Tag Archives: Salty

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!

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.

Ardbeg, Big Peat, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Port Ellen

Big Peat (or, what you’d get if you mixed Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila & Port Ellen in a really smart way)

A vatting of Islay region whiskies – 46%ABV – $80 – $100 | £30 | €35

Continuing my week of vatted/blended whiskies, I move onto “Big Peat”.

Not sure about what it’s like where you are but, it’s getting colder around here (Connecticut, USA).  Especially at night.  I’m seeing temps at 40 – 55deg fahrenheit (about 4.5 – 13deg celsius).  To me, based on my patent pending Mood-And-Season-O-Meter™, this means peat season!

I love a good smokey Islay malt in the fall & winter time (heck, I’ll take a heavy/smokey Campbeltown or a peated Highland malt too).  Mood will affect what you reach for in a whisky and season will affect your mood.  It’s the triple “S” effect.  No, not Shit, Shower & Shave.  Stupid, simple science.  Light & fruity whiskies (and wines) for the warmer months, heavy (and/or peaty for whiskies) and big for the cooler months.  Stupid, simple science.

I’ve been hearing a whole heck of a lot about the cost of this whisky accompanied with complaints of: “why so much for a… blend?”  Many folks see that this is, and is labeled as, a blended whisky so they wont break out their wallets for it because of the higher cost (especially in America).

Statements such as these make me break out my soap box so I can scream to the world “MORE THAN 90% OF SINGLE MALTS ARE BLENDS PEOPLE!!!”

Yes, it’s true.  That Glenfiddich 12, Highland Park 18 or Caol Ila 18 you love so much is a blend of many different barrels which could (and do) contain whiskies that are, 12, 15, 18, 25 years, etc… to create a flavor profile that the distilleries are comfortable labeling as their 12, 15 or 18 year old product.  Single Malt simply means that the whiskies were malted at the same single distillery.  The age statement tells you what the youngest whisky is that blend, I mean, single malt.

Update: In years past, if you mixed different malt whiskies from different distilleries it was OK to call it a “vatted malt”; if you mixed malt whisky with grain whisky it was then called a “blend”. Even though this is a vatting of four different single malt whiskies, the SWA has deemed that a mixture of whiskies from two or more distilleries (be it malt or grain) is now to be called a “blend”.  While I’m not sure I agree with this move, thems the breaks when it comes to labeling Scotch whisky!

OK, off of my soap box.  Let me review this fluid to see if  it’s worth its weight in whisky:

On the nose – Well, there is big peat in here for sure!   A nice peat blast upon initial whiff.

Very briny and a blast of lemon zest.

Do I detect a bit of sherry influence here (mere hints of dried fruits)?

Well used canvas sneakers (rubber, canvas and salty perspiration).

A little flinty (maybe the Port Ellen rearing it’s head).

The smoke is a dirty one.

On the mouth – It’s all about the mouthfeel here folks.

Lush, chewy and coating.  Yum!

Stewed root veggies.  Salty, salty, salty.

Less of a smoke attack on the mouth here.

Teas galore: Chamomile, Sencha, Black Oolong and Rooibos – it’s all there and a bit over steeped.

Finish – Sweet carrots and singed tea leaves, all in the back of the mouth.

In sum – Tough to tell which whisky is strongest here.  The Ardbegian lemons are out there for sure but so is the flintiness of Port Ellen and the mouth feel of many Bowmores I’ve have.  I’d be happy to enjoy this on a hot summer’s day.  Seriously.  It’s bright and refreshing (even with all of that peat smoke) like a nice Caol Ila.  Kudos to the people who made this blend.  Well done.  Take a bow (more)!  Impressive.

Compass Box

Compass Box Asyla

Blended Scotch whisky – 40%ABV – $35 | £24 | €29

Last week (and for a couple of days the week before) I focused on kosher certified whiskies.  This week I will begin a series of blended whiskies.  I will touch on Compass Box whiskies as well as a few Double Barrel expressions.  It’s going to be a week or more of crazy mix’em ups (pun intended) here on the JSMWS whisky blog.

So, Compass Box.  Who are they?  Is this a distillery?  No, Compass Box is not a distillery.  Compass Box is a brand of blended whiskies and is the brain child of John Glaser – master blender extraordinaire.

A couple of months ago The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society hosted a whiskey tasting with Hudson American Whiskeys and something their owner said stuck with me after his seeing a bottle of Peat Monster on the host’s kitchen counter.  He picked up the bottle and said (with me paraphrasing here and him referring to said bottle and the blender of the fluid contained within): “what we at Hudson do is apply skill to making whiskey, what John does is pure art”.  That’s a compliment and a half!

So, let’s see if Ralph is right:

On the nose – A light and bright nose with a fight.

Oh, you’ve got a wee bit of spunk to yeh!

However, with a touch of time to breath you reveal to me hints of fresh butter and white corn.

Unripened fruits (think pear mostly).

A touch of nail polish.

Perhaps plastic shopping bags.

Lemon meringue.

A saltiness that I can’t shake.

On the mouth – Two words: Mouth Feel.

This is some thick, chewy-ass stuff!

Very soft like ‘almost-jello’ soft.

Slightly salty and a bit peppery now.

Hints of light biscuits, honeyed and delicious.

The grain influence is fairly obvious – adding a light, almost bourbony sweetness.

Finish – Nothing to complain about.

Some maltiness and medium-ish in length with a lasting fizziness toward the center back part of the tongue.

In sum – This is something to simply relax or, as my friend Steve of The Whisky Wire would say, Dramlax with.  Very light in style, very approachable and, actually, one to help lure in your non-whisky drinking friends into enjoying one of the finer things in life – whisk(e)y!!

A World of Discovery, Longrow, Summertime

Longrow 10yr 100 proof

Campbeltown region – 57% ABV – $90 | £41 | €49

Starting tomorrow I will begin a kosher whisky series (in celebration of the Jewish new year).  Before that series started, I wanted to end this year with one of the better Campbeltown malts out today – Longrow 10yr 100 proof.

Longrow, for those who do not know, is Campbeltown’s heavily peated whisky.  If you’ve not yet tried a whisky from Campbeltown, that needs to change, STAT.  Maybe this can be your first.

On the nose — I initially purchased this whisky because of Dr. Whisky’s notes on it and I have to say that, with regards to the nose on this one, I agree with him — Salt n’ peppa, limes and Thai food (specifically Ming Com – good Thai places will have this dish but most, likely will not have it on their menu).

Lemons.

Salted grapefruits.

Fantastic peat smoke backbone that many may miss.

On the mouth — Vanilla bean ice cream.

Saltier than most Campbeltown malts I’ve had – wow (I can almost feel the salt crystals growing on my teeth – an obvious exaggeration but, damn, this is salty stuff)!

Orange creamsicle minus the orange.

Thick-ooey-and-chewy whisky goodness.

Earthy smokey notes.

Finish — Looonnnggg, this whisky has staying power (the Dirk Diggler of  Scotch whisky).

In sum — Fun and bright.  A great summery aperitif whisky that is unlike most whiskies out there.  If you want something that’s not the hum-drum, seek this out.  This is also one of those great “hey, check this one out” type whisky like, perhaps, the Master of Malt 26yr Bowmore.  Not due to flavor, due to uniqueness.