Tasting: Westland single malt cask 397 for LMDW

Westland single malt cask 397 for LMDW

Westland single malt cask 397 for LMDWDram data:
Distillery: Westland
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: Summer 2016
Age: NAS
Limitation: 232 bottles
Casks: #397
Alcohol: 54,4%
unchillfiltered / uncoloured
Whiskybase link

It’s the 4th of July – Independence day in the US. Why not taste something different then? Like a single cask American single malt? Sounds good? Let’s go!

Tasting notes:
Colour:
 light maple syrup
The nose is quite different from your usual American whiskey – no wonder, it’s all malted barley. Quite a whiff of alcohol (with menthol) at the beginning. When it does fade a bit (it never goes away completely), the nose is met with loads of oak cask goodness – caramel, liquorice and maple syrup. A sneaky chunk of toffee has also found its way into the glass. There’s more lurking in the background behind the bold, big flavours. A whiff of cask smoke, fresh ginger and herbal cough syrup. Very oak-forward and only the freshness and alcoholic kick remain from the distillate, but every bit as enjoyable (if not more) as a high-quality bourbon of a similar, young age. With water, an additional component emerges – fresh, sweet flower petals! Interesting!   Continue reading “Tasting: Westland single malt cask 397 for LMDW”

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Tasting: Teeling The Revival III 14 yo 2002 – Pineau Des Charentes finish

Teeling The Revival III 14 yo 2002 - Pineau Des Charentes finish

Teeling The Revival III 14 yo 2002 - Pineau Des Charentes finishDram data:
Distillery: not stated (most likely Cooley)
Bottler: Teeling
Distilled: 2002
Bottled: 2016/2017
Age: 14 years
Limitation: 10000 bottles
Casks: Ex-bourbon and Pineau Des Charentes finish
Alcohol: 46%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Oh, a surprise package from the Teeling Distillery guys and gals in Ireland, err, I mean, the #whiskyfairy, of course! The third edition in their “Revival” series was finished in French casks which previously contained a fortified wine, “Pineau Des Charentes”. Let’s see how well the French and the Irish cooperate!

Tasting notes:
Colour:
 gold
The nose opens light and Irish, just as expected. Another rather subtle finish, which is good, as wine finishes can get very overpowering. Sweet vanilla mixed with malt, honey and grape juice, with a few more fruits mixed in – red apples, juicy pears, mango, caramelised orange peel, possibly a cheeky lychee and a juicy peach. As time moves on, a richer, thicker, darker background note emerges. The official tasting notes speak of chocolate and nuts – I’d describe it more as a rich, mixed dark-fruit component. Overall very settled-down and mellow, not overpowering – in a word, Irish. 20 minutes later: Oh, even more dark fruits (and perhaps a hint of nuts), this is a transformer whiskey! Don’t rush it! On to the palate!  Continue reading “Tasting: Teeling The Revival III 14 yo 2002 – Pineau Des Charentes finish”

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24 drams till Christmas 2016 #12: Teeling Vintage Reserve Collection 24 yo

Teeling Vintage Reserve Collection 24 yo

Teeling Vintage Reserve Collection 24 yoDram data:
Distillery: not stated (most likely Cooley)
Bottler: Teeling
Distilled: –
Bottled: August 2016
Age: 24 years
Limitation: 5000 bottles
Casks: Ex-bourbon and Sauterne finish
Alcohol: 46%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Oh, another Irish Whiskey! 20+ year-old Irish malts are a rare thing! Teeling seem to have a few very nice casks from back when their family owned the Cooley distillery – let’s find out how these casks performed!

Tasting notes:
Colour:
 dark red-gold
The nose opens on a slightly alcoholic top note, which disappears a few minutes in. On the light side, but not super-light as other Irish whiskeys (this is, after all, a single malt, not a single pot-still whiskey!). Do I detect an ever so slight hint of peat smoke behind the red apples, yellow apples, pears, blood oranges and sweet grapes? I think so, and Cooley did make peated whiskey… The background notes are dominated by malt, a hint of oak and a floral aspect. Light-ish, yet it does feel aged and deep, the Sauterne finish worked well and is in no way overwhelming. The nose is worth waiting for – it gets better and better as time goes on! On to the palate!  Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #12: Teeling Vintage Reserve Collection 24 yo”

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24 drams till Christmas 2016 #8: Yellow Spot 12 yo Single Potstill Irish Whiskey

Yellow Spot 12 yo Single Potstill Irish Whiskey

Yellow Spot 12 yo Single Potstill Irish WhiskeyDram data:
Distillery: Midleton
Bottler: Mitchell & Son
Distilled: –
Bottled: ca. 2015
Age: 12 years
Limitation: –
Casks: Bourbon Barrels, Sherry Butts & Malaga Casks
Alcohol: 46%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

We’ve had a few Scottish and a German Whisky so far – how about an Irish whiskey next?

Tasting notes:
Colour:
 orange
The nose opens with notes of ethanol, cookies and citrus fruits – freshly cut lemons, limes and green clementines. Some essential lemon oil too? Green apples, pears and pineapples provide an additional fruity-acidic note. After a while the citrus notes transform into oranges, the apples turn red, a dash of honey appears along with a trace of cinnamon and there’s a hint of vanilla and a faint trace of fragrant oak. On to the palate! Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #8: Yellow Spot 12 yo Single Potstill Irish Whiskey”

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Tasting: Baker’s 7 yo 107 proof

Baker's 7 yo 107 proof

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”

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

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Select 13-0919Dram 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”

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24 drams till Christmas tasting #12: Vintage Four Roses Bourbon 6 yo

Vintage Four Roses Bourbon 6 yoDram data:
Distillery: Four Roses
Bottler: bottled in Austria
Distilled: –
Bottled: ?
Age: 6 years
Limitation: –
Casks: fresh oak casks
Alcohol: 86 Proof (43%)
unchillfiltered; natural colour
Whiskybase link (not the exact same bottle!)

This post is dedicated to grandparents who don’t really drink “hard stuff” and stash bottles they once received as gifts for decades in their cellar! Cheers!
Tasting notes:

Colour: amber
The nose opens with old vanilla pods – the kind you left lying around over night, all scraped out. Overall light, yet flavourful. Slightly alcoholic with an acetone tingle – a common occurrence in Bourbons, not influenced by decades in the bottle. It is, however, quite a bit more mellow than modern bourbons, soft and gentle, not as loud on the corn nor the cask influence and with gentle spices (cinnamon and cloves) not usually found in American oak.
Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas tasting #12: Vintage Four Roses Bourbon 6 yo”

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24 drams till Christmas (blind) tasting #6: Knob Creek Straight Rye

Knob Creek Straight Rye

Knob Creek Straight RyeDram data:
Distillery: Jim Beam
Bottler: Original Bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: ca. 2014
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: fresh barrels
Alcohol: 50%
unchillfiltered; natural colour (per law)
Whiskybase link

Blind tasting notes:
Colour:
honey
The nose, err… huh! Not a malt! There might be a malt component, but there are other grains (maize and quite possibly rye) in the mix. That’s most likely a bourbon*, though on can’t be too sure with so many countries making whiskies these days. So, what do we get? No acetone – that’s good! Just a spearmint type tingling in the nose. Sweet corn distillate, loads of vanilla – sweet vanilla, custard-ey. Chewy toffee with cream.

Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas (blind) tasting #6: Knob Creek Straight Rye”

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Tasting: Teeling The Revival 15 yo Rum Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey

Teeling The Revival 15 yo Rum Cask Irish Whiskey

Dram data:Teeling The Revival 15 yo Rum Cask Irish Whiskey
Distillery: Cooley (undisclosed)
Bottler: Teeling
Distilled: 1999
Bottled: 2015
Age: 15 years
Limitation: 10.000 bottles
Casks: rum casks
Alcohol: 46%
Unchillfiltered; uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour:
golden straw
The nose opens with a slight hint of rubbing alcohol, making place for stewed apples, pears, green apples, slightly unripe gooseberries, pineapple, grapefruit, banana chips, slight tropical spices, “fizzers” sweets (don’t know how international these are…) and a light demerara sugar note. Continue reading “Tasting: Teeling The Revival 15 yo Rum Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey”

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Tasting: Glendalough 13 yo

Glendalough 13 yo

Glendalough 13 yoDram data:
Distillery: undisclosed
Bottler: Glendalough
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2015
Age: 13 years
Limitation: –
Casks: ex-bourbon
Alcohol: 46%
unchillfiltered; natural colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour:
honey
The first sniff is very biscuity on the nose – sweet shortbread with vanilla sugar on top, to be exact. Behind the biscuits are notes of fudge, ripe red apples and pears, peaches, lemon drops, lemon flowers. Continue reading “Tasting: Glendalough 13 yo”

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