Mortlach 1986, 27yo, 58.2% – SMWS (Spiced Champurrado, 76.112)

Posted on 28 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I always wonder how they come up with the names on their bottles. Now, apparently, someone found notes of a chocolaty drink from Mexico in this dram and thought the name was apt.

Champurrado

Champurrado

In this case, it’s actually something that might be a recommendation for a drink, but sometimes they also come up with paint stripper, and old diesel fueled boats getting a new layer of tar. Anyway, I’ve come to disregard the names a bit, but do read descriptions most of the times before ordering anything. This, because they tend to be accurate in the off notes.

This Mortlach was shared by our (for me former) Bottle-share group. One of the guys in the UK could get hold of this and it was fairly priced, especially when taking the upcoming releases of Mortlach in account. £ 600 for a 50cl bottle of 25 year old OB, or this 27 year old, at cask strength for some £ 125 I believe. A good deal if there ever was one.

The SMWS' Mortlach. Thanks for the image Ben!

The SMWS’ Mortlach. Thanks for the image Ben!

Sniff:
On the nose it’s fairly timid, especially for a whisky of this ABV. The age explains that a bit, but I would have guessed this to be 10% lower in ABV. It has the typical Mortlach heaviness and it’s beefy too. Thick steak with black pepper, but also a hint of cardboard. Some dried tropical fruits for a sweet note.

Sip:
The palate is a tad sharper than the nose, but still gentle. It has some bite with more oak and dryness. There’s peach stone, lychee peels. Salted bacon and a crisp sweetness.

Swallow:
The finish veers towards charcoal and barbecue remains (which reminds me, I have to clean my barbecue). It’s long and has that bacon saltiness again.

This is one of the most Mortlach-y Mortlachs I’ve had in a long while. Of course, I don’t have that many Mortlachs since there isn’t that much available, and even less from good sherry casks. Fun fact: I would have sworn this was a sherry cask, but it’s not. It’s a refill bourbon hogshead.

It’s a bit of a strange one, this. At first I thought it was nice, good even. But by now I can’t wait to finish my sample since it’s an absolutely gorgeous dram. You shouldn’t go in expecting fireworks, but if you expect a gentle giant with mountains of flavour if you take the time for it, this one works. Like a charm. Great stuff!

It’s still available at the SMWS in the UK. Quite a few even, some 30 bottles.

Mortlach 1986, 27yo, 58.2%, SMWS, Spiced Champurrado, 76.112. Available at the UK chapter of the SMWS for £ 126.

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Clynelish 16yo, Oloroso finish, 54.9% – Darkness!

Posted on 26 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The last in a series of five Darkness! reviews. There was no particular order, so don’t assume anything from that. In this case, the fifth one is a 16 year old Clynelish. At cask strength. So far, that’s a recipe for success. Only when a sherry finish is added it might get a bit uncertain.

Not that I have not tasted any good or great Clynelishes from sherry casks, but there have also been huge misses. I seem to remember a 19 year old from Dun Bheagan from a decade ago or so that tasted more like alcoholic glue than anything else.

Anyway, let’s not make too many assumptions and just get on with it!

Clynelish 16yo by Darkness!

Clynelish 16yo by Darkness!

Sniff:
There is a lot of sherry on the nose. Maybe not as much as with the Benrinneses, but definitely a lot. There’s a bit of glue present too. Velpon would be the brand in the Netherlands. It’s a rather savoury kind of oloroso as far as I can tell, not so sweet and no fruit. A bit of resin after a couple of minutes.

Sip:
It’s pretty sharp at first, but that’s not a surprise with Clynelish of this age. Slightly alcoholic before it gets more sweet and cherry-like. Notice the C instead of an S. There’s plums and sherry too, with oak, glue and some spices.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more waxy than the palate and here the Clynelish gets to shine a bit more. Rather long with some fruity bits too. Lots and lots of sherry.

I’m not a fan. While I really enjoyed the previous four drams, on a level of finding the Macallan absolutely great, this one doesn’t do much for me. I bet there’s lots of people who’d love it but I find it rather inconsistent and confused. It’s like there’s a huge clash of flavours between the sherry that doesn’t know whether to go sweet or savoury, and the pine resin quality of the Clynelish.

Anyway, still not a bad whisky, but it’s not for everyone.

Clynelish 16yo, Oloroso finish, 54.9%, Darkness! Available from Master of Malt for £ 74.95

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Macallan 15yo, Pedro Ximénez finish, 52.3% – Darkness!

Posted on 23 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another one of those Darkness! reviews. And, let’s be forward here: my favourite of the bunch.

Macallan got a lot of flack over the last couple of years, more or less since the Fine Oak series came out and their marketing department committed homicide on their credibility. After years of ‘we only use Golden Promise barley’ and ‘only the best casks from Jerez’ they came out with an entirely line of whiskies at fairly high prices that were only so-so.

It didn’t improve over the years and last year their colour range series (Gold, Ruby and the lot) weren’t received all too well either. These actions hurt them more than they should have, since they also really limited their age-stated releases, matured in great sherry casks. After all, this is the stuff people adore from Macallan.

I think they should have kept up their formerly regular sherry releases and added to that, instead of more or less phasing them out.

For the last couple of year you have to look to indies for amazing Macallans at reasonable prices. These too have become more rare over the years and prices have soared (this one is no exception to that). A couple of years almost all bottlers had Macallans on offer but those too are few and far between nowadays, and if you can find them you have to shell out for a brand name that is no longer a guarantee of quality.

Macallan 15 by Darkness!

Macallan 15 by Darkness!

Sniff:
A very deep, rich and heavy profile hits you right away. Very fruity, with sweet oak influences. It has that summery Speyside character, but there’s a lot more than that. It does smell ‘aged’ too. Old fruit, sweet hazelnuts and Brazil nuts. Some vanilla and in general just utterly delicious.

Sip:
The heavy, sweet layers continue here too. The nuts are back too, but slightly lighter than on the nose. Vanilla and oak and sweet bread. Something the Dutch would call brioche or kwarkbol. Both of them.

Swallow:
The American oak pops up here with some more typical flavours of that. Mostly the different tasting oak that shines through. It’s still heavy, sweet and rich, but all in a good way without ever getting cloying. A rather ‘old style’ dram.

Let’s be honest here for a bit. I don’t want you to buy this whisky. I don’t. But that’s just because at the moment I can’t buy any and I really hope there’s something left for me when I do have some money again.

On the other hand you should buy this whisky. Mostly because this is a modern, rather engineered whisky but in a way that it doesn’t taste like generic vanilla bombs like there are so many nowadays. This dram shows two things:

  1. Macallan can still make some epic, epic whisky.
  2. If you’re engineering whisky, this is how you should do it.

One of the more tasty release I’ve had this year. Of the new releases that is. It is a bit pricy though.

Macallan 15yo, Pedro Ximénez finish, 52.3% – Darkness! For sale at Master of Malt for £ 109.95

Thanks to MoM for sending me a sample. Me happy!

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Ardbeg 21yo, Pedro Ximénez Finish, 40.1% – Darkness!

Posted on 21 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Of course, since this is an Ardbeg, I should start by stating the obvious: It has already sold out. I’m surprised it lasted a couple of minutes with the remarkable popularity that Ardbeg has.

Unfortunately, I expect a lot of these wee bottles won’t be opened since they go up in value ridiculously fast. But, let’s just keep an eye on the auction sites next month and see what happens.

Anyway, a 21 year old Ardbeg popping up is a pretty rare event nowadays. One that is semi affordable is more rare still. And a bottler having the guts to dump 50 liters of it into a Pedro Ximénez cask is something for the books indeed. Regularly Ardbeg is seen as something you shouldn’t screw around with since it’s way too risky to not do anything good to it.

But Master of Malt decided to put a bit of it in PX casks. (I wonder what happened to the rest of it!) Strangely, even though it’s released under the Darkness! label, it’s a rather pale whisky. Especially for a PX finish this is unexpected.

Ardbeg 21 from Darkness!

Ardbeg 21 from Darkness!

Sniff:
On the nose there is a lot of peat. Far more than I would expect of a 21 year old whisky. Some lemon and dried meadow flowers. Hay, slightly salty and some rosemary too. It does have something crisp going on too, with an ashy background. More complex than I would have thought after the initial blast of peat. Icing sugar too.

Sip:
The palate is gentle but does have some heat, the white pepper kind. Slight thin and sugary, peat, lemon. Fresh herbs, with heather, salt and marram grass.

Swallow:
The finish is crisp still, with the peat even having a more herb like quality than just pure smoke. Lemon, shammy leather, Napoleon candy and sugar.

With all the lemon and shammy leather on the finish this reminds me heavily of Port Ellen. Which is a very good thing in this case. The strange thing, however, is that I have not noticed the sherry cask at all. I would expect more sweetness and more tropical fruit, especially from a PX sherry cask. This could just as well have been a bourbon barrel all the way till bottling.

Marram Grass

Marram Grass

The beach-like flavours with marram grass and salt is very nice and very Islay like. A lovely whisky, albeit one that doesn’t deliver what you’d expect it to.

Also, a 21 year old whisky being 40.1% at cask strength makes me think there’s something strange going on with either the bourbon barrel it came from or the PX cask it was finished in. At this age you’d expect at least 10% more alcohol so it’s a bit of a strange dram, this.

Still, rather lovey although I’m not as over the moon about it as some other bloggers were. Wait until the Macallan review for that to happen!

Ardbeg 21 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Cask Finish, 40.1%, Darkness! No longer available but it used to cost £ 119.95

Kudos to the chaps at MoM for making this, and sending me some of it!

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Benrinnes 15yo, Pedro Ximénez Finish, 53.3% – Darkness!

Posted on 19 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The second Benrinnes from Master of Malt‘s Darkness! series comes from a Pedro Ximénez cask, instead of the previous Oloroso cask. Both are 50 liters, so a lot of wood/booze contact.

Since they are only 50 liters, I thought it might just be so that both tiny sherry casks were filled from one bourbon cask. I asked Ben last Friday and he confirmed it so this wee bit of the Darkness! experiment just got a little bit more interesting. This is, apparently, what finishing does. It’s almost like this is part of The Reference Series!

Anyway, when some label boasts with a PX finish, you expect a lot of raisiny sweetness with, preferably, a lot more dried fruit and sherry goodness behind it. Let’s see!

Darkness! Benrinnes 15 PX finish.

Darkness! Benrinnes 15 PX finish.

Sniff:
A very comparable aroma to the Oloroso cask. It’s big and sweet. Rich and fruity. This one is a tad more sweet with more sherry and raisins. Some spiced cake and dates. After a while I get dark chocolate with orange confit. Like those wedges you get at chocolateries in Brughes.

Sip:
On the palate it’s surprisingly sweet for a 53% dram. Quite some alcohol. Of course it’s sweet, dry and I get some red peppers. Sherry with baking spices, chocolate, coffee and oranges again.

Swallow:
The sherry and chocolate theme continues here too. It’s lovely. Not very long, and slightly drying but a lot more gentle than expected.

While at first this dram didn’t surprise me, not after the Oloroso cask, on the palate and finish there was a lot more chocolaty goodness going on than I expected and it’s lovely for it. I also like that you can compare a three month finish of exactly the same whisky and I don’t think that’s happened before. Kudos for that!

The whisky on itself is delicious. The flavours are incredible and it never gets too cloying, sweet and sherry-like. So, it still is whisky, with a layer on top of it and I enjoy that. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much of anything when this pack came in but the chaps at Master of Malt know what they’re doing and they’re doing it right!

Benrinnes 15yo, Pedro Ximénez Finish, 53.3%, Darkness! Available at Master of Malt for £ 59.95

Thanks for the sample guys!

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Benrinnes 15yo, Oloroso Finish, 52.9% – Darkness!

Posted on 15 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Darkness! is a new brand of whiskies launched by Master of Malt last week. This week they launched something else again so I wonder how they keep track and don’t mix things up.

With Darkness! they are labeling their whiskies as sherry bombs and that’s the only promise they make. The whiskies in the series have been finished for three months in Oloroso or PX casks to give them a dark hue, and impart a severe amount of sherry flavours on them. And they did.

Of course, Master of Malt wouldn’t be Master of Malt if they did this halfheartedly, so on the day of release there were 12 different bottlings available. The Ardbeg has already sold out but will still be reviewed here shortly. First, one of the two Benrinnes drams!

Benrinnes 15 Oloroso Finish, Darkness!

Benrinnes 15 Oloroso Finish, Darkness!

Sniff:
As promised, this has a massive sherry hit. And by massive I mean massive. F-ing big. Rich, nutty and dry. Sweet and full of dates. After a minute or two there’s a lot of fruit assaulting your nose, but all in a good way. There’s a hint of orange, but most fruit is a bit more thick. Think papaya, mango and other tropical fruits. The bite of the alcohol and a hint of oak are never far away though!

Do notice: No fennel scent this time!

Sip:
The palate is sharp and rich. The sweetness and dryness are present, but there’s an oaky tang going on too. Slightly nutty with a tropical fruity sweetness going on. A toasted oak graininess is also present, but that gives it all a bit more depth. Peaches, mango, papaya. With raisins and sherry too. Not too winey.

Swallow:
The finish is suprisingly gentle and goes for the tropical fruit mostly. It’s not all that oaky and the dry, nutty flavours are going fastest. After that there’s a lingering flavour of fresh fruit juice.

I am so delighted with the lack of that fennel scent that is present in a lot of the Master of Malt bottlings. I guess that scent has to do with some of the blending aparatus, and since this is not a blend of casks, it’s gone.

Anyway, the whisky itself is delicious. Really so. I expected it would be overly sherried and while it does live up to the sherry bomb promise, it’s not just that. There’s more to be discovered and the heat of the alcohol never lets you forget that. Well done, Master of Malt!

Also, in the current climate I find a sherry finished whisky at the price of 60 quid not surprisingly expensive. Even though it’s only 50cl.

Benrinnes 15yo, Oloroso Finish, 52.9% – Darkness! Available for £ 59.95

The sample was given to me by Master of Malt. Thanks a lot guys! Much obliged!

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Clynelish Masterpieces, 1996, bottled for The Whisky Exchange, 56.1%

Posted on 13 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

It’s been a while since I posted a good old review since I stopped blogging every day. At that time I also decided I would be more picky about the stuff I post here, so not every random dram that comes from my glass is being placed on this here blog.

Only the more interesting drams then. I’ve never made it a secret that I am rather fond of Clynelish and when this bottle popped up in our Bottle Share group, I just had to participate. Since then I’ve asked the guys to get me off the mailing list since I was participating in way too many shares and that was starting to become most of my spending. A wise decision, but not such a fun one.

Anyway, this ‘Masterpiece’ is from The Whisky Exchange‘s series of not so ridiculously priced whiskies, which are also not overly aged but simply very good. According to them, that is. Let’s try it for ourselves, right?

Clynelish Masterpieces by Speciality Drinks Ltd.

Clynelish Masterpieces by Speciality Drinks Ltd.

Sniff:
On the nose it’s a not so intensely scented Clynelish with the typical waxy undertone. Much more gentle than the 1997s that came out a lot over the last couple of years. Some vanilla, apple and crumble pastry. So, apple crumble that is. Icing sugar too, and after a couple of minutes it starts getting a bit sharper. Some pine, pine resin and minerals after a while.

Sip:
On the palate you get the expected oak, resin and candle wax. It’s pretty dry and sharp. Somewhat later it becomes a bit more greasy with thick vanilla and dry dark bread.

Swallow:
The finish is rich and more creamy than I expected with pastry cream. The waxy flavours are present here too. It’s not too long, but very delicious.

This is a damn fine whisky and deserving of the title Masterpiece. While this displays a lot of vanilla like some other drams I tasted recently, it’s not in the same, almost artificial way and in this case it leaves a lot of room for the distillery profile. And a lovely profile that is.

I think this is more or less how Clynelish of this age is supposed to taste and therefore I kind of regret not getting a bottle when it was still available.

Clynelish Masterpieces, 1996-2013, Bottled for The Whisky Exchange. It used to cost some £ 75.

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A tasting with colleagues in Hoorn

Posted on 10 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer
The stash

The stash

Old Pulteney Flotilla 2000. Yes

Old Pulteney Flotilla 2000. Yes

Edradour Port Wood. No.

Edradour Port Wood. No.

Glenlivet Guardians' Chapter. Yes.

Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter. Yes. Very much Yes.

Bruichladdich Rum Cask. Meh.

Bruichladdich Rum Cask. Meh.

Smokehead 18. Yup.

Smokehead 18. Yup.

Caol Ila 2004. Yes.

Caol Ila 2004. Yes.

Kilchoman Single Cask. Way too much alcohol

Kilchoman Single Cask. Way too much alcohol

Posted in Bruichladdich, Caol Ila, Edradour, Glenlivet, Kilchoman, Old Pulteney, Smokehead | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Reference Series, part 1. By Master of Malt

Posted on 6 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Master of Malt came up with yet another clever plot to extract money from us whisky lovers. This time they call it ‘The Reference Series‘ and market it as being educational. While I am always up to expand my knowledge in this area of interest, I doubt many people will agree this would be smartest way.

The Reference Series. Nicely packaged as always

The Reference Series. Nicely packaged as always

What they mean by the reference series is that they now have released three reference whiskies of different age categories, blended to a certain mix of young, old and very old whisky. It’s un-chill filtered and not coloured, of course.

In the future they will start releasing more batches of the same make up but in one they will change the balance to contain more sherry casks, one will be chill filtered, and in this way they will change more parameters to investigate what this actually does to a dram.

Of course, we whisky geeks think we know the way it should be released and to which parameters, but this series will be the first way to actually compare the differences between doing something and not doing something to a whisky. Interesting indeed!

Every time I think of this project, I have to think of the Single Oak Project by Buffalo Trace too. And now I think of that, I remember I still have a sample of one of the hundreds of bottles from that.

The Reference Series. Back Labels

The Reference Series. Back Labels

Reference I

Reference I

Reference I, mostly young whisky, 47.5%
Since it’s a Master of Malt bottling I was a tad scared of the fennel notes that seem to pester some of their releases, and in this case it’s present again. Well, it’s not as much the fennel note, but a raw, spirity note this time. So a bit of an unrefined start. The palate a lot better and is slightly warming with a greasy vanilla flavour to it. Some light wood spices too with oak and barley. The finish is spicy, peppery, but light. Some charcoal without the smoke. Vanilla and oak as it mellows.

Available from Master of Malt for € 45.

Reference II

Reference II

Reference II, a mix of young, old and very old whisky, 47.5%
On the nose that rawness of the first one is present, but it’s less heavy and moldy. More fennel though. Luckily, with a minute of letting it breathe, that goes away quickly. There’s quite some fruit that appears then. I get pears, on a background of malted barley and sweet oak. The palate is warming with gentle vanilla, and a touch of pepper. A lot more wood than the first dram. Spicy with sweet pear. The finish then. It does have that raw feel to it again, but it’s mostly spices, oak and sweetness.

Available for € 65 from Master of Malt.

Reference III

Reference III

Reference III, old and very old whisky, 47.5%
What the heck is that note on the nose that they all have? It’s here too, but behind it you can smell there’s some good, old and gentle booze in hiding. You get the old oak, the gentle wood spices and some fruit to boot. It’s gentle and warming. On the palate the warming feel continues and you do notice the older whisky in this blend. I get some banana on top of the pear from the previous dram. Apple too, and fresh wild peach. A hint of spices too. The finish has that ‘old whisky’ feel to it. It’s still fresh, with soft oak, light spices and ginger. Later there’s more of a sherry influence to it, and the nose gets fruitier too.

Available from Master of Malt for € 130.

I’m not sure what that fennel like scent is I get on the nose. I know I’m not the only one, and it’s not present in all of their whiskies. I found it for the first time in That Boutique-y Macallan they had us taste at Maltstock two years ago. I discussed it with Ben yesterday and he doesn’t have a clue what it can be. I can imagine him not giving it the highest priority since there’s not too many people getting these notes.

Than, the whiskies. Since they are meant as a base on which to continue this project I think they are very successful products. The flavours are all very ‘middle of the road’ and that is exactly what they are supposed to be. I can imagine changing parameters to more sherry, more first fill bourbon, and so on. This is a project to keep your eyes on since it’s looking to be one of the more interesting things available!

Thanks go out to Master of Malt for thinking of me when sending out samples. Always happy to taste them! Thanks guys!

Posted in - Blended Malt, Undisclosed | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Still Stories, by Hans Offringa

Posted on 4 May 2014 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Hans Offringa is, by far, the most famous Dutch whisky writer. I guess he’s about the only one that also writes in English and covers more than Single Malt whisky, which also helps.

Credit where credit is due?

Credit where credit is due?

I’ve met the soft spoken man a couple of times on Festivals, and more elaborately during the past two editions of Maltstock. I’ve read a couple of his books and articles on whisky and whiskey, but for some reason I never got around to reading the book that (more or less) started his whisky writing career ‘The Road to Craigellachie’. This will be remedied soon.

Anyway, when he announced he was writing a follow up to that with more whisky stories and was crowdfunding it, I pledged a couple of Euros to the cause and I’m rewarded with my name in the credits. Not that that would have mattered, but it doesn’t hurt to get some thanks every now and then.

Hans Offringa is a story teller mostly. It just so happens that he focuses a lot of those stories on whisk(e)y and that’s a very welcome combination for me. I like stories. I like whisky. A lot.

I have to say I’ve met quite some folks who like his books, but are not unanimously enthusiastic about him being a story teller. When you talk to Hans he’s also telling stories. I like that. It makes for interesting conversation but it might come off as a bit arrogant, since it seems you talk a lot about yourself. I think I understand where he’s coming from and while he has earned his stripes he’s not a show off. I see it more as realism which translates into tales. Also, different from most of us he can talk about whisky by telling his own experience instead of showing off what he read in a book.

An example of him being incredibly nice (to me): He read my review of Jack Daniel’s’ Tennessee Honey, which I had in a paper cup in a motel and disagreed. Since JD is ‘his thing’ he decided to pick up a mini in The States and bring it to The Netherlands to I could try again.

Still Stories - Hans Offringa

Still Stories – Hans Offringa

About the book then. Did I say Hans is a story teller? If you read Still Stories you’ll realize that soon enough. The book takes you from Kentucky to Scotland to Ireland, each represented by a handful of shorts about being a whisky writer, visiting places and other aspects of the industry that you encounter when you are fully immersed in it.

When I bought the book I was expecting more anecdotes about distilleries and the people in the industry, but it’s a more contemporary approach looking at where distilleries and brands ‘come from’ and where they are now. It took me a few pages to get my head around the type of stories, but in the end I like it. The history of random people, brands and places are well documented in many a book, and this is a fresh and very unique way of reporting on the current state of affairs.

In short, I really enjoyed the stories. I’ve been reading a lot of whisky books recently that take a sort of similar approach (this and this) and I find more and more that I find it more significant to my own interests than ‘in 1870 this random event happened’.

Another boon is that this book doesn’t contain any in depth tasting notes, it’s not about any one brand or whisky in particular and takes you from tiny bars, craft distilleries, independent people from the industry to the biggest factories around the main whisky producing regions. A very broad approach, and incredibly readable.

So, to any Dutch or Flemish whisky enthusiast who doesn’t already have this book: it’s worth the money and a really enjoyable read.

To the rest of world: A little more patience in waiting for the translated version to appear, but keep your eyes peeled. It’s expected in the fall of 2014.

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