Category Archives: Reviews

Whiskey Review – Wigle Organic White Wheat Whiskey

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Ahh, the holy grail of whisky bloggers – hunting down and finding the best whisky there is, tasting obscure and (relative) unknown or rare whisky and finding gems. Hard and ungrateful work I tell you!

Luckily, I got such one unknown whiskey from a friend served on a silver plate – an Organic Wheat Whiskey from small and relatively unknown distillery – Wigle Distillery in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

They are one of few distilleries in the USA that produces every product we sell from scratch, from local organic grain – a true passion and spirit shown here!

So we have a whiskey from almost anonymous (still) distillery – how is it?

Wigle Organic White Wheat Whiskey (40%, 9 months in small oak barrels)

Wigle-Bottle-WheatNose: Surprise! An initial strong pine wood – for a moment I was confused and thought I taste their Rye whiskey (another product from this distillery) but there’s no doubt this is not malt based spirit. Then we get some spices, vanilla and honey, the whiffs of pine wood keeps coming back for visits, also had a random of rubbery solvent. Overall, Nose is nice but isn’t very complex – it do feel young and fresh. With water added, it becomes gentler and more rounded, still getting that pine wood notes with sweet vanilla.

Palate: Like nose like palate – pine, honeyed vanilla, oak oak, spices with big cinnamon note, definitely young and kicking and not very complex. The only drawback it’s rough and stingy which is partially cured by adding water/ice

Finish: Medium length but feels rough like licked sawed wood. Bittery finish with some honeyed vanilla.

Conclusion: Really not my cup of tea. I admit I have a limited exposure to bourbons and this one behaves like a bourbon (and not from the top range IMHO). Should be nice drink at hot summer day with some ice or as part of cocktails. I do think this one will benefit from much longer casks aging – 9 months just isn’t enough.

Whisky Review – Laphroaig PX Cask

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As I admitted in my previous post, I’m a big fan of Laphroaig whiksies. My first single malt ever was a Laphroaig Quarter Cask (less then 3 years ago) and since then, I never looked back.

So, when this PX Cask expression was announced I was very eager to put my hands on a bottle despite this one being exclusive for Travel Retail market, and I got lucky when a friend went through Heathrow airport and grabbed me one.

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Whisky Review – SMWS 29.124 Pregnancy Tea Mix

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If you’re following my recent whisky reviews, you probably know I love Islay and peated whisky. But I admit that I have a very soft spot for Laphroaig – it was my first true single malt taste and I love their core range of bottles – the QC, 10yo, 18yo and the PX but never tasted indie Laphroaig bottling until this one.

Mike, the mind behind Abbey Whisky shop (great online whisky which you can visit here) celebrated his firstborn with a contest for this dram and I was the lucky one win this!

This one is bottled by the famous SMWS  – The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which bottle different single malt whisky from different distilleries for a very affordable price and have some great whisky bars/lounges around the world (I will visit the Edinburgh one in this coming October!) – I’d probably be member of if I’d live in UK and if you live there, you  should really be member of this club if you like whisky.

So first indie Laphroaig and SMWS bottling for me – should be good ah?

SMWS 29.124 Pregnancy Tea Mix (56.9%, 20yo, refill ex-sherry butt, 549 bottles)

SMWS-29.124Nose: Starts with classic and lovely trademark Laphroaig notes – peat, iodine, seaside smell, lots of salty notes in this one and it’s strong and very fresh – feels very young (although aged for 20yo). After 5 minutes in the glass, prominent notes of lemon and ginger, honey, spearmint. Did I already say it’s very fresh? With added water, the spearmint and lemon takes center stage along with the peat.

Palate: Starts very Laphroaig – peat, iodine and salt and then we get strong and big punch of raspberries notes with some dirty notes. after they are gone, we stay with  mineral and peat notes

Finish: Medium length. Peat and wood notes, being zesty, with lingering salty raspberries.

Conclusion: Frankly – this ain’t your standard Laphroaig dram. But still, it’s a very good one. It’s more of a dram for sunny day noon beach stroll. Very easy-drinking Islay one. Loved it!

Whisky Review – Signatory Caol Ila 1984 27 yo – LMDW Exclusive

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Islay, my favorite island in the world and my whisky mecca. I have’t reviewed (yet) any whisky from the island and it’s time to fix that!

Last week I was fortunate to get a set of 4 samples from good friend and the first one I tasted is this Caol Ila 1984 27 yo which came with rave recommendation.

I always wondered how my approach to reviewing drams is impacted from the source recommendation. Yeah, I know, there’s difference when it’s an official sample provided from the distillery (or on its behalf) or if it’s a sample provided by friends or via samples swap – and still, I’m sure there’s some impact in the unconscious part of the brain.

So it’s always a good idea to approach reviewing it (in all cases) slowly and try to judge it professionally and objectively. Of course, if the dram is indeed a very good one – there’s no doubt about it and no dilemma.

But what if I don’t like it? Can it be blamed on different personal taste? Bad day at the office for the taste buds and nose? or just prejudice? What should one do then? Not an easy spot to be.

So how good is this Caol Ila? Were we in agreement or not?

Signatory Caol Ila 1984 27 yo (56.1% ABV, 230 bottles)

caol-ila-1984-27yo-lmdwNose: Woosh – Alcohol bang (56.1% shows some muscle here) and Islay peat baby! Initially some acidic/sharp solvent which disappears quickly, and then the stage is clear and earthy peat rules the stage with background notes of vanilla, lemon custard. With a drop of water, the fruits notes get stronger – sweet candied citrus and lemon.

Palate: Initial burst of oak and vanilla, spicy peat – not as strong as on the nose and again the sweet candied citrus and lemon which once again get stronger when water is added.

Finish: Long finish, lingering peat and oak – very mild and gentle oak impact for 27yo old whisky. Undercurrent of the sweet citrus/lemon once again.

Conclusion: It’s always great to see long aged whisky which behaves and tastes like young one – fresh and lively. This one is one cracking Islay malt – what’s not to like here? high ABV delivers the flavors in maximum settings, peat, great oak impact and sweet fruits. Heaven! Good thing I didn’t land in some uncomfortable spot here.

Whisky review – Balblair 20 Year Old 1990 – Old Malt Cask (Douglas Laing)

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Summertime here in Israel is not the best season for whisky, way too hot to drink unless Air-con is turned on and even then, I feel reluctant to drink or even write whisky reviews – but sometimes we’re lucky and have a cool breeze in the evening which just calls for some summery dram. Last evening was just like this and I used the occasion to write a review of a dram fitting for such evening.

I love Balblair whisky after tasting a few of their bottles, and I was very happy to taste another one at our recent tasting evening – this time an indie bottling 20 yo Balblair from a well known brand – Old Malt Cask from Douglas Laing.

If you follow the Whisky industry news, unless you’ve been lurking under a rock, you probably know that a few months ago the original Douglas Laing company went through big transformation and divided into 2 companies: Douglas Laing, headed by Fred Laing and his daughter Clara, and Hunter Laing, headed by Stewart Laing and his 2 sons Scott and Andrew. They divided the original company brands between them and I’m sure new excellent brands will be created as well.

This dram of course dates from before the change – can we learn from it what the future will bring for the new companies?

Balblair 20 Year Old 1990 – Old Malt Cask (Douglas Laing) (50% ABV, £73)

balblair-20-year-old-1990-old-malt-cask-douglas-laing-whiskyNose: hmm, lovely nose – lots of fruits and sherry notes which throws me at thinking of a summer evening with cool breeze. very malty, sweet freshness, some vanilla and oak hides in there as well.

Palate: Hmm, think and full bodied, although much less of the sherry profile is shown here and it’s more of the malt and fruits (apricots comes to mind). With added drop of water, the fruity notes turns into somewhat tropical flavor of pineapple and mango. Very tasty.

Finish: Medium length, lingering malt and some spicy oak and fluffy notes of fruits.

Conclusion: A very lovely bottling by the chaps of Douglas Laing. It’s a great summer evening dram when the wind blows and there’s a cool breeze chilling the hot air at the end of day. If they will maintain this high standard, I foresee them a bright future and expects a lot of great whisky from both companies (for winter and summer). I’ll use this occasion to wish them godspeed in their new way.

Slainte!

Whisky Review – A tale of two drams: Tomatin 12 & Tomatin 15

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tomatin logo

Tomatin distillery is one of my recent whisky revelations. Until recently I never gave them more then a quick glance when viewing distilleries lists and maps, but that changed with the help of the #WhiskyFabic gang. I already received sample of Tomatin Legacy which recently won a ‘Silver Outstanding’ award at IWSC 2013 (review is here) and I’ve been constantly preached to by other members (you know who you are…) to try more of this distillery.

With the recent tax reform here in Israel, and the aggressive pricing of the importer (kudos guys!), Tomatin core range is now available here for real good prices and so we managed to bring both Tomatin 12 and Tomatin 15 for the recent tasting event.

Despite both being close age-wise and part of core range, those two are completely different beasts and with different personalities – the Tomatin 12 is matured in a mix of sherry and bourbon casks and married in sherry casks, while the Tomatin 15 is a classic bourbon casks whisky.

So how do they stand up one against each other?

Tomatin 12 (40% ABV, Sherry finished, £28)

tomatin 12Nose: Yummy, very fruity and the sherry notes play strong here led by red berries and raisins – but not dominant – subtle and balanced, also malts notes and some spicy feel.

Palate: Here the oak wood notes are much more dominants along with red berries notes, not much raisins notes here which creates a little different sherry impact then the standard impact I’m used to. At the end I also feel pepper and numeg spices playing along with the rich oak wood notes.

Finish: Medium length, lingering oak, berries and nutmeg – love that combo.

Tomatin 15 (43% ABV, Bourbon cask, £41)

tomatin 15Nose: Fruity, I even mistakenly thought it’s sherry finished on first sniff before it went more floral and bourbon effects of vanilla and oak. rich and creamy.

Palate: quite a different story then the younger sibling – dryer, showing strong flavors of oak and vanilla with the oak notes being a bit on the bitter side. also felt honey and coconut notes toward the end.

Finish: a bit short with strong oak notes and some topping of vanilla cream.

Conclusion: It’s really a matter of personal taste. The Tomatin 12 is more rich and sweeter (sherry impact or not?), while the Tomatin 15 is more dryer, malty and full of oak notes. During that highlands tasting session, I preferred the Tomatin 12 but I’ve nothing against the Tomatin 15 – I’d sip the Tomatin 15 again when I’ll feel the crave for malty, bouborny whisky. Overall, those are two rock solid entry-level bottles from Tomatin (both won awards at IWSC 2013 as well) and now I’ll be eagerly waiting to taste the higher end 18/25/30 bottles. Slàinte!

Whisky Review – Linkwood 1946

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Sometimes I dabble in organizing BYOB whisky tasting evenings for whisky lovers here in Israel – such events are major source for tasting whiskies which never reaches our shores  – the officially imported brands and expressions list is sadly small and boring with 99% of it being the core range of the major distilleries.

So after 7 months since last the last event I helped organized (The Bruichladdich evening reviewed in the 1st post of this blog!), we gathered again this Sunday and had an event focused on highlands whiskies but with some notable exception – the Linkwood 1946

The evening was marvelous – great company paired with great whiskies. The star whisky of the night was of course the aforementioned Linkwood 1946. It was supposed to be the last tasted dram but we couldn’t stick to the lineup and it was tasted out of order – such is the allure of old and rare whisky 🙂

It’s amazing thing to think of – a whisky that was distilled about the time my parents were born, just after world war II. It was sleeping and slowly maturing in the barrel through lots of events: Elizabeth II coronation, the cold war, internet invention – it’s mind blowing!

Although it was distilled in 1946 it wasn’t bottled in recent years but in 1982 after 36 years. Still, a very unique occasion to taste whisky from spirit distilled in different time and from different barley strain.

Linkwood 1946 (40% ABV, 36 years, £1815)

linkwood1946Nose: what a floral nose, very perfume like. Under the floral notes there’s a strong undercurrent of sweet green meadow and everything is laced with sherry notes. Also on stage: old books and pine needles – a very rich and complex nose.

Palate: Floral and sweet sherry all over again, some strong sour-sweet wood taste – feels like combination of plums and sherry but of the sour-sweet kind. Melons, dates, mild oak notes – a very good barrel and wood management.

Finish: too short 😦 lingering sour-sweet flavor as on palate, oak notes

Conclusion: This is my first Linkwood whisky and what amazing one is it! the short finish means you want to drink another dram and another dram – very dangerous considering the price of such bottle. What can I say – A dram to remember! If you get the chance to try it without robbing a bank – go for it.

Whisky Review – EDDU Silver

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Just like my previous whisky review, this one was tasted in the Dramming Freestyle blind tasting contest.

Oliver managed to get another unusual whisky for that contest – French whisky made from Buckwheat instead of barley.

As you probably know by now that Single Malt Whisky is made from barley, while most blends are made from some combination of malt, corn, wheat and rye. However, EDDU silver is unique for its made from buckwheat.

panoeddu

Seems like buckwheat was once very popular in Brittany region – for it provided stable and high yield of grains despite the poor and acidic Breton soils. So naturally, it was also used to produce Whisky in the region – EDDU means buckwheat in the Breton language.

EDDU Silver is produced from a double distillation in a pot still heated by a direct flame and called ALAMBIC (more information on this unique technique can be found here) and resulted spirit is matured in French oak casks.

In the contest, I had no idea what was this one and guessed it to be Scotch, NAS and 46% ABV. As you see, I nailed 1 of 3 (barely…)

So here we have whisky made from unique grain, using old and rarely used distillation technique, does it have unique taste?

EDDU Silver (NAS, 40% ABV, €44)

eddu silverNose: There are definitely some wine notes here, it does smells sweet. Surprise – after a bit while, there are also some malty notes here… it smells a bit dry and tannic and overall it’s not very complex nose

Palate: unique blend of flavors here, very smooth, sweet wine, bit metallic, oak and vanilla joins the party just before it ends.

Finish: medium length. oak and the unique flavor which I assume is from the buckwheat.

Conclusion: Initially it does smell like wine finished malt whisky but on Palate it transforms into something completely different and we get into wine and wine soaked grains territory. It’s a very strange and unique whisky. Everyone should try it at least once.