Tag Archives: Peppery

I am fortunate in that I’ve had a few new samples of Old Malt Cask sent my way. (Hip Hop Hooray for me!!)

One of the single cask ranges as part of the Douglas Laing family of Independent Bottled whiskies, Old Malt Cask is somewhat unusual as they normally bottle their whisky at 50% ABV rather than cask strength. Though not *that* unusual I suppose as Lombard’s does this as well.

The Old Malt Cask range of whiskies is one that has releases under the brand nearly every month (though the releases get spread out all over so the US might not see new OMC whiskies every month…).

Today we’re reviewing 2 of the four samples I’ve received. Special thanks to the good folks at International Wine and Spirits for the samples!

Old Malt Cask 28yo Dailuaine, refill hogshead, bottled at 50% ABV, 133 bottles – $230 from Binnys.

On the nose – Spicy, industrial, new newspapers, fresh ink.

Old-Malt-Cask-1 Wow, I am smelling New York City on a dry, spring day.

Waft of perfume, new leaves, young flowers black pepper and a bit of pastrami sangwich to boot!

On the mouth – One can only dream of a mouthfeel like this. Much like the 27yo Dailuaine from Master of Malt, just a touch more oily.

Flavor wise, it’s very similar to that same MoM Dailuaine in that the Dailuaine qualities shine like a crazy diamond. Spice, lots of it.

Old-Malt-Cask-2 Raisins in light brown sugar with a touch of brown spice.

Spiced gum drops (minus the sugar coating).

Finish – A lightly spiced, medium length finish.

In sum – Dailuaine continues to impress the living bejebus out of me. I’ve not met a Dailuaine I haven’t liked and this one is no exception.

This is another late summer dram for me…

Old Malt Cask 36yo Glen Grant, Brandy Finished Butt, bottled at 50% ABV, 150 bottles

On the nose – A touch floral but quite nutty (hazelnuts primarily).

Old-Malt-Cask-3 Kefir leaves in coconut soup. Very sweet and light malt, yellow berries, wood spice, seasoned oak.

While not the most complex, it’s still a very, very really loverly nose.

On the mouth – I’ve seen the light! Great mouthfeel!

Light, floral and nutty. The style is somewhat reminiscent of an ex-bourbon Rosebank whisky.

You know you’re drinking an older whisky but this has a vibrancy that let’s itself be known by way of a fizzy-mouthfeel and ripe fruits.

Old-Malt-Cask-4 Also in here we have some chamomile tea, baker’s chocolate and highly salted black licorice.

Finish – Lemoney pie crusts, medium long.

In sum – The cask seems to be less invasive on the spirit than I would have expected. This is a great whisky here. Glen Grant really has true character and they’ve captured it in this here cask.

This is a late summer dram. One to enjoy sometime before lunchtime.

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, George T Stagg, Let's celebrate!

2012 George T Stagg – An absolutely stunning whiskey.

December 10, 2012 Jewmalt

Kentucky – 71.4% ABV – $79 (good luck finding a bottle, folks. You’ll likely find more four leaf clovers than bottles of this juice)

The 2012 Buffalo Trace collection has been released and I was lucky enough to win a lotto from Julio’s Liquors in Westborough, MA to get a bottle.

Let me be clear, winning the lotto gave me that opportunity to buy the bottle. I didn’t win the bottle.

This hooch is highly allocated and I count myself as one of the lucky ones to have actually gotten my hands on a bottle.

George T Stagg is one of five whiskies Buffalo Trace releases as part of their yearly “Antique Collection.” And it is, by far, the most sought after one in the group. (The other five bottles being: Eagle Rare 17yo, Sazerac Rye 18yo, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye and William Larue Weller Bourbon).

At 71.4% alcohol content, this is the highest-octane stuff released this year by Buffalo Trace.

On the nose — For 71.4% I’m not finding this too hot to handle on the nose. The heat is quite easily transformed in to a good deal of black pepper.

Some burn cranberries and heavily toasted hearty wheat breads become obvious. So far, an inspiring nose!

Heavily peppered molasses and salted meat and burnt pencil shavings.

Brown spices (an old bourbon stand-by note) but there are also some lighter fruits in here including white seedless grapes, as an example.

This is one of those whiskeys that you could nose for a good, long time. I see why people go so nuts for it every year.

On the mouth — For the uninitiated, this is some hot juice, no doubt. However, please reward yourself and press on! Take a smaller sip. Here we go again (are you ready?)…

Yeah, that’s the stuff!

Cranberry relish, black pepper, orange zest, vanilla pods… this is BURSTING with flavor. It’s about as moreish as a whiskey gets.

Lovely mouth feel — both zippy and oily at the same time. Speaking of oil, getting a little gun oil here.

On top of this, heavy wood spice and a good whack of everything that makes lebkuchen. It’s basically lebkuchen and Christmas cakes in a glass.

Wow.

Finish — Drying, spicy and near endless…

In sum — Quite possibly the best bourbon I’ve had in 2012. Actually, this is easily the best bourbon I’ve had this year. Kudos to the distillers. In a word: amazing.

Happy birthday to me. This was my gift to myself this year. A fine purchase. One of the best I made this year.

Cold Winter, Craigellachie, Glen Kieth, Jura, Summertime

Three various Single Casks in the Chieftain’s range: Jura, Glen Kieth and Craigellachie

November 27, 2012 Jewmalt

Various regions of Scotland… 3 different single casks bottled for the Chieftain’s range.

After a few quick points, we will get straight on to the reviews today!

Special thanks to the folks from ImpEx for the cask samples!

To learn more about the Chieftain’s Range in general, click here.

Chieftain’s Glen Kieth 17yo bottled at 54.9% ABV

On the nose – A light peat influence here, or so it would seem.

Salty, hay and a touch of candy-like lemon drops (a thread of smoke?).

Sherry-like influence (getting hints of Amontillado) but also sort of bourbon in character (think wood spice, honey and even a shake of white pepper).

A fun little nose, if a little confused.

On the mouth – Light white berries, unripened plums, sugared plums as well.

Biscuits, undercooked. Pie crusts… Oh! Gooseberry pie. This is nice.

Somewhat simple but nice and focused.

Lightly oily slightly effervescent feel to it.

Finish – Shortish with, again, a thread of smoke.

Chieftain’s Jura 12yo bottled at 58.4% ABV

On the nose — Few whiskies yell at me from the glass saying, “Hey Hatton, I was distilled at such and such distillery… duh!!!” like Jura yells at me.

It always seems to start off with a note that I can only call Eeore’s thistles – like burning pricker bushes.

On top of this is a slight soapy quality. People get a little freaked out about a soap quality in a whisky. For me, done right, the soap “quality” can be just that, a “quality.”

The soap on this is within tolerance but surely on the higher side.

There’s also a touch of lavender in here as well as calking.

On the mouth — Very industrial to taste, window putty, calking, wet cement.

Pushing these notes to the side and now we discover some great gristy notes. You can taste the wash (beer to be distilled into spirit) but it’s very beer-like. Lager-like. But, a good lager (sans hops, obviously).

Rainbow candy buttons.

Finish — Short and slightly drying.

Chieftain’s Craigellachie 21yo bottled at 58.3% ABV

On the nose — You can see why they use so much of this malt in the Dewar’s blend. It’s got a nice, balanced nose.

Let me start of with the fact that, even at 58.3%ABV, it’s not hot on the nose. The scents are all right there.

This noses like a 21yo: Wood spice and dill covered lemon slices. Green wood and honey spice. Apple sauce with brown spices. Are you catching a theme here? Tough to get beyond the spiced quality.

I’m a fan of the spice bombs so, let see how it translates in the flavor profile.

Adding a dash of water brings out some notes of pool water and gobs of malt!

On the mouth — Yeah, yeah… this is it. This is what I look for in, say, some of the older Dailuaines… Fruity little spice bombs.

This is, however, just a little hot. Without water, we’ve got baked pears with a slight hint of cloves. Also, vanilla. A good deal of vanilla. Yeah, water is needed with this one.

Not just to temper the heat but the water *really* opens up this whisky!

Ooey flan comes to mind as I take another sip. Browned sugar and candied fennel.

Finish — A long and overly spiced finish. Perhaps a bit too spiced (if there were such a thing). Wow, very long.

In sum…

Glen Kieth: An interesting whisky. My first Glen Kieth. Over all, I liked it. I wonder what a few more years in the cask might have done for this whisky…

Jura: Yeah, this is an odd one. Over all, while it was a little all over the place, I enjoyed drinking it. Nosing it was enjoyable mainly because it’s got that Jura oddness that has you coming back for more. This really is a winter-warmer-upper!

Craigellachie: With a dash of water, I am incredibly impressed with this cask. It tells a wonderfully balanced story from beginning to end (with the spice volume turned up just a touch too high at the finish). Without the water….well, I suggest you add a dash. Should you get a bottle, you’ll see what I mean. This is one where the extra H20 makes an incredible difference.

For more solid reviews of Chieftain’s reviews, be sure to check out Peter’s (of “The Casks” fame) reviews.

Catoctin Creek, Springtime

Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye – Cask Proof!

August 29, 2012 Jewmalt

Virginia, USA – 58%ABV – $65 – **KOSHER CERTIFIED RYE WHISKY**

We’re about to journey into the land of FUN… “What kind of fun?” you might ask… Single cask, cask strength rye whisky from Catoctin Creek. (Yes, Catoctin Creek spell “whisky” the same way most of the world does; without the “E.”) For a whisky geek like me, I think this is a $hit ton-o-fun!

So, what’s the make up of this concoction from Catoctin? Well, you may have heard the term “mash bill” before. If not, a “mash bill” is basically a mixture of grain(s) that distillers use when making a beer (or wash) that will then get distilled into spirit.

As far as rye goes, most rye whiskeys are made from a mash bill that has about 51% rye grain (the legal minimum to call said whiskey a “rye” whiskey) and the balance is often rounded out with corn, wheat and barley. Some distillers use a higher percentage of rye grain but Catoctin Creek is one of a handful of distilleries that use 100% rye grain. What’s more is Catoctin uses only organic certified rye grain.

Catoctin-Creek-2 — Zero the Kosher Kat approves of this whisky!

What’s more-more is, even though the owners are not Jewish, Catoctin Creek one of a very few American distilleries that have their whiskeys kosher certified.

Here’s a video regarding Catoctin Creek and kosher certification:

Now, on to the tasting!

On the nose — Very youthful and a touch one dimensional in scent at first but after just a minute or so, it opens up. I mean it *really* opens up.

Fresh spring-scented fabric softener sheets notes mix with very light key lime pie filling.

Rye and citrus notes to be sure but I also detect pencil shavings and school-house pencil end erasers.

It’s evident the spirit character shines with not too much wood influence – an interesting play on rye whiskey compared to most brands out there – unique.

Fresh granny smith apples and apple sauce (home made, no sugar added, no cinnamon added).

Rye bread, lightly toasted with fresh, un-melted butter.

The addition of water seems to bring out more of the springy floral element but doesn’t change much else.

On the mouth — Aggressive attack filled with orange jujubes and baby aspirin notes. No, these are more than notes – pretty damn spot on (especially with the jujubes).

Spring-like again in flavor but with a focus on woodsy leaves from last autumn and new growth chutes.

Great mouth feel and, though aggressive, not really “hot” in any way. It doesn’t need water but I’m going to add a bit any way. Just for fun.

Adding water makes the mouthfeel massive & thick (like drinking Lou Ferrigno).

There is also a touch of spice now; right along the sides of the tongue.

**Caution, do not add too much water here. Initially I brought the whisky down to 50% ABV but in a 2nd sampling I brought it down to 54% (or so) and that was just right. Too much water and some of the flavors become elusive/shy. Just a touch brings out the mouthfeel but keeps the flavors generally intact.

Finish — A long, citrusy finish.

In sum — When going into this rye, forget what you know about the spirit in general. This will be a new experience.

I really enjoy their standard 40% ABV version of this rye whisky but tasting this in cask proof makes this whisky shine like a rye diamond. A wonderful springtime whisky. Fine whisky – kudos to the Catoctinians on this one!

Special thanks to Scott H for the sample!

Autumn, Cold Winter, Speyburn

Speyburn Clan Single PX Cask from 1975

July 30, 2012 Jewmalt

Speyburn-1975 — Image shown is not of the 1975 bottling

Speyside region – 55.8%ABV – Pricing is TBD. Will update this post as soon as I have more information.

One of the upsides to being a whisky reviewer is that now and again whisky shows up to my door. Cool, right?

Sometimes the whisky is in sample form, sometimes it’s my own purchase. Both scenarios do a fantastic job of setting my lovely wife’s eyes a’rollin. Oh boy, *more* whisky.

A common question posed by me to my wife: “Did the whisky fairy arrive today?”

I quite enjoy it when the answer is “yes.”

Occasionally, one of my daughters will tell me as I walk in the door, “Hey daddy. Surprise, surprise, more whisky.”

I love my daughters. They really know how to bust my butt with the snark of a 22 year old. You’d never think they were 3 & 5.

…so one day, not too long ago, I received a completely unsolicited sample of this 1975 Speyburn single cask from Lucas D saying: Enjoy! Let me know what you think.

In addition to the “enjoy the sample” bit, he gave me the following information on this whisky:

“The whisky comes from a single mature Spanish oak sherry butt acquired from Pedro Domecq – the oldest Bodega in Jerez founded in 1730. The cask was most likely used to mature Pedro Ximenez sherry. This helps to explain its exceptionally dark colour, at 20 Lovibond (45.9 EBC) it is one of the darker naturally coloured Scotch whiskies out there. The sample was drawn at the distillery in March 2012 and the ABV is 55.8% (!).”

Well, thank you Lucas for the sample. It’s much appreciated!

Here are my thoughts:

On the nose – The initial offering from the nose on this whisky is that of pen ink (from a ball point) and summer pool water.

Fresh pulled garden greens, a salty smelling nose.

Fired apples (granny smith) and cherry stones here as well. More apples yet in sauce-form with brown spices and burnt sugar.

It’s a wild nose here as it straddles the line between real and artificial (man-made) scents and does so fairly well.

With water some notes of a Cadbury Fruit and Nut bar say hello.

On the mouth – Whoa, this is a hot one!

Chocolate chunks (dark) and fresh black pepper. Cinnamon and walnuts, shells and all. Let’s add water. A bit too hot for me.

Much better with water – and a decent mouthfeel to boot!

Black strap molasses, drunken raisins and chocolates. Sugar cookies and sugary butter cookies.

Nutty – hazelnuts, walnuts, no salt, crushed into a paste and sweetened (with some vanilla added in for good measure).

Finish – Long and peppery (with lasting heat).

In sum – It’s nice to drink history. I was only 2 years old when this was distilled. That in and of itself is a bit mind boggling. All of the parts were there and in the right places. I think some of the heat detracted from the overall experience (even with water) but pair this with some nice Stilton cheese and/or 70%+ cacao chocolate and you just might find yourself in a little place I like to call “Heaven.”

Be sure to check out Gal’s (of Whisky Israel) post on this whisky. It’s a great read and he seemed to like it as well.

Jewmalt Whisky Reviews