Tag Archives: Peat

PX Finished Kilchoman single cask – an Abbey Whisky Exclusive

 

Kilchoman-Abbey-Whisky-Exclusive-Cask-285-09-PX-finish-whisky-250Islay Region – 58.3% ABV – £79 (£66 ex. VAT, $106 for those of us in the US of A)

Here we have a Kilchoman distilled in 2009 that spent 4.5yrs in first fill bourbon then 4mos in a PX sherry cask.  Bottled at full cask strength, this cask rendered a total of only 270 bottles, all of which were bottled at 58.3% ABV.

Let the intro be short and the review come soon and the whisky be wonderfully delicious!

My wish is my command.

Kilchoman-Abbey-WhiskyOn the nose  What a lovely little mixture of peat smoked, chipotle infused eraser rubbings!  Drizzlings of smoked Molé sauce over grilled cayenne peppers and burnt Douglas fur needles.

Kilchoman-Abbey-WhiskyIt’s like Christmas is burning in Mexico, in a glass!  This is a Kilchoman for Cinco de Mayo.

Kilchoman-Abbey-WhiskyOn the mouth This is absolutely wild whisky. The peat-meets-sherry reminds me a bit of the Lost Spirits Leviathan (albeit a more tame version).  Lots of horse butt and damp farm barns here.

Incredibly sweet but thankfully not as forceful as most PX matured whisky (perhaps this is the difference between fully matured in PX and finished in PX?).

Kilchoman-Abbey-WhiskySalted licorice.  Actually, this is quite salty and anise-y.

Some of those savory pepper notes I got on the nose help to take me to the finish which is…

Finish Quite long and drying with growing salt and peppery notes along the side of the tongue.

In sum A not-very-Kilchoman-y Kilchoman but a wonderful experience nonetheless.  So good, in fact, I bought a bottle after receiving and reviewing this sample.  If you enjoy big and brash Islay whiskies, this’ll be up your alley.  Defo one to share with friends.  It’s a “Hey, you’ve got to get your tastes buds on this crazy-mo-fo!” sort of whisky.

Special thanks to one of the Sharpest guys in Scotland, Mike Sharples, for the sample!

Octomore Feis Ile 2014 bottling will blow your mind!!

 

Region – Islay – 69.5% ABV – Price?? – a whole bunch of ££ but you can find this bottle for even more ££ on various auction websites.

OCTOMORE-FEIS-ILE-2014

While I’ve found myself in bonnie Scotland many a time now, I have yet to get my rear-end over there during the Feis Ile festival that happens every year at the end of May.  Imagine nine days devoted to the malts of Islay, on Islay and each distillery releasing a special bottling for the festival.

Sounds like a wee Bit o’Honey Heaven.  Thankfully, my good friend Matt L ventures out there every year and was kind enough to grab me a few festival bottles.

While I wanted a bottle from each distillery A) bottles are often limited to one per person and B) I don’t want to overload Matt with all of my requests and C) if I spend TOO much money, my wife will give me a “what for” that I’d never forget or recover from.

I had to be really choosey about which bottles to get so some investigation was in order.  I found out that Bruichladdich’s Feis Ile bottling just so happened to be an Octomore.  Once I found out this little detail, I knew I had to get one of those.  However, what I did not know was that this was a quadruple distilled Octomore.

Quad-distilling the spirit kicked the ABV up to insane heights!  After 7 years in first fill oloroso casks, the ABV ended up at 69.5%!  Sweet Fancy Moses!!  Now I was even more excited.  Word on the street was it was so powerful it could bring a tear to a man’s eye.  Matt asked me, “are you sure you want me to get you a bottle?”

How could one *not* want to taste this juice after hearing of the hurt it could inflict on those that dare drink it?!

IMG_4888Thanks to Matt’s good help and to the over-seas shipping gods, I am now the owner of some of those most powerful whisky ever produced on Islay.  Peated to 167ppm, quadruple distilled, matured for 7 years in oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 69.5% ABV… let’s see how this young lady is (and if I survive her).

On the nose Well hello yourself, little lady!  She’s both embracingly sweet and warmingly peat in the same lil’ sniff.

6a00d8341c571453ef0133eef5da66970b-320wiShe is a bag of pork rinds in hand with plastic bag to boot.

A host of cut lemons and ground green peppercorns over a plate of fresh shaved fennel, you are young miss!  “Pour some sugar agave on me and wrap me up in chilies” (to the tune of that crap ass Def Lepard song).

this-spinal-tap-movie-quotes-54419“Your body fits me like a fig skin tuxedo, I want to sink you with my pink torpedo” (to the tune of one of the best Spinal Tap songs ever).

You’re a really wild one.  I’m’a taste you now. (plus, I’m done referring to you as a person.  It’s sort of perverse sounding and I think I my have lost some readers along the way).

dune2On the mouth Ash trays and all things drying (alcohol, salt, hot air, dry-dry sherry, drier than Oloroso dry sherry, Desert Planet, Arrakis).

Must take another sip.  Now that my mouth has a chance to realize what’s happening, it’s starting to react and understand what exactly is happening in it right now.

97960-131216-penguinLet the laundry list begin:  Medium oils, very sherried but somehow not a sherry bomb, dried and sugared dates, cracked oat bran, new rubber umbrella (a la from the closet of The Penguin), chili powder with hints cooked, un-spiced pumpkin.

All in all, for 69.5% ABV, it’s nice to know that I’m not dead (yet).

Finish Long and now with hints of menthol and a bowl of those dried and sugared dates I tasted.

In sum   I love the size of Bruichladdich’s balls.

In this day of sought after, highly up-sellable, Feis Ile bottlings, Bruichladdich dared to release one that I would have thought many would be both afraid to buy and afraid to post on auction sites.  69.5% ABV, Quadruple distilled 7yo juice?!  I mean, come on…

Here’s the thing.  It sold out.  Heck, I bought a bottle (Thanks again to my buddy Matt).  It’s being sold on auction sites, too.

My hope is that these bottles do terribly on these auction sites.  Dudes, stop trying to make money and drink the juice because, I’ll tell you, it’s damn good.  Yes, you may lose the ability to reproduce after a dram or two but hey… it’s… ummm… Ok, I have nothing after that comment.  But if you sell your bottle, you’re missing out on good whisky.  For those that buy a bottle on auction, open it and do so immediately.  Open and and drink it with lots of friends.  You’ll be happy you did.

Distillery focus: Westland Distillery and their American Single Malt Whiskies

 

Westland Distillery LogoIf you don’t live in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States, chances are you’ve not heard of Westland Distillery.  As a Connecticutian born and raised I’ve not heard of them so, don’t feel so bad.  They reached out to me a couple of weeks ago to A) get some whiskey samples to taste and B) have a phone conversation so I could learn more about their distillery and what makes Westland… Westland.

I was quite impressed with what I had to hear and very VERY impressed with their whiskies.  While their whiskies are currently only distributed in the PWN, we can expect to see wider distribution in the US and overseas during the coming months of 2014.

Are you ready to get your whisk(e)y geek, geekin’ on?  I know I am.  Let’s learn about Westland Distillery:

Location: Seattle Washington – home to one of my favorite record labels, “Sub Pop,” who had signed (at one time or another) such great bands as Sunny Day Real Estate, Mudhoney, Low, Iron and Wine, Sleater-Kinney, Get Up Kids and many, many more (and yeah, that includes Nirvana and Soundgarden).

Malted-barley-at-Westland-DistilleryWhiskey style: Single Malt, 100% Barley – this includes 6 different barley types which are Washington Pale Malt, Munich Malt, Extra Special Malt, Brown Malt, Pale Chocolate Malt and Scottish malt peated to the tune of 55ppm.

(Note: their standard mash bill consists of all the above malts sans the peated malt.  Furthermore, the bulk of said mash bill is the Washington Pale Malt which is at approximately 70% of the bill)

Average whiskey age is at least 24mos.

(Note # 2: Westland doesn’t use a standard distillers yeast when creating their wash. They instead use Belgian brewers yeast.)

(Note # 3, the last of these notes: Rather than purchase cereal flour/grist, Westland houses their own Grist Mill to grind up their barley)

Westland Distillery Stills

Still style and capacity – you can see the stills just to the left but their capacity is at about 60,000 proof gallons of spirit per year which is at the maximum limit to retain the term “Craft Distillery.”  In fact, Westland is the largest Craft Distillery in Washington State (and perhaps the largest single malt distillery in the US).

Westland Distillery Casks and BarrelsWood management (I know 40% of you chuckled when you read “Wood Management.” I know I chuckled whilst typing it and re-reading it) – Westland primarily uses new charred American oak barrels no smaller than the standard 53gal.  They also use a good deal of sherry butts, sherry hogsheads and ex-bourbon barrels.  This is somewhat uncommon for American Craft Distilleries where it is quite common to use smaller 5 gallon, 10 gallon, 15 gallon, etc… barrels.

What’s more, regarding their new charred oak barrels is that, like Glenmorangie, they source very porous slow-growth American oak and these barrels are only coopered after the wood has air dried for a minimum 18mos.

For those of you interested in knowing what their whiskies taste like (and why wouldn’t you?), read on:


Westland Distillery Flagship American Single Malt Whiskey
Whiskey # 1 – Flagship – aged 24mos, 46% ABV:

On the noseImmediately takes me elsewhere when I nose this and *try* think of American Single Malt.  This has got, from the outset, a more Scotch feel to it (especially considering the new charred American oak maturation).

Westland-Distillery-1

Let’s pull out some notes: ground green coffee beans, cayenne peppered dark chocolate (think Lindt), espresso foam, wild cherry Pine Bros cough drops.

This is *not* your typical American single malt.  Wet pocket change after a swim in your local swimming hole (most notably like wet pennies).

Hints of burnt licorice and an earthen hiking trail on a sunny, bright and crisp winter day.  Really, really inviting.

On the mouth —  It starts youthful but not young and surely not immature.  Then a raspberry component returns in place of the wild cherry cough drops yet its bundled up in a canvas bag.

Westland-Distillery-2Very sweet with hints of coconut infused vanilla beans and a good handful of Heide brand Jujuyfruits (flavors are there even the licorice yet like on the nose, it’s slightly burnt).

Solid mouthfeel, oily and feel in’ good!  Add in the cardboard box from said Jujyfruits – this is a mild note but there.  Spicy on the back of the tongue.

FinishLong and malty, incredibly malty like a high octane beer.

In sum It’s a new style to the category of American Single Malt.  This is one for the Scotch lovers of the world who want something unique and wish to dabble in American hooch. This is one for American Whiskey lovers that wish to dabble in spirits closer to the Scotch category.  Really well done and, dare I say, an every day drinker!

Westland Distillery Deacon Seat American Single Malt WhiskeyWhiskey # 2 – Deacon Seat (limited edition) – aged 26mos, 46% ABV:

On the noseWow. Wow, wow.  This reminds me of some older releases of unpeated Bruichladdich whiskies.  There’s an incredible freshness with hints of coastal sea breeze.

Westland-Distillery-3Hints of lemon and salted pineapple and shards of dried and sugared mango.  This noses like a 15-16yo, not 2 years 2 months.  Again, wow.

Back with the jujyfruits (like I got with the Flagship) but this time it’s focused on the yellow ones.  There’s something herbaceous neath all of these fruity layers but it’s unidentifiable and just enough to balance the fruit.  Need to taste.  Like, now.

On the mouth —  From the go it’s the mouth feel that grabs me.  The oils are incredible.  Liqueurish in mouthfeel (a la Sabra).  Initial reaction is that all the flavors are round or rounded.

Westland-Distillery-4Let’s pick this apart: steamed pineapple and lemon meets white tea while hiking through an oak forrest.  This is not over oaked but the wood is there, again, rounding out the overall experience.

Some of the green herbs are there but, oddly enough, I just can not pick that apart.  It’s a mixture of herbs without one being more prominent than the other.

Hints, mere hints of salt on the tongue as well.  Here’s something that *just* popped in my head:  This Whiskey feels “hopeful.”  It’s like the little Whiskey that could but then does!

FinishAgain, a malty finish but there’s spice left on the tongue and an effervescence/tingly feel that I did not notice until focusing on the finish.

In sum A total winner of a Whiskey.  So balanced and well integrated.  You could easily fool your Scotch loving friends into thinking that this is A) a Scotch whisky and B) a teenager.  Another everyday drinker.  I can actually picture this as a nice whisky for a warm spring day.

Westland Distillery First Peated American Single Malt WhiskeyWhiskey # 3 – First Peated – aged 24mos, 46% ABV:

On the noseGreat googly-moogly!  This is like a Highland peated Scotch whisky.  It doesn’t nose like a young peated whisky, the peat is soft and rounded.  It actually noses like a lighter, fresher Amrut Fusion (but nothing like Amrut Fusion).

Westland-Distillery-5Hints of peat and sea breeze, gorse flowers (could be that there’s new charred oak here, too, adding to the coconuty notes) and a dunnage warehouse.  Ever been to a whisky dunnage warehouse? If no, nose this and it’ll take you there.

New popsicle sticks and vinyl records (I imagine them being Elvis records).  This is a very confident whisky (with chops to back itself up).

On the mouth —  The peat says hello first (Hi peat!).  It’s much bigger than the nose lead on. I want to say that I taste Lapsang Souchong tea but it’s not artificial enough (as many of that variety of tea can taste).

There’s whiffs smoke here but what’s really grabbing my attention is the peat.  Notes of earthen floor and wet flowery twig fire.

24mos?  Bullcrap.  You taste like a 12yo, easily.

The mouthfeel is less oily than the Deacon Seat but still silky and there’s an effervescence to this Whiskey as well.

Westland-Distillery-6I’m taken back to my last trip to Bruichladdich where I tasted some 2yo sherried Lochindaal and thought, “this is only 2 years old?! No. Way.”  It is quite fresh as there are flowers and fruits and peat and smoke and salt and fizzy stuffs and salt water and salt water taffies (a shit ton of salt water taffies, come to think of it).

FinishInterminable. The smoke and fizz and now spice stick with you for a long, long time.

In sum Westland distillery seems to be a well kept secret around my parts but I am so glad they found me and now I can pay some hard earned cash on their whisky.  This First Peated from Westland is up there with some of the better whiskies I’ve tasted so far this year.  Really cracking stuff.  Look for some.  Keep and eye on these guys as you will not be disappointed.  If you are, just send me the the bottles and any unfinished whiskey.

Closing comments — The American craft distillery movement, simply put, is booming.  There is so much good stuff happening out there right now and right now is a good time to be a whisk(e)y geek.

While classified on paper as an American Craft Distiller, I would submit, given the flavor profiles and the fact that Westland Distillery produces Single Malt and nothing else, that Westland Distillery (from a world perspective) be ranked up there with other great world producers of single malt whisky a la Nikka, Suntory, Amrut, Kavalan, Lark, Brenne,
etc…

Westland Distillery’s focus is on producing and bottling world class single malt whisk(e)y and in my opinion they have a great grasp of the craft!

Special thanks to Steve and Matt for the samples and their openness regarding their distillery!

 

Springbank 15yo Single Cask, re-charred Sherry Butt 58.3% ABV

 

Springbank 15 recharred sherry buttCampbeltown region – 58.3% ABV – $139

It is a very true statement that Springbank is a Scotch Whisky that is in a league of it’s own.

The quality of their products tend to be a few notches above the rest and the whisky’s character is, well, unique.  Very unique.

Could the essence of their individuality be connected to terroir (Campbeltown and they, Springbank,  being one of only three distilleries in Campbeltown)?

Perhaps it’s their distilling process (2.5 times distilled which is explained here)?  I think not as their other products, Hazelburn (3 times distilled and unpeated) and Longrow (2 times distilled and heavily peated) still have that Springbankiness to them…

Maybe it’s the fact that they handle every step of the process whisky-making process from malting on up?

Perhaps it’s the fact that their wash (beer to be distilled in to spirit) spends 70 hours or more fermenting in Boatskin Larch wash backs? (Most Scottish distilleries ferment their wash between 48 & 54 hours in either Oregon Pine or Stainless Steel).

I am not sure any one of the above points really offers up answers.  Regardless, Springbank Scotch Whisky  is pretty amazing stuff.  While I am a known Glenmorangie freak, I have to say that Springbank produces my favorite whisky.  Ever.  And when they do it right. Boy howdy, they do it right-right!

Today’s Springer is a 15yo single cask matured in a re-charred sherry butt.  This is a highly unusual style of Scotch whisky and it sounded simply super fun and interesting to me so I had to get a bottle.  Had to.

On the nose — As I might have guessed (and surely hoped), the nose is very Bourbon-like due to the re-charred oak.  There’s a high sweetness here and a sharpness in scent.

Springbank-recharred-Sherry-Cask-1Brown sugar and peat!  What a combo!  Paraffin wax and molding clay.  Pencil shavings, albeit burnt pencil shavings.  A wide combination of dried fruits (dates, prunes, dried banana, etc…), pickled walnuts and cherries pits.

Springbank-recharred-Sherry-Cask-2There’s a salty/briny quality to this as well.  Heavy leather gloves (well used) and a brush fire.

This is like nosing a 50-50 mix of George T Stagg and a sherried Springbank.

Springbank-recharred-Sherry-Cask-3On the mouth — Big, salty and massively sherried (but without being like a run-of-the-mill sherry bomb).  There is no unidimensionality going on here.  In fact, there’s a lot going on here and it’s part of a nice flavor story:

Springbank-recharred-Sherry-Cask-4Salted dates floating in a bowl of Mexican vanilla extract and grated chicory.  Soft yet driving peat and dank malt (a la Malta Goya).

A lovely mouth feel.  Very bourbon like in experience (mouthfeel, very sweet and prickly on the sides of the tongue, charred-oaky-goodness) with the addition of cherry-twizzler sweetness!

The nuttiness returns but it’s like a nutty-syrup mixed with unlit cigars.

Finish — Medium finish loaded with dates and a touch of salt.

In sum — As if Springbank was unique enough!  This is a wildly fun ride of a whisky that would impress the Bourbon lovers out there.  Heck, this should impress whisk(e)y drinkers anywhere.  Very tasty and quite balanced.

One could sit and dissect this whisky or just relax and simply enjoy it.  This is a desert (and dessert) island dram for me.  I better get another bottle before you all buy it out on me!!

Two whiskies from Bruichladdich that I’ve been meaning to review since… 2010!

 

For the most part, I try not to be a slacker.  In fact, I am a real go-get-em, gung-ho guy with a ton of sticktoitiveness.  For the most part that is…

Somehow, someway, I’ve been sitting on a few samples from Bruichladdich (as well as samples from a few other distilleries) for quite a while now.  And by “quite a while” I mean like 2 or 3 years.  That’s a long time, right?  Right.  No better time than the present to review them though, right?  Right.

So what do we have today?  Firstly, we have “Redder Still;” part of the Blacker/Golder/Redder series from the lads and lasses at laddie.  Second is a 1992 (distilled in 1992, that is) sherry release from them – the Fino Cask.

Redder Still is matured in Château Lafleur Pomerol wine casks and the Fino Cask is matured in, well, Fino casks.  The former is bottled at 50.4% ABV (with 4000 bottles released) and the Fino was bottled at 46% ABV – 6000 bottles in that release.

Here are my thoughts on these two:

Bruichladdich Redder StillBruichladdich Redder Still – 50.4% ABV

Bruichladdich Redder StillOn the nose  My immediate impression is that of paraffin wax and red wine gums.

Incredibly soft on the nose. If I could apply an attribute to this nose that was not in the realm of scents, I would say this noses like a cotton ball.

Salted and ground mustard seed meet lager beer.  Quite malty.

Am I detecting smoke here?  I think so.

Not very winey at all considering this was matured in Château Lafleur (Pomerol, red wine cask – nothing to do with Fleur Delacour, mind you) casks.  Really soft peat — looking for the wine notes but, none here really.  Not yet.

Wait a sec, red currant jams and cracked black pepper.  Moving on because this smells yummy and I want to taste now.

On the mouth Quite sweet upfront.  Sugary sweet, in fact.  Oily moth feel with an effervescence toward the back and sides of the tongue.

Bruichladdich Redder StillPlums (prunes, too! Elderly plums, as it were) and smoke and more wine gums and peppery yet all of this is not forceful in anyway.

Much more winey after a few sips but is still very much whisky.  Smoke is present in the mouth and it gets quite drying as we get to the finish.

Finish Short… a bit abrupt.

In sum Compared to the *AMAZING* Blacker Still, this pales. Taken out of that family of Blacker/Golder/Redder, the Redder Still is a nice-nosed whisky!  I quite enjoy it actually.  The flavors work well together too however they’re a bit like a boy scared to ask a girl to hold his hand.  I feel this whisky should man up a bit in the flavor impact department but it does not.

Thinking back to that nose though… yum, yum, yum!

Bruichladdich Fino SherryBruichladdich 1992 Fino Cask – 46% ABV

On the nose  Quite noticeably a Bruichladdich with a salty coastal element that’s reminiscent of their old 90’s 15yo.

Noses of yellow chilis and the sweetness of Scotch Bonnet peppers (before you bite into one and it burns your dad gum head off!).

Bruichladdich Fino SherryA touch of sulfur and turmeric.  I think this is the first time I smelled Deviled Eggs in a whisky!  Guess what, it’s subtleness work here!

Some damp cardboard and sugared papaya (fresh, not dried).  Soft black licorice.

On the mouth Wow, the fino influence is right there and pretty dang lovely.  Nutty, very nutty.  Salted almond and pecan, fig paste and dried banana.

Anise seed, black licorice (again, though, salted this time), window putty.

At 46% it has enough attack to it as well as nice oils allowing for a good mouthfeel.

Bruichladdich Fino SherrySweet pecan pie and black strap molasses (treacle for the Brits out there).  Quite a satisfying whisky so far!

Finish Increasing sherried goodness, melted caramel and a touch of rum cake.

In sum This is one fine Bruichladdich!  the scent, flavors, mouthfeel, finish, etc… all works out.  Very nicely balanced with the sweet, salty, slight pepper.  Very much a dessert whisky.  Worth you seeking out, in my opinion!