Malthound

Whisky & Spirits Blog | Compare Buy Enjoy

You are here: Home / Archives for Sampling

The Teeling “Revival” Twitter Tasting – A Glorious Taste Of Two Halves!

by Leave a Comment

“The Revival” - limited to only 10,000 bottles!

“The Revival” – limited to only 10,000 bottles!

The Teeling “Revival” Twitter Tasting made a gloomy Monday a lot brighter this week as Steve from The Whisky Wire took us through another new release, this time from the well renowned Teeling Whiskey Distillery.

The Teeling “Revival” is a commemorative bottling to mark the opening of its new distillery in Dublin. Released as a limited edition 15 Year Old Single Malt, it marks the opening of their new distillery, the first in Dublin for over 125 years.

The Revival 15 Year Old Single Malt Irish whiskey was distilled in 1999, being matured exclusively in ex-Rum casks and bottled at 46% with no chill filtration to create a unique Irish whiskey taste experience.

This new release is part of an updated Teeling Vintage Reserve Collection which is made up of small, limited batch releases of very old and rare Irish Single Malt whiskeys.

There will be three different bottlings ranging in age and price points. The Revival being the first followed by a 24 and 33 year old bottling of Irish Single Malt whiskey.

The opening of our new distillery was a major milestone in the history of Teeling Whiskey. It took three years of planning, hard work and significant capital investment, but now Teeling Whiskey is finally home.
– Jack Teeling: Teeling Whiskey Company founder

The Revival 15 Year Old is limited to only 10,000 bottles and will retail for around £85.00.

Available in Ireland through the Teeling Distillery Gift Shop in Newmarket Dublin 8, Dublin Airport and the Celtic Whiskey Stop, it will then be rolled out to international markets such as the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy and Australia.

If you want to catch up on what all the tasters had to say you can view the tweets by searching for the hash tag #TeelingWhiskey on Twitter.

Here are my thoughts …

Tasting Notes – Teeling ‘The Revival’ 15 Year Old Single Malt Whiskey (46%)

Nose: Some nice woody notes right there at the beginning, then green apples, a touch of vanilla and caramel with sugary tropical fruits – all very inviting! Cereal notes come thru right at the end.

Palate: Rich, sweet, tropical fruits: pineapple, mango et al. Serious bit of pepper & spice there also: warming my cockles etc!

Finish: Grapefruit mixed in with vanilla and syrup – all yummy! ‘Tis a short finish but a hot n’ spicy, peppery one – with a touch of fruity sweetness to cool the journey 🙂

Overall: A dram of two distinct halves: So sweet with a little spice that gives way to very spicy tempered with some sweetness.

A very pleasant way to spoil one’s tastebuds on a Monday eve!

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire) for a great dram evening and the team at Teeling (@TeelingWhiskey) for sending the samples and without whom!

My fellow Tweeters were:-


@GreatDrams @WhiskyQuarterly @DrinksEnthusist @Andrews_Share @MaltActivist @AmateurDrammer @kaskwhisky @mynameisgone @MaltBox @Nickolls_Perks @whiskytube @whiskyrepublic @tomlavin1 @blucey26 @MaltKlaus @Pandemoniumd01 @julianmaechler @WonderingWhisky @MrSingleMalt @Macdeffe @WhiskySpeller @WhiskyFriends @LaCaveDeCobalt

Teeling is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

The Highland Park Tweet Tasting – It Was A Dark & Smoky Night!

by Leave a Comment

An impressive selection of samples and tasting equipment!

An impressive selection of samples and tasting equipment!

Highland Park pulled all the stops out last night with their varied and flavoursome Tweet Tasting, once again ably hosted by Steve from The Whisky Wire.

The Smoky Old Fashioned Cocktail Kit

The Smoky Old Fashioned Cocktail Kit

Apart from three generous whisky samples and a cocktail kit they also supplied us with a nosing glass and a tumbler. Suffice to say, we all felt very spoilt and looked after!

The drinks sampled were:-

  • Highland Park Dark Origins
  • Highland Park Smoky Old Fashioned Cocktail
  • Highland Park 18 Year Old

Highland Park’s smoky twist on the classic Old Fashioned Cocktail (courtesy of the people from carryoncocktailkit) went down a storm even though some of the tweeters, myself included, failed to get to grips with all the subtleties of the cocktail preparation!

If you want to catch up on what all the tasters had to say you can view the tweets by searching for the hash tag #HighlandPark on Twitter.

So, what did I think?

Here are my tasting notes … and the one which was my favourite on the night!

Tasting Notes – Highland Park Dark Origins (46.8%)

A new core bottling celebrating the early days of Magnus Eunson’s illicit distilling on Orkney. His antics predated the distillery which wasn’t founded until 1798. Magnus worked as a butcher and church official by day, smuggler by night!

To honour Magnus Highland Park created a whisky with a suitably ‘dark’ character. Using 80% first-fill Sherry casks (20% refill) – 60% are first-fill European oak, with 20% being first-fill American oak.


Nose: Sweet with a slight hint of smoke, little bit of orange. Sherryness comes thru after a while mixed with saltiness then later on rich fruit which is a joy!

Palate: Sweeter than I expected with a pronounced blackcurrantness! Smoke n’ sweet and spicy – quite the mouthful! A lot more of the smokiness with the sherry I got with the nose taking a bit of a backseat – not complaining tho!

Finish: Spicy, sweet chocolate giving way to a little dry pepperyness.

Overall: A uniquely tasty blend of dark and light from HP. Light sherry & blackcurrant, dark smoke & spice – I think Magnus would have been pleased – but not about the tax we have to pay on it!

Tasting Notes – Highland Park Smoky Old Fashioned Cocktail

This cocktail consisted of a generous measure of Highland Park Dark Origins, sugar, aromatic bitters and twists of orange and lemon, all poured over ice.

I managed to get there in the end but I did make the mistake of adding the alcohol to the sugar first when I should have added the bitters to the sugar first. Sugar doesn’t dissolve easily in alcohol!

Still, anticipation makes the taste buds grow fonder as they say!

Overall: A lovely, orangey, Xmassy cocktail! A tasty blend of sweet n’ bitter with sweet oranges and clove flavours pushing thru that Dark Origins smokey haze!

Tasting Notes – Highland Park 18 Year Old (43%)

A classic dram featuring in most peoples lists of classic drams, Highland Park 18 was named Best Spirit in the World in F. Paul Pacult’s Spirit Journal in 2005 & 2009. It was also the winner of a Gold Medal at the 2005 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and earned a Liquid Gold Award from Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2014.

Nose: Briney, sugary sweet with a hint of tropical fruit. There’s honey syrup, caramel and apples.

Palate: Very smooth with flavours of mango and passion fruit – glorious! I get very little smoke though – it’s all tropical sunshine & palm trees!

Finish: Quite dry at the end with some peat (there you are!) but the sweetness keeps right on truckin’!

Overall: A dram for your bucket list and it doesn’t dissappoint!

My Favourite On The Night

Well it has to be the Highland Park 18 Year Old – class in a bottle! Dark Origins wasn’t that far behind and if you get the chance – try the cocktail – it’s the business as a Christmas drink!

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire) for a great dram evening and the team at Highland Park (@HighlandPark) for sending such an impressive selection of samples and tasting equipment.

All in all, a fantastic, Dark & Smoky night!

My fellow Tweeters were:-


@TheWhiskyWire @mixxit_wayne @Whisky_Magazine @WhiskyCorner @BeersIveKnown @AlpacaJo @TheWhiskyKiwi @Jamie_Rowley @WhiskyDiscovery @cache1337 @ivyeatsagain @WhiskyWingman @Jassys1961 @MaltActivist @kizzsmyth @Andrews_Share @jdpjamesp @JoeFHolmes @msykesjones @TheFinestCut @RumDiariesBlog @jpbglover11 @julie_gwc @CoupleODrams @whiskyshepherd

Highland Park is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

Sampling The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish!

by Leave a Comment

The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish

The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish

I’ve just had a great opportunity to sample three of The Glenlivet Nàdurra Expressions including their latest release: the Peated Whisky Cask Finish.

The malts sampled were:-

  • The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish: Cask Strength
  • The Glenlivet Nàdurra First Fill Selection
  • The Glenlivet Nàdurra Olorosso Matured

The Glenlivet has launched a third expression for its celebrated Nàdurra range, as it continues to honour the historic traditions of making single malt whisky through new and innovative cask finishes. The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish is the first release to have a subtle, smoky taste profile, having been finished in American oak casks that have previously held heavily-peated Scotch whisky.

Bottled at 61.5% ABV cask strength

Bottled at 61.5% ABV cask strength

Bottled at 61.5% ABV cask strength, The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish is inspired by the authentic production processes used at The Glenlivet Distillery by its founder, George Smith, who originally used peat smoke to dry the malted barley. Finished in peated casks, the classic, smooth and fruity house style that has made the range so famous has been enriched with gentle, aromatic smoky notes, to offer a brand new The Glenlivet experience to whisky enthusiasts. The expression will also be available in Global Travel Retail at 48% ABV.

Available in nine domestic markets, including USA and France, and Global Travel Retail from October 2015, the release follows the launch of The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso and The Glenlivet Nàdurra First Fill Selection in 2014. The Glenlivet craftsmen individually nosed each cask to ensure the perfect balance between fruit and smoke in the whisky, which has been bottled in small batches with no chill-filtration to offer the complexity, full body and distinctively creamy texture of a whisky that has just been drawn from the cask.

Tasting Notes – The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish: Cask Strength (61.5%)

Nose: Pale straw colour. Thick vanilla with smatterings of pears and apples. Later there comes a peaty undertow, some burnt wood and a little smoke.

Palate: The peat is quite subtle and a ways down. There’s vanilla, caramel and some zesty fruit all wrapped up in a cask strength punch!

Finish: A Spicy finish that’s long with the vanilla sweetness running through it. The peat is pretty subtle and the smokiness comes in right at the end that’s joined by some tobacco.

Overall: If you like your peat .. sweet, then this ones for you! I was warming to this one at the end and as ever, if you’re sampling a few drams always leave the peated ones till the last!

Tasting Notes – The Glenlivet Nàdurra First Fill Selection (63.1%)

The Glenlivet

The Glenlivet Nadurra First Fill

The Glenlivet Nàdurra First Fill Selection is drawn from casks made from American White Oak that have never before been used to mature Scotch whisky.

These casks have always been a popular choice of distillers at The Glenlivet since the early 1900s, imparting hints of creamy vanilla to the malt whisky.

The release follows the initial launch of The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso.

Nose: Pale straw colour. Sweet pears, tropical fruits all covered in a vanilla haze – delightful!

Palate: Autumn apples, juicy pears and pineapple juice. There’s some banana in there as well, almost like banana milk.

Finish: Smooth finish, slightly dry with grapefruit overtones but no spice of any real note. Just fruity sweetness.

Overall: All the signature Glenlivet notes are there all wrapped up in a robust 63% package. A nice dram.

Tasting Notes – The Glenlivet Nàdurra Olorosso Matured (60.3%)

This release follows the initial launch of the normal strength The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso earlier in 2014. It is matured solely in ex-sherry casks.

Nose: Gorgeous gold colour. Nose of fruit, hints of cinnamon and toffee caramel.

Palate: Pleasantly thick mouthfeel. Smooth, fruity and sweet with a hint of that 60% power. Lovely, creamy toffee caramel with a slight peppery edge to it.

Finish: Sweet finish that makes way to a long warming spice hit that goes on and on!

Overall: A sweet sherried dram nicely mixing spices and fruit sweetness. A great cask strength addition to The Glenlivet range!

So, which one is my Favourite?

Difficult one this but out of the three I’m going to go for The Glenlivet Nàdurra Olorosso Matured. Sweet, rich, vanilla fruitiness combined with a high alcohol punch. It’s a hard one to beat!

Many thanks to the team at Richmond Towers (@DrinksPRAgency) for sending the samples and of course, The Glenlivet (@TheGlenlivet), without whom!

The Glenlivet Nàdurra is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

Sampling The PORT ASKAIG 100° PROOF!

by Leave a Comment

PORT ASKAIG 100° PROOF

PORT ASKAIG 100° PROOF

Port Askaig is a range of Islay Single Malts, first created in 2009, that achieve the perfect balance of sweet, fruity flavours and smoky, peaty character.
Speciality Drinks has introduced a new core line product in the PORT ASKAIG 100° PROOF. An Islay whisky being offered at cask strength and at a reasonable price, Port Askaig 100° Proof is designed to fill a gap in the market.

Prepare to have some hairs put on your chest!

Prepare to have some hairs put on your chest!

The village of port Askaig sits on the east coast of Islay. One of Scotland’s most stunning areas, for centuries it has been the gateway to Islay, with a road leading to the centre of the island and the seat of the Lord of the Isles at Finlaggan.

There is no distillery at Port Askaig though – instead, selected casks from the distilleries around Islay are used. All their whiskies are bottled as single malts – that is, the product of one distillery – and all represent the complex and beguiling nature of this beautiful island.

Port Askaig 100° Proof is available to buy from The Whisky Exchange.

Tasting Notes – Port Askaig 100° Proof (57.1%)

Nose: Incredibly pale dram – almost see through! Peaty aromas straight away with smoke and charcoal following closely behind. A little bit of popcorn reminiscent of moonshine.

Palate: Lovely smokey, zingy flavours with an underlying sweetness. Mouthfeel had an anaesthetic quality which was not un-pleasant!

Finish: Burnt flavours: smokey, woody, sweet but not too peppery. There’s fiery aplenty though!

Overall: Well that packs quite a punch and no mistake! Deffo hints of a new make spirit in there which gives it a raw kind of energy. A dram that certainly hasn’t had it’s corners rounded off!
Prepare to have some hairs put on your chest!
£44.95

Cheers to Speciality Drinks (@SpecialityDrink) for sending the sample!

The Crown Royal ‘Deluxe’ Tweet Tasting!

by Leave a Comment

The Crown Royal Canadian Blended whisky in it's natty purple overtones!

The Crown Royal Canadian Blended whisky resplendant in it’s natty purple overtones!

Monday nights Tweet Tasting focused on the latest release from Canada’s Crown Royal blended whisky.

The Tweet Tasting, presided over by Steve from The Whisky Wire, gave us the opportunity to sample their latest official UK launch: Deluxe.

Crown Royal blended Canadian Whisky was first created as a gift for our King George VI and Queen Elizabeth when they visited Canada back in 1939. It is a blend of 50 full-bodied Canadian whiskies matured in white oak barrels, one of which is their very own Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel Canadian Whisky.

After being distilled using a Coffey Still, the maturing barrels experience extreme temperature swings (-30°C is not uncommon), causing the wood to expand and contract with the changes in temperature, which slowly adds to the developing character.

Huge in America, it is the no. 1 selling premium Canadian whisky there.

If you want to catch up on what all the tasters had to say you can view the tweets by searching for the hash tag #CrownRoyal on Twitter.

Tasting Notes – Crown Royal Deluxe (40%)

Nose: Very sweet with slight woody overtones. There’s rich tropical fruits, pineapple etc. a la Lilt. Fresh green apples, maple syrup and vanilla.

Palate: Syrupy sweet & tropically fruity! As per nose: tropical fruits, pineapple etc., fresh green apples, maple syrup and vanilla.
‘Tis very smooth and creamy with lots of vanilla & a barely discernable trace of spiceiness. Quite a thick mouthfeel – almost like a liquor!

Finish: Slight increase in pepperyness but overall a fruity, vanilla finale!

Overall: Basically, The Crown Royal delivers exactly what it promises on the nose – quite a rare thing in my experience. I can see why it is the No.1 in America – they do like their sweetness!
A very nice dram, enjoyable & very morish – my first Canadian so to speak but hopefully not my last! But not one for the sweet averse!

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire) for a great dram evening

And of course, Crown Royal (@CrownRoyal), for sending the samples and without whom!

My fellow Tweeters were:-


@TheWhiskyBoys @ben_cops @mynameisgone @raithrover @kaskwhisky @dvdbloke @mnshanbhag @cache1337 @AdvInWhiskyland @MikeJack1976 @KatharineSully @WhiskyMattY @ocdwhisky @TheWhiskyKiwi @rodbodtoo @AlpacaJo @kizzsmyth @WhiskyCorner @julie_gwc @msykesjones @JoeFHolmes @pimpleandblotch

Crown Royal is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

Sampling The ARRAN 2000 Private Cask: A Whisky Exchange Exclusive!

by Leave a Comment

ARRAN 2000 Private Cask #1106 TWE Exclusive

ARRAN 2000
Private Cask #1106 TWE Exclusive

Once again, Billy (@cowfish) and The Whisky Exchange (@WhiskyExchange) have spoilt me by sending another sample from their range of new whisky exclusives.

Today I have the ardous task of sampling their ARRAN 2000 14 Years Old. Oh! Poor me!

Based in Lochranza on the Isle of Arran, Isle of Arran Distillers is one of the few remaining independent distilleries in Scotland.

They use only the traditional methods of distilling, with wooden washbacks and copper stills. Their location off the west coast between Ayrshire and Kintyre offers perfect water for whisky production, cleansed by granite and softened by peat as it comes down from the mountain above.

Their the sea breezes and clear mountain air together with the warm flow of the Gulf Stream matures the Arran Malt to perfection in earth floored warehouses.

Tasting Notes – ARRAN 2000 14 Years Old TWE Exclusive (55.5%)

A 14 Year Old (2000) Distillery Bottling. Matured in a bourbon cask & Non-Chill Filtered, 197 bottles were produced in August 2015. It’s Cask Number is 2000/1106.

Nose: A subtle hint of spice and fruit. Then there’s apples and vanilla fudge aplenty after leaving a little while to breathe.

Palate: A pleasant mix of pepper, spice and sweet cake mixture with a little liquorice thrown in for good measure.

Finish: A smooth, short finish with a lovely flavour of spiciness and sweetness.

Overall: The 55% gives this dram some power but don’t worry, it’s all controlled in a very civilised way. The balance of sweetness and spice is a joy to taste! A dram to enjoy while watching terrible weather forecasts all cosied up by the fire!
£70.95

Cheers to Billy (@cowfish) and The Whisky Exchange (@WhiskyExchange) for sending the samples!

Sampling The Kilchoman 2010 Single Cask Whisky Exchange Exclusive!

by Leave a Comment

KILCHOMAN 2010 SINGLE CASK

KILCHOMAN 2010 SINGLE CASK

I’m a bit of a fan of Kilchoman Whisky, as these past tasting blogs will certainly testify (Whisky Tasting: Kilchoman’s Port Cask Matured! & Tasting Notes – Kilchoman 5YO Exclusive Bottling From Abbey Whisky!).

So, I was most pleased when I received a sample of KILCHOMAN 2010 SINGLE CASK PX Finish courtesy of Billy (@cowfish).

This release is an exclusive from The Whisky Exchange and, as usual, The Kilchoman did not fail to deliver.

Tasting Notes – KILCHOMAN 2010 SINGLE CASK PX Finish: TWE Exclusive (58.3%)

A 4 Year Old 2010 Vintage packed exclusively for The Whisky Exchange. Finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks with the Cask Number 679/2010. A total of 262 Bottles were produced in September 2015.

Nose: Lovely, smokey, peaty notes hit you straight away. There’s some fruit coming thru mixed with wood and sugar n’ vanilla.

Palate: Luscious mouthfeel with a powerful alcohol hit consisting of a heady mix of peat, charred wood and sherry sweetness. Add some Xmas cake fruity sweetness and that’s a whole lot of flavour going on!

Finish: Long, smooth finish – there’s pepper and a fiery syrupness. All well tempered with a sweetness that belies it’s 58+% strength. Little bit of tanin, ash and tobacco at the end.

Overall: A fantastic Kilchoman edition that sits very nicely with the rest of the range. As ever, Kilchoman is only produced in limited amounts ( only 262 Bottles for this batch) so if you want to experience this tasty dram don’t twiddle your keyboard thumbs for too long!
£89.95

Cheers to Billy (@cowfish) and The Whisky Exchange (@WhiskyExchange) for sending the samples!

Paul John Whisky: The Tweet Tasters Get Bold!

by Leave a Comment

Barley from the Himalayas & peat from Islay - who could ask for more?!

Barley from the Himalayas & peat from Islay – who could ask for more?!

Paul John Indian Whisky is soon to release a Peated expression called Bold and thanks to Steve from The Whisky Wire, I was given a chance to sample it as part of a Monday nights Tweet Tasting.

The unusually named Paul John Whisky takes its name from the chairman of John Distilleries based in Goa, India and in 2012 the Paul John Whisky brand launched in the UK.

Using barley from the foothills of the Himalayas, which is harvested in the summer, they double distil their spirit in traditional copper pot stills where it is then filled into hand selected American oak barrels for maturation.

If you want to catch up on what all the tasters had to say you can view the tweets by searching for the hash tag #PaulJohnWhisky on Twitter.

Tasting Notes – Paul John Whisky – Bold (46%)

No age statement, non-chill filtered. Made using peat from Islay & matured in American Oak Bourbon barrels for at least 4-5 years. It is due to be released soon with a RRP of £45.00.

Nose: Warm sweet peat, not too heavy fruit, leather & new plasticine! Add a hint of smokiness … but not much and a few little green apples & that’s quite a nose!

Palate: Woo! That packs a bit of a punch! Sweet, syrupy fruits, pepper & a little tobacco. After a time I started to get some fiery peat – most invigorating!

Finish: Smidge of liquorice, some serious pepper, fire and charred wood. My insides are glowing nicely! A long finish with tannin and tobacco lingering.

Overall: Bit of an un-tamed beast is the Bold but then I do like my wildlife so that’s alright! It comes across as a little un-balanced but there’s plenty of flavour and if it fails to warm your cockles then you must be a snowman!

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire) for a great dram evening.

And of course, Paul John Whisky (@PaulJohnWhisky), for sending the samples and without whom!

My fellow Tweeters were:-


@WhiskyDiscovery @DrinksEnthusist @Whisky_Magazine @AlpacaJo @WhiskyQuarterly @TheWhiskyphiles @raithrover @WhiskyCorner @cowfish @GreatDrams @tabarakRazvi @whiskyrepublic @kizzsmyth @kaskwhisky @NeilMacKinnon1 @abbeywhisky @angelshareglass @msykesjones @cache1337 @PWulf @MashtunandMeow @steveprentice @TheGreenWelly @Jamie_Rowley @adam2c @bobsta1975 @WhiskyMattY @julie_gwc @rodbodtoo @mnshanbhag @GeorgeHHutton @Smokiechops @TheWhiskyKiwi @pimpleandblotch @B_R_74 @Jassys1961 @JoeFHolmes @Andrews_Share @WhiskyFriends @WhiskySpeller @Girl_Whisky @sjoerd972 @LaCaveDeCobalt

Paul John Whisky is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

The Girvan Patent Still Tweet Tasting!

by Leave a Comment

The Girvan Single Grain Malt Whiskies!

The Girvan Single Grain Malt Whiskies!

The star of last Wednesday nights Tweet Tasting was The Girvan Patent Still and they had some fantastic Single Grain Malt Whiskies for us to sample.

Steve from The Whisky Wire was our MC for the night and if you want to catch up on what all the tasters had to say you can view the tweets by searching for the hash tag #GirvanGrain on Twitter.

The malts sampled were:-

  • Girvan New Make
  • Girvan No.4 Apps
  • Girvan 25 Years Old
  • Girvan 30 Years Old

Built in 1963, under the direction of Charles Gordon, the great-grandson of William Grant, Girvan was the most advanced distillery in the world at the time.

In the 70’s chemist G. Wilkin isolated the perfect yeast strain from local flora for use in the whisky production. They still use the same strain now: Lallemang.

They were also the first to use multi-pressure distillation for production of grain Scotch whisky in 1992.

Distilling at various pressures and under vacuum in particular allowed them to vapourise and distill at lower temperatures. Resulting in a sweeter, fruitier, cleaner and purer spirit.

To reflect this, the tall slender packing of The Girvan Patent Still Single Grain was designed to reflect the tall shape of their column stills.

On average 36 trucks arrive at Girvan every day. Each truck contains about 25 – 28 tonnes of wheat. The Girvan distillery produces about 115 million LPA (litres of pure alcohol) per year. This is equivalent to 46 Olympic Pools!

About 33% of Girvans flavour comes from the distillate, 67% influence of the oak. The oak they use is 100% American oak, rich in vanillin. The oak reacts very well to lighter grain spirit, adding fantastic flavours.

So, what did I think?

Here are my tasting notes … and the one which was my favourite on the night!

Tasting Notes – Girvan New Make (42%)

Nose: A strong moonshine is my first impression. Wafts of nail varnish hit the nose straight away. There’s popcorn, white rum with added fruit & hints of banana smoothie.

Palate: Quite an oily mouthfeel, the banana continues on the palate. Creamy and sweet with a tasty rumness.

Finish: Full on strong finish – hints of raw spice.

Overall: Surprisingly tasty for a new make but with a raw edge that is strangely attractive!

Tasting Notes – Girvan No.4 Apps (42%)

No. 4 Apps (short for apparatus) is named after their 4th. still.

Nose: Vanilla & cream, slight toffee popcorn & oak wood in there. Lovin’ the apples fragrances – it’s harvest time!

Palate: Sweet tropical fruits, pineapple et al & sherbet! Creamy vanilla & spice.

Finish: Smooth spicy, peppery finish. Dry with a little grapefruit.

Overall: A superb, warming dram for sure! Lovely balance of flavours & perfect for Autumn evenings.

Tasting Notes – Girvan 25 Years Old (42%)

Nose: Oak wood & vanilla straight off with creamy, spiced green apples, butterscotch & coconut.

Palate: Smooth vanilla & orange with creamed apples.

Finish: Spicy and Oh! so smooth with a lingering creaminess – divine!

Overall: Truly heaven in a glass! Rich, long and satisfying.

Tasting Notes – Girvan 30 Years Old (42%)

This 30YO is unique as it was the last year (1984) to use maize. From 1963 to 1984 Girvan used maize. From 1984 onwards they have used wheat. Bottled without the addition of caramel and non-chill filtered.


Nose: This needs some time to develop … after all it is 30 years old. There’s vanilla, banana, hints of dark chocolate, apple and oak wood.

Palate: Xmas cake mixture, plump raisins, tropical fruits (mango & pineapple) – a feast! Topped with rich vanilla, a hint of mint & orange and a gentle spice.

Finish: Rich tannin with a spicy finish that’s long and glorious!

Overall: Smooth beyond belief and an amazing set of flavours. If you get the chance to sample, grab it with all your tastebuds!

My Favourite On The Night

Out of the 5, I think it’s got to be the Girvan 30 Years Old. Money can’t buy me love but it can buy me this!

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire) for a great dram evening.

And of course, Girvan (@GirvanGrain), for sending the samples and without whom!

My fellow Tweeters were:-


@DrinksEnthusist @julie_gwc @angelshareglass @robster38 @Nickolls_Perks @EdinburghWhisky @KristianeSherry @WhiskyApocalyps @brawspirit @TheWhiskyKiwi @pimpleandblotch @bobsta1975 @thicker_thanH2O @ivyeatsagain @WhiskyCorner @kaskwhisky @cache1337 @dvdbloke @jesslionsmane @nitin_michael @jdpjamesp @GeorgeHHutton @WhiskyQuarterly

Girvan is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

Sampling Anon. Batch 1 – The Rare Casks From Abbey Whisky!

by Leave a Comment

Anon. Batch 1 - The Rare Casks

Anon. Batch 1 – The Rare Casks

Abbey Whisky has released another gem in it’s Rare Casks range.

Anon. Batch 1 was distilled in 2001 at one of Scotland’s finest distilleries.

It has been aged for 13 years in total, with the last 6 months of maturation spent in an Oloroso sherry cask.

Bottled in 2015 at cask strength, only 90 bottles have been filled and made available for this new release in their Rare Casks series…

Plus … Buy Anon. and receive 10% off any other 70cl Rare Casks whisky!


Tasting Notes – Anon. Batch 1 – The Rare Casks (51.5%)

Nose: Rich honey, malt and creamy vanilla abounds, all laced with marzipan. Very appetising! There’s some slight woodiness in there as well.

Palate: Luscious mouthfeel, lovely honey and vanilla creaminess.

Finish: Sweet, spicy finish – long and well blended.

Overall: Hats off to Abbey Whisky for this – an excellent dram with some great flavours – all packaged up in whisky that packs a bit of a hit, strength wise.
A great price too – a winner!

£54.00

Many thanks to Abbey Whisky (@AbbeyWhisky) for sending the samples!

Tags

10 Year Old 12 year old 15 Year Old 40% 43% 46% 1980 Ardbeg bottle bottled bottling bourbon Bowmore Caol cask casks distillery douglas Glen Glenfarclas Glenlivet Glenmorangie gordon Highland Island Islay laing Laphroaig Lowland Macallan macphail malt range rare refill scotch sherry signatory single Speyside Springbank strength whisky year years

Archives

QR Code

QR Code for malthound.co.uk - scan the image with your smartphone & access malt whisky on the move!