Blind Tasting Competition 12 – Strathisla 15, 40% – Gordon & MacPhail

Posted on 18 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Woohoo! I got some points. Not too many, but at least I went up two spots to 41. It kind of makes me cry that I am this happy with such a lousy score, but all is better than nothing at this point.

Like the previous Blindly Tasted guesses were not random enough, today’s dram is from the 1970s. I think I should have seen that coming, but again, it doesn’t make it any easier for any of us. This means that there are some 25000 bottles to be guessed from on Whiskybase. Luckily the budget is limited or else it would open up even more avenues.

Strathisla 26 2/3 fluid ounzes

Strathisla 26 2/3 fluid ounzes

Sniff:
Slightly creamy vanilla with lots of grass and hay. There’s a light hint of alcohol with white pepper as well. Sweet with some pear drops. Pears and apples in general as well. It becomes tastier and ‘warmer’ as it sits longer.

Sip:
A bit of an alcohol bite, but gentle very quick. It stays light, with some sweetness that is not overpowering. I’m glad this isn’t one of those vanilla bombs that we had last year. Apples, pear skins, some candy sweetness. Grass and hay too.

Swallow:
The finish is rather full, a little bit of everything that came before with a sudden burst of raisins. Not too long but the dry grass flavour lingers quite a bit.

I think I like this one. It’s a gentle dram with no overpowering scent of flavour of any kind. There’s quite some flavour though, which I enjoy. I guess this is a Lowlander, but I’m not expecting Rosebank or Auchentoshan. My guess goes towards Bladnoch, not too old but a Lowlander usually takes quite some time to lose much of its spiritiness (I made up another word!). Also, not a cask strength, but my abv guessing (as all other guessing) is off this competition. So here goes my guess for a Bladnoch 15, at 46%.

Of course, that was wrong. It was, ‘of course’, a 1970s bottled Strathisla at 40%. The age was right, though. The most random of all things to be guessed. I feel that is the main source of points for me this year, happening to randomly guess something correctly.

Anyway, a nice dram, and worth a shitload of money, according to whiskybase. I guess in an auction this one was won at a significantly lower price. € 500… don’t be ridiculous.

Strathislay 15, 40%, 26 2/3 fluid ounzes, Gordon & MacPhail. According to Whiskybase, it retails at € 495. I think much lower in auctions.

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Blind Tasting Competition 9 – BenRiach 21 Authenticus, 46%

Posted on 17 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another post to catch up on the one left missing. Unfortunately, I didn’t taste this one before I spotted what it was on our little forum at www.levenswater.nl.

I only tasted the Authenticus years ago after seeing it in The Whisky Bible by Mr. Sulphur. Back then, I didn’t know squat about whisky and his book was available. I took his 95 points as a guideline but upon tasting this dram I was heavily let down.

I didn’t do tasting notes back then, but I remember describing this as ‘the water you pour off string beans after cooking them in it’. That’s not good, right?

BenRiach Authenticus

BenRiach Authenticus

Sniff:
A combination of heavy and light scents together. The smoke feels a bit greasy with a touch of sulphur. The vegetable kind (95 points from Mr. Murray, remember!) in this case. Plants, oak, peat and grass.

Sip:
It’s not overly spicy but had some peppery notes in it. Not much flavour to those, but the heat, so I’m going with white pepper. The oaky notes make this one a tad bitter. Some smoke too, but that’s about it.

Swallow:
Smoke and grass in a rather Ardbeg way. It has some creamy sweetness with a bitter after note.

Of course I didn’t get any points, since I didn’t put in my guess. I’m not sure if this would have crossed my mind since I am one of the few people around that don’t like this dram, and have never bought it.

BenRiach 21 Authenticus, 46%, € 160 at Gall & Gall Hoogland

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Blind Tasting Competition 11 – Arran, 9yo, 2002-2011, 61.3% – SMWS

Posted on 17 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This time I did fill in my guess for the day, and I was hoping to start catching up with a bit of points here and there. Unfortunately, today is not the day that that is happening. Maybe it never will, and I’m ready to start giving up on this year’s competition.

The thing that comforts me is that the person in the lead (Pano, to be exact) has 450 points. A lot more than I have, but still not even half of what was to be won. I guess it’s hard on everyone.

Arran 9yo. Amazing Waves of Sweetness.

Arran 9yo. Amazing Waves of Sweetness.

Sniff:
Smoke and cherries! But after that some all purpose cleaner as well. Strange. The smoke isn’t too profound, Quite some oak with some sherry sweetness. Well, after yesterday it can also be some ridiculous brandy cask of course. Pretty sharp actually, but with quite a bit of figs and plums, just like yesterday. Tricky.

Sip:
Sharp again, sharper than yesterday’s dram. Fresher, and more fruity than I expected, again with some candied orange, cherry juice again. It’s sharp nut not too sharp. Not too much oak, but a bit of a sawdust thing going on. Sweet and some sherry notes right behind that.

Swallow:
The finish is warming and not too sharp. A little burn in your throat but after that is mellows quickly. Not too long but a bit of a sweet and dusty quality. A spicy freshness too, but I can’t really pin it down.

This is a sherried dram, but not overly so like yesterday’s Deanston or a GlenDronach that I thought I was having yesterday. It’s pretty nice, but after tasting it and having another sip I cannot find the smokiness I sniffed out at first. This makes me unsure. I recently tried a Glengoyne that I thought was a tiny bit smoky too. I guess my nose is off. That explains everything!

Anyway, again, a whisky without a distillery character. I missed the typical lightness, the apples, anything that could have pointed me towards Arran. Even now there was a guy who scored the full 100 points.

I guessed a 17 year old Longmorn, since it could just as well have been. Although I like this more than the batches of Longmorns from The Ultimate I was referring to.

Arran, 9yo, 2002-2011, 61.3%, Amazing Waves of Sweetness – SMWS Australia

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Blind Tasting Competition 8 – Ben Nevis 15, 1996-2012, 51.7%

Posted on 16 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Catching up! I already wrote the tasting notes below so I could easily publish them from my holiday address, and then I forgot all about it. That must mean the weekend has been good, right?

The drawback is that I got no points at all. I hadn’t decided upon the distillery to guess but I expect not guessing anything didn’t change much to the overall result.

A nice Ben Nevis 15. Image from Whiskybase

A nice Ben Nevis 15. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
On the nose it’s pretty gentle, with almost no scent coming off it at first. I even put this in a wet glass, which means the necessary drops of water are already in there. After a minute or two it really opens up but gives off a lot of nail polish remover. Some oak too and a light spiciness. It does stay on the alcohol though, but gives chocolate after fifteen minutes or so.

Sip:
Holy mother of God! This is sharp. It really burns right away, and stays that way for a while. There is some oak behind it, with sweetness and dryness too. Spices in the form of cinnamon and ginger.

Swallow:
It mellows out quite quickly on the finish. The spiciness lingers rather long but there’s oak too.

I wasn’t convinced at first, but I think I like it. The sharpness is a bit too much which puts me off, but the flavours and scents are pretty good. I haven’t made up my mind, though. This does mean that it’s not on the wish list.

Now, finishing this post a couple of days later, I am rather enthusiastic about this one. I looked it up on Whiskybase and saw a price of € 120, which I think is a bit too much for a bottle like this. Especially from a distillery like Ben Nevis that isn’t overly popular. € 80 or so and I would have tried to find it to order it. On the other hand, that Mortlach is still out there too!

Ben Nevis 15, 1996-2012, 51.7%, € 120 but no longer available.

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Blind Tasting Competition 10 – Deanston Distillery Only, 20yo, Lepanto Brandy Cask finish, 57.4%

Posted on 16 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

That’s a mouth full, as was the whisky. I’m sorry for not posting anything for a couple of days. I have been away for the weekend and I thought I had tasted ahead, but missed the deadline. I also counted wrong and missed one dram, and then the deadline for a random guess.

This all means, of course, that I have two days in which I scored zero points, contrary to anyone else and I am now 43rd on the ranking. This kind of sucks, but apparently I have no clue what I’m doing when I am tasting anyway, so it barely matters. I just hope I can correct a bit of the score the coming couple of days since I would rather end in the top half of the competition.

Deanston Distillery Only, Lepanto Brandy finish. Image from Whiskybase

Deanston Distillery Only, Lepanto Brandy finish. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
By the colour and the scent of the whisky I assumed it was a sherry cask. It had nutty ‘sherry’ on the nose, but way too much of it. Soft oak with sweet spices. Cloves mostly, which overpower the distillery character quite a bit. Some figs too, with alcohol that doesn’t evaporate, and raisins.

Sip:
Pretty sharp with lots of sherry again, and some alcohol. There’s a lot of chili pepper in here, with a lot of oak too. Apart from that alcohol bite, the flavours are rather gentle.

Swallow:
I finally get some whisky but in a very generic way. Figs and plums from the sherry overpower. Cloves and a slightly bitter oakiness too.

I guessed it was a GlenDronach or so, since some of their casks are rather unbalanced towards sherry, and with all this going on I just went with that. Result: At least I scored some points for being in the correct region!

20 points only, so the catching-up has not really begun. Better than nothing though!

Fun thing, Lepanto Brandy is made in the area of Jerez, so I’m not too far off with my sherry ramblings!

Deanston Distillery Only, 20yo, 1992-2012, Lepanto Brandy Cask finish, 57.4%. 11 Years in a Bourbon cask, then 9 years in Lepanto Brandy. Available in Belgium for about € 165.

Posted in Deanston, GlenDronach | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Blind Tasting Competition 7 – Inverleven 24yo, 1987-2012, 49.5% – Cadenhead’s Closed Distilleries

Posted on 13 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Inverleven. Is that a distillery that anyone ever thinks about? “I wish I had another bottle of Inverleven to try”. “This Inverleven has gone up in price recently”. I don’t think so. This one, to my tasting notes and palate tastes like a 15 year old Clynelish, like the entire range that was released last year from 1997 distillate.

Is that a good thing? Far from it, regarding this competition. I am slowly sliding away from being anywhere near an acceptable level of points. Two days ago I was 10th or so, now I am 26th. Only one more day like this (probably today, if past results mean anything) and I’m in the bottom half of the competition.

Inverleven 24. Image from Whiskybase

Inverleven 24. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Fairly closed at first with a certain refill bourbony feel to it. Spicy as well, but it opens up nicely. Full, oak, with a creamy scent of wax coats. Some glue in the background.

Sip:
This one is pretty sharp. Pretty is an understatement. Quite a lot of alcohol with white pepper. Some creamy honey too, with oak, on a bitter level. It does get a little flowery at some point.

Swallow:
A lot of wax in the finish. A lot! It’s warming and slightly bitter.

Especially the waxiness sent me towards Clynelish. This dram felt rather familiar, but I happen to know that a lot of +/- 1997 Clynelishes are pretty similar, and this profile fits, from my point of view. Not too complex, but the flavours are pretty intens (and tasty).

By now you can start making a meme out of my face with the word “FAIL” below it. I might do so myself. Anyway, I was off in ABV, age and distillery and region. No points at all. Strangely enough, the ABV surprises me most. This was an intense dram and I guessed it WAY above 49.5% (58 to be precise). Kudos for Inverleven, less so for me.

Inverleven 24yo, 1987-2012, 49.5% – Cadenhead’s Closed Distilleries. Available in Germany for about € 125.

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Blind Tasting Competition 6 – Balvenie Triple Cask 16yo, 40%

Posted on 12 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another day, another random guess. I found this whisky particularly generic. Without being disrespectful, that usually sends me to Speyside, especially since there is quite a lot of sherry casks being filled around there. Some distilleries thrive on that (Glenfarclas and Glen Grant come to mind).

On the palate I thought this one had quite some age to it. I guessed 20, so I was just far enough off to not get any points on that. Just the region this time. It is a rather full flavoured dram, which made me guess at a higher ABV than it actually is.

Balvenie Triple Cask, 16yo. Image from Whiskybase

Balvenie Triple Cask, 16yo. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Barbecue briquettes at first, the kind that have been used for a couple of times so there is some grease burned into them. Also sherry and banana. Rather light but rich. Sour cherries, some oak and if you leave it for a couple of minutes, milk chocolate.

Sip:
The palate is a bit thin with a touch of spice. Some sherry in there, but rather musty. I don’t think this is too old and the flavour is a bit ‘generic’. I can’t pin down in what direction I should be searching.

Swallow:
The finish has fruit cake. The sponge cake base with whipped cream and tinned fruit on top (without the tin…). Syrupy.

This is a strange one. At first I wasn’t overly thrilled but as it sat airing a bit, it got better by the minute. The nose had a slight weirdness on the barbecue briquettes. Usually I don’t mind a bit of barbecue flavours in booze. However, this time it didn’t match with the rest.

I went for a Glen Grant at 20 years old and 48%. I’m not sure if such a whisky exists, but I’m not sure whether or not it matters if it actually is a whisky with my kind of guessing.

Anyway, a decent dram, but not one for the wish list.

Balvenie Triple Cask 16yo, 40%, usually around € 80

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Blind Tasting Competition 5 – Kilkerran Work in Progress 5, 9yo, Sherry Wood

Posted on 11 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A whisky I reviewed only a few weeks ago. I wasn’t overly thrilled back then but for some reason I liked it even less this time.

Kilkerran 9yo, sherry wood. Image from Whiskybase.

Kilkerran 9yo, sherry wood. Image from Whiskybase.

Sniff:
Heavy and cloying with hints of cheese and quite a bit of oak. Rather dirty and not necessarily in a good way. Some vanilla behind the cheese too. It goes to some spices with a hint of pepper.

Sip:
A tingling mouthfeel, again with a hint of pepper. Not shart, and the cheesy bit is gone. Some vanilla, old apple peels and rather creamy.

Swallow:
The finish is rather gin like and spirity. Moldy oak.

Anyway, I guessed for a Ben Nevis 12, at 46%. Mostly because of how dirty is smelled. Kilkerran is in that same league with this bottling, apparently. I am glad that in my previous notes I didn’t like the nose at all either. There is some consistency in what I do, or so it seems.

30 points today, 20 for the ABV and 10 for only being three years off in the age department. I climbed from 22 or so to 15 with these marks. Utterly ridiculous that with such a sad score I could still climb 7 spots. What do find commendable that two guys got the exact whisky right this time. That’s rather surprising!

Kilkerran Work in Progress 5, 9yo, Sherry Wood

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Blind Tasting Competition 4 – Talisker 18, 45.8%

Posted on 10 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Talisker, Talisker, Talisker. I didn’t even consider it yesterday. I found a peaty dram that didn’t taste Islay enough to be from Islay, so it had to be Longrow. It had some ‘ocean’ flavours in it, so a dead giveaway. Right! Right?

Anyway, as Malt Maniacs Oliver and Keith said in this weeks episode of WhiskyCast (ep. 455) Talisker has been getting better and better over the last couple of years, while they were good about a decade ago. In between the drams were not as great as they were before. Them getting back in the saddle is a very good thing of course, but it makes their whisky rather inconsistent.

Sniff:
Slightly smoky and sweet. Some salt, a bit of an Islay-like scent too. It rather warming but also a bit cloying. Some sea weed and sand later on. After a couple of minutes I get some tar, banana and vanilla.

Talisker 18. Image from Whiskybase

Talisker 18. Image from Whiskybase

Sip:
Not very sharp with black pepper and smoke. Salty with a touch of lemon and a rather clear influence of bourbon casks.

Swallow:
The smoke becomes a bit coarse now, like a fire that died half an hour ago. Sweet and salty and not much depth.

When I was at Talisker distillery in June I really, really, really loved the 18 and bought me a bottle. That, with the fact that the 18 is really hard to get in The Netherlands, I hope this is an older expression since this one cannot stand in the shadow of what I remember the one at the distillery tasted like.

I did remember the club’s Longrow 100 proof from a couple of years ago to be a LOT more gentle than it’s 57% suggested, and since I was already set on Longrow I went for that one. L’Hollande, zero points.

I didn’t have a particularly good feeling about yesterday’s guess but I didn’t expect to be this far off either. Strange. And again, I hope this is from an earlier batch as my Talisker 18.

Talisker 18, 45.8%, € 95 at Whiskybase. Yes, this whisky is very expensive in The Netherlands. But then again, at least they stock it.

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Blind Tasting Competition 3 – Mortlach 18yo, 55.2%, 1994-2012 – Malts of Scotland

Posted on 9 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Day three, on which I got another nice 40 points. For the age this time. I had that spot on. The distillery guess was another massive failure and a regrettable one. Why regrettable? At some point during yesterday I imagined this could be Mortlach but I decided not to change my entry. I guessed Springbank at first, mostly because I hoped it would be Springbank. Don’t know why, though. It had some of the flavours but not the saltiness that goes with the Campbeltown distillery.

Mortlach 18 by Malts of Scotland. Image from Whiskybase

Mortlach 18 by Malts of Scotland. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Light and dusty with an Oloroso like sweetness. It takes a while for it to loosen up. Some sweetness, with raisins and charcoal. A slightly bittery note like peach stones. Apricot too.

Sip:
Slightly drying on the palate and pretty sharp. Bitter and sweet together again. Peach and apricot, raisin twigs and oak.

Swallow:
The bitterness is mostly gone here and the not overpowering sweetness remains. I get fruit syrup and a fruity way of charcoal.

This is an absolutely tremendous whisky. The balance is stunning (which helped me pick Springbank too, they’re good with Sherry casks like that) and the combination of gentle notes of bitter and sweet works very well for me.

There probably is a lot more to discover in this whisky (like that Mortlach meatiness…), and I hope to do that at some point, when I can scratch this off the wish list, ’cause that’s where this one went!

Mortlach 18yo, 55.2%, 1994-2012, Malts of Scotland. No links found, but it should be around € 90

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