Whisky tasting — Page 18

Sampling Johnnie Walker’s “White Walker” Whisky – But Is JW the ‘Night King’?

May 6, 2019 by Gary Leave a Comment

Check out Johnnie Walker’s piercing blue eyes!

So, it’s time to don some medieval headgear, fire up the dragon and get all magical as the Final season of Games of Thrones is now truly upon us (who knew they’d be EIGHT Series?!)

The very collectable, fantastic bottle design

As a celebration of the final foray into the world where you’re life expectancy could be measured in a few episodes, Johnnie Walker have released a limited edition, celebratory drink of their famous brand. Here’s a spoiler alert: it’s guaranteed to freeze the cockles of your heart!

Created by whisky specialist George Harper, this whisky features malts from Clynelish and Cardhu.

Johnnie Walker “White Walker” Whisky is designed to be served chilled, which is unusual for a whisky!

So much so, that the very collectable, fantastic bottle design incorporates ‘thermochromic ink’ which reveals a message when frozen (Spoiler Alert: See image below.)

The concept of this release is to honour the “White Walkers beyond The Wall”, a bunch of baddies like no other and not to be messed with!

The Johnnie Walker bottle has a themed GOT look and Johnnie himself is wearing some natty armour. He also has the distinctive, piercing blue eyes, the un-mistakable sign of the White Walkers and don’t forget those fantastic horns!

31dover.com has very generously sent me some “White Walker” to try (thanks 31dover.com!).

So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes – Johnnie Walker “White Walker” Whisky (41.7%)

Available from 31dover.com and ON OFFER – WAS: ~~£33.95~~ NOW: £28.00 (SAVE 9.97%) for 70cl.

Colour: Pale gold.

Nose: Green apples and vanilla with tuiti-fruiti tropical fruits. Shades of citrus which gives way to some white wood.

Palate: Very similar to the Nose with the addition of a little smoke and creamy vanilla fudge flavours. The crisp coldness gives it a morish quality that makes it very drinkable.
I drunk it way quicker than I would a room temperature dram!

Finish: Smooth, sweet finish with some smoke and increasing dryness. Right at the end there’s also some fiery spice coming through – must be the magic taking hold!

Overall: This is not a connoisseur whisky but it makes a great, fun, drink that should only be served straight from the fridge.

I haven’t included tasting notes at room temperature – it’s really not designed for that – it should be drunk well chilled – in the “spirit” of the whole GOT ice world.

Used in a cocktail “White Walker” will be to die for (there’s some ideas here) especially if we have a summer like last year, or even an Easter!

Interestingly, the addition of ice to increase the coldness seems to enhance the flavours rather than dulling them which is often the case.

Of course, it will taste great with a Coke but I thought I’d try something of my own.

My ‘Return of the Night King’ cocktail

I was thinking of calling my cocktail …

‘Return of the Night King’

To a tall glass add a “arrowhead mountain” * measure of Johnnie Walker “White Walker” Whisky.

Add a generous dash of Elderflower cordial.

Don’t forget to add plenty of ice.

Top up with Coke Zero (not as sweet.)

Add some Lemon juice if desired to give it some ‘bite’.

Superb! (“like the cracking of ice on a winter lake” **)

Be careful though, it has a “dragonglass” hit behind it!

GOT fans will certainly love this release, even with the bottle empty, which is not something that can be said of most whiskies!

But to be honest, Game of Thrones fan or not, this is a fun, refreshing and tasty way to experience whisky and I heartily recommended you to give it a try.

But one, burning, icy, question we all need to ask is: “Is Johnnie Walker the ‘Night King’?” ***

I’ll leave it up to you to decide!

“White Walker” reveals a message when frozen!

Apart from their website, You can also find 31dover on …

Twitter – @31dover

Facebook – 31DOVER

Instagram – 31dover

Pinterest – 31dover

YouTube – 31DOVER.com

* It’s where the Walkers hail from.
** The White Walkers speak a language with the voice “like the cracking of ice on a winter lake”.
*** The ‘Night King’ is the apparent leader of The White Walkers – so it must be JW!

Sampling Kilchoman’s Loch Gorm 2019 – Take A Day Trip To The Coast & Trip The “Taste” Fantastic!

April 3, 2019 by Gary Leave a Comment

Loch Gorm 2019

Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2019 will be available worldwide from the 8th April 2019

KILCHOMAN LAUNCH LOCH GORM 2019

Loch Gorm is the name given to the annually released sherry cask matured limited edition from Kilchoman. The loch, murky and peaty in colour, reflects the dark copper tone of the sherry matured Loch Gorm release.

As the only release in the Kilchoman range to be fully matured in sherry casks, Loch Gorm has always attracted special attention from whisky fans, especially given that just 15,000 bottles will be released and made available around the world.

Over the years the Loch Gorm range of limited edition releases have been evolving, each new edition containing a different combination of casks. This, the 2019 edition, is no different. Twenty oloroso sherry butts from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 have been selected for this release, meaning that for the first time Loch Gorm will contain 12 and 13-year-old casks from the Kilchoman warehouses.

It has been fascinating to see first-hand how the character of our oloroso butts have developed over the years. Recent editions of Loch Gorm have seen a coming-of-age for the range, the addition 12 and 13-year-old casks add a fantastic balance and complexity.

Layers of stewed plums, pears and tropical fruit have become more defined in the casks as they age, complimenting the bold spicy and rich character of early releases to create a beautiful marriage of Kilchoman and oloroso sherry cask maturation. I’m delighted with the 2019 release and look forward seeing how it’s received.
– Anthony Wills: Kilchoman Founder and Managing Director

Kilchoman Distillery sits nestled amongst the traditional buildings of Rockside Farm on the north-west coast of Islay. Famous as Islay’s Farm Distillery, the distillery’s barley fields stretch west to the shores of Machir Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Established in 2005, Kilchoman is unique in many ways, most notably for their 100% Islay range, Scotland’s only Single Farm Single Malt. True to Islay’s rich farm distilling heritage, Kilchoman uses local Islay cut peat, slowly distilling by hand, maturing in traditional dunnage warehouses and bottling on site without colouring or chill-filtration.

Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2019 is bottled at 46% ABV and will be available worldwide from the 8th April 2019.

I was lucky enough to have received a sample of this dram before the launch date – courtesy of Kilchoman – thanks Kilchoman!

So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes – Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2019 (46%)

Colour: Pale gold.

Nose: Peat n’ smoke with some green apple. Coastal with aromas of Damp, white wood. Leads to a sweet caramel later on.

Palate: Oily and coastal. There’s peat with wiffs of smoke and a rich, sweet, syrup.

Finish: A pleasing Rush of punchy spice and burnt ash coupled with a dry, salty sweetness leads to a satisfying finish.

Overall: There’s certainly a vibrant coastal feel to this dram with layers of peat and gently burning woodsmoke balanced with some sweetness. A lovely dram that I would truly recommend!
So, why not treat yourself? – Take A Day Trip To The Coast and Trip The Taste Fantastic!

Since the first bottling was released in 2009, Kilchoman has quickly established itself as a high quality Islay Single Malt Whisky with these notable awards:

Kilchoman’s exceptional quality was recognised at the prestigious International Whisky Competition (IWC) when Anthony Wills was named Master Distiller of the Year 2013.
In 2016 both core expressions won major awards with Sanaig named Best Single Malt Scotch Whisky – no age statement at the IWSC and Machir Bay came first as Best Islay Single Malt Scotch in the International Whisky Competition.
Machir Bay was also awarded a Gold Medal in 2015 at the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) with Loch Gorm being awarded a Silver Outstanding Medal and 100% Islay a Silver at the prestigious awards.
Kilchoman won Malt Advocates Artisan Whisky of the Year 2011, only three years after the first bottling was released.

Kilchoman is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

Master of Malt

The Whisky Exchange

Edencroft Fine Wine & Spirit Specialists

Abbey Whisky

The Whisky Barrel

The Green Welly Stop

Sampling The Whisky Exchange’s Exclusive Bottling – A 1973 Vintage Speyside – Taste Thats 43 Years In The Making!

February 1, 2019 by Gary Leave a Comment

Great things come in small Sample bottles!

The Whisky Exchange has once again collaborated with German independent bottler The Whisky Agency to release a 1973-vintage Speyside blended malt whisky, aged for 43 years and bottled in 2017 from a refill sherry butt.

The Speyside Region Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

It is one of a small number of similar casks that have been released recently, all to critical acclaim. They capture a very particular style of early-1970s spirit, which has been allowed to develop slowly over the past five decades, bringing together fruity character from both cask and distillery.

The Whisky Exchange believes it has been matured in a fino sherry butt, rather than the more usual oloroso cask, adding an extra dimension of flavour.

The whisky’s style is incredibly reminiscent of similarly matured whisky from a renowned family-owned distillery, bottles of which sell for many times the price of this excellent release.

The Whisky Exchange has kindly sent me a sample to try (Thanks Whisky Exchange!).

So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes – The Whisky Exchange’s Exclusive Bottling Of A 1973 Vintage Speyside (47.4%)

Distilled: 1973
Age: 43 Years (Matured in a refill sherry butt)
Bottled: 2017 at 47.4%
Price: £399 (70cl.)

Nose: Massive, crisp, crunchy, green apple aromas hit you right out of the glass! There’s Vanilla, fudge and then glorious quantities of tropical fruits.
Following on comes some wood, old waxy polish and there’s a crisp, icing sugar headiness which increases the longer the dram is in the glass. Which wasn’t very long to be honest!

Palate: Bountiful Tropical fruits, hints of cherry and a nice, underlying vanilla creaminess.

Finish: Smooth and sweet with tropical fruitiness and vanilla. Spicy pepper is present to spice things up nicely! A slight dryness at the finish.

Overall: Smooth, creamy and tropical is a quick summary of this most excellent dram.
Getting hold of whiskies this old is getting increasingly difficult and getting hold of one at this price is nigh on impossible.
So if you fancy tasting a dram from a bygone age then this one could be for you!

The Borders Distillery Tweet Tasting – Four Great Styles To Sweeten Your Christmas!

December 13, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

The Borders Distillery range of drinks

Monday nights @TweetTastings, the last one for this year, which was once again ably hosted by Steve from The Whisky Wire, gave us the opportunity to sample Borders Distillery range of drinks.

Based in Hawick, Borders Distillery, which was commissioned in March 2018, is the first Scotch whisky distillery in the Scottish Borders since 1837. Tours are available where you can see their carefully renovated buildings and learn about their distilling process!

On the night the styles sampled were:-

Borders Distillery New Make Spirit

Borders Distillery William Kerr’s Gin

Borders Distillery Small Batch Vodka

Borders Distillery Lower East Side Whisky

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

So, what did I think?

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

Tasting Notes – Borders Distillery New Make Spirit (63.5%)

Available exclusively from the Borders Distillery shop for £39.95. Made entirely from Borders barley (concerto). The production uses two spirit and two wash pot stills for its spirit/whisky production which were made by Forsyths in Scotland.

Nose: Creamy vanilla and popcorn, moist cereal, apples and a hint of rum.

Palate: very sweet – almost icing sugarary with that familiar new make popcorn taste to accompany it! H2O opens up to some apples and fiery pepper – dry finish.

Overall: A pleasant new make really – compared to some new makes I’ve tried – I enjoyed it!

Tasting Notes – Borders Distillery William Kerr’s Gin (43%)

William Kerr’s Borders Gin – available from Borders Distillery is a “barley to bottle gin” They use their own malted barley spirit for re-distillation through its unique recipe of botanicals in its specially commissioned one-shot vapour Carter-Head still.

The botanicals used are: Macedonian Juniper, English Coriander, Scottish Heracleum, Bitter Orange, Sweet Orange, Lemon, Cassia, Angelica, Myrtle, Angelica, Orris, Almond and Liquorice.

Nose: Sweet grapefruit and lemons – very citrusy! Getting hints of licquorice.

Palate: Lovely and sweet with orange, grapefruit, lemon and tasty licquorice following on after – very smooth!

Overall: A great gin, one that is sweeter than some of the others out there. It would make a great cocktail base!

Tasting Notes – Borders Distillery Small Batch Vodka (40%)

Available exclusively from the Borders Distillery shop for £29.95. Made entirely from Borders Barley (concerto) in single batches, with active charcoal in the botanical baskets, using a one shot vapour system in their specially build Carter Head Still.

Nose: Very similar to the new make spirit …. strong creamy cereal nose with some rum hints.

Palate: Sweet, light, smooth with citrus elements and zesty pepper – very nice sweetness lingers like icing sugar dissolved in water for a glaze. Dry grapefruit at the end

Overall: Not your usual vodka this one – it actually has flavour and isn’t all fire – a tasty vodka indeed!

Tasting Notes – Borders Distillery Lower East Side Whisky (40%)

A Blended Malt Scotch Whisky – Available from Borders Distillery for a RRP of £32.99. The first blended whisky from Borders which is a lightly peated marriage of Highland and Lowland single malt whiskies. Designed to be an all-rounder; to be sipped straight-up, on the rocks or as a cocktail base.

Nose: Sugar rich, green apples with vanilla and honey cereal and a little light peat.

Palate: Sweet and sugary and smokey and peaty – a little of each – all rolled into one! Green apples but no real spice to discern.

Overall: A pleasant whisky, either as a sipper or used in a cocktail.

My Favourite On The Night

Although it’s not really fair to choose a favourite as each style is a different thing but out of the 4, I think it’s got to be the Borders Distillery Lower East Side Whisky – very easy going and sippable – a higher abv may have made it even better!

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@thewhiskywire) for a great evening and Borders Distillery (@BordersDstlry) for sending the samples and without whom!

Thanks to Borders for sending the samples!

The Walsh Whiskey Tweet Tasting – Chocolate, Tropical Fruit & Spice – Who Could Ask For More?!

November 28, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

The Walsh Whiskey lineup!

Irish Whiskey, namely from the Walsh Whiskey Distillery was the subject of last Monday nights @TweetTastings hosted by Steve from The Whisky Wire.

Walsh Whiskey was founded in 1999, initially to create a better Irish Coffee and eventually leading to re-creating a Whiskey recipe to celebrate the golden era of 19th. century distilling in Ireland. They rapidly became a leading player in the revival of Irish Whiskey.

Since then, Walsh Whiskey, have gone from strength to strength. They officially opened their €25 million distillery at Royal Oak, County Carlow, Ireland in June 2016.

The distillery produces all three styles of Irish whiskey; pot still, malt and grain from its two production lines using both pot stills and column stills. The Walsh Whiskey Distillery is one of the largest in Ireland, with the capacity to produce 8.2 million bottles of whiskey a year.

Walsh Whiskey’s The Irishman and Writers Tears brands are currently sold in over 45 countries. By 2019 this will have increased to over 100!

On the night the Whiskies sampled from the Walsh range were:-

Writers Tears Copper Pot

The Irishman Single Malt

The Irishman Founder’s Reserve Caribbean Rum Finish

Writers Tears Cask Strength

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

So, what did I think?

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

Tasting Notes – Walsh Whiskey Writers Tears Copper Pot (40%)

A blend of single malt and single pot still whiskeys; 60% malt & 40% pot still. Triple distilled, non-peated and matured in American oak bourbon casks.

A gold Medal winner at the International Spirits Challenge in London and one of the highest rated Irish Whiskeys in Jim Murray’s Iconic “Whiskey Bible”. “Altogether a very unusual Irish Whiskey , a throwback to the last century where spiced Pure Pot Still whiskey was married with Floral Single Malt” – Jim Murray. It has also been added to Ian Buxton’s publication “101 Whiskeys to try before you die”.

Nose: Apples with some sugary vanilla. Quite floral with some oatiness thrown in. Very definite mintiness coming through with a little toffee and some spicy cinnamon.

Palate: Smooth and light with apples and floral flavours. Creamy vanilla custard with a smidge of mint!

Finish: Spice oils and oak balanced with fruity sweetness and a dry kick at the end.

Overall: A great whiskey with plenty of nosing aromas and flavour.

Tasting Notes – Walsh Whiskey The Irishman Single Malt (40%)

Matured in a combination of bourbon barrels and Oloroso sherry butts. Triple distilled, it won Whiskey of the Year and Overall Spirit of the Year at the London Spirits Competition 2018.

Nose: Crisp apples and malty oatcake biscuits – very nice! Sherry and a hint of those famous bananas the tweeters are talking about! After a while I’m getting a little tropical fruits with some fudge.

Palate: Luscious sweet fruits with some chocolate plus hints of cereal and grapefruit.

Finish: A fiery end with some tanin dryness and cereal – punchy, but in a good way!

Overall: Spicy and sweet with impressive fruit aromas and flavours.

Tasting Notes – Walsh Whiskey The Irishman Founder’s Reserve Caribbean Rum Finish (46%)

Produced using the original signature blend created by distillery founder Bernard Walsh, which is comprised of 70% Single Malt and 30% Single Pot Still. Finished for 6 months in The Chairman’s Reserve rum casks from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

Winner of Best Irish Single Cask of the Year at the Irish Whiskey Awards 2018.

Nose: Rum soaked wood and plump raisins – lovely! Very fruity with apples and a tropical cocktail but this dram takes a while to develop … vanilla fudge comes through as a finale.

Palate: Rich and sweet with LOADS of tropical fruits and apples. Only a hint of rum for me I’m afraid but it’s incredibly tasty all the same!

Finish: Some peppery spice that duels with the fruity sweetness admirably. I also got a real burst of yummy dark chocolate right at the end!

Overall: Not as rummy as I expected (and hoped for) but this is more than made up for in some great tropical fruits flavours and warming spice!

As an experiment, my fellow tweeters and I paired this up with some dark chocolate – an experience I’d highly recommend – chocolate alcohol heaven! Are we allowed to have so much fun on a Monday night?!

Tasting Notes – Walsh Whiskey Writers Tears Cask Strength (53%)

A rare vatting of aged Single Pot Still and Single Malt Whiskey’s. Triple distilled and matured in bourbon barrels and limited to just 5,175 bottles.

Cask Strength was a Gold Medal winner in “The Premium Irish Whiskey Category” at The Whiskey Masters.

Nose: Fresh apples and waxy sweetness with some wood in there as well. There’s chocolate and tropical fruits but it seems reluctant to give up all it’s secrets straight away! The chocolate gets creamier as time passes …

Palate: WoW! A chocolate and tropical fruit spicy hit! Creamy chocolate and tropical fruitiness.

Finish: Adding H2O smooths things out a lot – there’s chocolate, apples and vanilla with a punchy spice that not even water can tame!

Overall: Chocolate, tropical fruit and a spicy conclusion. What is there NOT to like? Very enjoyable indeed and if you add some water you can enjoy it all over again!

My Favourite On The Night

Out of the 4, I think it’s got to be the Writers Tears Cask Strength followed closely by The Irishman Founder’s Reserve Caribbean Rum Finish. The Cask Strength has such lovely chocolate flavours and two individual palates when you dram it neat or with water – double your fun and gorgeous with it!

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire) for a great sampling evening and the team at Walsh Whiskey (@WalshWhiskey) for sending the samples and without whom!

My fellow Tweeters were:-

@TomsWhisky @TheWhiskyphiles @Whiskylassie @ScottNelson @Whisky_And1 @NikkiHayes1969 @brawspirit @SpiritAndWood @FiShoop @WhiskyUnplugged @simonrees73 @iheartwhisky @Marc_Whiskey @thatsdramgood @whiskeytalk2U @daveoc1980 @LaCaveDeCobalt @Girl_Whisky @dram_gazette @MrSingleMalt @whiskydram_ @MaltMusings @wetwewhistle

Walsh Whiskey is available to buy from:-

Master of Malt

And other great retailers!

The Whisky Exchange Black Friday Whisky 2018 – Stay Cosy & Buy A Dram Online!

November 23, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

It’s An Orkney 18 Year Old!

NOW Available! The Whisky Exchange Black Friday Whisky 2018: An Orkney 18 Year Old!

Now a firm tradition at The Whisky Exchange, their limited-edition Black Friday Whisky is now on sale!

Last year’s limited-edition Black Friday Malt sold out in 20 minutes flat!

A one-off single malt that has been bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange by Elixir Distillers from an unnamed Orkney distillery.

Described as an “… 18-year-old dram with the gently smoky character typical of the distillery, autumnal notes and a hint of festive flavour.”

There are only 1400 bottles available and a 70cl. bottle is priced at £69.95. If it’s anything like previous years this dram won’t last long (last year’s limited-edition Black Friday Malt sold out in 20 minutes flat!) so you need to be quick if you want to catch this.

The Whisky Exchange has kindly sent me a sample to try (Thanks Whisky Exchange!). So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes – Black Friday 2018: Orkney 18 Year Old Single Malt Whisky (54.6%)

Nose: Sweet sherry hit with red apples. There’s a little smoke (just a hint), dark chocolate, spicy fruits and aromas of rain soaked undergrowth. After a while there’s creamy vanilla caramels.

Palate: A rich, sweet, tempered peaty cocktail with some burnt wood smoke, a little orange and dark choc

Finish: Fiery pepper with a fiesty dark kick that warms the cockles! It’s held in check by some chocolate orange sweetness. A dry tobacco finish with a pinch of salt tops the whole thing off.

Overall: Now this is a black friday deal I can get behind!
It may not be reduced to a ridiculous price but you do have the opportunity to get hold of a classy limited edition dram – certainly a bargain in itself!

So Stay Cosy This Black Friday – Buy A Dram Online!

The Whisky Advent Calendar Tweet Tasting!

November 21, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

The Whisky Red Advent Calendar!

Christmas was certainly in the air (and in the nose!) for last Monday nights Tweet Tastings making us all realise that Chrimbo was only a roasted chestnut throw away!

We were treated to the delight of sampling five drams from Master of Malt’s Whisky Red Advent Calendar (£149.95). It was a great (and early) introduction to the festive season!

Master of Malt’s Advent Calendars are now as traditional as listening to Christmas classic Pop Songs or over-cooking the sprouts so it’s great to have a chance to try out some whiskies which hail from all over the globe – a Whisky Red World Advent Calendar in fact!

The drams sampled were:-

Starward New World Whisky

Brenne Cuvée Spéciale

Whisky Advent That-Boutique-Y-Whisky Irish Single Malt

Kavalan Single Malt

Glenfarclas 105

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

So, what did I think?

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

Tasting Notes – Starward New World Whisky (43%)

An Australian Malt Whisky Produced using 100% Australian malted barley and aged in Australian Apera (fortified wine) casks.

Nose: Apples, oranges and yummy caramel with a hint of rum soaked plump raisins. Add a little bit of woodiness and some nice creamy fudginess which comes thru after a while!

Palate: Rich christmas cake with alcohol infused fruits! Some apples, oranges & tropical fruit with a hefty bit of spice thrown in.

Finish: Quite a dry, spicy finish but fair-dinkum all the same.

Overall: A solid, tasty dram that I enjoyed very much and would love to re-visit!

Tasting Notes – Brenne Cuvée Spéciale (40%)

A French Single Malt Whisky Produced using malted barley grown in Cognac. Initially matured in Limousin oak casks before being finished in Cognac casks.

Nose: Amazing tropical fruits – reminds me of those tuiti-fruiti chewy sweets! Plus there’s apples and pears with sugary vanilla. The banofee pie is also strong in this one with a side-serving of Rum and raisin ice cream.

Palate: A watered down version of the nose – banana and strawberry milkshake with a little too much sugar.

Finish: Short finish with some pepper but the milkshake lingers …

Overall: Not really my style of dram but some of the tweeters loved it! So, as should be the case, each to their own …

Tasting Notes – That-Boutique-Y-Whisky Irish Single Malt (46.8%)

An Irish Single Malt Whiskey – Whiskey #1 – Aged 13 Years – Batch #3.

Nose: Restrained sherry with some crisp green apples, fruits, caramel coupled with some fresh new wood. There’s oat and cereal with a little meadow hay. Left in the glass, after a while, there’s sticky toffee!

Palate: Yo! That’s nice! Vanilla sweet and fruity with a smooth, punchy, peppery bite!

Finish: Tropical fruit coupled with a woody dryness and don’t forget that spice!

Overall: I’m not surprised I enjoyed this – another fine, well selected and tasty dram from the Boutiquey Whisky stable!

Tasting Notes – Kavalan Single Malt (40%)

Kavalan Single Malt is a Taiwanese non-age-stated Whisky. Matured in ex-bourbon barrels it is rumoured to be around 3-4 years old.

Nose: Crisp apples with some ripe tangerines and pineapple. Vanilla fudge and I keep getting whiffs of Cointreau! – there’s so much oranginess!

Palate: Syrupy tropical fruits with some caramel – lovely!

Finish: Honeyed layers of fruit with just a dash of spiceiness that make this a very nice dram indeed!

Overall: First time sampling the Kavalan brand and I wasn’t dissapointed – amazing flavours and balance for such a young whisky.

Tasting Notes – Glenfarclas 105 (60%)

A Single Malt Scotch Whisky. The Glenfarclas 105 bottling was the first time a distillery had released a barrel proof single malt whisky. The brand was eventually re-named to 105, referring to its alcohol content in British Proof, which equates now to 60% ABV.

Nose: Creamy sherry with just a hint of port. Chocolate with stewed fruits.

Palate: Rich christmas cake with luscious chocolate! Thick, creamy fudge with fruit! Adding a few drops of water releases a lot more caramel and chocolate and sets the taste buds tingling! Heady stuff though at an un-diluted 60%!

Finish: Basically the same as the initial palate. This dram just keeps on giving!

Overall: It’s 60% but it’s VERY smooth! I’m Mr. “No Water” usually but this dram certainly shows more of it’s facets with some H2O and I recommend adding some. (Never thought I’d hear myself say that!)

My Favourite On The Night

Out of the 5, I think it’s got to be the Glenfarclas 105, closely followed by That-Boutique-Y-Whisky. The Glenfarclas 105 is what Christmas is all about – but liquified!

There’s still time to grab an Advent Calendar and they cover a variety of whiskies and other spirits including Gin, Tequila and Rum. Why not celebrate the run up to Santa’s upcoming visit with something tasty and different each day? But keep them away from those Elves!

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

My fellow Tweeters were:-

@TheWhiskyphiles @ocdwhisky @JasonVaswani @FiShoop @TomsWhisky @dvdbloke @Jotterface @iheartwhisky @CherryConstable @Whisky_And1 @whiskywings @steveprentice @WhiskyUnplugged @SpiritAndWood @drinkersite @RumDiariesBlog @julie_gwc @NikkiHayes1969 @wetwewhistle @MaltMusings @RealDramRob @SimonFieldCFM @AmateurDrammer

Sampling Limestone Branch Distilleries Bourbon & Whiskey – Smooth, Smooth And Smooth Again!

November 16, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

Yellowstone Select Bourbon & Minor Case Rye Whiskey

I’ve received some samples from the Kentucky-based Limestone Branch Distillery (LBD) who have brought their historical Yellowstone Select Bourbon and Minor Case Rye Whiskey to the UK.

First produced by Master Distiller, Steve Beam’s ancestors in 1872, Yellowstone was Kentucky’s biggest selling bourbon in the 1960s. The original family recipe was resurrected in 2010 by Steve Beam and his brother Paul Beam with the first barrel filled in 2015.

LBD is based in Lebanon, Kentucky, in the heart of Bourbon country and is a founding member of the Kentucky Craft Bourbon Trail.

LBD’s intention is to craft the finest whiskey in small batches, honouring the long Beam family heritage. With a history of distilling on both sides of their family – Beam and Dant – the brothers are seventh-generation distillers.

In 2015, LBD partnered with Luxco to assist in delivering its fine whiskeys around the world.

The craft whiskeys are distilled utilising the same method Beam’s previous generations used, with the yeast dating back to 1850. The whiskeys are hand labelled and hand-bottled and the focus is on quality, with just a barrel per day produced.

In the UK there is a huge demand right now for authentic bourbon and rye whiskeys, from both the on-trade and also specialist whiskey retailers. We are delighted to be able to introduce our Yellowstone Select and Minor Case Whiskeys to the UK market.

Bourbon and Rye whiskeys offer an ideal entry to the category and the increasing popularity of classic American whiskey-based cocktails such as the Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour and the Manhattan, are further fuelling demand.
– Steve Beam: President and Distiller, Limestone Branch Distillery

Steve Beam

Yellowstone Select Bourbon has won the following awards:
SF 2018 GOLD,
SIP PLATINUM 2017
2017 BERLIN GOLD MEDAL
2017 SIP AWARDS SILVER CONSUMERS CHOICE AWARD

Minor Case 2-yr old straight rye whiskey has won the following awards:
SF 2018 GOLD
2017 GOLD SIP AWARD
2017 MASTER AT THE GLOBAL LUXURY MASTERS
2017 SILVER SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION

So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes – Yellowstone Select Bourbon (46.5%)

Named after the Yellowstone National Park, award-winning Yellowstone Select Bourbon is a small batch of four and seven-year aged straight Kentucky bourbon whiskey made with locally grown white corn, rye, malt and limestone water.

Yellowstone Select Bourbon

Nose: Red apples, tropical fruits, fudge, vanilla and honey. Over time there’s old polished wood & chocolate.

Palate: A lovely, rich, creamy palate with smooth vanilla fudge flavours. There’s a hint of some wood and those apples are there as well coupled with a tropical fruit sweetness.

Finish: Very smooth finish. The tropical fruit continues and is joined by some spicy pepper at the end. No fieriness at all!

Overall: This is an amazing Bourbon! Quite sublime in it’s sweetness and the, amazing and surprising, total lack of fieriness that seems to underly most Bourbons I have tasted in the past.

Tasting Notes – Minor Case Rye Whiskey (45%)

Minor Case is a two-year old straight rye whiskey distilled using 100% American heartland grains and finished in a sherry cask. A nod to its namesake, exceptional distiller, Minor Case Beam (Steve’s great grandfather), Minor Case today is an authentic reproduction of Minor Case’s original recipe.

Minor Case Rye Whiskey

Nose: Initially a big hit of glue and popcorny new make spirit. Again, there’s green apples and later caramel sweetness comes through.

Palate: Smooth, honeyed and vanilla with apples and tropical fruit.

Finish: Again, a smooth finish with the familiar tropical fruit that I’ve come to love! There’s a hint of pepper and the dram ends on a note of tanin dryness.

Overall: There’s not as much nose as the Yellowstone Select Bourbon but Minor Case Rye makes up with it with bags of flavour! Again, a smooth, smooth drink that can be drunk neat with the utmost ease!

Yellowstone Select and Minor Case are distributed in the UK by Woolf Sung. RRP for both is £49.00 in 70cl. bottles.

Many thanks to limestonebranch.com for the very enjoyable samples!

They can also be found on Twitter @limestonebranch.

Introducing The Whisky Exchange Christmas Malt!

November 9, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

The Whisky Exchange Christmas malt

A Fine New Christmas Malt for 2018!

“… it’s a properly Christmassy whisky!”

For the nights before Christmas,
When snug in your house,
Or, carefully wrapped,
‘Neath the tree for your spouse.

A Christmas Malt
That’s been selected with care,
From a Speyside distillery,
Though we can’t tell you where.

Available exclusively from thewhiskyexchange.com is their very own and first-ever Christmas Malt!

A Speyside single malt Scotch whisky that captures the essence of Christmas with “rich buttery spice and sticky cherries, hints of holly-wreath leafiness and Christmas-tree pine.”

It has been matured for 17 years in oloroso sherry butts, creating a whisky packed with festive flavour. There are only 1800 bottles available and a 70cl. bottle is priced at £74.95.

The Whisky Exchange has kindly sent me a sample to try (Thanks Whisky Exchange!).
So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes – The Whisky Exchange Christmas malt (58.7%)

Colour: Satisfying sherry with a hint of port redness.

Nose: Sweet, caramel toffee, red apple and oranges. There’s stewed fruits mixing with sweet spice. As it develops aromas of port with a hint of lemon (sounds like a classic 70’s drink!) and fudgy vanilla come through.

Palate: A mighty kick of peppery, spicy plum pudding with added notes of sweet sherry. Hints of apple and creamy chocolate help balance the 58.7% spicy whoomph!

Finish: The formidable spiciness sustains all the way through this dram married with a tasty porty sweetness that ends in a tanin dryness.

Overall: A heart-warming dram. Perfect for fireside contemplation after sweeping up wrapping paper debris and searching fruitlessly high and low for “.. those extra batteries we bought …!”
It’s spicy heart surrounded by Christmas cake port sweetness will have you reaching for the bottle more than just once!
As Billy Abbott from The Whisky Exchange said, “Christmas can come more than once a year – just have another sip.”
I think that’s an excellent observation and an excellent idea!

Merry Christmas!

The SMWS Virtual Tasting 35th Anniversary – Celebrating & Sampling!

September 25, 2018 by Gary Leave a Comment

A 35th Anniversary bash with an online Virtual Tasting!

I always love an anniversary so I was greatly looking forward to Celebrating The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s 35th Anniversary bash with an online Virtual Tasting!

The evening was hosted by master brand ambassador John McCheyne at The Vaults. He introduced five hand-selected Society drams, each with a different flavour profile.

This was their first ever golbal Virtual Tasting. John moved the tasting order around a bit but we got there in the end!

The malts sampled were:-

SMWS 35.214 Without pretence

SMWS 63.49 In the dark of the abyss

SMWS 135.6 Cones vs crones

SMWS 93.94 The final trawl

SMWS 29.249 Sweet black tea in the surgery

If you want to catch up on what all the tasters had to say you can view the whole event here: #SMWSat35.

If you’re interested in joining the SMWS and taking advantage of their great whiskies you can find everything you need here.

So, what did I think?

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

Tasting Notes – SMWS 35.214 Without pretence (55.7%)

Nose: Green apples, citrus, vanilla and fudge with a little wood. There’s also some lovely tropical fruits! The nose is intensely sweet with rich fruit and chocolate.

Palate: Vanilla, blackcurrant, apple and chocolate.

Finish: Powerful spicy chilli with a menthol finish coupled with smooth caramel!

Overall: A solid dram with plenty of fruity sweetness.

Tasting Notes – SMWS 63.49 In the dark of the abyss (60.6%)

Nose: Rich, sweet sherry – almost porty. There’s also treacle, fudge, stewed fruits and a little sulphur. After a while the nose exhibits a really powerful, creamy vanilla fudge!

Palate: Luscious mouthfeel with rich stewed fruits, orange and dark chocolate.

Finish: Smooth finish with mild spice – very tasty!

Overall: If you can wait awhile with this dram in the glass it turns into something glorious!

Tasting Notes – SMWS 135.6 Cones vs crones (57.1%)

Nose: Very powerful rich caramel toffee! Chocolate biscuit, butterscotch and popcorn.

Palate: Tropical sweetness and golden syrup popcorn.

Finish: Hot, peppery spice with a little salt.

Overall: Quite a strong taste of new-make spirit in there which makes this dram my least favourite. Maybe it’s the young age?

Tasting Notes – SMWS 93.94 The final trawl (56.8%)

Nose: Great, rich, peaty aromas – lovely smoke and burnt wood! Seaside air and smoked fish, oily and coastal which mellows into a smooth caramel seaseme halva!

Palate: Zingy citrus with a lovely woody, smokey peat! Sweet and fruity.

Finish: Tobacco finish with peppery spice.

Overall: A joy to sample this one – so rich in flavours and aromas!

Tasting Notes – SMWS 29.249 Sweet black tea in the surgery (48.6%)

Nose: Sweet, antiseptic, smokey with a little peat.

Palate: Sweet, smokey and fulfilling!

Finish: Chilli spice with a smooth finish.

Overall: Strong hints that this dram is from Laphroaig. The taste certainly seems to confirm this!

My Favourite On The Night

Out of the 5, I think it’s got to be the SMWS 93.94 – The final trawl. A powerful dram with lots of flavours!.

Many thanks to SMWS (@SMWSUK) for sending the samples and for a great dram evening!