Category: Tasting Notes | Page 14 | MaltKlaus' Daily Drams

March 20, 2016March 16, 2019

Tasting: Benromach 35 yo / 2016

Dram data:
Distillery: Benromach
Bottler: Original bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2016
Age: 35 years
Limitation: –
Casks: First fill Ex-Sherry
Alcohol: 43%
most likely chill filtered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: reddish amber
It’s not every day (for me at least) that there’s a 35 year-old whisky in the glass, so this is a special occasion. Time to assume position, pour the remainder of the sample I was sent for the #Benromach35 tweet tasting and sniff away!
The nose opens just as expected from a whisky past a certain maturation point. Beeswax, polished oak, oak-matured honey (wait, what?), oily, thickened grape juice and dried orange peel paired with chocolat-ey cigar tobacco and an old, slightly dusty leather jacket forgotten in grandma’s closet (but in a good way). Continue reading “Tasting: Benromach 35 yo / 2016”

March 9, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Glen Spey 1995 20 yo by Cadenhead’s – 2015 Club bottling

Dram data:
Distillery: Glen Spey-Glenlivet
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: 1995
Bottled: 2015
Age: 20 years
Limitation: 180 bottles
Casks: Ex-Sherry hogshead
Alcohol: 52,7%
Unchillfiltered, uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: dark forest honey
It’s been ages since my last whisky review – the cold ruined my nose and palate for quite a while. In the glass today is one of my most anticipated bottles of the year – the “free” bottle from Cadenhead’s club which you get when you trade in a full stamp card (i.e. for buying six bottles of whisky from them). Great deal and it’s always a big mystery what the surprise bottle is going to be. For last year’s bottling, which arrived here in Austria in February 2016, they chose a sherry hogshead (!) from a rather obscure Speyside distillery. So let’s check it out!
The rather gentle nose is that of a well-aged (probably first fill) proper dry Sherry (Olorosoor Fino? – i.e. not overly sweet cream sherry) European oak sherry cask. Slightly dry sherry notes and wood spices (sandalwood, cinnamon, star anise) up front, met by what remains of a clean, slightly citrus-laden distillate. When I first tasted it I had lightly vegetal notes too – I think I can attribute those to my cold, I can’t find them anymore. Continue reading “Tasting: Glen Spey 1995 20 yo by Cadenhead’s – 2015 Club bottling”

February 20, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Dalmore 12 yo (late 80s/early 90s duty free bottling)

Dram data:
Distillery: Dalmore
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: 70s to early 80s
Bottled: late 80s, early 90s
Age: 12 years
Limitation: –
Casks: –
Alcohol: 43%
Most likely chill filtered and coloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: dark orang-ey gold
Woohoo! my nose is finally working again and properly calibrated after being stuffed for well over a week! So it’s back to business with an old Dalmore 12, bottled in the mid-80s to early 90s. This might very well contain whisky distilled in the 70s! I’m excited! The nose is, well, recognisably Dalmore-ish! Light, fruity, sweet and pleasant but not without depth. The first thing you notice is a sweet – but not cloying – rich sweet sherry and fruit sweetness. Px sherry, dried dates and figs, dried pears for making fruit-bread, plum spread, seasoned with Swiss herbal cough lozenges and a dash of plum distillate (with cracked kernels!). Continue reading “Tasting: Dalmore 12 yo (late 80s/early 90s duty free bottling)”

February 8, 2016October 9, 2016

Tasting: Tomatin 1991 21 years by C&S

Dram data:
Distillery: Tomatin
Bottler: C&S dram collection
Distilled: 05.06.1991
Bottled: 17.01.2013
Age: 21 years
Limitation: single cask
Casks: Sherry butt 12488
Alcohol: 55,7%
Unchillfiltered, uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: light gold
The nose is rather light on the first sniff, but it’s a few years old, so let’s set the glass aside for a couple of minutes. 10 minutes later: Ah! That’s better! Mmmmmhhhh… old, aged whisky in its best years, balance between subtle cask influence and spirit character. Continue reading “Tasting: Tomatin 1991 21 years by C&S”

February 2, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Octomore 2008 Virgin Oak cask sample

Dram data:
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Bottler: official
Distilled: 2008
Bottled: sample drawn 2015
Age: 7-ish
Limitation: unavailable
Casks: virgin oak cask 1202
Alcohol: 64,4%%
unchillfiltered and natural colour

Tasting notes:
Colour: dark amber
So Bruichladdich has done it again! The latest Octomore 7.4 “virgin oak” release is out. Well, all virgin oak? Nopedy nope! Only 25% of the liquid is actual full-time virgin oak matured. I haven’t got a sample of that one and a full bottle might exceed my budget, so let’s rummage through my sample cabinet – I think there might be something similar. Hey! What’s that? A 2008 virgin oak Octomore cask sample, drawn from the cask for the 2015 Feis Ile warehouse tasting with Jim McEwan. That’s the ticket! Uncut, unblended, let’s see what it’s like! On the nose there’s not that much peat. Well, that’s not surprising if you look at Bruichladdich’s stills, they produce a much lighter distillate than, say Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Still quite a lot of peat, but not overwhelming and that’s good! A slight alcoholic tingling, but you’d never guess this was 64% ABV! Very well-integrated! Fresh vanilla, vanilla pods, toasted cask, caramelised oak sap, Lapsang Souchong (unboilt), burning oak staves and a coal-fired steam engine squirting oil around, burnt toffee, heather, ginger, slightly toasted orange peel and a squirt of citrus providing a hint of distillery character. Continue reading “Tasting: Octomore 2008 Virgin Oak cask sample”

January 27, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 13-0919

Dram data:
Distillery: Jack Daniel’s
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2013 (13-0919)
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: fresh barrel
Alcohol: 45%
filtered and uncoloured

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
With single malt prices going up, up, up, it’s well worth looking at malternatives. I consider this a malternative. Whether it’s an alternative remains to be seen – so let’s stick our nose in! Oh, hello there, acetone! It’s not officially considered an off-note, but I don’t like it – at least it’s only light and vanishes after about 15 minutes in the glass. Phew. A high-corn mashbill meets a fresh cask – strong vanilla flavours with sweet corn, caramel, molasses, burnt sugar and rye spices. Continue reading “Tasting: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 13-0919”

January 24, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: The Highlander NAS by Single Cask Collection

Dram data:
Distillery: undisclosed
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2012 (CSC1-2012)
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: –
Alcohol: 40%
most likely chill filtered and coloured

Tasting notes:
Colour: orang-ey amber
Right. So we’ve got a “Single malt Scotch whisky” in the glass and that’s the only thing we know about it. Despite the name “The Highlander” I don’t know whether it actually is from a Highland distillery but chances are high since the Highlands also include the Speyside region. Well – there’s no other way to find out other than sticking my nose into the glass! Right off the bat the nasal receptors say “Clynelish”. A creamy, light vanilla-fudge note (as is so common these days) accompanied by the dirty, waxy, oily Clynelish character. I could be wrong, it could be the cask, we’ll never know, but that’s the type. Speaking about cask: It feels too round to be a single cask, there’s both ex-sherry and ex-bourbon in the mix. Continue reading “Tasting: The Highlander NAS by Single Cask Collection”

January 21, 2016October 7, 2016

Blind tasting: Penderyn NAS Single Bourbon cask B227

Dram data:
Distillery: Penderyn
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2015
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: ex-bourbon
Alcohol: 63,2%
Unchillfiltered, uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: white wine
The nose is… wait, err, are we sure this is whisky? Something tells me there’s an additional “e” in the name or is the reused Crown Royal bottle just there to deceive me? There’s a fake perfumey, artificially sweet dominant vanilla note right at the front, which, thank god, fades after a few minutes but still stays present. Vanilla, old banana, limoncello, neroli, orangey ladies perfume, coconut, caramelised ginger, toffee, orange Haribo gummi bears and, well, toasted american oak “spices” with a cooling alcoholic sensation.
Continue reading “Blind tasting: Penderyn NAS Single Bourbon cask B227”

January 13, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Caol Ila 1995 20 yo by Cadenhead’s

Dram data:
Distillery: Caol Ila
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: 1995
Bottled: 10.2015
Age: 20 years
Limitation: 564 bottles
Casks: Butt
Alcohol: 57.7%
Unchillfiltered, uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: white wine
Seems like yesterday since I last tasted a refill-Butt 20-ish Caol Ila. I was very fond of the last one so there’s certainly no harm in trying another! The nose is… rather gentle and delicate, actually. Very little alcohol despite nearly 58% ABV with a light and delicate peat smoke – almost a Bowmore-ish flowery note (burning lavender and violets?). Slightly damp cotton candy, diluted honey, almost faded Italian orange blossoms, citrus juice with bits and peel, an oak board in a florist’s shop and highland honey so faint you’re wondering if the bees made it through the summer. Continue reading “Tasting: Caol Ila 1995 20 yo by Cadenhead’s”

December 24, 2015October 7, 2016

24 drams till Christmas tasting #24: Bunnahabhain 1988 24 yo by Signatory Vintage

Dram data:
Distillery: Bunnahabhain
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Distilled: 10.10.1988
Bottled: 30.07.2013
Age: 24 years
Limitation: 588 bottles
Casks: refill Sherry Butt
Alcohol: 55,9%
unchillfiltered; uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
How fitting! A 24 yo single malt whisky to conclude the 24 drams till Christmas series! This better be a good one for a great finish or I’ll have to extend it to 25 days… The nose starts off slightly alcoholic but there’s greatness underneath! Classic European oak sherry cask matured whisky – post Paxarette! Spices up front – cloves, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. The cask is strong with this one (excuse the Star Wars pun…), no oaky notes, just letting the spices talk. Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas tasting #24: Bunnahabhain 1988 24 yo by Signatory Vintage”