Tag Archives: Fruity

A World of Discovery, Balblair, Cold Winter, Let's celebrate!

Crazy good Balblair from 1993, matured in a first fill sherry puncheon, bottled by Gordon MacPhail

 

Region – Speyside – ABV – 53.4% ABV – Cask 1962 – First Fill Sherry Puncheon – This was around $150

Gordon MacPhail 1993 Balblair first fill sherry puncheon cask 1962It wasn’t long ago that I had a chance to sit down with my good friend Jonathan Bray to review this Balblair.

Actually, yes, it was quite some time ago…. back in May/June based on my tasting notes and the published date of Jonathan’s review. Ugh.

♬ Ti-i-i-ime is not on my side, no it isn’t! ♬ Where does the time go?!

My apologies to you, dear reader, and my apologies to Jonathan, for not getting this review up sooner.

Gordon MacPhail 1993 Balblair first fill sherry puncheon cask 1962On the nose — A host of notes you’d come to expect from a heavily sherried whisky: pickled walnuts, cherry pits, German brown bread, cola syrup, and dark bitter chocolate.

What you’d not expect (or maybe you would) is a quite present phenolic component giving off notes of a fireworks finale, burning cardboard, and what I can only assume is the scent of the Heaven’s Gate cult compound living quarters. They kept quite clean, as I understand.  You know, before the end…

Gordon MacPhail 1993 Balblair first fill sherry puncheon cask 1962A-a-a-a-a-nyway, I’m also detecting sulphured figs and dried papaya, too.

In the mouth — Chewy, unctuous, moreish, dare I say massive.

Tasting notes aside, my initial reaction is “damn, this is good tasting juice!”

Gordon MacPhail 1993 Balblair first fill sherry puncheon cask 1962Deep and dark fruits (insert Landry list here) which is countered by Balblair’s natural tropical fruit notes but they’re dried (more papaya, candied medjool dates, black currant, and interestingly some raw coconut flesh).

This is near flawless on the palate.

Finish — Perfectly timed tannins, sweet Thai chili sauce, decent length

In sum — While the nose presented some slightly off/sulphuric notes, the palate delivered in a way that few heavily sherried whiskies do. Stunning delivery of flavors and a finish that makes you want to sip more. Without getting into too much detail, the addition of water turns this into a vorpal +4 whisky of drinking. You basically roll a natural 20 on a d20 when adding water and the fruits just multiply.

Oy, Oi, Oy, this is a cracking good dram and if you can still find a bottle, you could consider yourself *very* lucky.  Not convinced?  Be sure to check out Jonathan’s review of this gem.

Glenrothes, Glenrothes, Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar dram # 20 – Weymss Malts “Aromatic Orange Tobacco,” Glenrothes 25yo, Cask # 4250

 

Region – Speyside – ABV – 46%

Today we’re tasting the second Glenrothes single cask in the 2015 Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar bottled by Weymss Malts.  This one is a 25yo that was matured in a sherry butt.  The previous one, “Kumquat Cluster,” was a 22yo also matured in a sherry butt.

These guys seem to like big butts.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

No, not that kind of butt!  This kind (the one on the left, that is. The one on the right is a bourbon barrel):

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

Being that the “Kumquat Cluster” was perhaps the first Glenrothes I’ve truly enjoyed, I wonder if this big butt whisky will procure a similar result. Let us see…

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015On the nose — Very fragrant, almost incense like.

Damp sandalwood, indiscernible cooking spices, walk-in humidor, loads and loads of CT Shade Grown cigar wrappers, whisky spilt on a leather bound book, used books, cedar oil. I could live in this glass right now.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015In the mouth — Orange oil, new suede, tinned fruits, orange juice/soy sauce mix for basting, warm honey, hints of clove.

Lightly oily mouthfeel.

Finish — Slightly spicy and fairly long with lasting citrus and used books.

In sum — These guys are going to turn me into an old-Glenrothes junkie!  Drop dead gorgeous whisky.

Miltonduff, Miltonduff, Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar dram # 19 – Samaroli 1995 Miltonduff(man), cask # 2848

 

Region – Speyside – ABV – 45%

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On the nose — Very fresh, fruity, and jammy.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015A whiff of peat lurks beneath like a boat carrying passengers such as anise pizzelle cookies, gooseberries, acrylic varnish, fresh mustard seeds, and clementine compote with honey along the River Styx (I hope they have money for the boatman!).

In the mouth — Starts off quiet but as the mouthfeel begins to thicken, the clementine-like citrus note I got on the nose presents itself.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015Celery stalks, celery salt, and jicama, like being thrown through the CERN particle collider, smash into notes of kumquat, paraffin wax, white pepper, and asian pear.

Finish — Short to medium. Hints of white pepper and *maybe* a little more citrus.

In sum — A great whisky that you can either just sit and enjoy or pick apart. On a day like today, I wish I had more of this so I could just sit and relax!!

Craigellachie, Craigellachie, Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar dram # 8 – Weymss Malts “Dark Treacle Fondant” Craigellachie 12yo, Cask # 900095

 

Region – Speyside – 46% ABV

Having one of the more difficult distillery names to pronounce, Craigellachie is a massive distillery located in the distillery-rich Speyside region of Scotland –  just a few miles from the Aberlour distillery.

This powerhouse produces 4.1 million litres of spirit per year (!!). After having toured the distillery this past May, I was surprised to see more references to the Dewars blend throughout the distillery as opposed to references to the actual distillery name itself. Then I reminded myself that the purpose of this production house was not for Single Malt (even though they just released some age statement whiskies – 13, 17, 19 & 23 years old). No, the purpose of Craigellachie is to provide malt whisky for your various Dewars products.

If you ever find yourself in Scotland, be sure to check out the Craigellachie distillery. Its massive production house factory-like feel acts as a great counterpoint to more classic style distilleries such as GlenDronach, Aberlour, Glenmorangie and many others.  After your visit to the distillery, head over to the Craigellachie Hotel for a dram or four.

IMG_6528On Advent Calendar Day # 8, we’ve got another malt bottled by Weymss Malts. And wouldn’t you know it? It’s a Craigellachie.

This one is titled “Dark Treacle Fondant.” Have a think on that name while we pour the whisky into our glasses.

One the nose — Oh, that name is so suggestive. It smells of cake fondant!  There’s even this waxy-like texture in the nose and the scents start off with dark chocolate and toasted brazil nuts.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015I am then hit by the smell of sweet barbecue sauce on the grill on the day you re-open your outside cooking apparatus.  Hints of licorice and hazelnut nougut rubbed with confectioners sugar.

In the mouth — Highly decedent stuff. While the mouthfeel is not super thick, the flavors sure are.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015Let the laundry list begin: Molasses,  Nutella, dark chocolate, rubber tires, burnt applesauce, old-school lickable stamps (the sticky side), fruit cake, candied orange peels, cloves, on and on, and on and on, and on and on (was that last bit grammatically correct? Was any of this grammatically correct?)

A little spice at the back of the throat: tell-tale sign of sherry butt matured whisky.

Finish — Really just a fading version o the favors I go on the palate.

In sum — If you like your sherried whiskies, the one would be right up your alley. It ticks all the boxes. The more I drink Craigellachie, the more I like it.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2015, Weymss Malts, Weymss Malts

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar dram # 4 – Wemyss Malts “Velvet Fig” blended malt Scotch whisky

 

Region – a blend of regions mayhaps – 46% ABV

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarHere we are, day 4 of the Advent calendar, and 21 more days to go!

Today in our glasses we have a Wemyss Malts-malt called “Velvet Fig.”

Aside from Wemyss Malts creating cracker after cracker, they come up with some inventive names to describe the whiskies they bottle.  “Velvet Fig” tells me that this dram should be soft, silky, perhaps a little sexy, rich, and comforting.

Bottled at 46%, it should be very approachable, too. While I generally stand by the motto of “Go Cask Strength or Go Home,” I will abide a minimum of 46% ABV. It’s at 46% ABV where you defo do not need to chill-filter the whisky and there is no artificial caramel coloring (or colouring, depending on where you hail from).

Let’s see how sexy-soft-silky-rich this whisky is…

On the nose — Ah, younger sherried whisky!  Reminiscent of a younger Glenfarclas bottling I’ve had.  Not very soft but wonderfully rich.

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarRum cured raisins, Nürnberger Lebkuchen, crushed cherries soaking in grappa, a hint of peat around the edges (perhaps my mind’s playing tricks on me), recently extinguished apple pie scented candle.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, spice, and everything nice.

In the mouth —Here’s where the velvet comes in. This whisky slides on your tongue like warm walnut oil slides across a teflon coated pan.

Scotch Whisky Advent CalendarWhile the flavors do take a moment to kick in, when they do, we’re presented with: fig preserves meets navy style rum meets milk chocolate bars filled with raises and filberts.

Brown sugar toaster tarts covered in brown sugar frosting leads into a softening finish…

Finish —  This ends just as softly as it began on the palate. Short and quiet yet the flavors and scents we experienced bring you in for more.

In sum —  Not a bad little dram. I would have liked a little more of a finish but I could see myself just having some much needed me time with a glass of this whisky.  When the kids have gone to bed, pour this one, open your favorite book and just relax…