St Isidore — Malthound

Master Of Malt – Bunnahabhain 20, Inchgower 29, St Isidore and Besmoked Vodka Tastings

March 2, 2012 by Gary Leave a Comment

Master Of Malt's Sample Collection!

Eek! I don’t know where the time has gone!

I meant to blog about this ages ago. To recap: The ‘Chaps’ at Master Of Malt have sent me a great new set of malt whisky samples (plus one honourary Vodka.)

Well time flies like an arrow (and fruit flies like a banana – so they say) so I thought I’d better blog with my opinion on the samples. My notes are certainly not as wordy or technical as some but maybe I can be forgiven for that and hopefully they can be considered as a form of liquid sound-bite or malt-bite.

Anyway, here are the results (in no particular order) Thanks once again to those nice chaps at MOM.

I couldn’t have done it without you! (I shall be quicker next time, honest!)

Here are my taste buds results …

	Bunnahabhain 20 Year Old 1990 – Single Cask Nose: Powerful, sweet caramel tones. Almost fudge like. Lovely sherry wafts. Palate: Lovely sherry flavours. Slightly tanin but very rich and sweet (which sounds like a contradiction but hey ho!) Finish: Spicy finish. Very warm. Overall: A nice sherry dram. Very moreish! Love the sweetness. As you may have guessed, I’m a big fan of sherry drams.
	Inchgower 29 Year Old – Single Cask Nose: Subdued nose with hints of vanilla or creamy custard. Promise of some sweetness. Palate: Very sweet and syrupy. Maybe even heading towards oily. Finish: Spicy finish with hints of nutmeg. Overall: Definite favourite! The extra sweetness will have people coming back for a second or third, “Just a little more …”!
	St Isidore Nose: Warm and smokey. Images of the coast and windswept beaches. Palate: Seems quite ‘thin’, dare I say watery? Oops! Plenty of woodsmoke and warmth though. Slight sweetness. Finish: Spicy and warming. Goes down rather easily. Overall: Very nice but not one of my favourites. A pleasant enough smokey whisky. I think, maybe, I should persevere with it though as it is growing on me!
	Besmoked Vodka Nose: Master of malt says it reminds them of bonfire night. I can heartily agree! Woodsmoke, burnt embers. It’s all there together with herby fragrances. Palate: Suprisingly sweet. Strong smoke flavours with a slight spice hit. Finish: Sweet, oily and the ever present smokeyness. Hints of tobacco. Overall: I’m not a big vodka fan but this is amazing! The smoke just lasts and lasts!

Master Of Malt – New Malt Whisky Samples!

January 27, 2012 by Gary Leave a Comment

Master Of Malt's Sample Collection!

The ‘Chaps’ at Master Of Malt have excelled themselves again with a great new set of malt whisky samples (plus one honourary Vodka.)

To be honest I had to wrestle the parcel from the Postie who seemed hell bent on taking the sample package back to the depot. I think they have a nose for these kind of things!

Anyway, after a half-mile chase down the street in stockinged feet I was able to lay claim to a fine set of new samples from the Master Of Malt guys.

I eagerly ripped open the packaging (my strength knows no bounds when motivated) and here’s what my trembling hands revealed:-

	Bunnahabhain 20 Year Old 1990 – Single Cask
	Inchgower 29 Year Old – Single Cask
	St Isidore
	Besmoked Vodka

After tasting the samples (in a controlled scientific environment) I shall blog again with my taste buds results.

I dream about days like this …

Master of Malt announce St Isidore – a blended whisky created by bloggers

November 25, 2011 by Gary Leave a Comment

The New St Isidore From Master of Malt

Master of Malt is proud to finally announce the release of the blended whisky, St Isidore, created entirely by whisky bloggers.
To make this blend, the spirits retailer called upon the great and the good of the whisky industry including names such as Whisky Magazine, Edinburgh Whisky Blog, CaskStrength.net and Whisky Cast.

Master of Malt started by sending blending kits to 10 prominent whisky bloggers, and asked them to create the best blended whisky they could using the ingredients provided, whilst maximising its value for money. The bloggers’ recipes were made up and sold in sample sets, and Master of Malt asked the public to vote for which recipe should be made into the brand’s next whisky.

The votes were counted (using the AV system) and a rather smoky, Islay-inspired blend was chosen as the winner, before the bloggers agreed on a name for the blend, calling it St Isidore after the patron saint of the internet.
For the final stage, Master of Malt called on graphic designers to submit label designs for the bottle, which summed up St Isidore, the blend, and the whisky blogging community, making them as creative as possible.

The winning designer, who was awarded a £250 spending spree at Master of Malt, was English artist Ben Sowter, who created a psychedelic, larger-than-life depiction of St Isidore enjoying his namesake blend. The label features numerous computer and internet in-jokes, for example a monitor lizard represents a computer’s monitor, and there is a bag of coins, representing a “cache”. In total, there are around 20 different hidden internet-related jokes and Easter Eggs!

So, not only can you can surf the net and communicate on the net, you can now taste the net with a bottle of St Isidore from Master of Malt.

Tasting Notes for St Isidore

Nose: Sweet creamy aromas that meld well with a cool, oily, almost coastal wood smoke. It instantly transports you to Islay, whilst offering just a hint of plum wine, wood shavings and lapsang souchong tea. Time in the glass brings out notes of guava, warm custard and rhubarb crumble.

Palate: Thick, warming and balanced as it hits the tongue, it offers notes of really good vanilla ice cream, black pepper, and rum spices, whilst retaining a solid backbone of sweet woodsmoke and freshly-sawn timber. Hold it on the tongue for just a touch of salty popcorn and crème caramel.

Finish: Beautifully warming and spiced. It fades away on freshly grated cinnamon and sugared peels. A faint flutter of pear juice on the very tail.

Overall: A perfect smoky blend. This is a very old-school whisky, combining the smoke of Islay, and the rich, honeyed tones of the Highlands. A superb winter fireside dram if ever there was one.

The Bloggers involved:

– CaskStrength.net
– Dr. Whisky
– Edinburgh Whisky Blog
– Guid Scotch Drink
– The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society
– WhiskyCast
– Whisky Connosr
– Whisky Magazine
– WhiskyWhiskyWhisky Forum
– Whisky for Everyone

Design a label and win a £250 shopping spree at Master of Malt!

September 22, 2011 by Gary Leave a Comment

St Isidore, St Isidore ... show me your label!

Calling all Graphic Designers! Master of Malt has recently launched a competition to design the label on a very exciting new whisky, and the winning submission will receive £250 worth of vouchers to spend at Master of Malt!

The label will be used for the winning blend from a competition aimed at whisky bloggers, in which Master of Malt asked ten of the top spirits bloggers to create their own blended whiskies, and then asked the public to vote for the best one.

The blend which was chosen will be called “St Isidore” after the patron saint of the internet, and Master of Malt is calling on graphic designers to come up with label designs for the new bottle, and the brief is simple: create a label which sums up St Isidore, the blend, and the whisky blogging community. Try and make it as amusing and as creative as possible.

Not only will the winning design receive a £250 spending spree at Master of Malt, they will also be credited on the back of what will certainly be an incredibly popular new whisky!

The competition closes on the 5th October 2011, and the winning submission will be announced that same day.

To enter, simply email your label design to labeldesigns@masterofmalt.com

Technical Specifications for the label.
Please ensure your submissions meet the following criteria:
Dimensions: 10.5cm by 9.2cm
3mm Bleed
Resolution: 300 DPI
CMYK Colour

Tasting Notes for St Isidore

Nose: Sweet creamy aromas that meld well with a cool, oily, almost coastal wood smoke. It instantly transports you to Islay, whilst offering just a hint of plum wine, wood shavings and lapsang souchong tea. Time in the glass brings out notes of guava, warm custard and rhubarb crumble.

Palate: Thick, warming and balanced as it hits the tongue, it offers notes of really good vanilla ice cream, black pepper, and rum spices, whilst retaining a solid backbone of sweet woodsmoke and freshly-sawn timber. Hold it on the tongue for just a touch of salty popcorn and crème caramel.

Finish: Beautifully warming and spice. It fades away on freshly grated cinnamon and sugared peels. A faint flutter of pear juice on the very tail.

Overall: A perfect smoky blend. This is a very old school whisky, combining the smoke of Islay, and the rich, honeyed tones of the Highlands. A superb winter fireside dram if ever there was one.