Brouwerij ‘t IJ – Ciel Blue Imperial Stout, 10.2%

Posted on 9 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

So, it’s been ages since I did a review of a single beer, and beer posts in general have become scarce on this malt focused blog. I decided at some point to shy away from craft/specialty beer for money reasons.

That resulted, admitted shamefully, only in less blog posts and not as much in less spending on beer. Although I don’t buy anything over 5 euros anymore, unless it’s a big bottle. At some point I was fully emerged in 10-15 euro American ales and that’s just ridiculous. Even more expensive than my whisky budget since I barely ever drink any whisky that expensive, in one go (a 300 euro bottle divided over 2cl tasting glasses is only some 8 or 9 euros, and I don’t buy whisky that expensive).

Anyway, this one is a beer that just came out this week. Untappd has, at the time of writing, only 11 check ins (mine being the 11th) to it. It’s a brew from Brouwerij ‘t IJ in Amsterdam, in collaboration with the folks from Two-Michelin-Star restaurant Ciel Bleu, also in Amsterdam.

I’ve never been, but it’s part of the Okura Hotel, which also houses Yamazato, which has one star and is a Japanese Kaiseki restaurant. We went there for our n-th anniversary and it was stunning.

Back to the beer though.

It’s an Imperial Stout made with cocoa nibs, hops, and galanga. Galanga is a ginger-like root, which I also had to look up.

Sniff:
Smooth ginger, roasted malt and a tiny hint of cocoa. A slight bitterness that is most likely from the hops but could also be the roasted malt. A thick sweetness of cocoa and big alcohol in a stout. The hops are very timid.

Sip:
Almost no carbonation, but the tiny layer of foam is sensible. The flavors are thick and big. The roasted malts and hops make themselves known a little more than they do on the nose. The cocoa nibs are a tad more timid, but the galanga is present throughout.

What’s so impressive about this beer is the balance. We’ve all had big Imperial Stouts, with chocolate, and hops, and some spices, herbs or roots. That’s nothing new.

However, when things are this well balanced, it’s quite remarkable. The galanga can easily overpower the beer, but it doesn’t. So can the cocoa nibs (Samuel Smith’s Chocolate Stout, anyone?), but they don’t. The hops are kept in check, contrary to a lot of popular beers.

It’s truly a thing of beauty. Luckily, it’s available right now and I might just get a couple more of this before they’re all gone.

A slight bit of warning: It’s clocking in at 10.2% abv. You don’t taste that alcohol. It does kick in, though.

Highly recommended, if you can get it…

(€ 2.90 in Krommenie)

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Wrapping up the Advent Calendar from Drinks by the Dram

Posted on 8 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

So, I stared well with that Advent Calendar blogging. Then the Blind Tasting Competition started and that took over. I tried blogging twice per day but that was just too time consuming. Catching up with a massive blog post and reviewing six at the time or so seemed smart, but I should have done that with this batch too.

But, January’s first week has come and gone. And I still haven’t caught up with the last five drams. I think I should spend some time doing that, right?

Below you’ll find reviews of, or links to reviews of Jura Elixir, Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold, Teeling Small Batch, Glenfiddich 18 and a rather spectacular 50 year old Invergordon.

Yes. Fifty. You read that right. Because, apparently, that how the guys in Tunbridge Wells roll.

Jura Elixir
I’ve had this in 2013, quite a while after it came out for some charity event, if I recall correctly. Anyway, it’s one of the nicer, affordable official Juras. That’s mostly because somehow, that distillery releases a lot of crap whisky. The good ones are stuff you have to look for, and that’s why they’re not on my radar a lot. Mostly because I don’t mind a gamble by purchasing a bottle every now and then, but with Jura the chances are slim…

The review is here.

Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold, 43%
One of those releases that I’m not really sure how to react to. I really like Dalwhinnie, but there are so few releases that I don’t pay much attention to them. As in, they have the 15 and the Distiller’s Edition. Every couple of years Diageo releases a limited edition in their autumn releases, but those are out of my league, especially without tasting them first.

Then this one came along. Only made with spirit distilled in winter. Interesting, but wouldn’t that mean the barley was harvested in summer? As in, I’d guess the time of harvesting the barley would make some difference, but the stills run on the same procedure all year round, right? Anyway, a nice concept whisky, quite in line with current ‘releasing guidelines’ for Scotch. Make up some story of arbitrary importance to the whisky, and sell it at an inflated price point. I guess we’re lucky this in ‘only’ 55 euros or so.

On the nose it’s young and grainy. But, there’s more wood influence than I expected. Crisp, but also slightly warming. I get the winter reference. Some charcoal too, but not much happening else. The palate is smooth with warm spices like bay leaf and salmiak. Wintery, indeed. Oak, almost like virgin oak, and barley. The finish is somewhat sharper than expected. Short with oak, some pepper and warm spices.

This whisky seems very ‘engineered’. As in, it was made entirely with a specific flavor profile, a concept if you will, in mind and the whiskies have been found to match that. Nothing wrong, but quite a different approach than that of a decade or two ago.

It sort of works out. As in, it matches the story and marketing concept, but apart from that it lacks some depth and ‘interestingness’.

Teeling Small Batch Whiskey, 46%
I’ve tried some Teeling whiskeys in the past. The 21 year old and their Single Malt whiskey. I loved the 21 year old, but found the Single Malt to be a bit too sweet and showing too much weird cask usage and blending.

This blended whiskey is without an age statement, but apparently with a high malt content. Since it’s Irish, that malt content can come from Bushmills or Cooley, and they don’t indicate that. Although, the links to Cooley are quite firm in the Teeling Whiskey Company.

On the nose it’s light and fruity with fennel and aniseed. Crisp and spirity, slightly sweet with brioche, pear and other sweet fruits. The palate is quite sharp (for 46%) and young. There’s grain and a light wood influence. Crisp pear again, and less sweet than expected. The finish brings back the sweetness from the nose. Lots of pear, barley, pear peels. Quite long.

The sweetness coming and going makes it slightly inconsistent, but apart from that it’s a surprisingly nice whiskey. I enjoy the youthfulness if done in this way and there are some really nice flavors.

Glenfiddich 18, 43%
Glenfiddich is a bit of a weird one in my book. Well, not in my book, but like this. When I started drinking whisky I thought quite a bit of myself because I bought a real single malt and spent 25 euros on a single bottle of booze. I went through quite a few bottles of Glenfiddich 12.

I ramped up quickly from there and went for Talisker and Caol Ila shortly after. That’s where things went wrong, and I kind swore off Glenfiddich for being not outspoken enough, too round, too middle of the road.

Recently, however (as in, the last five years), I’ve found that there’s quite a lot of beauty in their whiskies. I still don’t care much for the 12 year old, but the 15 (Solera and that 51% thingy) are really nice. So is the 18.

So, getting a sample of it was a nice trip down memory lane, of some sorts. I thought I had already reviewed it, but that seems to be a different version (the ancient reserve or something), but I didn’t write tasting notes.

I did really enjoy it, and while it’s not the most complex of whiskies, there is a certain level of decadence to Glenfiddich 18. A recommended dram, even though prices have increased quite a bit over the last couple of years.

Invergordon 50 years old, cask 2, Xtra Old Particular (Douglas Laing), 43%
I expected dram 24, the Christmas Eve dram, to be something extra special. I did not expect it to be extra Old Particular, though. A fifty year old grain whisky is a thing of luxury and opulence.

I know there are some great old grain whiskies out there, and for me personally, grain whisky needs a good bit of age to it before I start liking it. Although there are younger exceptions, generally, magic starts happening around the mid-thirties for this kind of spirit.

The Xtra Old Particular range is a Douglas Laing brand for their really luxurious whiskies. Generally, they come at a rather inflated price point so I’ve not spend much time with them, but I won’t shy away from trying it if it ‘falls in my lap’ like this.

On the nose there is a lot of things happening. Lots of oak and some grain and a scent reminiscent of Armagnac. Very rich and very complex, with white oak, a hint of iron (and therefore, apple), apple treacle, cinnamon and even a hint of salt. The palate is smoother and softer than expected. Lots of oak and that hint of Armagnac again. Sweet fruit and brittle caramel. Some leather and white chocolate mousse. The finish, once again, has that Armagnac note. Fruity, rich and long. White chocolate, brittle caramel, oak. Interestingly enough there still is that crisp grainy note.

(strong alcohol + a long time in active oak = Armagnac, in my book…)

This, dear buddies, is a thing of beauty. A well aged whisky at half a century old. If you think about that it’s quite ridiculous, but with whisky like that I’ll take the ridiculousness with it. It’s really, incredibly good. Highly recommended, even if you can just get a sample now.

That concludes the advent calendar reviews, finally. Thanks once again to Master of Malt and Drinks by the Dram. I owe you one! This was quite the Christmas gift…

Posted in - Blended Whisky, - Grain Whisky, - Irish Whiskey, Dalwhinnie, Glenfiddich, Invergordon, Jura, Teeling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The annual ‘Islay’ Tasting at De Whiskykoning – part 2

Posted on 7 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Yesterday I wrote about the first three drams we had at De Whiskykoning in November. Today I write about the rest of the evening.

I might have to admit that were a tad rowdy during the tasting and Rob, the host, barely got a word in sideways. While we’re all interested in whisky, there were just too many bad jokes to be told and some of us hadn’t seen each other in quite a while.

Then again, Rob knows who we are. He also knows we’ve all been to quite a few (of his) tastings by now, so not much introduction is needed, apart from a little lead up to the whisky itself.

Port Askaig 100 Proof, 57.1%
The new NAS version of the Port Askaig series. I had it before at Maltstock during Billy Abbott’s masterclass. Back then I quite liked it. It’s not spectacular, but it does everything you expect it to do.

On the nose it’s quite salty and fishy. Some ash and smoke. Quite peculiar in the combination of scents. The palate is ashy, very dry with quite a bit of oak, straw, salt and sand. The finish is big and long (like something else…), with warm smoke.

A nice enough dram, but in this kind of company it has a hard time showing what it can do.

Laphroaig 21, 48.4%
The 2015 release of the Laphroaig 21, released for their 200th anniversary. It’s a pretty expensive dram, clocking in at some € 140 for half a bottle. Hopes were high for this one, mostly based on the price. Also, I’ve had some 20-something year old Laphroaigs before, and they’re all awesome. Well, the ones I remember, that is.

The nose was heavy with leather and a light fruitiness. Dry lemon, light smoke. Slightly sweet like lemon curd. It gets more lemony after a while. The palate is slightly drying, but with great balance with the other flavors. Light smoke, citrus, smoke, leather and sand. The finish is rich and long with light smoke.

I love lemon. I love Laphroaig when it’s well aged like this. Even though it’s ridiculously expensive, now I read back my notes I want a bottle.

Octomore 07.1 Scottish Barley, 59.5%
I didn’t write real notes on this since this part of the tasting came hot on the heels of a bottle share with this one that I still needed to try. I planned to do that a while ago, but I never got around to it yet. If things go as planned, I’ll review it properly somewhere in January, but we’ll see.

The short notes are: Ash, vanilla, light, alcohol, smoke and oak.

The short review is: I was surprised by this one, in a good way. I like how ashy this is, and although there’s a lot of alcohol, there’s quite a bit of other flavors too.

That, officially, concluded the tasting but De Whiskykoning was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the shop and he wanted to pour a celebratory dram. He grabbed one of his old SMWS bottles off the shelf of distillery 43.

I didn’t know that number, but he told me it was an Islay bottling. I knew it’s not Laphroaig (29), Ardbeg (33), Caol Ila (53, if I’m correct). Bruichladdich is lower I think, Kilchoman is much higher. It could be Bunnahabhain or Lagavulin. At first I didn’t consider what it actually was.

I had to look it up, but it turned out to be…

Port Ellen 1977-1993, 16 years old, 61.4%, SMWS 
The nose betrayed a lot of alcohol but also lemon and chamois leather (this should have betrayed the origins of the whisky, I know). Heavy smoke, but not overpowering. Spot on. Lemon grass and something waxy. The palate is sharp, but light and still quite rich. Weird. Lemon, slightly bitter, leather, oak. Slightly fatty. The finish is long and rich with leather and smoke. Quite typical for the distillery and something herbal too.

If I had reviewed this last year, this would have made the top list for sure. It does everything you expect of a Port Ellen, and it does it f-ing well. It’s an absolute stunner and the entire group went rather quiet when we tried this. Considering the group, that’s nothing short of a miracle. An absolutely epic dram.

Then Rob added some pain to this. He told us he bought this about a year after it came out. For about 50 euros. I would not be surprised if he meant ‘guldens’. For such an epic dram to get it at a price that you now have to pay for a dram of it is quite shocking. It also tells us of the sick state of the whisky industry. Yes, stuff gets more expensive as the years go by, but not like this. Not in a sustainable way.

Thanks again, Rob. I’m looking forward to the tasting we’ve booked in April.

Posted in Bruichladdich, Laphroaig, Port Ellen, Undisclosed | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The annual ‘Islay’ tasting at De Whiskykoning

Posted on 6 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Every year for quite a while I’ve been going to De Whiskykoning‘s ‘winter tasting’, which consists of only peaty drams. Mostly, that boils down to six whiskies from Islay. Sometimes there’s another one in the tasting from Jura or another disitllery that also makes a heavily peated dram.

What makes the tasting even more awesome than it normally is, is that a buddy of Rob Stevens (the owner of the shop) goes to Islay every year to pick up festival bottlings. He uses these in tastings, at cost.

Since 2014, when we first booked the entire tasting for my friends and me he does an extra tasting so the Feis Ile bottlings are getting a bit stretched and not all six are from the festival. I’m fine with that since Rob generally puts up a damn awesome tasting.

Of course, the tasting was in November, but with all the things that have happened since (a trip to Scotland, an Advent Calendar, the Blind Tasting Competition, the holiday season and not in the least, the making of De Kiln), I’ve not gotten around to blogging about it yet.

This is the first of a two part tasting report in which I review the first three whiskies. The next part will be up tomorrow.

Ardbeg Perpetuum, 47.4%
While this isn’t many people’s favorite Ardbeg of the last couple of years, Rob (the Whiskykoning) really likes this. It’s far more gentle than anything that has come out of the distillery since they started production again (except from before their closure). Because of this gentleness it’s slightly more reminiscent of older Ardbeg expressions.

The nose is light and dry, salty and sweet. A light whiff of smoke with straw and apple. The palate is slightly more modern with a lighter sharpness and hints of straw. The finish is short and simple.

Bowmore Feis Ile 2015, Virgin Oak, 55.7%
A rather interesting Bowmore from Virgin Oak casks. This doesn’t happen too often but is all the rage at the moment. Most distilleries won’t miss this opportunity to try and make a quick buck of this. Obviously, this is not really the case with a Feis Ile bottling, since most money is made on the secondary market

The nose has loads of freshly cut oak and vanilla. The Bowmore hints of flowers and perfume are present too. Some resin, it gets more floral after a few minutes and there’s grass. The palate is sharp and dry with lots of oak and flowers. Quite light with fruit and straw. The finish is modern, slightly floral and perfumy. Quite long. From the get go there was a tiny hint of caramel that got stronger and stronger as we let it sit.

An interesting dram, and rather tasty. I doubt it’ll stay interesting for long, though.

Kilchoman Feis Ile 2015, 7 years old, 58.2%
A seven year old vatting of three bourbon casks from Kilchoman is an interesting one, normally. Apparently at the time of bottling this was the oldest Kilchoman bottled to date. Of course, now there is a 10 year old that was auctioned off for charity.

The nose has chemical hints with winegums and the grease on the inside of the plastic bag they come in. Peach and apricot, but also ether and pear drops. The palate is sharp and tingling, dry too. Candy, peaches and sharp. The finish is dry and sharp. Lots of alcohol with sweetness and chemical hints, with caramel.

This is a very weird dram, and if I recall correctly, the least favorite of the evening. There’s just too much chemical sweetness going on to be a really nice dram.

So far, so good. An Ardbeg that was nicer than I expected after the rather negative reviews around the interwebs. The Bowmore was nice, but not spectacular and the Kilchoman was a let down. Interesting, but a let down.

Tomorrow there’ll be three more reviews, and a bonus because of De Whiskykoning’s 50th anniversary.

Posted in Ardbeg, Bowmore, Kilchoman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Yamazaki Limited Edition 2014, 43%

Posted on 5 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A while ago I reviewed the 2015 edition of Yamazaki’s Limited Edition. As with anything related to Japanese whisky, it was a rather popular post in last year’s statistics.

I might even have had the first review of that online. I know I was quick, to say the least. Me being quick is something of a contradiction, but on some rare occasions I even surprise myself.

Anyway, a friend of mine suddenly had this sitting on his shelf after a mate of his went to Japan for business. I think he brought this back for some 40 euros or so. Quite a shocker if you realize this stuff costs a multitude of that by the time it gets to Europe. Even then it sells out almost instantly.

But, as it happens, I rather like Yamazaki, and am not too shabby to nick a sample to review.

Image from Whiskybase

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
On the nose it’s a tad feinty and heavy at first. Lots of wood influence with bourbon casks leading the way. Quite dry and spicy, beefy even. Maybe some mizunara casks involved too? The nose evolves to include plum wine and becomes very smooth. Very Yamazaki, so to say.

Sip:
The palate is fairly sharp, for a whisky at 43%. Not as rich as expected, but still has a lot of flavor. It builds slightly with more and more (very good) oak influence. Wine, stewed fruits with plums and olives. Strangely it reminds me of ‘chicken Marbella’.

Swallow:
The finish is quintessential Yamazaki. Dry, with lots of oak, a combination of bourbon and mizunara. A lot of finish on the finish.

This, dear friends, is an awesome whisky. Even though that friend of mine is not known for having whisky at ‘drinking strength’, this is one of the better ones in his collection, I’d say. There’s a lot of depth and a lot of things to be discovered.

I especially like the slight savory meatiness and flavor of olives and stewed plums. It’s a bit of a weird combination but it works very well in this case. Part of the good combination comes from the kinds of oak that were used, I think.

Incredible whisky, at an incredible ‘original’ price. Currently this is available in The Netherlands for almost 300 bucks, and in Hong Kong for 200 euros.

According to info on Whiskybase the cask composition of this is as follows:

  • 20-year-old Yamazaki whiskies aged in sherry casks
  • 20-year-old Yamazaki whiskies aged in ex-port casks
  • a younger Yamazaki malt matured in American oak casks

So, no Mizunara, and I didn’t pick up on the port casks, nor the sherry casks. A powerful spirit, this Yamazaki!

Yamazaki Limited Edition 2014, 43%. Check for prices here.

Posted in - Japanese Whisky, Yamazaki | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spey Chairman’s Choice, 40%

Posted on 4 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Those very tall Spey bottles have been eyeing me at the liquor shop for some months, but I never picked one of them up. While they look nice they don’t really fit my shelves, and Speyside distillery isn’t one that I blindly trust.

I was quite happy to get a sample of this a while ago when picking up some booze from a guy I met at Maltstock. Anyway, I don’t know the slightest bit of information about the whisky (it’s a NAS whisky, after all) or the distillery.

What I do figure out is that it’s quite unheard of for a brand to revamp their entire line and then stick to 40% instead of the more regular 43, or even better 46. They do provide some story about the Chairman of the distillery picking the best casks for a small batch release.

Sniff:
It’s very sweet and rather rich. A combination of older, smoother whisky and some sherry. There also is a younger, more spirity side to it. Sweetness from the alcohol too, with a light wood influence. Rather timid with sweet fruits, orange, pear and peach.

Sip:
The palate is smooth and has some bite to it. Wood and alcohol mostly. A light dusting of pepper and not as rich as the nose was. Sweet, soft fruits, peach, orange and mostly pear.

Swallow:
The finish focuses clearly on the younger whisky with the spirit shining through clearly. Some peach, rather long but a lot of pear again.

So, what to think of this one without dismissing it right away? The fruity flavors are nice, but not spectacular. The focus is heavily on the pear, with some more tropical stuff in there too. Apart from that, there’s not much going on.

In short, a boring whisky that is a blend of older and younger. I guess the younger whisky is very young indeed and it’s quite clear that there’s a lot of it in there. Also, in marketing speak ‘older whisky’ can be 10 years old, or 30 years old. I have no clue what’s in there, but I doubt there’s a lot of ‘really’ old whisky used.

I wouldn’t buy this. Not at the current price of some € 85 (it’s cheaper in Germany). But, after all is said and done, it’s still a top shelf whisky. Mostly because of the size of the bottle not fitting anywhere between shelves.

Spey Chairman’s Choice, 40%, available from Master of Malt

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Armagnac bottle share: Saint Christeau from Distillerie Gilbert Miclo

Posted on 3 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

So, while we’re at it, I was talking about getting interested in other boozes, like Armagnac and Sake. I have yet to get into the Sake shtick, but I am following through with that Armagnac bottle share.

I know of a shop in Amsterdam that sells loads of Armagnac, and while I don’t know much about it, I want to dig in and get some knowledge about it. Armagnac is a lot less marketed than whisky, and that is also slightly visible on the bottles. As in, there’s the mandatory ABV, and most times there’s a vintage. What they often don’t show is when the booze was bottled, or any other information.

So, does age matter as much with Armagnac? Let’s find out by doing a vertical of one distillery. That means we’re doing a load of vintages from a single producer, namely the Distillerie Gilbert Miclo, and their Saint Christeau Armagnac.

The vintages I’m planning on doing for this bottle share are 1934 (!), 1940, 1950, 1968, 1987, 1990, 1995 and a NAS one called Selection.

It’s a bit of a bummer they don’t have anything from the seventies, which would have meant doing one from each decade for the 80 years.

I’ve already polled some people on Facebook and it seems we’ve already gone through 40cl of this, so there’s only 30cl available, which boils down to another six sets.

If you want a set, which is 5cl of each of these Armagnacs, it’ll cost you € 82. That is including glass bottles and labelling, excluding shipping costs to where ever you are.

Let me know if you’re interested, I hope to get things rolling by the end of the week.

Posted in - Other Spirits | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Kavalan 8yo, 2006-2015, Peaty Cask, 53.2% – OB for WhiskyNerds

Posted on 2 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A little while ago, I guess just in early December, Bram and Floris (the WhiskyNerds) announced their second cask. They did a GlenDronach earlier in the year which I (shamefully) have not reviewed yet. I have been enjoying it since I bought my bottle straight away.

I know Bram and Floris, and I know the whiskies they like. Not many people dislike that kind of whisky, but these guys are spoiled so it’s bound to be good. Then it turned out to be a Kavalan. While the entire planet seems to be smitten with love of this Taiwanese whisky, I’m not entirely convinced.

I do like their drams, quite a lot actually. But always in a way that I don’t want the entire bottle since, while they are damn tasty, they don’t offer much depth and I miss the lasting appeal that’ll get me through 70cl of high strength alcohol.

After finding out that this was not to be a sherry cask I was quite happy, since my favorite Kavalan is a bourbon cask from a couple of years ago which I tried at the WhiskyFair in Limburg an der Lahn.

Luckily, since I know these guys, they also know me (duh) and have sent me a sample. It seemed a nice way to kick off 2016. All in the theme of drinking less but better.

Image from Whiskybase

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Rich and sharp at first, quite sweet and intense too. Lots of yellow fruits, like apple and melon. Straw, some light vanilla and a teeny tiny amount of smoke in the background. Quite a lot of oak though.

Sip:
The palate is sharp, and slightly lighter than I expected. Lots of fruit again. Apple, pear, melon too. Cantaloupe and galia. The smoke is present but very, very light. Quite a lot of oak again.

Swallow:
The finish is surprisingly smoky, after the nose and palate. Dry oak an sharp. Also a bit of greenness. Tree bark like. Straw and hay with some vanilla. Quite rich.

Now this is an interesting dram. It tastes, as with many Kavalans, much beyond it’s age, even though it’s quite sharp on the nose and the palate. The fruity flavors are really nice and not surprising, knowing these guys’ preferences. I like that they didn’t go for the far more predictable sherry casks that seem to win every award available.

Having said that, I do think this whisky falls in the category I usually find Kavalan in. It’s good, really good, but I don’t see myself drinking this on a regular basis. Add to that, that this whisky comes with a € 185 price tag, I’m not getting myself a bottle.

So, if you like Kavalan, get this one, pronto. If you’re really into that brand, you might want to know that this one is very much in line with the distillery’s products.

Another good pick by Bram and Floris of WhiskyNerds, just not entirely my cup of tea. You know, the same way I know Pink Floyd makes great music, but it’s just not the thing you enjoy listening to.

Kavalan 8yo, 2006-2015, Peaty Cask R061106107, 53.2%, OB for WhiskyNerds. Available at some shops in The Netherlands (here and here)

Posted in - World Whisky, Kavalan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Too many open bottles, part 2

Posted on 31 December 2015 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Exactly one year after last year’s post on having too many open bottles, I am planning to do exactly that once more. I still have too many open bottles.

Last year at December 30th I set myself a target to finish enough bottles to get to a grand total of 40 open bottles of whisky. Unfortunately, during the last half of the year, and especially after selling my bottle of Hanyu for a decent amount of money, the bottle shares grew rampant. Also, in some cases I kind of lost sight of the purpose of the bottle shares.

I do these because that’s a good way of being able to taste and assess a lot of different whiskies (or other booze) in an affordable manner with a couple of friends joining in. However, over the last couple of months I have also ordered the bottles for the share even if they didn’t fill up which ended up sitting on the shelves for months now. For example, the five bottles of Willett are over half full but opened and waiting to be reviewed. So is Highland Park’s Sigurd, Octomore 07.1, both BenRiach 25s and probably a few others that I can’t remember at this time.

With that in mind, and the vast amount of samples I’ve been going through over the last couple of months, I didn’t get my collection of open bottles down to 40. I knew I was setting a challenge since there weren’t many near-kills at the beginning of last year and I didn’t get around to doing many tastings at home at all. Add to that all the bottles that I opened over the last 12 months, which probably is about 20 to 25 or so, it just didn’t happen.

My wife is also getting rather fed up with the amount of shelves my booze is taking up and she’d love me to downsize a bit. I am trying to buy less and finish more, but it’s not always going according to plan. Sometimes you just get swept up in the moment and buy a few samples of some awesome SMWS bottles (right, Ben?)…

The crossed out sections need to go.

The crossed out sections need to go.

So, another target for 2016: Get the amount of open bottles down to 35. Currently I’m exactly at 54 open bottles (just counted them) so that means I have to finish at least 19 bottles, if I don’t open anything. I think it would be smart to finish a lot early on in the year and then decide whether or not I’m doing any new bottle shares, but we’ll see how that goes.

Regarding other booze. I did end up drinking a lot of beer too. Especially since our trip to England I got swept up in that for a while too. I’m nearing the end of the stash I amassed in the last months and I’m not planning on buying a lot more so that should be downsized a bit too.

Ready for the kill shelf?

Ready for the kill shelf?

I do however, still love to get to know a lot of other distillates and drinks. I think I’ve gotten some understanding of Mezcal over the last year. I still want to get to know a bit more about Absinthe, but that list has been expanded with Armagnac and Sake, for some reason. I’m not planning on buying a lot anytime soon, but I can imagine doing a sake tasting with a couple of friends, or doing an Armagnac bottle share or so.

Aaanyway, these things are going to happen over the next couple of months:

  • I’m making a kill shelf. Set aside some bottles that have to be emptied soon. For multiple reasons.
  • I’m giving back some shelf space to my wife (hoping she doesn’t fill it with ‘decorative’ crap).
  • Finish some tails of non-whisky booze that have been sitting around for too long (Jenever, Mezcal, Port, and random other things)
  • Do some bottle shares from my open bottles.
  • Buy less samples.
  • Finish more samples.

If I remember I might just post an update sooner than 366 days from now!

Posted in - News and Announcements | Tagged | 5 Comments

The Best Whiskies of 2015

Posted on 30 December 2015 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

So, I had written a lengthy post about selecting the best whiskies of 2015, and how that process works for me. There was a table with my favorite two whiskies per month, and how I narrowed that list down to something completely different containing one recent and affordable bottle, one recent and ridiculously expensive bottle and one older bottle that could contain anything bottled some years ago (up to four decades ago, in this case).

Anyway, it didn’t feel right. I didn’t like it.

So, I decided to do things differently. I’m just going to narrow that previous list down a lot, until I have a handful of bottles that I liked most during the year. Whatever the category. And of course, something being available helps, since that is also part of my memory of the whisky. Buying it, deciding not to and regretting it, just missing out, that kind of stuff.

I did limit my list to things that have actually been reviewed over the past year. Whiskies that have been queued up at home, or reviews that have not bee published yet are not here.

Benromach 10, 100 Proof, 57%
Bowmore ‘The Rock Pool’, 1995, 19yo, Wemyss Malts, 57.2%
Glenlochy 1980-2007, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld, 54.8%
Ledaig Dusgadh, 1972, 42yo, 46.7%
Ordha, 21yo, William Grant & Sons Rare Cask Reserves for NL, 47.4%
Glen Grant 1950-2015, 65yo, Gordon & MacPhail for Wealth Solutions, 59.3%

 

So we got stuff in each category here. All bottles except for the Glenlochy are recent and have been released this year. The price per bottle varies from some € 60 for the Benromach, to (an estimtated) € 10,000 for the Glen Grant.

I loved the Benromach for how bold, old fashioned and completely unlike any other current whisky it is. Also, they kept things affordable and I love G&M for it.

The Bowmore was a lot more expensive (at some € 150 at the time of release) and it sold out immediately. I should have bought that one and still regret not doing that.

The Glenlochy was a sample I got from MZ and it made clear how things have changed over the last couple of decades. It’s made in a style that is nowhere to be found nowadays, except in these old bottlings. I want to get my hands on some for the coming year before they’re all gone (‘some’ meaning Glenlochy, Convalmore, Coleburn, stuff like that).

Then there’s the weirdly expensive Ledaig. Unlike any other Ledaig I’ve had over the last decade or so, this one is much bolder and integrates the sometimes funky smoky whisky of the Mull based distillery wonderfully with bold oak notes. I did only have a small sample but I made every drop of it count. Once again, thanks to Ronald Zwartepoorte for sharing!

Ordha was released in December for the Dutch market. The premier of the whisky was at Maltstock on different occassions (once in a general William Grant & Sons masterclass, and once in a dedicated pajama party so people could focus on this blended whisky. It’s really, really good and another one I got a bottle of right away.

Then the Glen Grant. A sixty five year old whisky at almost 60% ABV. Ridiculous, but also ridiculously good. There is so much to discover there and I think I’ve barely scratched the surface when reviewing it. I got a sample from Wealth Solutions and since there’s no bottles on the open market, the price is not disclosed. But, if previous releases are anything to go buy, ten grand seems a fair guess. So, so good…

If I had to pick one favorite whisky of the year, I think it should be one that has been released this year. If going for those restrictions, I would have to go for the Bowmore from Wemyss Malts, called ‘The Rock Pool’.

That whisky does everything you want a Bowmore to do. It’s light, but there’s a lot of maritime flavors going on. It’s kind of dirty like old Bowmore from yonder year, while being modern and well made too. Again, I should have bought a bottle or two.

So, my whisky of the year:

Posted in - Blended Whisky, Benromach, Bowmore, Glen Grant, Glenlochy, Ledaig | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments