Caol Ila Feis Ile 2013, 56.5%

Posted on 22 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another one of the Feis Ile 2013 whiskies and a triple matured one at that. To me, triple matured doesn’t mean much but the guys at Master of Malt popped up at the top of my search query to explain. They simply used refill butts, hogsheads and barrels to mature this whisky in for twelve years, and then vatted it together for a marriage period of a couple months.

I guess that means that this is a 12 year old, and while they call this a ‘triple matured’ whisky, what it boils down to (‘IMHO’) is that this is just a cask strength Caol Ila. Most whiskies from most distilleries come from a variety of casks that they have handy, and this one is no different. Biggest change is that there were just three casks instead of thousands of three types.

Caol Ila Feis Ile 2013. Image from Master of Malt but sold out there.

Caol Ila Feis Ile 2013. Image from Master of Malt but sold out there.

Sniff:
Flowery honey at first with a lot of peat, with added sharpness of fresh straw. It does have some sweetness that might come from the sherry butts involved.

Sip:
On the palate it’s more crisp, but still sweet. A tad salty with some heat from white pepper. Very sharp with grass and a slightly bitter edge.

Swallow:
The finish is full and a little bit richer than the palate was. It does last for quite a while.

While I’m not overly fond of the marketing jibberjabber about triple maturation and all that kind of nonsense. What I am fond of, however, is this whisky. It packs some punch but while doing that it’s utterly delicious. I guess it’s the sharpest of the evening (with three more to come that couldn’t top it) and a welcome change from the mild Bowmore and Kilchoman.

Caol Ila Feis Ile 2013, 56.5%, Triple Matured, available at The Green Welly Stop in Tyndrum at £ 150.

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Vestal vintage terroir vodkas, Podlasie and Kaszebe

Posted on 21 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Shortly after reviewing St. George’s Terroir Gin I got an email from William at Vestal Vodka if I would like to try their terroir vodkas. I’m not one to say no to free booze, so a couple of days ago two samples arrived at work hailed by ‘it’s for Sjoerd, I wonder what that is…’ in a rather sarcastic way.

Anyway, I did explain to Vestal that I am not very familiar with vodka and have never actually set down to ‘assess’ one. Luckily that didn’t stop them.

The only vodka I ever actually LIKED, instead of drank just to get hammered in Belarus, was St. George’s (again, them) Hangar One, when it was still their brand. It was different from everything else, also because it was made from wheat instead of potatoes. To my very limited knowledge, that was important.

Along comes Vestal, a vodka brand which makes all their product from potatoes. They use very small scale farmers and distill on a small scale too, to keep as much of the artisanal feel as possible. They chose their farmers for the quality of their taters and the way they grow and pick them.

Their two terroirs released so far are from the Podlasie and Kaszebe regions of Poland, respectively in the east and north.

Vestal Podlasie, vintage 2010, 40%

Vestal Podlasie, vintage 2010, 40%

Vestal Podlasie vodka, 2010 vintage, 40%
On the nose it gives a very rich scent, right away. Chaff of barley in a fresh way, lemon sherbet. Very crisp and I can imagine this working at colder temperatures. Absolutely nothing like the big commercial brands with their sickly sweet and chemical smell. The palate is tingling but gentle at that. Rich and luxurious with a grain like flavour, some bitterness and that sherbet again. The finish is pretty long and has a tad of a gasoline flavour, but strangely tasty at that. Pretty sweet.

Vestal Kaszebe vodka, 2010 vintage, 40%
This one smells a bit more chemical than the first but only slightly. Again a barley like scent and this is almost like a whisky spirit. Rather earthy and less crisp, but that results in more of a winter warmer. Slightly salty too. The palate is tingling like the first one and again, has a very whisky spirit like flavour. Soft, gentle and warming. The finish suddenly has vanilla custard and lemon quark.

Stuff like this makes my day!

Stuff like this makes my day!

I honestly thought these vodkas were produced from grain because of the scents and flavours. I might have to reassess my tasting notes and skills after this. Anyway, these two vodkas are, by far, the tastiest ones I have ever tried. Absolutely gorgeous, especially the first one.

The Kaszebe is for sale on Vestal’s site at £ 32 for half a liter, and the Podlasie was a Waitrose exclusive that is unfortunately no longer available on their site. If it was, I would buy myself a bottle right now. Bummer!

Thanks to William at Vestal Vodka for sending the samples!

Posted in - Other Spirits, Vestal | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Kilchoman Feis Ile 2013, 2008-2013, 60.1%

Posted on 20 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The winter tasting at De Whiskykoning is almost the only time during the year that I drink Kilchoman. I’m not sure why, but this distillery hasn’t really connected with me yet. I do have a few bottles at home, including the inaugural from 2009, but I’ve only had one glass of it yet.

I did even buy a lot of their initial seasonal releases (the first four or so) but apart from this inaugural and the fourth one, which was from a bourbon cask, I sold them all. I just couldn’t be bothered.

According to the almighty interwebz the Loch Gorm, 100% Islay releases and whichever series they’re running currently (the amount of series from this distillery is almost like Highland Park’s!) are pretty great, which makes me want to try them, but not buy them. And since I never come across samples…

Anyway, a beast of a 5 year old, at 60.1% ABV should get things going, I guess. Let’s see what I thought.

Kilchoman Feis Ile 2013. Image from Whiskybase

Kilchoman Feis Ile 2013. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
It’s a lot more gentle than I expected. Still fierce, but not as sharp as many 60% whiskies can be. Sweet with some peat, but also not overly smoky. Grass, dried flowers and quite a lot of yellow fruit: apple, pear, banana.

Sip:
Here the ABV is more clearly present, but I still wouldn’t have guessed this to be at 60%, more like 55% or so. Sweet and syrupy with banana and sweet, ripe pear. Pear drops, grass. It just keeps building in power though.

Swallow:
Here it gets more sweet even, although a bit more generic as well. Dried flowers, long and lightly smoky. Some salt too.

While this is quite a bit lower on the vanilla, and has more fruitiness, this still is fairly similar in profile as yesterday’s Bowmore. The same slightly floral lightly peated young whisky. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it just occurred to me.

Anyway, a nice dram but again, not overly spectacular. It tastes more mature than a regular 5 year old though. I guess this is kind of common for Kilchoman.

Kilchoman Feis Ile 2013, 2008-2013, 60.1%. Not available anymore, but you might get one in auction if you like. I guess it’d be around € 200.

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Bowmore Feis Ile 2013, 56.5%

Posted on 19 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A little while ago I booked 8 spots at De Whiskykoning‘s ‘winter tasting’. Winter boils down to peat in his book and this time around he had been able to gather six Feis Ile bottlings, if you count the Ardbeg Galileo as one.

The line-up, therefore was pretty awesome and when the tasting was only € 27.50, it kind of made my day. The addition of a lot of friends helped too, of course. Since the 8 spots went so easily, I already booked all 11 spots for next year. I think this is kind a cool in a very childish way. Look what I did!

Anyway, the Bowmore Feis Ile for this year is a bourbon cask matured bottling, at not too big an age. There is another one at 24 year old but that would mean its from the late eighties and I’m glad the tasting didn’t include that one.

This Bowmore being a not-too-old bourbon matured one is more or less a smaller batch version of the Tempest releases they do annually since 2010. This made me eager to try it!

Bowmore Feis Ile at Hard to Find Whisky.

Bowmore Feis Ile at Hard to Find Whisky.

Sniff:
It’s very rich from the start, with hay and sea weed scents all over. Sweet with hazelnut and spices. Lots of vanilla after half an hour or so, but quite salty all the way through.

Sip:
On the palate it’s very sparkly, like soda water but with a lot of alcohol. Dry and sweet with a light spiciness.

Swallow:
Very consistent since the sweet and salty note continues here as well. Very rich too with dry peat but not very long.

This whisky cannot be compared to anything but the Tempest range, but if we do so it is more in league with batch 4 than batch 3. Unfortunately for this bottling I prefer batch 3. This one feels a bit safer, more middle-of-the-road than I prefer. Luckily, Bowmore is also going for the rougher, more reeking variety nowadays so I guess this makes everybody satisfied.

A nice start to the tasting but a bit too safe.

Bowmore Feis Ile 2013 edition, bourbon cask matured, 56.5%, available at Hard to Find Whisky for £ 199.95.

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A night on the town

Posted on 17 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Last Friday my wife and I went into Amsterdam for a couple of drinks and something to eat to celebrate my 32nd birthday. The plan was to go for a cocktail first, then food, then beers.

That last bit got cut short a little bit by the sheer distance the restaurant we picked was from anything else. We could have taken the tram but usually we prefer walking places.

Appetizers. Great stuff

Appetizers. Great stuff

Anyway, we had a cocktail at Tales & Spirits, which is the best cocktail bar I’ve been in The Netherlands so far, maybe even Europe. Keep in mind that I have not been to many of those…

I had a Gin Lane and Anneke went for the T&S. For some reason she usually picks the better cocktails… The benefit of the Gin Lane is that it’s fairly easy to reproduce. I believe it’s Botanist Islay Gin, Bittermens Boston Bittahs, Simply Syrup, a cinnamon stick and some lemon zest. Tasty stuff, though.

For dinner we went to Bar Brouw, which is a barbecue restaurant that focusses heavily on the American style of slow cooking your meat (is there any other style of barbecueing?). They do tasting platters with some sides, so in the end we had almost everything on the menu. A short review:

Main:

  • Pulled Pork: YES
  • Brisket: yes, if your cut is a bit lean
  • Ribs: yes
  • Pork Belly: no. The fat wasn’t properly rendered so it was just a grease bomb.

Sides:

  • Baked Beans: YES
  • Tomato salad: not really interesting but nice and fresh
  • Potato salad: no. Taters weren’t properly cooked. Undercooked potatoes are just not good.
  • Cole slaw: yes
MEAT

MEAT

I had some random beers from BrewDog and Anderson Valley. Their selection is rather impressive, as is their selection of whisky. Quite a varied range of Scotch whisky sits on the shelf, but also a rather sizeable set of bourbon is available. Especially that last bit was refreshing.

After some great cheesecake for desert we started walking back to the city center for a few beers. The goal was to go to ‘t Arendsnest, but that was rather busy and we were ready to sit down for a brew instead of standing while drinking it. By then my wife remembered that some former colleagues of mine were in town as well and we met up with them at De Brabantse Aap. This bar used to be called De Beijaard and was a beer-staple in town, why the new owners renamed it still baffles me.

Anyway, a great night out with the misses and no screaming kid around us gave us some time to ‘reconnect’. The fact that there is great booze to be had helps too. Bar Brouw wasn’t all I had hoped it would be. The Pulled Pork was stunning, but the rest not so much. Still a decent meal for a decent price.

Posted in - American Whiskey, - Bar, - Beer | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fary Lochan Efterår Batch 1, 48%

Posted on 14 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Fary Lochan is a distillery and winery in Farre, Denmark. It’s a tiny distillery in a small town in Jutland, which is more or less the entire mainland of Danmark. It sits smack in the middle of the peninsula and is situated near a small burn and a lake, and the location was chosen for its supposedly ideal conditions for making and maturing whisky.

The Fary Lochan distillery is a rather new place and they laid down their first casks in the warehouse on December 31st of 2009. That makes the whisky I tasted just over 3.5 years old. Still young but they already seem to be taking their time for the first whisky to come out. Most distilleries would release at the earliest possible moment.

But, in the end it all boils down to the taste of the dram, doesn’t it?

Tasting the Fary Lochan. Not bad at all!

Tasting the Fary Lochan. Not bad at all!

Sniff:
It’s young and exactly like a young whisky. Not too rich, but quite spirity. Massive scents of barley and a surprising wood aroma. Old apple and leather too.

Sip:
Young, of course. Spirity, of course. It’s rather gentle, on the palate I would have guessed lower than 48%. Quite fruity and spicy. Some red fruits and pear.

Swallow:
The fruitiness goes on for a while with a tiny hint of spiciness behind it. The pear and oak are gone quickly.

While this is a very young whisky and therefore doesn’t offer much depth and layeredness, it’s not all that bad actually. I am surprised by the flavour it has already developed and if this is the direction their whisky is going, it’s going to be a distillery to keep an eye out for.

Having said that, I do think the whisky needs more time in the barrel. Not even to iron out the creases but just to gain more from the cask. Gain some depth and richness. Not something I would spend my money on. YET.

Fary Lochan Efterår Batch 1, 48%, 5cl miniature.

The sample was sent to me by Steffen Brauner, and supplied by the distillery! Thanks a million guys, keep at it!

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Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7 Year Old Rye Whiskey, 49.5%

Posted on 13 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The other Smooth Ambler whiskey from the bottle-share and the last post in the series for a bit. It’s an ‘Old Scout’ which means they sourced the whiskey elsewhere. In this case it’s a rye whiskey with 95% rye, and 5% malted barley to help kick-start fermentation.

Anyway, the one Rye whiskey in the current Bottle-Share. I feel there should have been more but in the end I couldn’t make up my mind and really didn’t want to skip any of the ones I picked.

I happened to discuss American whiskey with a friend recently (Thanks, Bas!). We came to the conclusion (mostly his) there is some really bad American whiskey, some absolutely stunning, but a lot of it is in a rather large gray area. An area where stuff is not very interesting. Of course, it’s a challenge to find the ones that stick out on top!

Smooth Ambler Rye, at Master of Malt

Smooth Ambler Rye, at Master of Malt

Sniff:
Spicy rye with a sweet background. Nutmeg and dry, dirty oak. Pink peppercorns and ginger. A delicious combination of intense flavours. What’s so admirable about this dram is that it’s blended in a way that it is not sharp on the nose at all.

Sip:
Here it’s spicy in a somewhat more sharper fashion. Pepper, dry oak and sweet spices. Ginger, allspice and rye. Rye in a way of rye whiskey, not necessarily rye grains or rye bread. Also some orange.

Swallow:
Here it still has that fruitiness of the orange. The finish does add a bit of leather to the mix of spices. It combines nicely to a warming mix of deliciousness.

Yup, this one sticks out. Absolutely lovely stuff, just as the Old Scout Bourbon, although that was a bit over hyped. This one was kept quiet, but does not disappoint at all! It has a lot of flavours and scents to keep things interesting, but it’s not as fierce or sharp as some others, so it’s smooth too. Lovely.

Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7yo Rye Whiskey, 49.5%, available at Master of Malt at £ 47.75

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FEW Bourbon, Cask Strength, 61.5%

Posted on 12 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

FEW Spirits is a relatively new distillery based in Evanston, Illinois, on the outskirts of Chicago. They are producing a rather sizeable range of popular spirits, from bourbon and rye whiskey to aged and non-aged gins and also a grappa. Most things come as cask strength and ‘watered down’ versions, so they’re sure to give you enough choice between things.

I had heard good things about the distillery when Billy wrote a blog post about it at The Whisky Exchange’s blog, and I think the guys at Master of Malt are fans too. Anyway, more than enough reason to pick up a bottle for the bottle-share, methinks.

The mashbills used for this bourbon contains no wheat, so only corn, rye and some malted barley which comes in handy for fermentation. The cask strength version is bottled at a whopping 61.5% ABV. Add that this is a very young spirit, and you know you’re in for quite a fiery ride.

FEW Cask Strength Bourbon.

FEW Cask Strength Bourbon.

Sniff:
That it’s young and spirity is clear right away. Unlike the Leviathan from a couple of days ago, this youthfulness and spirit is not that bad. It’s ridiculously sharp, but in a way that is very interesting and warrants further exploration. Anyway, I even get some forest fruit (raspberry and black berry). Some shoe polish and quite a lot of rye too. Very promising.

Sip:
It’s sharp. This’ll wake you up no matter what the hour is. The alcohol makes it very drying, and on the palate there is oak, corn, fruit and leather.

Swallow:
It does mellow rather quickly, the surprising fruitiness stays for a while longer. Old furniture with wood and leather polish.

On the nose I said ‘promising’. I think this whiskey will definetly improve with some extra time in the cask, but it doesn’t feel like an unfinished product at the moment either. It might even be that this whiskey’s strength lies in its youthfulness.

While it’s not my favourite whiskey of the year, not even of the bottle-share, it is one of the more interesting ones!

FEW Bourbon, Cask Strength, 61.5%, samples available at Master of Malt at £ 4.39

Posted in - American Whiskey, FEW | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, 134.2 proof

Posted on 11 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

134.2 proof in the USA boils down to 67.1% abv. The Americans like to keep things simple, which is most likely why they moved away from the old Imperial Proof still occassionally used in England. The Americans just double their ABV, in England the multiplication factor is 1.75. That’s why whiskies from the UK at 100 proof  are 57.% abv.

What the Imperial Proof exactly means has something to do the strength of navy rum and gun powder, I believe. When mixed, both had to ignite if their strengths were good. If not, one was of lower quality. Something like that…

Anyway, I really like Elijah Craig. Their 12 and 18 year olds are great whiskies and especially the 12 is easy to get your hands on, even on a limited budget (under € 30 in shops here). When this belter of a whiskey came out, I just had to try it. Together with the Four Roses yadayadayada it made for the kick off of this bottle-share.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

Sniff:
Lots of oak, leather and furniture polish, horse saddles. It’s rich and sweet too, with raspberry and quite some dryness.

Sip:
Very sharp. The 67.1% abv is not well hidden, so to say. Lots of dryness and oak. The dry bit may also be the alcohol of course. Some cork (not in a bad way) and heaps of chili peppers.

Swallow:
The finish is long but not as intense as expected. When it starts to ease a bit the chili comes back. Oak again, with sweet fruits and red cinnamon.

This is a belter. The flavours are not as complex as I expected them to be, but it’s a delicious whiskey nonetheless. I’m not entirely sure if this would be a go to whiskey if you want a ridiculously high proof Bourbon, but it’s very interesting for sure. What I’m trying to say is that I really love the 12 year old, and at less than half the price I’d go for that. This is not a waste of money though.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, 134.2 proof. No longer available at Master of Malt, but it used to cost £ 66.28

Posted in - American Whiskey, Elijah Craig, Heaven Hill | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

High West American Prairie Reserve, 46%

Posted on 8 November 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The second High West whiskey from the recent American Whiskey Bottle-Share. For some reason I’ve always liked High West. I bought a bottle when travelling through the south of Utah in 2009. I never made it up to Park City but I did pick up the Rendezvous. Although it’s a very sweet whiskey, but it’s packing lots of flavour.

Anyway, the American Prairie Reserve and Campfire were ones that I had not tried yet, which qualified them for the set of 9 (this time). The American Prairie Reserve is a whiskey blended by High West, with a portion of the profits going to Montana’s Prairie Reserve. A good cause is supported by my drinking. Does it get any better than this?

The American Prairie Reserve

American Prairie Reserve

American Prairie Reserve

Sniff:
Oh. My. God. The nose is divine. It’s lovely sweet and spicy. The intensity is huge, like you’re in the middle of a bakery. Lots of pastry, dough and cremes. Pink peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon. Also sweet corn syrup and maple syrup.

Sip:
Spicy and a bit sharper than expected. Sweet and light in flavour too, and not as thick as the nose made me guess. Again, lots of spices. Allspice, pepper, old oak. Corn and wheat too.

Swallow:
Spicy again, and a tad dry now (not too dry, mind!). Sweet and more grains here. The spicy finish isn’t too long but suddenly gives hints of caramel apple.

This just might be a new favourite. Compared to some others it’s pretty affordable. The palate is big, the finish is delicious, but the nose is just absolutely stunning. After you open the bottle, it just fills the room. This most certainly made the wish list, and that doesn’t happen all that much anymore. (this is not meant to sound arrogant, there’s lots of lovely stuff out there, but most of it I can’t afford…)

High West American Prairie Reserve, 46%, available at Master of Malt at £ 49.11

Posted in - American Whiskey, High West | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment