Category Archives: Reviews

Whisky Review – Hammerhead 1989 Vintage

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After a tour through Japan and a few Japanese whiskies it’s time to continue our world whisky tour and move on to Europe. Today –  the Hammerhead 1989 Vintage which was one of the drams in the freestyle blind tasting contest I mentioned in my last whisky review.

This is not your average whisky – It was made in Pradlo distillery located in Czechoslovakia and was distilled shortly before the Czechoslovakian Velvet Revolution and the fall of Berlin wall. Amazing to discover where whisky is produced…

The Hammerhead is truly a Czech whisky – Czech barley, Czech oak wood barrels and water from the Bohemia region. The malted barley was milled using a hammer mill, thus the name Hammer Head.

In the freestyle blind tasting I even didn’t try and guess a specific expression but I did go for Japanese whisky (It surely didn’t taste like Scotch for me), 15 years old and ABV of 46%. I was close enough on the age and in the fact it’s not Scotch 🙂

Hammerhead 1989 Vintage (40.7% ABV, £31)

Hammer Head 1989Nose: Sweet and Floral. Really a perfume, some background acetic notes and pine needles (although this is not Rye whisky), vanilla, nuts – really an interesting nose.

Palate: Starts with acetic/rubber notes but it’s layered with sweet syrup which takes the lead, spicy – aniseed, cinnamon.

Finish: Spicy but more peppery. some aftermath of cigarette. the residues in the glass smells sweet and herbal.

Conclusion: It was my favorite in the blind tasting (beating 2nd place in a very close battle) – truly a gem from a world that doesn’t exist nowadays.

Whisky Review – Isawa 1983 Vintage

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Like the 2 previous posts, we’re still in Japan, but this time, it’s from my tasting notes notebook.

Last summer I took part in the Dramming.com Freestyle Blind Tasting contest (which of course, I utterly failed and probably finished last :-\ ). This one was mark in blue and I guessed it to be the standard J&B…

but the correct answer was ‘Isawa 1983 Vintage’. Of course I never heard on this whisky (distillery and brand),  so I had to use Google here 🙂

Isawa is the name of the single malt produced at Monde Shuzo wine company at their Monde Shuzo distillery. This 1983 vintage is their first official bottling, although now they other bottlings available such as ‘Isawa Standard’ (NAS) and ‘Isawa 10yo’. and the bottle itself is a unusual 660ml sized bottle.

So what did I think of this one back then?

Isawa 1983 Vintage (NAS, 43% ABV, £85)

Isawa 1983 vintageNose: Unusual nose. mostly wet cardboard & wood, resin, vanilla is hiding there too, tobacco

Palate: Wet wood & cardboard, cigar smoke & ashes, bitter spices. Ugh.

Finish: Medium length, woody notes, bitter spices

Conclusion: Disliked it (and I’m gentle here…), coarse and not to my liking. some says this is special, but for me it was special bad. It was the least liked one in the blind tasting competition. It’s a one time experience and it should stay so.

Whisky Review – Ichiro’s Malt Wine Wood Reserve

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We’re staying in Japan and move on to the next whisky I recently bought. This time we’re drinking Ichiro’s Malt Wine Wood Reserve.

This is a blend of pure malts from Hanyu distillery which were matured in french oak barrels that contained red wine, vatted and bottled in Chichibu distillery.

Ichiro’s Malt Wine Wood Reserve (NAS, 46% ABV, 5,680 yen – around $57)

Ichiro's Malt - Wine Wood ReserveNose: Starts with strong red wine notes, oak wood. Later more red fruits & berries then wine, dark chocolate. Later some orange flavours shows up. Very rich nose!

Palate: Tingling sensation at first, then wood, spicy with peppery edge, nuts, chocolate, red fruits. Not exactly wine influenced.

Finish: Quite long. Malty, stays hot spicy with peppers, bittersweet with long fading gentle wood notes.

Conclusion: The wine impact is very strong on the nose but it’s more of sherry notes on the palate. Overall, it’s a very nice whisky of high quality, fitting as end of dinner dram.

Whisky Review – Mars Maltage ‘KOMAGATAKE’ 10 yo

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Seems like we’re going on a short world tour of Whisky. Last week I’ve tasted 3 Canadian whiskies and now we move on to Japan.

My parents went on a trip to Japan 2 months ago and I jumped all over this opportunity and with the help of Stefan from Tokyo Whisky Hub I’ve managed to purchase some bottles to be delivered to my parents in Tokyo (Thanks again Stefan!).

I’ll review this week 2 of those bottles and we’ll start with Mars Maltage ‘KOMAGATAKE’ 10 yo.

This whisky is produced in one the least-known single malt producer in japan – Mars distillery. The distillery is located at Miyata village in Nagano. The village resides 800m above sea level, and the water used to produce the whisky passes through granite rock and is high in natural minerals.

I’ve used this whisky as the blind dram I sent out in the #TheDramOGram twitter tasting event. Poor Danny didn’t have a chance 🙂

So how does it taste?

Mars Maltage ‘KOMAGATAKE’ (10 yo, 40% ABV, 4,500 yen – around $35)

Mars Maltage Komagatake 10 yoNose: Initial burst alcohol but then becomes gentle, strong fruity notes – pears, peach, apricots, red berries. Vanilla and some oak wood. It’s fruit sweet but also have a strong undercurrent of spices and weak metal note

Palate: Much less fruity and less gentle then the nose – it starts with strong wood, malt and slight vanilla notes, some of it dissipate and spices comes to the front. Barely fruits showing here and that’s a pity.

finish: Medium length. Malt and spices stays for quite a while.

Conclusion: Not a bad single malt. Too bad that’s the lovely fruity notes on the nose didn’t follow through to the palate but overall it’s nice evening dram on spring/autumn day.

Whisky Review – Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve

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It’s still Canada week and it’s time for the last part of this week special of Canada whisky.

The first one (Lot No. 40) is here

The second one (Alberta Premium Dark Horse) is here

This time we’re going for Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve.

This is quite a unique whisky since it’s prepared using barrels made of Canadian Oak. It’s the same Oak specie as American Oak (Quercus alba), but since it’s grown in Canada, where weather is much colder and harsher, the growth is slower and it produces denser wood, which in turn leads to more condensed flavours and different set of oak impact.

Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve, lot #1867B, bottle #02815 (3yo, 40%)

Forty Creek Confederation Oak ReserverNose: despite low ABV there’s a huge alcohol punch at first, then strong vanilla notes comes up,  creamy, sweet maple, oranges notes develops over time.

Palate: strong butterscotch at first, then sweet maple and vanilla punch, very chewy which dissipate into combination of sweet and sour fruits

Finish: medium long, leaving tingling burning sensation at the back of the mouth which gradually turns into final featherlight wood notes

Conclusion: Unlike previous 2 Canadian expressions, this one isn’t Rye Whisky and is more like bourbon/whisky combo. Very rich and yummy expression.

Whisky Review – Alberta Premium Dark Horse

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This is the 2nd Canadian Whisky I review in celebration of Canada Day that was held this week.

The first one (Lot No. 40) is here

This time we go for Alberta Premium Dark Horse. This is quite a new expression (2012) and is following a very successful Alberta Premium expression. This is a mingling of 12-year-old rye whisky and 6-year-old small pot rye. Dark Horse also has an 8% dollop of well-aged corn whisky added to flesh out the body. The whisky is aged in heavily charred American white oak barrels, and is bottled at 45% ABV.

So how this Rye Whisky compares to Lot No. 40?

Alberta Premium Dark Horse (45%)

dark-horseNose: Strong pine wood notes (Rye), gentler and rounded then Lot No. 40, background bourbony vanilla notes, sweet caramel, some rubbery note too. Lovely nose!

Palate: Sweet and creamy, pine wood/rye, spicey – ginger, peppery, nutmug, the whole 9 yards

Finish: medium-long, menthol, pinewood, some lingering sweet notes.

Conclusion: It’s not harsh like the Lot No. 40 and is a nicely balanced Rye Whisky. Sweet but not overly so. Very good dram and when a full-sized bottle costs merely $35 it’s a huge winner in the bang for the buck isle. Really saddening it’s not globally widepsread, so if you see it for sale outside Canada, grab one and thank me later.

Whisky Review – Lot No. 40, 2012 Edition

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Happy Canada Day Week!

This week Canada celebrated their 146 Canada day (celebrated July 1), so I’m using this opportunity to review this week some Canadian Whisky samples I received from #whiskyfabric member and the unofficial Canadian whisky ambassador Johanne McInnis (check her blog here: theperfectwhiskymatch.blogspot.ca). Johanne heard my sad confession I never had Canadian whisky and before you could say 3 “jumping jack” in a row, she sent me 3 samples, so lots of thanks Johanne 🙂

The first one I tasted was Lot No. 40

Lot No 40 is produced by Corby Distilleries at Hiram Walker distillery in Ontario. This is a 100% Rye whisky (90% non malted and 10% is malted) and It’s mostly 7 – 8 years old whisky.

So how was my first Canadian whisky dram?

Lot No. 40 43%, 2012 Edition

Lot No. 40Nose: Rough alcohol punch, lots of pine wood notes (which I understand is the rye trademark). Lots of Caramel/burned sugar. Spices led by cinnamon and even some slight solvent note as well.

Palate: Initially a harsh and sour pine wood, menthol, spices again, some background vanilla.

Finish: medium length, bitter, spices, some slight metallic note

Conclusion: No doubt this is Rye whisky. It’s quite funky and very different then your average scotch whisky, as Joanne said: “Canadian Whisky is not Scotch. It’s Canadian”

Whisky Review – Ardbeg Alligator

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Games, games, games… Had the privilege to participate in a twitter blind tasting game under #TheDramOGram hash a month ago. I was lucky (or unlucky?) to be sent a blind dram from the game organizer, a very devilish guy 😉

Of course I utterly failed and guessed correctly just the island…

Ardbeg Alligator (NAS, 51.2%)

Nose: It’s peated (doh), somArdbeg Alligatore acrid notes at first, peat, brine, oily smell, vanilla. lots of punch here due to high ABV. initially some weak sherry notes but dissipated with time, sweet layer below the peat, not much wood showing. after a while some chocolate fudge and salty lemon/citrus

Palate: Peat at the front, oaky and spicy and sweet vanilla honey which disappears quickly leaving spices and oak

Finish: Medium, spicy and oak notes. Some weak background citrus

Conclusion: Grand failure detecting it blind and I had it previously! I think this time there were not much charred BBQ notes as expected maybe because it was the end of bottle?. The peat profile really reminded me Caol Ila and it’s what I submitted as my guess…

It’s a lovely dram and if you can somehow find one for the original RRP price – don’t hesitate to get it!

Whisky Review – anCnoc Peter Arkle ‘Bricks’

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Art. Whisky is art and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And Whisky that comes bundled with art work is definitly something that catches the eye.

This is the 3rd Peter Arkle limited edition release from anCnoc and this time it’s ‘Bricks’. Unlike the traditional code expressions, this series is sherry influenced and we keep wonder – does this whisky liquid correlate to this name? let’s check!

AnCnoc Peter Arkle series ‘Bricks’ – (NAS, 46%, £49.99)

anCnoc_PA_bricksNose: fruity and sherry influenced, raisins, pineapple. Background layer of honey and vanilla, definitly have some liquerish feeling to it, also some beeswax and plums notes. After few minutes in glass we have spices and honey with dash of lemon

Palate: Warm, spices again, honey, strong oak notes with vanilla. Much less sherry influence here. Some bitterness shows up after the initial sweet burst.

Finish: Dry and medium, some of the bitterness stays on and lingers with spices (mainly cinnamon) and wood notes.

Conclusions: This one shouts dry aperitif. This is not a soft Whisky. Many strong flavors who not fight between them but they still stay distinct – ‘Bricks’ name is very apt!

Whisky Review – Tomatin Legacy

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Internet is a great thing shaping our lives – especially the people you meet on it. When you spend time on social networks, you have many opportunities to meet people who share the same passions as you – even for rare and weird hobbies.

Fortunately, Whisky isn’t that esoteric (yeah right!) and I recently got acquainted with the large Twitter #WhiskyFabric gang – an amazing group of lads and gals who shares this Whisky passion just like I do.

One of the great traits of this group, besides the fact they are very friendly and helpful, is that they are GENEROUS. Just this week, following discussions on twitter that revealed how I lack in whisky samples, I received 2 shipments to fix this glaring issue 🙂

The Tomatin Legacy is the first one I taste from that shipment (Thanks Tom! Owe you one!) It’s a recent and new addition to the Tomatin line up – a No-Age-Statement expression in the low-end of the line up.

Tomatin Legacy (NAS, 43%,  £24.99)

Tomatin LegacyNose: ooh, this one is young and kicking whisky – lots of vanilla, honey, sweet citrus and oaky wood notes, chocolate fudge, quite punchy at first, then relax in glass. Very fresh and light dram. After a while in the glass showing strong notes of new make spirit

Palate: Quite hot and punchy at first, lots of lemon and spice, strong oak notes but not overloading. Malty notes.

Finish: Medium length, leaving spicy lemon and wood notes.

Conclusion: Nice entry level whisky, great for summer times and for easy drinking on the porch/beach. With this very affordable price has great value and can be definitely considered as a great gift and introductory whisky for new comers