Bruichladdich Laddie 10, 46%

Posted on 14 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The Laddie Ten was one of the favourite releases of many a whisky drinker in 2011. Not expensive, actually, very cheap. Very tasty. From a small endearing distillery and such. All those things helped it becoming a very popular malt whisky.

It was extra special because it was the first ten year old, so a ‘regular’ edition, from Bruichladdich that was distilled under current management.

Since I only tasted it once at my brother-in-law’s birthday, when we gave him the bottle I was keen on trying it again. A Twitter Tasting like this will certainly help out a lot!

Bruichladdich Laddie Ten at Master of Malt

Sniff:
A lot warmer again than the previous two. This has probably got to do with the sherry casks in the mix. Hearth fire, malted barley, a slightly bigger wood influence than in the two younger whiskies. Some not too strong tea with ginger. I, and many other tasters, kept commenting on the slight peatiness in it and I thought there might be some ex-Port Charlotte casks in there. Mind, it is only a very slight peatiness.

Sip:
Some salt without it being briny. Sea weed, varnish, European and American oak and malted barley. This one is less spirit driven with quite some cask influence. Some lemon curd, very sweet. Maybe more like those chocolate covered orange wedges. The cheap ones with orange jelly instead of orange. Gentle, with some pepper, dried peaches, peach stones for bitterness and some heather, sweet honeyed tea and sharp woody flavours.

The sweetness builds up nicely until the bitter notes of tea, heather and wood take over.

Swallow:
The finish is bittersweet. Wood, fruit, pepper and other spices. Some heather and peat, and salt.

I think the above review makes it pretty clear that I really like this dram. Having said this, I remembered it as being better than it is, but I think that is kind of idealizing it, since I can’t imagine a € 35 whisky being this good, let alone better.

It’s very different to the Islay Barley and Organic versions of Bruichladdich and I think I prefer those two above the Laddie Ten, but that might be this period speaking. I’m really into bourbon cask matured whiskies with a more spirit driven character.

Bruichladdich The Laddie Ten, 46%, OB, € 36.52 at Master of Malt.

Thanks to The Whisky Wire and Bruichladdich for the official sample!

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Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2006, Dunlossit Farm, 50%

Posted on 13 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Islay Barley, how much attention can go to provenance? Springbank did their Local Barley whisky in 1965 for a while and they have picked that up again little over a decade ago. Now there’s this, not even just Islay Barley, but from a specific farm too. Dunlossit Estate in this case, which is about 10 miles from the distillery near Ballygrant on Islay.

Bruichladdich to Dunlossit

Bruichladdich to Dunlossit

While I don’t really believe in all that ‘terroir’ from wine being similar to barley, even more so because it’s distilled. There is of course the Islay environment which is rather specific with ocean air, windswept fields and a rather salty sea weed for a peat base.

I find it extremely cool that Bruichladdich made such a specific batch of whisky, with all the barley coming from one farm. I hope they will release other estate-grown whisky as well, so we can compare.

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2006 at The Whisky Exchange

Sniff:
This one starts a bit sweeter than the Organic I reviewed yesterday. The flavours are comparable but it all feels a bit ‘warmer’. The vanilla is a bit thicker, most custardy. The wood is there too, also friendlier. I get those Reine Claude (little green plums) after that, and it gets a bit more tea-like with a beer like bitterness, without the hops of course. As with The Organic, this one keeps developing without breaking apart.

Sip:
This one is also rather spirit driven, just like the first one. I get crumble topping that has been in the oven three minutes too long, heaps of barley and a slight wood influence. Less development than on the nose, but a rather tasty whisky nonetheless. There’s lemon curd and fresh, crisp apple too.

Swallow:
The finish is more spicy and more about the barley than the palate was. Less lemon and apple, but with a beery malt note, and a touch of bitterness.

The addition of water doesn’t do much for this dram. It makes all the flavours a bit more gentle and takes a bit of the heat out. There isn’t much that is ‘unlocked’ with a few drops, however.

During the Twitter tasting we talked about this one feeling more windsweapt than the previous one. I thought that made it more ‘Islay’ as well.

It’s a very tasty dram and coming in at £ 14.95 for a 20cl bottle it’s also rather affordable (a quick calculation brings it to the same price level as The Organic). It might be a little hard to get, since it’s been out there for a while.

Bruichladdich Islay Barley, 2006, 50%, OB, wee bottles available at The Whisky Exchange.

Thanks to The Whisky Wire and Bruichladdich for the official sample!

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Bruichaddich The Organic, Multi Vintage, 46%

Posted on 12 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Last Wednesday Bruichladdich and Steve Rush of The Whisky Wire hosted a Twitter Tasting with four of their current releases.

Steve Rush hosts about a million Twitter Tastings per year with all kinds of themes, blenders, distilleries and such. Usually he picks a few people from all possible participants and this time I was lucky enough to be part of it.

Bruichladdich is one of my favourite distilleries. Not so much the whisky, although they’ve made quite a few damn nice drams too, but the people and the place. They’re a very social company, and until recently rather independent. In a way they still are since they do everything themselves at the distillery.

They also have a good eye for provenance with their Islay Barley scheme. I love that they’ve gone as far as making ‘single farm’ whiskies, all based in the vicinity of the distillery (since everything on Islay is pretty close). Kudos!

The drams tasted were The Organic, Islay Barley 2006 (Dunlossit Farm), The Laddie 10 and the Black Art batch 3. Today I review The Organic.

Bruichladdich, The Organic at Master of Malt

Sniff:
On the nose I get spirit with sweet banana, vanilla and the greasiness of cheese. After a few seconds there’s also tinned pears, syrup and banana candy. Also some custard and a hint of white oak. Lots of barley too, with meadow flowers, like poppies. It keeps developing quickly to lose a bit of crispness and replace that with more heavy barley notes. Also almond, lemon curd and dusty barley.

Sip:
The palate it’s more sharp with mounds of barley and a little bit of wood. Grass and straw, grist and husks. Lemon, pepper, almonds, wild flowers. With a drop of water it gets quite creamy. Creme Brulee without the caramel crust. Weirdly enough, there’s also a sudden hint of Granny Smith apples and star apples.

Swallow:
The finish is light and crisp again. Wild flowers, barley, some grapes, malt wood and vanilla. There’s a slight ‘champaign’-y note too.

This, my booze-loving friends, is very nice whisky. It’s cheap too, at about € 40 it highly affordable and very much worth the money. I think Bruichladdich really nails young whisky. They’re open since 2001 and almost everything that they put out from their own distillate is very well put togehter. Jim McEwan understands how things work apparently.

This kind of stuff really goes to the ‘buy if I feel the urge to buy a bottle’ list.

Bruichladdich The Organic, multi vintage, OB, 46%, £ 34.40 at Master of Malt

Thanks to The Whisky Wire and Bruichladdich for the official sample!

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Mortlach 28, 1974-2003, 51.1% – Prenzlow Portfolio Collection

Posted on 10 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another Mortlach but one from a completely different caliber than the 17 year old from David Stirk. I got a sample of this bottle from Mister Maltstock, Teun van Wel, who happily sells samples from his vast collection to everybody who’s interested.

I agreed with him to go over to his house and have a night of nice drams about 4 years ago but so far, we haven’t been able to set a date (mostly because of me not always being able or willing to drive across the country). I just might have to rekindle that agreement!

Mortlach 28 - Jack Wieber's Prenzlow Portfolio Collection. Image from Whiskybase.

Mortlach 28 – Jack Wieber’s Prenzlow Portfolio Collection. Image from Whiskybase.

Sniff:
Vanilla and oak, with resin, was and ginger. There’s a minty freshness in it as well, with white pepper for some heat. It’s gentle but quite heavy. Exactly as Mortlach is supposed to be.

Sip:
The palate is sweet and creamy with black pepper. There’s ginger and nutmeg with vanilla and some woody bitterness. If you let it swim for a bit it’ll go flat after a few seconds, which is a bummer.

Swallow:
The finish seems a bit thin at first and the flavour composition is similar to before. Also, it doesn’t last very long.

I might be having an off day, but I expected more of this Mortlach. It’s a nice whisky, but at this age there are better ones out there, although they might be more expensive as well. This used to come in around € 130, which is fairly affordable for a whisky of this age.

Anyway, I’m not as thrilled as I expected to be. Bummer.

Mortlach 28, 1974-2003, 51.1%, Jack Wieber’s Prenzlow Portfolio Collection, used to cost € 130.

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Hazelburn CV, 46%

Posted on 8 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Ah, Hazelburn. The third brand to come from the stills of Springbank. Triple distilled, unpeated so kind of different in every aspect apart from that it comes from the same stills.

I got a 20cl bottle of this in a pack that had all three CV releases when they just came out a few years ago and it has been sitting on my shelf since, along with the Springbank CV. I honestly have no idea where the Longrow version went.

And again honestly, I find Hazelburn a hugely uninteresting whisky. I’ve tried a few, the CV, the 10 and 12 and I believe some rarer versions of The Tasting Room and the Society. None have caught my fancy.

I find that the triple distillation, contrary to Auchentoshan, Rosebank and quite a few Irish drams, in this case has removed all character from the malt. At least, it changed it so I find no reason to spend a dime on it.

Let’s see where this one takes us (and based on the fact that it has been sitting on the shelf for years, I’ve kind of given away the outcome)

Hazelburn CV at Master of Malt

Sniff:
It’s fresh and spirity with a small touch of oak. I also get hints of bitter oranges, orange seeds and apple seeds.

Sip:
Rather sharp for a 46% dram, with some wood and a bitter fruitiness like on the nose. A strange greasy note as well, and slightly floral. Dusty with some vanilla after a few seconds.

Swallow:
Wood, some malty, bready stuff and some spices all of a sudden. It does last a while though.

Weird stuff. It kind of goes in all directions at once, contrary to the popular boyband. It feels rather incoherent with a nose, mouth and finish that don’t have much to do with each other. The point is that all facets have something appealing to them, but then it’s gone. Nope, this will be emptied at the first Bottoms-Up tasting, which I still plan to host.

Hazelburn CV, 46%, OB, € 36.53 at Master of Malt.

Samples available!

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

Smokin’, 40% – Duncan Taylor

Posted on 7 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A new release from long time indie bottler Duncan Taylor. This one is a blended whisky with an old fashioned character. The press release:

Whisky as it used to be. Smokin’ Scotch whisky perfectly balances robust peat smoke flavours and smooth notes of toffee and vanilla. Paying homage to the legendary blends of yesteryear, renowned for their rich flavor and uncompromising character, Smokin’ is a full bodied experience to be savored.

Let’s just see about all that. I tend to be kind of sceptical towards ‘old fashioned’ and ‘as it used to be’. Mostly they are nice whiskies but I feel that all that ‘back to yesteryear’ stuff is more marketing than that it holds any actual value. Of course, I can’t judge those statements truly, since I don’t have a clue how far back they’re going and what whisky tasted like back then.

What I do know is that most blended Scotches from the ’80s are not like this, so it’s probably an older recipe. Pre-war I think, based on the styles you read about in magazines and such.

Smokin' by Duncan TaylorSniff:
Takes some getting used to. The Port Askaig 30 CS was my previous dram, so this took me off guard.

Slightly smoky with a complex combination of other flavours. Spirit driven (so I expect it to be young), fruit juice, smoke and almost no wood influence. At first I thought this was a rather thin smelling whisky, but that is quickly counteracted by some grease and thickness. Fruit and after a while some toasted oak.

Sip:
Gentle wood, fruit and smoke. Again, thin at first with peach, honey and heathery smoke. I’d say there is some Highland Park in there… And again, the thinness is gone after a bit.

Swallow:
The finish is comparable to what came before. A light wood influence, some smoke, some tropical fruits and that all wrapped in fairly complex layers. As I go back to taste it after some more time I start getting more and more caramel, wood and honey.

Actually, the spirit on the nose with a lot of other flavours took me off guard, as I said. After that it develops into a nice and layered blend. I do get the style they’ve chosen and it doesn’t feel random at all.

The smokiness with honey and heather reminds me of Highland Park, but also of a more generic Highland style compared to some other blends that have a more Islay character.

Now, it all comes down to the price of this. According to Whisky Intelligence it’ll come in at about £ 27 / € 33, which is a fair price for a whisky of this caliber. I, however, would have loved it a bit more at 46%, I think.

Smokin’, Duncan Taylor, 40%, £ 27. I’ve only seen it at Single Malts Direct

Thanks for Karen Law of Duncan Taylor for the official sample!

Posted in - Blended Whisky | Tagged | 1 Comment

Port Askaig 30, 51.1% – Speciality Drinks Ltd.

Posted on 6 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The last of the three new Port Askaig releases that have recently been let loose on the market. I tried this one last because I wanted to build up in age. I didn’t taste them on the same day, then another order would have been more practical. Those old Islay bottlings tend to be rather gentle, compared to younger versions.

A few years ago there also was a 30 year old release from Port Askaig, without it being cask strength. Right at the same time there also was a Bladnoch Forum release of Caol Ila 30 that were nice to compare. The drawback was that I wasn’t too thrilled by either of them. Let’s hope this one fares better.

Port Askaig 30

Sniff:
This, compared to the 12 and 19 year olds is in a totally different league. The palate is much lighter and friendlier, with a much more gently smokiness than it is harsh. The freshness comes in the form of mint and coriander, maybe even some fenugreek. A hint of Gouda cheese as well, with a little bit of fat to it. Dry wood, dry ginger root but also a hint of multi purpose cleaning spray. This all is combined with old oak beams in the background.

Sip:
Spicier than I expected! The ABV warrants this, but I was lured out of my careful place by the nose. There is a certain crispness that reminds me more of Sauvignon Blanc than anything else. The spiciness is very woody, with sugar and pepper, vanilla and again, that cheesy hint. It gets a bit greasier on the tongue if you let it swim for a while.

Swallow:
The word that describes the finish best is ‘old fashioned’. I feel this is what whisky was years ago, but I’m not sure why. Fenugreek and dried leaves are plentiful. The smoke is very, very gentle. It just makes it presence known.

I’m going to rub some people the wrong way here but: Why would anyone pay for expensive and overpriced Port Ellen when this stuff is around? Old Caol Ila is getting into it’s own more and more and these kind of bottlings are fairly sublime. I absolutely love the gentleness of it and the combination of wood, spices and the freshness of it all.

On the official tasting notes there are hints of lemon and other fruits, but I didn’t pick up on those all that much.

Caol Ila 30, 51.1%, Speciality Drinks Ltd., available at The Whisky Exchange for £ 199.

Official sample provided by The Whisky Exchange. Thanks!

Posted in Caol Ila, Undisclosed | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Karuizawa 1964, 57.7% – Number One Drinks

Posted on 5 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Short review:
Best whisky ever.

Long review:
When I saw the first reviews of the Karuizawa 1964 from Number One Drinks, Wealth Solutions and Master of Malt it did cross my mind that there was a chance I would get a sample too. Just like the Glenfarclas from last year.

Right after that I thought: Why on earth would they do that? There is only one bottle for sale and that will go to some investor anyway, not to someone who reads my wee blog.

Karuizawa 1964
After a few days I did get a sample, though. I was absolutely thrilled and my mood that day cannot be described by many words. Maybe ecstatic comes close. I decided to wait for an appropriate moment to taste it and not just on some work day after customers/project managers/bosses have been riding me but on a quiet day, on a quiet moment in which the phone is turned off, no tv and such.

Last Sunday was that day. I prepared myself well. Did all kinds of chores around the house, poured a can of water, set up my notebook, pen and glass and told the misses to stay out of my ‘whisky room’ for a bit. Then I opened the wee bottle with all necessary respect, and poured a glass.

When I first sniffed it, the cat started whining and the tumble drier was done, so the moment was interrupted a bit. However, that first whiff from the glass made the day and I didn’t even get grumpy because of all that (I am prone to get grumpy by a lot of things).

Warning: endless proze about booze following:

Sniff:
When I got back from releasing the cat from the attic and turning off the drier my entire little room smelled of whisky. Good whisky, mind! Wood, polished leather, furniture polish, fresh pineapple, peach and apricot.

Polish bog oak boxNow let’s get in the glass: Sherry and milk chocolate. Lots of fruit with hints of mint and basil. There’s quite some oak too, with sawdust, antique furniture and leather. It gets a tad dry with ginger, sour cherries, plums, raisins, and Christmas cake. Weirdly enough, there is a hint of rubber, but in a nice way to keep things exciting. Later I get almond and sandalwood.

Sip:
It’s sharp, with mint, pine needles, pine forests and lots of fruit again. Quite some alcohol, quite some pepper and a little dryness like you get when you lick a rubber band. It gets a bit warmer after all that but stays sharp. There’s something a little creamy or greasy in there too, along with espresso and dark chocolate.

Swallow:
The finish gives more wood and forest. It keeps that rubber note (which I really start to enjoy) which then slowly fades to give room to truckloads of candied and dried fruit. Drying again and long, with plums, candied orange peels, almond, sour cherries, dark chocolate and espresso.

What it's all aboutNow with water, since I just had to try that too! A little bit, mind you, I don’t want to drown this precious liquid.

Sniff:
It gets a bit drier with a drop of water, if such a thing is possible. Also, slightly less intense. A bit of freshness is added, more mint and pine needles. Mellowed is the right word, and in this situation I kind of dislike that.

Sip & Swallow:
Smoother, with more vanilla and pastry cream, more wood. Very different in that regard, but still rather sharp and with some crushed black pepper.

So, what did I think? To be honest, like I said at the beginning in the excerpt of this all, I think it is seriously my number one dram. Coincidentally it’s bottled by Number One Drinks.

The complexity of this whisky is staggering, and you really have to take a carefully planned and prepared moment to enjoy all of this. It needs it, and it deserves it. The fruit, spices and everything else going on is perfectly balanced and the sharpness with sandalwood and coffee only add to the ‘Japanese’ feeling of this whisky.

It’s very much a Karuizawa, but as far as I know the best one ever. I usually don’t really pay much attention to age and such, but in this case it seems Karuizawa really benefits from a couple of decades behind staves.

Karuizawa 1964, 48 years old, bottled by Number One Drinks for Wealth Solutions and Master of Malt, 57.7%. It’s available at Master of Malt for £ 9495.

Official sample provided by Master of Malt. Thanks a million guys! Forever in your debt.

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Mortlach 17, 1995-2012, 53.3% – Creative Whisky Company

Posted on 4 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

For some reason I just don’t seem to get the series in which David Stirk bottles his whiskies right. Exclusive Casks, Malts and Range. I can’t keep them apart. That’s why I never mention them, but this one will not be confusing, since there is only one Mortlach 17 as far as I know.

Mortlach is one of the main components of Johnny Walker Blue Label, but that uses mainly sherried whiskies. This is from a bourbon* cask which is not seen that often.

* after looking it up on the Drinks & Gifts website, it appears to be a refill sherry butt. I would NEVER have expected that, since the flavours all point in a different direction.

Mortlach 17. A sample from Drinks & Gifts

Mortlach 17. A sample from Drinks & Gifts

Sniff:
Burnt wood and grain, with quite a lot of fruit as well. Fresh pineapple, but old and slightly dried out. Apple and pear and fruit syrup.

Sip:
Slightly coarse and dusty with wood and a chalky mouth feel. Lychee, pineapple juice, apple. Lots of light fruits, but also wood and coffee.

Swallow:
The finish also throws in a lot of fruit, baked apple, wood. I don’t really get any vanilla which I find strange. It’s good though. It also has that candy banana flavour.

While this is a nice whisky, and interesting because of it’s rarity, it still isn’t as appealing as I expected it to be. There’s lots of fruit and candy flavours, but because of the candy addition it all tastes a bit artificial. Most fruit flavours are the kind you find in wine gums, instead in the actual fruit basket.

Still, I happily drink my 10cl sample but I won’t buy a bottle. I’ll just wait for another Mortlach to come along. For some reason I want to buy one. Don’t exactly know why, but I have the feeling it will add another flavour to my collection that isn’t there yet.

Mortlach 1995-2012, 17yo, 53.3%, Exclusive Malts, Creative Whisky Company. Available for € 84.99 at Drinks & Gifts

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Port Askaig 19, 50.4% – Speciality Drinks Ltd.

Posted on 3 March 2013 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The follow up bottling of the 12 year old I did earlier, and in another way the follow up to the Port Askaig Harbour 19 year old from about two years ago. That one wasn’t bottled at cask strength though.

I planned to review and write this earlier, but work got in the way and I barely spent any time at home apart from sleeping and showering. Now, with the misses and kid in bed I found some time to write some words on this new Caol Ila bottling from the parent company of The Whisky Exchange.

Port Askaig 19 by Speciality Drinks Ltd., at The Whisky Exchange

Sniff:
It’s fuller and gentler than the 12 year old. It has more wood to it, and the smoke is a bit more gentle. The herbs and spices have picked up a notch I think. More heathery and see weedy than I expected. There is some lingering sweetness behind it all.

Sip:
I get sugar syrup and vanilla sugar. Some wood as well with pepper, salt and heather. There are some hot spices in there, but I can’t really pinpoint which. Thyme is there too, and that’s the direction I’m looking.

Swallow:
The finish loses the sweetness at first, but that comes back quickly and it turns a bit sticky on my lips even. Lots of sugar and vanilla. Lots of herbs too. The smoke is present through out it. The heather is rather pronounced too. At some point I wanted to write lavender, but I wasn’t sure.

This is a more delicious Caol Ila than I expected. Where the Port Askaig 12 is slightly better than the regular 12 (from the top of my head, I haven’t tasted that in years), this one takes everything up a notch. It never gets too alcoholic and the cask strength actually just adds flavour. So, great stuff!

On the website they state that the slight rise of ABV by 4 percent caused a huge rise in flavour intensity, and they’re right. I don’t know why they lost the ‘harbour’ in the name, however.

Port Askaig 19, 50.4%, Speciality Drinks Limited, available at The Whisky Exchange for £ 79.95.

Official sample provided by The Whisky Exchange.

Posted in Caol Ila, Undisclosed | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment