Tag: review | Page 2 | MaltKlaus' Daily Drams

March 22, 2019March 21, 2019

Tasting: Springbank 22 yo 1996 by Claxton’s

When I saw that Serge over at Whiskyfun HQ published a review of this whisky today, I remembered I still had half a sample from a tweet tasting in late 2018 sitting around waiting to be reviewed. So I didn’t read his notes beforehand in order not to influence myself too much and now it’s time to stick my nose in – taking my time to properly review this outside of the rush and typing frenzy that usually accompany tweet tastings. Men can’t multitask, ya know 😉

Dram data:
Distillery: Springbank
Bottler: Claxton’s
Distilled: 10.05.1996
Bottled: 04.09.2018
Age: 22
Limitation: 249 bottles
Cask: Bourbon Hogshead
Alcohol: 55%
uncoloured / not chill filtered
Whiskybase link

March 19, 2019March 17, 2019

Jo’s corner: Tasting the Golani double wood matured two grain Israeli whisky

Produced from malted Concerto barley and local wheat, and distilled in small batches using traditional copper pot stills, at an elevation of 1300 feet above sea level, Golani is branded as Israel’s first whisky. It won bronze in the Whisky – Israel – Grain – NAS – 40% category at the IWSC 2018.

Dram data:
Distillery: The Golan Heights Distillery
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: –
Age: 36 months
Limitation: –
Cask: ex red wine (Cabernet) and new charred American oak
Alcohol: 40%
uncoloured

March 17, 2019March 16, 2019

Tasting: Tomatin 30 yo

Sometimes you open, enjoy and share a bottle and completely forget to review it. This alsmost happened with this 30-year-old Tomatin. Originally opened for my 30th birthday it has become better and better through oxidation over the years. I guess now is the time to finally officially review it before there’s nothing left – which should already give you a hint…

Dram data:
Distillery: Tomatin
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 11.02.2014
Age: 30 years
Limitation: –
Cask: European and American Oak casks
Alcohol: 46%
uncoloured / not chill filtered
Whiskybase link

March 14, 2019March 15, 2019

Tasting: Paul John 5 year-old Indian Single Malt Whisky by Cadenhead’s (b.2017)

After the somewhat lackluster experience with the Rampur Select I tasted last week, let’s stay in India and look at this interesting bottling. Independently bottled Paul John, you say? How does that happen? Well, glad you asked! You buy some casks in India, have them bottled and shipped to Scotland, have some unlucky member of the warehouse staff empty all bottles into casks again, roll them into the warehouse for further maturation – and bottle the whisky once someone higher up in the food, err drink, chain decides to do it. Which didn’t take too long in the case of this 5-year-old whisky. Pretty easy, right? Let’s see if it was worth going through all that trouble…

Dram data:
Distillery: Paul John
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: –
Bottled: Summer 2017
Age: 5 years
Limitation: 360 bottles
Cask: Bourbon Hogshead
Alcohol: 57,4%
uncoloured / not chill filtered
Whiskybase link

March 8, 2019March 8, 2019

Tasting: Rampur Select Indian Single Malt Whisky

Put your hands in the air if you’ve heard of this distillery before. Quite a few whisky nerds have tried the offerings of the “Paul John” or “Amrut” brands, which produce very solid drams, but Rampur? A first for me in any case. It’s produced by the Radico Khaitan group, a big player in the Indian “whisky” market, (in brackets because much of Indian whisky is made from molasses) this whisky doesn’t have an age statement and was launched as their first “true” single malt release in 2016. My sample is from one of their early batches back in 2016. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Dram data:
Distillery: Rampur
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2016
Age: –
Limitation: –
Cask: oak
Alcohol: 43%
colouring added / not chill filtered
Whiskybase link

January 31, 2019January 31, 2019

Dramming with Keith part two – aka Blair Athol and the case of the strange butts…

Another set of samples from one distillery – Blair Athol in this case – are sitting on my desk and my e-mail inbox is full with conversations with Keith Wood. That can only mean one thing: A sequel to the first series where we tasted six different Talisker drams is in the works.

Four drams from this one distillery, all distilled just a few days apart in the year 1988 but matured in different casks (all of which were butts of different varieties) and bottled between 25 and 27 years of age, which should yield some rather interesting comparisons. All bottles were entered into the 2016 Malt Maniacs awards, so if you want to go ahead and compare our scores to the ones by the official judges, head over to this page.

Now, without further ado, let the best ~~butt~~ malt win.

Blair Athol 1988 25 yo

1988, 25y, 59.6% ABV
21.10.1988 – 3.7.2014 551 btls
Casks 6920 & 6924 Refill Sherry Butts
Signatory Vintage CS for GI Jane (Fortune Taiwan)

December 9, 2018December 8, 2018

Tasting: Dumbarton 1986 32 yo by Claxton’s

I like ticking boxes. Especially if it means trying a whisky from a distillery I haven’t tried before – like Dumbarton. Founded in 1938, this grain distillery in Dumbarton, Scotland was closed in 2002 and dismantled a few years afterwards. This bottling by the independen bottler Claxton’s was distilled in 1986. I like 1986 – if only for the fact that it’s my birthyear…

Dram data:
Distillery: Dumbarton
Bottler: Claxton’s
Distilled: 1986
Bottled: 2018
Age: 32 years
Limitation: 96 bottles
Cask: Bourbon Barrel
Alcohol: 57,1%
uncoloured/not chill filtered
Whiskybase link

October 21, 2018

Tasting: WWII-era 1930s/1940s Johnnie Walker Red Label

Dram data:
Distillery: blend
Bottler: –
Distilled: –
Bottled: 1930s/1940s
Age: –
Limitation: –
Casks: –
Alcohol: 40?%

There are two reasons to visit the Limburg Whisky fair – the first one is the people you meet, the second one is the whisky that’s available there. This Johnnie Walker Red label, bottled in the 30’s or 40’s (let me know if you can narrow it down further), is an example for the latter. Never having tried an old version of this extremely well-known blend I thought it would be a good investment of 10€ for a 2cl sample… let’s give it a try, shall we?

Tasting notes:
Colour: light amber
The nose reminds me of an old mechanic’s workshop. A concrete floor soiled with several decades worth of oil and grease and freshly spilt cherry syrup mixed with extra dry vermouth. Lots of vermouth, actually. Perhaps the tiniest hint of smoke? Alcohol is noticeable on the nose, albeit only slightly. This has absolutely nothing in common with the modern variant, except for being on the “light and easy” side of things but let’s keep in mind that this has been sitting around for decades in unknown conditions and I’m lacking comparison. Let’s move on to the palate!

Continue reading “Tasting: WWII-era 1930s/1940s Johnnie Walker Red Label”

September 12, 2018September 12, 2018

Tasting: Carsebridge 1982 33 years Single Grain Whisky by The Grainman

Dram data:
Distillery: Carsebridge
Bottler: The Grainman / Meadowside Blending
Distilled: 1982
Bottled: March 2016
Age: 33 years
Limitation: 258 bottles
Casks: Bourbon 74679
Alcohol: 48,9%
uncoloured/not chill filtered
Whiskybase link

Ah, an old Grain whisky from a distillery that closed in the early 80s when more whisky was made than consumed. Let’s see if shedding a tear for the closure of this grain spirit production plant is warranted …

Tasting notes:
Colour: dark straw
The nose starts off very well! Grainy goodness! We’ve got a hint of alcohol mixed with vanilla, cornflakes, hubba bubba, burnt molasses, caramel, all stored in grandma’s old oak spice cupboard. Not overly complex, which was to be expected, yet very entertaining and “old enough”. If there’s one thing grain whisky needs to shine on its own then it’s a good refill cask and lots and lots of time. This seems to have had both! Let’s move on to the palate! Continue reading “Tasting: Carsebridge 1982 33 years Single Grain Whisky by The Grainman”

September 5, 2018September 5, 2018

Tasting: Longmorn-Glenlivet Pure Malt 12 yo (1980s)

Dram data:
Distillery: Longmorn-Glenlivet
Bottler: Gordon & Macphail, licensed bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 1980s
Age: 12 years
Limitation: –
Casks: –
Alcohol: 40
unknown colouring/filtering
Whiskybase link (similar, but older bottling)

There are things you just can’t say no to – like this wee old miniature bottle of whisky I stumbled across in Arkwright’s Wine and Spirit shop earlier this year. Who would pass on the opportunity to experience what whisky bottled decades ago tasted like? This was bottled in the 1980s as a licensed bottling by Gordon & Macphail, distilled in the 1970s – some of the new make might have even been produced when Longmorn was a distillery with only two stills and those were fired directly. Back then what we now call “Single Malt” was called “Pure Malt” and distilleries proclaimed their region by attaching “-Glenlivet” to their name. Those were the times – and they are now bottled history! Anyway, all of that means almost nothing if the whisky is bad, so let’s dive right in!

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
The nose features a surprising amount of alcohol for a 40% whisky. Once the alcohol settles down, a dry, layered, spicy, sherried whisky is revealed. We’ve got orange peel, ginger, nutmeg, a whole truckload of cloves and cinnamon and dusty beeswax on a base of dried apricots and sulphured sultanas with a smidgen of motor oil on top (the good kind, you know…). Nicely layered and balanced, not flabby at all. We’re off to a very good start here. Let’s check the palate! Continue reading “Tasting: Longmorn-Glenlivet Pure Malt 12 yo (1980s)”