Blind Tasting Competition 2 – Royal Brackla, 33yo, 1976, 43% – MacKillop’s Choice

Posted on 8 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I’ve got points! 20 because I had the ABV right, and 20 since I guessed a distillery from the same region. The last bit feels like cheating a bit since Balblair (my guess) and Royal Brackla are rather far apart. But still. Points!

The rules are fairly simple:

  • 20 points for the ABV (-1 for every tenth you’re off)
  • 40 points for the distillery (20 if it’s in the same region)
  • 40 points for the age (-10 for every year you’re off)

18 whiskies means an 1800 point maximum. Not sure about last year, but the year before the winner didn’t even have half. It’s ridiculously hard since as long as it’s a single malt from Scotland everything is allowed. As demonstrated by the completely random bottling from Bruichladdich.

This one then:

Royal Brackla 33. Image from Whiskybase

Royal Brackla 33. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
At first I thought I got a whiff of peat but that was gone quickly. So no peat. It’s dusty and restrained. It takes some time before I got anything from it. Very gentle and low in ABV. Eventually I get instant orange juice powder.

Sip:
The palate has some more stuff going on. Kind of spicy with a hint of pepper. It mellows out quickly with some peach like, sweet syrup. The tinned kind.

Swallow:
The finish has some other fruits as well, but we’re still in the peach/apricot/nectarine league. It’s pretty long and gentle with a sudden hint of baking spices.

With the gentle flavours, and a slight hint of spice it could be anything, but my first inclination was to go for Balblair. Not entirely sure why but I went with that. I thought about changing it but I didn’t know into what. Benrinnes maybe. Maybe not. A good reason to not change anything.

Since I didn’t have a clue about the age I went for an arbitrary 15 years old and the ABV was an easy 43%. Not strong enough for 46 and not watery enough for 40. Spot on!

The whisky itself was nice enough and pretty tasty, although I found it rather restrained and it didn’t easily give you any flavours or scents.

Again, I understand its price at € 150 with it being 33 years old. Although, again, I wouldn’t spend this much on it since, according to my inconsistent palate, it could just as well be a 15 year old Balblair, which should cost no more than € 65 or so.

Royal Brackla, 33yo, 1976, 43% – MacKillop’s Choice. € 150 at Glen Fahrn in Germany

Posted in Royal Brackla | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Blind Tasting Competition 1 – Bruichladdich 21yo, Carnival of Malt Valinch, 52.5%

Posted on 7 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The Blind Tasting Competition has started again. I posted some unboxing pictures yesterday but after being attended to my home address being visible on the box’s label, I decided to remove it.

Anyway, blind tasting is hard. Blind tasting and trying to find the right distillery, bottling, abv and age is ridiculously more tough. Especially when people start including rum finishes, from a distillery of which you mostly taste young stuff since the reopening it’s nigh impossible.

The score on http://www.levenswater.nl indicates this too, since the highest scoring people got only 40 out of a 100 points for the first dram. I got 0. Everything wrong.

Bruichladdich Carnival of Malts, 21yo. Image from Whiskybase

Bruichladdich Carnival of Malts, 21yo. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Tropical fruit with lots of peach and quite some vanilla. I also got some slate and a dusty kind of sweetness.

Sip:
A LOT sharper than I expected it to be. After shaking the sample bottle I knew it was higher ABV, but the nose didn’t give much away. Lightly flavoured, but rather peppery. Not too much age to it, sweet, lots of vanilla again and fruit.

Swallow:
Quite some sweetness here too, but the white pepper is quite prominent. Minerally as well, like the slate on the nose. Chalk, very sweet lemon curd and not very long.

I went for Glenmorangie Astar, since the minerality and vanilla sweetness sent me to Glenmorangie and it being a very strong whisky, I picked a cask strength one. Of course, I was off by the entire breadth of Scotland.

I don’t feel overly ashamed, though. This kind of semi-rare stuff is hard to pin down, especially when Mr. McEwan’s aceing gets involved. I just hope for more points tonight.

The whisky itself is nice, but since this could, according to me be Astar just as well, I’d go for Astar. I like that dram and it’s about 3 times cheaper than this one, if you can even find this one…

Bruichladdich 21yo, Carnival of Malt Valinch, 52.5%, Bourbon and Rum Finish, 1992-2013. Should cost little over € 150

Posted in Bruichladdich, Glenmorangie | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Port Ellen, Pe1, 58.7% – Elements of Islay

Posted on 6 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

While there is no official statement saying which Elements of Islay bottlings is which, this line of bottles from The Whisky Exchange‘s Specialty Drinks Ltd. leaves little to the imagination. The toughest one to guess has been the Pc range but as you consider the options for about a second or three, you’ll figure it out as well.

The wee (they’re only 0.5l) bottles are nice looking and the chemical label is actually something I’m really fond of. Although a design agency probably had something to do with it, it feels a bit like they just winged it and not too much money is going to things that aren’t booze.

Anyway, the Pe1 is the first release and came out in 2009. Since then there have been a couple more, they’re up to Pe5 by now. Some of them from bourbon casks, some from sherry, some from the 80s, some from the 70s. I have absolutely no clue to when this was distilled, but the sherry character is rather obvious.

Sniff:
Although the ABV is rather high for such an old bottling, the peat scent coming off it is gentle. Some sweet citrus behind that (blood orange?) and the typical shammy leather scent from Port Ellen is here too. The sherry influence is slightly nutty with some light fruity tones. If you let it air for a while it gets heavier regarding the peat and fruit.

Port Ellen Pe1. Image from Whiskybase

Port Ellen Pe1. Image from Whiskybase

Sip:
The palate is a lot sharper than the nose made me expect. Full, rich, lots of heavy fruit. Peach and apricot mainly. The fruit goes the opposite way here and becomes lighter if you let it swim for a while. Very spicy, very peaty.

Swallow:
The finish is gentle with a return of the shammy leather. It’s pretty long and also gives me a flavour of blood orange again.

This is a pretty tasty Port Ellen. A lucky shot when I bought this in our local booze emporium. I had no clue as to what I was getting in to, but thinking back to the days that a Port Ellen could be bought for ‘only’ € 135 or so makes me think of the strange world we live in. That’s only four years ago.

Anyway, of course this is long gone from the shops and if Whiskybase is to be believed this thing would set you back about € 350 now. I do believe they don’t update when there is no new link, so that might have changed a bit.

Port Ellen, Pe1, 58.7%, Elements of Islay, Specialty Drinks Ltd.

Posted in Port Ellen | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Auchentoshan 27yo, 1984, 53.0% – Whiskybroker.co.uk

Posted on 5 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Last year Master of Malt bottled a 27 year old Auchentoshan which I really enjoyed. Mark Dermul, the Toshan Man, had a rather different opinion on it, stating that it contained massive amounts of FWP and thereby raising the question if that is something encountered in all Morrisson Bowmore bottlings from the 1980s.

At Maltstock this year, Ewald Lap, former whisky connaisseur of The Netherlands, and fellow club member brought this version of a 1984 Auchentoshan to the table to be shared. Usually old whiskies fly out in no time but for some reason, some of this one was left at the end of the weekend.

I had to promise that, after tasting it, I would send a sample to Mark Dermul in Belgium for his enjoyment. That will happen soon, the box is already sitting here but I just have to find the time to send it. Even walking to the post office for five minutes has to be planned nowadays.

Whiskybroker's Auchentoshan 1984. Image from Whiskybase

Whiskybroker’s Auchentoshan 1984. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
It starts off with lavender. This scares me. I get gentle vanilla after that, with quite some dry, white oak. Yogurt ice-cream too. When you inhale deeper it gets some sharp edges but other than that it’s fairly gentle. Less intense than the Master of Malt one, if I remember correctly.

Sip:
It’s sharp and spicy. Very sharp actually. Lots of alcohol, but coated in flowers, grass, lavender. Some vanilla and white pepper. Planed white oak.

Swallow:
Here things go terribly wrong. I get vanilla and laundry softener, and it lasts long. In this case you don’t want it to.

So, at first it’s not a too bad whisky, although I am far from being a fan. It’s kind of middle of the road and tries to make up for that by sheer sharpness and spiciness. Then in the finish the FWP kicks in. I am getting more and more adverse to those flavours and this one is drowning in it at the end. A bummer, I had hoped for another lovely dram like the one tasted earlier.

Auchentoshan 27yo, 1984, 53.0%, Whiskybroker.co.uk. Used to cost only € 75 or so.

Thanks to Ewald for letting me taste this. The bottle will be leaving for Belgium soon.

Posted in Auchentoshan | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

2 Springbanks for the Fredericia Golf Club

Posted on 4 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

When my friend Gal came to the Netherlands last this year for Maltstock, he, of course, brought samples to share in between the masterclasses. Everybody does that, it’s what makes Maltstock great since everybody brings something rare or great, preferably both.

The drawback of living in Israel is that you’re not part of the European Union and there is a rather strict limit to the amount of booze you can bring back without paying shitloads of taxes. For that reason he decided to leave some stuff behind when he went home after the festival.

Springbank Bourbon Cask

Springbank Bourbon Cask

I ended up with some Balcones samples, but also two Springbanks. One label said sherry, the other bourbon. No further info. By now I know a bit more about them, but sherry and bourbon is what it boiled down to.

Springbank 10yo, btld November 2009, private label for the Fredericia Golf Club, Denmark, 59.5%. Fresh Bourbon Barrel

On the nose you get vanilla and lemon curd. Also some coconut and oak. It’s a lot cleaner than I expected Springbank to be capable of. The palate is sharp with peppery heat, oak, some vanilla, dry with apple. Rather Springbank-y. The finish is warm and drying with some sharpness from pepper and straw.

Springbank Sherry Cask

Springbank Sherry Cask

Springbank, 8yo, btld August 2008, private label for the Fredericia Golf Club, Denmark, 58.6%. Fresh Sherry Butt

This time the nose is very old fashioned and heavy with shoe polish and leather. Lots of sherry, oak, musty barley floors and grain mills. Also moldy cellars. Nice! The mouth is sharp with some dry oak, bitter but with a lot of rich, gentle fruitiness in the background. The finish is fairly straight forward, long and rich with sherry. Big.

While the first one wasn’t something overly thrilling with too much ‘vanilla’ flavours going on (in both senses of the word: the flavour of vanilla or as defined here) I wasn’t too thrilled. The second one, the sherry cask, made up for that. Springbank knows how to do sherry casks very well and one this heavy and old fashioned makes me realize Springbank is almost a running museum instead of a distillery. Gorgeous!

So thanks Gal!

Posted in Springbank | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Surprise tasting at De Whiskykoning (2/2)

Posted on 3 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The second half of the surprise tasting write-up at De Whiskykoning in Den Bosch.

Tasting twelve whiskies in a row in just over two hours is taxing. The glasses were properly covered with glass lids so I started by nosing them all and already making a preselection based on the scent. Especially in Scotch whisky, the most defining factor for me is the nose. The rest can not be negated, and a lot can be corrected on the palate and finish, but the nose is the thing that impresses me most, most of the time.

The drawback is that the sherry casks generally are easier to nose right off the bat, and most bourbon casks take a bit more discovery to get to the real goodness. Of course, this is my opinion. Anyway, some stood out, some didn’t.

Arran Cask Strength Batch 2
The scent is kind of held back but I get cream crackers and light sherry and after a while tea. The palate is sweet and rich, quite surprising with sherry and dried fruits. Christmas cake. The finish is sweet again, a bit chemically so with winegums, fruit and PX like influences.

A very affordable and very tasty dram. I had this sixth in my line-up, but with a list like this that is a very good score, for a € 45 dram.

Bunnahabhain Sgeul na Mara
This is sickly sweet, very overly so. Overripe fruit and some oak on the nose.palate is surprisingly dry and sweet. It also has some spice. After that it’s tingling and sweet, rather long.

The Feis Ile bottling from Bunnahabhain. They have a bit of a hit and miss (see the cognac cask) history with this, and this year’s bottling is another miss in my book.

Glenmorangie Ealanta
Lots of fruit and some fruity influence. I want to write sherry but it’s a bit undefined. Nice though, with allspice. The taste is gentle and rich. Rather light with mountains of orchard fruits. Tropical, mango. The finish has some flint and the fruit is present here as well.

The best whisky of the year, according to someone who kind of calls himself a prophet 😉 While I don’t know about that, no one I’ve met denies that this is a damn fine dram too. After the tasting, all bottles were gone from the shop.

Glengoyne Cask Strength Batch 1
Too much sherry on the nose, some oak but rather thin. The palate is dry and sharp with a lot of sherry again, very sweet. The finish continues. Dry, sharp and slightly bitter.

This was my least favourite of the bunch. Way too much sherry and overly sweet because of it. A rather typical pit fall for Glengoyne (see here and here).

Port Askaig 19 Cask Strength
Tasting notes here.

A rather nice Caol Ila, as it turned out.

The winner of the evening. Not by much though.

The winner of the evening. Not by much though.

Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 8
Lots of sherry, but in a toned down, mature way. Allspice with a lot of ginger, oak, cedar and mint. The palate is light and gentle, baking spices again. Some chili and white pepper mixed. The finish has a LOT of spices, all the good kind, very rich.

This was immediatly my favourite. I had no clue batch 8 was even out yet, and less of a clue that Rob Stevens would even have it. My God this is a terrific dram!

So, how did I rate everything, from lowest to highest:

  1. Glengoyne Cask Strength Batch 1
  2. Longrow
  3. Bunnahabhain, Sgeul Na Mara, Feis Ile 2013
  4. Springbank Gaja Barolo
  5. Highland Park Loki
  6. Arran Cask Strength Batch 2
  7. Port Askaig 19 Cask Strength
  8. Campbeltown Loch 21
  9. Auchentoshan Solera
  10. Glenmorangie Ealanta
  11. Cadenhead’s The Hielanman
  12. Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 8

All in all, a terrific tasting and I loved being a part of it. I am about to sell a kidney for that Balvenie though.

Beware of people using the position of the glass as a ranking. It takes forever

Beware of people using the position of the glass as a ranking. It takes forever.

Thanks Rob!

Posted in Arran, Auchentoshan, Balvenie, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Glengoyne, Glenmorangie, Highland Park, Longrow, Springbank | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Surprise tasting at De Whiskykoning (1/2)

Posted on 2 December 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Last Friday I went all the way to De Whiskykoning in Den Bosch for a whisky event. The so called ‘surprise tasting’. Not that the tasting itself was a surprise, but nobody knew what we were going to taste. Of course, it would be whisky, but apart from that…

This kind of gimmick can be quite dangerous when the host of the evening is Rob Stevens, aka De Whiskykoning, since he is known for mind fucks: Putting a bottle of Ardbeg Kildalton on the table during a bottoms up and putting genever in there or the other way around when there is Port Ellen in a Red Label bottle.

The setup

The setup

Anyway, the weekend before he sent out a reminder as a Sinterklaas poem and on the morning before that tasting there was a picture of a ridiculous amount of glasses in front of every seat. There was to be a mission and it would be severe. He knows sometimes I come by car but advised me not to do so this time.

As it turned out, the tasting would be the pre selection of his Christmas tasting. At Christmas he hosts a tasting for some invited guests with his personal favourite drams of the year and this year there were a lot. We had to narrow it down from 12 to 6. All whiskies were tasted blind and put in order from high to low score at the end.

Here are the first six whiskies:

Cadenhead's The Hielanman. Still in proof and fluid ounces

Cadenhead’s The Hielanman. Still in proof and fluid ounces

Auchentoshan Solera
Tasting notes here.

Still stunning. The gentleness and deep, rich sherry notes are delicious.

Campbeltown Loch 21
Sweet with quite some oak but a ‘watery’ scent. Barley, leaves and vanilla. On the palate it was tingling but gentle. Some white pepper, slightly sweet and sugary. The finish is slightly bitter and less sweet.

A rather nice dram! It turned to more and more vanilla as you let it breathe which made it a bit ‘middle of the road’ but still, rather nice.

Cadenhead’s Hielanman (bottled in the ’60s, most likely)
This was the odd one out. The only whisky not bottled this year so technically, this was already out of the end result. This also was the only blended whisky.

Longrow.

Longrow.

It had a Brora like scent of warmth, hay, farmyard and stables. Some sweetness, with hay, an earthy undertone and raisins. On the palate it was warm again, with apples, pear and pound cake. The finish long and delicious, in a very old fashioned way.

This was a really tasty dram with an exceptionally stunning nose. According to Rob: “I bought this in an auction some years ago and never got around to it”. Thanks for getting around to it now!

Highland Park Loki
Tasting notes here.

Tasty but, apparently, when tasted blind less popular than when not done so. Strange. Still liked it though.

Springbank Gaja Barolo. Meh

Springbank Gaja Barolo. Meh

Longrow
The standard Longrow replacing the CV as I understood. Burnt wood with charcoal and flint, some barley too. Then, on the palate, gentle oak, ash and charcoal. Some liquorice and honey too. The finish it was gentle and smoky.

Nice but nothing to remember. The cheapest bottle of the evening but not the one that scored lowest, albeit only just.

Springbank Gaja Barolo
Very sweet with some oak, vanilla and straw on the nose. Tingling, salty in the mouth, but rather thin and sharp with hints of barley. The finish was lightly spicy with salt. 

I was rather curious to this one, hoping it would be similar to the Longrow Gaja Barolo from some years ago. Unfortunately, I found this a rather uninteresting whisky.

Tommorrow the rest will follow.

Posted in - Blended Whisky, Auchentoshan, Highland Park, Longrow, Springbank | Leave a comment

Glenfarclas 43yo, 1966-2009, Speyside’s Finest for The Whisky Show, 48.2% – Old Malt Cask

Posted on 29 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Officially it’s an undisclosed distillery, of course, but when even the receipt says it’s a Glenfarclas, I tend to believe that. When this came out I was really into sherry casks and the darker the better, usually. When this came out with its dark brown, burnished leather colour, at 43 years old, and costing ‘only’ £ 125 I was sold. I just had to have this.

By the time it came in I had some explaining to do to the misses, but once I tasted it I never looked back.

Speyside's Finest from 1966. Absolutely stunning.

Speyside’s Finest from 1966. Absolutely stunning.

Sniff:
Really rich sherry with a lot of oak. On the brink of being overpowered but still tasty. Some honey with dried fruits and allspice. Plums, maraschino cherry, leather, mint and caramel. Mother of God this is delicious!

Sip:
On the palate this is much more spicy than you’d expect after nosing it. Some chili peppers, but also the oak and leather notes are back. Sherry, nuts, dried plums. Very Karuizawa-y if that’s a thing. It does get a bit more gentle and starts showing chocolate and coffee notes.

Swallow:
The coffee theme continues on a more syrupy path. Kahlua and chocolate, on top of the sherry, plums, leather, oak and mint notes. It’s not the longest finish ever, but it is one of the most delicious.

After writing the tasting notes I had another glass, and another and I continued until the bottle was empty (it was almost empty when I started, though).

I guess this was one of the most delicious whiskies in my collection and together with a couple Karuizawas I had one of the best sherried whiskies that were ever in my possession. I regret not buying a case of this, but that’s easy in hindsight.

Anyway, if this pops up somewhere, get it!

Glenfarclas 43yo, 1966-2009, Speyside’s Finest for The Whisky Show, 48.2%, Old Malt Cask. Worth about £ 150 or so.

Posted in Glenfarclas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ardbeg Ardbog, whatever. 52.1%

Posted on 28 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I’m not sure if this is supposed to be called The Ardbeg Ardbog, or just Ardbog. At least it’s this year’s Ardbeg Day bottling. They’ve picked up the Ardbeg Day idea a few years ago when they started to open Embassies everywhere in ridiculously placed locations.

In the Netherlands I know of one or two embassies that are located quite far from where I live so I’ve not participated in any event as of yet. More so because a whisky event and driving usually don’t combine very well.

Anyway, we were warned by Rob at De Whiskykoning that this was supposed to be a pretty vile whisky. Rob being rather descriptive/suggestive was talking about gulping sea water instead of whisky and such.

Ardbeg Ardbog. Image from Master of Malt

Ardbeg Ardbog. Image from Master of Malt

Sniff:
It’s rather full and rich with salt and sweetness together. There’s some sherry involved too but it’s not really sugary on the nose. Some dried fruits and some vanilla. Creme brulee even, and of course, quite some peat.

Sip:
The palate is a bit sharper than I expected, with some white pepper and a crisp flavour to it. The nose is rather representative so the sweet and salt is present here too. Not sure if this means anything, but I get a flavour I associate with the beams used to lay railroads on. Tarred wood.

Swallow:
The finish is sharp too, but has lots of flavour. Some alcohol pops up, with peat, tar and grass.

I have to say this is one of my favourite Ardbegs of the recent releases. I think the light sherry addition for sweetness and the very salty undertone combine really well for me. The tarry bit is nicely done too and for a change, it’s not overpowered by peat (Supernova) or grassiness (Rollercoaster) and it certainly chooses direction (contrary to the Alligator).

Nice stuff! I like it. And now I regret not buying one or two bottles.

Ardbeg Ardbog, Ardbeg Day 2013, 52.1%. Available in some shops, starting at € 149

Posted in Ardbeg | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Laphroaig Feis Ile 2013, Cairdeas Port Wood Edition, 51.3%

Posted on 27 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

After a few days off in the Ardennes that mainly focussed on someone else’s whisky and beer, it’s about time to continue the Islay tasting and finish that up this week, since on Friday I’m off to Den Bosch again for another whisky tasting!

Laphroaig has been at the front of the distilleries releasing bigger batches of Feis Ile bottlings. Their Cairdeas series has been around for a while and always know how to find their way everywhere, and not just to people standing in line at the distillery. Since they have been doing that Ardbeg, Bowmore and now Lagavulin have followed suit.

This year’s edition is matured in Port Wood. A nice change of pace of the bourbon matured versions that came before (and a sherry one that came way before). Usually port wood and peated whisky combine rather well (I fondly remember some Caol Ila by Murray McDavid, and the various BenRiachs). Let’s see how we fare this time!

Laphroaig Cairdeas Port Wood. Image from Master of Malt

Laphroaig Cairdeas Port Wood. Image from Master of Malt

Sniff:
It’s light and rather sweet. You get the typical scents of Laphroaig but there is an addition. Unfortunately, in this case it feels a bit like a taint. There’s quite some port influence but that feels a bit watery. Some fruit and nuts are present though.

Sip:
It’s rather gentle, especially after the Lagavulin and Caol Ila. Quite some pepper though, but still sweet. Tawny port with some red fruit, on top of Laphroaigs peatiness.

Swallow:
Again, Laphroaig with something added in the mix. Pretty sweet again.

I am not a fan. I had tasted this before at Maltstock and wasn’t convinced back then. Now, when I sat down to properly assess it I am still not charmed by this one, to a level that I am glad I didn’t buy a bottle.

The port doesn’t work well with the lighter style of peated whisky that is Laphroaig. The subtleties of the distillery are lost in this dram and that happens because it’s trampled by the sweetness of the port. For some reason the port influence is a bit strange too, with just sweetness and not much else.

Laphroaig Feis Ile 2013, Cairdeas Port Wood Edition, 51.3%. No longer available but worth about £ 150 by now.

Posted in Laphroaig | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment