – 15 years…

Special thanks goes out to Christopher of Whisky Wall for the sample.  To read Christopher’s review of this whisky, click here.