Archives for September 22, 2015

Balblair / 1975 Vintage / 2nd Release

Summary: The second release of Balblair 1975 was launched in February 2012 and replaced 1978. Typically fresh yet full bodied, this fine Balblair Vintage displays aromas of citrus fruits, vanilla, toffee and coconut.
The second release of Balblair 1975 is a rich gold colour.
Typically fresh yet full bodied, this fine Balblair vintage displays aromas of citrus fruits, vanilla, toffee and coconut. The American oak ex-sherry casks used in maturation impart a rich and sweet vanilla flavour.
On the palate it is sweet and spicy; fresh fruits and honey combine with a slightly oaky note to create a long and warming finish.
Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands.
Unit: 70cl.
ABV: 46%.
Ratings: 94.5 Points – Jim Murray's 2014 Whisky Bible.

Glenglassaugh / Torfa (peated)

Summary: At Glenglassaugh, in addition to the traditional production, they also produce a very limited quantity of whisky using richly peated malted barley as the cereal varietal. The malted barley has been dried in the traditional way, over peat infused kilns, giving the whisky its unique smoky flavour. Glenglassaugh ‘Torfa’, with its peaty, phenolic nature, is a unique expression, and is quite different to the usual style of whisky produced in the Highlands. Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside. Unit: 70cl ABV: 50%. Cask Formula: Fully matured in ex-bourbon barrels. Peat level is 20 ppm. Appearance: Gleaming yellow gold. Nose: Vivid, sweet, sooty campfire smoke and sea air infuses zest of lime, apricot jam and ripe soft fruits; all gently warmed by hints of stem ginger and cracked black pepper. Palate: An eloquent, sweet coastal peat smoke engulfs candied peel over melon, pineapple and roasted red apples. Oat biscuits, hints of heather honey and a gentle cigar box spice all combine to give a terrific balance to the expressive smoky character. Finish: A heady, yet elegant harmony of distinct coastal peat and striking spiced fruit flavours.

Glenmorangie / Tùsail

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands.
Unit: 70cl.
ABV: 46%.
The 6th release from Glenmorangie's award-winning Private Edition, Tùsail is the product of a carefully-selected parcel of Maris Otter barley, floor-malted by hand using traditional techniques, and non chill-filtered.
A rich winter variety of barley first introduced in 1965, Maris Otter was bred specifically to meet the demand for a high quality brewing malt and recognized for its ability to impart rich, rustic malty flavours. Now used only by a select few who continue, like Glenmorangie, to uphold an ethos of sacrificing yield for quality by using only the finest ingredients, the result is a whisky celebrating the variety’s renowned taste profile.
Aroma: Deep earthy, robust aromas of malty, biscuity tones, with a backbone of nut toffee.
Taste: A rich, rustic profile of nut toffee, sweet barley malt, ginger, cinnamon, and dates in molasses complements more familiar Glenmorangie notes of peaches, oranges and smoked pears.
Finish: Tùsail lingers on with a mouth-coating finish.

Speyburn / Speyburn Clan Cask 37 Year Old

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands.
Unit: 70cl.
ABV: 55.4%.
Age: 37 Year Old.
Distilled: 1975
Bottled: 2012
The Clan Cask is an exceptional whisky with an interesting history. Laid down in 1975, this whisky has spent 37 years maturing in the traditional dunnage at the Speyburn Distillery. It has been aged in a Spanish oak sherry cask from Pedro Domecq, the oldest Bodega in Jerez. The cask was used originally to mature Pedro Ximenez sherry, and it is this preparation that gives the whisky its dark colour today.
Specially selected by Distillery Manager Bobby Anderson, this limited edition bottling of just one cask is now available exclusively to members of Clan Speyburn.
Colour: Burnt copper.
Nose: Spicy and sweet with distinct notes of fruit cake, cloves and raisins on a bed of honey and toffee. Polished wood and dark chocolate aromas emerge with time revealing intense maturity and depth. A drop of water brings out sweet green apple freshness.
Taste: Full bodied and rich from the start. Bursting with spicy praline and butterscotch flavours underpinned by mouth-watering leathery bitterness.
Finish: Long and intense. Speaks of hot Christmas pudding and pepper.

Highland Park / Odin

Summary: Highland Park Odin represents a single malt Scotch whisky worthy of its namesake – the formidable and commanding ruler of Asgard. Its intense complexity ensures this final release is deserving of its rightful place at the head of the Valhalla Collection. Colour: Vivid burst of sunlight. Nose: This intense whisky possesses a fierce spice; cinnamon bark and nutmeg rise from Odin’s spirit. Behind the spice, toasted walnuts smoulder with pulsating explosions of smoke. Odin cuts an ominous figure and this whisky is no different. Palate: A huge, powerful palate draws on the complexity of Odin’s character. Layers of peat uncover thousands of years of wisdom. Dense oak and still smouldering away are the rich charred walnuts. Finish: Throughout is a subtle sweetness, sharing the knowledge of well-seasoned sherry wines. Plums and soft fruit disappear into the dark as the peaty embers glow into a smoky finale. Unit: 70cl. ABV: 55.8%. For sale only within the EEC.

Isle Of Arran / Machrie Moor Cask Strength First Edition

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Isle of Arran.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 58.4%
Bottled: 2014.
The first release of Arran Machrie Moor, cask strength edition…Only 480 bottles of this limited edition bottling released to the UK. A peating level of 20PPM.
Nose: fruity notes under a waxy earthy almost leathery note with zest and hunts marzipan. Sweet oaky touches too. This feels youthful. And water helps it a lot
Palate: alcoholic bite on entry. This is indeed CS. A wisp of smoke too with the sweet fruity pear drops and earthy peat which develops Into creamy vanilla and wood. Pepper and ginger with a citrus note too.
Finish: oak earth and pepper. Dry with hints of pears and apple tart.

Ardbeg / Galileo

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Islay.
ABV: 49%
Bottle Size: 70cl.
So why call it Galileo you ask? Story goes that Ardbeg sent some whisky into space (to test how whisky matures in zero gravity), and this bottle is all we got… Or something like that. It’s not really important what was sent into space, and why (PR, I guess), but this special release is vintage 1999, and is quite yummy. This is a 12 year old whisky (which is a nice change from the 10 or NAS we’re used to getting from Ardbeg), and this time the it has been matured both in the conventional ex-Bourbon casks and both in ex-Marsala wine casks (Essentially a sweet wine made in Sicily, Italy), which should make it quite sweet and fruity. Peat and sweet wine tend to go well together (We’ve seen that in many other Islay whiskies, from Ardbeg, and other distilleries) , and this is a good example IMHO.
Nose: nice and smooth with sweet sugared and salted nuts, some fruit too: tangerine and a touch of pineapple. Sweet peat with leather tar and strawberry flavored Bamba (Israelis, you duped know what I’m talking about here). Some plums and date paste. Seaweed. Very nice sweet salty interplay here.
Palate: starts peaty and fruity with orchard fruit , peat and pepper as well as sweet marinated pork belly. Pepper, sweet cinnamon rolls! Quite creamy. There are quite some tannins and burnt sugar / caramel and salty sugared peanuts.
Finish: salty sweet bacon. Tar. Caramel and creamy achy smoky notes.
Conclusion: This is a tasty dram! Really liked it, especially for the sweet / salty / bamba like flavours, fruitiness, and balance. The peat and wine really work well, it’s not very peaty, and more balanced, with the nose a tad better than the palate, but still a worthy 12 yo Ardbeg which is different than the mainstream Ardbegs. Easy drinking, while preserving the Islay touch. Worthwhile if you can get a bottle for a decent price.
Tasting Notes: Whisky Israel.

Ardbeg / Supernova Committee Edition 2014

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Islay.
ABV: 55%
Unit: 70cl
The whisky world has been watching, waiting, anticipating. And salivating. Finally, Supernova is back and it has evolved. The presence of sherry-matured stock has imparted an extra dimension, creating a deeper richness… firing up the spiciness…. and boosting the sweetness. But it’s still one of the peatiest Ardbegs on earth.
Aroma: The first sniff instantly transports you into orbit, with the intense zestiness of smoked lemons and pears, lemongrass and pine needles, embedded in a deep, resinous, sticky waxy base.
This initial, tangy vapour trails off, bringing in the tranquil whiff of salty, briny, seaweed-covered shores. More solid scents are then discovered, with the mineral-like tone of flint and granite, sooty smoke and a fresh, mentholic stab of peppermint.
Water droplets trigger a metaphorical smoke bomb, with dense layers of billowing, aromatic smoke, peaty earth and the vegetal sharpness of heater root. Finally, a curious, sharp-sweet burst of delicious applewood smoked cheese is encountered
Taste: With the first sip, a gentle warmth ignites and builds until the sensation becomes distinctively peppery, spicy and electric. The onslaught of flavour comes in at warp speet as powerful peppermint, antiseptic lozenges and other familiar, medicinal tones orbit around Supernova's immense, peaty core.
Dark, dark birch tar intermingles with spicy-sweet chilli flavoured chocolates, while the entire mouth and palate are coated in luscious linseed oil
Finish: The velocity increases, until it is almost off the scale, with rich flavours of tar, creosote, briar wood, spicy tobacco and liquorice root. The aftertaste simply disappears into infinity, such is its length.

Bruichladdich / 21 Year Old

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Islay.
ABV: 57%
Age: 21 Years Old.
THIS BOTTLING COMES FROM AN INCREASINGLY RARE PARCEL OF SUPREME OLOROSO SHERRY CASKS MATURED IN OUR WAREHOUSES. IT IS THE GLORIOUS END OF AN ERA AND IS UNLIKELY TO BE REPEATED FOR SOME TIME.
It was 18th and 19th century wars with France that spawned the demand for Sherry. Once bottled in the UK, Sherry casks were readily used by the Scotch whisky industry in the absence of any others. Fresh Oloroso casks will continue to be sourced, but on a very small scale compared to the heady Sherry days of the sixties and before.
This combination of rich Oloroso Sherry influences and a full-term maturation in Islay’s Atlantic marine climate has created Bruichladdich’s richest, most shamelessly decadent and full-bodied whisky to date – an ideal dram for those important reflective, night-cap moments.
Character: Full and mellow, rounded and rich with a unique character that comes only from malts matured full term in Oloroso sherry butts.
Colour: Late afternoon Jerez sunshine.
Nose: Dark butterscotch, cocoa–sprinkled hazelnuts, soft banana, prune syrup, plump dark raisins and Amaretti biscuits all jostle to take centre stage. The nose will also detect a zephyr of salty sea breezes. After the initial fiesta experience has calmed, beautiful soft green fruits emerge bringing lychee, passion fruit, melon and mango along with the sweetness of maltose and barley sugar.
Palate: The full power and passion is best experienced without the addition of water. However, we leave that to you. It is a Grande Reserva or in Gaelic bival arfad – “Absolutely beautiful!”.
Finish: A cultural melody, the wildness of Islay and the warmth of Spain combined in a unification of flavours that is heart-warming and haunting.
Mood: Decadently mellow. Rejoice and give yourself over to the 21 years of life you hold in your hand!.
Slight dent on tin.
 

Caol Ila / 27 Year Old Hunter Laing Rare Edition

Summary: Douglas Laing & Co. proudly offer this fine example of the Distillers’ Art as a special selection from their oldest stocks of whisky. No water is added to reduce its strength, as the Angel’s share has already taken care of that. No caramel, colouring is added, so that you can see it’s pure and natural colour. They have chosen to bottle this malt without chill-filtration in the old fashioned and traditional style. By so doing, they leave in the entire Distillers’ preferred qualities apparent on the nose, palate and finish – self evident when you remove the cork. As you can see on the label, this is one bottle of a very restricted offering, which once consumed, cannot ever be repeated.
On the nose, detect a harbourlike quality with an Islay ferry, oily engine room style plus late soft summer tar. The palate opens softly and sweetly spiced, developing to a richly smoked, softly peated character. On the finish, waves of smoke and spices intermingle and run to a hot chilli amd dark chocolate trait plus a late mentholated style.

Balvenie / Tun 1509 Batch #1

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Unit: 70cl.
ABV: 50.3%
Bottles Filled: 3000
To create the first batch of Tun 1509, David* carefully hand selected 42 of the finest casks – 35 traditional American oak barrels and seven European oak sherry butts – from the distillery’s precious aged stocks.
All were transferred to Tun 1509, which sits in Warehouse 24, for several months before bottling. This is a rare interpretation of the marrying process and allows all 42 casks to come together to create a unique expression of The Balvenie that’s greater than the sum of its constituent parts.
TASTING NOTES: Deep and rich on the nose, with floral notes, sweet vanilla and orange peel. Velvety smooth to taste with tangy citrus, mellow cinnamon spice and blossom honey.
*David Stewart, Malt Master.

Glenlivet / 18 Year Old Guardians Single Cask

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Unit: 70cl
Age: 18 Year Old.
Cask No: 2911
ABV: 55.7%
Bottling date: 14/11/2011
The Glenlivet Guardians Single Cask Edition, which was hand-selected by members of The Glenlivet Guardians – the brands online community – at an exclusive event in London in 2011.
The 18 Year Old expression, aged in a second-fill sherry butt, is non chill-filtered and bottled at 55.7% ABV cask strength.
Just 631 bottles will be available exclusively to purchase or sample at VIP Guardian events.
Colour: Deep gold.
Palate: Gentle oakiness, creamy, spicy, vanilla & gingerbread.
Nose without water: Mocha, golden syrup, earthy, toasted oats.
Nose with water: Cinnamon, marzipan, dried fruit.
Finish: Medium long, balance, warm, multi-layered.