Archives for March 10, 2016

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.