Milroy's Tweet Tasting: Single Casks with Love
in Tasting , Featured , Cooley , Zuidan , LongmornI was at London just a few months ago for TWE Whisky Show and as I arrived too late for entering the show I decided to grab my camera and walk a bit around. Talking with some friends they told me not to miss Milroy’s of Soho and so there I was.
While I was on the shop I noticed, between the hundred of awesome whisky bottles, a few single cask bottlings by Milroy’s. To buy or not to buy. That was the question. Nevermind Ryanair replied it for me as I was traveling with hand luggage only ( stupid security rules! ) and I would be force to either drop or drink the bottle at the airport.
So you can understand my joy when Steve Rush announced a Milroy’s Tweet Tasting ( Who of you prefers twasting? ) for Dec, 12th and I was told I were to join fellow bloggers in it.
The tasting was driven by Steve and 17 more chaps has joined to enjoy it. Lots of known faces at the tasting like @rodbodtoo @fr1day @whiskyrepublic @TIA568B @ifotou and @steveprentice
So Gentlemen! ( and Ma’am! ) Pour your drams!
The Whiskies
Milroy’s of Soho Blended Malt
First whisky of the night is a blended malt. I nose it and it does in fact smell quite well… I am reading on twitter that the bottle cost £19,95. Ppfff! I almost choke myself. Are you nuts?! You could ask three times more for this whisky at still looks like nice whiskies. @Milroys explain that they are about whisky not about money. My respect for chaps at Milroys has increased two orders of magnitude.
“This could have been a transcendental experience at cask strength, but it is just a very nice whisky. You can't ask anything more for £20”
Aged in high grade hogshead casks to achieve a perfect balance that is seductively rich and mellow.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (90): more than average. honey, nuts, vanilla, toffee, sherry. Most delicate toffe and fudge aromas.
Palate (89): smooth. honey, nuts, wood, citrus, vanilla, cocoa, tobacco. What a great dram would it have been at cask strength...
Finish (88): average. honey, citrus, vanilla.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Milroy's of Soho Blended Malt with 89 points over 100.Longmorn 13 years old Milroy’s of Soho Single Cask
Time to move to second dram. I just put my nose on this Longmorn and nothing, nose again, nothing again. I have a bit of water. Nose again. A shy whispering of citrus, honey and spices. @Milroys explains that they choose this cask for a light summer dram. Make sense.
“Too subtle for my taste. This be the delight of some blended drinkers but it isn't mine”
Milroy's Longmorn will be launched to coincide with the August Sports Day events that we daren't mention by name ( London Olympics ).
What purer way to celebrate the pinnacle of sporting achievement than with a dram of whisky. Well it makes sense to us.
This dram has a white wine-like color.
Nose (85): average. honey, spices, floral, fruits. Very closed nose. It tells so little of the whisky in the glass...
Palate (87): light. honey, citrus, spices, wood, vanilla.
Finish (86): average. honey, citrus.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Milroy's of Soho Single Cask Longmorn 13 years old with 86 points over 100.Cooley 11 years old Milroy’s of Soho Single Cask
Sorry chaps! I forgot I was in a tasting! I have been smelling this one even covered. I just uncovered it, nose it and accidentally sipped at it one time, two times, three times… oops, what is it that blinking on the background? Twitter? Oh! The tasting! Oh my!
“One of the best Connemara I have had. Milroys has choosen a great cask here. Go and grab one before it flight off the shelves!”
This delicious single malt whiskey is part of a limited release single cask of just 296 bottles and bottled at 46%.
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (88): more than average. honey, fruits, melon, vanila, citrus, floral, banana. This is Connemara for sure. That fingerprint of bubblegum and bananas can't be mistaken.
Palate (91): powerful, oily. honey, peat, fruits, citrus, spices, vanilla, cinnamon, banana. Lovely! Just lovely!
Finish (90): longer than average. honey, peat, cinnamon, spices.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Milroy's of Soho Single Cask Cooley 2001 11 years old with 90 points over 100.Zuidam Dutch Rye Milroy’s of Soho Single Cask
To complete the night a very interesting ( and unique ) proposal from Holland, a 100% Rye whisky.
“Rye? From Holland? Serious? Yes, yes and yes. And it is totally fantastic stuff and unique in its genre.”
Boasting 100% rye content, as opposed to the rye/corn mashbills seen in the United States, this rye offers intense orange aromas and citric flavours. Big and bold at only 46% ABV this is a whisky for Scotch and Bourbon afficianados alike.
To cap it all off, this is the world's first single cask single rye whisky. Grab one while you can! 'The rye is actually a really nice batch. In my opinion it is from one of the best batches that we have done thus far. It took some time to age but it has this creamy rich texture that is quite rare.' Patrick Van Zuidam.
This dram has a cooper-like color.
Nose (89): more than average. spices, floral, vanilla, wood, dust. Quite good nose. You can get lost there.
Palate (90): powerful, oily. spices, dusy, wood, floral, cinnamon, fruits, mango. Quite good. I can't believe it is just 4 years old.
Finish (90): longer than average. floral, dust, wood.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Milroy's of Soho Single Cask Zuidam Dutch Rye with 90 points over 100.( Ooops! I have spilled most of the rye over my laptop. Now I have a Rye-infused Macbook. )
Miguel says…
I knew I was going to regret not to having bought any of them. I knew it!.
I have enjoyed Cooley Single Cask and Zuidam Rye, both of them great and it is a nice relief to know that I can still order them online at http://milroys.co.uk
It is my duty to mention the blended malt that having being bottled at higher ABV it would have been such an awesome whisky… very nice indeed for a £20 whisky.
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