Tastes
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Appearance: Opaque dark brown, almost black. Against a strong light red edges are seen. The liquid forms thick, slow-flowing amber legs. Aroma: Orange juice, orange zest, cola and a faint trace of spearmint. Taste and Texture: Sweet arrival with herbal-tinged oranges, liquorice root, chicory and pomegranate juice. In the mid-palate a hint of spicy bitterness comes forward with mild anise, juniper and petit wormwood notes but this is balanced by sweet orange and chocolate flavours. The finish is warm, soft and fresh and turns back towards full sweetness with orange and cola being the final notes. The texture is full. This amaro has an interesting profile and it is a little different to the norm. Many amari start off sweet and then tail into bitterness, of varying intensity. Averna is bitter right from the entry, but it is a low-intensity, soft bitterness that never becomes intrusive. This character derives from the juice and zest of myrtle-leaved orange tree fruit, which is a primary ingredient in this amaro. You might recognize it as the flavour of the popular Italian soft drink, chinotto. It is used in many amari, sometimes alone and sometimes in combination with sweet orange juice and zest. There is a satisfying completeness to Averna and it seems somehow to be a perfect encapsulation of "dark citrus". It is versatile and can be enjoyed neat, over ice with a twist of orange peel, or as a long drink with soda or tonic water. It can be used as a substitute for orange bitters in cocktails where it adds complexity and sweetness as well as the expected bitter orange note, and if used well it can transform a mixed drink spectacularly. “Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)50.0 AUD per Bottle
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Appearance: Translucent brown, the colour of strong black tea. Aroma: Benzoin, liquidamber storax, red aloe, a hint of peppermint and spearmint, pine needles, dried chamomile flowers, liquorice root (not liquorice candy), cassia, myrrh, sawdust and a waft of camphor. Flavour and Texture: Sweet and well-balanced herbal notes at the entry. As it rests on the palate a host of earthy, root-spice flavours emerge coupled with several resinous elements - pine tree sap, gum mastic, liquorice root extract and more. There are minty notes as well and flavours of gentian, wormwood and chamomile are never far away. It has incomparable complexity and balance. The finish veers towards the precipice of bitterness but then backs away at the last second, leaving a sweet cola-herbal quality in the aftertaste. The texture is rich, heavy and full but not at all syrupy or cloying. On the contrary, it has a crisp, fresh quality. For my third review of the classic amari I decided to tackle what is perhaps the most complex of them all. Bràulio is an assertive but poised expression of iconic earthy aromas and flavours, featuring root-spices, herbs and resin extracts. Nosing it is like coming across an herb-garden in a spruce forest sawmill while drinking slightly sweetened chamomile tea. There is also a very old-fashioned medicinal character to it. I don't mean medicinal as it is usually employed in whisky circles to refer to that "iodine/hospital antiseptic" aroma of some Islay whiskies - this is more like mercurochrome or friar's balsam. More earthy and herbal, like the smell of an old-time medicine cabinet. It is delicious as a digestif and is one of the few amari that can be equally enjoyed when chilled from the freezer, neat over ice, at room temperature, or gently warmed. It can be used in cocktails but I prefer it neat - it always seems somehow wrong to sully such perfect balance (although I must admit it is delicious as a long drink over ice with a slice of orange and soda water). Fernet Branca may be the king of amari, by dint of its noble and uncompromising profile, but Bràulio is unquestionably his more charismatic younger brother - the one everyone really wants to see on the throne. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)40.0 AUD per Bottle
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Bokma Jonge Graanjenever
Genever — Netherlands
Reviewed September 29, 2020 (edited October 19, 2020)Nose: Faint grain-spirit aromas, barely toasted white bread, fleeting wisps of juniper. Palate: Slightly sweet with a nebulous herbal quality. A neutral alcohol character with just a touch of cereal presence. Warming, but not hot or raw. The texture is a little slippery/oily but not rich. Finish: Short. Some grain and yeasty white bread flavours with an herbal touch. Subtle almost to the point of blandness, this is like white-dog diluted with neutral spirit. There are light herbal notes but it is easily the mildest genever I’ve tasted. It’s not actively bad but my preference is towards more assertively flavoured liquor so to me this seems weak and uninteresting. I much preferred the Bols Jonge Jenever I tasted a while ago. Having bought this I’m not sure how I’ll make use of a whole bottle. It doesn’t have the character I seek for neat drinking but it may work in cocktails and could make an interesting martini. It might also pair well with flavoured tonic waters, but I’ll need to experiment. I wouldn’t bother with this one. It’s not an “inferior” spirit per se, just rather plain and dull, but I wouldn’t go so far as to dignify it with the term “average” either. The official Distiller tasting notes are on target. “Adequate” : 74/100 (2.25 stars) UPDATE: Over ice, with a slice of lime and some good tonic this is OK, but I'd still rather have almost any gin. The rating stays the same, so far. UPDATE 2: I've been slowly working through this over the last week by trying it in a number of combinations. The three most pleasant ways I've found to take it so far are chilled as a shot straight from the freezer, as a gin replacement in a martini, and mixed 50/50 with a super-hefty gin like Never Never Juniper Freak. It would probably work in any context as a vodka replacement, but on the whole it's just not a very interesting drink.65.0 AUD per Bottle -
Connemara Original Peated Single Malt
Single Malt — Ireland
Reviewed September 27, 2020 (edited October 14, 2020)Nose: Pears. Apples. A little citrus juice. Very mild sweet smoke with a fragrant herbal quality. Aromatic peat smoke, almost like pipe tobacco. Palate: Soft, a little briny sweetness. Light grassy malt, barley-sugar and cereal flavours with some fruity notes emerging in the development (sweet orchard fruits and a little citrus again). There is a floral honey flavour and the smoky facets are mild and sweet, as with the nose. The texture is full and rich with a buttery quality - in fact the palate flavours have buttery notes. Finish: Medium. The sweet side of the character lingers with a fruity finale spiced by a pinch of smoke. A pleasant, clean and well-balanced malt, easy to drink, veering towards sweetness and with just a touch of well-managed peat. I could imagine this being a favourite everyday dram. The peat is quiet and reserved, but not lacking, and it is of good quality with no objectionable notes at all. There was a time, long past, when I was a pipe smoker and one of my favourite blends was Borkum Riff Whisky mixture. This has a whiff of that tobacco, which alone is enough to make me want a bottle. The palate is tasty, mellow but still sprightly with an almost effervescent edge from the hints of citrus. I enjoyed this a lot, and to be honest I enjoyed it a good deal more than the Connemara Turf Mor expression I tasted a while back. This is not as heavily peated, and all the better for it. There is better balance here, right through. It's particularly interesting tasting this right after the two Australian Bakery Hill peated whiskies that I've just rated here, as they are crafted specifically to achieve a gentle, easy-drinking profile. I thought both were clearly superior to this whisky, with more character and complexity, but when it comes to value for money there is simply no competition. At almost literally a third the price of the Bakery Hill 46% peated whisky this standard Connemara bottling represents very good value, and is recommended. Tasted from a 30ml sample. I liked this enough to add a bottle to my next online order. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)80.0 AUD per Bottle -
Bakery Hill Cask Strength Peated Malt
Single Malt — Victoria, Australia
Reviewed September 27, 2020 (edited October 14, 2020)Nose: Oily, rich, mineral-tinged peat smoke. Dried apples and pears reconstituted in whisky and barbecued over coals. Root vegetables baked in a hāngi [earth oven]. An old greasy coal-fired traction engine. Oak casks and a concoction of herbs and spices (anise? arnica?) and balsamic pine-resins. Adding water releases lighter fruity notes, a definite hint of coconut, and melds the nose into a gentler and more musky/fruity personality. Palate: The entry is big, but not aggressive, and shows pine-tar, charcoal and oak tannin but there is no heat or astringency at all. The character is fundamentally sweet, fruity and malty and on each sip it takes a moment for the peat-smoke notes to appear. When they do they are lightly spiced and oily. There are black-tea and licorice notes in the later palate. The neat texture is oily and rich. With the addition of water luscious stewed fruit notes emerge and the texture becomes irresistibly creamy and velvety. Finish: Medium/long. Oily herbal/smoky flavours with a bouquet of baking spices. A gentle smoke-tinged resinous flavour is the lingering aftertaste. This whisky does not have a strongly peated profile and not surprisingly it is like the Bakery Hill 46% peated expression but with a more intense and defined character. The thing to realize is that although this is at cask-strength, it has a very gentle style. On first nosing, lovers of peated Scottish whisky may question if it is peated at all. The smokiness is unusual as it does not have any of the frequently encountered medicinal, maritime or bonfire notes. The smoke component is not at all bombastic but instead provides a concentration of subtle aromas and tastes. I actually thought the 46% expression had more noticeable smoke, and indeed if you add a few drops of water to this it does amplify the smoke a touch. This whisky made me imagine what I think an industrial or construction site would have smelled like in the 1800s - all oil, earth, wood and smoke. The closest Scottish single malt I can think of as a comparison is Ben Nevis. Like that distillate, this is fundamentally an earthy whisky with just a little smoke. At around 60% abv (batches vary) this is exceptionally approachable. You can quaff this neat like water and it is just soothing and warming. Supurb craftsmanship. If only it was not so ruinously expensive this would be a fixture in my collection. Together with the unpeated cask-strength expression, this is the shining star of Bakery Hill's range. Tasted from a 50ml distillery-filled miniature. "Very Good" : 85/100 (4 stars) --------------------------------- Addendum: This was the last of 5 distillery-bottled miniatures in a tasting set I bought recently. Until I had tasted these my experience with Bakery Hill was limited to the standard Classic Malt expression and a range of 6 experimental caskings I tasted at an event a while ago. I was not particularly impressed with what I had tried before and I was hoping that the samples of their core range would provide a better picture and maybe change my opinion, and that is what happened. In my opinion Bakery Hill is at its very best at cask strength, whether it is the Classic Malt or the Peated Malt. Their whisky is crafted to be easy to approach but that can result in an expression that seems a little too laid back at lower strength. At high abv the story is quite different with more concentrated aromas and flavours being displayed, but the alcohol presence is still very easy and gentle. If you can find either of the Cask Strength expressions for a reasonable price I would recommend a taste.220.0 AUD per Bottle -
Bakery Hill Peated Malt
Single Malt — Victoria, Australia
Reviewed September 27, 2020 (edited July 8, 2021)Nose: Pears, apples, mild peat smoke with a heathery floral quality. It's fresh and "windswept" in character with almost a briny note, which is bizarre considering the distillery's location is in outer metropolitan Melbourne 40km from the coast. Adding water contributes a soft musky tone to the fruity and floral aromas. Palate: Soft and sweet on the arrival with well-balanced cereal flavours. Smoke is not immediately apparent but shows up after a moment as the palate starts to develop, however it is certainly no peat monster. Lightly sweetened orchard fruits on the developed palate with a pleasant hint of leather and tobacco. The texture is creamy and silken with just a soupçon of caramel and vanilla. Finish: Short. The fundamental pleasant cereal quality fades quite quickly with a little puff of smoke on the aftertaste and a miniscule briny note. Another relaxed Sunday afternoon, another relaxed Aussie whisky. This is the second peated expression I've had from Bakery Hill (the other being their more pungent "Sovereign Smoke") but this is much more laid-back in style. I gather that this is precisely what the distillery was aiming to achieve. The nose seemed at once familiar and it didn't take long to equate it with Kilchoman Machir Bay. There is the same fresh, breezy quality but this whisky has more sweetness to the nose. Machir bay is also more complex whereas this has simple cereal profile but is very friendly and approachable. The palate is focused on crisp, sweet cereal flavours rather than rich maltiness. This is a "breakfast" palate, not one for dessert. I did note the absence of any rubbery, plastic sulphurous notes. The distillate is clean and in my humble opinion Bakery Hill could teach several Scottish distilleries a lesson in how to run a still. This is a very gentle style of whisky and it certainly does not require any water to make it approachable. One common characteristic I notice in almost every Australian whisky (and also in American single malts) is a lack of harshness and alcohol heat. This expression is 46% abv but the ethanol is hardly noticed. Adding water softens the profile to the point that it becomes dangerously easy to drink, but I preferred it neat. The criticism I have of this whisky is that it is too simple and demure, but it would be a good whisky to give a novice. It lacks the depth required of a really interesting whisky and the finish, while pleasant, is quite short. If it was just a little broader in all respects I'd happily rate this at 4 stars. It is certainly pleasant and easily the best of the core-range 46% Bakery Hill expressions. It's interesting that instead of using local Australian barley this is produced with 100% peated Scottish malt (I believe it's imported from Bairds in Inverness, but I don't know the barley variety). There is also, as with all Australian whisky, the very high price to take into consideration. At AUS$160 for a 500ml bottle of NAS whisky this simply cannot compete against imported peated whiskies, most of the 10 or 12 year old Scottish expressions being literally half the cost. Tasted from a 50ml distillery-bottled sample. "Above Average" : 82/100 (3.25 stars)160.0 AUD per Bottle -
Appearance: Transparent black-brown. Like a cup of weak drip-filter coffee. Against a strong light or a white background it's more like dark sienna. Aroma: Menthol, peppermint, incense resin (frankincense, myrrh), pyrethrum daisies, licorice root. Flavour and Texture: On arrival, at the front of the mouth, Fernet is quite sweet with a deep earthy herbal quality. However almost instantly an intense mentholated mint note develops which, if you are not used to this liqueur, will seem disarmingly like mint-flavoured toothpaste. This is followed by a bitter tang that betrays the presence of gentian, quinine and bitter aloes. The palate is very long and singular, but after a while it gains an earthy sweetness that is like bittersweet sarsparilla. The texture is full but not syrupy. Fernet is an acquired taste. Boy, is it an acquired taste. On first acquaintance you *will* compare it to cough drops, toothpaste, mouthwash - in fact anything that is overwhelmingly minty and herbal. It's not unlike spearmint flavoured Fisherman's Friend cough lozenges with added bitterness. That probably sounds awful and if you do taste this and recoil in horror don't worry because you are in good company - most people dislike it the first time. However this genuinely is an acquired taste. The classic way to take Fernet-Branca is neat as a digestif. It can also be used as the bitter note in cocktails but a little goes a very long way and it is nowhere near as adaptable as other amari because it always takes charge. In Argentina they drink Fernet & Coke which is pleasant, and if you also add some orange bitters and a slice of orange it becomes vaguely like chinotto. Personally my preferred way to take it is as a very small amount added to highly sweetened Greek coffee. “Above Average” : 80/100 (3 stars)70.0 AUD per Bottle
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Glayva Whisky Liqueur
Herbal/Spice Liqueurs — Scotland
Reviewed September 21, 2020 (edited February 2, 2023)Appearance: Translucent copper gold. Aroma: Floral honey, light citrus and mild spices (a touch of anise). Flavour and Texture: Honey, citrus and cinnamon initially, developing towards a broader range of botanicals including clove and nutmeg. Sweet through to the aftertaste. The texture is thick, a little syrupy, but pleasingly sumptuous. Glayva and Drambuie are similar and in a blind tasting (if you had not had either for a while) you might be hard pressed to distinguish them, but you would certainly recognize that you were tasting two different liqueurs. Drambuie is a little "brighter" and "spiky". It also has a slightly hotter palate and a profile that is somehow more medicinal. Glayva is softer, more rounded and the botanical background seems to be more complex and have better balance. Both are good, and it's just a matter of personal taste which you would prefer (I prefer Glayva, myself). At the price it's a good value whisky liqueur. "Good" : 84/100 (3.75 stars)52.0 AUD per Bottle -
Bakery Hill Double Wood Single Malt
Single Malt — Victoria, Australia
Reviewed September 18, 2020 (edited August 11, 2022)Nose: Apricot juice, prune juice, malt, honeydew melon. There are a lot of sweet fruity and syrupy aromas here and it has a plush, full quality. There are some leathery, spicy notes as well but they are subdued to start with, gaining prominence over time. Palate: Sweet but somewhat flinty arrival that is malty at its core, but surrounded by grippy, almost hard tastes. After the unapologetically sweet and fruity nose the initial palate is a little surprising, but then you remember this has French oak influence and it makes sense. There is not a lot of development but definitely some intense marmalade and golden syrup notes, which become dominant (over-dominating, actually). The texture is good. Finish: Medium/short. Golden syrup and malt are the final memories. There is a little metallic bitterness in the aftertaste. The nose fools you into thinking this will be a sweet whisky but it's actually drier than expected, but not at all unpleasant. The finish is a little short. I tasted this immediately after the Cask Strength version of their "Classic Malt" and it suffered in comparison. I'd be interested to know what the "French oak casks" actually were - maybe they are refill ex-apera casks? They don't taste like virgin casks. I'm swiftly coming to the conclusion that Bakery Hill needs to be at considerable strength to tell its story properly, and I can't help but wonder what this expression would be like with 10-12% more abv. At lower strength (and we're still talking 46%) everything I've tasted from them has seemed lacking in presence. The nose was, for me, absolutely the best part of the experience and although the palate was good the golden syrup note is too prominent and gave it a one-note character. I'd equate this to their standard Classic Malt, and it is really just a variation on that theme. Neither of them approaches the Cask Strength expression, which is not simply more intense, it has a lot more complexity. "Average" : 79/100 (2.75 stars)175.0 AUD per Bottle -
Bakery Hill Cask Strength Classic Single Malt
Single Malt — Victoria, Australia
Reviewed September 18, 2020 (edited November 21, 2020)Nose: Crisp, cereal-led but with fruity and floral notes gradually appearing. Spirity on first pour, but this quickly blows away. As the nose settles it gains a firm toasty-cereal and sweet malt profile. There's a touch of fennel or anise and a trace of vanilla. Some farmyard aromas begin to show up after a few minutes, and there is the sign of some very nice oak casks. There is a tiny hint of peat, but it's not what you would ever describe as a smoky whisky. The peat just carries the farmyard aromas and a leathery quality more than smoke. Palate: Rich, oily, creamy, very malty, full-flavoured and mouth-watering arrival. There is a distinct transition to the development where a big wave of malt extract floods the palate and some pleasant baking spice flavours emerge together with dried fruit, chewing tobacco and leather. Yummy. The texture is oily, creamy and enveloping. Finish: Medium/long. Semi-sweet malt that lingers in the aftertaste. Well, this is my first tasting of the cask-strength version of Bakery Hill's NAS "Classic Malt" and I can strongly advise you to completely ignore the standard strength bottling and run straight to this expression. This is as excellent as the ordinary one is ... well, ordinary. It takes water well and a small dash does no harm, merely giving you a different aspect of the profile. It becomes a touch dustier and sweeter. However this is so very approachable neat I'd recommend taking it that way. Even at 60.5% there is hardly a trace of ethanol on the palate and no raw heat at all, and the concentration of malty flavours is very enjoyable. This is well made spirit and I'm beginning to see why Bakery Hill has the reputation it does among local whisky enthusiasts. If you are looking to try some Australian whisky and you can find this it is worth the expense - but yes it is *very* expensive. You'll pay around US160 a bottle for this, and it's only a 500ml bottle at that. "Very Good" : 85/100 (4 stars)220.0 AUD per Bottle
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