Archives for March 2016

Bunnahabhain / Feis Ile 2013 – Sgeul Na Mara

Summary: Country/ Region: Scotland/Islay.
Alcohol by volume: 60.1%
Date Distilled: .
Age: 10 Year Old.
Cask Type: Sherry Butt.
Cask #: 7
Bottles Filled: 606
Only 606 bottles were released, each hand signed by Distillery Manager Andrew Brown and Master Distiller Ian MacMillan. Sgeul Na Mara is Gaelic for 'Tales of the Sea'.

Bunnahabhain / Feis Ile 2015 – Rubha A' Mhail

Summary: Country/ Region: Scotland/Islay.
Alcohol by volume: 57.4%
Date Distilled: .
Age: 11 Year Old.
Cask Type: Manzanilla Sherry Butts.
Cask #:
Bottles Filled: 1200
Nose: Sharp peat and cereal, and some big young notes – dank, almost. But absolutely balanced and correct. Deeper, burnt cereal with time, and a lovely winey note backing it. Good stuff.
Body: Rich, sweet and very full bodied, balanced and intense. Red berries, red wine and tannins all the way.
Finish: Spicy and very sweet, lots of wine – sherry and red wine casks I would have guessed, but Manzanilla it is. A long, intense finish.
What's not good about it: Spikes of immaturity throughout – tasted blind I might have said this is the kind of unbalanced delivery you might get from a single cask.
What's good about it: But that's mitigated by a lot of enjoyment at the many things it does get right – intense and delicious throughout, with great, balanced peat character, lots of red fruit and tannic like a good red wine.
Tasting Notes: Bens Whisky Blog.

Hazelburn / 10 Year Old / Springbank Open Day 2013

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Campbeltown.
Unit: 70cl.
ABV: 59%
Cask: Fresh Bourbon.
Age: 10 Year Old.
Distilled: April 2003
Bottled: May 2013
Bottles Filled: 218

Longrow / 13 Year Old Selected For Springbank Society Members

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Campbeltown.
Unit: 70cl
Age: 13 Year Old.
ABV: 56.7%
Distilled/Bottling: 2001/2015
Bottles Filled: 336 Bottles.
Nose: Fresh green apples and gooseberries to the fore, with hints of lemon grass and a subtle peat influence. There are also maritime notes combined well with a smoked applewood aroma.
Palate: A very smooth, creamy dram with notes of pine wood, vanilla and banana. Peat is also present which complements the sweet, saltiness of this whisky.
Finish: A long and chewy finish with an intense vanilla butter cream ending. A classic Longrow whisky, oily with the peat rolling back after each sip.

Springbank / 9 Year Old / Springbank Open Day 2013

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Campbeltown.
Unit: 70cl
Age: 9 Year Old.
ABV: 58.6%
Cask Type: Refill Gaja Varolo Hogshead.
Distilled: 2004
Bottled: May 2013
Bottles Filled: 295

Springbank Fs Hhd / 10 Year Old / Duty Paid Sample

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Campbeltown.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 54.4%
Age: 10 Year Old.
Distilled: 2004.
Warehouse: 7
Rotation No: 524
Hand drawn straight from the cask by Distillery Manager, Gavin McLachlan. Available only from the distillery.

Springbank Fs Hhd / 12 Year Old Duty Paid Sample

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Campbeltown.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 54.1%
Age: 12 Year Old.
Distilled: 2003.
Warehouse: 7
Rotation No: 591
Hand drawn straight from the cask by Distillery Manager, Gavin McLachlan. Available only from the distillery.

Dalmore / 1981 Amoroso Sherry Finesse

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Highland. ABV: 42%. Unit: 70cl. 26 years in American white oak bourbon barrels followed by a short, intense period in Amoroso sherry casks from world-renowned bodega Gonzalez Byass has delivered a quite stunning single malt whisky. This single cask bottling has yielded just 484 bottles. Tasting Notes: Almonds, citrus, autumn fruits. This 1981 Amoroso Finesse combines crushed almonds, citrus fruits and warm berries with whispers of cherry, plum and mandarin. The extra period of finesse in Amoroso Sherry wood has nurtured the spicy character of this stunning single malt.

Benriach / 10 Year Old Single Malt

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
ABV: 43%
Unit: 70cl
This release is a momentous high point for the award-winning Elgin distillery as the whisky is the first core range expression to be produced predominantly from spirit distilled under The BenRiach Distillery Company’s eleven-year ownership.
Managing Director Billy Walker and his South African partners Wayne Kieswetter and Geoff Bell acquired BenRiach from Chivas Brothers in April 2004.
Bottled at 43% vol, the BenRiach 10 Years Old is Classic Speyside in character. The cask formula focuses on ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks – exactly the types of wood we favour at BenRiach. This fresh, lively, fruit-laden single malt captures warm oak spices, green apple, dried apricots, peach and banana with subtle touches of aniseed, lemon zest and barley.
Style: Classic Speyside.
Nose: A fresh and lively combination of crisp, green orchard fruits, stem ginger and hints of tangerine mellows to creamy vanilla with a delicate note of mint and a gentle twist of citrus; all held together with a sweet barley back note.
Colour: Crisp summer gold.
Character: Warm toasted oak spices flood through green apple skins and dried apricots, ripening to hints of peach and soft banana. Subtle touches of aniseed and lemon zest create a contrasting edge to the fruit and add an intriguing character to the long, crisp barley finish.

Glenburgie / 17 Year Old Smws Curious And Intriguing / Cask # 7141

Summary: Country/ Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Alcohol by volume: 57.2%
Bottler: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Cask No: 71.41
Date Distilled: 26th March 1998.
Age: 17 years.
Cask Type: Refill Ex-Sherry Gorda.
Bottles Filled: 720
A curious and intriguing nose – we found spiced toffee apples, roasted chestnuts, figs, fudge and old wood (cigarette boxes?); a mixture of treacle and Olbas Oil, some rich sherry and a matchbox. The neat taste had tongue-numbing menthol and eucalyptus and made us think of figs, sherry, burnt toffee, honey-roast parsnips and beetroot crisps; old tea chests and erasers. The reduced nose got dried flowers on a lavender polished table, old leather chests, hazelnuts and menthol cigarettes. The reduced palate had pleasant woodiness, some acceptable earthiness (roasted sweet potato, walnuts, hay) and candy floss sweetness (including chewing the stick).
Drinking tip: A dram for debating with friends, or as a reward after walking over burning coals.
Ratings: A⊕ / Ben's Whisky Blog.

Few Bourbon / 3 Year Old Smws Comforting Coconut, Bountiful Banana / Cask # B41

Summary: Country/ Region: USA/Evanston, IL.
Alcohol by volume: 62.6%
Bottler: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Cask No: B4.1
Date Distilled: 11th May 2012.
Age: 3 years.
Cask Type: Virgin Toasted American Oak.
Bottles Filled: 114
The nose was welcoming, sweet and fruity – dried mango, corn candies, bubble gum, vanilla pastries and bountiful banana (banana chips, foamy banana, banana toffee); black pepper and liquorice in the background. The neat taste was ‘fierce’ and ‘explosive’, with quinine, tree bark and resins balancing coconut, cola cubes, red laces, cherry lips and Dandelion and Burdock. On the reduced nose, a charred element brought a frisson of danger and excitement to the sweet, homely aromas of white chocolate, toffee popcorn and pecan pie. The palate was more rounded and comforting – coconut macaroons and Walnut Whips fronting leather and willow twigs.
Drinking tip: Not a bad idea to try this with an ice cube or two.

Knob Creek / 9 Year Old Small Batch Bourbon

Summary: Country/Region: America/Kentucky.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 50%
WHEN BOOKER NOE FATHERED THE SMALL BATCH MOVEMENT OVER TWO DECADES AGO, he created Knob Creek to restore the standards of pre-prohibition bourbon. The result is an undeniably big, full flavour that strikes your senses with a maple sugar aroma, distinctive sweetness and a rich, woody, caramel flavour with a long, smooth finish.
Knob Creek is crafted in limited quantities, aged 9 years and placed in only the deepest charred American Oak barrels to fully draw out the natural sugars. Then we bottle it at an honest 100 proof to reflect the flavour, strength and patience that defined pre-prohibition whiskey.
Once you've grown into this full flavour, no other bourbon will do. That's when your palate refuses to take a step back and you’re ready for what Booker Noe envisioned true bourbon to be.
Make a bolder classic cocktail. Sip it neat. Open it up with a drop of water or filtered ice cubes. Enjoy it in whatever damn way you please.

Whistlepig / 10 Year Old Straight Rye Whiskey

Summary: Country/Region: America/Vermont.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 50%
The only 100% aged rye. Most people stop at 95%, even getting there presents problems according to Master Distiller Dave Pickerell Rye is the brat of whiskey grains -The higher the percent rye you get, the worse it behaves. It gets sticky. It foams. The fibre becomes a nuisance, the hassle of going from 95 % to 100% is unbelievable. But I wanted to be involved in that because rye whiskey is about taste. It’s about full-bodied, unadulterated taste. WhistlePig was released in the summer of 2010 A 100-proof, 100% rye grain straight rye whiskey, aged for at least ten years through a unique double-barrel process – it spends 5 years in first fill white American oak barrels and another 5 years in used bourbon barrels. WhistlePig 100 hits “the sweet spot” with more rye, all the proof, and the perfect age.
Tasting Note: Wood on the nose with hints of vanilla and caramel, dried orange peel, cinnamon, allspice and clove. Mouth coating texture, aged whiskey character with caramel and vanilla flavours and rye spiciness. Dark chocolate, peppermint followed by oranges, vanilla, allspice, finishing with a hint of dark chocolate and butterscotch.

Glendronach / Cask Strength Batch 5

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland / Highlands.
Unit: 70cl.
ABV: 55.3%
In the spirit of James Allardice, the GlenDronach Cask Strength is matured in a combination of the nest Spanish Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Sherry casks. This superb whisky is bottled at cask strength, 55.3%, non chill ltered and at natural colour.
Colour: Rich amber edged with gold.
Nose: A perfect combination of sweet golden sultanas and rich g syrup holds a contrasting warmth of ground almonds, orange bitters and a gentle dusting of black pepper. 
Palate: Demerara sugar-glazed dark fruits lighten to apricot syrup infused with stem ginger and vanilla. Crisp candied peel and gentle cigar box spices combined with mellow notes of freshly mashed barley add great complexity to the long, classic palate.
Conclusion: The combination of elegant sherry inuences and robust Highland style creates a perfect example of the traditional GlenDronach character.

Bowmore / Feis Ile 2013

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Islay.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 56.5%
Bottled: 2013.
Festival Bottling: 1000 Bottles.
Limited Edition: Bourbon Cask.

Bowmore / 21 Year Old Smws Genie In A Bottle / Cask No 3255

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Islay.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 56.6%
Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Distilled: 19th April 1994.
Bottled: 2015.
Age: 21 Years Old.
Cask No. 3.255
Cask: Refill Ex-Sherry Butt.
Bottles from Cask: 510.
This was like a genie in a glass, from clean perfumed smoke and a well-used wooden pipe rack to sun scorched hay and heather, moving on to stem and crystallised ginger and finishing with seared scallops. We finally let the genie out and had a sip – it was a puff of glittering, well rounded, perfumed smoke.
Sweet and floral at first, but then salted caramel arrived and in the finish, a pleasant dryness. With water, crunchy ginger and coffee iced biscuits as well as almond slices and the taste of lavender honey on burnt toast making this a very relaxed laid back experience.
DRINKING TIP: Close your eyes and make a wish.

Caol Ila / Feis Ile 2014

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Islay.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 55.5%
Cask: Refill American Oak Hogshead.
Distilled: 2002
Bottled: 2014

Glenfarclas / 21 Year Old Smws Night Nurse In Carpenters Overalls / Cask No 1198

Summary: Country/ Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Alcohol by volume: 55.2%
Bottler: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Cask No: 1.198
Date Distilled: 23 September 1993.
Age: 21 years.
Cask Type: Refill ex-bourbon hogshead.
Bottles Filled: 176
Colour: Dull ginger gold.
Flavour: Deep, rich & dried fruits.
The nose oozed honey sweetness (Manuka, Demerara, Daim bars, trifle) with dried fruit depth (raisins, dates, figs, Christmas cake); plus hints of carpenter’s overalls. The palate’s taste explosion had similar themes – syrupy dates and clootie dumplings, with dried cranberries, lime and sour apple providing an interesting and rather pleasant cheek-pulling, tannic tug; followed by a lingering finish of espresso, walnuts and ginger. The reduced nose had fascinating layers of dunnage warehouses, honeyed pears, Night Nurse, teapot tannins, vanilla and burnt wood. On the palate now – everything from Turkish Delight, macaroons and cherry blossoms to incense, hot cross buns and Christmas spice.
Drinking tip: Homey and comfortable – best enjoyed curled up on the couch in joggies and slipper-socks.
Ratings: A⊕+ / Ben's Whisky Blog.