Arran Master of Distilling II (The Man with the Golden Glass)

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After reviewing Arran Sherry Cask which is a core range offering, we move on to a limited edition expression – Arran Master of Distilling 2 which is a 12 year old whisky finished in Palo Cortado sherry casks picked by James MacTaggart, Arran’s Master Distiller, in Spain.

James MacTaggart has over 40 years’ experience in whisky production. In 2017 we had Arran 10 Year Old (Master of Distilling I) to celebrate a decade since he joined Arran in 2007 and now we have this second edition (released in 2019) to celebrate a dozen years.

12,000 bottles were produced, each bottled at 51.8%.

Arran 12 Year Old – Master of Distilling II (51.8%, £65.00/€64.99)

Nose: Sweet, honeyed fruit, minerality, nutty with nutmeg and hazelnut – love that effect of Palo Cortado casks), limestone and green grape peels. After a few minutes there’s a floral side to the nose with white roses petals and citrus blossoms and eventually also getting tropical fruitiness. Very rich, enticing and balanced Palo Cortado influence. Continue reading →

Arran Sherry Cask The Bodega

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This week we’ll cover a trio of (relatively) recently released Arran whiskies. The first one we’ll cover is a member of the revamped line up Arran launched late 2019 – Arran Sherry Cask which is a cask strength with no age statement whisky – Another addition to the jammed collection of young Sherry bombs on the shelves.

Arran Sherry Cask The Bodega (55.8%, £53.95/€42.50)

Nose: Dates, raisins, the mineral-y side of Arran shows up in force. toffee, raspberry filled milk chocolate, almonds croissant, marzipan and hazelnuts.

Palate: Far sweeter and fruitier with red berries and blueberry, mandarins, ginger, minerals and rock dust, chocolate and it’s all quite drying. With a few drops of water it becomes a bit woody and there’s espresso, bitter cinnamon, dark chocolate and less fruitiness.

Finish: Medium long length, lingering sweet berries, drying minerality, white pepper and oak spice.

Thoughts: I quite love it. The fresh fruitiness offers a different look at the genre and the minerality adds a lovely depth and it offers a refreshing and different flavors profile comparing to other CS NAS sherried offerings.

Kilkerran 8 Year Old Re-charred Oloroso Sherry Casks

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Kilkerran 8 Year Old is the young cask strength offering from Glengyle distillery. So far there have been 4 batches of this whisky (first batch was checked back in 2017 here).

But the last batch (No. 4) deviated from the road paved by the first 3 batches and offers a sherry matured Kilkerran 8 Year Old instead of the Bourbon casks used in the previous three batches.

And it’s not just regular sherry casks but Re-charred Oloroso Sherry casks, making the wood a bit more (or maybe a lot more) active. 15,000 bottles were produced at 57.1%. Let’s check it out!

Kilkerran 8 Year Old Re-charred Oloroso Sherry Casks (57.1%, €74,48)

Nose: Cherries and raspberry chocolate, greenery leaning towards vegetal/farmy side, a bit of wood smoke, cranberries. After a few minutes more dark chocolate (with high cocoa content) and cherries, a minuscule herbal/floral side show up yet still have the dirt and peat in the background to complement and balance the sherry influence. Quite an intense nose! Continue reading →

Tomatin 2006 Amontillado Finish

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After reviewing Tomatin 2009 Caribbean Rum and finding it very lackluster, it’s time to move on and check out his big brother, the Tomatin 2006 Amontillado Finish.

It was distilled in 2006 and then moved to Amontillado Sherry Butts in 2015 so it was finished for 3 years before being bottled at the tender age of 12. 5,400 bottles at 46% were produced and like its young sibling it’s non chill-filtered and is natural colored.

The longer finish and higher age are encouraging signs and nurture my hopes that it will be better than the 2009 vintage.

Tomatin 2006 Amontillado Finish (46%, £56.95/€58.0)

Nose: Very nutty, cereals, sultanas, sour-sweet plums, almonds croissant cinnamon buns, muffins, bakery, dark chocolate. Very nice even if a bit single minded.

Palate: Nutty! nutmeg, cinnamon galore, cooked cinnamon, cinnamon buns, spices, honey, sultanas, coffee beans dark chocolate and as I stated in the beginning – strongly nutty.

Finish: Medium length, nutty, nutmeg, cooked cinnamon and paste , espresso, chocolate, peppery warmth, tingling spices bitterness.

Thoughts: Yes, mucho mucho better than the 2009 vintage. Very pleasant and tasty although it’s quite straightforward with strong amontillado influence of nuts with some chocolate and coffee thrown in.

 

Tomatin 2009 Caribbean Rum Finish

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Last fall, Tomatin distillery released 2 new expressions focusing on the finishes. The younger one is Caribbean Rum finished and the other one was finished in Amontillado finished.

Today we’ll check out the Rum finished one. This Tomatin was distilled in 2009, moved to Caribbean Rum Barrels in 2018 after nine years and then it spent another in 1st fill Caribbean Rum Barrels.

7,200 bottles at 46% were produced and it’s non chill-filtered and at natural color.

Tomatin 2009 Caribbean Rum Finish (46%, £46.95/€48)

Nose: Smells young and spirity, Green banana leaves, honey, soft and gentle whiffs of funk and Esters. a lot of cereals, butterscotch, shortbread, green fruits and white pepper lurks deep below. Continue reading →

Trio of 14 Year Old Sherried Foursquare: Empery, Hereditas and Patrimonio

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In the last post on Whisky Gospel I’m reviewing a trio of Rums. Yes, not Whisky but instead it will focus on Rum.

You may take this as a statement on the whisky market status in 2019 and you may be right, not that it was all bad as we did have some good releases. But still, this sherried trio from Foursquare Rum Distillery is one of the best things I’ve tasted in 2019.

All 3 rums are Single Blended Rum (both Pot and Column still rums) that were distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2019, 100% matured in Barbados.

Firstly there’s Foursquare Empery which is part of Foursquare Exceptional Cask Series, thus it’s globally available (where it’s not out of stock yet). Part of the Pot Column distilled rum was matured for 10 years in ex-bourbon casks and then 4 years in ex-sherry casks.

Secondly there’s Foursquare Hereditas which is an exclusive bottling for The Whisky Exchange’s 20th Anniversary celebrations. Part of the rum was aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon and then 4 years in ex-sherry, while the rest was matured in ex-bourbon only.

And finally there’s Foursquare Patrimonio which is part of the distillery collaboration with Velier. Just like Hereditas, part of the rum was aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon and 4 years in ex-sherry, while the rest was matured in ex-bourbon only.

I was fortunate enough to taste all three of them in a single session of our great local Rum club and perform a head to head comparison.

Foursquare Empery (56%, £63.45/€77,50/$89.99)

Nose: Dried fruit, a tad dirty at first with some struck matches, cherry chocolate, wood spices, green fruits, banana, sugar, sourness of pineapple juice. After a few minutes a bit more ‘Foursquary’ with more fruitiess of subtle fermented fruit and esters. Later on some chocolate and leather. Continue reading →

Mortlach 21 Year Old (Goren’s Whisky)

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Today we have something special for you: An indie matured sherried Mortlach. In the last few years it was very very rare to see new sherried Mortlachs coming to market and those that did came were quite pricey.

I’ve been keeping eyes on this cask since the moment Tomer told me about it a few years. While I was disappointed it took a while to realize and bring it to the shelves, I’m glad it finally happened earlier this year.

This Mortlach was distilled in 1995 and bottled in 2017 (and released in 2019!), matured in a second fill PX Sherry Butt that yielded 258 bottles with abv of 51.8%

Mortlach 21 Year Old (Goren’s Whisky) (51.8%, 690₪)

Photo Credit: whiskybase.com

Nose: Sweet dried fruit, dried dates, toffee and caramel, plums, followed by leather and meatiness. Then it’s replaced by dark chocolate, roses water, dried cranberries, cherries and grapefruit and it’s stabilized to fresh sour fruit with leather and chocolate combo. Continue reading →