Tag Archives: Fruity

A World of Discovery, Cold Winter, Karuizawa

Karuizawa Cask #3603 from 1964 – a massive 48yo bottled at 57.7% ABV

February 18, 2013 Jewmalt

Japan — 57.7% ABV — 70cl — £8995 | $13929

I spent about a week in Mexico City. You know, work stuff as per usual.

Boy, was it hot down there! About 85 degrees; a nice dry heat. Quite a change from the mid 20 something degrees Fahrenheit and the 30+ inches of snow I had waiting for me at home.

While I was sad to say good-bye to Mexico, I was happy to come home again to the wife and chillins. Also waiting for me at home were three samples. One was a Bruichladdich from a Mr. LZ. Another sample was the new Balvenie 12yo Single Barrel from Mr. AW and, finally, a sample of this here Karuizawa from 1964 (cask 3603).

While I was excited to receive all three, ¡Holy frijoles, was I a happy boy to have received this historical Karuizawa sample! Very much an unexpected package!

At the time of bottling, this was the oldest Karuizawa to ever have been bottled and now I was going to get to taste and review it!

Before I go further, I must thank everyone from Master of Malt for thinking of me (again — remember the sample of 1953 Glenfarclas they sent to me? I do!). Also, a big thanks to Michal Kowalski of Wealth Solutions!

So last night I had made a Facebook status update telling people: “I’m going to have a 48 year old in my mouth tonight. Get your minds out of the gutter, I’m talking about whisky!”

The snark factor on Facebook seemed unusually high as an old school mate of mine (known as “the other Josh”) returned with this image:

After a few comments, David Hartogs (friend, member of Single Cask Nation and occasional guest poster. Note here and here) chimed in with: “What’s the verdict?”

That same old school mate, the other Josh, came back with:

Ah, the Facebook…

Funny schtuff aside, let’s taste some history (not Frank, the Karuizawa):

On the nose — Initially hot to the nostrils but from the go (after the heat) is bitter Mexican chocolate and clementines.

Heated butter, not burnt but heated with bits of dill weed swirling in the near butter boil.

Cracklin’ Oat Bran cereal and burnt sugar. Rotting stone fruits (peach juice turned bad… but in a good way).

Rubber soles on sneakers. Black Pu’er tea (like with the Glenmorangie Ealanta).

Apple sauce (slight note) and boiling berries. Noticeably fragrant mahogany furniture. Cherry cola.

With water the heat is nearly gone. Chocolate covered Werther’s and good, old-fashioned belt leather. Loose leaf paper (like a 5 subject notebook, not copy paper).

More mahogany and apple fritter grizzle. This has become a joy to nose.

On the mouth — Intensely hot on first sip. Almost absurdly hot; like a $2 pistol. Burning rubber, wooden window sills (with fresh, hot lacquer).

I better add a drop of water before my head catches fire.

With water she’s still hot, but fresh with mangoes and mango skin, tinned fruits, window sills (again) lacquer (again), lots of tropical fruits popping about — sort of crazy and not what I expected at all.

Sweet papaya (not the earthy/footy papaya), hints of guanabana and guava paste (??). Aerosol paint and paint caps. Beeswax across the front of the palate, too.

Not oily or viscous in any way.

Finish — Like the fast decay at the end of a song, bitter chocolates leave their echo upon the tongue. Slight touch of dill as well.

WW — Very waxy finish, flat cola, drying and lasting longer now with the water.

In sum — An intensely hot whisky that loves water more than I love whisky. Once given the water she desires, she simmers right down and opens up to tell you her life story.

A whisky experience unlike any other I’ve had to date. If you have the casheesh to buy a bottle, open said bottle and try it without the water. Then, add 3 drops or so to your dram.

The transformation from The Hulk into Dr. Robert Bruce Banner is astonishing.

You might also enjoy Oli’s review on dramming.com

Also, check out the review at guidscotchdrink.com

Serge’s reviews are always a joy to read, too!

An everyday dram, Cold Winter, Lost Spirits

American distillery Lost Spirits fourth cask of Leviathan I – heavily peated single malt whiskey

January 30, 2013 Jewmalt

California – 53% ABV – $50 (sadly now sold out but you can get Leviathan II for $50. You may want to hop on this as these casks render less than 200 bottles each).

Today will be the third exploration into a bit of an oddity amongst American whiskeys. What makes Lost Spirits Leviathan so unique? Though I’ve touched on that previously, let’s review it again:

Well, it’s a single malt to start. (Yes I, like everybody else’s uncle and their respective monkeys, read the NY Times article about the surge in the American single malts.) Beyond being a single malt whisky Leviathan is:

Peated to 110ppm (only Islay’s Bruichladdich can claim a higher peat ppm with their Octomore)
Matured in a late harvest Cabernet cask (few people have even heard of this style wine)
Single cask, cask strength, non-chill filtered, no colors added… the whole she-bang that whisk(e)y aficionados/anoraks/geeks look for in a whisk(e)y.

Maybe “oddity” is not the best descriptor. Maybe they’re a bit of a loner and a rebel. Yeah, that’s better.

You may have already read my review of Cask # 1 and/or Cask # 3. Here are my notes for Cask # 4:

On the nose – The nose is noticeably malt-forward but the maltiness has a deep, dank cellar-like malted barley quality.

Almost humid in scent.

As with Cask # 3, we’re getting some Horse Hindquarters Here (a triple H, different than HHH a la “Pump Up the Volume”).

Mezcal-like in my book with the burnt quality (not so much peaty but burning smoke).

Whoa. Grape “Bonkers” candies.

Heavy on the strawberry-jam-like sniffyness.

Dark millet cookies/biscuits minus any addition of cardamom powder.

On the mouth – Barrel char mixed with sweet red table wine.

Fleshy bits upon the peach pits (much like cask # 3).

I have to say that I’m very happy with the mouthfeel. Oily, tongue coating and rich.

Nowhere near as smokey in flavor as it is in scent. Very fruity, woody and winey with smoke around the edges reminding the dear drinker that yes, this is a peated whisky.

And finally, some over ripened mango right before some tannin-y dryness kicks in…

Finish – Lasting and now some sweetened spicy notes emerge and dance about on the center of the tongue.

In sum – What can I say about this whiskey? Well, it is very much a mood whiskey and a whiskey I could find myself in the mood for quite often.

While it is a big ‘ol peat monster it’s not trying to be Scotch whisky. It really is it’s own animal and stands alone (and quite tall) in the US Single Malt whisk(e)y arena.

All You Need Is Love, An everyday dram, Cragganmore, Takin' It Easy

21yo Old Malt Cask Cragganmore bottle for the Loch and K(e)y Society. A Juio’s exculsive.

December 19, 2012 Jewmalt

The bottle shown is not the actual bottle but, close enough. Click the picture to be brought to Julio’s site. Contact them for more info.

Speyside region – 52.2% ABV – $99 (for now) and sold exclusively through Julio’s in Westboro, MA.

Here we are again; reviewing a store exclusive single cask of whisky.

If you live in the Northeast of the US, chances are you’ve heard of or frequent Julio’s in Westboro, MA.

Store owner and Keeper of the Quaich, Ryan Maloney, is known for having perhaps the most whisky-centric stores in our neck of the woods. He also has his own whisky society called the Loch and K(e)y Society and bottles whisk(e)y for them on a very regular basis. Loch and K(e)y are the first and only group to ever have a cask of Balvenie bottled exclusively for them. (I had a taste once and it was a yummy, yummy thing).

I visited Julio’s a couple of weeks ago to pick up a bottle of George T Stagg and Ryan was nice enough to give me a taste of today’s whisky. This is a cask of Cragganmore that he personally chose to bottle.

I fell in love with it almost immediately and when he told me it was only $99, I had to get a bottle. Hey, it was my birthday. How could I not buy myself a bottle?

So today, I’m reviewing one of my birthday whiskies (happy birthday, again, to me):

On the nose – A charming start with whiffs of *faint* smoke and lavender.

CRAGGANMORE-21-OLD-MALT-CASK-JULIOS-2 Quite clean and bright with lightly spiced Bartlett pears. Applewood and unscented candle wax.

Heavenly, and decidedly malty.

I have to say, this nose is really, really good. Again, clean and fruity and very, very confident.

On the mouth – Loads of malted barley and very chewy.

Lively and oily, honied and spiced.

Still quite fruity with touches of light citrus.

CRAGGANMORE-21-OLD-MALT-CASK-JULIOS-4 Hints of salt but not brine and now some hints of Limon.

Getting back to what I said before, this is a very confident whisky. Drying and slightly smokey toward the finish.

Finish – A spritz of citrus, a dash of spice and some malt. It goes on for a good bit here.

In sum – The more I think about this one the more I agree with the thought in my head that this is not the most complex whisky in the world. (My apologies for the horrible, run-on-like, structure of the preceding sentence.)

However, it’s not simple at all. It’s easily understood and hides very little from you.

This is in my top ten list as one of the finer whiskies I’ve had this year from a rock-solid-satisfying-whisky standpoint. If there were ever a self-actualized whisky, it would be this one.

Inchgower, Weymss Malts

Weymss Malt “The Dunes.” A 29yo single cask of Inchgower.

December 11, 2012 Jewmalt

Highlands region – 46% ABV

Weymss is sort of a new bottler for me. Sure, I’ve heard of them but I’ve only had one of their releases until now. That one, btw, was the Smooth ~~Criminal~~ Gentleman I reviewed with the one and only Malt Impostor(s).

The Weymss line of single casks all seem to be diluted down to 46% ABV rather than bottled at cask strength. While I tend to be a fan of cask strength whiskies (especially with single cask), I can understand some of the reasons to bottling at a lower ABV. Primarily, and from the customer perspective, a lower ABV can make whisky a little more approachable to the person just getting into whisky.

So, let’s see what this single cask has to offer.

On the nose — Brittle flat bread.

Sort of like poppadum.

Lots of bright notes but all seemingly restrained: lemon wedges, salted green apples, citrus infused honey.

Jaffa cake bread (less the chocolate).

On the mouth — Whoa, this is some exotic stuff!

Buttered naan.

Candied butter (if there were ever such a thing).

A host of light Indian spices, sweet verging on savory but not savory at all.

Imagine a bake shop (breads and sweets) and a Nepalese restaurant were combined. That’d be this.

Exotic and foodie and surprisingly different than most whiskies out there.

Finish — A touch of spice and lavender (?). Decent length.

In sum — It is whiskies such as this one that makes me LOVE the single cask. This whisky is like a spotlight on the odd, unique and lovely. A whisky well worth your time and consideration. This is a mid-summer whisky, one reserved for drinking in the heat with some ice water on the side.

Balblair, Ledaig

Two new whiskies for the Gordon & Macphail’s Private Collection. A 19yo Ledaig and a 20yo Balblair

November 30, 2012 Jewmalt

Today, dear readers, you are going to get a two-for-one review session.

I’ve been reviewing whisky after whisky after whisky and have a whole host of notes at the ready. However it’s been a little difficult finding the time to actually post my notes.

That said, seeing as I had a little window of time in which to post up a review, I thought I’d kill two ~~whiskies~~ birds with one ~~review~~ stone.

The two today, to me, are a couple of odd ducks. I’ve never had a finished Ledaig until now. The same goes with the Balblair I’m also reviewing today. Both are wine finished and part of the Gordon Macphail “Private Collection” range of whiskies. Furthermore, both are bottled at 45% ABV which is an unusual bottling strength given that 40%, 43%, 46% and cask strength tend to be the most common…

20yo Balblair finished in Crozes-Hermitage Wood – 45% ABV – $145

Some notes from Gordon & Macphail:

Private Collection Balblair Distillery Crozes-Hermitage Wood Finish was distilled in 1991 and bottled in 2012 and again finished for 40 months from casks from the northern Rhône region of France.

On the nose – Very heavy with the wine influence on this one. It smells of tannins and Acid brand cigars (herbed, herbal, perfumed, perfumal? Nah, just perfumed).

Wow, chili peppers and… salted avocado (???).

Some fruits are hiding behind the winey scents.

Still more, we have some damp, dank sweetness swirling about the glass. A oddly interesting nose.

There seems to be a bit of a fight going on with the scents here.

On the mouth – Similar to what I got on the nose. The chili pepper zing hits the side of my tongue. Mouth begins to water.

Cranberry relish and other tart fruit relishes. Lots of red fruit and an interesting mouthfeel.

There’s a wet-like viscosity that is drying my tongue. It doesn’t make sense but, it’s happening.

Cigars again.

Finish – Long, drying and filled with red fruits.

In sum – Totally NOT what I look for in a Balblair. While it’s not *my* bag but I can see folks loving this one.

If you like your whiskies with a heavy wine influence, look no further. This does a good job highlighting that aspect while still retaining it’s whiski-ness.

19yo Ledaig finished in St. Joseph Wood – 45% ABV – $95

Some notes from Gordon & Macphail:

The expression from Ledaig Distillery was distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2012 and finished in St Joseph casks for 40 months.

On the nose – What’s to be expected from a nice, older Ledaig: Soft peat and nice fruits.

Apple lollipops, even apple schnapps.

Spiced gum drops, allspice. Lots of various candied scents.

A bit of a mishmash and focused on the fruity elements but really nice smelling overall.

On the mouth – Here’s where is begins to get real!

Very wine forward but oh, so pleasantly so (red fruits, black pepper and just a drop of fresh cement)!

A little woody but not in a bad way at all. It helps add in some wood spice elements.

A touch of wet cardboard (I often get this in whiskies where the cut of the distillate has a fair amount of tails. Heck, I get this a lot in most Ledaigs/Tobermorys).

Great mouthfeel.

Finish – Drying with threads of peat throughout. Pretty gosh darned long…

In sum – A very interesting whisky. I enjoyed it thoroughly. While the nose seemed a bit too focused, it really drew me in to taste and this whisky shines in flavor. A even keeled finish with decent length.

I could enjoy this repeatedly.

Thanks to CR for the official samples!!

Jewmalt Whisky Reviews