Tag Archives: Peppery

Whistling Andy Bourbon

State of Montana – 40% ABV – you can find this whiskey at these locations.

Just the name alone, Whistling Andy, brings back memories of watching Andy Griffith reruns when I was just a wee boy. Remember the whistling theme song?

Now that I’ve put that in your head, it’ll be stuck with you for the next 2-5 days.

You’re welcome.

Ok, ok. If you want that out of your head, try some Zappa on for size…

The chance to sample this bourbon came to me out of the blue. The brand, Whistling Andy, was new to me and therefore, I was excited to give it a try. Not much is known about this whiskey or detailed on their website. Here’s what we do know:

The bottle is from Batch 1.
It’s labeled as a “Straight Bourbon” yet has not age statement on the label so, according to the law as I read it, this bourbon should be 4 years of age or older and was, of course, aged in new charred or toasted barrels.
- (Bourbon has no minimum specified duration for its aging period.^[6] Products aged for as little as three months are sold as bourbon.^[7] The exception is straight bourbon, which has a minimum aging requirement of two years. In addition, any straight bourbon aged less than 4 years must state the age of the spirit on the bottle.^[8])
The mash bill is at least 51% corn but the bottle label also states that there is Rye, Wheat and Barley.
The grain is 100% Montana grown grain (I dig the state pride!).
It’s bottled at 40% ABV (chill-filtered, too? not sure)

Let’s nose/taste/swallow (we’re not spitters here at the jewmalt.com HQ)

Whistling-Andy-Bourbon-1

On the nose — From the get-go there is a cinnamon gum note and scent of freshly ground grains/cereals.

Apple Porridge and creamed corn. It’s not overly sweet.

Wait, baked pears are popping up with a side of Wasa crackers. An interesting melange of notes.

Whistling-Andy-Bourbon-3

On the mouth — Feels hot for 40% ABV (80 proof for my American readers). It’s also much lighter and fruitier in taste than the nose lead on about.

Whistling-Andy-Bourbon-2 Lots of chewy red candies and, get this, Honey Comb cereal. The heat goes away after the first sip but some of that cinnamon from the nose remains.

The mouthfeel is a little thin (maybe a higher-ABV could have helped that?). Black and green ground pepper corns bring us to the finish…

Finish — Drying and grassy with some good length to it!

In sum — Overall, it was a pretty good experience. The nose to mouth experience was a little off-balance but I did enjoy the surprise of it. You can’t judge all whisk(e)ys by their noses. While I did enjoy this (and plan to share with others), I’d *love* to see a cask strength version of this whiskey. I’ve found few whisk(e)ys that didn’t benefit from being experienced at cask strength!

Special thanks to Lisa and all at the Whistling Andy Distillery for the ample sample!

Cold Winter, Kilchoman

Speed dating… with whisk(e)y! Episode 3: Kilchoman 100% Islay, 3rd edition

October 28, 2013 Jewmalt

Islay region – 50% ABV – $89 | £65

Here I am, back on the dating scene! My first two dates were with a couple of sisters from America – Koval Four Grain Whiskey and Koval Bourbon.

Today I am dating a smoking Scottish lass. I hope she treats me right!

On the nose (Date # 1) – Ashtrays meet white pepper meets rice vinegar and wet cardboard.

Am I on a date with Marge Schott? Did I mention I love her? Marge does have a sweet side, you know…

Tinned fruits, brown sugared boiled apples and a butter crusted apple pie.

On the mouth (Date # 2, This girl seems to have a complex personality. Let’s see how the 2nd date goes. She could be blowing smoke up my @$$) – Heavy smoke upfront with lemon citrus spray. Say it, don’t spray it!

Burnt apple skins – this I like!

Heavy on the white pepper but there are also notes of cherries in sweetened pear sauce.

Finish (Date # 3: The deciding factor)– Notes of re-opened barbecue grill, first time since last summer. Distant smoke and old barbecue sauce…

In sum (The decision)– A fine 100% Islay expression from Kilchoman. I did like her older sister (2nd edition) a bit more as it showed a truly unique character. Still, this young lass is well worth another date…

Special thanks to the folks at Impex for the sample!

Summertime, Takin' It Easy, Tormore

Exclusive Malts 1984 Tormordor (Tormore for those non-geek-types out there)

July 18, 2013 Jewmalt

Speyside region – 51.4% ABV – $230

With the exception of having a name that inspired the following statement: having absolutely nothing to do with the whisky at hand, I thought there’s no better time than the present to tell you that I secretly refer to Tormore (a Pernod Ricard malt whisky distillery) as “Tormordor.”

Mordor as in Sauron’s Mordor of Middle Earth. Sauron as in the creator of the One-Ring, forged in Mount Doom itself and apparently a lover of fine whisky!

Yes, this guy right here:

Tormore-2

In all seriousness, I have little nicknames for a few distilleries and this “Tormordor” happens to be one of them.

Looking through my blog, I noticed that this is the first Tormore I am publicly reviewing.

Tormore is known to be a *very* spicy malt. The only ones I’ve ever had were older (like this one) and all seemed to drink younger than their stated age. Like Sauron himself, perhaps these whiskies are seemingly ageless?

Let us see how this one for the Exclusive Malts range pans out. It’s a 29yo distilled in 1984 and from an ex-bourbon cask.

On the nose — The ex-bourbon, bourbony character comes straight through to your nose. Wow. And, at 29 years old, it does not smell old or tired in any way. There’s a peppery, spicy liveliness to this whisky.

Almond brittle in a cardboard box, minus the wax paper. Spiced vanilla chai latte.

Very prickly in the nose and, as expected, still very spicy. Torrone Itailian almond nougat.

Light fruits, pears and a touch of baked apple as well. A nice, well rounded nose.

On the mouth — Very soft and silken in the mouth. The flavors, however, are fairly shy from the first sip. Sip # 2:

A bit sour upon initial entry but that subsides to notes of casaba melon, peppery melon juice and heavily honied baklava (thought not as nutty as I found on the nose).

The mouthfeel is that of caramel sauce, warm and sliding down the back of the throat. It’s really quite a lovely texture.

Finish — Growing and peppery but not overpoweringly peppery in anyway.

In sum — Tormore has a voice all its own in the malt whisky world. Good Tormore is great Tormore and great Tormore is Tormordoriously delicious!

In all seriousness, I quite enjoyed this whisky. A bit shy in flavor to start but a little time is a lot rewarding. Dare I say, some might like this in the dead of summer and with an ice cube. Not me though. Those other people might like to do that…

Special thanks to SF and the rest of the good people at ImpEx for the sample!

Bruichladdich, Takin' It Easy

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

July 11, 2013 Jewmalt

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 Still – 50.4% ABV

On 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.

Plums (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 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!).

A 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.

Sweet 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!

Autumn, Cold Winter, Highland Park

Highland Park Loki – Another fun Marvel Character but this time its a Villain!

June 21, 2013 Jewmalt

Islands region – 48.7%ABV – $230 – $250

Ah, Marvel’s, nay, Stan Lee’s Loki in all his Eeeeeevil glory.

Wait, what?! Yes, yes, yes. Loki the Marvel character NOT the god. That’s where my brain goes to. Ah, but look at the picture and it seems that Loki’s thoughts gravitate toward Highland Park whisky!

“In Marvel mythology, Loki is on bad mutha…”

“you shut yo’ mouth!!”

“I’m just talkin’ ’bout Loki!”

“and we can dig it!”

Seriously, I know there’s a “real” mythology to Thor, Loki, Odin, Tyr, Frigga, Thumper, Bambi, Sarah Palin, etc… but growing up as an avid comic reader, to me, Loki is Thor’s total jerky-turkey-of-a-brother.

In both “real” mythology (oxymoron?) and Marvel mythology, Loki is one sneaky, shape-shifty, creepy dude. Highland Park have decided to use this element of Loki’s character to create their 2nd whisky in their Valhalla series.

Let’s see if the flavors shift. Let’s see if Loki is tough to pin down. Let us explore this new Highland Park whisky!

On the nose – Solid peat bricks; sweet, smoldering and smoking. This is what I imagine that piece of Pure Concentrated Evil smells like at the end of Time Bandits.

(Damn, I love that movie. I need to watch it again.)

Spice and cayenne pepper meets baked pears meets goarse flowers.

Burning orange peels, cardamom pods and fresh trash bags (the black ones – you know, Hefty, Hefty, Hefty!).

Seems sort of un-Highland Park-y and very Highland Park-y at the same time.

On the mouth – More smoked than peated. Very, very smoky. Loads of salted licorice nibs and fresh vinyl records.

Like deep sea heavy water forming pools at the bottom of the ocean, all of the flavors seem to be sitting at the bottom of the palate/back of the tongue.

Chocolate and a touch of chicory become apparent after spending some time with this whisky. Apple butter, generous apple butter spread over burnt soda bread.

Finish – Smoky and oaky and loaded with cooked apple skins.

In sum – Quite interesting, especially with how the flavors hit the palate. It’s a sneaky dram, sort of elusive unless you know where to look. Look toward the back of your tongue and all is revealed. Fun and different but as with the comic book, Thor is the better of the brothers. Better put, when comparing the two, Thor is the more approachable of the brothers.

Feel free to read my review of Highland Park’s Thor here.

Special thanks to SR of Highland Park for the sample!

Jewmalt Whisky Reviews