Tastes

This is the fifth and last part out of a five-part series of reviews of a private tasting of Independent Bottlers in my local liquor shop. Our personal line-up: 1. Càrn Mòr - Strictly Limited - Benrinnes 10 Year Old 2009 2. Hunter Laing - Talisker 2008 - 9 Year Old Old Malt Cask 3. Claxton's The Single Cask - Bunnahabhain 2013 - Staoisha - 6 Years Old 4. Caol Ila 5-Year-Old 2009 - Hepburn's Choice (Langside) 5. Ardnamurchan Spirit 2019 AD Technically, or better ‘legally’, this Ardnamurchan isn’t whisky - yet. It’s a vatting of two butts, six hogsheads, and twenty-one octaves. All being ages over 3 years, and thus being Whisky, except for the Octaves, that are only matured two years and a bit. To add even more interest, the barrels are a mixture of both Amerian and Spanish oak, having previously held Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez liquids. The release is not as limited as the other bottles, but nevertheless, only about 5000 are available. The wine influences of the Oloroso and Ximénez became immediately obvious by the color of this dram. Almost amber-like, it showed a lot of promise. 
The nose was pleasant, sweet, and smoky, while the palate added some dried fruits and more smoke. Where the Claxton’s Bunnahabhain's smoke punches you in the face (but not in a bad sense!), this spirit eased in more slowly and builds it up. Add to this salted caramel (yummy!) and enjoy a perfect dram, carefully balanced, with both tons of flavor and smoke. The aftertaste keeps on going, with mostly smoke and some salt. Of all the drams tasted today, this Ardnamurchan spirit was the only one to really match up to the Claxton’s Bunnahabhain Staoisha. I would rate them both at least four stars. I might even have a very slight preference for this one over the Claxton, but since my son really loved the latter - ànd our friends were already buying this Ardnamurchan Spirit - we decided to purchase the Claxton’s instead. For the Arnamuchan, I'll perhaps purchase a bottle when it's officially a whisky, in a few months!

This is the fourth part out of a five-part series of reviews of a private tasting of Independent Bottlers in my local liquor shop. Our personal line-up: 1. Càrn Mòr - Strictly Limited - Benrinnes 10 Year Old 2009 2. Hunter Laing - Talisker 2008 - 9 Year Old Old Malt Cask 3. Claxton's The Single Cask - Bunnahabhain 2013 - Staoisha - 6 Years Old 4. Caol Ila 5-Year-Old 2009 - Hepburn's Choice (Langside) 5. Ardnamurchan Spirit 2019 AD This Hepburn’s Choice 5 year old Coal Ila bottling had some shoes to fill, coming just behind the Claxton’s Bunnahabhain. Being matured in a much smaller Quarter Cask, hence only 98 bottles available, we nevertheless expected to find tons of taste… The nose was satisfying, with decent smoke and oaky notes, but the palate was thinner and fainter than we anticipated. There were some fruits, and some floral notes, accompanied by some pepper, but nothing impressive. Again, my son and I agreed that this one turned out a bit dissattisfying. Was it because it came right after the Claxton? We’re still not sure, but our friends did have the same opinion… Would the last one be able to keep us from buying the Claxton? To keep reading, the other reviews should be available here on Distiller/Whizzky very soon. (Note: Apparently, I have tasted and reviewed this one earlier, and noticed the same somewhat subdued impression...). This time, I rated it lower though...

This is the third part out of a five-part series of reviews of a private tasting of Independent Bottlers in my local liquor shop. Our personal line-up: 1. Càrn Mòr - Strictly Limited - Benrinnes 10 Year Old 2009 2. Hunter Laing - Talisker 2008 - 9 Year Old Old Malt Cask 3. Claxton's The Single Cask - Bunnahabhain 2013 - Staoisha - 6 Years Old 4. Caol Ila 5-Year-Old 2009 - Hepburn's Choice (Langside) 5. Ardnamurchan Spirit 2019 AD While I’ve had my share of bottles and tastes of Independent Bottlers by now, Claxton’s was entirely new to me. The host explained the ‘Staoisha’ would prove to be an entirely different Bunna experience, even more so than with the Sherry influenced Talisker I tried. While I had tried several peated Bunna’s in the past, the host promised that I’d be surprised, hinting this Claxton’s bottling to be significantly more peated. Comparing it to the ‘Moine’ for example would do it no justice. My son agreed, and we were soon met by a strong but wonderfully earthy peat smoke, with an idea of BBQ. The palate kicks in with a ton of pleasant smoke, salt, and tropical fruits. Such a joy. The aftertaste kept lingering on for a long time, and expressed a meaty smokiness, with added sea salt. This Claxton’s Bunnahabhain was perfectly in balance, and full of flavor. The high ABV - 58,20% - wasn’t obvious at all. Both my son and I were very pleased with this one. Would one of the last two prove to be even better? To keep reading, the other reviews should be available here on Distiller/Whizzky very soon. To find out the winner (read: the bottle we purchased), see the last review (Ardnamurchan).

This is the second part out of a five-part series of reviews of a private tasting of Independent Bottlers in my local liquor shop. Our personal line-up: 1. Càrn Mòr - Strictly Limited - Benrinnes 10 Year Old 2009 2. Hunter Laing - Talisker 2008 - 9 Year Old Old Malt Cask 3. Claxton's The Single Cask - Bunnahabhain 2013 - Staoisha - 6 Years Old 4. Caol Ila 5-Year-Old 2009 - Hepburn's Choice (Langside) 5. Ardnamurchan Spirit 2019 AD Since my favourite bottle of the last tasting was also part of the Old Malt Cask series (a Coal Ila 9 years old - for my review: see elsewhere on this site), I definitely wanted to try this Talisker. My son luckily heartedly agreed. This 9-year-old Talisker was distilled in 2008 and aged nine years in a single sherry butt (HL 15652). Only 376 bottles are available. I’ve tasted Talisker before (10 years old, Skye, Storm, Dark Storm) but the maturation in Sherry Butt resulted in a somewhat different Talisker experience. I’d say, it adds some faint sun to the Storm, if that would make sense… Oh well, here are our findings: My son definitely found hints of sea-salt and smoke in the nose, with something else - what I could identify as peppery caramel, wich kindly returned to the palate, with some added fruits (clearly the Sherry influence, but luckily, not too obvious) and some more peat. The finish lasted long enough with mostly fruity notes. We both agreed on this to be a firm step up from de Benrinnes, while that had already been a strong starter. I decided that this might very well be my bottle of choice for this tasting, but I didn’t try the other ones yet… To keep reading, the other reviews should be available here on Distiller/Whizzky very soon. To find out the winner (read: the bottle we purchased), see the last review (Ardnamurchan).

This is the first part out of a five-part series of reviews of a private tasting of Independent Bottlers in my local liquor shop. I was invited once again to a private tasting of Independent Bottlers in my local cigar & liquor shop. While the owner also knows his business very well, he usually invites an expert: a proud (but modest) member of the Keepers of the Quaich, who enthusiastically spills all his knowledge and anecdotes about the drams he serves, always ensuring an interesting afternoon. This time I took my 14-year-old son with me, who is slowly starting to appreciate the subtle nuances of the better whiskies, and who - to my delight - especially is growing fond of modestly peated and smoked whisky. He also appreciates a nice wine-or port-finish. The available line-up was larger than last time but was again more or less ordered by their taste-profile to help us anticipate their potential a bit. From fresh and fruity, the bottles displayed evolved from the left to the middle to the somewhat more neutral, robust but fuller whiskies, to the right to the more complex, heavier and usually peat-smoked ones. My son and I decided to limit ourselves to try - and share - just five sample drams. He got to pick the first one, and then we picked in turns the next ones, but we actually agreed every time. 1. Càrn Mòr - Strictly Limited - Benrinnes 10 Year Old 2009 2. Hunter Laing - Talisker 2008 - 9 Year Old Old Malt Cask 3. Claxton's The Single Cask - Bunnahabhain 2013 - Staoisha - 6 Years Old 4. Caol Ila 5-Year-Old 2009 - Hepburn's Choice (Langside) 5. Ardnamurchan Spirit 2019 AD My son’s first pick was a Benrinnes of 10 years old, bottled by Càrn Mòr under it’s ‘Strictly Limited’ range. He was very interested because of it’s decade long aging in a Sherry Butt. The nose of this Speyside dram hinted - unsurprisingly to some fresh oak and vanilla, and didn’t disappoint in the palate. The Sherry-aging became clear, but wasn’t obtrusive and shared hints of candy, fruit, and some salt. The finish was moderate and somewhat dry and oaky. We both agreed to have started strong. To keep reading, the other reviews should be available here on Distiller/Whizzky very soon. To find out the winner (read: the bottle we purchased), see the last review (Ardnamurchan).

Regular readers of my reviews here on Distiller or Whizzky.net may have the - correct - impression that I'm in Italy on a regular base. This summer, however, was the first opportunity in a full year we could travel there. I had changed jobs, so our autumn trip was postponed, and due to Covid19, our spring break also got canceled. To celebrate our well-earned summer break, we went shopping in Firenze, and got refreshments in our usual spot Caffè Perseo at the Piazza della Signore, where the replica of David di Michelangelo is displayed. I usually enjoy a whisky there, as I did this time. With Covid19 they couldn't show us a menu, but the waiter invited me to the bar inside, to pick my dram. When I noticed this peculiar Bruichladdich, I instantly choose to try it. I looked it up, but couldn't find any info on it, besides that this may be a rather rare Italian import. I researched it a bit more thoroughly later on and had it confirmed that it was indeed a rather rare bottle, intended for the Italian market. On the nose, I found an a-typical (but rather gentle) Bruichladdich peat-smoke, with some notes of nuts and fruits. The palate brought the same flavors but stronger. The hint of smoke was right on the spot, and combined with some sweet fruity notes, revealed a rather complex, full taste. I don't think it officially a peated whisky, but I definately tasted smoky notes. I also found raisins, nuts, and some hints of peaches. Even my 14-year old son - who often sips from my drams, and usually dislikes my peated drams - instantly liked it. The aftertaste was more on the fresh-fruity side, thus perfect for a hot summer day. If your taste profile is similar to mine, don't hesitate to taste this one, or even to pick up a bottle, if you come across it!

A good friend of mine was gifted three bottles of whisky for his birthday. A Japanese one, a Bulleit Bourbon, and a Tomation Single Malt. As he wanted to share a few drams, we decided to keep a small tasting. This 14-year-old Port Finished Tomatin was our third dram, and as I expected, the better one of the lineup. The nose was sweet, slightly nutty, but fruitful, but evolved to a sweeter, spicier palate. The port influence was noticeable, but not too prominent. The aftertaste was moderate, but where it loses a bit in wine, it gained a bit of dry oakiness. While I probably wouldn't buy my own bottle, my friend and I both agreed this was the best dram of the line-up.