Old Pulteney Noss Head, 46%

Posted on 15 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Yesterday I participated in a Twitter Tasting with three New Pulteneys. Wait, no, that should be new Old Pulteneys. Anyway, they are releasing three new expressions for travel retail in 1 litre bottles at decent prices. Of course, we have to find out what it’s all about.

These whiskies are all named for lighthouses in the Scottish Highlands around Wick. Noss Head is the first in the series. Matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 46% ABV. There’s no age indicator, which generally means it is quite young.

Noss Head lighthouse. Image from Caithness.org

Noss Head lighthouse. Image from Caithness.org

Old Pulteney Noss Head

Old Pulteney Noss Head

Sniff:
At first I get the idea I’m nosing raw spirit. It takes a few whiffs before I get the more ‘aged’ scents. It still smells young with heaps of barley, some raw cookie dough and lemon zests. I even get a bit of a sulphury scent of cooked vegetables.

Sip:
Again, I get those hints of raw spirit. In this case it’s accompanied by a freighter of white pepper and some alcohol heat, even thought it’s only 46%. There’s also saw dust with sweet lemon curd. Some acidity too but mostly just incredibly hot.

Swallow:
The finish mellows quickly and gives some warmer flavours than I expected. I get pound cake with lemon drizzle. Also some barley and a little bit of bitter lemon pith. It’s not very long.

If you followed yesterday’s tasting a little bit you already know I don’t really enjoy this whisky. Especially the peppery heat and lack of flavours to combat that diminish the experience. While the Old Pulteney flavours are present, the balance is just way off to me. I won’t be putting this one anywhere near my wishlist.

If you consider this being sold at £ 39.99, while the regular 12 year old (which I really like) is only £ 23.49 at Master of Malt, you know where I’m putting my money!

Old Pulteney, Noss Head edition, 46%, matured in ex-bourbon casks. £ 39.99

Thanks to Old Pulteney for the sample!

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Danfield’s Limited Edition, 21 years old, 40%

Posted on 14 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The third whisky in the Canadian whisky tasting and book review, on the interwebs lovingly known as #DavinTT. I missed this one since I was out with friends for the weekend and it took me over a month to get around to it. Getting around to it, in this case meaning ‘remember that I still had one left’.

I had to dig through the archives of Twitter to find which whisky it was since the search function works well if it’s not too long ago. Over two months in Twitter time is prehistoric.

Anyway, I had no guidance in tasting this one and no hints and suggestions of scents and flavours while sipping this so the notes will be a bit more concise.

Danfield's Limited Edition, 21yo, 40%

Danfield’s Limited Edition, 21yo, 40%

Sniff:
It’s very sweet with corn syrup, honey flavoured liquorice and something crisp in the background. There’s rye and mint, but mostly rye, in there too. Green coffee beans and strawberry lemonade.

Sip:
Soft and buttery, thick and sweet. There’s spicy rye too, with a hint of pepper. The crisp hints that I found on the nose are not present here. Syrupy stuff.

Swallow:
The rye notes start kicking in here, bigtime. The strawberry syrup is back too. It doesn’t last too long.

So, what did I think of this one? A nice whisky, but not a new favourite. There are a lot of bourbon like flavours in here but without the depth and I think the palate doesn’t offer enough complexity to keep me entertained for long. A bummer, since the nose was quite promising.

Danfield’s Limited Edition, 21 year old, 40%. $ 50 ?!?!?

What I find of Canadian whisky in general? It’s a bit strange because it does have lots of strong rye notes, but quite different from the way the USA do rye. In the Canadian version there usually is a grainy, spicy rye with a touch of candy sweetness in there somewhere. It’s entertaining and I’m sure there is some good stuff out there. This tasting has proven that. It is, however, not my new favourite style or even something I will search for more often.

I would love to thank Johanne McInnis for hosting this kick-ass project, and Davin de Kergommeaux for writing one of the best whisky books I’ve recently read on the matter. The project was terrific and I regret not being part of the third tasting. I find it incredibly generous (or you might say Canadian) to spread out these whiskies all across the globe. The not-so-Canadian thing is, however, that this kind of stuff is not available outside the country and they keep everything for themselves. Bummer, since it usually is quite affordable and there’s a lot to discover!

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GlenDronach 18 Allardice, 46%

Posted on 13 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The first version of the Allardice was released alongside the 15 year old Revival. Most people preferred the Revival for its ridiculous amount of sherry cask influence. And at 15 years in such an active butt the stuff is almost black and thick with syrupy sweet goodness.

The 18, however, was a bit more subtle with just a tad less sherry influence. This is kind of strange, taking in mind that both whiskies are matured in the same style of cask.

Allardice is named after James Allardice, by the way. He’s the man that founded the distillery in 1826 in the Scottish Highlands.

GlenDronach Allardice 18yo

GlenDronach Allardice 18yo

Sniff:
Really heavy on the sherry as expected, with lots of oak and tropical fruit. There’s a slight note of spices and this all makes it a very typical GlenDronach (which is a very good thing). Compared to the 15 the sherry flavours are kept in check a wee bit more, and there’s more spices and more fruit.

Sip:
Gentle with fruit, fruit cake and dried apricots and plums. Candied fruit as well, with allspice and some white pepper. It gets a bit dry with a touch of wood at the back.

Swallow:
The finish goes back to the layer upon layer of sherry. There’s lots of character which shows in the rich fruits and spices. Especially the gentle allspice is really nice. Not incredibly long.

I guess I’m going against the grain by liking this one more than the 15 year old. The 15 is stunning, but this whisky has a bit more complexity and especially more spices and a more clear oak influence.

GlenDronach Allardice, 18yo, 46%. This comes in really cheap at € 55 from Master of Malt

Thanks to Joe ‘Whisky Wednesday’ Ellis for the sample!

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Glenmorangie Artein, #Dramogram

Posted on 12 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

#Dramogram was a small whisky project that happened during May of this year. The idea was that every participant got a random other participant and would send a blind sample to that person. This way everyone got one sample and sent one sample.

I sent a couple to England, because nobody sends just one sample. I also got a wee box of samples from Joe Ellis, of Whisky Wednesday fame. Two other samples were in the box. One was the standard Ballantines Finest (which I hadn’t had in ages) and the GlenDronach Allardice. Reviews of those two are to follow at some point.

As for the notes I was supposed to put on Twitter on May 31st. It turned out to be a bit tricky, since that was the day we arrived in Scotland and we were still settling in to out cottage when the night was upon us. I did manage to get a few tweets out but I did the tasting notes from the top of my head. Here are the more ‘official’ ones.

Glenmorangie Artein. Available from Whiskybase Shop.

Glenmorangie Artein. Available from Whiskybase Shop.

Sniff:
Rose wine at first, with barley and vanilla added. It’s warming and you can smell the cask it comes from (Super Tuscan wines). I also get a whiff of dunnage warehouses. It’s very sweet and gentle, with quite a lot of vanilla notes.

Sip:
Gentle too, with a light sparkling touch to it, like soda water. There’s a hint of pepper, grapes and less wine influence than I expected. It’s tasty though, with syrup, grapes and chalk.

Swallow:
The finish suddenly has a rather overpowering wine flavour. There’s also oak. It’s lasting quite a while but when it starts fading it just drops off the radar.

The first time I tasted it my palate must have been off since I didn’t really pick up on the wine notes and I thought it was a bourbon. There’s such a lot of sweetness and vanilla going on that it would have been entirely possible.

What do I think of this whisky: I’m not entirely positive. While it is a tasty drink, the rather overpowering vanilla oakiness take away a lot of the Glenmorangie character and what’s left is overpowered by the wine notes. It’s a nice experiment but not one I’d love to own a bottle of.

Glenmorangie Artein, Super Tuscan casks, 46%, available from the Whiskybase shop for € 92.50.

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Caperdonich 38, 1972-2011, 53.6% – Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare

Posted on 9 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Caperdonich 1972 is somewhat of a legendary dram. For most distilleries there seems to be a year in which their product peaked in flavour. Lochside 1981, BenRiach 1976, GlenDronach 1972 and so on.

Unfortunately this distillery has been closed and demolished so whatever delicious whisky comes from the Speyside stills is finite. In a rather odd way the stills live on in Belgium, since Etienne Bouillon of Belgian Owl has bought them and is installing them in his new distillery.

I got this sample through the Facebook Whisky Buyers group, which seems to have died out by now.

There have been quite a few bottles from this year and I’ve reviewed a few of them earlier. One of those is an all time favourite dram, some others were less interesting. Let’s see where this one falls.

Caperdonich 38 by Duncan Taylor. Image from Whiskybase

Caperdonich 38 by Duncan Taylor. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
A rich and spiced nose with lots of oak influence. It’s not clear to me whether or not this is a bourbon or a sherry cask. Pretty amazing with oaky herbs and spices, bees wax, curry like spices too. Allspice, banana, lemon curd. Millions of things to discover, but the main pattern is sweet and gentle spices.

Sip:
Very gentle with bees wax and honey. There’s oak, full, rich, spicy. It has a sweet & spicy Mexican or Indian feel to it. It’s not sharp but it’s very rich. The wood has imparted a lot of flavours without becoming dominating at all.

Swallow:
The finish is tremendous. Beautifully waxy and honeyed. There’s quite some oak here too with old vanilla, spices, burnt orange wedges and lemon peel.

The finish might seem a bit strange but it feels like a natural evolution of the palate. A dessert if you will. The whisky is an absolutely stunning dram, with lots of deliciousness going on. I usually am not a big fan of whiskies that stay in the ‘spicy’ area too long but in this case there’s enough oaky sweetness to make it lovely indeed.

I might need to add something like this to my wishlist, before it’s all gone.

Caperdonich 38, 1972-2011, 53.6%, Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare. Should cost about € 250 if you can find it now.

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Karuizawa Noh, 32yo, 1976-2009, 63%, cask #6719

Posted on 8 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Ever since I tried my first Karuizawa I’ve been a fan of this distillery’s products. The first one wasn’t even one from a rich sherry cask like only they knew how to do. It was a Japanese wine cask. One of the least popular ones but it sold out quickly nonetheless.

I had more or less promised myself to start collecting whisky from Karuizawa when the craze began about 3 years ago. Before that, the single casks came out at about £ 125 to £ 150 and you had a couple of days to decide whether or not you could spend that money.

Then they got popular. Prices shot up like a missile and they started selling out in minutes. Most of the time, when I saw the update trickle in through my RSS reader I didn’t even have the chance to check my bank account before it was all gone.

Anyway, this is one of the bottles that, back then, I thought affordable. Not cheap, but I could afford it. Now I’d like to differ, but priorities and budgets have changed considerably since then.

Karuizawa Noh 1976-2009. Image from Whiskybase

Karuizawa Noh 1976-2009. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Ridiculously intense. There’s a mountain of rancio and sherry notes. Oak, coffee, chocolate, leather, dried plums, pound cake, sandal wood, and some incense. There’s no end to what you can find here, but it’s quite typical for this kind of Karuizawa. After a minute I get pisang goreng and hazelnuts.

Sip:
It’s very hot on the palate if you come at this untrained and not warmed up. The 63% is very noticable at that, but there are no acetone or alcohol notes. Most flavours that you could smell on the nose are back, although it might be a tad less on the sweet side. There’s toast, seared beef and dried fruit. The heat does not mellow.

Swallow:
The finish is the most old fashioned part of this whisky. Dried and cured leather. Really heavy, but fruity sherry with some nutty notes too. It mellows quickly here, and gives way to more nuts, sherry and dried plums.

This, my friends, is a stunning whisky. I consider myself very lucky to be able to be drinking this and even luckier that there’s still a glass or two left in the bottle. I’m happily finishing that this week, and will be sad to see it go.

If you can find this at a reasonable price, buy it. Don’t expect to find it, however. The last shop that sold it had it for £ 999.95. Insane. Anyway, absolutely delicious.

Karuizawa Noh, 32yo, 1976-2009, 63%, cask #6719. Used to cost anywhere between £ 150 to £ 999.

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A new Bottle-share!

Posted on 6 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A new bottle share of American whiskies, to be precise.

Over the last couple of weeks Master of Malt have been stocking up on choice American Spirits that I really would like to taste. I can only imagine this thought is shared by many of you (I hope at least).

So I’ve compiled a list of bottles that I’d like to order to do a bottle-share with:

  • Balcones Brimstone
    From Waco, Texas, this is barbecue in a glass.
  • Four Roses Small Batch 2012
    According to about everyone who tried it, one of the best bourbons from 2012, if not the past couple of decades.
  • FEW Bourbon Barrel Strength
    Bourbon from the Chicago area, this almost screams prohibition!
  • High West American Prairie Reserve
    Supporting a charity by drinking booze.
  • High West Campfire
    A well blended mix of Peated Scotch, Bourbon and Rye
  • Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7yo Rye
    A rye from one of the up and coming distilleries in the USA
  • Smooth Ambler Old Scout 10yo Bourbon
    Apparently this is ‘the shit’ with the crew at MoM being thrilled to try this!
  • Elijah Craig 12yo Barrel Proof
    I loved Elijah Craig 12yo. At barrel proof there’s just more goodness. And if it’s too strong, just water it down to 45% and you’ll be back at the original goodness!
  • Lost Spirits Leviathan 2
    From California’s Lost Spirits distillery, distilled in a wooden still! Peated to the brink of oblivion and then matured in Californian wine casks. I can’t wait to try this!

I’m on the brink of ordering this, but I’d love to know I don’t end up with full bottles of everything. I wouldn’t mind, but my bank account (read: my wife) would very much.

A set of 5cl sets you back € 57.50, and 10 cl costs € 112.50. That’s including bottles of course, but excluding shipping costs if it has to travel. (€ 5.50 in NL, € 10 in Western Europe and ask for a quote for anywhere else).

Please let me know ASAP if you want in!

Posted in - American Whiskey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Blog Birthday Bash #3

Posted on 5 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another year, another party. Since last year worked out really well, I decided to do it kind of the same this time around. Booze and barbecue. Last Saturday was the exact date I started blogging three years ago, on a boring summer day while I was working from home and didn’t feel like programming for a bit.

Around four o’clock people started arriving and the first obfuscated bottles were put on the table. We left the whisky inside, since it was kind of hot outside and we didn’t want to ruin everyone’s bottles by putting them in the sun.

I made a liter of Whiskey Sour to start the afternoon and cool off a bit. There was half a liter of Basil Haiden’s left in my bottle and I find that an utterly boring bourbon to drink on it’s own. Some fresh lemon juice and syrup and we were on!

The one of one Springbank. Picture by Fulco

The one of one Springbank. Picture by Fulco

I’m not going to rattle up all drams since I didn’t take notes, nor pictures. So I am bound to forget a couple if I tried. The top drams were:

  • A duty paid bottle from Springbank, from a very active Port cask. Bottle 1 of 1 that are available from the Cadenhead shop in Campbeltown. Intense and absolutely divine. Thanks Henk.
  • Bowmore Tempest Batch 1. Always a stunning dram. Thanks Fulco.
  • An Aberfeldy by David Stirk. Five minutes before it was revealed we were discussing the total lack of impressive Aberfeldies, for some reason. Thanks Martijn.
  • A 20 year old Highland Park from Signatory. Thanks Jeroen.
  • The 100 proof Glenmorangie from a couple of years ago. Thanks Tom.
  • Not because it was good, but it was an experience: St. George’s Single Malt from Alamda. I love their gins, but this was filthy. Thanks Elco.
  • I put in a Karuizawa from the seventies. Quite nice as well!

I tried a different recipe for the Pulled Pork, where I wrapped it in foil for the last three hours. It worked out splendidly with the meat falling apart when I unwrapped it.

All in all, it was a terrific night with many a great dram and terrific company. I am already looking forward to next year!

So thanks go out to everyone for reading my blog, for sending and trading samples, for showing up last Saturday! It makes it all worth it!

Oh, and if other people took pictures and want to add them, please send them to me and I’ll pop them in!

Posted in - American Whiskey, - Japanese Whisky, Aberfeldy, Bowmore, Glenmorangie, Highland Park, Karuizawa, Springbank, St. George (USA) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Sense of Elemental Freedom, Port Charlotte, 7yo, 66.6% – SMWS

Posted on 2 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

We’re taking it in a totally different direction with this Elemental Freedom stuff. Port Charlotte, one of the few numbers I do know from the Society goes for incredible sherry and peat combinations. In most cases accompanied by huge amounts of alcohol.

I’m kind of surprised they didn’t thake the demonic route with this one and changed the label to say 666 promille alcohol, and conjure up some devilish title for the whisky.

Port Charlotte by the SMWS. Image from Whiskybase

Port Charlotte by the SMWS. Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Lots of salty peat with iodine. A thick dollop of sweet sherry, Christmas cake with heaps of dried plums and apricots. The sherry and smoke combination also have a nutty and greasy effect as well. Warming and delicious.

Sip:
Even though it’s a ridiculous abv, it’s more gentle than I expected. The fruit, smoke and sherry are back and after you’ve tasted those the abv starts kicking in. It goes really sharp, and there is a bit of wood influence but not too much. It’s only seven years old after all!

Swallow:
The finish picks up a bit more of what you expect from an Islay whisky with hints of heather and salty peat. The sherry notes stay as well but the fruit fades quickly.

As with many Port Charlottes, technically all of the ones I’ve tried I think, this one is delicious. Even though it’s only seven years old it packs enough flavour to keep you exploring for a while. The sherry is big and powerful but the whisky is a great match and never lets the cask from Spain overpower it. Absolutely delish!

A Sense of Elemental Freedom, Port Charlotte, 7yo, 66.6%, 2003-2010, Refill Sherry Butt, Scotch Malt Whisky Society

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Medieval Banquet, Glenugie, 30yo, 46.7% – SMWS

Posted on 1 August 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another SMWS review? Yes, and another one of which I own a bottle instead of just having a sample lying around on a shelf. With yesterday’s Tullibardine I don’t really care about owning the bottle, although the whisky itself is good enough for tasting on any night. Today’s whisky, a dram from the closed, demolished and quite rare Glenugie, that sentiment is different.

Glenugie was a distillery in Peterhead, near Aberdeen. It failed in 1983 with many other distilleries but contrary to some others that went bust during that era, this one is mostly blended away with only a few bottles popping up every now and then.

This bottle from the SMWS came around two years ago and it could only be ordered from a certain date, by phone. I waited around before going to work on that day so I would be the first on the phone, at 9.59 AM with it going on sale at 10 AM. It sold out in minutes here in The Netherlands, and there were only 12 to go around.

Medieval Banquet by the SMWS

Medieval Banquet by the SMWS

Sniff:
You smell the age right away. Not that it’s gone tired or anything. It’s just wafting libraries, books, leather and arm chairs. It’s quite fruity as well with tropical hints of peach, mango and papaya. Some raisins, cedar wood and dried mint too. Definetly cigar boxes.

Sip:
Although it’s 30 years old and only 46.7%, it’s still a tad sharp with bitter hints of wood and quite some pink peppercorns. The tropical fruit and cigar boxes are back in full swing too. I also get hints of coffee and slightly burnt toast.

Swallow:
The finish is very rich and big. Cigar boxes again, cedar wood. Mango and papaya with old books. It’s not very long, but as long as it lasts, it’s great!

While this may not be the best Glenugie ever, it certainly showcases why I love this former distillery so much. All of their whisky so far has tasted great with this not being the least among them. An absolutely gorgeous dram, if you ask me!

Medieval Banquet, Glenugie, 30yo, 46.7%, 1980-2011, Refill Sherry Butt, Scotch Malt Whisky Society. It used to cost about € 140.

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