Tag Archives: Salty

Autumn, Cold Winter, Speyburn

Speyburn Clan Single PX Cask from 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.

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

Islay distilleries explained thru Rock and Roll comparisons – Part 7 – Lagavulin and my review of their 30yo expression

Islay distilleries and their whiskies explained through Rock and Roll – Part VII (of VIII)

One of life’s true treats – Lagavulin Islay single malt whisky!

Lagavulin was actually my gateway whisky.  G-d bless him, one of my synagogue’s congregants (recently turned rabbi and now leads his own congregation) used to take whisky bottles to services quite a lot – usually for our “Kabbalat Shabbat” Friday evening service for our post-worship “oneg.”

Well, one night he brought a bottle of Lagavulin 16yo and damn, if I didn’t fall in love straight away!  The sweet smoke, the campfire… I loved it and, wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, that set me off on my whisky adventure and I never looked back.

I was going to hold this review as the final Islay/Rock review but decided to do it now because, well, it’s my blog and I decide to make an executive decision.  Also, I reviewed the below whisky nearly a year and a half ago and I should have posted it… a year and a half ago!

We’re nearly there.  Six down and today is the seventh Islay/Rock review and then only one more to go (can you guess which one that is?).  Here’s what’s been reviewed in this series to date:

  1. Part one:Bruichladdich as The Sex Pistols
  2. Part two: Ardbeg as Slayer
  3. Part three: Caol Ila as The 80′s (They get their very own decade!)
  4. Part four:Bowmore as David Bowie
  5. Part five: Kilchoman as the Jackson Five (somewhat fitting, in retrospect, with them both bearing the number five).
  6. Part six: Bunnahabhain as R.E.M.

Today we’re reviewing:

Lagavulin 30yo bottled at 52.6% ABV – You can find a bottle here at The Whisky Exchange for £1295 or here for €499 (now sold out at the €499 price).

On the nose — Well, I smelled the stuff from two feet away (I ordered this whisky at a bar in Seattle – can’t remember the name of the bar, sorry).

Jamming my nose into it further and yup, no doubt about it, it’s Lagavulin!

Floral, smoky and even fruity.

Notes of peach and rhubarb.

Salted caramels and a touch waxy.

Fragrant oils.  The smell of a well used wood panel study.

Rolos – chocolatey.

Less campfire smoke than what I’m used to with the 16yr.

On the Mouth — Hot fire-fueled fruits.

Think golden raisin and apricots.  Golden fruits abound.

Waxiness from the nose translated to the taste however, the mouth feel is not as supple as the standard 16yo expression.

Light & fresh green herbs and lightly honeyed.

The wood is well integrated adding layered notes of vanilla and coconut.

Finish — A wild flower field on fire.  More coconut and lasting vanilla.

In sum — The Balance is superb!  Not what I expected (of course, I was expecting some sherry influence as with the 16yr but then again, I knew *nothing* about this whisky before it was put in front of me).  However, it was just plain lovely.  Well worth the $$ I shelled out for the ample dram.

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Lagavulin – The Band!

Is it any surprise that Lagavulin is the Led Zeppelin of Islay whisky?  The rock band powerhouse is the Islay powerhouse.

Like Led Zeppelin (the “Coda” album and the song “The Bridge” excepted), I can not think of one release that didn’t wow me in some way.

Think of the very successful Distiller’s Edition (some of which are legendary) and their great, 12yo cask strength yearly release.  Again, cracking stuff!  Lagavulin rocks and seems to have hit after hit after hit.

Is it the quality spirit, the cask choices… both?  Who knows.  But, like Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham, when you mix the spirit of Lagavulin and mature it in their chosen casks, it’s pure magic.

Good work, Lagavulin.  Like the unparalleled Led Zeppelin, there is no whisky like you!

Autumn, Bunnahabhain, Cold Winter, Need To Bundle Up, Takin' It Easy

A new one for the US market – A peated Bunnahabhain by the moniker of “Toiteach”

Islay region – 46% ABV – $75-$80 |  £50

Today, along with the next few days as I catch up with my whisky reviews, I’m going to have to keep some of the preamble short and try to get right to the whisky review.

A few weeks back I got an email from Jeff K with Burns Stewart asking if I’d be interested in reviewing a new Bunnahabhain to the US market – a peated ex-bourbon Bunny.  Quite a stretch from their more standard, sherried, lightly (if at all) peated whisky.

My response to Jeff?  “Yes,” and “Thank you!”

So Jeff, thanks for the official sample!

This whisky is set to be launched in the US on April 1st (or there abouts).  No, this is not an April Fools Joke.

One more thing before I get to the review – I have to say kudos to Bunnahabhain, once again, for releasing their whiskies now at 46%+ ABV and non-chill filtered!  I hope other major distilleries follow you (yes, I’m looking at you GlenWhisky!!)

On the nose –  Wow, not what you’d expect from a Bunnahabhain – Pungent, briny, high tide, seaweed.

Good bits of toffee and floating about is a touch of lavender.

Sand buckets filled with wet sand from your trip to the beach with the kids last week.

Cigarette tray from a ’70’s Chevy Nova (with hints of Naugahyde in the background).

On the mouth – Welcome to the industrial age.  Jackhammer smoke and contraction sites.

Fantastic mouthfeel, quite oily.

Bursts of Dragonfruit slide down the back of the tongue.  Pears and apples quite browned but minus and and all brown spices – just the baked fruit.

Strip all I said away, bring it down to brass tacks and this is a solid, solid peat monster – and a bit peppery one at that!

Finish – Sweet and smoky with a fair amount of laminated cardboard candy boxes.  Medium length to the finish.

In sum – This 14yo whisky is one kick ass peat monster.  To be used as a really enjoyable way to warm the bones.  Good one, you little Bunnies!  Very nice to see that Islay’s more gentle whisky can hang with the other Islay peat monsters with head held high!

Cold Winter, Smokehead, Summertime

Smokehead vs. Smokehead

You know, when I first thought about what I could say before reviewing these whiskies, my initial thoughts were to make comparisons to the subject of this post to Kramer vs. Kramer (the 1979 movie with Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman).  I haven’t seen that movie since… I don’t know, 1979?  After watching the trailer, I saw that there was no way I could tie Smokehead vs. Smokehead to Kramer vs. Kramer so I decided to abandon the idea altogether.

Sure, I could then get all silly and give you links to Kramer vs. Predator or Modern Day Jesus vs. Santa or even Bobby vs. The Devil.  But I won’t do that.

Instead, I’ll just get down to brass tacks and tell you about these two whiskies bottled under the “Smokehead” name.  Smokehead is a single malt Islay whisky bottled by Ian MacLeod.  If you know your Islay distilleries then you’ll know that there is no distillery on Islay that goes by the name Smokehead.  Similar to Port Askaig, Smokehead is a whisky distilled by an Islay distillery but bottled under a different name.

While some people are ardently opposed to bottling whisky under a secret name, I beg you to look at the quality of the whisky inside as you might be getting a fine whisky for a great price – regardless of what it says on the bottle.  Speaking of bottles, I’ve got to say I dig the Rock and Roll quality/look to their packaging.  I feel like I’m drinking whisky bottled by the Hard Rock Cafe.

Let’s have a taste.

Smokehead NAS (no age statement) – Islay region – 43%ABV – $45

On the nose –  Well, it is called Smokehead for a reason.  Initial blast of smoke upon first sniff.  However, that is quickly peeled back to reveal lime popsicles; stick and all.

Bright and fruity (citrus and rhubarb) with a smoky and biscuity backbone.

A nice malty/beer like quality shines through.

A really nice nose – not over the top complex but one that’ll make the peat heads happy.

On the mouth – Here’s where the smoke REALLY comes into play.  A bit of an ashy-doosy.

Diesel engines, construction sites and construction paper (burnt or burning).

Burnt toffee and apple crisps inside manilla envelopes and packaged up nicely with some industrial packing tape.

Interesting mouthfeel – this whisky benefits from the high phenol content which seems to be forcing my mouth to water which makes the somewhat thinnish mouthfeel turn to a more oily one fairly quickly.

This really is a smoky monster with a bright sweetness that tells me there must be some younger whisky in here.

Finish – Short to medium finish with some of those popsicle sticks I got on the nose.

In sum – A powerhouse in the smoke arena.  One to help get your more thrill-seeking friends into Scotch Whisky.  There is a bit of a wow factor.  Also one that can be used as a warmer upper in the winter time for sure.

Smokehead 18yo – Islay region – 46%ABV – £86 (due to short supply, not available in the US but Master of Malt has it)

On the nose –  Big smoke and brine and cups of over-steeped orange pekoe tea and a few shakes from a jar of Bacon Bits.

This might be 18 years old but there’s a youthfulness here that comes through in spirity version of almond brittle and butterscotch.

Red flecks of hot chili pepper sprinkled over salted lemon wedges.

For 18 years old, the smoke & peat is not as tamed as I would have expected.  Again, there’s a youthfulness here…

On the mouth – A bit of a weak entry; not what I expected after all of the smoke, spirit, red pepper, salty lemons I got on the nose.  I guess the age is now showing; rounded peat.

Decent mouthfeel and, wait a sec, there’s a bit of an evolution in flavors here.  The strength gets… stronger, which counteracts the the bubbe-grannykins “attack” from the get-go.

Smoke, coffee, burning coffee grounds.

Turmuric (?) and paprika laced chocolate shavings.  Lemonade and, again, red pepper flecks.

Finish – Drying now in the finish.  Decent length, smoky, oaky and chocolatey.

In sum – A decent whisky.  Expensive but tasty.  Well balanced and would satisfy many an Islay worshipping, peat loving Smokehead.  You might think me an odd duck but, as smoky as this is, I could easily pour a dram in the summertime…  Perhaps after mowing the lawn or gardening the… garden.

Special thanks goes out to the good folks over at Impex Beverages for the Smokehead NAS sample!

Special thanks goes out to David H for the sample of the 18yo!

An everyday dram, Bruichladdich, Takin' It Easy

Bruichladdich 10yo – the new 2011 “Laddie Ten”

Islay region – 46% ABV – $45 – $55 | £32 | €45

The complaint, if there ever was one, with Bruichladdich was that there were WAY too many releases coming out of the distillery which made it difficult for people to keep track of or understand the distillery; myself included.

This is not to say that many of the releases were bad releases.  Quite the contrary!  I think the vast majority of whisky reviewers/bloggers would agree with me in saying that the bottles being churned out of the Bruichladdich distillery were, for the most part, top notch releases. Heck, I gave the Bruichladdich Blacker Still an award last year (brill-i-ant whisky!)

So why did our friends at Bruichladdich release so many whisky expressions over that past 10 years?  My guess is that they needed to generate funds to help create and launch this whisky we will be reviewing today.

Bruichladdich does not sell their whisky to blenders.  All of their 750,000 liters (per year, when run at full capacity) goes to their single malt – no blends.  So, if they can’t make money by selling malt whisky for blends, they had to sell of old stock from the previous distillery owners.  Hence, the many many releases from Bruichladdich.

We are told, however, that the frequency of these machine gun fire releases will come down now that a new 10yo expression has been released.  For Bruichladdich, the “Laddie Ten” 10yo expression is all about fresh starts and new beginnings.  New beginnings are something that I am very familiar with (*especially* as of late).  New beginnings can be good things (great things) and for Bruichladdich, they sure are.

On the nose –  A nice, delicate nose overflowing with scents of chamomile and other teas, dandelion jam with a touch of honey.

Before this, however, there was some spice right upfront and coastal notes that are almost reminiscent of a young Springbank whisky with notes of flinty soil, ozone, coastal long grasses.

A bit herbal as well but very sweet smelling overall.

On the mouth – Like a flavor punch to the mouth this whisky is… with a fantastic mouthfeel!

The flavor is very similar to what I got on the nose but there is an addition of sharp cheese in here which, combined with the sweet of the jam and honey really helps to balance it all out.  The roundness comes from a mixture of ex-bourbon & ex-oloroso sherry casks (however, the majority of the whisky in here is from ex-bourbon barrels)

Coming back after a couple of minutes and there is a huge creme brulee quality to this whisky (I’m guessing this comes from some top quality ex-bourbon casks).

Finish – Long in length with a spicy/sweet note that rides the center of my tongue like Jim Morrison’s seven mile long snake…

In sum – A solid whisky that is aggressive yet delicate.  It has a way of saying: “Hey guys – here I am.  I AM BRUICHLADDICH!”  Brilliant stuff that will have a permanent spot on my whisky shelf.  I could easily sip on this most any day.  Great job Mr. McEwan and the rest of the Bruichladdich team!!

Special thanks goes out to Shane H for the sample!!