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December 3, 2016November 30, 2016

24 drams till christmas 2016 #3: Slyrs 12 yo

Dram data:
Distillery: Slyrs
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: 2003*
Bottled: 2015*
Age: 12 years
Limitation: 2000 bottles
Casks: fresh american oak
Alcohol: 43%
unchillfiltered(?) and uncoloured
Whiskybase link
*no info on the sample bottle, it could either be the first or second batch

After tasting a less than stellar 3 yo whisky from the Bavarian distillery, I’m putting high hopes in this very expensive and collectable 12-year-old dram. Let’s check it out!

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
The nose starts out extremely rich! Different league than the aforementioned 3 yo bottling! Not your usual whisky, though, a distinctive style you could not mistake for a Scottish whisky (which is good, because why should you make whisky that tastes like Scotch in Bavaria?). Rich oak! I couldn’t find any official info on it, but I’d be surprised if it was anything but virgin american white oak casks. This could almost be a well-aged high-malt mash bill, potstill bourbon! Charred oak, vanilla, tannins, ginger, cinnamon and cloves up front, with caramel and toffee sweetness, Werther’s Original, Ricola cough lozenges and a whiff of a new Bavarian cowboy boot (Oh come on, you’ve made that one up!). Very oak-driven, but not too oaky. At the same time there’s also a lightness and freshness on top – you can tell this is not old whisky, but a younger distillate from fresh casks. Let’s check the palate! Continue reading “24 drams till christmas 2016 #3: Slyrs 12 yo”

December 2, 2016November 29, 2016

24 drams till christmas 2016 #2: Strathisla 2005-2015 by Gordon & MacPhail

Dram data:
Distillery: Strathisla
Bottler: Gordon & Macphail
Distilled: 2005
Bottled: 16.12.2015
Age: ca. 10 years
Limitation: –
Casks: first fill sherry hogsheads
Alcohol: 43%
chill filtered(?) and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

That’s only the second Strathisla I’ve reviewed for the blog – let’s see if this independently bottled 10 yo from Gordon & MacPhail’s “distillery labels” series has an edge over the official 12 yo!

Tasting notes:
Colour: dark straw (exactly what it says on the leaflet.. I didn’t cheat, I swear!)
The nose starts off a wee bit shy and on the sweet side. First fill sherry hoggies? I wouldn’t have guessed that from the first nose. Well, all right, dry, light sherry, perhaps, because that’s what the nose says after a while. American oak, too. Vanilla, custard, faint traces of dry sherry, green apples and pears, apple peel, rhubarb and donut glazing with a splash of citrus in it. Faint traces of oak. Well… light and nice enough but not the “usual” heavily sherried style of Strathisla. On to the palate! now! Continue reading “24 drams till christmas 2016 #2: Strathisla 2005-2015 by Gordon & MacPhail”

December 1, 2016November 28, 2016

24 drams till christmas 2016 #1: Bruichladdich Laddie Ten 2nd edition

Dram data:
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Bottler: original bottling
Distilled: 26.07.2006
Bottled: 27.10.2016
Age: 10 years
Limitation: –
Casks: Ex-bourbon, sherry, French wine
Alcohol: 50%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

The “24 drams till Christmas” blog series is back – and so is Bruichladdich’s “Laddie 10”, after a two-year absence on the shelves due to a lack of stock. Is there any dram more fitting to kick off this year’s Christmas countdown?

Tasting notes:
Colour: honey gold
The nose is undeniably that of a laddie dram. Light in style yet sophisticated with immediate notes of citrus fruits, tinned tangerines, lychees and pomegranate. A light perfume note, too. Or is that chewing gum? Hubba bubba, perhaps. In the background we get grapes with skins, dry French red wine (I know it says so on the label, but it’s apparent), red berries (brambles, elderberries) with cream and a mixture of different oak spices. I don’t have an old bottle of laddie 10 open at the moment, but while it is recognizably a laddie dram, the French oak and wine cask influence are apparent, more apparent than my memory of previous batches before the temporary discontinuation. Continue reading “24 drams till christmas 2016 #1: Bruichladdich Laddie Ten 2nd edition”

November 23, 2016November 23, 2016

Tasting: Chivas Regal 18 yo blend

Dram data:
Distillery: – (Blend)
Bottler: Chivas Brothers Ltd.
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2015
Age: 18
Limitation: –
Casks: –
Alcohol: 40%
chillfiltered and coloured
Whiskybase link

The bog standard Chivas Regal 12 yo blended Scotch is being quaffed in unbelievably huge quantities all around the world, but then there’s also the older, and more expensive, yet still affordable sipling (about 50€ at the time of writing), the 18 yo. I’ve never tried it – about time I did so, I guess…

Tasting notes:
Colour: E150a-caused dark red-orange hue
The nose starts off light enough with an unexpected dominance of light alcoholic notes, but there’s more lurking in the background. Lots more, a very dense, interwoven nasal experience and malt-dominated, as is to be expected from a blended whisky in that price range. Honey, vanilla, sweet fruits (mango, apricots, peaches, sweet grapes, honey melon, lychees and many more) paired with palm honey, old spicy grain whisky, a light grassy note and a pinch of mulled wine spices. Background notes are provided by a layer of fragrant, but not overwhelming oak. Very well put together, complex yet light enough to be mass-compatible. Nonetheless, it’s able to speak for itself, not just a base for a mixer! On to the palate now! Continue reading “Tasting: Chivas Regal 18 yo blend”

November 15, 2016November 14, 2016

Tasting: Inchgower 2002 – 2016 by G&M Connoisseur’s Choice

Dram data:
Distillery: Inchgower
Bottler: Gordon & Macphail
Distilled: 2002
Bottled: 06.05.2016
Age: ca. 14 years
Limitation: –
Casks: refill sherry hogsheads
Alcohol: 46%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured

It’s been a while since I last had an Inchgower – they’re not a very prominent distillery in the whisky shops, with no widely available official release by Diageo we have to rely on the independent bottlers!

Tasting notes:
Colour: red gold
The nose starts off fruity and aromatic. Not an in-your-face sherried whisky, it shows an elegant restraint, yet still loads of character. Apple and pear compote (including slightly green peel) with honey and the odd dried date thrown in. There’s also a hint of honey-covered crunchy muesli in the background with a whiff of fragrant oak. Oh, and a cinnamon stick and exactly two cloves. Fruity, but not overly sweet – the magic of good refill casks! Let’s check the palate now! Continue reading “Tasting: Inchgower 2002 – 2016 by G&M Connoisseur’s Choice”

November 9, 2016November 8, 2016

Blind tasting: Glenlivet Nadurra 16 yo batch 0614C

Dram data:
Distillery: Glenlivet
Bottler: Official Bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: June 2014
Age: 16 years
Limitation: –
Casks: 1st fill ex-bourbon
Alcohol: 55,2%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Oh, a mystery whisky! I love tasting mystery whiskies – even if there’s a chance I’ll make an utter fool of myself, but that’s part of the game! Let’s dig in!

Tasting notes:
Colour: apple juice
The nose is pleasant and light on the first nose with a hint of alcohol dominating. Light vanilla, red apples and red pears, strawberries, dried pineapple, summer honey, candyfloss and dextrose sugar pieces for athletes with added lemon aroma and heather tips. With time and careful nosing there’s quite a lot going on here, creating a summer-dram profile. Not too much oak influence, if you asked me I’d put this at about 10 years. My first intuition says Highlands (or maybe Speyside). A very clean and unobtrusive style of whisky – a Glenmorangie with more oomph than the 10yo or a slightly richer Glenlivet? Something along those lines. Even if it’s not, that’s what it reminds me of and it smells familiar. Definitely modern whisky and I’m 99,9% sure it’s Scotch malt whisky (leaving a tiny margin of error open, because, well, you never know, blind tastings are funny things). On to the palate now! Continue reading “Blind tasting: Glenlivet Nadurra 16 yo batch 0614C”

November 7, 2016November 7, 2016

Tasting: Classic of Islay cask #2725 (NAS)

Dram data:
Distillery: Undisclosed
Bottler: Jack Wieber’s Whisky World
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2014
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: #2725
Alcohol: 56,4%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

More budget whisky goodness – this time we’ve got an undisclosed, mystery distillery, single cask bottling from the Isle of Islay. This was sold for about 40€ in 2014 – let’s see if it fits the bang-for-the-money ticket!

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
The nose is undeniably that of a young, fiery, rascal-ey, smoky Islay malt, you can’t deny the heritage. My mind immediately went “Lagavulin” as soon as I stuck my nose in – I would bet half an old fisherman’s boot on that – but we’ll never know for sure… Rich peat smoke, slightly medicinal, but not at Laphroaig levels, paired with an initial blast of black pepper, menthol, refreshment tissue, oily tweed jacket, some seaweed, sweet toffee, coffee dregs, walnuts and hazelnuts and a whiff of cracked shells on the beach. When I looked at the colour I hoped it would not be a dram slaughtered by a freshly rinsed sherry cask taking on an overly sweet profile – thank god it is not! This is a classy nose, I’m very impressed! Let’s hope the palate can deliver as well! Continue reading “Tasting: Classic of Islay cask #2725 (NAS)”

November 3, 2016November 2, 2016

Tasting: Cadenhead Creations Rich Fruity Sherry 36 yo blend

Dram data:
Distillery: – (Blend)
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2016
Age: 36 years
Limitation: –
Casks: Sherry Butts
Alcohol: 44,5%
Unchillfiltered; uncoloured
Whiskybase link

How can you say no to a sherried 36yo blended whisky, especially a small batch product from Cadenhead’s? Too right – you can’t!

Tasting notes:
Colour: red amber
The nose opens on the dark, dense, mysterious side. You might also call it closed-up. But, hang on, it’s a blend, that’s supposed to feature a rather tightly woven net of aromas. A mixture of dark, dried fruits. All the dark, dried fruits you can think of put in a blender and mixed thoroughly – after adding a pint of orange juice with bits, and a handful of orange peel. A pinch of spices – cloves, star anise, cinnamon, pimento – paired with a whiff of peat smoke, cask smokiness and polished oak cupboard. I usually prefer a not so tight and closed-down aromatic profile, but it is a blend after all, and a very good one at that. Let’s see how the palate holds up. Continue reading “Tasting: Cadenhead Creations Rich Fruity Sherry 36 yo blend”

October 28, 2016October 27, 2016

Tasting: Laphroaig Quarter Cask NAS

Dram data:
Distillery: Laphroaig
Bottler: Original Bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: ca. 2015
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: Quarter Casks
Alcohol: 48%
Unchillfiltered; coloured
Whiskybase link

When I recently asked my twitter followers which kind of whisky they wanted to see reviewed most, the “daily drams” were pretty high up in favour. Well, in this review I’ll be introducing a whisky many of you will already be familiar with – but if you aren’t, and like peaty drams, you’ll be interested in this!

Tasting notes:
Colour: red-orange honey (coloured….)
The nose opens with a kick of peat smoke aromas in your face paired with sweet caramel and vanilla. The rather active quarter casks (smaller than a barrel) impart a lot of flavours in a comparatively short amount of time, making it a bit high on vanillin. The very active casks actually mellow the smoky aromas quite a bit – something you realise when you’ve tasted Laphroaig matured in refill casks, where the peat smoke can be much more medicinal. Nonetheless, we’ve got iodine bandages, burning hospital waste bins, a night around a damp peat fire, charred oak, a few spices (cloves and half a cinnamon stick), rich caramel, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla sauce (blasphemy!) and an earthy note underneath. Very rich and powerful with loads going on. Continue reading “Tasting: Laphroaig Quarter Cask NAS”

October 20, 2016October 20, 2016

Tasting: Baker’s 7 yo 107 proof

Dram data:
Distillery: Jim Beam
Bottler: Original Bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: ca. 2014 (batch B-90-001)
Age: 7
Limitation: –
Casks: fresh American white oak barrels
Alcohol: 53,5%
Unchillfiltered; uncoloured
Whiskybase link

It’s been a while since I last reviewed a bourbon and this bottle is nearly empty, so let’s have a go at it before it’s empty!

Tasting notes:
Colour: mahogany
The nose opens on the rich side – and the first thing you notice is a note of acetone, something I only find acceptable in bourbons, if it is not too overwhelming, which it is not. Wood smoke (charred oak) with rich, toasted vanilla pods, dark chocolate (chocolate cake topping chocolate), almost burnt toffee, raisins, cracked almond seeds, roasted brazil nuts and fresh oak boards in the background. After a few minutes in, the acetone note has disappeared. A rich, flavourful bourbon nose in the middle of the transformation from young to old whiskey. Continue reading “Tasting: Baker’s 7 yo 107 proof”