Malt Fascination

And the fourth in a row of the new Boutique-y batch 1 releases. Again, there is a batch 2 of Ardbeg, Macallan and Caperdonich, but those I have not tried (yet).

Aultmore is one of those distilleries that you don’t hear much about, pretty much ever. Recently there was/is a 5 year old from Master of Malt, and they thought to follow it up with a no-age-stated release. I tried the 5 year old at Maltstock and was positively surprised by the complexity and depth of such a young and ridiculously strong whisky. Didn’t do proper notes though, since I was handed a dram about 3 seconds before the whisky quiz started, but I do remember it’s quality.

So, no age stated, but the label of a dinosaur fighting a shark warrant buying this one. Thanks for pointing it out, Billy!

Sniff:
Also a tad spirity like the Aberlour, but much less so. Quite some grain and wet wood. Slightly spicy with lots of sweet fruits in the background. Mango and banana. I think there is quite some young whisky in here and therefore it’s a bit spirity, like I said.

Sip:
Pretty sharp for a whisky at 53.40%, I would have estimated this one higher. Sweet with toasted oak and charcoal. The fruit is less pronounced than it was on the nose but still there. I don’t get an overly deep flavour from it, but still pretty tasty.

Swallow:
The finish is very spirity and goes a bit more like the Aberlour. Quite sharp, intense and slightly spicy again. Not overly long, but a very nice woody flavour remains.

Stating that this was my second to least favorite would be doing this one an injustice, since it would be ridiculously hard to match the Bens quality. I mean Benrinnes and BenRiach. Although by calling it the Bens, I get the feeling that a certain someone at Master of Malt might have been trying extra hard on those.

Anyway, this is a very solid and tasty dram, and again, very affordable. Would I buy a bottle if my budget allowed it? Certainly, although I just wasted it all on the BenRiach.

The combination of spices and wood with a fruity undertone make this a highly enjoyable dram. More a drinking dram than an exploratory one though.

Aultmore batch 1, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 53.4% ABV, available from Master of Malt at £ 34.95!

Another Benrinnes from Master of Malt, which made me curious, since the last one was such a tremendous dram and sold out immediately. I still regret missing out on that one by thinking “I’ll go to bed now and order in the morning”.

While usually being a blender’s whisky, Benrinnes does have some stunning casks out there as Single Malt apparently. Although I have tasted some releases that prove the point from the blender’s point of view.

Sniff:
Nice fruity citrussy sherry scents at once. Reminds me of the Single Cask MoM release in a very good way. Sweet valencia oranges with quite some heavier undertones of wood and leather.

Sip:
The flavour is more gentle and lighter than I expected. There is some heat from the alcohol but it’s countered by light fruit and a rather gentle palate. I feel it’s a bit less intense than the 14 year old single cask.

Swallow:
The finish is on par with the 14yo however. Lots of fresh and crisp fruit. Sweet citrus and I even think I pick up some mint.

The only drawback this whisky has is that I compare it to that 14yo that was release a few weeks ago. Apart from that, this is a very stunning whisky. An added benefit is that it goes for only € 55 or so. I’m still in doubt whether I made the right choice in ordering the BenRiach. Both are stunning!

With all those great releases I think the world should applaud Master of Malt for being like the Asterix town in Normandy. Boldly resisting the urge to cash in on every drop by lavish packaging and promoting ‘rare’ releases.

Benrinnes, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 48.9% ABV, available at € 54.31 / £ 43.95 from my friends at Master of Malt.

Sample supplied by Master of Malt for reviewing. So thanks!

The second sample from TBWC. An Aberlour and one of the first from that distillery on the blog. There have been some short notes here and there, but a larger singular tasting note like this hasn’t happened before, I think.

The drawback of the whiskies from That Boutique-y Whisky Company is that there is almost no information apart from the distillery name and the ABV, so there isn’t much to tell. The colour of the whisky indicates that some sherry casks are involved, which is rather to be expected when talking about Aberlour.

Sniff:
I get a flashback to the tasting table at Maltstock with a big hit of fennel and spirit. My guess would be that a lot of young whisky is involved. I also get a hint of rubber and I have the feeling that there is some blockade in there that doesn’t allow the whisky to shine. The sherry isn’t too in-your-face which usually is a good thing.

Sip:
I get that blockade idea again and therefore can’t really dive into this whisky. It stays a bit flat for me. The spirity character is present here too.

Swallow:
The finish takes a nose dive right away and just stops.

I find this a weird whisky, like the glass was dirty or the bottle it came in or something. I tried it with water which didn’t do much for it apart from thinning it down. I tried it again the next day with the same results. So, not properly rateable I think, or else it wouldn’t be too highly praised. I find this strange since I usually kind like the solid quality of Aberlour.

Bottles and samples of this dram are available at Master of Malt for £ 43.95

On Monday I received another surprise package of the new Boutique-y releases. I felt like it was my birthday all over again. Me, being a whisky geek, couldn’t resist and I started to try some of of them right away. My plan was to taste one. But before the night was done I had tried a sip of all four of them.

They will be reviewed as the next four posts, including this one. I’ll start with the BenRiach, because I was most curious about that one. BenRiach is one of my new favorite distilleries since a year or so. At first I was a little disappointed with some releases, but leaving the finishes for what they are and diving more into the single cask and higher strength releases satisfied me intensely.

So with this one, a limited release of 140 bottles, I think I have to be quick in ordering one. Technically, I am just waiting to see if my father in law wants something too. Splitting shipping costs is one of my favorite things. I hate spending whisky budget on overhead.

Sniff:
This is like BenRiach 101. There’s the base of their classic Speyside style, with hints of a heavier sherrying kind and some peat smoke in the background too! Some wood and allspice too. Crushed almonds paste as well.

Sip:
The palate is friendly, but absolutely not timid. Sweet wood spices with crushed black pepper. A small hint of sweet and earthy peat as well. Very different from Islay style peat. Wood and sweet spices mostly.

Swallow:
The finish continues the works of the palate and nose. Fairly long and friendly is what must be noted. Toasted oak, roasted almonds, sweet with spices with some tree bark as well.

This must be one of the best affordable BenRiachs that’s out there. At least it’s one of the best I’ve tried but I have to admit I’m just starting to explore this great Speyside distillery. I love the label but apart from that I just want one. Or two.

The 1st batch of BenRiach from That Boutique-y Whisky Company is available now from Master of Malt for the fair price of € 62.13.

Sample supplied for reviewing by Master of Malt.

Br4. Wouldn’t that be Brrrr? A wintry dram you might expect…

Br4 is the 4th release in the Br range from Elements of Islay. The only B-distillery not covered in Bn and Bw is Bruichladdich, so the choice if easily made. Bruichladdich seems to be finding it’s own over the last couple of years after toying around with massive amounts of ridiculous finishings. ACE-ing they called it. Additional Cask Enhancement.

To be honest, and I think I have said it before, I hate most of those finishes. It took me years to really find a real Bruichladdich character since it was always hidden behind some demented wine cask that shouldn’t have been used unless it was aging more wine, or as a garden decoration.

Anyway, last year saw the Laddie 10, which was an absolute stunner. Especially if you took into account it only set you back some € 35. I tried an SMWS bottling this year and I think that covers almost all Bruichladdich imbibements of the last two years.

Sniff:
Grainy and sharp with apple crumble without the apple. Crumble that is. A heap of alcohol on the nose while the ABV at 54.7% isn’t that remarkable. Sharp grassy notes with old bandaids and something like wholemeal bread. Stale bread at that.

Sip:
Very lightly peaty in an Islay, heathery sea weed kind of way. Grass and marram grass. Again, quite some alcohol and a touch of vanilla. Breadcrumb, crumble, and a dry sharpness that almost hides the slight sweetness in the background.

Swallow:
The finish is sweet and grassy with a touch of wood. Not as sharp as expected and therefore a tad more sweet. The dryness remains.

Well, I like this one better than I liked the SMWS one. And I think it really shows the distillery character that is emerging from those cask strenght bourbon casks. I prefer the Bw1 in the Elements range, but this is a pretty fine dram too!

Br4 is available at The Whisky Exchange, and comes at 54.7% ABV. Not too expensive at £ 54.95!

Sample supplied for review by The Whisky Exchange/Speciality Drinks Ltd.

During our honeymoon in 2008 I walked into the supermarket nearest to our campground on the first morning in/on Corsica. At the check-out there were some bottles of Altore whisky. A Corsican brand of two different varieties with a white and a black label. Normally I don’t think I would have given them any thought, but since they were near the register I had to wait in line exactly there.

For some reason, if that happens, the sight of those bottles starts wearing down my resistance and after five minutes I walked out of the shop with croissants, nutella and a bottle of whisky. Not sure which one because the next morning I bought the other. At about € 25 I couldn’t really deny myself this part of exploratory tasting, right?

This one has a ‘wine’ finish in some way. Technically it was finished on a cask that previously held Cap Corse, which is a local fortified wine with a very rich fruity character. Delicious stuff, it is. It was distilled in the Scottish Highlands and bottled in Corsica after finishing. The water used to bring it down to 40% runs in a canal through the region of Patrimonio.

Sniff:
Young and grainy but that is rather well hidden behind a layer of soft and sweet orange and wine. A combination of port and sangria. Not very deep and fairly flat at that, but a very nice summery scent.

Sip:
The palate is sweet and light with just a touch of pepper. A bit more spicy than the nose made me expect, but the summery sweet orange flavour. It really is a Cap Corse and whisky blend. The sweet orange also gives off a tad of bitterness.

Swallow:
The grains are back in town. The fruitiness rules over the slight bitter note again. Not much else happens.

While this is by no means a great dram, it is a delicious summertime dram and works great as an aperitif when eating outside, just when the evening sets in. Also, when drinking something you don’t want to think about too much after work on a random November day, it works fine.

Oh, by the way, mostly you find an 8 year old version of this online, but mine was from before that time I guess. No age statement found on this bottle!

Altore whisky, Reserve Moresca, 40%, available at random shops and shouldn’t set you back too much.

A few months ago I sold all but a few of my collection of whisky magazines. It was the first step in financing the Usquebaugh Society BenRiach 1976. The only ones I kept were the ones with recipes or travel guides that were appealing. Also some club magazines in which an article by yours truly was published are still in my collection.

As a bonus on top of the agreed upon price Alexander, from whiskysample.nl brought me this sample of Strathisla 25. I had tasted the 30 year old in the very first bottle share I ever did and was curious to find out what the slightly younger but still very well aged version was about.

There’s not much to say about the release. Not single cask or anything, just one of the regulars by G&M.

Sniff:
Pretty woody with a definite touch of sherried oak. My guess would be European, but that is what it is, a guess. Some wood spices too with a focus on the more savoury kind like nutmeg and ginger. Those are in the background compared to allspice, the wood, and dried peaches. Some chocolate and coffee maybe.

Sip:
This being a whisky at 40% I didn’t expect this to be a belter and alcohol wise it’s not. Flavour wise, though, quite something! It’s packed with wood, dry dried fruits, allspice, chocolate and peach.

Swallow:
The finish isn’t too long (again, the low ABV). It goes very gentle quickly and the flavours that remain are the slight hints of dried fruit and wood. Some raisins that I hadn’t picked up before.

A typical and good Strathisla. Not a stunner but a very delicious whisky and a few years ago it was pretty affordable too. Definetly worth the € 13.95 for a 6cl sample. Get that at whiskysample.nl

Wait. What? South African Whisky? Apart from the semi-well known Three Ships brand there is another brand? Apparently there is!

I got this bottle as a thank you from Gal Granov, of Whisky Israel fame, for pick-up and drop off at Schiphol for Maltstock. He couldn’t take it back home after opening it because of customs anyway so two birds with one stone!

Bains is distilled at the James Sedgwick Distillery in Wellington, South Africa. The distillery has been around since 1886, which is quite a surprising while, to be honest. Brands like this have been collecting awards and the fame that goes with it for a few years now and James Sedgwick is not different with Whisky Brand Innovator of the Year in 2011 by Whisky Magazine.

Let’s see what they get the acclaim for with this grain whisky!

Sniff:
Loads of vanilla and gentle oak. There’s a hint of coconut as well. A certain grassy element is in the background that has a bit of a dryness to it. Pine needles and a bit of resin with shortbread too.

Sip:
Again the boat load of vanilla, which usually is the case in ‘rather young’ grain whisky. I presume it’s rather young since there is no age statement, but since the distillery has been around for 126 years it could be quite old too. Grass and coconut too with an almost rum like sweetness. Not syrupy, thank God. That would be nasty in combination with the rather sweet grain. I think to taste a tinge of salt as well. Nice!

Swallow:
The finish isn’t very long and gets very smooth and gentle right away. Grain spirit with a gin like quality remains after the vanilla and sweet oak are gone.

A very fun whisky that goes for easy drinking but has enough flavour to warrant further investigation. It is very consistent over the nose, palate and finish, which does make it a bit simple if you really sit down for it. However, for just of € 30 it’s damn good value for money!

Bains South African Whisky is available at Master of Malt!

A few months ago I saw a picture by Billy Abbott on Twitter from the Whisky Exchange’s Whisky Show with this Bw1 bottle on it. After a few minutes of consideration I asked him which distillery it could be, since I coulnd’t figure it out. His reply: Look at the Islay distilleries with B, then keep looking till you find one with a W in it. Of course, Bowmore. I almost punched myself in the face for not figuring this out. Must have been the sleep deprivation of Maltstock still in my system. Not remembering Bowmore, how did that happen?

Anyway, Elements of Islay, the series with those dinky chemical bottles with Islay whisky in it. They’ve had all distilleries by now and are venturing out into the ‘other’ brands like Port Charlotte (Pl1) and it’s only a matter of time before there’ll be an Octomore (Oc1?).

Good value, usually and the quality is rather okay too. The only ones I doubt are the Port Ellens. They’re all very okay, but they’re all ridiculously expensive too. But which Pe isn’t?

Sniff:
Heavier than I expected, a bit oily and diesely. There’s the obligatory peat and dried flowers as well, but more in the straw range than in the perfumy range. Luckily. Vanilla and oak. It doesn’t have that crispness that young Bowmore sometimes has. There’s also a slight hint of cleaning product. In general an older style of Bowmore than I expected.

Sip:
The flavour profile is a bit lighter than the scent was. More flowery and crisp too, with some lemon, vanilla, grass, and almost no smoke at all. It has a white peppery spiciness to it. The body feels a tad greasy and creamy. Smooth as well.

Swallow:
The finish nicely holds the balance between the heavier profile on the nose and the lighter (more expected) style on the palate. Not too heavy but with a certain weight to it. Shimmy leather, lemon and a hint of barley.

From the range of the affordable Elements of Islay (red: excluding Pe) this is one of the more complex ones I’ve tried. The lighter style of peat from Ar, Lg, Lp, Cl and Pl gives more room to other flavours too. I also like the fact that the nose and palate are rather unexpected and unlike eachother without being too inconsistent. It makes for an interesting and tasty dram!

Elements of Islay, Bw1, Speciality Drinks Ltd. Available from the Whisky Exchange for £ 54.95.