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September 28, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Miltonduff 2006 9 yo “Golden Reserve” by Single Cask Collection

Review: Miltonduff 2006 9 yo by Single Cask Collection

Dram data:
Distillery: Miltonduff
Bottler: Single Cask Collection
Distilled: 22.03.2006
Bottled: 13.12.2015
Age: 9 years
Limitation: 204 bottles
Casks: Bourbon barrel #30452
Alcohol: 57,3%
Unchillfiltered; uncoloured
Whiskybase link

September’s almost gone and I’ve only managed to publish three whisky reviews (this one included) this month and no article in a while – sorry about that. Things have been quite busy during the summer and the decreased volume of posts is not a sign of me getting bored (only getting bored of high-class whisky prices, but that’s nothing new).
So to spice things up here’s a whisky review of a chance buy – an independently bottled single cask Miltonduff, bottled for an Austrian own-label whisky distributor in a range sold in Austrian supermarkets (no idea how widely distributed, just found it in a bigger one…). The market is definitely changing and I applaud the placement of indie bottles in stores to spice up the whisky shelf – if it’s a good one, as we’re about to find out…

Tasting notes:
Colour: pale gold
The nose opens on quite a hit of alcohol – no wonder at 57% ABV. Citrus peel, a hint of orange, apple pie prepared with green apples, slightly green mango, yoghurt with a hint of real vanilla and a touch of nuts as well as oak with wood smoke. With a considerable amount of water: Roughly the same profile, just a tad mellower and without the dominating alcohol. A bit more on the grassy/green side now, but this is still young, fresh and citrussy overall, yet not without substance. Continue reading “Tasting: Miltonduff 2006 9 yo “Golden Reserve” by Single Cask Collection”

September 20, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Glenrothes 1997 18 years “Chocolate Orange Segment” by Wemyss

Dram data:
Distillery: Glenrothes
Bottler: Wemyss
Distilled: 1997
Bottled: 2015
Age: 18 years
Limitation: 357 bottles
Casks: Hogshead
Alcohol: 46%
Unchillfiltered; uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: golden apple juice
The nose opens on… well, the suggestive title seems to work, there is orange up front, actually more like tinned tangerines, but that’s the same category. Oh, and orange sherbet powder. The fizziness usually associated with sherbet powder comes in form of a constant alcoholic tingle. Chocolate? Hmmm… not really. Oh, hang on, Well, maybe something along the lines of a well-known chocolate treat filled with cherry and cherry liqueur. But definitely more on the cherry and liqueur side than chocolate. The background is made up of notes of vanilla, ginger and an herbal, flowery note that’s hard to pin down. Cherry blossom perhaps? Light-ish and summery. Continue reading “Tasting: Glenrothes 1997 18 years “Chocolate Orange Segment” by Wemyss”

September 8, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Suntory Kakubin 80 Proof NAS Blended Whisky

Dram data:
Distillery: Suntory
Bottler: original bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: –
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Cask: –
Alcohol: 40%
most likely chill filtered and coloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: orange gold
This is, according to this source, Japan’s #1 whisky (Please correct me if that’s wrong…). Does that make it the Johnnie Walker Red Label of the Japanese whiskies? Easily quaffable, but nothing special? Only one way to find out!
The nose opens on the light and sweet side. No loud spirity grain, as I feared, that’s a good start! Honey, light citrus (or, rather, sweet orange), tinned tangerine, vanilla, some toffee, a whiff of pickled ginger and a bouquet of flowers you bring home to the missus when you need to apologise for something. Well, maybe a hint of bitterness, but that’s hard to pin down. Quite pleasant, actually, definitely not “old and aged”, but it’s got a quality and a moderate complexity to it, I have to say. Continue reading “Tasting: Suntory Kakubin 80 Proof NAS Blended Whisky”

August 31, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Kilchoman 100% Islay 5th edition / 2015

Dram data:
Distillery: Kilchoman
Bottler: original bottling
Distilled: 10.2009
Bottled: 06.05.2015
Age: 5 yo
Limitation: 10.000 bottles
Cask: ex-bourbon
Alcohol: 50%
unchillfiltered; natural colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: straw
A whisky made from 100% Islay ingredients. Barley grown on Islay, malted in Kilchoman’s own floor maltings, dried over Islay peat, distilled, matured and bottled on site. Well, bottle, cork and cardboard box are not from Islay, but everything else is. Let’s stick our nose in!
The nose opens with a whiff of alcohol, but you can already taste barley sweetness and (comparatively) light peat notes underneath. Let it breath for a minute or two. Now we get the gentle side of the peaty Islay drams. Sweet wort going into the fermenters with a splash of lemon on top, ginger, tangerine peel and canned tangerines, physalis, unobtrusive vanilla, a hint of honey, Werther’s Original sweets, a mineral, chalky note, and, of course, light peat. Nowhere near as loud as the south coast Islay drams or the Kilchoman whisky made from commercial peat, but still rather noticeable, it’s definitely an Islay dram. It seems to be a sweeter style of peat too, if such a thing even exists. Yum, this is exquisite! Young, but already very, very good! Continue reading “Tasting: Kilchoman 100% Islay 5th edition / 2015”

August 24, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Tomintoul Tlàth NAS

Dram data:
Distillery: Tomintoul
Bottler: original bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2016
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: American oak
Alcohol: 40%
chill filtered/unknown colouring status
Whiskybase link

When the press release for the Tomintoul Tlàth (which translates to gentle, mellow) hit my inbox, something caught my eye. These past few years distilleries seemingly seemed to battle out a competition on who could do the most finishes, find the most extravagant casks and come up with all kinds of nonsensical tweaks of the whisky theme. Not this one, it is plain and simple, a “collection […] of whiskies of various ages matured in first-class American oak bourbon barrels”. My preferred style of Scotch. And attached with it: No far-fetched story, no flannel and a “daily dram” worthy price tag of about 30 GBP/39€ (I’ve seen street prices announced for less than that). Yes, it’s NAS (no age statement), but we’ll see whether it’s one of the good ones. Let’s dig in!
Tasting notes:
Colour: gold
The nose fits the “the gentle dram” tagline. A slight alcoholic hint up front which disappears quickly revealing notes of citrus and orange with a touch of menthol, sugar-reduced cake frosting with a dash of lemon juice in it, a sneaky lychee, gooseberry and a slice of apricot with a mixture of vanilla and caramel pudding in the background (not too loud on the vanilla). We’ve got 20°C inside – this works quite well. Light, fresh and young-ish, but with a twist to keep it interesting. Continue reading “Tasting: Tomintoul Tlàth NAS”

August 18, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Glenallachie 1992 23 yo by Cadenhead’s

Dram data:
Distillery: Glenallachie
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: 1992
Bottled: Apr. 2016
Age: 23 years
Limitation: 126 bottles
Casks: Bourbon Hogshead
Alcohol: 47,2%
unchillfiltered/uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: dark white wine
The nose starts off quite intense – do we have liquid from a freak cask in our glass? Let’s see! Dark honey with a touch of palm honey up front with an intense sweet fruit note. Sweet apricot puree, mango (mango lassie due to a hint of yogurt), papaya, lychee, tinned peaches with glucose syrup, pickled ginger (without any spice) – layer upon layer of sweet fruitiness, almost like a fruit perfume. Where do they grow these fruits in Scotland? Oak? Err, yep, very well-integrated oak notes in the background, just as one would expect from an active cask after 23 years. Oh, and there’s a sneaky, dusty leather book cover as well. Fruits in a library? Huh! Continue reading “Tasting: Glenallachie 1992 23 yo by Cadenhead’s”

August 10, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Box Early Days Batch 001 4 yo

Dram data:
Distillery: Box
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: Sept. 2011
Bottled: Oct. 2015
Age: 4 years
Limitation: 2109 bottles
Casks: 130 ltr 1st fill ex-bourbon
Alcohol: 51,2%
unchillfiltered/uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: white wine
The nose doesn’t try too hard to hide the relatively young age of the whisky, but it is a lovely nose for just four years! Vanilla pods maturing in a citrus orchard. Yep, that’s it! But there’s more… A mineral character paired with oxidising green apple, Physalis, nectarine, tinned tangerines and a pinch of spices. Light, fruity, summery. I’d say perfect for the season, but it’s 16°C outside and raining… Continue reading “Tasting: Box Early Days Batch 001 4 yo”

August 3, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: J.P. Wiser’s Red Letter 10 yo 2014 release Canadian Whisky

Dram data:
Distillery: Hiram Walker
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2014
Age: 10 years
Limitation: –
Casks: American oak, Virgin oak finish
Alcohol: 45%
unchillfiltered / unknown colouring
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: red gold
The nose starts out with a whiff of alcohol followed by loads of vanilla (scraped vanilla pods) and fresh oak – thanks to the virgin oak finish. In fact, the vanilla and oak mix reminds me of sniffing fresh bourbon barrels after arriving in Scotland for filling. A fresh cask-driven spirit. But what else do we have? Mixed spices (cloves, allspice), a touch of forest honey, caramel and a hint of tonka bean give the very “modern type” whisky enough backbone so it isn’t just oak and vanilla. Continue reading “Tasting: J.P. Wiser’s Red Letter 10 yo 2014 release Canadian Whisky”

July 27, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Tormore 10 yo (late 70s / early 80s bottling)

Dram data:
Distillery: Tormore
Bottler: official Long John bottling
Distilled: late 60s/early 70s
Bottled: late 70s / early 80s
Age: 10 years
Limitation: –
Casks: –
Alcohol: 40%
unknown filtering/colouring
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: orange-ish gold
On the nose you immediately get a hard to define smell from yesteryear, something lost in modern day whisky. In this case it is comprised of waxy fruits, oranges, red apples, apricots and sweet tinned peaches+tangerines wrapped in wax paper. This reminds me of a 30 yo Tomatin I have yet to review – that kind of fruitiness is lost in modern whiskies. Very lovely stuff indeed. Not over-the-top complex or mid-90s score worthy, just oh so much more lovely than 99% of current mass-market supermarket whiskies (which, essentially, is what this was 30-some years ago). Back to the nose. The fruitiness is paired with background notes of an old leather book cover, pickled ginger, the tiniest hint of menthol, chewing gum base rubberiness (Hubba Bubba chewed on for 2 hours?) and a whiff of makeup powder sprinkled over an oak stave used for maturing Cointreau (as if…). Very delightful stuff indeed, perfect for this hot summer weather! Continue reading “Tasting: Tormore 10 yo (late 70s / early 80s bottling)”

July 23, 2016October 7, 2016

#Malternative tasting: Wagging Finger Gin batch 1

Dram data:
Distillery: Wagging Finger
Bottler: Original bottling
Distilled: 2016
Bottled: 2016
Age: unaged
Limitation: –
Alcohol: 44%

Tasting notes:
Colour: crystal clear (what else…?)
With whisk(e)y prices at an ever-increasing all-time high many whisky drinkers are branching out, on the lookout for so-called malternatives, alternatives to malt whisky. Well, I can’t blame them, even though malt whisky is still my main tipple. But I am a curious mind so I might just as well publish the odd non-whisky review from time to time if I stumble across something interesting. Let me know if that’s something that interests you as well!
The subject of this review is batch #1 of the Wagging Finger gin, by the new Wagging Finger distillery in the Netherlands. Let’s stick our nose in!
The dry nose has a touch of raw (but not unpleasant) alcohol on the first sniff paired with loads of fresh, slightly woody, resiny juniper berries followed by sandalwood, orange oil, mixed flower petals and a very dense, dried herbal mixture as a base – layered and complex. After several minutes lighter citrus notes appear. Dry, layered, fresh and very pleasant. Continue reading “#Malternative tasting: Wagging Finger Gin batch 1”