Tastes

I picked up a bottle of this basically as an add-on to another online order because I was interested in a non-peated, port finished whisky that I could “crush” on those days I choose to drink quantity over quality. I figured this bottle would fit that bill quite well...but, it didn’t really work out that way. This Glenglassaugh is a NAS whisky finished in undisclosed port wine casks and was bottled at a robust 46% ABV. I paid just shy of $65 for it. It’s slightly amber/deep gold in color and there’s indication of a significant amount of water added due to tons of legs and lots of oily droplets left behind after a thorough spin in the Glencairn. The nose is caramel candies, toffee butter and very sweet. There’s light vine fruits indicating the main maturation period was in ex-sherry casks, but there are some nice wine notes and color here to indicate Port finishing. Something smelled borderline artificial, however. The palate was again overrun with toffee and caramel flavors, albeit velvety smooth and sickly sweet. Vanilla and sherry notes arrive mid sip and turn the mouthfeel somewhat thick. Light oak notes and a funky dryness appear late, too. The finish is short to medium, smooth as hell, but still buttery and overly sweet. A dessert dram for sure. I have mixed feelings about the whole experience: the sweetness plays well if that’s what you’re down for, but I can only take 1-2oz at a time before I’m ready to move on to something with some teeth. Overall, a 3.5 star dram that could be a 4 on certain days, but maybe 2.5 if you drink too much in one sitting. It just goes sugary sweet awfully fast. Give it a try in a bar or get a pour from a friend before plopping down $65 for a full bottle. Cheers.

This was the third sample in the official Tomintoul Distillery 3cl sampler pack I bought online a couple of months ago. This well aged pour is the main reason I purchased the set because getting a 25 year old sample of this in a bar would’ve surely cost just as much ($34), if not more. I had a feeling the 10 & 16 year samples might not add up to much (see my reviews for them here as well), but a 25 is almost always tasty. This one was shimmering gold in the tasting glass and just a touch darker than the other two, younger samples. It still felt like it should’ve been darker after spending a quarter of a century in the cask, but oh well. It had many oily legs while not leaving any water droplets behind- I know this isn’t cask strength, but I’m sure the angel’s share probably kept them from adding too much water- even to get it down to the 40%abv bottling strength. The nose was vanilla and bread-y with plenty of oak notes and some surprising hints of alcohol. After a good 20-25 minutes I also got a little bit of peaches in the background. The palate was nice and smooth, as it should be, with peaches again along with some pears and slight orchard fruitiness. There was no oak note at all on the tongue. The finish was medium length and silky smooth, but it lacked any real depth or lingering character- just a slight peppery bite. Overall, it’s marginally better than the 10 & 16 year samples that were included here, but I think Tomintoul takes their slogan a little too much to heart. “The gentle dram” sounds inauspicious enough, but I little kick back or character would go a long way here. It’s just too soft. I gave both the younger pours a 3 star rating and I feel like this deserves a bump because it does have a little more going for it in the flavor profile and is well-rounded like a 25 year should be. 3.5 stars, but at $400 for a full bottle- I won’t be buying much else from Tomintoul unless they push their own envelope a bit further. Cheers, my friends.

I recently had a chance to enjoy a sample pour from “ghosted”, Speyside distillery Pittyvaich. The 12 year old pour was part of Diageo’s original Flora & Fauna series. Pittyvaich was located in Dufftown and was built and opened in 1974, by Arthur Bell & Sons. They produced whisky primarily for blends and had one official distillery bottling in 1991. They closed in 1993 and all building were demolished in 2002- so, no chance of a grand rebirth here. This sample was generously provided by my friend Pranay. I believe he paid somewhere north of $400 for this bottle. It’s a beautiful, new penny copper in the Glencairn but I believe it is chill filtered and has added color. It produces runny, thick legs and leaves medium sized droplets behind on the rim when you spin it. It was bottled at 43% ABV. The nose had some faint rye notes to match heavy molasses, toffee and burnt sugar. There were hints of the sherry cask maturation, but it smelled more like an American rye than a Speyside scotch. The palate was very buttery- relying heavily on Christmas cake and roasted nuts for its primary flavoring. There was some sweet sherry there along with some peppery rye. I didn’t get a lot of depth, though. The finish was short-to-medium with baking spices and pepper hanging around. Very warming. Overall, it wasn’t anything close to what I was expecting, but it was also quite enjoyable and different. I’m tempted to bump my score up to a full 4 stars because it’s rare, but mostly it was pretty tasty. A big thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine because I know I’d never have tasted this one otherwise. Cheers.

This is another Kilkerran sample sent to me by my friend @Telex. This is from the Work In Progress series and was matured in ex-bourbon wood. It’s bottled at a cask strength of 54.1%. It’s light gold in the glass and produces tons of legs when you spin it. It’s NCF’d and has no added color. I only jotted some notes down while drinking this one because I drank it alongside the 8 year casks strength. This will be a quick review. The nose was vanilla, oak and cherry cola and there was just a hint of peat mingling in the background. The palate was similar, but with a harder oak wood presence, which was expected. Some vanilla notes appear around mid sip after the heat faded. The finish was long, spicy and very warming. It was a bit abrasive as well. I’m not sure what Jason paid for this bottle, but I don’t think I’d buy one. I was relatively pleased with the sherry cask WIP line and I think their malts work better when they are finished in a sweeter type of cask. 3 stars. Cheers.

Here’s another powerful sample sent to me by my friend @Telex, from Maryland. I’ve had some pretty good luck with my rather limited experience with Kilkerran so when he offered me a young, yet powerful, cask strength- well, I had to jump at the chance. This particular offering is pale yellow in the Glencairn and doesn’t really give up much leg action, due to the high 56.2% ABV. It’s also pretty oily. The nose started with a hard hit from the alcohol, even after 15 minutes resting in the glass. There was a steady draw of sweet corn to start things out, and that made me very wary, but finally some juicy, tropical fruits came shining through in a big way. You really need to give this some time for the alcohol heat to subside. I suppose you could use water to achieve the same result, but that’s not me and we don’t need another long-winded take as to why...lol. The palate was also pretty darn hot, yet it stayed surprisingly smooth the entire sip. There’s a thick, oily mouthfeel but it’s very woodsy. The sweet fruits hang around after the swallow, but battle the heat to see which will stay longer. The finish is long and dry. Oak pepper spices and the faintest fruit notes remain while I tried to catch my breath. It’s hot, folks. I’m not sure I’d want a full bottle of this, it’s just not complex enough to get past the heat. I would have to break my own rule and add significant amounts of water to try and enjoy/finish a bottle. Thanks again to Jason for the pour. I’ll give it 3 stars at cask strength, but I believe it could be better enjoyed with water or ice, but I just don’t roll that way. Cheers, my friends.

This is the newest release from Virginia’s largest single malt whisky producer: Virginia Distillery Co. They are poised to become not only the largest whisky producer in Virginia, but the entire eastern seaboard of the US. Until their stocks have aged properly they continue to blend some of their young stock with several undisclosed, Scottish Highland single malts and experiment with different finishing casks. This is Batch 1 of the newest venture: Brewers Batch. They take the single malt blend and age it for another 8-9 months in previously filled barrels of Wee Heavy Scotch Ale from local, craft beer brewery Three Notch’d Brewing (Charlottesville, VA). This whisky is pale yellow in color, is very oily and doesn’t leave many legs running down the taster. It’s bottled at 46% ABV and doesn’t have any added color. I’m not sure about the chill filtering, especially with the sourced Highland malt. I suspect it is. The nose is ridiculously fruity. Clearly indicating a sherry cask aged source malt. Vanilla cream candies mingle with the sherry notes and there’s a very light, charred oak backbone. The palate is waxy with tons of orchard fruit again dominating the profile. Vanilla and light citrus turn it to a dessert dram for sure. The youthful, Virginia whisky aspect definitely leaves a bit of harshness behind by mid sip, but some nice oak notes help keep any abrasiveness in check. The finish is warm and heavy on the spiced oak. The harshness comes in again and is the only real negative aspect that stays past it’s welcome. There is a lingering sweetness that makes this medium length in duration. Overall, this is miles above the port finished stuff they released last year. It should be very interesting to see what these guys are capable of once their own stuff fully matures- especially if they can source some quality casks. This is easily a 3.5 star dram, possibly reaching 4 on a good day. The price point is borderline high, at $65, but that’s the price of local, craft whisky these days I suppose. I’m looking forward to seeing what else these guys come up with in the future. Cheers.

I was searching through the forest of samples that have piled up over the last 8-10 months and found this extra from our SDT’s fifth round: Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured. This one was supplied by our newest member, @Telex. I’ve been a big fan of Kilchoman since their stuff has started hitting the shelves, so let’s see how this one stacks up... It’s a beautiful, shiny copper in the Glencairn and doesn’t really make many legs when you spin it up. It appears really oily even though it’s on the heavy ABV side at a nice, round 50%. The nose starts out smoky, rich and salty like the early stages of a slab of your favorite meat in a smoker. There’s a welcoming blast of red berries and brown sugar before fading and revealing light, charred oak. The palate is hot and salty, BBQ smoke with some rich chocolate sweetness. I don’t get the wine aspect as well here, and I’m thinking it’s because of the high ABV and salt. It’s still mouth watering and delicious- it’s just the wine flavors I were expecting couldn’t fight their way through. Slightly disappointing, but I won’t ding it just yet. The finish is spicy and peppery. It’s long and eventually drying, but at the very tail end I get some residual grape and blackberry jam stickiness that just lingers on and on. It’s the redemption from the wine cask fail on the palate and it works so well here. The heat starts to fade and, as if on cue, the berry sweetness is left hanging there. It may the best finish of any Kilchoman I’ve had. Wonderful. Overall, this is another great Kilchoman. When these guys get some serious age statement bottles out there the other guys on Islay better watch out. Quality, quality juice. Thanks again to Jason for the pour and this is a solid 4-4.25 star dram. Seek it out and see for yourself, my friends. Cheers.

I finally added a bottle of this TRE special version of the Cu Bocan to my online cart a couple of months ago. I was looking for something easier to sip on a couple weeks ago and decided this should be a winner. This Virgin Oak version of Cu Bocan was bottled at 46% and I got it from a store out of London for around $55. All of the Cu Bocan NAS releases are based on a mystical beast that roams the countryside near the Tomatin distillery. Some locals describe it as a smoke beast, so of course Tomatin had to use a little peated malt to add a different layer to their normal, sherried whisky. This one is mellow gold in color and makes some seriously fat legs in the taster. The nose is incredibly lively with fresh oak and some sawdust, but there’s some citrus notes playing along with the faint smokiness. The palate is very reminiscent of American bourbon: vanilla and oak with just a tease of pepper and wood. The smoke isn’t as apparent on the tongue as I seem to recall from the original Cu Bocan, but it’s there on the nose and finish. Speaking of finish, this is slightly harsh, which is to be expected with most NAS whisky. The youthful spirit leaves behind a slight metallic note, but it’s not off putting at all. This is another bourbon sippers scotch. I’d like to keep a bottle of this on hand for just those kinds of days where I want a bourbon, but I don’t want to drink bourbon- if that makes any sense haha. Overall, another winning and cheap dram from the fine chaps at Tomatin. If I were to make a short list of NAS favorites this one, and the regular Cu Bocan, would surely make the list. If you’re in the mood for a lightly smoked bourbon, you can’t go wrong here. 3.5-3.75 stars. Cheers, my friends.

I decided I’d write a quick review of the Tomintoul 16 year old. I recently bought a 3 pack sampler with the 10, 16 and 25 year old in it and I did a full review on the 10 already, so needless to say there isn’t much difference here. It’s also bottled at the legal minimum of 40% and has the exact same color as the 10- clearly an indication of artificial coloring use. It’s golden yellow, and leaves behind some seriously big water droplets on the rim of the tasting glass. The nose is eerily similar as well: candied corn, bread and butterscotch although the oak barrel notes aren’t quite as weak as I found on the 10yo. The palate is still bitter with more overall oak flavor, but less vanilla. The corn flavor transitions to a soft butterscotch flavor mid sip. The finish is medium here and it’s not as dry as the 10. The bitterness is kept in check as well. Overall, it’s still a pretty weak experience, but the extra 6 years does draw in a deeper flavor profile- it just doesn’t add any extra dimensions. 2.5 stars. Cheers.

I’m finally getting around to trying and reviewing my first Hazelburn. This is the 9 year old that was fully matured in ex-Barolo Wine casks. For those not “in the know”, Hazelburn is actually just another name used by Springbank, along with Longrow, and is basically their completely unpeated line of whiskies. Ten percent of their capacity is used for Longrow heavily peated malts, 10% for Hazelburn and the rest for Springbank. This whisky is pale gold in color and oily with lots of undefined legs. It was bottled at 57.9% ABV and runs about $115 a bottle, if you can find it. The nose was somewhat weak IMO: mixed nuts, powdered sugar and some light oak were the main flavors I detected, along with a lingering note of alcohol due to the higher ABV. I didn’t get many floral properties like most Springbank. The palate was very hot with a predominant note of sawdust and freshly cut oak. Sunbeam raisins, almonds and a little grape-y sweetness mingle in if you can stand the heat on your tongue long enough. There’s a syrupy sugar flavor left behind as well. The finish is long and hot with some final vanilla notes from the cask working their way through the heat. It ultimately finished very salty and dry and left me wondering where the true wine barrel notes are? It’s definitely too hot to drink neat- I learned that too late, but I don’t like to water my drams down anyway. This is how Hazelburn presented it, this is how I’ll drink it. That said, it’s a hot mess. When you advertise a particular wine cask maturation/finish I expect to taste it and I just couldn’t get through the heat. For that reason, this is a 2.5-3 star dram at best. Thanks to my friend @Telex for supplying me with this one. Cheers.