Malt Fascination

Right, one of the first posts published in a weekend, but I will try to keep that up until Christmas. A daily sample means also in the weekend, and I don’t want to do posts with three wild guesses at once! So, here goes sample number 4

Nose:
Quite fenolic at first, with some rather intense and weird sweetness, like decaying fruit. The sherry cask is very much present with hints of wood, sherry, overripe fruit. Hints of bacon and maple syrup too.

Taste:
A very full flavour with again, the intense sweetness. Smoky, oily and reminds me very much of a couple of Caol Ilas I tasted from Gordon & MacPhail.

Finish:
The finish is long and becomes rather gentle quite quickly. It lingers for a while and gives hints of fruit, sugar syrup and honey.

It reminded me of Caol Ila, and for some reason I got quite some smoky tones that put me in the direction of the Islay distillery. Also, the flavours reminded me of the sherried single casks that have been coming out recently. Of course, I was as wrong as I could be. 0 points while I was hoping to catch up a bit…

Glen Scotia 18, Kintra Single Cask Collection, 1992-2010, 52.6%

Right, not even the region was correct, the ABV was too far off and the age as well. No points for me, but a terrific dram nonetheless. In the end, that’s what I am going for more than points (I keep telling myself this quite often). This one I regret not buying when it was available last year.

Thanks to one of the Longmorn brothers dropping by a week or two ago and trading some samples, I have some really terrific stuff coming up in the coming weeks. The original idea was to trade some samples for a set of the Malts of Scotland Bottle-Share samples, but when he arrived he said he was willing to trade a lot more from his sample case. So we did, about 30 samples or so. Good stuff!

I don’t know anything about this bottler, but I do know I like Brora, so here it goes!

Nose:
The smoke is quite light on the nose with a fairly floral background. Also a sawmill with lots of wood dust and chips. The typical farmy Brora notes are slightly less pronounced.

Taste:
It started of deceptingly light again, but the strength builds up a bit. Its not overly complex but with quite a punch in flavour. Not too smoky again, with some hay and a slightly mineral undertone. It doesn’t become metally, thank God.

Finish:
The finish is full and long, quite smooth actually. Spices and wood with peat and some unexpected fruit. I get strawberry very early in the finish, but its gone almost instantly.

Not the best Brora I’ve ever had, but quite far from the worst as well. And the worst would probably still be a three star dram. This one is a lot less complex than most Broras I know, but the flavours that are present make for a very nice package. At first, because of the floral notes I thought it might be a very good Bowmore or something.

Brora 1980-2002, Les Clan des Grands Malts, 51%.

The 2010 bottling of Springbank 12 Cask Strength is the one to replace the old 100 proof. Their stocks are finally up enough to get rid of the No-Age-Stated standard cask strength bottling, which is a good thing. At least them having enough stocks is a good thing.

The previous company I worked at moved office about a year ago and from some customers the office warming gift was a bottle of Scotch. Apparently they read something in the Christmas gifts and annual whisky tasting we hosted. Right they were.

Nose:
A little thin at first, watery, but then the barley, flour and saltiness come through. There is an undertone of overripe fruit with a hint of crisp coconut.

Taste:
Spicy and dry, but gets a bit sweeter after a few seconds of ‘swimming’. Again barley and salty with an addition of wood. More noticeable cask influence.

Finish:
A medium finish but not very exciting. Not many additions to the already known flavours. Peppery in my throat and slightly sweet everywhere else.

A nice dram, and a nice addition to the core range of Springbanks. It doesn’t really excite me all that much, especially after I’ve tasted the regular 10 year old and the other core bottlings (15, 18, CV and so on). I’ve got the feeling this one reflects on the last couple of years of Springbank before they started rereleasing them. It’s like the previous (beige label) Springbank 10, on steroids. And that one isn’t too great.

Springbank 12 CS, 55.3%, about € 45 at Master of Malt.

I got this sample quite a while ago and the idea was to review it much earlier, but for some reason it got overwhelmed by other wee bottles on the ‘to sample’ shelf. Unfortunately, for you guys, the bottles are already sold out, but there are some samples left.

Dailuaine is a whisky normally used for blending, but they have been known to put out some great bottles. The more-or-less official Flora & Fauna is also one to get your hands on.

Nose:
The nose of heavy with fruity sherry. There is a spicy undertone of wood, pepper and cloves with some pear and cocoa. After a little while it gets a bit heavier with some leather and hint of bread.

Taste:
Quite dry with a kind of a grainy texture. Spicy and sweet at the same time with some wood for balance. The leather is present here as well.

Finish:
The finish is one big blast of all flavours I got before. I do find some apple peals as well, maybe just a little bit of a metal flavour.

Quite a stunning dram actually. I am usually quite fond of Dailuaines, especially when they’re from sherry casks. The bourbon casks tend to be less special. I like the balance and the flavour complexity of this one and regret not tasting earlier.

Dailuaine 27, 1983, 53.6%, bottled by Master of Malt.

Full disclosure: I got this sample for free from Master of Malt through their ‘Drams for Review’ program. Find the chaps on Twitter and Facebook.

You probably already noticed on Facebook or Twitter that the 2011 Malt Maniacs Awards have been released. At first glance I noticed that many Karuizawas from 1981 are very popular, and of course, that is a great year!

I don’t think I’ve seen too many surprises in the list this year. Some big names are scoring top notches with GlenDronach, Glen Grant (from 1952…), Strathisla and Lochside in the highest echelon.

What does stand out a bit is that, apparently, I’m doing it wrong. The first bottlings I’ve tasted that are in the list are in the silver medals area, so no award winning stuff or even gold medals for me this year. I might have to do something about that in 2012!

Yesterday I called this a Midleton tasting on Twitter, and that is only a half truth. All whiskies from the tasting are distilled at the New Midleton Distillery, but only one of them is a Midleton whiskey. It was hosted by a Scotsman living in France, for the Jameson Brand Ambassador for Sweden.

Jameson
Very gentle and smooth with some apple and slightly bitter tart note. Also, a small alcoholic edge. It does bite a little bit on the tongue, but most of the palate consists of orchard fruit, Christmas cake spices and eggnog.

Jameson 12 Special Reserve
This one was more crisp and less typical for a blended whiskey. Quite some wood influence with a completely different spiciness than the regular Jameson. It is more bready than cakey. The palate is less sweet and thick with more acidic fruits, apple, lemon and white grapes. Quite dry too. The finish is drying but quite long with old apples.

Jameson 18 Limited Reserve
I already tasted this one in a left over tasting about a year ago. I might have to adjust my flavours a bit since this had quite some things to offer. Fruity with sweet oranges, orange peel and the bitterness of the seeds. Light wood and crisp. The palate is crisp and quite flat at first but it increases in pepper flavours and some grape skins too. The finish goes back to the sweet oranges, but its quite short, unfortunately.

Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy Single Pot Still
A very recent release of Midleton, that was released about half a year ago. The nose has some musty casks and rather heavy spirit but in a subtle way. It reminds me of some heavy 18th century style spirits (like Old Potrero and Abhainn Dearg). Also green malt and old and dry pineapple. The flavour is more spicy than I expected, slightly bitter with quite some wood influence. The finish becomes unexpectedly sweet with loads of tropical fruits on syrup, but then wholewheat biscuits and bread. A very exciting and interesting whiskey that has a different flavour to offer everytime you come back.

Powers John’s Lane
This was a mistery dram that I should have guessed, since it was released at the same time as the Barry Crockett I believe. A much more full bodied version of the regular Powers 12 year old. Rather sharp and it tastes like it has more alcohol than the 46% that’s there. Malt, dry cereals and toast on the nose, with spices and dry eucalyptus leaves. After a few minutes it gets more sweet. The palate is sweet and dry with spices and chili peppers and some tea leaves. The finish is sweet but quite volatile with some vanilla.

I really enjoyed the tasting and like to thank Fintan and Colin again for hosting it! Its not often that you can taste these kind of whiskies without paying a heap of money at a festival!