Tag Archives: Mango

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, All You Need Is Love, An everyday dram, Arran, Autumn

The Arran “Westie” – Icons of Arran III

Islands Region – 46%ABV – £41 – Limited to 6,000 bottles – not available in US stores.

I’m more of a cat man, really.  There’s something about dogs that I just can’t get behind.

Is it the drooling?  The constant need for attention?  The messy clean-ups of poop and pee-pee?  Wait a sec, sounds more like I’m describing one of my girls when they were infants (and I sort of like them…).

I do like dogs, please don’t get me wrong.  Perhaps it’s more a love for cats and NOT for dogs.  A good cat will hop upon your lap and purr away whilst you do whatever; watch TV, sip on a malt, work on your computer.  S/he’ll also not give a crap if you and the family need to go on vacation for a few days.  Just put out some fresh water and food and make sure there’s some clean kitty litter and poof, you’re on your way.

I can not argue, however, with Mr. James MacTaggart for choosing his dog Ruaraidh (pronounced Roo-Ree) as one of the icons of Arran; especially if I’ll be meeting them both this August!

The man loves his dog.  I can respect that.  I love Arran whiskies.  It’s a win-win.

If it were me however, the name of my Icon would be dedicated to my now passed cat: Asswípé (pronounced ass-we-pay, folks!).  To the left is a mock up of what the packaging would look like.

If you don’t know how to pronounce his name, calling the whisky “The Asswípé” might be taken as just plain rude.  I think I’d call it “Meow Malt”

So, what is the Arran “Westie”?  It’s a marriage of 22 ex-oloroso sherry refill casks bottled at 46%ABV and like ALL Arran whiskies, non-chill filtered and with no caramel coloring.

On the nose – Immediately fruity with sour cherries and sugared mango.

Crushed walnuts, shell and all.

Back to the fruits: pineapple, tangerine and watermelon pith.

Very sweet nose.

This is a fun one to jam your schnoz in to.

Spongey and orangey angel food cake as well as some sort of waxy saltiness to it.

On the mouth – Great mouthwatering entry that’s both warming and puckeringly sweet.

The perfect mixture that is sharp cheddar and dried apricots.

Incredibly malty and full of vanilla and caramels.

I keep picturing in my head a bowl full of vanilla bean ice cream with melted caramel – perhaps even some banana.

Maybe it’s in my head but I totally want banana splits right now.

Finish – Malty, waxy medium length.

In sum – A great example of how good Arran can be, even when they veer a bit from their house style (or what I envision their house style to be).  A solid any day/any time whisky but might work nice as a woodsy morning malt – wake up, get out of the camping tent, smell the fresh mountain air and pour a dram with your camping pals.  Start your morning right.

A big thank you goes out to Andy H for the sample!

Del Maguey, Kosher spirits, Let's celebrate!, Mezcal, Springtime, Takin' It Easy

Del Maguey Single Village “Tobala” Mezcal

Oaxaca, Mexico – 45%ABV – $113

WARNING & DISCLAIMER – For those who keep, this mezcal is not certified as “Kosher” or “Kosher for Passover” – I am no rabbi but I think, based on their meticulous process and the fact that this Del Maguey Mezcal is made of 100% Wild Mountain Maguey, a type of agave, that this may be “Kosher by Nature”.

Crystal clear Mexican goodness.  That is what I am about to review here.

I’ve been a tequila drinker for a good long time now.  I never suffered the college-tequila-shot-binging that turns most people off to one of Mexico’s national drinks.

We are, however, not discussing tequila today.  We’re discussing Mezcal.

What are the differences?

Spoken in broad terms, most tequilas are made from blue agave (at least the better ones).  Sometimes 100% blue agave, sometimes a mix of different agave varietals.  Tequila is also twice distilled.

Mezcal is made from Maguey Agave (of which there are many different types) and is usually distilled only once.

Maguey Tobala (Wild Mountain Variety)
Maguey Espadin, what with the sword-shaped leaves. Do not fall on one of these plants people!

The Maguey Tobala (or wild mountain agave) is different than the Maguey Espadin (which has leaves shaped like long swords). It is smaller and broader leafed. It takes about eight Tobala hearts (the part of the plant that gets mashed, liquified and distilled) to equal one heart from the more commonly propagated and cultivated Maguey.

“Yeah but, how does it differ in taste?”

Tequila is known to be sweet and fruity.  Mezcal is similar but has an intense smokiness that one might equate to the smokiness of an Islay Scotch whisky like an Ardbeg or Laphroaig.  Yeah, they can be that smoky!

On the nose — A tire shop after a recent shipment, burning rubber bouncy balls and smog.

Interesting that the label shows a line of traffic… this sort of smells like that.

Butter and rye seed.

Pulling my nose back a bit from the glass and I’m getting really nice notes of vanilla.

Lying ‘neath those heavy-heavy traffic and rubbery/smoky scents I’m finding mint sprigs, fresh mango (heavily sugared mango, that is) and dandelion flowers.

On the mouth — Fruity and juicy tropical melons, a plastic fire and marjoram (?).

Such a smoky sweet tang to it… amazing really.  Cinnamon ribbon candy.

So oily, chewy & ooey…  I really can not stress how delicious this stuff is.

Finish — Cinnamon finish, long and really lovely.

In sum — This mezcal is made for those of us who love the peaty/smoky whiskies.  Smokiness aside, I find this mezcal to be a true treat.

I drink this on Passover because I can’t drink a grains based spirit but I also drink this on Passover because Passover is a time to celebrate and tonight, I’m celebrating.

To life, to family, to freedom.

Special thanks to Andrew of Liberty Bar in Seattle for introducing me to this gem.

Blind Tastings, Springtime, Summertime, Takin' It Easy

A blind-ish tasting of some crazy mixed up old juice…

A funny thing happened on the way to “GlenHatton”…

“Wait, what’s GlenHatton?”

“GlenHatton” is a something I’ve been brewing for some time now.  I’ve been pouring my “Dregs”* into a single bottle, about 26 whiskies in all, and reached a point were it seemed to smell & taste… interesting.  So, being taught that “sharing is caring” I reached out to some people via the JSMWS Facebook page to see if they wanted to try it.  I received more responses than I could shake a stick at and could only dole out about 6 samples.  There will be a a series of “GlenHatton” posts in the very near future…  “Watch this space”

*(“Dregs” Noun.  Meaning in the Whisky World: The final bits of many whisky bottles or samples that where there simply was not enough left to drink as a dram, or barely more than a few drops.)

So, one of the lucky 6 recipients of my GlenHatton Dregs whisky asked if I were interesting in tasting an all-malt blend that he had been working on (Sssseeeeee??? sharing IS caring!!).  I, of course, said ‘hell yeah!’ and asked what was in the blend.  He could not tell me.  All he could say was that this was some OLD juice!  He did give some names and a range of dates: 60’s Balvenie, 30’s Mortlach, some old-ass LittleMill and a few others.  Again, the information was as limited as could be.  That’s cool.  I figured it’d be a fun experiment regardless…

Thanks to EM for the sample!

On the nose — Fruity and dusty at the same time.

A high sweet corn-like note is uncovered after the first sip and is off-set by a slight touch of smoke.

Light berry jam (think a mix of raspberry and strawberry) and a whiff of wood.

Jasmine tea (a lovely note).

Light sweet butter.  A touch of coconut and a bit of pineapple.

On the mouth — ***Incredibly thick*** and seemingly growing in volume  (perhaps my mouth is watering?).  Flat soda.

I’m guessed the ABV was pretty low, no more than 43% (EM corrected me, its just over 44%ABV).

Toasted cream pastries and warmed woody bits.

Spicy and spiced notes of fresh and juicy melon.

Mango, sticky rice and coconut milk (Thai mango sticky rice).

Finish — Fruity & tropical – filled with mango and persimmons.  Lasting fruitiness.

In sum — A cool mix of fruits, wood, smoke (however slight) and Asian-style goodness.  All-in-all a nicely balanced, enjoyable whisky.  Perhaps the best thing about this whisky was the mango sticky rice note (I am SO HUNGRY right now).

All You Need Is Love, An everyday dram, Springtime, Suntory - Hakushu

Suntory Hakushu 12yo – G-d Bless you!

Japan – 43%ABV – £46 | €54

“Hakushu!”

“G-d bless” said a kind yet unknowing man.  We’ll call him… “Kevin”.  He thought I sneezed when I said Hakushu.  No, that was not a sneeze.  It was me yelling out the name of a Suntory whisky that, with hope, will be available in America this year.

“Kevin” is your typical American who, when it comes to whisk(e)y only thinks of Johnnie Walker, Jack Daniels, Dewars or Southern Comfort… he has never heard of Japanese whisky.  In fact, if you told him that the Japanese produced whisky, he’d most likely remark, “Japanese whisky?!  I never knew the Japanese made Scotch!!”

Just the facts ma’am —

Only the Scots make Scotch.  Simple fact.  Scotch is a whisky.  Bourbon is a whiskey.  Rye whiskey is, you guessed is a whiskey.  And Japanese whisky is… whisky!  Silly do-do American (sorry to all of my compatriots!)!!

What’s my point here?  Oh yeah, I love Japanese whisky and I find it really frustrating that there is so little of it readily available in the US.  The good news, as I mentioned above, is that Suntory will be bringing Hakushu to the states very soon.  Currently we can enjoy Hibiki (a blended Japanese whisky; the 21yo made my Best Whisky tasted in 2010 award) and Yamazki which is a single malt.  Both are Suntory whiskies.

Hopefully, sometime soon, we’ll get Nikka whisky here in the US.  Until then Suntory’s got our backs.

A special thanks goes out to Yoshi M for the generous sample!

On the nose — Initial reaction: fruity, spicy, grapey, floral, malty and a touch of smoke.

Let’s break it out a bit though… I think we have a case of which came first, the chicken or the omelet.

Many aspects fighting to the fore such as mango and green apple (predominantly).

The floweriness is lovely here too (a bit of jasmine).

This is honeyed as well with a bit of vanilla.

Spiced gum drops.

Lemongrass and black raisins.

Nice and malty.

On the mouth — Much like the nose except there’s a smoked & spiced nuttiness here.

Very malty, gobs of malt – smoked malt (I must stress – this is not an overly smokey whisky).

Fruits abound (they’re all up in this shit)!

Think crabapples and green apple pie.

Smokey still though not overbearing… it’s balancing out the sweet and spice, right nice.

Finish — The finish is all on jasmine tea and spice.

In sum — A wonderfully balanced whisky that can and will hold it’s own against many Scotch whiskies.  This is perfect as an aperitif or as a mid-day dram.  I’m looking forward to this being available in the US.  It’s a keeper, an everyday dram for sure.