Glen Keith 9, 2013-2022, PX Sherry Hogsheads, 47.5% – Càrn Mòr

Posted on 14 November 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Day five of the blind tasting competition. We’ve not met any other survivors so far. Things are looking bleak.

Image from Whiskybase

But no, they don’t. Because we get to try different and fairly random whiskies. And whisky is like sex, and pizza. If it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. Generally. Another zero pointer, because I was away for the weekend, and even though I did try the whiskies ahead of time. There is the thing about actually filling in your guess too…

Sniff:
Initially there’s a lot of green malt and light spirit, but then there’s a bit more cask. Sherry starts coming through, but it stays light.

Sip:
Slightly dry, slightly ‘hot’. As in, it brings some heat but doesn’t really bite. A bit of dry sherry, but also some dry, green malty notes. Either a Lowlands or light Speyside, I’d assume.

Swallow:
The finish is very similar to the palate, but the balance is slightly shifted to the sherry instead of the mosses and barley.

Strangely green and sherried, which is a bit of a weird combination. My thoughts, because of the green-ness went to Glen Elgin, and I guess it to be 10 years old and bottled at 46%. This would have gotten me 45 points, if I’m not wrong. Not insignificant in a competition like this. But as I have stated time and again, I am a bit of an idiot…

84/100

Available at Best of Wines for € 66.55

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Hazelburn 12, 2010-2022, Fresh Oloroso Sherry Cask, 49.9%

Posted on 13 November 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The fourth dram in the Blind Tasting Competition was another zero-pointer for me (you’ll quickly discover this to be a recurring theme…). While I guessed this to be a decent older Speyside whisky, it turned out to be Hazelburn, which I often find hardly distinguishable as a Campbeltown whisky.

So, let’s just dive in, because there’s not much more to say without really making a fool of myself…

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
A lighter sherry than the previous drams, but still sherry. Some dried peaches and apricots, also a slightly bitter note behind it. Almond flour, but after a minute or so it mellows a bit and becomes a rather gentle whisky.

Sip:
The palate is a lot more gentle than the first three drams (JPH and I tried these four in one sitting). There’s a little bit of alcohol heat, but just a nice tingle. A nice fruitiness, some oak and warm bread. There’s some barley, some slightly burnt pound cake. A hint of vanilla too.

Swallow:
The finish is soft, but not short at all. The almond flour bitterness lingers, with the crusty pound cake, although it doesn’t have that sweetness. Dried apricots and peaches, a hint of dried apple as well.

A nice dram with softer sherry notes, which made me veer towards Speyside. I guessed Glen Grant, quite randomly, because most of the other Speyside distilleries are slightly different in my opinion. Of course, ALL Speyside distilleries are different, since this one isn’t from there…

Anyway, at the moment of tasting this, it was still available at Best of Wines for € 150, but it’s sold out by now. Not entirely surprising.

87/100

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Ledaig 7, 2014-2022, 1st Fill Spinola PX Cask, 57.4% – Murray McDavid

Posted on 9 November 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Even though it says on the label that it’s a mystery malt, it also says it’s Mull’s Finest, and it’s a peated whisky. Ergo, Ledaig.

Image from Whiskybase

This time, I did know what the distillery was based on what it tasted like. Somehow, Ledaig is always quite recognizable to me. Which is not something I can often say.

Sniff:
Well, there’s quite some peaty, salty smoke in here. I immediately go west, much like the Pet Shop Boys. Initially I was thinking about Islay, Lagavulin or Ardbeg. But, after a couple more sniffs, I’m veering more towards Ledaig. That’s a risk, of course, because scoring points for the correct region becomes tricky. There’s a lot of ash, coastal salinity, tar, and some dark fruity sherry.

Sip:
The palate builds slowly, with black pepper and peat smoke leading the way. After that comes the salinity, funky sherry and more smoke. Too smoky for Talisker, but with that kind of pepperiness.

Swallow:
Still a lot of pepper, more so than on the palate. The sweetness from the dried fruit notes is gone instantly which makes the pepper bite a bit harder.

So yeah, this was Ledaig alright. I went for a 15 year old (randomly) and guessed 57% which also netted me some points. I really enjoy this kind of whisky. It’s not subtle or very layered, one could even call it a bit clunky. But, the barbecue flavors work really well with the coastal undertones and it’s something I enjoy. A recommended dram, picked by Whisky Mercenary / Jurgen Vromans in Belgium.

87/100

Still available at Best of Wines for € 76.23

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Inchgower 14, 2007-2022, First Fill Sherry Hogshead, 58.5% – Adelphi for WIN

Posted on 8 November 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Apparently, an Inchgower was bottled for Whisky Import Nederland last year. I might have seen it back then, but I don’t think I really picked up on it. I know for sure I didn’t pick up a bottle for sharing, because I think I would have remembered.

Anyway, it was the second sample in the Blind Tasting Competition, and one for which I didn’t score any points because I forgot to fill in my guess. I was only reminded about it the next day by my friend JPH, with whom I’m trying to taste the samples.

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Upon nosing this one, I immediately think of port or another heavy red wine. There’s an amazing amount of cask influence, which kind of obscures the distillery character. Hard as I try, I only get cask, and have no idea where to place this.

Sip:
A very gentle palate, and even though it’s not a dry whisky, it is a more dry than I expected. Still, it’s mostly amped up port, instead of whisky. Thick and syrupy, a bit of black pepper and wood.

Swallow:
The finish just does the same trick all over again. It’s quite a bit hotter than I expected, and has a bit of dryness again. But other than that, it’s port, maybe some stewed cherries.

So, I was wrong about a lot of things, mostly the cask that was used. Strangely, it’s a sherry cask which I really didn’t think was the case. I never even considered it. Since I thought it was a full on port cask, I went for Glenallachie as my guess for the day, since they tend to bottle things like this quite often.

The whisky then. I don’t really enjoy it. Even though, based on the description, I would not have minded to get myself a bottle. Inchgower, at a decent age, from a good bottler and an interesting cask. It all sounds right, but while this is no bad whisky by a long shot, it is also very far from what I enjoy most.

82/100

Available at Best of Wines for € 114.95

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Arran 13, 2022, Peated Pinot Noir, 56% – OB for The Netherlands

Posted on 7 November 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The first day of the annual Blind Tasting Competition by Best of Wines is almost a week ago, and so far I’m doing insanely bad.

In part because I’m really bad at blind tasting, and in part because I still have a cut-off point of 11 PM in my head, since that was the cut-off point during the Usquebaugh Society’s Blind Tasting Competition. Add to that the fact that I’m quite forgetful, and we’re getting somewhere.

So, 6 guesses in. 1 I forgot, 1 I missed the deadline for. Fuck-all in points (excuse my French).

The first dram of this year’s competition was the 13 year old peated Arran from a Pinot Noir cask that came out last year. It’s an exclusive bottling for The Netherlands which I reviewed before. Of course I didn’t recognize it, but that’s the drawback of the way I do whisky.

Image from Whiskybase

At some point, John Beach said something like, you have to get through half a bottle of something before you really get to know it. So, only trying a sample of everything only gives us a first impression, and not a lasting acquaintance with a dram. Hence me not recognizing it (or at least, that’s what I tell myself).

Sniff:
Leathery and old fashioned, a whiff of smoke in the background. A rather highland-like whisky, if I may say so. There’s quite a bit of alcohol to be found on a bigger sniff. Old apples,

Sip:
Dry on the palate, with some white pepper for heat, but a lower ABV than I expected on the nose. Dipping under the 50% now. Leather, old fashioned funkiness. Some leathery apples too, wood and a hint of dry sherry as well.

Swallow:
There’s a long finish that only slowly dissipates. The funkiness remains longest, as does the oak. Still quite dry, and with a whiff of smoke.

What could it be? Benromach? A slightly older one, but not the official 15 and 21. But Benromach is quite a heavy dram and this one isn’t. This makes me try to think of something else. Glen Garioch maybe? Because of its dryness and slight smokiness.

I went with Glen Garioch in the end, at 17 years old and 50% ABV. That was the first zero pointer for me. I never even considered Arran, mostly because I don’t associate peat with the distillery.

88/100, this time.

Still a recommended bottle available from Best of Wines for just shy of € 70. Well worth it!

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Benrinnes 15, 2006-2022, Refill Sherry Hogshead 17601802, 58.2% – Gordon & MacPhail

Posted on 6 November 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This Connoisseurs Choice bottling, done for Whisky Warehouse in Germany is a bottle I picked up in Luxemburg earlier this year, at Shopping Center Massen. If you’ve never been there and enjoy either good non-beer booze, or dry aged beef, you ought to.

For some reason they have a stellar wine selection, and all kinds of spirits are very over-represented for any supermarket, anywhere, but their beer selection is tragic. Of course you can find something enjoyable, but they have put in almost no effort, or so it seems. Anyway, whisky they do have. Thousands of bottles.

This one was discounted when I was there and of course I bottle-shared it. Over last weekend the last couple of drops were drawn from the bottle and that means it’s high time for a review!

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
It’s quite timid for such a quite dark sherried whisky. On the nose there are notes of dried fruit, yeast, hessian. Apricots and peaches, mostly. Some shoe polish, dried apples, Fanta (that’s a first!), garden wood mulch, some soil and walnuts too.

Sip:
The palate brings quite some heat. All kinds of pepper on top of sawdust. Soil, walnuts, some dried apples and apricots. Chili, black and white pepper. Brazil nuts for extra dryness too. A hint of cracked leather later on, and some hessian.

Swallow:
It’s a lot more gentle quickly, but the walnuts and Brazil nuts longer quite long. It’s dry, warming and very old fashioned. The nuttiness is typical but quite rare nowadays.

If you dislike nutty whiskies, this one isn’t for you. If, however, you do like those drams, this one is stellar. It’s very simply put, and epic dram of which I wish there were more of. The whisky has a lot of sherry influence, but it’s complex and layered. So not just sweetness and dried dates, but lots of other things instead. Glorious.

89/100

Currently available at Whisky Exclusive for € 150

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Caroni 31, 1991-2023, Cask 6, 54.1% – The Duchess ‘Nautilus’

Posted on 2 November 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The Duchess is at it again, and have bottled another cask of Caroni. And not one of those Caronis from the last years of the distillery, but one from 1991! A 31 year old rum is nothing to scoff at and since the release date is tomorrow, I’m a bit scared of the price…

But, with the quality being what it is, I think they should not have a problem selling this like hot cakes. Caroni is known for its awesomeness, and so far it really does seem to get better and better with more age.

Caroni Distillery went silent in 2002 after being sold off to Angostura in 2001. Before that it was largely in hands of the Trinidad government, and even though it was protested, it was privatized shortly before closing down.

Much like Brora and Port Ellen in the 1980s in Scotland, the reputation of the distillery only started to grow quite some years after being shut down. A shame, to be fair, but I don’t think anyone could have seen the booze-boom coming that is still happening now…

This one then! The label is done by Hans Dillesse, as Duchess is wont to do. I don’t believe there have been underwater creatures like this on Duchess labels before, with them generally going for birds, butterflies and some other woodland creatures.

Sniff:
This is a rich one! Right after pouring it my entire home office has a lovely woody scent permeating through it. Upon closer inspection there’s a gentle funkiness to it as well, with hints of overripe mango, rich mole and chocolate chip cookie dough. Contrary to what you might expect, it’s not overly sweet and goes more towards sugar cane than molasses or syrup.

Sip:
The palate arrives with not too much oomph, which I prefer to most of these 60+% ABV rums. It does have a bit of chili heat after a couple of seconds, and brings a bit more brown sugar sweetness than the nose did. There is a lot of oak, some sugar cane and dark chocolate. A bit of a raw dough funkiness too.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more dry than the palate was, and a bit more sugar-cane-green as well. Complex with oak, cane, green bananas, cactus, lime. A lot is happening here.

Holy crap this is awesome! It’s not overly fierce, even as a first dram, which makes it stand out even more. I think a lot of rum is being bottled at a too high ABV to be thoroughly enjoyable. This one does not have that problem in the slightest!

The great ABV also allows a lot of flavors to come forward and not be obscured by heat and a burning sensation. That makes for huge complexity and a lot of gorgeous flavors to come forward. The combination of a slight sweetness, with oak and spices just works awesomely, and the funkiness is definitely there, but not all-encompassing.

This will go on sale on Friday the 3rd of November, at noon at Best of Wines, and several other bottle shops.

92/100

Thanks to Best of Wines for the sample!

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Glen Scotia 17, 2002-2019, Refill Hogshead, 46% – Vintage Release No. 2, Crosshill Loch

Posted on 1 November 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another one of those whiskies that’s a mouth full to write down as a title. One that is nearing it’s end of life on my shelf, with only a couple more glasses to go.

Image from Whiskybase

This one is a bourbon cask matured one, bottled a couple of years ago under their ‘Vintage Release’ label. I don’t think there’s one after 2020, so they only did 3 of those. Raise your hand if you think distilleries/brands think of new series too often and should stick with what they have for longer!

Sniff:
This is quite different from what you expect Glen Scotia to be. It’s a rather clean, barley driven whisky with some coastal salinity and oak. Not a lot of the typical funkiness that makes people either love or hate the distillery. There’s straw and mineral-y slate as well.

Sip:
The palate has all the same flavors as before, but shuffles them around a little bit. Where the nose brought mostly clean barley, here it’s the minerals, slate and salinity that play first fiddle. Oak, straw and later on there’s some sweet apple and vanilla showing up.

Swallow:
The finish continues down the same lines. It’s holding the middle ground between the nose and palate, with an equal split between coastal notes and barley notes.

It’s rather tasty but rather nondescript. The worst thing this is doing is that it’s being a tad boring. It’s a pretty decent and enjoyable whisky, of course, but it is just not what you expect when buying a bottle of Glen Scotia. And that is a bit of a disappointment.

84/100

Still available in The Netherlands for € 90

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Seven Stars 30, 2023 release, 48.2% – Cadenhead’s

Posted on 30 October 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This blended whisky is a bit of a call back to brands that Cadenhead’s ran years ago. They used to have a 12 year old, back when proof was measured instead of ABV, and the contents were in ounces. And no, this isn’t an American release where they still go with these idiotic systems.

Anyway, a couple of months ago, this 30 year old blended whisky was released under the Seven Stars name. It’s an Oloroso cask finished whisky, so what casks were used before that is not given. Probably refill bourbon or anything that was available. Generally, for blended whiskies, the cask selection at the start isn’t something that’s given too much care.

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Gentle, rich and mature. Lots of woody notes. Tropical fruits, wood spices, oak. Complex, but still quite focused.

Sip:
The palate is extremely gentle, with a hint of black and white pepper. Lots of oak, lots of almonds and apricots, cherry stones. Very old casks of European oak.

Swallow:
Some surprisingly barbecue-y flavors, with sweet marinade, brown sugar, oak. Still those bitter fruity notes are there.

So, yes, this is a good one. Very enjoyable and very drinkable, which means that bottles of this will likely go down fast. I had a sample which I didn’t really save for a special occasion either. The thing is, that even though everything is right about the whisky, it’s not one that you’ll remember in a year or so. It’s pretty generic for an older blend, and even though these are getting quite rare, especially at this price point, it lacks a bit of uniqueness. Then again, you can’t really be mad about a 30 year old whisky of any kind that clocks in at about € 120…

Why still 88 points then? It being generic doesn’t mean it’s bad or anything. It’s still a really good dram, and very enjoyable, as said. Lots of lovely flavors. It’s just that if you have some experience with older blended whiskies, or you have a couple on your shelf already, this one isn’t going to add too much of a new experience.

But still, quite tasty!

88/100

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Glenlivet 34, 1981-2016, Hogshead 9454, 51.1% – Signatory Vintage

Posted on 27 October 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

So, when this was released in 2016 is accidentally was placed online at Master of Malt for just 100 quid. Of course, I instantly bought a bottle, and five minutes later it was taken offline, only to reappear at the correct price of 200 pounds.

I expected to be sent a cancellation notice with some apology and that would be that. However, to my surprise, they actually sent the bottle. So, a 34 year old Glenlivet, from my birth year, at just a hundred quid. At that point it doesn’t even have to be awesome, it just shouldn’t suck.

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Lots of wood with fruits galore. Apples, mango, pineapple, orange. Not overly crisp, but nicely sweet. There’s some pastry too, but it’s mostly just fruit and oak. A really old fashioned, old Speyside whisky. Very mature, with some guava and honey melon as well.

Sip:
The palate is quite feisty with some black pepper on top of the slightly sharper fruity notes. Pineapple, green apple, but also some brown sugar and cinnamon. So, some kind of pastry for sure. Lots of wood, some old barley. A bitter note as well, for added complexity. It’s apple seeds and almonds.

Swallow:
The finish still has some bite before settling down. It’s a long finish where the bitter notes linger longest. The fruity notes move a little bit more towards oranges and tangerines.

The fact that this is so awesomely fruity is what you would drink old Speyside whiskies for. This is the quintessential style. There’s a not of honey throughout that I didn’t mention earlier, but the combination of it all is what makes this whisky. Even at 200 pounds this would have been a great buy!

Unfortunately, yesterday I had the last two glasses and now it’s gone.

90/100

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