One third of October is already behind us. It means we’re closer to X-mas, the Whisky Exchange Show is behind us and a new a new Malt Whisky Yearbook was released. I got my signed copy of the 2016 edition (Thanks Micheal!) just in time to accompany me during the weekend.
This year, the book have a new layout, making it feels fresher but the content is mostly unchanged. Like every edition, the book is generally divided into four sections: Continue reading
There are still a few more distilleries visits posts in the making, but it takes time to sift through all those pictures I took during the visits, select the proper ones and process them for the posts, so I needed a distraction and therfore I decided to throw in a few whisky reviews here and then to sweeten your time.
Besides, it’s not like there’s shortage in new whiskies releases (and notes of old ones) as we are gearing toward x-mas and the shelves are being filled with shiny new bottles. From ultra rare and expensive bottles (nowadays it means everything over 25 year old ) to young cheaper (relatively) NAS releases.
Sometimes there’s a whole line up release that covers the entire spectrum, like the new releases of Port Askaig from Speciality Drinks. There’s new Port Askaig 45 year old up in the stratosphere with 30 yo and 15 yo in the middle and a down to earth NAS cask strength offering – the Port Askaig 100 proof. And it was pure coincidence I got the 100 Proof sample yesterday, really!
Now, it’s not like there wasn’t cask strength Port Askaig releases in the past. In fact, the Port Askaig 19 yo is still available in UK and Europe, but it was a limited edition and here we were promised that the 100 proof will be on shelves on a continuous basis.
I have to admit that when I came to taste the new Port Askaig 100 proof, I automatically categorized it as one of those “Young, NAS, expensive and bad VFM” releases we see (and rant on) so too often lately. But then the truth prevailed.
Nose: Peat yeah! soft and surprisingly very gentle, lemon, gentle smoke, fruit, pears, barley sugar. After a few minutes some dough and fresh baked bread sprinkled with icing and lemon peels.
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You probably know the phrase “Timing is everything”. We all encounter situations and cases where the phrase is fitting like a glove to a hand. Although it’s not always a positive match, in my case and my wish to visit Scapa distillery, it was a perfect and positive match.
Back when I planned my Scotland trip and planned my Orkney day, I hoped that despite lacking a visitors center and a website that declared that the staff is too busy to take care of visitors, I’ll manage to arrange myself a wee tour at Scapa distillery. After all, being a whisky blogger should count toward something, right?
But just when I was about to finalize my plans for the trip, Scapa distillery announced a new visitors center and tours around the distillery, ha! Indeed, timing was perfect and it was an easy matter of contacting the distillery and booking a tour 🙂
So on a rainy and grey afternoon we strolled into the new Scapa visitors center. First thing you notice: It’s small. And cozy.
Pretty much the entire visitors center 🙂
The second day in this Scotland excursion wasn’t like the first day at all. We weren’t late and it had a very Scottish weather, gray and rainy just like what I wanted, although all the natives were longing for another day like yesterday full of sunshine. But we were going to Orkney and visit the northernmost distilleries in Scotland so IMHO it was the fitting weather 🙂
After the sea cross, a bus to Kirkwall, visiting the Orkney museum (A must!), our ride arrived:
Yes, if you booked a high-end tour, they will happily pick you up from different places around Kirkwall and bring you to the distillery just in time for the tour.
Wolfburn is a distillery which as a whisky geek and a blogger I’m following closely for it’s always exciting to track and see how a new distillery shapes itself, both on whisky and business fronts, so I knew I want to pay them a visit when I get back to Scotland and visit the northern highlands region.
The staff at the distillery are very friendly. They happily booked the visit and even endured us being late for a hour. After all, it was that ‘late-late-late’ day and I had troubles locating the distillery as it’s not your average looking distillery. They are located in a set of hangers in an industrial park and not somewhere pretty off the road with a pagoda and lots of fields and cattle around them.
Wolfburn is a new and small distillery, producing around 115,000 liters of alcohol a year. Just wow small is it? Everything fits in a single hangar!
Panorana picture of Wolfburn distillery. Click it to see in full size!
After a long break due to a new house purchase and move coupled with a very long (and a very deserving!) summer vacation it’s time to resume normal activity here.
I was lucky enough to have a summer vacation in London with a wee getaway to Scotland and in those four days I managed to cross off a few more distilleries from my to-visit list.
The first distillery on this trip was Balblair, a distillery I like a lot for producing good, bodily and well done whisky but the day didn’t pan out as planned.
At first, the sleeper train to Inverness was late, but we had a marvelous view from the train.
The view from the train was breathtaking!
And then extra bureaucracy at the car rental agency and so we were way behind schedule and very late to the booked tour at Balblair. Luckily, with some aid from Waze and few more new white strands on my head, we got to Balblair.
Still late but just in time for the initial gathering with John Mcdonald the distillery manager. (Of course I went for The Manager’s Tour. Ain’t doing it half heartedly 🙂 ) But as soon as we started, we went outside as it was a beautiful, sunny and crisp day outside (all the locals marveled at it all week long as it wasn’t a too common occurrence this summer).
A while ago when I tasted the old and new Laphroaig 15yo (see the results here) I was also bestowed by a friend (Thanks A.!) with a sample of an indie Laphroaig 15yo for scientific comparison 😉
It’s a single cask from the warehouse of A.D Rattray and it’s actually a 1998 vintage (distilled 04.11.1998) from a bourbon barrel which yielded 226 bottles after it was bottled in 2014 (24.10.2014), so it’s a bit “older” release than the recent new OB 15yo. How does it stand up against the official 15yo?
Photo credit: Whiskybase.com
For many years, there was only one single offering from Tamdhu. Before the relaunch of Tamdhu brand in 2013 it was a NAS offering (probably around 8 years old) and after the relaunch it was the 10 year old.
And now the NAS offering is doing a comeback but as an addition to the line up and with a totally new profile – matured exclusively in sherry casks and offered at cask strength. Do we have yet another NAS sherry bomb on our hands?
Nose: feels youngish on the nose but it may be just the heavy cream and vanilla that confuses me (american oak sherry butts anyone?). Lots of toffee with lots of Werther’s original and dose of milk chocolate. Very smooth and rounded nose despite the big ABV. The sherry casks do impact the spirit but the dried fruits, sultanas and sherry spices are at the background playing 2nd violin here. With water – the chocolate notes are boosted to “chocolate with nuts” level.
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I reviewed Benromach 10 Year old 100 Proof 6 months ago. I went against the majority of reviews out there and declared my big disappointment as I just couldn’t understand what’s all the fuss about and felt it was worse than the standard 10 yo. Best you go and read that review before resuming and reading the rest of this post…
OK. I assume you did your due diligence and read that post so let’s move on. A couple of months ago but well after the initial tasting and review, I tasted it again but this time I wasn’t aware it was the Benromach 10 100 proof as it was part of a blind tasting competition.
Take a look at my tasting notes I took during the blind tasting competition:
Nose: Light peat at first and then mostly sweetness, vanilla, malt!! Hint of honey, slight dried fruits, overall very restrained pointing at high ABV. After a while sweetness is stronger and there are some tannins and it becomes more Oloroso. A bit of cloves and nutmeg and light sweet peat at the background. With water: less sherry, much more honey but still with a nice dose of nutmeg. Feels young and fierce even after a few drops of water. Continue reading
Let’s stick with Benromach for another review (or two). Today it’s a review of their organic offering – the Benromach Organic. It’s an expression that started with 2006 distillation and the review is of their latest one, distilled in 2008 and matured in virgin oak casks.
It’s named Benromach Organic as this whisky is certified Organic from start to finish, meeting UK Soil Association standards for growing the ingredients, distillation, maturation and bottling. I Unique, neat and cool idea
Nose: Young, malty with new make edge at first, creamy, green vegetables and grassy, honey and lactic, becoming less grassy with time, more honey and then lots of vanilla (virgin oak or not?). Very soft and gentle (very G&M), very creamy and malty, some hints of citrus fragrance and after a few minutes sweet peat.
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Whisky Gospel 