MaltKlaus' Daily Drams | Page 35 | full of malty goodness

April 24, 2014October 7, 2016

Tasting: Macduff 1989/2007 GM

Dram data:

Distillery: Macduff
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail’s Connoisseurs Choice
Distilled: February 1989
Bottled: April 2007
Age: 18 years
Limitation: small batch
Price at the time of purchasing: 54€
Casks: Refill Sherry
Alcohol: 43%
Possibly Chillfiltered / no colouring added
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
The colour is straw indicating the refill sherry casks were probably (at least partly) third-fill or had seen quite a long first-fill maturation. Continue reading “Tasting: Macduff 1989/2007 GM”

April 22, 2014October 7, 2016

Tasting: Tomatin 18

Dram data:

Distillery: Tomatin
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: around 2010? (bottle code 10/9453
Age: 18 years
Limitation: –
Price at the time of purchasing: 52€
Casks: Ex-bourbon / Oloroso Finish
Alcohol: 46%
Unchillfiltered / no colouring added
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
On the nose I get vanilla sweetness, cinnamon, cardamom, orange zest, ginger, light honey, ripe white grapes, some spiciness from the oak coming through. Continue reading “Tasting: Tomatin 18”

April 21, 2014July 5, 2017

Tasting: Benriach 17 Septendecim vs. 21 Authenticus

Dram data:

Distillery: BenRiach
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: n/a
Bottled: 17: 28/03/2013 21: 27.06.2011
Age: 17/21 years
Limitation: unknown
Price at the time of purchasing: – (Miniatures)
Cask: –
Alcohol: 46% each
Unchillfiltered & natural color
Whiskybase link 17
Whiskybase link 21

A head to head tasting with my brother of the two peated Speysiders from the same distillery. 4 years of age difference and bottled 2 years apart – sounds fun! Continue reading “Tasting: Benriach 17 Septendecim vs. 21 Authenticus”

April 20, 2014October 7, 2016

Tasting: Jura Diurach’s Own

Dram data:

Distillery: Isle of Jura distillery
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: around 2010 (older golden label)
Age: 16 years
Limitation: –
Price at the time of purchasing: 45€ / 1l bottle
Casks: 14 years ex-bourbon / 2 years Amoroso Oloroso Finish
Alcohol: 40%
Chill Filtered? Artificial colouring added
Whiskybase link

Blind tasting notes:
A dark, reddish colour and long legs promise an oily, sherried dram. The nose is very fresh, zesty, green apples, white pepper, tangerine, ginger, vanilla, some background sweetness, even a whiff of cereals which seems to come and go. Continue reading “Tasting: Jura Diurach’s Own”

April 16, 2014July 5, 2017

Tasting: Bladnoch 1990 cask# 4644

Dram data:

Distillery: Bladnoch
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: 31.08.1990
Bottled: 07.06.2013
Age: 22 years
Limitation: unknown
Price at the time of purchasing: 62€
Cask: Single bourbon cask #4644
Alcohol: 52.4%
Unchillfiltered & natural color
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:*
For a 22 year old whisky the color is very light (might have been a refill cask), but this dram is a prime example of color being a poor indicator of quality. At 52,4% alcohol you get a fresh, clean, vanilla-honey sweetness as the first impression but the alcohol note fades quickly, even without adding any water. Continue reading “Tasting: Bladnoch 1990 cask# 4644”

April 12, 2014October 7, 2016

How it all started – Part 1

It all started in school. Huh? What? Not, it’s not what you may be thinking right now, I wasn’t drinking in school. It was Ireland-theme time in our English class and one day our teacher came up with a recipe for Irish Coffee. I had just celebrated my 18th birthday by that time and really wanted to try what sounded like a great mixture of coffee (yum… coffee!), Irish Whiskey and unrefined cane sugar. So I set out to buy some whiskey, which wasn’t easy in the small town where I went to school. In the end I managed to score a bottle – proudly flashing my ID stating I was indeed of age. A very strange, yet proud feeling of finally being a grown-up. Funny feeling it was indeed. Continue reading “How it all started – Part 1”

April 12, 2014October 7, 2016

Tasting: Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2013

Dram data:

Distillery: Kilchoman
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: 2007
Bottled: 2013
Age: 5 years
Limitation: 10.000 bottles
Price at the time of purchasing: 69€
Casks: Oloroso sherry butts / Oloroso hogsheads finishing
Alcohol: 46%
Unchillfiltered & natural color
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:

The dark, reddish color immediately gives away the fact this malt was matured in sherry casks. For how long? If I didn’t know, I’d guess around 8+ years judging from the nose which features a good measure of Islay smoke, dried fruits, raisins, dried apricots, overripe pineapple – reminding me of a fruit salad infused with a few spices and some chocolate on top. Continue reading “Tasting: Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2013”

April 10, 2014October 7, 2016

(Yet another) Whisky Blog

Welcome to my whisky blog, malt lovers around the world! Come on in, have a look around, pour a dram and enjoy.

Being a whisky lover for about 10 years now and having tasted many a dram since I started out I felt the urge of having a small place on my own in the vast space of the internet to write about the fine malts of this world and, especially, Scotland.

What will you find?

First and foremost I will be publishing my tasting notes. I always keep about 20 bottles open and open a new one when I’ve finished another. Continue reading “(Yet another) Whisky Blog”