Tag Archives: Smoke

An everyday dram, Summertime, Suntory - Hakushu

Hakushu Heavily Peated

Japan – 48%ABV – £64

I’m currently stuck at my “favorite” airport in Philadelphia.  I swear, it seems every time I fly through this airport I get screwed by something.  Gosh dang it.  At least I can count on it though, right?  Maybe I should be happy that I can rely on unreliable flights that go in and through the Philly airport.

It is, however, nice to commiserate the reliability of a delayed flight with your bar mate over a nice beer – even if it is 10:30am.  Don’t you feel that your having been inconvenienced on your way home warrants a beer?  I do.  Hello Dogfish Head 60 Minute!!

Misery aside, one thing I do rely on is the quality of Japanese whiskies.  While I can honestly say that I’ve only had 20-25 expressions of Japanese whisky, I can also attest to the fact that there was ever only one that I found to be unpalatable.

The whisky I am reviewing today falls easily within the “wow, this is a damn nice whisky” column.  Hakushu Heavily peated.  This is a NAS (no age statement) whisky that has been matured in ex-bourbon casks.

Special thanks goes out to Yoshi M for the sample!

Let’s give this one a go:

On the nose –  Some interesting stuff going on here: plastic air mattresses, smoked sugar, lemon whoopee pies and imperial hops – a fantastic multi-layered nose.

Let’s press on and see what else we can find:

Distant ashtrays and a good deal of pepper (green peppercorns to be specific).

Baked apples and spice, honied hot water and more lemon.  After a bit, the fruitiness really makes itself known as does some vanilla influence.

On the mouth – As expected, fantastic mouthfeel.  Oily yet lively, bright and satisfying.

In the flavor department, we’ve got all things burned – twigs, elastic waistbands (or gym socks), band-aids and scotch tape.

Antiseptic for sure but not in the way Listerine is; this whisky is really delicious.

There’s a malty (and yet, almost rice-like) quality here to and I reminded of a bit of a Hitachino Nest beer I had last year…

I chugged and finished it 18 minutes before Pesach (Passover) started; just to stay kosher 🙂

Finish – Decent length with a touch of the baked apples I got on the nose and a slight pepperiness (on the sides of the tongue).

In sum – While not as elegant or fruity as the Hakushu 12yo (one of my favorite whiskies, by the way), the extra 5% ABV points and the heavy peat levels on this whisky makes for a fun ride!  Complex and balanced, clean yet smoky, I could find myself pouring this whisky in many situations… even on a summer day (perhaps as a kiss-@$$ peated Mizuwari).

The Hakushu Heavily Peated was a limited release and not available in the US.  Thankfully, if you do want to try Hakushu and want to pop into a US store, you can find their 12yo available in the states now.

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!

Cold Winter, Kilchoman, Need To Bundle Up

Kilchoman Spring 2011 Release – Very mature for its age.

Islay region – 46%ABV – $41 – $60 (another crazy spread in US prices.  And believe it or not, some places sell for more!) | £39

Kilchoman is a very young distillery on Islay in Scotland (young, like only 5 years old, young).  Surely they fall within the peaty style of the island.  With regards to Islay whiskies, only Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain have non-peated whiskies as part of their standard range and as flagship whiskies.

With regards to Kilchoman, from the moment of their inception, Islay whisky-philes have been watching this little farm distillery with a keen eye.  Since their inaugural release, their first REAL whisky (aged at 3 years and 1 day), people have had nothing but good things to say about their products.  The list of people with good reviews is seemingly endless.

As of a later last year, Kilchoman stopped doing their various releases (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and have launched a 2006 vintage – basically a five year old whisky.  To my knowledge, there has been only one indy bottling of Kilchoman and that was put out by the Whisky Exchange.  I have had two of their OB single cask bottlings and really enjoyed them (I still had a tiny bit left from my Binny’s Exclusive bottling).

This is my first run-in with a non-single cask Kilchoman.

On the nose –  Only four years old, eh??  Bright and fresh with some smoke and peat and interestingly enough light notes of juniper (charred as it were).

OK, now some of those younger spirity notes creep through – pear drops, fresh apple too.

Some apple bread joins in on the fun as do some brine/coastal notes but it’s not very intense on that front.

Cinnamon over bread pudding.

Paraffin wax and a brininess as well.

On the mouth – Big, mouth coating, oily, smoky, lemons, limes.

There’s nothing young about this.  One could confuse this for a single cask 10yo Ardbeg.

Cooked apples, baked pears, old and heavily used rubbers/wellies.

Lots and lots going on here.

Finish – A lasting fizziness on the tip of my tongue.  Citrus notes remain.

In sum – This is a fine, fine whisky.  While I think I enjoyed the full throttle experience of 60%+ ABV on the two single cask Kilchomans (or would it be Kilchomen at that point?) a bit more, Kilchoman is showing some great promise.  If their whiskies are this good at only 4 years of age, I can’t wait to see what happened when they release a 10yo!  This is a winter warmer-upper.

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

An everyday dram, Talisker

Talisker 57 North – this stuff is crack-a-lackin’!

Islands – 57%ABV – 700ml bottle – £49 (sadly, this whisky is not readily available in the US so you’ll have to go to your favorite UK whisky shop or pick it up in a duty-free shop where it’s sold in 1L bottles!)

Looking through all of my reviews I noticed that I’ve only reviewed one Talisker to date and that’d be the Talisker 18.

Being that I’m headed there next week I figured I’d change that and right quick!

This Talisker started out, if memory serves, as a duty-free exclusive bottling but due to popularity made its way to UK shelves.  Now, I say “if memory serves” because this whisky was released a couple of years ago.  That being said, I think I’m the last whisky reviewer on earth to review it.

Better late than never!

On the nose –  Is there such a thing as vanilla lemonade?

Loads of citrus and pepper, black pepper.

Salty sea spray on a late autumn morning while fishing for blues – this one is really bringing about some nice memories.

Nice round peaty smokey notes and a load of seaweed.

On the mouth – Oily and very *round* in flavor and a bit effervescent as well.

Nothing on the front of the tongue but the top and sides of the tongue are getting some great notes of lemon pastries and pineapple danish.

Oak and apples with still more salt (kosher-type, not sea salt) and delicious peat.

This is a very nice Talisker, tasty through and through.

Finish – The fizz continues as does some smoke and lemon.

In sum – Like most Taliskers I’ve had, this is just plain lovely.  An easy every day drinker for me… if it were easily available in the US.

Nicely balanced, thoroughly delicious and wholly Talisker.  There’s not mistaking it.

Special thanks goes out to David H for the sample (I think you gave it to me, it was a while ago!)

Cold Winter, Laphroaig, Springtime, Takin' It Easy

Two Laphroaigs, both independently bottled. One from Royal Mile Whiskies the other from Signatory.

This is going to be a sort of cut-to-the-chase review.

More whisky, less preamble.

I’ve got a trip to Scotland to in a few days, lots to review and little time for posting more than notes.

So, two Laphroaigs, both independently bottled. One bottled by Royal Mile Whiskies, one by Signatory.  A death match to the finish (pun intended).

Laphroaig RMW 10yo 56.8% (this bottle is no longer available)

On the nose – Smoky and abrasive yet fruity… sort of like a fruit orchard on fire.

Lemon custard pie with a side of honeycomb cereal.

Very aggressive nose – at 56.8% I’d expect so but… it seems somehow moreish in the hot-alcohol-on-the-nose department.

Pears, cinnamon and pepper; in that order.

Lastly, some notes of tinned pineapple… Tin and all.

On the mouth– 

Not as smoky as the nose lead on.

Fresh oats and other cereals. Very malty.

Creamy attack loaded with lemons and salted, honey and butter slathered toast.

Finish – nice even, drying finish. Like licking a dry Popsicle stick or tongue depressors.

In Sum – A nice well balanced Laphroaig. Well chosen you choosers of cask! I could easily pour this on a warm summer night or a cold winter day. Sounds odd but very doable!  Actually, I’d love to taste this as beer before it becomes spirit.  I imagine it’s delicious.

Laphroaig 8yo Signatory 46% $53

On the nose – very similar, if you ask me, to the RMW version except softer (a result of the lower ABV?).

Here’s an unusual one: blueberry bramble.

Rubber gloves and other things that start with the prefix “Poly”.

On the mouth – A watered down version of the first Laphroaig.

Much sweeter, however, and less malty than the first one.

Finish – Not a dry as the previous Laphroaig and that’s too bad.

In Sum – Something tells me that this would be really nice as a cask strength Whisky.  I might have enjoyed it more if I went for this before the RMW Laphroaig. Note to self, when reviewing two whiskies side by side and one of them is cask strength and the other not… Start with the lower octane one…  That is all.

Special thanks goes out to David H for the samples!