Tag Archives: marzipan

Cold Winter, Connemara, Need To Bundle Up

Connemara Turf Mor – Peated & Cask Strength Irish whiskey

Ireland – 58%ABV – $80 | £51 | €60 – soon to be released – 20,000 bottles total

A short time back I was asked by the good folks at Cooley Distillery (currently, the only independent AND Irish owned distillery in operation in Ireland) if I was interested in trying a whisky that was yet to be released and if I’d post my thoughts on it.

My initial thought upon seeing this email from them was, to quote Jeffery “The Dude” Lebowski, “Does the pope shit in the woods!?”

For those who’ve not yet seen The Big Lebowski — go and rent it ASAP!!  Or, watch this summation (a word to the wise – there are a few cuss words in this video…):

OK, back to the matter at hand – peated Irish whiskey.  So, what’s it like?  You’ll see below.  I’ve reviewed their standard Peated Cask Strength whiskey here.  Let’s see how this differs…

On the nose — Fishing rubbers, bouncy balls & rubber chickens… I think you get the idea – very rubbery.

Lemon peel & espresso.

Raw, uncooked rhubarb.

A wee bit of soy sauce.

On the mouth — Peaty yet not a smoke-bomb; earthy yet sweet; wet stones & flint yet grassy.

Immensely fruity — think citrus and over-tart purple plums (more tart, less plum).

All the bite you get in pickled ginger without the ginger.

Wicked mouthfeel – all of these flavors make your mouth water something fierce making the experience a nice creamy one.

Finish — Almond paste with the most minor hint of vanilla.  Tannic, hot and pretty lengthy.

In sum — I’m not going to lie — this whisky is not for everyone.  However, if you like the more medicinal/peaty/earthy whiskies – this will please you.  It’s a powerful whisky for sure – one for the colder season (smart of Cooley Distillery to release it in December).

Ardbeg

Macallan 19yr Single Cask – Bottled for the SMWSA – Cask number 24.110

Speyside region  – 750ml bottle – Go here to join the society & gain access to their bottles

This particular expression of Macallan came as part of a 4 pack “welcome to the club kid!” package from the good folks at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America.  This package also included 100ml bottles of the following: Linkwood, Highland Park (soon to be reviewed) and a Bowmore (soon to be reviewed).

This welcome pack also included a very cool SMWS lapel pin that one of my daughters promptly lost on me.  I’ll have to buy a new one.  Oh well, the joys of fatherhood!

Let move right onto the tasting shall we?

On the nose – Big fat sherry nose with a side of minty mojito.

Sharp vinegar notes.

Spiced pulled pork from back when I…

A) was not a vegetarian and…

B) did not keep kosher.

Then, on to fruit cakes and fig newtons.

Orange and gasoline.

Ah now, with water this sherry bomb comes to life with raisins and dates.

Some marzipan rears it’s head.

On the mouth – Soft chocolate notes from the get-go.

Sweet and salty with some underlying notes of over-steeped orange pekoe tea.

Not a chewy mouth feel but pleasant.

With water this dram turns into a piece of whisky bubblegum – it’s THAT chewy!

The flavors do not change however, they just round out and get very soft.

Finish – Lots of tobacco and chocolate bubble up and my mouth is left with a fizzy numbed feeling.

In sum – The SMWS Macallan 24.111, in my opinion, was better – This was a nice sherried whisky but not one that wowed me in any big way.  Very grapy/winey/fat sherry for me and, it’s just not what I seek out in a whisky.

This being said, I think fans of a sherry bomb would go ape-shite for this expression.

A World of Discovery, Autumn, Cold Winter, Eades

Eades Double Malt – Double Post – Speyside & Highland expressions

Moving forward with my vatted malts and blended whiskies series; moving on with the Eades Double Malts.  Last week I posted about their great vatted Islay expression.  I thought, seeing as these are “Double Malts” (the combination of two wine cask finished single malts into one expression) that I’d do a double post today – two different Eades Double Malt expressions.

So, what’s left in their line?  We’ve got a Double Malt Highland expression which is comprised of 50% Clynelish (a 10yr single malt finished in a Chateau LaFitte Bordeaux cask) and 50% Ben Nevis (another 10yr single malt finished in a Grenache Blanc Cask).  We also have their Speyside expression which is 70% Dufftown (a 12yr finished in Red Zinfandel) and 30% Mortlach (a 15yr beauty finished in a Callejo Tempranillo cask).

Special thanks goes out (again) to Pat of the Virginia Distilling Company for the samples!

Let’s start with the Highland Malt:

A Highland vatting of Clynelish & Ben Nevis – 46%ABV – 750ml – $70

On the nose — And odd yet interesting nose we have here…

Off the bat, notes of a wet cinder block.

Malt vinegar & chocolate.

Both vinegar & chocolate notes are slight – as if they were watered down in some way.

Buttermilk biscuits (malty, buttery).

Unripened pears.

Strong vanilla and oaky notes that, given the combination, are reminiscent of a bourbon (or the sweet result of a heavily charred barrel).

Soured milk (perhaps this is the vinegar note better realized?)

On the mouth — Very sweet with notes of english toffees.

Hot cinnamon on pears.

Nutmeg spice (back to that sweet bourbony feel).

Something sweet yet earthy in here.

Finish — Medium length.  Caramels, nicely salted.

In sum — Hmmm… perhaps, like the make-up, I’m a bit 50-50 on this one.

There’s a lot going on with the nose but once sipped on, the palate gets somewhat narrowed down (or funneled) into something a bit more focused.

It sounds like a nice thing but I was hoping for a little joyride like I was given with the nose on this one.

Now for the Speyside:

A Speyside vatting of Dufftown & Mortlach – 46%ABV – 750ml – $70

On the nose — Big, thick nose filled with dates and dark chocolates.

More dried fruits, juicy and nicely chewy (chewy like figs).

Salty and slightly smoked.

Stewed prunes and canned prunes.

Almonds via marzipan.

A dusty attic with no-longer-being-used furniture.

Very happy with this nose, thank you muchly.

On the mouth — Nice mouth feel.

The prunes regain the life they once had and turn back into plums.

That smoke creeps back.

My tongue gets licked back by light hints of leather and perhaps freshly dried tobacco leaf.

After becoming plums, said fruits then get distilled turning into a fairly hot slivovitz.

My mouth is now happy as well.

Finish — Medium length filled with melting chocolates.

In sum — A nice cold night dram.  Sit back and enjoy.

All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Macallan, Springtime, Takin' It Easy

Macallan 1987 Old Malt Cask 50% ABV

Speyside region – 50% ABV – 70cl (though my sample was 3cl) – $£€??  I can’t find this bottle anywhere online – if someone could let me know where to find one, please say so in the comments section because I want a bottle.  STAT.

My knowledge of The Macallan is quite limited there’s a reason why…

Firstly, The Macallan is one of those whiskies that you hear about when you are first getting into whiskies (this and Johnnie Walker Blue).  The impression you get is that it is the gold standard of whiskies.  My tasting of a recent 12yr expression proved otherwise for me.  Ok, so when I say recent, I mean about two years ago.  That 12yr expression seemed like a matchstick-infused-sherry-bomb with WAY too much wineyness to it.  I’ve had a couple other Macallans since (to be honest, I don’t remember what they were but I remember not liking them so much) and they were just not up my alley.

The times they are, becoming different…

Enter the Old Malt Cask 18yr 1987 expression.  I’m going to let the notes do the talking:

On the nose — Sharp sherried notes (the fruits thereof not the wine in-which), stewed carrots and fresh paint, drying nose, white grapes and chocolate, almond paste/marzipan.

On the mouth — Silken and delicious.  Holy crap.

The mouth feel is stupendous. Lots of big chocolate notes.

No overwiney sherry with this Macallan!! Some very nice fresh tobacco, heated butter, salad greens and raspberry (slight), spiced honey, fabulous — Ab-Fab.

Finish — Medium Long and endlessly chewy.

In sum — A lovely expression from start to finish.  Complex and contemplative as well as an everyday drinker.  This has restored my faith in the Macallan (again, my familiarity with The Macallan is quite limited).

I’ve heard their “Fine Oak” line is quite different from their standard 12, 18, etc… expressions but, I’ve yet to try that line.  I can tell you, however, this whisky will make you very happy.

Autumn, Cold Winter, Mortlach

Mortlach Sherry butt – a meat lovers whisky

Speyside Region – 58%ABV – 70cl bottle – €85 (could not find a UK source and at 70cl rather than 750ml, you’ll never find this in the US)

First off, a special thank you to OK for this sample!

About 21 years ago, at the ripe old age of 15, I started really getting into a band from England called the Smiths.

Morrissey, the amazingly flamboyant front man of the group, had a strong effect on me as well as my other friends around the time.  It was quite amazing really.  During a Smiths concert (or Morrissey concert, when he went solo), men and women, girls and boys would throw flowers onto the stage, run up there and hug and kiss Morrissey – like he was a modern-day gay Jesus or something.  While I never threw flowers or jumped on stage to hug and kiss him I did listen to his lyrics quite attentively.  They really stuck in and made an impact on me – Come on I was an impressionable 15yr kid!!

Well, it was the 1985 album, and the title track from it, “Meat is Murder“, which started me on my vegetarian kick.

I’ve been a vegetarian ever since.  While I’m not preaching my beliefs anymore, I still keep the lifestyle and feel quite healthy for it; 21 years later.

Tasting this next whisky really brought back memories for me!  You see, before I became an herbivore, I was quite the omnivore with serious, SERIOUS carnivorous leanings.  Steak, tongue, pastrami, fish, corned beef, chicken, turkey, venison… You name it, if it was made of meat, I would eat!

As mentioned in a previous post, I am only 3 years into tasting whiskies.  This one, the Mortlach Sherry butt (tee-hee) from the C&S Dram Collection, is quite new to me.  Not just this expression or brand of whisky but more the style.  As my friend Oli from Whisky Ratings calls it, it’s the Oxtail soup style of whisky.  Perfect for a vege-ma-tarian, right??  Let’s taste!

On the nose – Grandma Betty’s Passover Brisket, Beef Gravy, Fried Onions and potatoes (think home-fries at a Greek diner), daisies, dates & figs and turpentine – very drying nose

Palate — Tannic beyond belief! With water, french onion soup and a lot of what I got on the nosing.  A bit grassy and earthy (with the water only)

Finish — Long & meaty, still drying and then, after sometime (maybe a minute or so) I get a little bit of marzipan.

John Holmes

In sum – While I am amazed at what true artisans can accomplish with water, barley, a sherry butt and time, this puppy is not up my alley.  The flavors are all there.  They are just flavors I prefer not to drink.  Not because it’s so meaty and I’m a vegetarian.  I loved and miss the taste of meats I just would never drink my meat.