Tag Archives: Tangerines

Arran, Autumn, Springtime

The final in the Icons of Arran Series – The Golden Eagle

Islands region – 46% ABV – £41 (£34 excluding VAT – Value Added Tax) – not sold in US shops…

Let’s hear it for the fourth and final Icon of Arran bottling!

They started off with the “Peacock” then went onto the “Rowan Tree”.  “The Westie” did not have its tail between its legs when he appeared as the third Icon of Arran and following that one is this: The Golden Eagle.

If you look closely on any Arran bottle, you’ll see that, embossed in the glass of the bottles, there are birds.  Those birds are the famous Golden Eagles that nest themselves around the distillery.  On any given day, if you look up in the sky, you’ll see those beauties flying about.  They fly so strong and sure – gorgeous creatures and a fitting end the the title of the last Icon of Arran.

On the nose –  Incredibly soft (like sniffing the softness of a baby’s behind… sans the poop and such).

I detect and interesting mix of tangerines and light incense (sandalwood – again, light).

Baby aspirin (orange cream) followed by some pear candies and a tad spice of spice…

On the mouth – Great mouthfeel – very… Arran.  Very full/viscous.

This flavors here follow the lead of what I got on the nose – very soft and delicate, *subdued*.

The Arran apples are here in baked form (I often find apples in Arran whiskies).

Fresh rain on a spring day.

Reminiscent of many Arrans I’ve had but a much more restrained version. Like and aerated chocolate bar, if you catch my meaning… it’s still a chocolate bar but something is different about it, the flavors are held back/elusive.

Finish – Speaking of chocolate, there’s a touch of milk chocolate on the finish which, by the way, is medium in length.

In sum – This is such an easy going whisky!  Perfect on a cool spring night or a warm fall evening and a good entree for your friends that are scared to try Scotch whisky.

For me, I was hoping for a bit more presence for the final Icon – something that would go out in a bang.  Then again, perhaps the goal was to match the elegance of the Golden Eagles that fly about the Arran distillery.  If this is the case, Arran has met their goal.

Special thanks to JJY for the sample!  

Speaking of JJY, you can check out his review over at guidscotchdrink.com

 

Let's celebrate!, Refreshed, Springtime, Summertime, Suntory - Chita

Suntory Chita – Single Grain Japanese Whisky

Japan – 43%ABV – ¥8400

A few weeks ago I was in Seattle on business.  For a couple of evenings while there, I had the opportunity to have dinner and drinks at a great place called Liberty Bar.  Liberty specializes in sushi (pretty damn good sushi at that – well, I can vouch for the vegetarian rolls…) and fine spirits of all kinds including Japanese whisky, Pisco, Scotch Whisky, American Whiskey, Mezcal… the list can go on and on.

While I was at Liberty, Andrew, one of the proprietors and reader of of the JSMWS blog, introduced me to some super fine spirits.  And this one, the Suntory Single Grain Chita whisky, was one of them.  Thanks again, Andrew!

I was quite impressed with the Chita and wanted to share the good word on it so I reached out to my friend Yoshi Morita for a review sample.  Yoshi was kind enough to send me some and now I can share my thoughts with you – ヨッシー、ありがとう！

I will soon be posting the details regarding my Seattle trip and my full whisky experience while I was there.  It was an amazing ride for me and my palate!

For now, let’s get to this whisky!

On the nose — Sweet oranges – even orange creamsicles.  Better yet, baby aspirin.

Fresh grains and farm hay.

Even a little farmy or, better yet, “farm catty”.  What do I mean?  It’s like sticking your nose in a farm cat’s neck and taking a whiff.

I’m a cat guy and I’ve known some farm cats, what can I say?

Smelling the taste of endive spears now…

In general, there’s a fresh produce feel to the nose – a mix of many scents to form one solid “produce” scent.

Very pleasant nose.

On the mouth — Back to the oranges, perhaps tangerines better describes the flavor of this.

Like drinking silken pantyhose or a licking velvet – that’s what the mouthfeel is like.

A bit salty (hello, unexpected!).

Finish — Medium in length with a few more of those “produce” notes.

In sum — The nose is great!  While in flavor it’s not incredibly complex, it’s completely delicious.  Very drinkable, very easy going.  Lovely for the summer time and I imagine you could mix this quite nicely with some Chambord and perhaps a little Grand Marnier with a few other components to make a super fruity funtime drink.

Just for fun, let’s see how badly Google translates my tasting notes into Japanese:

スウィートオレンジ–もオレンジ色のcreamsicles鼻について。いっそのこと、赤ちゃんのアスピリン。新鮮な穀物やファーム干し草。少しでもfarmyまたは、いっそのこと、”ファーム斤”。私は何を意味するのですか？これは、サーバーファームの猫の首に鼻を貼り付けると匂いを取るようなものです。私は猫の男だと私は私が言うことができるいくつかのファームの猫を知っていた？つの固体”生産”の香りを形成する多くの香りのミックス-今エンダイブ槍の味を嗅ぐ…一般的には、新鮮な、鼻に感じる生成ありません。非常に快適な鼻。

口の中で-このページのオレンジには、おそらくより良いみかんこれを説明しています。口当たりがどのようなものだ-絹のようなパンや好みベルベット飲むように。ビット塩味（こんにちは、予期しない！）

仕上げは-中数の組み合わせと長さがこれらのノート”を生成する”。

要するに-鼻が素晴らしいです！味では信じられないほど複雑ではないが、それは完全においしいです。飲用、非常に簡単に非常に行く。夏ラブリーおよび私はあなたが超フルーティーなfuntimeの飲み物を作るにいくつかの他のコンポーネントと非常にきれいいくつかシャンと、おそらくほとんどグランマルニエこれを混在させることが想像してください。

And now from the Japanese back into English:

Suuitoorenji – creamsicles orange on the nose too. Better yet, a baby aspirin.Hay, grain and farm fresh. Farmy little or, better yet, “Farm loaf.” I do you mean?This is like taking a nose to smell and paste the farm cat’s neck. I am a cat man and I knew some of the farm cats can I say? One solid “production” of fragrance mix to form the smell of many – now smell the taste of endive spears … In general, fresh produce not feel my nose. Very pleasant nose.

In the mouth – in orange on this page are perhaps better illustrates this orange.What is the taste – like drinking bread Miya Yoshi silky velvet. Bit salty (Hello, unexpected!)

Finishing – these notes are a combination of the number and length of the “Generate.”

In short – a great nose! The flavor is incredibly complex, but it is completely delicious. Drinking, go very easy. I am very fruity and your lovely summer funtime Shan and some very clean and some other components to make a drink, please imagine that most probably a mix of Grand Marnier it.