Birthday Booze

Posted on 16 November 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

33. A number that is not unimportant to the freemasons and Illuminati. Now, before you get visions of all kinds of DaVinci Code crap, I don’t really know anything about that.

Today, I thought I would find time to be all sophisticated and try some nice samples of obscure drams or things that meant something to me. Of course, life/faith/insert-random-deity had different things in store for me and I ended up inviting my entire family-in-law. They’re close and they share my love of booze.

This is what we had:








Nothing too crazy. At to that we went to Wullie’s Hielander yesterday for a bazillion calorie dinner which still has me recovering… I had some terrific whiskies there too, and a couple of beers.

My wife got me a new bag for carrying my stuff to and from work, which is great since the old one had me look like a bum, and she and Ot decorated a nice ‘crown’ to wear for bits of today. All in all it was a great day, albeit somewhat different from what I had imagined beforehand.

So, Highland Park’s Sigurd will have to wait till tomorrow.

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Clynelish 18yo, 50.6% – The Whisky Exchange Retro Series

Posted on 14 November 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

No, don’t go rushing to The Whisky Exchange’s site. It’s long gone. An affordable Clynelish that is well aged and matured in a good sherry cask is going to be popular. If, on top of that, Serge Valentin of Whiskyfun.com rates it at 91 points, it won’t last another day. Luckily, I had just ordered one.

Let’s be honest about something first. I love Clynelish, but I haven’t had many great ones from a sherry butt. There have been some but in some cases sherry and Clynelish don’t mix. The result can sometimes taste too much like glue.

Also, my love for Clynelish works both ways of the equation. I tend to get biased when I like a distillery. If a dram lives up to my expectations of it, I tend to like it more than is justified. If it doesn’t I probably won’t stop complaining. This does NOT mean that when I really, really like a Clynelish, it’s only living up to expectations. There is some epic booze coming from that distillery. Unfortunately, Diageo have also hooked on to that idea… Thijs Klaverstijn wrote something about that which is rather good.

Sniff:
The sherry is quite noticeable but not overly big. What I find surprising is that Clynelish’s trademark waxy notes come off so strongly. I already love this. There’s quite some wood and pine resin too. After that I get blackberries and blueberries and cherries. Also, the flavor of sherry (apart from the fruitiness) is there.

Sip:
The palate is gentle, which isn’t too surprising at a relatively mild 50.6% abv. A touch of pepper is here which I didn’t find on the nose. The oak and resin are back with more focus on the resin. I get the slightest bit of sulfur, in a matchbox kind of way. The black fruits again, luckily. Blackberries and dark ripe cherries. Surprisingly, it has a creamy undertone that I generally link to American oak (which this might very well be from).

Swallow:
The finish continues down the same path with more focus on the oak and resin, and the matches are here too. The fruitiness is still lovely but toned down a little bit.

My opinion of this week’s Caol Ila Masterpiece can be reiterated here. I want more of this. Half a bottle isn’t enough. The combination of good oak, resin and wax with those fruity notes is just gorgeous.

I bet there is a lot more to be gotten from this dram than I already have, but if these flavors were all I got, I’d still want more than one bottle, just to drink it. Now I have about half a bottle left with some enjoyment AND exploration to be done. I bet this is going to go fast.

What’s more surprising and many kudos to The Whisky Exchange and Speciality Drinks Ltd. for it, is that they sold this stuff at and affordable £ 75. With the current price ridiculousness I bet they could have charged more and gotten away with it. Thank God they didn’t.

Clynelish 18yo, 50.6% – The Whisky Exchange Retro Series. Sold out.

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Chasing the White Dog – Max Watman

Posted on 13 November 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another book in the currently popular slew of writings on moonshining. This one is subtitled as ‘An Amateur Outlaw’s Adventures in Moonshine’. That peaked my interest. I want to know about moonshining since I’d love to do it myself. Of course I’m too chickenshit to do it. Ooh methanol. Ooh explosions. Ooh a million other things, let alone the cost of getting stuff up and running.

Anyway, I still like to read about it, and this one seemed to fit nicely in the ‘stories’ about booze books that I’ve been devouring over the last couple of months. And in this case the stories were personal, and about doing something illegal, and about something I’m interested in. Check, check, check. All good, right?

Chasing the White Dog

Chasing the White Dog

It turns out the books is also a short history on moonshining and the way it’s been looked upon by the communities where it happens a lot. A bit like ‘The Kings County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining‘. Luckily, every time I was thinking ‘this book should get back to current times and Watman’s own experiences’, it did. Well timed chapters, that is!

I don’t think I’ve remembered much about the history chapters. Mostly because it all kind of blends in with general American history on whisky (The Whisky Rebellion and such) and I really suck at remembering names.

Proof in point: contrary to many many fellow Usquebaugh Society members who vividly remember all the distillery managers and workers they’ve spoken to, I don’t. Not one of them. I remember Jim McEwan, and Iain Macallister, but that’s about it. Oh, and Ronnie Routledge and I had to look up the name.

The personal chapters in which Watman elaborates his story of building his still, getting supplies and trying some moonshine from a nipjoint somewhere in the Virginian backlands are cool. It is almost inspiring, especially since it turns out you don’t need to spend thousands of bucks on equipment to get a basic setup running. His mistakes, and corrections of those are nice to read. I recognize the way he sometimes misses the obvious things and makes it too complicated. Again, well written.

Then there’s the end of the book. The last couple of chapters are about a moonshining trial he witnessed over a couple of days in which a case was tried with only circumstantial evidence and this was surprisingly interesting. At first I was a bit apprehensive about this bit since I don’t care much for courtroom reports, but this one was fun to read. It was also personal and not just about cases being made, but about people on the stand, and their reactions to what was happening.

Max Watman

Max Watman

Whether or not this case is being made bigger than it actually is by writing so much about it remains to be discussed, since the sentences were rather whimsical (a couple of years of penance for thousands and thousands of gallons of rotgut…).

I think the common thread of the book is that in the regions where moonshining happens a lot, it’s more or less regarded as a victimless crime, or the only victim is the United States government. The struggle Watman has with this himself is interesting, and not as straightforward as you might expect.

The strength of this book lies in the fact that it combines all these aspects of the illegal whiskey trade and puts them together in one book. There’s the personal bits of the writer, the history and the current affairs happening in the world of Appalachian hooch.

I also think therein lies a minor weakness since it might not be all that you expect it to be.

But, in short, I enjoyed the book. It’s well written, and well ‘timed’. I’m still not going to be a moonshiner.

You can get it from Amazon for $12.50

Max Watman
Chasing the White Dog
ISBN: 978-1-4165-7179-7

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Caol Ila 1996, 18yo, 62.2% – Masterpieces by Speciality Drinks Ltd.

Posted on 12 November 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

While I don’t mind people taking credit for what they’ve done, or in this case picked from the available options, however, calling something you did yourself is kind of presumptuous. However, I should have bought last year’s Clynelish since it’s supposed to be awesome. Also, even it’s it only ‘really good’ an 18 year old Clynelish is nothing to scoff at.

This bottle was released at this year’s Whisky Show in early October, and has since sold out. I was opting to buy a retro label Caol Ila, but when I spotted this one still being available two weeks ago, I picked this one instead.

It comes in a slightly clunky bottle but the wax seal and the label look rather nice. Of course, what counts is on the other side of the glass. But beauty is supposedly in the eye of the beholder, and even though I don’t have a clue what one of those Dungeons and Dragons monsters has to do with it, the saying talks about the eye and not the palate. I guess it also (apart from the official meaning) means that that’s the first sense that has to be pleased.

Caol Ila Masterpiece

Caol Ila Masterpiece

Sniff:
The smoke is huge at the first sniff, but also strangely ‘fresh’. There’s a hint of vanilla behind the smoke and the oak, and also shows hints of green herbs like parsley, chive, rosemary and I think I even get a hint of basil. The more conformist flavors of Caol Ila like salt, sand and basalt are here too.

Sip:
The palate is sharp and not too intense at first. Syrupy with vanilla but not sugary. The alcohol is noticeable and brings some heat. There’s oak and it becomes quite dry after the syrup and vanilla. It’s also rather peppery. I think I should have said creamy instead of syrupy, which would fit Caol Ila.

Swallow:
The finish is warming with a light vanilla and the classical Caol Ila flavors of salt and smoke, with oak, cream. The herbs from the nose become more spicy, and the finish is rather long.

If you like Caol Ila, and you got one of those bottles, you’re in for a treat. It’s an absolutely gorgeous example of the Islay distillery. It’s big on the smoke but the cream and herbs are rather quintessential, and balanced very well.

It boils down to this being a very, very good whisky and it ranks very highly in my favorites of the year, along a couple others of course. I have a hard time expressing how much I like this whisky. Unfortunately, I got only half a bottle, I should have gotten two, just for me. Or three.

The name Masterpiece is well earned.

Caol Ila 1996, 18yo, 62.2%, matured in a hogshead, 299 bottles, Masterpieces by Speciality Drinks Ltd. It used to cost £ 95 at The Whisky Exchange.

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The annual Islay tasting at De Whiskykoning

Posted on 8 November 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The Islay tasting is one of the four seasonal tastings at De Whiskykoning. Officially it’s called the Winter Tasting. The other three are obviously Spring, Summer and Autumn. In that order the themes are Lowlands, Speyside and finally Highlands (and Campbeltown).

In 2014 the Lowlands tasting was probably held for the last time since there is so little interesting whisky coming from that region that it became increasingly hard to find six different whiskies to fill an evening with. Last year, as a fail safe, a couple of stunning Rosebanks were brought down from ‘The Whisky King’s’ own collection.

Anyway, what was different to all previous Islay tastings was that I fully booked it instead of there being random strangers too. A couple colleagues, some long time friends and some in-laws quickly filled up the limited amount of seats. Apparently it was a success since everybody asked me to make it an annually returning event, which I already did of course.

The line-up was epic as always, with a thorough focus on 2014’s Feis Ile.

We tasted from right to left.

We tasted from right to left.

The idea of putting the Lagavulin after the Octomore was to thoroughly rinse our mouths, have half an hour to get the flavors out and then try the Lagavulin. Just because it’s epic. It worked. The room went quiet.

The Bunnhabhain from Marsala casks was a sweet start to the evening. This Feis Ile bottling was gentle, with a sweet, fruity and ashy undertone on the nose. The palate was slightly more salty and sharp. It also had the typical nuttiness from Bunnahabhain, which was only amplified by the Marsala wine. The finish was long, sweet and fruity. The nuts and ash were here too.

It developed nicely in the glass, but as with such casks (Marsala that is) I am always a bit scared that I will lose interest quickly. Good stuff, though.

 

The Kilchoman might have been put too early in the line-up. It was an interesting dram though. It needed some air since at first it smelled kind of bad, with lots of vegetables and porridge. It got better after a couple of minutes with grass and heather, sea weed, tobacco and a light smokiness. The palate was crisp, smoky and sweet in a sugary way. It was also salty and slight bitter. The finish went in a licorice root direction with a chalky note.

Again, good stuff, but as with many (all?) Kilchomans, I just can’t bring myself to spend 90 bucks on a 4 or 5 year old whisky.
This one I was a bit scared of. Laphroaig wasn’t received all those well round Feis Ile with a slew of bottlings that I couldn’t tell apart (read: I just didn’t remember). This one is typical Laphroaig goodness though. Crisp and smoky with lots of lemon, curd and lemongrass. Some oak too, and on the palate it’s smooth at first but builds quickly. Light smoke and oak. The finish is dry and sharp with oak. Not too long though.

A fairly simple and straight forward dram, but one I absolutely loved. For me Laphroaig is smoke and lemon. I love that combination.

 

This one I tried to buy last summer, but my finances were a bit of a shambles, so I didn’t. I thought I was okay with that since a lot of the Ardbeg Day bottlings I wasn’t too fond of. Now I know different.

This one was different to all of the above. More smoky and heady, warming and far more wintry. Heather, grass, chalk and oak. With lots of soft oaky notes. The palate was licorice and vanilla, espresso, straw and heather. The finish quite similar.

Even though I generally proclaim I’m not that big of an Ardbeg fan, this one is awesome. I should keep that in mind next spring.

The Octomore then. Another unpredictable whisky in combination with my palate. I tried great ones, I tried totally uninteresting ones. This one holds the middle ground.

The nose had hobby glue and vanilla, but also rubber bands and a slight (!) smokiness. Not too heavy. The palate was sharp and dry with vanilla and actual flavor. This doesn’t always happen with these levels of peat. The sweetness of the alcohol shone through, but not in a bad way. The finish still didn’t have much smokiness, but there is a mountain of earthy peat in it.

I liked this one on a superficial level. I don’t I’d go through a bottle of this quickly.

Then this. The Lagavulin for Feis Ile 2014. I didn’t even take notes on this one. It’s beyond great. It’s really an epic whisky and flavorwise it goes in the direction of the old Lagavulin 21, albeit a bit more gentle.

I put this in my notebook:

What I remember it is being sweet and lightly salty, with a sherry quality that I would describe as Manzanilla before I’d go to PX or Oloroso. The gentle, it shows lots of depth. There’s oak, tea, sea weed, thick smoke and quite some sherry. It’s awesome.

After the tasting the guys went on a spending spree and I saw most of us leaving with a bad of bottles. I picked up some things that were on my wish list for a while, and I got my slightly early birthday gifts from the in-laws in the form of a Bruichladdich 19yo, from 1986 and bottled by Blackadder. I had some drams of that before, some years ago, and I remember it being kick-ass.

I’m already looking forward to next year!

Posted in Ardbeg, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Kilchoman, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Octomore | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Linkwood 16yo, 48% – The Whisky Exchange Retro Series

Posted on 6 November 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Every year around the Whisky Exchange’s The Whisky Show event in London, they release a slew of special bottlings. Mostly these consist of their Retro labels, in which they have an artist draw up some old fashioned style labels for some of their bottlings.

There usually also is a single bottling they call a Masterpiece. This year that was an incredibly strong Caol Ila that will be reviewed soon. There’s also some ordered bottlings from Signatory and Gordon & MacPhail. And of course, last but not least, they smartly time a few of their Single Malts of Scotland and Elements of Islay bottlings to happen right before the show too.

Anyway, together with my mate TT, I bought four of their bottlings. I initially planned on four Retro labels, but while there was an appetizing Caol Ila in that line up, I could upgrade it to the Masterpiece for a couple of quid. It sounded smart at the time. We’ll see in a couple of days.

This Linkwood is the first bottling I’m trying from (apparently) last year’s event. I’m not overjoyed by Linkwood by default, but there have been some good ones. Linkwood tends to be a little bit bitter, and if that happens with a good sherry cask like I hope this one is, it might turn out splendidly.

Linkwood 16 for The Whisky Exchange

Linkwood 16 for The Whisky Exchange

Sniff:
The sherry is not as upfront as it could be. It’s timid even, and there’s a hint of vanilla coming through, with some caramel. Caramac bars, but also dates and figs. A tiny hint of menthol and some oak. The figs and dates are huge and it reminds me of a date milkshake I once had in Palm Springs. Gorgeous!

Sip:
The palate is not as rich as I’d expected it to be, but it does show off the increased alcohol contents. The dates are fresh, as are the figs. After that a slightly bitter dryness sets in with a hint of cigar tobacco. It gets thicker as you let is roll around a little bit, but it does keep its fire going. Toffee and caramel fudge.

Swallow:
The finish shows that fire initially, while it slowly warms your throat. The sherry is a little bit drier with a minor focus on the bitterness and the oak. Lovely and long, with again, the dates, and maybe some raisins.

This might not be the best sherried whisky ever, it is a very decent one. The price is right too, but the Linkwood bitterness with the clear flavor of dates is gorgeous. The caramel adds to it and I guess I’ve gotten the main flavors clearly from this dram.

In short. I love it. It’s big, it’s sherried and it’s delicious. Good picking from The Whisky Exchange and its cronies.

Oh, it’s also still available at only £ 65.

Linkwood 16yo, 48% – The Whisky Exchange Retro Series

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Ardbeg Corryvreckan, 57.1%, Committee Release 2008

Posted on 5 November 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

As I’ve said before, I haven’t been drinking much heavily peated whisky for a while now. I loved the Port Charlotte from last week and some other samples, but my own bottles have been untouched for a year or more (except Lagavulin, that always goes down well).

So yesterday, continuing my renewed affection for this kind of whisky I decided to pour myself a wee glass of Ardbeg Corryvreckan. I bought the committee release in 2008 and popped the cork right away. I really liked this dram so I started ‘saving’ it and now, six years later, I still have a significant part of it left.

Of course, whether or not this is good for a bottle of whisky is to be debated, but I don’t think it has changed all that much. I did a short review of it a long time ago, but I thought I’d give it another spin and a more in depth review.

If I remember correctly there are French oak casks used for this bottling, but not much information is given on the Ardbeg website, apart from the bottle having no size (see the bottom of the page).

Ardbeg Corryvreckan. Image from Whiskybase

Ardbeg Corryvreckan. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
It’s quite crisp for such a heady dram, and more gentle than I’d expect from Ardbeg at this strength. Slightly sweet with sharp smoke, grass and heather. The sweetness is very oaky with some vanilla. Slightly different smelling than American oak, which is interesting. A bit ashy too.

Sip:
The palate is sharper with ash and smoke, sweet oak with a gentle bitter note. It’s dry with white grapes and lychee (peel included). Quite rich, but still rather light.

Swallow:
The finish is very long and shows a crisp fruitiness. With typical Ardbeg-ness of heather, grass and salt smoke.

According to other sites and the official tasting notes I should also be getting hints of coffee, but I’m not so sure about those. Even though, without the coffee, it’s a very tasty Ardbeg. I’m glad I kept it around for so long!

The flavors are all rather predictable and appear in regular Ardbeg too, but there is another layer added with crisp fruits and that slightly different oaky flavor that makes it very interesting. To me this is the most interesting Committee release they have done in a while. At least since I’m a member!

Ardbeg Corryvreckan, 57.1%, Committee Release 2008. Back then it was some £ 80 I think, but now it’s going for € 240 / £ 180. So, surprisingly affordable for such an old Committee release!

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Interactive Studios whisky event #5

Posted on 3 November 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Interactive Studios is a company run by some of my closest friends. I used to work for them until my move to a more northerly homestead caused a too large commute. This was in 2009. I kept working for them until 2011 but the 120 kilometer commute (one way) started taking its toll on me and my car.

Apart from a tiny part of my CV, what this post is about is their sort-of-annual whisky event. To thank a part of their customer base the bosses decided to host a whisky tasting. Mostly since 3 of the 4 people in the company were avid whisky aficionados. By now the company has gotten somewhat larger but before the percentage of whisky dudes shrunk a tradition had been born.

My kick-ass burger. In shit quality. I should take more time for pics like this.

My kick-ass burger. In shit quality. I should take more time for pics like this.

A couple of months ago I got an invite to join this year’s tasting after a couple of missed events. After I had said yes, I got a call that it was to co-host the evening. They tricked me into it! But then again, I don’t mind yapping about booze all night long so that kind of worked itself out as well.

We started the evening in Den Bosch at Bar35, which is a newish place that I hadn’t seen before. It serves burgers and beers. The burgers are awesome and I didn’t look at the beer menu but just ended up drinking a couple of Vedett IPAs (short review: a nice IPA, but as with all Vedett beers, not overly interesting). The burger was epic. I had the Cow vs Pig, which means a sizable beef burger topped with bacon and pulled pork. Good stuff.

The tasting then.

The setup was slightly chaotic since we had to walk around to pour for 45 people. Unfortunately the bottles were mostly liters, so there was only one and it took a while to pour and explain the pick. Something to rethink next time!

The whiskies were the following:

Auchentoshan Heartwood. A light a crisp dram with definite flowery and sweet dram. Some vanilla, citrus and grassy notes. Not bad, not great.

Macallan Amber. This one was a positive surprise to me. I didn’t expect much of Macallan’s overhaul and while this bottle will never change anyone’s life, it was surprisingly rich and fruity. The sherry was rather noticeable and lovely. Quite summery, so to say. A nice pick!

Dalmore Valours. Another disappointing Dalmore. Apparently it is a port cask which I didn’t know and didn’t notice. The palate was rather okay with some nice and robust flavors, but the finish lasted all of two seconds. The nose didn’t do much either.

Caol Ila Distiller’s Edition. I hadn’t had this since I finished my bottle of it in 2008 or so. It’s still lovely with the muscatel sweetness backing up the fierce peat and grassy Islay notes.

Springbank 12 CS (the 52.3% one). I have had this before. I had it again. I could have gone for a lot of different things on the table, but this one is just one bloody great whisky. An excellent pick with lots of farmy notes on a typical Springbank background. I think I should start collecting the 12 CS series (in triplo).

After this bit of the tasting there was the ‘Interactive Candy Shop’, which more or less that you could drink whatever was on the table. There were the above whiskies and about a dozen others from other tastings and private collections. It wasn’t exactly interactive, but since the company is called Interactive Studios, everything is prefixed with Interactive. Which is a clever marketing scheme, since people recognize it.

So, it was a good night. We had some great whiskies. I got to ‘talk shop’ with friends and customers I used to work for/with, and I met some new people who were really interested in whisky. I should take some more time preparing for tastings, but since the line up was only selected a day prior to the tasting, I didn’t have much time to prep. But still, there were some things I should have said and didn’t.

Thanks guys, for the invite!

Posted in - Bar, - Beer, Auchentoshan, Caol Ila, Dalmore, Macallan, Springbank | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pyrat Rum, XO Reserve, 40%

Posted on 2 November 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

My sister and her boyfriend went to New York last week for both their birthdays, I believe. They were kind enough to ask me what they could bring and after some asking around I settled on Brenne whisky, and Kings County Bourbon and ‘Moonshine’ corn whiskey. I could have gone for other things but my focus was on what is not available on this side of the Atlantic. Those will be reviewed at a future date.

For himself, he brought a Pyrat Rum XO, which he apparently had had before and, more surprising/astonishing/worrying (take your pick) he finished the bottle in a week, minus one dram for me. Admittedly, he had some friends over on Friday to help him but I still am quite surprised at the speed with which he finished it. Then again, he doesn’t come off as someone who behaves irresponsibly, so I am not worried in the slightest.

Anyway, yesterday we went to their place for dinner and a bit of wine. Unfortunately, I was the designated driver so no after dinner dramming. He did give me the scrap of this bottle. Which I appreciate. I don’t know a thing about this rum, and since their website is atrocious with only flash animations, no real navigation and (the worst sin of all) sound, I stopped researching after about 15 seconds.

Just the review remains:

Sniff:
Sharp, slightly flowery and a hint of mint and basil even. A touch of coffee after that with sweet syrup and a sugary scent. It gets more heavy quickly, with a rather cloying sweetness to it. I think I get some orange too, but not too many other fruits. Surprisingly floral.

Sip:
The palate is very sugary at first, but does get a rum and orange like tang quickly. Some orange pith, and after some swimming it dries a little bit.

Swallow:
The finish is ridiculously orangy, to an almost candy level, like the filling of those chocolate covered candy orange wedges. Without the chocolate. The light spiciness is here too, but again a tad cloying.

While this is a nice enough rum, it’s not my favorite. I can imagine this being a great drinking rum, but it’s not one for much in depth exploration. The bottle is pretty awesome though! It’s one of those ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ style ship-bottles. You know, the ones that don’t fall over on a rough sea. That counts for something.

Weird info: The label says it’s bottled in Guyana, but doesn’t give any other info. Except that the contents have been matured up to 15 years. So that could also be a week or two. Weird.

Pyrat Rum, XO Reserve, 40%. Apparently this only costs some $ 30 in the USA but is € 40 here.

Thanks Bro!

Posted in - Rum | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Trick or Tweet with Rachel Barrie

Posted on 31 October 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Yesterday Morrison Bowmore and Rachel Barrie hosted a Twitter Tasting a bit of a Halloween theme. There hadn’t been much information available so it wasn’t until a sizable box arrived earlier this week and I had a peak that I knew what was going on.

And what a box it was! There were three samples, and three candies in there, with a Trick or Tweet message stuck to it. That’s when things started to fall into place.

Anneke stuck surprisingly close when she saw the candy coming out.

Anneke stuck surprisingly close when she saw the candy coming out.

I was lucky to be in because the initial plan was to go out for a burger and some beers with colleagues to celebrate finishing a project and say goodbye to one of the guys (who betrayed us like the little b*tch he is!). Anyway, one of the guys had to go to a partner night at pregnancy gym and there was no way he could talk is 7 months pregnant girlfriend out of it. There’s no reasoning with them, I have recently experienced.

Now, the tasting!

Auchentoshan Virgin Oak

Auchentoshan Virgin Oak

It started at 8pm sharp, 7pm UK time. Rachel welcomed us and then we were off with the Auchentoshan Virgin Oak (batch 2). The nose has big hints of sweet vanilla and gentle white oak. No surprise there of course. There’s some allspice too, and then there’s some fruit and pastry. Coconut macaroons, some cinnamon, apple pie and dried apples. The palate has two distinct parts. At first, on the arrival it’s surprisingly thick which is a testament to the Non-chill filtration. Some chewy meringue on the palate, vanilla and oak. Then I get some lemon curd, apple pie and cinnamon. After a couple of seconds of swimming the thick oak and vanilla dissipate a little bit, and show a more spicy character. It goes right into the finish with much more peppery and spicy notes than I expected. The oak shines through in a less sweet way and the bite from the distillate is present too.

With the Auchentoshan Virgin Oak II we had some candy floss, which is not something you can easily get hold of here in Holland, so it was a first for me. My wife had a bit too and called it ‘compressed cotton candy’, which seems apt. It was lovely and with the whisky is instantly fell apart to show more sweet, sugar and fruity flavors. A good combination without an inch of conflict.

Glen Garioch Virgin Oak

Glen Garioch Virgin Oak

The second whisky of the evening was the Glen Garioch Virgin Oak that was released some months ago. Glen Garioch is a whisky that I am actually quite fond of but always forget to buy. Every year I plan to buy the new small batch release, which is incredible value for money. Every year I forget. Even worse, the only bottle I have of Glen Garioch, the Founder’s Reserve, I got for free. It’s a good one and very affordable clocking in at some € 30 or so. This is slightly weird since I prefer Glen Garioch to Auchentoshan, generally, but I do have a couple of bottles of the latter in my collection.

On the nose the Glen Garioch Virgin Oak has lots of pastry notes, but while there is a certain sweetness, I get more a file pastry, savory kind of dough. Some dried thyme and

I made it. Without getting my hands all sticky

I made it. Without getting my hands all sticky

rosemary I think, with a note of honey in the background. Then orange pith and nutmeg. The palate continues this trend with notes of beef with herbs and spices. The oak is much dryer than the Auchentoshan (which I like) and far less sweet than I expected of a virgin oak cask. On the finish there’s quite some pepper, baked sugar and apple.

With the Glen Garioch we had the staple Halloween candy: Candy apple. This was a ridiculously sticky endeavour and me liking a challenge, I did it without cutlery. My teeth were sticky, my glass too. But the combination was great. The hints of sweetness were accentuated by the apple and it got from filo pastry to a more ‘appelflap’ flavor with raisins and cinnamon, baked sugar and honey.

Third up was the awesome Bowmore Devil’s Casks II. I reviewed that a short while ago and back then I regretted not getting myself a bottle. Now I regret that even more. That is one awesome whisky. Read the full review here.

With the Bowmore came a small chunk of chili chocolate, which was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. At first I wasn’t too thrilled by it since the chili had a hard time conquering the intensity of the Bowmore, but the sting was in the tail. After a while and a couple of nibbles there was a certain burn developing on your tongue that was getting harder and harder to deny. In the end it, again, worked really well with the Bowmore and the chocolate was rather epic in quality. The chili was barely noticeable at first, but after a short while was very, very intense.

Rachel Barrie and the epic Bowmore.

Rachel Barrie and the epic Bowmore.

So, in short. The evening was cool. The crows was cool. Rachel Barrie being present, and dressed up was cool. It put the human face back on a brand, if it ever lost it. Listen and learn, Diageo.

It also told me that I really love Bowmore. I already knew that, of course, but it became more apparent again. Apart from that I also should get my hands on some Glen Gariochs. I like their quite typical Highland style. It’s lovely, and while still quite different from many other distilleries, it does fit right in. I’m planning to go to Speyside next year, but a side step to the Highlands for Glen Garioch, GlenDronach and maybe Glenglassaugh should be a goal of our trip too, methinks.

Thanks to Morrison Bowmore and Rachel Barrie for hosting this great night!

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