Tag Archives: Honey

Balvenie, Takin' It Easy

Balvenie 17yo DoubleWood (not to be confused with the standard, 12yo version)

 

Speyside region – 43% ABV – $129

New to The Balvenie’s standard range is a 17yo whisky.

Before this launch, they had their 12yo Signature, 12yo DoubleWood, 15yo Single Barrel series (amazing series, people!) and a 21yo PortWood as their standard range.

There have been the one-off 17yo yearly releases such as the Madeira Cask, Islay Cask, Peated Cask, Sherry Wood, Rum Cask, etc…, etc…, etc…

What’s new this year is a now standard whisky: the 17yo DoubleWood.  Essentially, an older version of the 12yo.  At $40 (give or take) I’ve always found the 12yo DoubleWood to be one of the best buy whiskies out there.  With this one jumping nearly $90 in cost, let’s see what it does; what the differences are…

On the nose –  Kip Winger says she’s 17 but she don’t smell 17.

(Yes, I know that sounded a bit too off but, come on, you know who you’re reading folks!)

This juice has the youthful quality of light bright fruit upon first sniff (pears, which are slight, as well as green plums).

A touch of rain water and then some sherry notes pop in: dates, mainly, then a seemingly perfumed cola…

Nosing after a few sips and the wood starts to come through in a welcome way.

On the mouth – Packed full of light flavors:  Honey (“The” signature Balvenie character), light wood spice, white/yellow cherries.

Insanely approachable whisky.  Easy going.  Almost too easy.

Sugared breakfast cereal (thinking Alpha-Bits, to be sure).  Soft mouthfeel.

Not very viscous but again, easy.

Finish – Biscuits, buttered with honey and medium wood spice.

In sum – For my tastes, I think I like the 12yo DoubleWood over this 17yo.  Both are fine whiskies to be sure but I think the 12yo is a more challenging whisky and I’m one that likes to be challenged.

For those in the audience that is looking for what is quite possibly the easiest drinking whiskies I’ve had in a while, this baby is for you.

Special thanks to AW for the official sample!

Arran, Autumn, Let's celebrate!, Springtime

Arran’s devilish new limited release: The Devil’s Punch Bowl

 

Islands Region – 52.3%ABV – $129 – this stuff is selling out quickly – limited to 6,660 bottles.  Yeah, that’s right.  6,660 bottles.

If I were giving out packaging awards today, Arran’s Devil’s Punch Bowl would win it in a heart beat.  Hands down, this is some of the coolest packaging for a whisky in a *LONG* time.  And it’s not absurd awesome, just awesome-awesome.

Dude!:

And in the open position:

All up close and personal-like:

Even closer and even more personal:

Booga-booga!!

And here is the whisky make up (which, to be honest, is the most important part of the packaging):

Have you fallen in love yet?  Yes or no, here’s my review of the whisky:

On the nose — Classic Arran components:  Fresh apples (though brighter here compared to other Arran whiskies), salty (though slightly less salty than many Arran whiskies) and a touch pungent.

Quite bright, punchy and alive yet a touch buttery.

A strange thought comes to mind: Not sure why but this reminds me a bit of the Macallan 15yo Fine Oak (I rather like that one).  Hmm…

Now a touch of peat sneaks up on me.  Burnt things hither and thither; all natural-like and woody.

Burnt sugar over medjool dates (the sherry components start to come through).  Hint of cherry stones…  A solid whisky so far!

On the mouth — Pow!  Bam!  Kaboom! and other 60’s Batman punch and kick sounds.

Bright and sharp yet not at all hot.

Firm peaty backbone.

Grilled apples, salted.  More burnt sugar.  Honied yet oh, so peppery.

Peppered apple sauce.  A nice mouthfeel.

Finish — One of my favorite Arran characteristics: a good, long finish.  This one is peaty and peppery with a bit of honey and sugar.

In sum —  Well, not what I expected.  Granted, I didn’t know what to expect as I chose to not read reviews or learn too much about this whisky.

On the rare occasions when they do peated whiskies, Arran doesn’t peat much beyond 20ppm.  Knowing this, I guessed correctly that this would not be a peat monster.  I had heard some off-comments about this whisky in that people expected “more”.  Maybe some (due to the whisky name and packaging) expected a fire blast or peat monster.

Me?  I think it’s a well constructed whisky that packs a wallop.  It’s deliciously tasty, invigorating and of great quality.

Well done, Mr. MacTaggart, you devilish dude you!

Special thanks to the good folks at ImpEx for the ample sample!

***But, can I have your whisky? Please?!***
Autumn, Cold Winter, High West, Interviews, Takin' It Easy

An interview with David Perkins, the man behind High West Whiskey – part II of II

 

Video interview with David Perkins of High West – Part II of II: wherein David continues to take us through his new whiskey “Campfire” (my review of Campfire can be found beneath the videos) we discuss peat, blending and he then gives us a virtual tour of High West’s Distillery and award winning restaurant.

You can see Part I of this interview here.

I think the above intro basically tells all.  I hope you enjoy the balance of this interview as much as I enjoyed interviewing David:

And now the fourth and final video:

And finally, my review of High West’s Campfire whiskey – a blend of Bourbon, Rye whiskey and peated Scotch whisky:

High West Campfire – 46%ABV – $50

On the nose –  Spicy and bright nose. Hints of pine resin and toasted rye bread.  Brown spices and a touch of shoe leather.  Honey and chai.  Approachable/easy.  Joyful.

New charred-oak & subtle spice, jasmine & sandalwood.  Some citrus spice laced with just a hint of smoke as a backbone.

Given the name of the whiskey, not as much smoke on the nose as you’d expect.

On the mouth – Forceful attack with big spice upfront.  A nice mouthfeel.   Toast and blueberry jam (notes I love to find with heavier toasted barrels).

Nutmeg, cinnamon and some orange zest.  Floral with citrus spice, like a rye IPA.

Smoke all around the edges, like burning twigs mayhaps…

Wonderful toasty and vanilla spice (chai) on the sides of the tongue.

Finish – Long and spicy (with the spice staying toward the back of the tongue).

In sum — A warmer upper for sure.  This is a whiskey with a very “American” attitude however the addition of the Scotch whisky to the blend offers depth and dimension that many bourbons can’t provide.

Kudos to David Perkins for putting in some extra sweat equity in creating a truly different whisk(e)y experience.

Thanks, too, for the sample!

Cold Winter, Glen Moray, Need To Bundle Up

Glen Moray – 8yo Chenin Blanc, Distillery Only, Single Cask bottled at 60.7% ABV

Image shown is not of the actual bottle itself but shows you what the Glen Moray distillery bottlings look like.

Speyside region – 60.7%ABV – £60 (distillery only)

Many people in the states have not heard of Glen Moray or if they have, they only know of their 12yo whisky (a solid, solid whisky if you ask me).

Most people in the UK think of Glen Moray as the supermarket single malt.  A bargain malt, if you will.

My initial experience with Glen Moray was quite different…

It started with a chance purchase of a single cask expression.  While at the time I had not known much about the distillery, I was attracted to this single cask of Glen Moray as the whisky had spent its full 13 years of life in a new charred oak cask.  Sort of like a Scottish bourbon, I thought.

Yes, obviously, nothing like a bourbon being that the distillate is 100% malted barley but perhaps a bit like an American whiskey in that the maturation took place inside a new charred oak cask (a very un-Scotch whisky thing to do, mind you).  The cask choice intrigued me so I had to buy a bottle.

In four words: I fell in love.

After this my friend David B treated me to their standard 12yo and even at lower 40% ABV — I am usually an anti-40% ABV elitist-whisky-geek prick but often find myself enjoying the strength.  A difficult position to be in… perhaps I’m a mystery broken into a jigsaw puzzle, wrapped in a conundrum, hidden in a Chinese box, a riddle — I found it to be robust, well balanced and had an amazing mouthfeel.  Thanks again David, I am a convert.

Since then I have had my good share of Glen Moray whiskies.

During my last trip to Scotland I had the good chance to visit their amazing distillery which had, perhaps, one of the most beautiful distillery welcome centers (Iain, you’ve done a bang up job!) I had ever seen.

While at their distillery shop I had the chance to taste the following whisky: Glen Moray Chenin Blanc Distillery Only Single Cask bottled at 60.7% ABV.

At only 260 bottles and being a distillery only bottle… this stuff is like hens teeth!

On the nose — Earthy, pungent & sweet.  This is big and bold – a powerful smelling 8yo whisky.

Fresh cut (green) tubers come to mind as I sniff this whisky as do white cherries but, and perhaps more so, white raisins make quite an impression.

(I’m fairly positive that the preceding sentence was grammatically incorrect in some way.  Please forgive me.)

Golden birch, cinnamon sweetened fruit biscuits and the distinct smell of a burning cotton t-shirt.

On the mouth — Well, if I thought the nose was big and bold, it’s a veritable pussy cat compared to the attack of this whisky upon first sip.  Massive stuff!

It let’s you know that it’s 60.7% ABV.  It’s not hot, just *incredibly* forceful.

More (dark) birch beer, quite spicy and drying with touches of over cinnamoned french toast, maple sugar candies and honey reduction.

It’s almost like drinking hi-octane Chenin Blanc except that the malt content is quite obvious (yet so is the cask effect).

Finish — Very sweet and filled with boozy peaches.  Long too.  Let’s not forget that bit!

In sum —  Sweet and puckering stuff.  You might want to put on your big boy/girl boots before delving in!  A little bit goes a long way.  You’re going to want to spend time with this one.

Whether you choose to add water or not is up to you.  I decided not to but a little bit might help (as you’ll learn from the review over at guidscotchdrink.com and another great review from Matt and Karen at Whisky For Everyone.)

Special thanks goes out to IA for the sample – cheers!

A World of Discovery, Arran, Autumn

Arran Sassacaia Cask – Limited Edition Bottling

Islands region – 55%ABV – $90 | £43

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed and Arran (and G-d knows, I’ve reviewed quite a few Arran whiskies).  I’ve had a bottle of this Arran Sassacaia on my  shelf for a while and have been slowly, but surely, chipping away at it.

The first time I tried it was when I was in Scotland doing the JSMWS whisky tour with Jason Johnstone-Yellin and our two guests Meg & Mike.  Mike was the one that turned Jason onto the stuff and it was he, Mike, that turned me onto the stuff during a stop at the Craigellachie Hotel just outside of Elgin.

We put this Sassacaia cask whisky up against another distiller’s Sassacaia cask whisky and this Arran one blew the other one out of the water.  There was no real comparison.  This Arran is big and fresh and vibrant.  The other?  Not so much.  While I will not name the other whisky, I will tell you it was *not* the new Glenmorangie Artien – that whisky wasn’t even released when we did this side-by-side.

Here are the details on the Arran Sassacaia  Cask:

On the nose –  Like bathing your nose in a tub full of deep/dark tropical fruits (think passion fruit, persimmon, over-ripe cantaloupe and then a good bit of cherry which I know is not really tropical…).

A bit of a malty backbone.

Juicy juice grape juice (if there were a not so sugary version of it).

Some notes of rubber birthday ballons too.  That’s said in a very positive way.

It’s like a party in my nose.

A very vibrant smelling whisky.

On the mouth – Thick, deep and honied mouthfeel.

Noticeable notes of, you guessed, Sassicaia wine – cherries, cedar wood and even a bit of chocolate in there.

Cinnamon spice which quickly becomes drying.

A couple of sips later reveals an interesting hint (a tiny hint) of swimming pools on hot summer days.

Finish – Drying, long and filled with cherries and chewing tobacco.

In sum – Not a very Arran, Arran if you ask me.  Nice, well balanced and overall a very satisfying whisky.  However, I did not detect much of the Arran character that made me fall in love with their whiskies.  Not a complaint… it just makes me think about what percentage influence wood *really* has on whisky and what makes that percentage change from cask to cask.  This aside, when should you enjoy this one?  Well, I’d try to do it soon.  These bottles are hard to find!!

Big thanks goes out to Mike A for suggesting the whisky – big thanks goes out to Merwin’s for selling me their last bottle!