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“Tropical fruits infused bourbon with a citrosy touch. Looks like ten years old bottled at around 45%. Interesting whisky”
86
Greenore Single Grain is a truly unique whiskey as it is the only expression of Irish Single Grain whiskey in the world.
Single Grain whiskeys are very rare as most grain whiskey is normally mixed with Malt whiskeys to make Blended whiskey. Grain whiskey is made from maize/corn and provides a lot of the smoothness people associate with Irish whiskey.
Think of this whiskey as the nose of a bourbon and the taste of irish whiskey. Right! Just delicious.
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (86): more than average.
citrus, honey, pepper, floral, fruity, papaya.
“A realy pity as big part of the fun is spoiled by the persistent aroma of sulphur in the whisky.”
87
A powerful cask strength single malt from the Yoichi distillery that previously bested some very high-profile Scottish malts at a blind tasting in 2003 and received 95 points in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.
This dram has a tawny-like color.
Nose (86): strong.
floral, raisins, sulphur, cocoa.
“Tastes more like a malt whisky with juniper than like a Gin. I like it a lot!”
88
A 5 year old Dutch Genever/Jenevers gin, it's a single barrel Genever made with the finest malted barley, rye and corn. The mash is triple distilled after a week of fermentation. The result is a rich, intense spirit.
“Lovely floral dram, and I don't enjoy at all floral drams. A must-have.”
93
A 21 year old Glenkinchie, bottled by Signatory. This was distilled on the 22nd October 1987 and matured in hogshead number 2837 before bottling on the 20th January 2009. Part of a release of just 147 bottles!
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (91): powerful.
floral, peaches, honey, spices, citrus.
Palate (94): light, oily, powerful.
floral, honey, spices, a little cinnamon, citrus, a little wood.
Finish (93): very long.
floral, wood, spices, ginger.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glenkinchie 21 year 1987 Cask Strength Signatory with 93 points over 100.
“Not my kind of dram. I am realizing that I don't like the combination of sweet sherries and peat.”
87
The first 19 year old Bruichladdich. A limited edition of 6,000 bottles following the legendary Blacker Still. The whisky is matured in bourbon and assorted wine casks.
This dram has a cooper-like color.
Nose (86): powerful.
floral, honey, citrus, iodine.
“Mindblowing! Not sure how much this cost or if it is still available but it worths every pound of its price.”
94
This was distilled at Imperial on the 24th June 1982, aged in refill sherry butt number 3973 for 27 years and bottled by Signatory on the 8th April 2010. A release of 649 numbered bottles.
A great whisky from Imperial distillery, in the Speyside, bottled at cask strength. Incredibly good single malt.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (93): strong.
floral, wood, spices, peaches, tobacco, vanilla, honey.
“An incredible whisky from Chivas brothers. Really complex and with a long good finish.”
92
This rich and complex scotch blended whisky from Chivas is aged for 21 years in oak casks before bottling in handcrafted porcelain flagons.
Royal Salute was launched on 2nd June 1953 as a tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on her Coronation Day. The name of this exceptional Scotch Whisky comes from the 21 Gun Royal Salute, which is fired as a mark of respect for powerful dignitaries.
At her coronation, the crown of Queen Elizabeth II was set in rubies, sapphires and emeralds. These precious stones remain the inspiration for the colours of Royal Salute's handcrafted flagons, therefore bottle colour may vary.
“Very little influence of the rum cask. I was expecting more of this one.”
89
21 year old Glenfiddich which has been finished in casks which previously held Caribbean Rum. They used to put Havana Reserva and then Cuban Rum, but the American's didn't like these Cuban links.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (89): strong.
floral, apples, honey, cinnamon, citrus, a little brown sugar.
“A rather good whisky with a great taste. Love the honey and floral notes of this Glenfiddich.”
90
Our master craftsmen have created a complex, mellow single malt Scotch whisky from years of patient maturation in casks of the finest Oloroso sherry and American bourbon. It is secreted away in our traditional warehouse, where the cool, thick stone walls and low ceilings mature the whisky to perfection. Years later what emerges is a Glenfiddich 18 Year Old with an elegant nose, faintly sweet, scented with apple and wood. It is robust and full-bodied, yet remarkably soft, rounded and long lasting.
This dram has a cooper-like color.
Nose (91): strong.
floral, honey, citrus, liquorice, dates, dark chocolate.
Palate (91): smooth, oily, powerful.
peaches, floral, wood, spices, honey, vanilla, citrus, a little espresso.
Finish (89): long.
floral, wood, a little pears.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glenfiddich 18 year with 90 points over 100.
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“Wonderful nose altogether with most delicate floral notes”
90
The Glenfiddich 15 year old cask strength is creamy smooth whisky with floral and spicy, notes of black pepper and gentle luscious fruit. Bottled at 51%abv.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (90): strong.
floral, honey, wood, spices, a little cocoa, apples.
Using a Solera system common in the maturation of quality sherry, malt from three different types of casks is married together in a wooden vat, which is constantly topped up to ensure the quality is maintained.
This is an awesome whisky from this Speyside distillery with lots of honey and flowers. A great value single malt.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (91): strong.
peaches, apples, dates, honey, floral, a little nuts.
“Very interesting whisky. Lots of liquorice and candies notes around.”
90
Released in Spring 2010, this Glenfiddich Rich Oak has spent 14 years in ex-bourbon casks in the traditional way, before two separate finishes of 12 weeks in new European oak and six weeks in new American oak before bottling. We like the sound of this.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (90): strong.
liquorice, vanilla, floral, peaches, wood.
Palate (92): smooth, oily, powerful.
peaches, candies, spices, wood, vanilla, a little smoke.
September. Bye bye to Summer. Autumn is here and so that huge amount of unique special limited releases bottles: Ardbeg Alligator, Octomore 4 and many others. So much work to drink *ejem* do, I mean do, *ejem.
Dr Whisky updated his blog, after three months!, with an interesting opinion about his experience at Maltstock 2011
Nonjatta features several japanese whiskies, you didn’t saw that one coming, didn’t you? Most interesting ones are Akashi 12 years old and Ichiro’s Malt Final Vintage of Hanyu. Also they point out the fact that Chichibu first single malt is already being sold as Ichiro’s Malt ( Keep an eye on this one if you like whisky ).
John Hansell from Malt Whisky Advocate magazine writes about a show from History Channel about Whiskey that you can see on Hulu. He also writes an article about the name change of both the blog and the magazine. Many tasting notes from Dominic Roskrow and Dave Broom.
Whiskyforeveryone wrote about Pure Festival in London, about the Irish Single Pot Still range recently released and about the latest Balvenie Tun 1401 release.
Serge from Whiskyfun writes about a new round of articles called Time Warp Sessions. Serge tastes two whiskies from the same distillery but from really different distillation dates, up to 40 years of difference. Check for example those Bowmore or those Glendronach. I dunno about you… but when I read Whiskyfun I get the same feeling that when looking from the top of cliff: Most of those whiskies are older than myself and almost as expensive as my house.
Galg from WhiskyIsrael featured an article about the twasting of Compass Box driven by Steve Rush. Tasted three different Balvenies whiskies: 12, 12 Signature and 15 Single Barrel. He also tasted three Buffalo Trace jewels: Thomas H Handy, William Larue Weller and Sazerac 18.
And at last but not the less, Ruben from WhiskyNotes.be with lots of great tasting notes as Karuizawa 1977 Noh, several of the new Glendronach Single Cask as 1992 and Shacklenton’s Whisky
“Don't expect an Islay whisky from Glenfiddich but this whisky has lots of peat inside.”
89
A recently-released Glenfiddich with a twist - the malted barley is dried using peat to produce a more characterful, smoky flavour. A resounding successs since its launch.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (89): strong.
peat, floral, a little honey, spices.
Palate (90): light, oily.
peat, floral, spices, wood, a little honey.
Finish (89): long.
floral, peat, a little honey.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glenfiddich 12 year Caoran Reserve with 89 points over 100.
“A very floral whisky with some smoke. Very faithful highlands style.”
89
Gold Medal 2007 International Wine & Spirit Competition. The Glenfiddich 12 Year is distinctively fresh and fruity with a hint of pear on the nose. The palate for this single malt is characteristically sweet, with undertones of butterscotch, cream, malt and a hint of oak. It finishes long, smooth and mellow. See for yourself why this is one of the world's most popular single malts. 40% ABV
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (90): strong.
peaches, some honey, vanilla, spices, smoke, floral.
The now very rare first release of Bruichladdich’s Octomore. When it was released it was the world’s peatiest whisky, with phenol levels of 131ppm. This has since been eclipsed by the astonishing peaty punch of the second edition, but this will remain the original!
TODO: Check if strength is 63.5% or 63%
TODO: Check if strength is 63.5% or 40%
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (90): strong.
some peat, iodine, floral, pears, wood.
Palate (93): oily, powerful.
some peat, iodine, floral, honey, salt.
Finish (91): very long.
peat, floral, a little honey.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Bruichladdich Octomore 01.1 with 91 points over 100.
“Tastes slightly older than Johnnie Walker Blue Label with more spices and candies notes. It is a very good whisky but hugely overpriced”
90
A new extension of the Johnnie Walker range for travel retail, this celebrates the first Royal Warrant granted to John Walker and Sons Ltd to supply Scotch whisky to the British Royal Household in 1934, and is apparently designed to recreate how JW might have tasted back in the day. Some Port Ellen has been used, alongside Cardhu, Lochnagar.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (90): more than average.
honey, spices, vanilla, floral, wood.
“Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough.”
What the hell! No way. But it has been a quite interesting and fun year. It looks as it was yesterday but this blog has turned one year today.
Only a year but it has been a great travel of personal discovery: whisky, history, facts, geography and friends.
Before I started blogging I was already collecting malt whiskies but I wasn’t really interested in how they tasted. One day I decided to open one miniature of Compass Box Spice Tree and I was impressed about how good it was. Then another, and another, and another. And just one day I decided to write tasting notes about what I was drinking. I could have do it the way other great whisky blogs does, but being myself engineer (Dilbert! You are not alone!) I preferred the hard way: write tasting notes so a computer can process them and do interesting things with it. Just a few months later I created whisky-o-matic, which is really fun if you haven’t tried yet!.
I have learnt lots of things about how whisky is made, how barley is grown, how water is chosen based in its characteristics. I have learnt a lot about ageing of whisky and how the wood influence the final result, with two bottles of a great Laphroaig 10 years old Cask Strength sacrificed in the altar of knowledge.
I still have to improve my world geography but now I know where Islay, Orkney, Kentucky and Hokkaido are situated.
And I have known great people related to whisky: from bloggers like Galg of WhiskyIsral, Steve of The Whisky Wire, Ruben of Whisky Notes, John Hansell of MaltWhisky Advocate, Billy Abbott of Billy’s Booze Blog, John Campbell of Laphroaig for their invitation to Laphroaig Live 2010, Richard Barr who shared with me a whole Whiskylive show. Special thanks for the chaps at Master of Malt for their support during this year.
Crying already? Feeling emotional?
Ok, so let’s get back to the crude bare numbers! :)
Naked Statistics
This year can be resumed in a few numbers and two or three great posts.
1 year
365 days
1 whisky show ( hey! I have had to fight for that single one a lot! )
619 bottles of whisky bought ( don’t panic! Most of them are samples! )
372 tasting notes written.
356 posts published.
150K visits. ( and growing! )
Tasted Macallan 30 years old Fine Oak.
Bought a bottle of Highland Park Earl Haakon.
Drink Kilchoman Inagural Release.
A new son ordered.
Built a whisky library for reference.
Sensual promises for the future
Those are my promises for the future.
2 whisky shows ( I must be at The Whisky Show 2012 and Maltstock 2012. At least! )
Less whisky bought. ( My wife is going to kill me. And the worst thing is that she may be right about it )
More tasting notes.
More and better articles about distilleries.
Better whisky-o-matic suggestions.
More friends, more social. ( Did you know you can submit your own tasting notes for whisky-o-matic now? )
“Good Bruichladdich with a most interesting taste.”
88
A Bruichladdich finished in one of the most famous and renowned Sauternes wineries in the world: the Bordeaux First Growth Chateau D'Yquem! A great addition to the series of first growth wine finished 'Laddies, this is the fifth part in the series, Cuvée E.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (87): strong.
peaches, floral, citrus, peat, wood.
“Really easy to drink. So sweet and floral. A great rum from Guatemala.”
90
The stunning special release from Zacapa. This Guatemalan classic won Gold at the International Rum Festival, and won the Platinum award in the Super-Premium category in 2002. This is an incredible extra old rum, which picks up awards wherever it goes.
This dram has a old oak-like color.
Nose (89): powerful.
brown sugar, vanilla, sugar cane, wood, floral.
A newer release to replace the 3D bottling, a more peat rich single malt from the Bruichladdich distillery with phenol levels of 35ppm, though it does not overbear the typical 'Laddie characteristics
“A perfect sherry cask. It is not easy to see such a good one. On the other hand the cask has had a very strong influence on the whisky.”
90
Distilled at the Glenburghie (sic) distillery in 1989, this was initially matured in bourbon casks, the casks were selected by Jim McEwan, and they were then transferred into Rivesaltes casks, before bottling at the Bruichladdich distillery in 2007, as part of a release of 962 bottles from Murray McDavid's Mission series.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (90): strong.
raisins, peaches, chocolate, wood, floral, honey.
Palate (89): smooth, oily, powerful.
raisins, peaches, honey, wood, nuts, cocoa.
Remind me of Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask.
Finish (90): long.
cocoa, raisins, citrus.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glenburgie 1989 18 year with 90 points over 100.
“ Peated Speyside like style. Really good whisky from Japan. Marvelous.”
91
The most affordable whisky of the Yoichi bottles range, this japanese single malt whisky of 10 years old is distilled and matured in Hokkaido, Japan, birthplace of Nikka whisky.
Yoichi distillery continue to adhere to techniques such as the use of coal-fired pot stills, and otherwise remains loyal to the whisky-making traditions dating back to its foundation. Top whisky critic Jim Murray lists Yoichi as one of the six great malts in the world.
Definitively something you must try if you want to talk about single malts. Don't miss by any reason the Yamazaki 12 years old of the rival Suntory whisky maker.
This dram has a white-like color.
Nose (88): inexistent.
sweet, fruity, floral, sherry, oak, toffee, peaches, tropical fruit.
First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.
Palate (96): .
sweet, hot, fruity, peat, wood, sherry, spices, honey.
Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.
Finish (88): no finish.
sweet, peat, honey, spices.
Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Nikka Single Malt Yoichi 10 year with 91 points over 100.
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This book, written together with the photographer Harry Cory Wright is about a travel around Scotland and its landscapes, distilleries, whisky bars, shops and bottles.
Each page is accompanied by stunning images of Scotland landscapes.
If you plan to travel to Scotland and want to get ideas or if like me, you can’t afford traveling there, this book is an excellent way of knowing it.
An incredible addition to the Ichiro's Malt Card range. Each whisky, in very modish style, is named after a playing card. We love them! This was distilled at the Hanyu distillery in 1986, and aged in a hogshead before a finish in a Pedro Ximenez sherry butt. Bottled in 2009.
This dram has a tawny-like color.
Nose (90): powerful.
fruits, floral, honey, vanilla, raisins, almonds.
After several weeks of hard work here it is a last! The new blog in all its splendour.
Browse, visit, try whisky-o-matic, enjoy the ratings and the recommended whiskies.
If you think something is missing, something is not working or something is not right please comment it. I do love to listen to other friends ideas.
“So delightul honey! So great vanilla! Am I already dead?”
92
Joh Hansell of Malt Advocate rated this 2009 release of William Larue Weller an amazing 96 points! A great bourbon from Buffalo Trace's Antique Collection.
This dram has a mahogany-like color.
Nose (90): powerful.
corn, vanilla, banana, smashed fruits, vanilla.
Laphroaigs’ Live broadcasts have been enjoyed by over 100,000 whisky fans over the past half-decade, with this year’s 5th annual show set to be the biggest and most exciting yet.
Laphroaig Live 2011 will be broadcast live from Sydney, against a stunning harbour-side backdrop with views of the iconic Opera House. Views that have no doubt changed somewhat since they were enjoyed many years ago by one of the founders of Laphroaig, Alexander Johnston.
Alexander Johnston and his brother, Donald Johnston, founded Laphroaig back in 1815 and together they developed the unique flavour of Laphroaig that is adored by whisky fans
throughout the World. Then in 1836, Alexander sold his share of the distillery to Donald for an unthinkable sum of £350 and he and his family set sail for Australia where they began a new life.
Alexander’s great-great-great granddaughter, Lin Johnston, will be joining the event in Sydney along with current Distillery Manager, John Campbell, Master Blender, Robert Hicks and author, Rebecca Varidel for an unforgettable tasting experience.
During the live show they will be tasting the Quarter Cask and the newly launched Triple Wood. They’ll also be reunited with a very old member of the Laphroaig family, not seen for over 50 years…
During this year’s live show they will be opening and tasting a historic Laphroaig 10 year old, distilled back in the 1950s in one of the last batches ever to be bottled by Lin Johnston’s ancestors. Very few of these bottles remain today, and those that do are collectors’ items, so tasting this ancient liquid really will be a momentous occasion.
“Stunning torrent of flavors! Do yourself a favor an grab one until they last.”
91
A beautiful Speyside malt from the Dailuaine distillery which Master of Malt bottled on the 14th July 2011.
This was distilled at Dailuaine on the 2nd November 1983, and it was aged for 27 years in a refill sherry hogshead, which had an outturn of just 231 bottles.
This is one of the sweetest sherried Speyside malts of this age that we’ve ever tasted – it’s really quite something.
“Epic whisky! It has a bit of everything: malt on nose, fruity as you taste and floral as it finish.”
91
A single cask whisky, bottled by Signatory for their Cask Strength Collection.
This was distilled at Clynelish, in front of the defunct Brora, on the 21st December 1995 and matured in sherry butt 12792 for 13 years before bottling on the 15th September 2009.
A release of 547 bottles of cask strength highland whisky.
This dram has a white wine-like color.
Nose (90): strong.
malt, peaches, apples, honey, vanilla, wood.
Just a few weeks ago Steve Rush from The Whisky Wire invited me to a twasting of one of my all-times favorite whisky: Peat Monster, as well as Great King Street and Spice Tree.
For those of you new to Twitter, a twasting is a tasting driven using twitter.
In this Compass Box Twasting were invited many bloggers: @whiskydrinkeruk @cowfish @peatreekwhisky @dietsch @S_Rob @CocktailEnthus @rodbodtoo @OliverKlimek @galg @whiskytimes @whiskywardrobe @DrinkBritain @mohler @jonmbryant and of course Chris from @CompassBox.
We were offered to taste three great drams from Compass Box range:
Compass Box Great King Street
“A good blended whisky with lots of honey and malt. This is how blended whiskies should be.”
89
The first in Compass Box's Great King Street range, named for the address of their Edinburgh office, kicking off their second decade in business. The Artist's Blend is a high malt content blend designed to be easy drinking and appealing to a wide range of consumers, from non-whisky drinkers and cocktail lovers through to single malt fanatics, and is full of Compass Box innovation and flair.
I have enjoyed this blended whisky. So good that I would even buy it to myself.
@Cowfish has a small problem with his dram #cbtwasting with a bit of air (like if you throw 1/2 the glass into your lap) there’s toffee apples and tinned pears, along with woody spice and @Galg was finding lots of interesting stuff on the taste GKS palate: Creamy, with a zing of gingery lemon . vanilla custard, and some oriental candy, bits of almonds, pistachios #CBtwasting
Everyone was quite happy about this whisky. Really serious stuff, very well done and with a fair price tag.
Compass Box The Spice Tree
“So much honey on this malt with lots of spices and a long citrus finish.”
90
The very welcome return of Compass Box's 'Spice Tree', originally barred by order of the officious twerps at the SWA, but now reincarnated after a slight tweak in production technique - and there's nothing they can do about it. Huzzah!
The longer it was on the glass the more spices I found. Really good dram.
And if you want to nose those spices everyone is speaking about, just give it ten minutes on the glass… you will see.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (90): strong.
honey, fruits, pepper, cocoa, wood, spices, floral, grass.
The more time it is on the glass the more develop the spicy aromas.
People were getting into twasting mood. @CocktailEnthus wrote Spice Tree – smells like the holidays.. toffee, chocolate, nutmeg, baked apples and bourbon #cbtwasting and @jbforbes said #cbtwasting SpiceTree – sweet n maltly rich vanilla and all spice with a distinct cinnamon kick to the finish. Great balance and roundness.
Compass Box The Peat Monster
“Superb whisky from Compass Box. This batch was created using malt from Laphroaig and Ardmore although I swear that has a touch of Ardbeg both on nose and taste. Love it”
90
Compass Box has created a range of incredible artisan vatted, oops, I mean, blended malt whiskies.
This Peat Monster is a top-quality vatting of the peated Speysider Ardmore with some choice Islay malt: sometimes Caol Ila sometimes Laphroaig, Peat Monster is never less than excellent. Pitch-perfect balance and delicious chewy complexity.
This is the best value whisky I have ever had. Even forgeting the price it is a whisky so good that stand over whiskies ten times more expensive. If you like peated whiskies of course :)
It seems this Peat Monster is using a new recipe that is Ardmore+Ledaig+a bit of Laphroaig. Really good dram. I plan to do soon a tasting of this new recipe against the old one but this one is as good as I remembered it.
This dram has a white wine-like color.
Nose (89): more than average.
peat, citrus, honey, salt, motor oil.
Finally at the last drams poets started appearing! @dr_whisky said of Peat Monster: Cigarette smoking through a meal of scrambled eggs, scallops, and strawberry cheescake.
Summary
Overall, it was a great night. I was glad to taste again Peat Monster and seen how good it was. Also the biggest surprise was, for me at least, Compass Box Great King Street. Really solid blended whisky with a great nose and taste.
This was distilled at Mortlach in 1997, aged in bourbon casks, and then finished (at the behest of Bruichladdich's Jim McEwan) in Château d'Yquem premier cru Sauternes casks. Bottled at the Bruichladdich distillery as part of a release of 1,500 bottles.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (86): strong.
floral, juniper, honey, citrus, spices.
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