Tastes

I’m back to knocking down a sample from our Scottish Distillery team: Royal Brackla 12. This sample was provided to the group by @Generously_Paul. Royal Brackla was founded in 1812 and is currently owned by Dewars & Sons. In 1833, they were issued a royal warrant by King William IV and remain as one of only three ever issued the decree (Royal Lochnagar and Glenury Royal). They produce around 3.5 million liters per year and they primarily supply Dewars blends. The Highland 12 year old, single malt is deep gold in color, creates lots of legs and leaves behind large droplets because it’s bottled at the legal minimum of 40% ABV. The nose is heavy on tropical fruit, apples, citrus and muddled mint. There’s some lighter oak notes in the background, as well. The palate suffers from a thin mouthfeel and doesn’t offer much depth. There’s tropical notes, orchard fruits and a little vanilla sweetness. The oak is restrained on the palate just like the nose. The finish is mostly oak, but it’s short and weak. This one begs to be bumped up in the ABV department. Overall, this is another one that happily belongs in blends. I’m not sure it deserves a single malt release, especially at 40%. The royal decree is mostly a gimmick to sell more bottles, while they should focus more on adding depth and complexity IMO. Glad to tick this one off the list, but I’m not a big fan. 3 stars. Cheers.

Here’s another review from one of the bottles I opened for our room “happy hour” prior to Whiskyfest DC, back in April: The Bruichladdich Black Arts 5.1 (24 year old, 1992). This is a blended, annual release from ‘Laddie that is meant to showcase their wine cask finishing/blending skills. These bottles tend to be on the pricier side, I got mine for $307 from an online, UK seller. Bottles in the US average $400+. This batch is dirty, dark copper and amber in color that makes very small beads in the taster. It’s extremely oily and made a few legs. It’s bottled at 48.4% ABV. The nose starts out primarily with muddled wine grapes, sugary syrup and charred oak with an underlying touch of Coca Cola-type sweetness. The oak leads toward a charred, burned astringency but still allows the fruitiness to shine through. It smelled really great when I first opened the bottle. Oxidation and time were not kind to this bottle, but more of that towards the end of the review. The palate keeps the wine cask notes front and center: grapes, red berries and some sweet corn constantly rolled around on the tongue, fighting off a lot of the barrel flavors. There was a little cinnamon and pepper that seemed like it was trailing the other notes as you move the whisky across the tongue. It wasn’t off-putting, but it didn’t seem to be in harmony like you’d expect. The finish was warm and long. The berry notes ringing through until you rinsed them away with another sip or a bit of water post-sip. The barrel notes remained suspiciously absent here, as well. It’s a sweet, dessert dram that went over well during the hotel tasting because it kept my palate changing as we switched from peated, to bourbony, to wine infused drams. I think at the hotel I was prepared to award this thing 4.5 stars. I loved it. However, as I’ve been sipping through the bottom of this bottle since then (mid-April) things have fallen off quite dramatically. The syrupy, wine notes have mellowed, the oak is completely gone and all that was left the last 2-3 drams was a Kool-Aid type of sugary mess. It was almost not enjoyable. I don’t do anything special to try to preserve my opened bottles, but they also don’t usually sit around long either. I could see this one falling away after 8-10 months, but not 6-7 weeks. Oxidation is not your friend here. If you purchase or open a bottle of this, I highly recommend you drink it quickly. Share this one with friends and marvel in it’s freshness. You’ll be amazed at how good it is, just don’t leave it on the shelf. My $0.02. That said, I have to dock this one significantly because it’s super expensive and didn’t hold up for me. What was a 4.5 on opening day turned into a 2.5 in less than 2 months. Maybe I got a bad bottle or the cork didn’t seal as well (doubtful), but this has turned me off on the Black Arts series. I’ll just try something else from Bruichladdich and keep on moving. My score reflects the good and the bad I experienced here. 3.5 stars. Cheers.

This Irish whiskey was sent as an extra pour from one of my friends included in our distillery sample group: @Scott_E, from Long Island, NY. This is the traditional Tullamore DEW that’s been finished in Caribbean Demerara rum casks. It’s bottled at 43% and is a deep, gold color and makes very tiny beads and a few scarce legs. The nose was particularly heavy on the grainy side, with banana and citrus peels playing through. Heavy rum presence, as well. The palate carries the rum theme while still retaining the typical, creamy Irish whiskey characteristics. Some slight vanilla mingled in, alongside some butterscotch and weak orchard fruits. The finish was medium length and very rich, especially for an Irish. Overall, I enjoyed this one probably way more than I should have, or it deserved. I didn’t really sit down and analyze it and instead I just reveled in the change of pace from my normal scotch routine. For that, I’m going to give it 3.5 stars. I don’t think I’ll be seeking out a full bottle, but I did enjoy the break from the norm. Cheers.

I’m finally getting around to reviewing one of the bottles that I opened during the Happy Hour in the hotel room prior to Whiskyfest DC, back in April. This GlenDronach 8 year old is an age statement, non-US release that also carries the moniker “The Hielan”, in its name. It’s non-chill filtered and has no color added, while coming in at 46% ABV. It’s pale yellow in color, oily and doesn’t produce many legs at all. The nose is pure GlenDronach, as it gives it’s sherry bloodlines away from the initial pour. Lots of sherry sweetness, candied fruits with a restrained oak note. The spicy pepper notes are kept in check a bit, but it’s still there. The palate is orchard and berry fruits mingling with typical, GlenDronach spices and oak. It’s incredibly smooth for such a young spirit and I think that’s why they proudly added the age statement on the label- it’s tough to get something this complex at this age, but they certainly nailed it here. There’s still a slightly thicker mouthfeel, as well. Good stuff. The finish is medium length, fruity and warming thanks to the 46%. The sweetness lingers on while letting the heat fade slowly over time. It’s mouthwatering and begs you to have another pour...and another...and, you get the idea. Overall, this one really works so well. We started our evening with this pour and @Generously_Paul, @Telex and I couldn’t believe how solid it was for only being 8 years old. Now, the kicker- this bottle was $36! An unbelievable price for something of this quality IMO. I recently re-ordered this one from the U.K. for $41. That’s still an incredible deal- even factoring in the $22 in shipping and customs charges. If this was imported in to the US I’d have a bottle on hand at all times. If you have access to this bottle, I highly recommend it. I’d give it close to 5 stars if I factor in the price, but taking only flavor profile into account I’d say 4-4.25 and I’ll bump it up to 4.5 for VFM. Cheers.

It’s time for another distillery tour sample as we work our way towards the finish line later this summer. This pour was given to me by my friend @Generously_Paul. Glen Grant 10. This offering from another Speyside distillery clocks in at the minimum 40% ABV and is a beautiful yellow gold in the tasting glass. It looks pretty oily, but reveals big droplets around the rim of the glass with some very thick legs. Obviously, there’s lots of water in this one. The nose was extremely weak- even given some significant time to develop. Weak oak notes and a hint of sweetness that faded after 10 minutes. There was nothing else discernible no matter how long I kept my nose in it. Very boring. The palate and finish didn’t really amount to much, either. Some weird corn notes and more faint oak. The finish was short and dry and really was gone in a flash. This thing needs some serious ABV punch, I don’t know why it was watered down to 40%. Overall, this one is very uninspiring and weak. I’ve heard good things about the older bottles, but this offering doesn’t inspire me to put down the money to find out. 2.25-2.5 stars. Keep moving, nothing to see here. Cheers.

Here’s another obscure Speyside distillery that our group has acquired a sample from: Balmenach. This distillery was founded in 1824, making it one of the older one’s in Scotland. It’s currently owned by Inver House Distillers and produces about 2 million liters per year. There’s nothing much spectacular in its history, other than being passed around from several owners and being shuttered during the slow years in the mid-to-late 1990s. This particular offering is an 8 year old bottling from Gordon & MacPhail. It’s very light in color, almost the same hue as most peated Islays. It produces few legs and tiny beads around the glass when you spin it. It’s bottled at 46% ABV. The nose is very sweet- like buttery pound cake sweet. There’s honey and light chocolate, too. The youthful spirit and fresh oak are also present. The palate is sweet heat and honey. Milk chocolate swirls around while still maintaining a light and thin mouthfeel. It keeps this from becoming a sickly, dessert dram and makes the overall experience an enjoyable one. I wonder how this stuff is with some serious age on it or a first fill, finishing cask. The finish is short, too short actually. The chocolate notes hang around with oak tannins and heat from the ABV keeping you warm and toasty. This is a solid dram. Overall, it walks a thin line between an overly sweet dessert dram and a rich, Speyside sherry finished malt. It’s a solid 3.5-4 star dram. I think I’m gonna research a few older bottles and make another purchase- it’s good stuff. Thanks to my friend, Pranay for the sample. Cheers.

Back to another sample from our little trading group: Knockando 15. The Knockando distillery is located in Speyside, right beside the anCnoc distillery and began distilling way back in 1898. The Gaelic translation of Cnoc-an-Dhu is little black hill. This distillery’s claim to fame is that it was the first one to use electricity back in 1905. It acquired it because it was directly beside the Great Northern Railway that connected the highlands to the larger cities in the south. It’s currently owned by Diageo and approximately 10% of its malt is used for single malts, the rest of its 1.8 million liters per year go into J & B and Spey Royal blends. This one is bottled at 43% and is a light gold in the taster and produces slow running, oily legs. I’m sure it’s chill filtered and has added color. The nose is mixed nuts and sherry with some breakfast syrup and fresh oak. The palate is heavily wood forward while coming across as very thin. There’s more oak than anything else, but I do get almonds and the faintest sherry notes. The finish is medium length and warming, while leaving behind lots of oak tannins and pepper. Overall, it’s average and serviceable, but I doubt I’d buy anything else from these guys. Thanks to @Scott_E for the pour- we can tick this one off and keep on moving towards the finish line. 2.75-3 stars. Cheers.

This is my first bespoke bottle from Compass Box Whisky: Bounty Hunter. This was a blend created for a private entity, Bounty Hunter Wine & Spirits, out of Napa, California. They commissioned John Glaser to create a limited, 369 total bottle count, offering to be sold exclusively at their store and online. The limited nature of this one probably led to the high price of $150, rather than the whiskies used. It’s a tasty blend, but it’s certainly NOT worth the asking price. It’s a beautiful, yellow gold and makes skinny, rapidly running legs in the Glencairn. There’s tons of tiny beads left near the lip that indicate it wasn’t watered down by much to the advertised 46% ABV. This blend was created in June 2017 and bottled in October of the same year. I didn’t email CBW for the exact makeup of this because it wasnt distinct enough for me to go through the trouble. It tastes similar to Double Single/Lost Blend/Hedonism. Aka- grainy, waxy and fruity. The nose is kind of bland: candied corn, light orchard fruits, melted candle wax with a very weak oak profile. I didn’t detect any smoke, so I’d be surprised if this had any Islay or Island components in excess of 5-10%. If there’s any at all. I’d wager there’s lots of Clynelish and/or Dailuaine present. The palate is dominated by the wax notes that seem to power every CBW blend that’s not focused on smoke. The grainy notes aren’t front and center here, either and that’s a good thing IMO. It’s very smooth with some light sherry and apples and pears. It’s all too similar to a lot of the recent CBW malts I’ve had recently. The finish is medium to long. It’s starts out oily but turns to dry oak and sawdust with what could be perceived as smoke, but I think it’s just a hint of perhaps a heavily charred, ex-bourbon cask. It’s definitely not meaty, more like a whiff of a campfire that was tamped out hours earlier. As it is, it’s a solid CBW. Bounty Hunter is overcharging by a significant margin, though. This is an $80 bottle at best and I’d argue you can get 1/2 of the way there with the Glasgow blend and the other half with Lost Blend or Phenomenology. 3.75 stars, but I gotta dock it for the price. 3 total stars. If you’re collecting bottles, maybe buy it- but if your looking for a great CBW bottle I’d definitely save your money and look elsewhere. Cheers.

It’s time for a non-USA, travel retail exclusive whisky from Laphroaig: QA Cask. “QA” is Latin for “quereus alba” and it means white oak. This offering is double matured- the first, typical aging in ex-bourbon cask and the second is fresh, American white oak cask. I find it funny that this is an offering made entirely of American wood, yet isn’t readily available here in the states. What the? It’s pale gold in color and has tons of skinny legs when you spin it up- due to the fact it’s watered down to the bare minimum of 40% ABV. It still retains that oily appearance found in most Laphroaigs, however. The nose is fresh cut oak, vanilla and youthful spirit. The smoke is very subdued and diluted and that makes it seem weaker on the nose than it actually drinks. On the tongue, more similarities: vanilla and oak barrel with a restrained smokiness. Sadly, none of these things seem to mingle together. It’s like you taste the oak and vanilla first, then some smoke and an uncanny dryness. The finish is medium length, with no barrel notes here. Sweet vanilla and the same dry feeling on the tongue. The oily appearance doesn’t transfer over into the actual mouthfeel a bit. It’s odd. Overall, I’m guessing they didn’t offer it over here because other than the faint smoke notes, there’s nothing much different than a weak, American bourbon. Maybe that’s what Europeans are looking for as a change of pace to typical, Islay smoked Laphroaig? The price point (minus international shipping) is very good: $59 for a liter. Lack of complexity and lack of any punch wouldn’t inspire me to purchase this again, but I’m glad I got a bottle to try. It’s purely middle of the road stuff, though. 2.5 stars. Cheers.

So, my work has been killing me for the better part of 3 weeks now- I’ve been averaging 64 hours a week spent slaving behind a PC monitor or tromping through the insane amount of rain we’ve been receiving here in the mid-Atlantic region of the US. I’ve only had a dram or two in the last 2 weeks and I haven’t really felt like reviewing anything either. I did finish off the last of this bottle of “intensely peated” BenRiach, titled Birnie Moss. It’s a non-USA release, NAS that’s bottled at 48%. It’s light gold in color, very oily and makes tons of skinny legs in the taster. The nose is salty shoreline, harsh oak barrels and oddly enough, butter. There’s a decent smoke level, especially for a BenRiach. The palate follows suit: heavy salt, Lagavulin-ish BBQ’d meats and smoke. The overall mouthfeel is weak, especially for a 48%er. There’s a lack of depth as well. I don’t get any sweetness or barrel character on the tongue- that’s a significant indication of the youthful juice in play here, I think. The finish is medium length, with those same BBQ’d meats hanging around alongside a warming, light smoke. There’s not much character here, but then again I guess that’s what they are showcasing. This is the malt that gets thrown in various wine casks for long aging and turned into something glorious. This is a taste of what BenRiach considers an “intensely peated” malt, so I guess this is more of a tease than a quality offering. Overall, the lack of depth and youthful spirit really don’t warrant a separate, special bottling. This juice just needs to go into a finishing cask of some sort and turned into something greater. As it is, it’s 2.5 stars at best. I believe I paid less than $50 for this bottle, which is a good deal, but I don’t see the need to replace it, either. Cheers.