Tag Archives: Soapy

Auchroisk, Dailuaine, Springtime

Scotch Whisky Reviews: Exclusive Malts Dailuaine & Auchroisk

 

Exclusive-Malts-Dailuaine-Auchroisk
Bottle shown is the Exclusive Malts Auchroisk

We’ve got two Scotch Whisky Reviews for you, both as part of the Exclusive Malts range.

The whiskies are Dailuaine and Auchroisk.  Two not-so-commonly bottled distillery single casks (both distilleries are Diageo-owned distilleries, btw)…

Today we’re going to go right into the tasting notes.

Let’ see what we have in store, people!

Dailuaine 21yo – Speyside region – 51% ABV – $138

Whisky Exclusive-Malts-Dailuaine-AuchroiskOn the nose — A bit prickly on the nose and smells about 13 years younger than the age statement states.

It is, however, quite bourbon-y smelling and most assuredly spicy with two scents that hit me from nowhere: water chestnuts and unsweetened, uncinnimoned apple sauce.  In other words, aside from the spice, it’s a bit light in scent to start.

Leather shoes (new), pineapple and mango (unripe).  The tropical fruits are nice here and play well with the spice element.

On the mouth — Massive spice and this one is screaming “Hey!!  I’m a Dailuaine just without the sherry maturation you’re used to, Yossi!”  I’m sure there are plenty of other ex-bourbon Dailuaine bottlings out there but this is my first.  Nice to see that the spirit character remains.

Oily yet effervescent mouthfeel.  Silly putty and vinyl capes from my Jawa action figures from my old Star Wars action figure collection.  No lie.  It’s that specific a note.  If only I kept that figure in the original packaging…

Whisky Exclusive-Malts-Dailuaine-AuchroiskPeppery with orange and pineapple syrup from fruit cups.  Leather (again) and fresh, unburnt pipe tobacco.

Finish — Lasting and lovely.  Peppery and polished.

In sum — A decent offering for a Dailuaine.  Not my favorite as I prefer the sherried Dailuaines but this one tells a story from beginning to end and could surely hold it’s own from a flavor and balance standpoint.

This is an early spring dram.  It has a hopeful feel to me.

Auchroisk 17yo – Speyside region – 55.6% ABV – $???

On the nose — Boy-oh-boy, why the sour puss, Sourpuss?

Quite sour in scent but with hints of chocolate covered orange rinds sitting ‘neath said sourness.

Winter ski gloves after a full day of skiing.  Hey, my notes are getting quite specific today!

Whisky Exclusive-Malts-Dailuaine-AuchroiskRubber dish gloves and a touch of soap (in a good way. Remember, I dig mild soap notes and this is *mild*).  These notes are offset by fresh and dried papaya and some persimmon. Wow, yum!

An unusual nose but inviting, methinks.

On the mouth — ¡Holy frijoles!  It gets all sorts of wacky here.  Very rye-whiskey-like with dill and seeded rye toast (dry, as it were).  Very woody but woody good, like rye or bourbon, not woody bad like whisky gone old and dried out/astringent.  This is far from astringent.

I have to put it out there that the nose is off balance from the mouth but the flavor profile is insanely unique and delicious so it sort of makes up for being off balance.

Whisky Exclusive-Malts-Dailuaine-AuchroiskNew charred oak (the smell of the inside of a freshly drained ex-bourbon cask), vanilla and banana chips.  Orange Tang drink (having nothing to do with Taang!, mind you).

Finish — Finishes with banana chips and a distinct note of what some college students described to me as a “hash pipe.”

Oh, those students!!

In sum — Well, I’m pretty much in love with the flavor profile on this whisky.  It noses OK, too.  This is a conversation piece.  You and some friends can have a lot of fun with this one!

Probably best when part of a tasting.  Be warned, it will likely dominate the conversation…

Special thanks to the especially nice people from ImpEx for the samples!

Cold Winter, Craigellachie, Glen Kieth, Jura, Summertime

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

 

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.

A World of Discovery, Port Ellen, Summertime

Signatory Port Ellen 1982, Bourbon Cask #1202, 26 years old

Islay region – 54.1% – $339 | £? | €?

An out of the blue voicemal:

Marshall (this voicemail is completely paraphrased): “Hey Joshua, Marshall here, just checking to see if you might want a sample pour of some Port Ellen the LASC just got”

I was busy setting up a tradeshow booth so I sent a text:

Joshua: “As ‘The Dude’ would say: Does the Pope shit in the woods? Hell yes!”

The back and forth goes on from there but there are too many expletives and references to “Jewish English” that would make my reproducing of the entire transcript too risque for the JSMWS blog.  No shit.

Special thanks to Marshall and the LASC for the “bad-a$$ F&#$ing great pour” sent to me!

On the nose — Lemon soap suds & sweaty canvas sneakers.

Bright smoke.  Burning, salty driftwood.

Chamomile tea and a bushel of hay on a very, very humid summer’s day.

After a while the bourbon influence is very noticeable with scents of cinnamon and vanilla even fresh corn.

After this, it gets a bit dank and dewy.

On the mouth — The ABV is barely… wait a sec.  Wow, this is really…really heating up on me.

Oh crap!  This goes from oily, soft and sweet then onto being thin, hot and fiery in a matter of 6-7 seconds…

Let’s have another go at this:  Grassy, earthy, flinty, almost electric.

It starts off with freshly bitten plum then moves into pink lemonade.

This is evolving with every single sip.

Soapy, like on the nose and growing into sugary tart Sweetarts.

Honeyed teas and salted, baked lemons.

Finish — Lasting and evolving, hot, spicy and lemony sweet.

In sum — Nicely balanced.  I really dug the way the flavors exploded and evolved with every second.  A late summer’s night dram if you have a shit ton of cash to spare!  Very enjoyable.  For the $$ tag on this one, I can spend less on another whisky that can also be enjoyed on a late summer’s night.

All You Need Is Love, Edradour, Let's celebrate!, Refreshed

Edradour 10yo – 1999 Sauternes finish bottled at 57.6% ABV

Highland Region – 57.6%ABV – £43 | €50

I’ve seen many bottlings of Edradour whisky on the shelves here in the US.  I’ve always liked the packaging and the fact that many of the bottles I saw were bottled at cask strength and seemed to be somewhat experimental in nature with many different types of wine and barrel finishes.

It wasn’t until my interview with Mr. Alan Shayne (President of the US chapter of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, SMWSA) that I really began to consider a bottle.  When Alan mentioned that one of his uncles was once an owner of the distillery, I instantly wanted to try some.

Being a lover of Sauternes finished whiskies, when Master of Malt offered me some free 3cl sized samples I chose this as one of them.  A big thanks goes out to Master of Malt for the sample!

Sadly, since writing up this post, MoM is out of the full bottles…

I expect this whisky to be delicious (Sauternes finish, cask strength… what’s not to love or look forward to?) Let’s see if this whisky lives up to my expectations:

On the nose — Big warm, sauternesy nose loaded with apricot, walnuts, honey and white grapes.

So far so good.

Oranges, cloves and warm cream.

Fruity yet savory liquid hand soap.

A whisper of rosemary.

Toasty rye bread, dry.

On the mouth — A very soapy entry.

After that, more of the same from the nose.

This is a good thing as the sauternes finish compliments this whisky very nicely.

Apricot jam and sour/sugared apple lollipops – very puckering.

Finish — Shortish yet, warming, mouth watering and savory/sweet

In sum — An instant favorite for me.  Of all the finishes for a whisky, sauternes is my favorite.  When done right, it puts me in heaven.  Save this whisky for some YOU time.

An everyday dram, Cold Winter, Jura, Summertime

Four whisky reviews today – tasting the Isle of Jura range!

Isle of Jura.  A lot can be said about Jura but, as you’ll see below, I’ve got a shit ton to cover just with my tasting notes.

This said, let’s hit the highlights shall we?:

  • The Isle of Jura is a small little Isle located east & north of Islay
  • Isle of Jura distillery is the only distillery located on Jura- “On an island just 7 miles wide and 30 miles
    long, there is but one road, one hotel and one distillery.    “
  • People from Jura call themselves Diurachs (Gaelic)
  • Diurachs are a superstitious lot but they make some pretty tasty whisky!

Isle of Jura 10yo – 43%ABV – $35 | £25 | €29

On the nose — Soapy fresh nose, even surpassing a Bowmorian soapiness (slightly soapier than many Bowmore whiskies I’ve had).

Limon™ sweetness of 7UP™ soda with gobs of malt to boot.

Spider mums and an absolute hint of peat smoke.

On the mouth — A decent and slightly oily entry filled with malty notes and a touch of the soap I got on the nose.

Very sweet potpourri, aniseed and toasty oaken notes.

Finish — Peppery and spicy finish with more soap and malty sweet notes.

Isle of Jura 16yo – 43%ABV – $45 | £41 | €48

On the nose — Soft nose; sweet yet salty and strong with a note of licorice.

Soapy yet not as much as the 10yr Jura.

Threads of smoke and spicy citrus.

Candle wax, malty and hay.

Heide brand candy cardboard box (one which previously held Jujyfruits).

Plastic shopping bags too.

On the mouth — Spicy attack from the get-go.

Lipstick and eyeshadow (smell a make-up bag and this is what I’m tasting).

Light (ever so light) peat smoke and some of that hay I got on the nose.

Chewy wine gums, even Jujubees (another Heide brand candy) and fresh tobacco.

Finish — Short finish, slight spice and a touch of that wax from the nose.

Isle of Jura ‘Superstition’ – 43%ABV – $40 | £29 | €34

On the nose — Waft of burnt pricker bushes, peat smoke and rosewater.

Toffee, caramels and fizz candies.

Toasted, nearing burnt, apple skins.

Figgy pudding – there’s even a little mustard seed in here.

On the mouth — Very sweet and a viscous mouth feel.

Back to the fizzy candies and lemon sugar drops.

The peat does not seem to translate to the palate as much as I expected.

Finish — Peppery and sweet yet shorter than that dude from Ron Howard’s “Willow” (do you think Mr. Howard is happy about having his name on that crap movie?).  Granted, that guy was great as Wicket, the fun loving Ewok from Return of the Jedi.  But, Willow!?  Come on folks.  Oop, sorry.  I digress….

Isle of Jura ‘Prophecy’ – 46%ABV – $65 | £50 | €59

On the nose — I like what I’m smelling here.

Smoke and seashells by the seashore.

Oak and soy sauce.

Very nutty with hints of wood shavings.  A tad suphuric but it seems to add to rather than take from (as opposed to many other “match-stick malts” that will go unnamed here).

On the mouth — Sweet peat, peaty and sweet (I see you rockin’ that peat from across the street).

Sugar lemon drops, just like with the Superstition but there’s a general ashiness here that I didn’t find in the Superstition – very appetizing.

There’s more fruit as well.

Perhaps some golden delicious apple and hints of fuzzy peach (unrippened as it were).

Finish — Rhubarb pie, key lime pie, π.  Good length.

And finally, in sum — While I found the 10yo to be a bit one dimensional with all of the soap and sweetness it was enjoyable and very easy going.  One to keep on the shelves as a nice mid-summer dram. Nah, I take that back, there’s a slightly wintery feel to this as well.  Enjoy in front of a fire perhaps with a good book.

The 16yo had a nice balance to it; more enjoyable than the 10yr.  Obviously, it’s older than the 10yr but there’s a maturity there that seems beyond the 16yrs.  Very enjoyable stuff.  A nice mid-day, autumn dram.

I found the ‘Superstition’ to be an interesting one.  Maybe not the whisky itself but my approach to it.  I had a bottle of this a couple of years ago and found it quite one-dimensional; all peat smoke (and odd smoke at that).  Being that this is a lightly peated dram, I’m not sure why I was unable to get past it at the time.  Today’s tasting found it to be more one-dimensional toward the sweet side.  So, where does that leave me (us).  Not sure…  I will say, this may be one that’s better to just enjoy rather than dissect…

The ‘Prophecy’ was really enjoyable, the star of the current range if you ask me.  Can be enjoyed at anytime and in any situation.  Dare I say, an everyday malt??

Special thanks goes out to Lyz Nardo for the generous samples!