Tag Archives: Nutty

Arran

Arran Malt finished in a Sauternes Cask

Islands region – 50%ABV – £37 | €44

Tasting Arran after Arran after Arran after Arran after Arran after Arran, etc… has been lots of fun but I’m no where near done!  For a company that’s only 15yrs old, they’ve had a lot of different bottlings.

While I don’t speak German, just looking at the pictures on this Arran collector’s website, shows me just how many whiskies this distillery has put out!  Check it out here.

Today I’m going delve quickly into something Arran does quite a bit of – special cask finishes.

Currently, Arran has 5 different special cask finishes in their range: This one which is from a Sauternes cask, a Port cask, an Amarone cask, a Moscatel cask and then their 15th year anniversary whisky, an Amontillado Sherry cask finish.

Sauternes is a dessert wine and the first dessert wine I ever had was Sauternes.  When it comes to whiskies, I enjoy various wine finished casks.  It’s always a treat to try new ones out.  Let’s see what this one offers us:

On the nose — Quite unlike some of the other Sauternes finishes whiskies I’ve had.

Spent matches.

Very grassy and notes of soured milk.

Lemon zest and walnuts.

Dandelion jelly & Crab apple jelly.

Apricot in the distance.

The taste of unripened pears which is offset but something meaty in here.

Man, this is an odd one!

Salted biscuits.

On the mouth — Like a mirror of all I discovered on the nose.

Additional notes of apple pie crust.

Quite the viscous fluid!

Red bitter berries.

Baked apples wwwaaaayyyy in the distance.

Abundant salt… Better yet, salty tomato juice.

Finish — Moves on to more nuts – salted cashews.  Very long.

In sum — Complex and balanced but not up my alley.  Warming and with just the right mouthfeel but the meatiness of this one was just too much (for me).  Some will LOVE this one.  I respect it (really, a well constructed whisky), I don’t love it.

Special thanks goes out to Andy Hogan for the sample!

A World of Discovery, Balvenie, Let's celebrate!

Balvenie Portwood 21yr & 21yr Duty-Free – a side by side tasting.

Speyside region — 43% ABV (standard bottling) & 47.6% (duty free only bottling) – SB: $125 | £75 | €88 – DFO: £69 | €81

It’s no secret my love for The Balvenie runs deep.  Their whiskies can be delicate, complex, bold, intriguing, thick and rich, light and peppery, etc…  However, what you can always count on are the “classic honeyed Balvenie notes”.  Unmistakable.

You can find all of my Balvenie reviews here.

A while back Sam Simmons gave me a sample of The Balvenie 21yr Portwood Duty Free expression which is both non-chill filtered and has a higher ABV (47.6% as opposed to the standard 43% — the 43% being chill filtered, by the way).

Sam, thanks again!

I’ve been holding off on posting my thoughts on that whisky as I had not yet posted my thoughts on the standard 43% ABV Balvenie Portwood.  I now have some of that 21yr Portwood.

A big thanks goes out to Andrew Weir for that sample!

There is something so rewarding about The Balvenie Portwood.  Come on folks, this is expensive stuff.  Not an everyday drinker.  You break it out for that special, joyous occasion; or perhaps you buy it for a loved one or your boss.  So, to taste two different Portwood whiskies in one sitting… Man, I felt like I was treating myself to a world class massage — my happy ending being The Balvenie x 2!

Balvenie, me love you long time!

Time to share the experience:

On the nose 43% — Classic honeyed Balvenie nose with a good deal of black pepper notes.  Something astringent here; perhaps a touch of witchhazel.  Black grapes.  Honey peppercorn salad dressing.  Poached pear and a touch of green apple.  Oranges.  A tad salty.

On the nose 47.6% Duty Free — Somehow, even with the higher ABV, the nose is softer here.  Much like the off the shelf stuff but with added elements of salted toffee.  Not as peppery as the standard stuff.

On the mouth 43% — Sweet blessed Benjamin, that’s good!  Big grapes.  A good deal of pepper & bite.  Hot pepper and honey.  There’s a creaminess to this whisky that somehow offsets all of the spicy bits I’m getting here.  Cool.

On the Mouth 47.6% Duty Free — A world of difference in the mouth feel.  Excessively oily.  And, though I really don’t like to use this as a descriptor, Sssssmmmmooootttthhhh!  Buttery smooth.  It must be the non-chill filtering – leaving in all of those great fatty acids! Earthier in flavor, almost mushroomy but still very sweet with the grapes and the “hey-hey and the pretty lady!!” (sorry, my inner Jerry Lewis came out.  Yes, I have an inner Jerry Lewis.  You don’t??).

Deep red fruits – over ripe strawberry, strawberry & rhubarb compote.

G-d, I love this!

Finish 43% — Long with hints of hazelnuts and vanilla.

Finish 47.6% Duty Free — Much more nutty on the finish, lasting vanilla and more honey.

In sum — It’s amazing what 4.6% more alcohol and non-chill filtering can do!  I am not knocking the standard 43% 21yr Portwood – it’s a solid, kick-ass dram but, this duty-free stuff was on a whole other level – especially with the mouthfeel – ah’good G-d y’all!

Both are celebratory drams.  Go ahead, give yourself a happy ending and enjoy some Balvenie Portwood soon!

A World of Discovery, Karuizawa, Let's celebrate!

Karuizawa 32yr Single cask – 1977 – Cask number 4592

Japan – 60.7%ABV – full bottle is 70cl, my sample from Master of Malt was 3cl – $243 | £150 | €173

This is not available in US stores and not available in a full bottle from MoM anymore though, as of November 8th, 2010, you can still get a 3cl sample for $14 | £8.65 | €10 – I’d grab a sample while you can.

We in the United States of America are deprived.  Deprived and sheltered I tells ya!  When it comes to whisky, Japanese whisky that is, we in the US don’t have much to choose from.  Please do not misunderstand – I’m not discounting the Japanese whiskies we do have.  The Yamazaki 12yr and 18yr whiskies are fantastic.  So is the Hibiki 12yr blended whisky (to be reviewed soon).  We do not have, however, any Nikka whiskies like the cask strength beauty “Nikka Whisky from the Barrel” or any of their Yoichi whiskies like their vintage and younger single cask series, 10yr, 12yr, 15yr, 20yr, etc…

On top of this (and many, many other great ones out there), we do not have local access to any Karuizawa.  A crying shame.

These 1977 single cask Karuizawa bottles sold out from Master of Malt in about a day (update — these bottles sold out in 17 minutes!).  At £150 each, that’s impressive (if’n you ask me).  I had to get a sample – a mere taste of this stuff to see what I was missing.

Thankfully, the good folks at Master of Malt were kind enough to gift me a sample (todah rabah, gracias, danke, you rock).

Beyond the tasting notes I’ve read (I usually try not to read other people’s tasting notes prior to a review of a gifted sample as I do not want to be influenced in any way), I was intrigued by how the color of this whisky was described.  The folks at Master of Malt say “the whisky is tinged slightly green in colour, a product of the cask maturation.”  Let’s see if they’re right…

Color — Deep gold – no, green.  No… gold.  Perhaps the color of oloroso sherry but with a tricked-out iridescence to it.  Very cool.

On the nose – Big hot pokers up my big Jew nose – at 60.7% ABV, I shouldn’t expect much less.

Getting past this now…

Boiled red cherries and crushed sesame seeds.

Thick cut orange marmalade.

Sort of a meaty quality to it.

Swedish meatballs.

Deeply sweet and savory at the same time.

On the mouth – Not as hot as the nose but there’s a big sumo pepper fight going on in my mouth.

Light and bright in both flavor and feel then, a savoriness kicks in…

Roasted walnuts.

After the second sip, the mouth feel changes completely – this is some big league chewy stuff.

Unlit cigars with a side of Godiva chocolates containing ooey cherry and raspberry filling.

Finish – It’s all on bitter cherries and walnuts.

Long and pleasingly hot.

In sum – This is a G-d damn powerhouse of a whisky!  I’d say I only scratched the surface of its complexity.  Flavor-wise the balance was impeccable; everything worked.  It was so dead on with the palate but the nose was a bit hot for me.  While I wanted to add water to calm the nose down, I was a bit nervous to adversely affect the flavors & mouthfeel so I just manned up and dealt with the heat on the nose.  This is a contemplative dram, there’s no doubt about it.

Autumn, Glenrothes, Kosher Spirits (not for Passover), Springtime, Summertime, Takin' It Easy

Glenrothes – Alba Reserve

Speyside region – 43% ABV – $50 | £40 | €48

Kosher whiskies day two.

Another year, another whisky.  I’ve been hearing about the Glenrothes Alba Reserve for some time now.  Actually, I had it last year at WhiskyFest NYC.  However, it was one of the last whiskies of the evening and I have to say that after 25+ different whiskies it’s tough to tell what’s good and what’s not.  Heck, it can be tough to remember what whiskies you had!

Somehow, I’m guessing because I’m a Jew, I’ve had at least 20 people ask me if I’ve had the the Glenrothes Alba Reserve.  It is a kosher certified whisky (by the London Bet Din), matured in refill bourbon casks.  It is also a Double Gold winner at the recent 2010 San Francisco World Spirit Competition.

Kosher & award winning?  I guess I just had to try it.

I sort of like the Glenrothes packaging.  The bottle is often refereed to as being shaped like a hand-grenade.  There’s an odd sexiness to their bottles.

The Alba Reserve carries no age statement.

Let’s see how the fluid is:

On the nose – Initial whiff is that of plum brandy – slivovitz.

Damp wood, old wood.

Vanilla and saw dust (smoldering, smokey).

We’re not going to blow your mind here, just make you want to sip a wee bit.

On the mouth – Cadbury Fruit and nut bar minus the chocolate.

Slight citrus notes.

Watered down honey.

At 40%ABV, this is an easy drinker (upside).

However, it’s not the most challenging whisky (upside and downside).

Some toasted coconut.

Finish – Medium in length with clear vanilla and honey notes.

In sum – An easy everyday drinker.  Nothing super special about it but, that’s not a bad thing.  This may be a great whisky to give to the casual whisky drinker or as a good gateway whisky.

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Glenglassaugh, Let's celebrate!

Glenglassaugh 26yr Whisky – 46%ABV

Highland Region – 50%ABV – 750ml (or 700ml outside of the US) – $260 | £150 | €180

After a few days of tasting “spirit drinks”, it’s nice to get onto some actual whisky.  Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed the past three spirits I tasted but, to me, whisky is where it’s at.

Older Glenglassaugh whiskies are, well, old of course, but also very rare and therefore very expensive.  What we have here today, however, is a fairly old Glenglassaugh at a price that’s… not too bad (given the age and rarity of it).  Believe me, I understand $260 | £150 | €180 is A LOT of money for many people (myself included).

Let’s put the money out of our minds for a second and perhaps focus on the whisky itself.  As opposed to their 40yr (that review is forthcoming) and their 30yr expression, this whisky is NOT cask strength.  However, it’s still bottled at the fairly strong ABV of 46%.  Still acceptable, if you ask me (if it were 40%, I may have shuttered a bit but hey, that’s me).

This 26yr old whisky was distilled only 2 years before Glenglassaugh was mothballed back in 1986.  For more history on Glenglassaugh and it’s grand reopening back in 2008, you’ll find links at the bottom of this post to an interview I did with the distillery’s Managing Director, Stuart Nickerson.

Without any further ado, my review:

On the nose – Smells juicy and fruity (think sugared lemonwheels).

Brown paper lunch bags.

Oaky new humidor scent.

The more I nose it, the more prickly on the nose hairs it becomes.

Vanilla and caramels.

More oak but, not over oaked – extremely inviting.

Smoke deep in the background?  Could it be?

On the mouth – Oak and butterscotch.

Buttered cinnamon crumpets (my favorite breakfast treat!).

Such an wonderful balance, very well integrated.

Warmed nuts at a baseball game (on another type of  blog, this statement would mean something quite different).

The mouth feel is pleasant.  Not big and chewy like I prefer but nowhere near like holding water in the mouth.

Finish – Short and nutty with that brown paper bag note I detected in the nose emerging from the palate’s belfry.

In sum – Another celebratory whisky from Glenglassaugh.  Perfect for when the air starts to cool as summer rolls into autumn.  The bottle is both sexy and regal (and can be reused as a decanter).

For Jason of Guid Scotch Drink’s notes, click here.

I recently had the honor and good opportunity to interview Stuart Nickerson (Managing Director of the newly re-opened Glenglassaugh distillery).  If you’ve not yet had a chance to read it, you may want to do so right now. Part 1 & Part 2