Tag Archives: Spiced

A blind-ish tasting of some crazy mixed up old juice…

A funny thing happened on the way to “GlenHatton”…

“Wait, what’s GlenHatton?”

“GlenHatton” is a something I’ve been brewing for some time now.  I’ve been pouring my “Dregs”* into a single bottle, about 26 whiskies in all, and reached a point were it seemed to smell & taste… interesting.  So, being taught that “sharing is caring” I reached out to some people via the JSMWS Facebook page to see if they wanted to try it.  I received more responses than I could shake a stick at and could only dole out about 6 samples.  There will be a a series of “GlenHatton” posts in the very near future…  “Watch this space”

*(“Dregs” Noun.  Meaning in the Whisky World: The final bits of many whisky bottles or samples that where there simply was not enough left to drink as a dram, or barely more than a few drops.)

So, one of the lucky 6 recipients of my GlenHatton Dregs whisky asked if I were interesting in tasting an all-malt blend that he had been working on (Sssseeeeee??? sharing IS caring!!).  I, of course, said ‘hell yeah!’ and asked what was in the blend.  He could not tell me.  All he could say was that this was some OLD juice!  He did give some names and a range of dates: 60’s Balvenie, 30’s Mortlach, some old-ass LittleMill and a few others.  Again, the information was as limited as could be.  That’s cool.  I figured it’d be a fun experiment regardless…

Thanks to EM for the sample!

On the noseFruity and dusty at the same time.

A high sweet corn-like note is uncovered after the first sip and is off-set by a slight touch of smoke.

Light berry jam (think a mix of raspberry and strawberry) and a whiff of wood.

Jasmine tea (a lovely note).

Light sweet butter.  A touch of coconut and a bit of pineapple.

On the mouth ***Incredibly thick*** and seemingly growing in volume  (perhaps my mouth is watering?).  Flat soda.

I’m guessed the ABV was pretty low, no more than 43% (EM corrected me, its just over 44%ABV).

Toasted cream pastries and warmed woody bits.

Spicy and spiced notes of fresh and juicy melon.

Mango, sticky rice and coconut milk (Thai mango sticky rice).

Finish Fruity & tropical – filled with mango and persimmons.  Lasting fruitiness.

In sum A cool mix of fruits, wood, smoke (however slight) and Asian-style goodness.  All-in-all a nicely balanced, enjoyable whisky.  Perhaps the best thing about this whisky was the mango sticky rice note (I am SO HUNGRY right now).

Lagavulin 21yo – a stunningly magnificent Scotch Whisky!

Islay Region – 56.5%ABV – $895 (750ml) | £575 or €684 (700ml)

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday… To the JSMWS blog!

That’s right people, today is the one year anniversary of the Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society’s blog.  It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year since the blog was started.

We celebrated the birth of the blog with an Islay malt – the Ardbeg Uigeadail.  Even though the newer version is slightly different than the one I reviewed, I still can not drink that whisky without thinking of the combination of seaweed, leather, blood and raisins.

Being that the blog was birthed on Islay peat, I thought it’d be a good idea to celebrate the anniversary with Islay peat.

Folks, what I’m about to share the details of has to be the finest whisky I’ve had to date.  Plain and simple.

On the nose This is 56.5%ABV?!  Insanely soft on the nose.  Not quite sure where to start as this nose seems to be filled with a bazillion different scents…

Instant sweetness – dark brown sugar and black strap molasses.

Sweet cigars, smoked dates (is there such a thing?) and fresh sea air yet something a bit musty or dusty about it.

Warmed and sticky chocolate fudge – I can practically smell the fudge soften!

This is just plain brilliant!

Oysters on the half-shell as well dried and salted whitefish.

Driftwood, salty capers and warm salted carmel.

The nose is incredibly dense and rich and purely decedent.

On the mouth Much more tannic/dry than expected.

Fantastic smokey attack accompanied by Mineola oranges and powered sugar candies.

The smoke attack turned into a “sweet blast” which then turned quite peppery.

Some more of the oyster notes I got on the nose but now it’s transformed into smoked oysters.

Sugared and dried figs as well as vanilla pods.

Dusty attic furniture, a very active humidor, dates mashed with demerara sugar, nutmeg and cloves.  Fresh potting soil.  The list could go on and on and on…

Finish Long and nutty with traces of fried walnuts, green olives and a honeyed oakiness.

In sum Do you have an extra $900 or so?  If so, buy a bottle STAT.  This is the ultimate in smoky celebratory whisky.  I had this one to celebrate the one year anniversary of the blog.  A well chosen dram for the occasion.

If I had a full bottle, I’d save the next dram for my oldest daughter’s Bat Mitzvah.  Yup, I’d wait 9 years to pour this again.  It’s worth the wait.

Unending thanks goes out to Stephen L, Marshall N, the LA Scotch Club and the Green Bay Packers.