Tag Archives: Slight smoke

A World of Discovery, Autumn, Bowmore, Double Barrel, Highland Park, Need To Bundle Up

Double Barrel vatting of Highland Park & Bowmore

A vatting of Highland Park & Bowmore – 46% ABV – $60 | £34 |€39

Forging forward with reviews of  blended/vatted whiskies.  Today I present a Double Barrel expression by Douglas Laing.  A combination of Highland Park & Bowmore.

Douglas Laing is one of the more prominent independent bottlers who brings us the Old Malt Cask, Premium Barrel & Provenance bottlings.  They also are the masterminds behind Big Peat and, now, these Double Barrel expressions.

Similar to the Eades Double Malt expressions I recently reviewed, the Double Barrel whiskies are vattings (or blends) of two different single malts.  The difference being that these are not further matured in wine casks (like the Eades double malts are).  As far as I can tell, both the Highland Park & Bowmore are ex-bourbon casks with no extra finishing (very light in color!).

On the nose – A tricky nose here.  Bowmore whiskies are known for their soapy noses and I’ve found a few un-sherried Highland Parks to have the same quality.

So, at first sniff, it’s tough to tell which malt is stronger, or, which is which.

Let’s focus on the scents, shall we?

Garlic cloves and lemon zest.

Peachy, fruity handsoap.

Crispy tempura batter.

White pepper and turmeric.

On the mouth – Fresh lake water.

Orange zinger tea bags.

Exceedingly citrusy – vanilla notes are there but the citrus cuts right through.

Astro pop brand lollipops.

Very malty with traces of pears and honey.

Decent mouth feel, not thin, not oily.

Lingering smoke weaved throughout.

Finish – A lasting numbness on the back of the tongue.  Peppery finish.

In sum – A very enjoyable nose here.  Lots for the foodies out there.  While I enjoyed the flavor it seemed a bit off balance and the play by play between the vanilla notes and the citrus notes was uneven.  Overall, I did enjoy this expression and am curious to see what else the good folks at Douglas Laing will come up with next.   Perhaps it’s the mood I’m in now but, I’ like to sip on this again soon (in other words, this is a nice Autumnal whisky)

Special thanks goes out to Aron of the SMWSA for the sample!

All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Balvenie, Need To Bundle Up, Refreshed

The Balvenie 17yr Peated Cask

Speyside – 43%ABV – $125 | £68 | €81

Last week I told you about the big Balvenie tasting I organized at my synagogue.  We had over 30 people there and Sam Simmons (aka Dr. Whisky, aka The Balvenie‘s Global Ambassador) led us through 5 of their expressions: Balvenie DoubleWood, 14yr Caribbean Cask (notes to follow), 17yr Madeira Cask, 17yr Peated Cask & their 21yr Port Wood.

Of the 30 plus people we had at the tasting, I’d say about 40% of them were women.  Why do I bring this up?  Well, I can tell you that the favorite dram of the evening was this 17yr Peated Cask and the majority of the women there LOVED this baby.

Why does this matter?  Well, the old stereotype was that women don’t like Scotch whisky (or whisk(e)y in general).  This has since become a bit of a fallacy.  The new stereotype is that women don’t like peated (or smokey) whiskies.  The tasting of this expression last week, and the women’s love for it, helped to debunk that as well.  Huzzah!

Strangely enough, after everything was said and done, and the tasting was over, there was a wee bit ‘o whisky left in each bottle.  Sam was nice enough to gift them to the society.  I gave the DoubleWood, PortWood and Madeira Cask remnants away to a few lucky society members and kept the balance of this Peated Cask Balvenie as well as the Caribbean Cask bottle (for scientific purpose, you know…).

Sam, thanks again for the tasting and for the samples!

On the nose — Wow, it’s amazing what a little bit of peat does to this Balvenie!

Smoked provolone cheese.

Salty maritime notes.

A slight smokiness (like a warm campfire smoke).

Instant oatmeal with brown sugar.

Warm honey & peaches.

I want to curl up in my glass and camp out here for a while.  Really loverly schtuff!

One last whiff before I sip on this juice and I get some nice notes of oranges and burnt sugar.

On the mouth — No doubt in my mind, this is a Balvenie – classic honey notes!!

Peaches are back.

Oak is well integrated.

I’m reminded of what Sam said during the tasting – that the peat in this whisky will remind you of a toasted marshmallow (in smoky style, not flavor).  He’s spot on!  The smokiness is just around the edges but no doubt it’s a part of the whole experience.

Caramel arrives with a side of dried apples.

Did I mention the mouth feel is a chewy one?

Slightly spicy and very vanilla’ed (yes, I understand that this is not a real word.  Sue me.)

Finish — Somewhat lingering with orange lollipop notes arriving after the swallow.

In sum — I’m a longtime fan of the Balvenie’s yearly 17yr expressions and this one is no exception.  This could actually be my favorite of all the B17’s (as I lovingly call them – William Grant & Sons, feel free to use this term in later marketing campaigns.  Royalty free, my gift you).

So, when should you enjoy this?  This, for me, is a cold morning dram.  The slight peatiness will warm you up but the fruitiness will brighten you day.  If the morning dram is not your thing, gather with friends ’round an outside bonfire, queue up some Beach Boys and, later on, make out with your surfer girl!

As mentioned in a previous post, Jason Johnstone-Yellin of Guid Scotch Drink joined me and my society for The Balvenie tasting last week and he went home with a sample of this juice. You can read his notes here.

A World of Discovery, Autumn, Cold Winter, Eades

Eades Double Malt – Double Post – Speyside & Highland expressions

Moving forward with my vatted malts and blended whiskies series; moving on with the Eades Double Malts.  Last week I posted about their great vatted Islay expression.  I thought, seeing as these are “Double Malts” (the combination of two wine cask finished single malts into one expression) that I’d do a double post today – two different Eades Double Malt expressions.

So, what’s left in their line?  We’ve got a Double Malt Highland expression which is comprised of 50% Clynelish (a 10yr single malt finished in a Chateau LaFitte Bordeaux cask) and 50% Ben Nevis (another 10yr single malt finished in a Grenache Blanc Cask).  We also have their Speyside expression which is 70% Dufftown (a 12yr finished in Red Zinfandel) and 30% Mortlach (a 15yr beauty finished in a Callejo Tempranillo cask).

Special thanks goes out (again) to Pat of the Virginia Distilling Company for the samples!

Let’s start with the Highland Malt:

A Highland vatting of Clynelish & Ben Nevis – 46%ABV – 750ml – $70

On the nose — And odd yet interesting nose we have here…

Off the bat, notes of a wet cinder block.

Malt vinegar & chocolate.

Both vinegar & chocolate notes are slight – as if they were watered down in some way.

Buttermilk biscuits (malty, buttery).

Unripened pears.

Strong vanilla and oaky notes that, given the combination, are reminiscent of a bourbon (or the sweet result of a heavily charred barrel).

Soured milk (perhaps this is the vinegar note better realized?)

On the mouth — Very sweet with notes of english toffees.

Hot cinnamon on pears.

Nutmeg spice (back to that sweet bourbony feel).

Something sweet yet earthy in here.

Finish — Medium length.  Caramels, nicely salted.

In sum — Hmmm… perhaps, like the make-up, I’m a bit 50-50 on this one.

There’s a lot going on with the nose but once sipped on, the palate gets somewhat narrowed down (or funneled) into something a bit more focused.

It sounds like a nice thing but I was hoping for a little joyride like I was given with the nose on this one.

Now for the Speyside:

A Speyside vatting of Dufftown & Mortlach – 46%ABV – 750ml – $70

On the nose — Big, thick nose filled with dates and dark chocolates.

More dried fruits, juicy and nicely chewy (chewy like figs).

Salty and slightly smoked.

Stewed prunes and canned prunes.

Almonds via marzipan.

A dusty attic with no-longer-being-used furniture.

Very happy with this nose, thank you muchly.

On the mouth — Nice mouth feel.

The prunes regain the life they once had and turn back into plums.

That smoke creeps back.

My tongue gets licked back by light hints of leather and perhaps freshly dried tobacco leaf.

After becoming plums, said fruits then get distilled turning into a fairly hot slivovitz.

My mouth is now happy as well.

Finish — Medium length filled with melting chocolates.

In sum — A nice cold night dram.  Sit back and enjoy.

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Nikka, Springtime

Nikka Yoichi 20yr 1988 Vintage

Japan – 55%ABV – 700ml bottle – $|£|€ ???

No matter where I look, this whisky is sold out.  And, I think I know why  (see my notes below) – here’s what the good folks over that The Whisky Exchange have to say about it:

“A follow up to the incredible Nikka 1987 vintage 20yo that won the World’s Best Single Malt at last year’s World Whiskies Awards, this 1988 is a full-strength mix of both light and heavily-peated whiskies from new oak, refill casks, bourbon barrel and sherry butts – sounds phenomenal.”

Phenomenal??  Hell yes.  A HUGE thanks to The Whisky Wall for the sample!

On the nose — Oh mercy, what an amazing nose!

Very strange notes of baklavah, pipe tobacco (being smoked), kim chee and sherry.

Deep dried fruit (like a fried compote filled with plums and apricots – actually, I’m reminded of a Charoset I had a couple of years back.).

Insanely easy to nose.

A tad spicy and (like many Japanese whiskies I’ve had) some sweet top notes that remind me of bourbon.

Green tea and dark chocolate with elegant peat smoke.

On the mouth — Like chewing on chocolate covered fresh tobacco leaves.

Both salty and smoky (like smoked capers).

Dried dates and papaya.  Floral potpourri.

Stewed fruits then a highlight on sweetly smoked lemons.

Finish — Lasting fruit – every dried fruit imaginable, lovely & lasting.

In sum –– Quite remarkable, really; nearing on ridiculous (or ludicrous) as to how good this whisky was.  The balance is remarkable and at 55%, with the nose/palate/finish combination it’s very drinkable.  Only 3500 bottles were made available and, you guessed it, not in the US.  Feck.

This is a very contemplative dram.  If you can get your hands on some of this, save it for some “YOU” time.  Sit back, enjoy the cool breeze (maybe throw a sweater on, light a fire) and think about “what it all means”.

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Glenrothes, Springtime

Two Indy Glenrothes – Classic Cask and The Premium Barrel – both single cask expressions

My experience with the Glenrothes whiskies is fairly limited but I have to say, I am a huge fan of Ronnie Cox and the video series he leads on the Glenrothes website.  To check out the video series, Click here and, for each expression, click “Read More” and you’ll find video tasting notes for each whisky (don’t forget to come back!)

I recently received two samples of independent Glenrothes expressions and thought it would be a good idea to review them side by side.  Both are indy bottlings, both are single cask expressions, both are at a reduced ABV; 43% & 46%

The first of these whiskies was one of the strangest malts I’ve had in a while, the other was…pretty good.  Pretty damn good.  One thing I can say, after tasting these two… I want MORE Glenrothes!

Glenrothes 1990 18yr Single Cask – Classic Cask – Speyside region – 43% ABV – 750ml bottle (please note that the picture of the bottle shown is not the actual Glenrothes bottle.  Rather, it is a bottle from “The Classic Cask” collection)

On the nose – Odd nose here, house cleaners – very chemically, nail polish/acetone then toffee enters.

Kumquat citrus nose (but a tad restrained) and vanilla.

After a good while, great dried fruit notes (you have to wait for it a good 6-7 minutes though…).  Shaved chocolate.

On the mouth – Pine Sol, Murphy’s Wood Cleaner, mint/menthol notes, then enters some very soothing caramel notes and Smarties.

A great transformation but those chemical notes are a bit off-putting (and at the same time, those odd notes kept me coming back for more.  It’s like watching a train wreck… you can’t look away!).

Finish – Medium length.

In sum – I really don’t know what to make of it.  If I were to stumble upon my blog and read the notes I just listed above, I would say to myself:  “Self, don’t you ever, ever drink this stuff!”.  HOWEVER, I truly enjoyed this whisky and was sad to see my sample go.  Enjoy this whisky when you are cleaning the house – spring cleaning!

Glenrothes 1996 “The Premium Barrel” Single Cask – for info on Douglas Laing “Premium Barrel” Bottlings, click here – Speyside region – 43% ABV – 750ml bottle (please note that the picture of the bottle shown is not the actual Glenrothes bottle.  Rather, it is a bottle from “The Premium Barrel” collection)

On the nose – Clean and brisk nose with a load of lemons.

Pineapple and a good bit of chamomile tea (very nice!).

Light toffee notes, very faint peat smoke.

On the mouth — Strong effervescent mouth feel, thin mouth feel like cut oil.

Butter and toast (though, not together), fennel (not seeds, fennel).

Grassy, spent matches and electrical charges.  That faint peat smoke comes back.

Finish – Decent length.  About as long as it should be I suppose.

In sum – I really liked the Classic Cask more than this expression.  It’s “oddness” was a huge draw for me.

This one was nice, very nice, but I can picture myself going for “The Classic Cask” expression before “The Premium Barrel”.