Springbank 12, Cask Strength, Batch 24, 54.1%

Posted on 2 June 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Are we first? Did I publish in time and did Tom write in time? That’d be something, right?

The review of the most recent Springbank 12 Cask Strength is here!

Perfumed Pebbles

Dubbed ‘batch 24’, this is the newest edition of Springbank cask strength, aged for 12 years in a mixture of bourbon (60%) and sherry (40%) casks and bottled at 54,1 % abv. Thanks to lightning-quick delivery via the hands of friends, this landed on the desk and puts us in the position of sharing first impressions.

In lockdown days, I had the opportunity to collect quite a few samples of the more recent batches, roughly between 16 and 21, and almost tasted them all by now. This particular expression is a weird sheep among the Springbank flock. It has not the straightforward (orange) fruitiness of the 10 years old, neither the full-blown sherried hit-to-the-jaw of the 15 years old. More so, batch variation is very noticeable, in my experience. Let’s see where this one lands.

Sniff:
It needs time to open up, and probably some water too, but let’s first do a round undiluted. From what I do get, the sherry is very dominant. The liquid’s color of beautiful gold seems to confirm this. So, a vague fruitiness, mixed with the damp fumes inside a dunnage warehouse. Behind it are some classic sherry notes, raisins, plum, rum even, but also industrial smells like car workshop. Consistent with earlier batches actually. Later-on, I detect something that can only be described as perfumed pebbles. With water it turns full throttle to classic mineral notes (sans perfume). The sherry influences kicked back into the corner. Now it is an amalgamation of senses, truly blooming to full potential.

Sip:
Surprisingly smooth and quite a bit of oily texture. Knowing the SB10 so well, you can easily detect the oranges and tangerines in the depths, once you get through the alcohol layer. It has turned to blood oranges. Good wood spices, subtle milk chocolate notes, nothing too extreme. Makes me think the wood was all second fill. With water this Springbank gets extremely quaffable and much sweeter too. You will down a bottle of this while playing poker with your friends before you can say ‘all-in’.

Swallow:
Almost friendly, a bit of a kick from the alcohol, and very long. Warming the chest. The sherry once more takes center stage, but the bourbon makes it rounded. A good balance, this 60-40. With water truly magnificent chocolate notes that were not detectable when undiluted.

A rather stubborn Springbank that needs some help to reach the 90 points level. But
with patience and some water it really gets there, and then you are in for a treat. If you do not care
too much about nosing your whisky, just put it in a tumbler and go nuts. This malt can deliver on all
fronts.

90/100

About Tom van Engelen

Tom is a whisky enthusiast since the beginning of this millennium, not only savoring the taste of the drink but also the soul of it. Malt whisky from Scotland therefor remains his favorite focus. As former editor of the oldest Dutch whisky magazine he found a passion in writing about whisky too, with a mild preference for the nostalgic. He lives between the big rivers of the Netherlands with his wife Dasha, daughter Sasha and cat Amour.

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Benromach 21, Bottled in 2004, Tokaji Wood Finish, 45%

Posted on 31 May 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Tokaji finishes are always a huge risk, if I’m honest. The good ones are very hard to come by, and most of them are at best interesting. I seem to remember an interesting Longrow of which, more than a decade after trying it, I’m still not sure whether I really enjoyed it or not.

It tends to bring really big and slightly funky flavors to a whisky, with lots of overripe fruit, leather and hessian. Add to that that Benromach already tends to be big and rich and often also funky. It might go over the top. Let’s find out!

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Strangely sweet with lots of overripe fruit. Funky too, with honeyed porridge, a slight rubbery note like the noses of all-star sneakers. Lots of wood, fresh shavings and hot sawdust. Very rich.

Sip:
The palate is still rich, but far less intense than the nose. The lower abv is quite noticeable. Less sweet too. Still focused on oak and fruit, dry fruit. Not dried.

Swallow:
Back to leather, rubbery things, overripe fruit. Far less oak, very strange.

So, a lot of predictability here. Very heavy and rich, with overripe fruits as expected. Lots of oak too. The lower ABV doesn’t really help the whisky, a bit more alcohol might have offset some of the sweeter notes. The rubbery note is the thing I have the most issues with. It pops up randomly and doesn’t really help with the balance and enjoyment of the whisky.

But, having said all that, as far as Tokaji finishes go, it’s not too bad at all. The richness of the Benromach does help a bit, so it’s not completely overpowered by the cask.

84/100

Surprisingly, this is still for sale for € 269 in Germany

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Arran 18, Sherry casks, bottled 2021, 46%

Posted on 30 May 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer
Image from Whiskybase

Even though the distillery isn’t even 30 years old, I think Arran have been on the right track for quite a while. They’re not really doing anything all that different from many of the other distilleries, but they do things well. It’s quite rare to have an Arran that’s not good.

And, having visited the distillery twice, I can say I really like the place. There’s a nice cafe, the surroundings are awesome and it’s really nice to get in for a burger, tour and tasting after doing the Laggan Circuit in the morning.

Sniff:
Baked apples, straw, barley, quite a bit of oak. Raisins, mango, dried peaches.

Sip:
A gentle palate with fresh black pepper, oak, almonds, dried fruit. Baked apples and baking spices too. Brown sugar for sweetness.

Swallow:
The finish is surprisingly dry and focuses more on the almond and straw aspect. Quite long, with some spices and oak.

The very typical American oak + Sherry combination of Arran whiskies is quite noticeable in this one. The notes of baked apples and a focus on barley, combined with dried fruit. In my book that works rather well.

88/100

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Glen Moray 14, 2007-2021, Hogshead 6305, 51.7% – Catawiki

Posted on 25 May 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Catawiki released this series of ‘Catawhisky’ last year for their avid auction bidders. I believe it was stated that the first 1000 people to spend € 1000 on their auction site would get a batch of samples from this. What was left over got spread around to garner some interest.

Commercial stuff:

What is nice about Catawiki is that they’re indicating what good prices would be for a bottle. This is an actual process based people knowing their stuff, contrary to having to go by historic data that might be hugely outdated.

Also, at least in The Netherlands, they’re involved in all kinds of festivals. So, it’s not just there for the money but also for the community.

Image from Whiskybase

Glen Moray, like I always say in similar reviews, ages rather well, if the cask isn’t too influential. As in, the cask tends to take over since it’s a very gentle spirit. But, when being drawn from a hogshead, like this one, it can be an utterly nice whisky.

Sniff:
Quite a green whisky for its 14 years old. Also a bit of vanilla and sweet baking spices with apple. Maybe because it’s the first one, it’s a little bit hot on the nose.

Sip:
Slightly more thin than I expected from the rich and sweet nose. By that I mean the vanilla is toned down and it’s less sweet, and more dry. That gives the spirit a bit more room and also shows a more oak. White pepper, green apples.

Swallow:
Oak, white pepper, a slight bitter note not unlike gin-tonic and grapefruit.

A rather okay whisky with more to be discovered than you’d expect from a 14 year old Glen Moray! I like that there’s that grapefruit note on the finish, and that after the nose the vanilla is kept in check. Of course, since this isn’t commercially available, I have no idea to value for money, but I really liked the whisky!

87/100

Thanks to Catawiki for giving me the chance to try this!

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BenRiach ‘The Smoky Ten’, Bourbon & Rum & Virgin Oak Casks, 46%

Posted on 23 May 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Because it is not enough to have a regular bottling and a smoky version of that bottling. You also need to use every cask under the sun when doing so.

Of course, there are far more types of casks available than these three, but it seems a bit arbitrary. Were they going for oak driven (with the virgin oak), sweetness (with rum and bourbon casks) or a smoky diversion from the regular BenRiach whisky?

I got my hands on this bottle when I organized a whisky tasting at work a while ago. When I do such a thing, I like to introduce people to it by going for contrasts. Pit a young and an old whisky against each other to see what aging does (Glenfarclas 8 and 25). Pit a sherry and a bourbon cask matured whisky against each other (in this case 2 Arrans). I picked the BenRiach because it offers both peated and unpeated whiskies from the same distillery.

This one was quite popular, but general popularity and standing up to scrutiny from (without trying to be arrogant) someone who has a bit more experience are two different things. I was quite curious though, because the BenRiach Curiositas was very good value for money some years ago!

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Straight forward vanilla focused whisky, with a definite peaty edge. Apples, applesauce, oak, straw. Lots of yellow things. After a while there’s some lemon curd as well.

Sip:
Much like the nose, it’s very straight forward, and therefore a bit bland. There’s nothing happening that makes this whisky stand out from comparable stuff. However, I have to say, it tastes like it is quite well made. Apples, oak, only a whiff of smoke.

Swallow:
The finish is slightly bitter. Not nutty, but there’s a bitterness. Some oak, some vanilla. Some grass and straw too.

The smokiness gets a bit too gentle towards the end. The spirit is good, but there’s nothing about this whisky that I’ll remember in a week. I think the virgin oak and bourbon casks have imparted a boatload of vanilla, which is already a sweet flavor. Add the rum cask to that and we’re in rather syrupy territory quickly. A bit too much so, if you ask me.

I think the Curiositas, even though it has the same cask mixture, was a lot better. Maybe that’s just my memory of it, because it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s all the same stuff. But at least there, in my memory, it’s better.

82/100

Regularly available for about € 45

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Kilkerran 11, Open Day 2017, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel, Triple Distilled, 60.3%

Posted on 22 May 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer
Image from Whiskybase

By now it’s almost six years ago I got these samples from Ben Cops’ ‘Campbeltown Mega Share’, back when that particular bottle-share group was still active. He also used to run a whisky blog but that seems to be on hiatus also.

Anyway, there were a lot of Open Day and Distillery Only samples involved. I reviewed most of them by now, but this one still sat on my shelf. It’s not always I get around to 60+% ABV whiskies.

It’s a bit of a weird one, because it’s a triple distilled Kilkerran. The people at Springbank and Glengyle distilleries usually save the triple distillation for Hazelburn, where Kilkerran (from Glengyle Distillery) usually follows a more Springbank-y regime.

Sniff:
The alcohol is noticeably strong. The spirit itself is light, with quite a good helping of cask influence. Vanilla, alcohol, fresh American oak.

Sip:
Quite a bit of icing sugar, vanilla, puff pastry. Some wood, and otherwise alcohol. It’s a bit more dry than the nose, but that’s the alcohol speaking.

Swallow:
A finish that narrowly follows the palate. Spirit, but quite generic, some oak, lots of vanilla.

The drawback of triple distillation is that it removes more character from the spirit, and is a little bit closer to neutral grain spirit. In this case I feel like that’s the case as well. It’s mostly strong alcohol and strong cask influences like vanilla and wood, with quite a bit of sugary sweetness.

Having said that, the whisky itself is very well made and in a way there’s nothing to complain about. I just prefer Kilkerran products in a different way.

85/100

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Strathmill 31, 1975, Côtes du Rhône Wine Cask, 42.3% – Creative Whisky Company

Posted on 19 May 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This bottling from a decade and a half ago comes from the Creative Whisky Company, then run by David Stirk. Since it’s been sold there have been no bottlings as far as I know.

Strathmill is one of those distilleries that don’t pop up all that often and don’t have a big fan base. Whether that is because there’s not that much that’s available, or there is not a lot available because there’s not a huge fan base is something I don’t have an answer for.

Image from Whiskybase

I got a sample a while ago, and decided to give it a go yesterday. Public holiday, nice weather, sitting in the back yard in the sun, and having awesome (hopefully) whisky. The only thing that would have worried me, if I had checked before I tried it, would be the wine cask.

Sniff:
Very old fashioned and very barley forward. Oak, porridge, dried apples, straw. There’s also some hessian and old casks and wet soil.

Sip:
A very gentle palate with lots of barley, porridge, hessian and a good helping of oak. Dried apples, sawdust, slightly funky.

Swallow:
A long but not awefully intense finish. Very grain forward with some oak.

Run of the mill, in a way. It does what whisky at this age, and from that era should do. But due to the age, it’s also quite special. The wine cask isn’t all that noticeable. I picked up mostly flavors that can come from any oak and distillery. Still, it’s a very good whisky, that does all these things very well.

88/100

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Lagavulin 19, Feis Ile 2019, Sherry Treated American Oak Casks, 53.8%

Posted on 17 May 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another Lagavulin for Feis Ile! I knew I had this on the shelf, and I had carefully sipped from my sample before, but never got around to writing a review yet. A good thing that a holiday came up a little while ago!

Sherry Treated means that the casks have contained sherry before, but not for the maturation of said sherry. The only put it in to give the whisky a bit of a different flavor. Of course, American oak is used in the sherry industry a lot nowadays, since European oak is far more rare, far more impractical (less straight growing) and therefore far more expensive.

This one does have quite a significant age to it, at 19 years old. It makes for one of the older Lagavulins of recent years, except for the Casks of Distinction (here and here).

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
A very ‘south east Islay dram’ with hint of tar and creosote. Coastal salinity with fishing nets. So, wet rope too. Barley and peat smoke. It could as well be Ardbeg. A very gentle nose, actually, with lots to be discovered.

Sip:
The palate is a bit lighter than I expected with less complexity. Smoke, oak shavings, barley, a bit of tar. Ever so slightly ashy with a hint of ‘grey pepper’ (a mix of black and white)

Swallow:
The finish amps up the harbor and tar, smoke and ash. Not complex, but not a punch in the gut either.

A very Ardbeggy Lagavulin. Which means that I find more sooty notes than I’m used from the distillery. The typical flavors of tea and orange are almost entire missing, which is something I normally get from the 16 year old. And this is just a couple of years older with a rather similar (I would assume) maturation.

Having said that, it does make it a bit more interesting, since that means it’s something different, and less of a slightly different take on the regular stuff.

88/100

Available in various places, for varying prices starting at € 419

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3x Hooghoudt Genevers

Posted on 16 May 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I think it was last year that Hooghoudt revamped their entire line of products. An entire series was made available with all kinds of cask maturations and a widely varying age range. Of this range, I got to try three of the new products, courtesy of Drinks and Gifts in my hometown.

Hooghoudt is a Dutch genever distiller that has been around for 140 years, based in the city of Groningen. It still is family run and the distillery has set its eyes on international markets, and has spread to America since 2021. Taking notes from the whisky industry, sherry matured versions and bourbon casks are used now, and even a peated product is available.

Hooghoudt Sweet Spiced Genever, 30%

Sniff:
Sweet indeed, with sugary notes and baking spices. Cinnamon, vanilla. Sweet notes of candied lemon and orange. Grains too.

Sip:
Oh my, it’s almost a jawbreaker. Lots of spices, a bit warm (not hot), with loads of sugary sweetness. Pithy orange, lemon.

Swallow:
The finish is very much the same as the palate. It’s insanely sweet.

I guess this is very much oriented at liqueur drinkers. From that perspective, it’s pretty decent. From a whisky drinker’s view, it’s just sweet and flavored. I feel the genever base hardly matters.

Hooghoudt Oloroso Cask Aged Genever, 40%

Sniff:
The sherry is noticeable, but the grainy genever is the core. Lots of wood, lots of grain spirit. Leafy herbs, a bit of dried fruits.

Sip:
The palate is a bit more sweet than I expected. Dry oak, dried powdered spices, clove, cinnamon. Grains, oak shavings. Lemon pith and a nutty bitterness.

Swallow:
Again, lots of oak shavings with a sweet, fruity note. A long finish, with more and more leafy herbs.

Quite a tasty thing, this. A lovely combination of cask and spirit.

Available at Drinks & Gifts for € 30

Hooghoudt 6 years old, Oloroso Cask Aged Genever, 40%

Sniff:
Very similar to the NAS version, but slightly more wood forward. Still quite spirity and in that spiritiness, rather different from whisky. A different approach to grains, and the juniper and spices make the distillate stand out more.

Sip:
The palate is very gentle and arrives with lots of soft woody notes and dried fruit. It’s dry after a few seconds with more spices and wood. Dry grains too.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more spirity than the palate. Somehow it seems the flavors don’t really cooperate here.

It’s really fun to compare a couple of months in oak to 6 years in oak. The difference is definitely noticeable. Strangely, though, the integration between spirit and cask doesn’t really seem to hold here. Not sure what that is, but it’s weird.

Available at Drinks & Gifts for € 37.50

As you might have noticed, there aren’t any ratings given. That’s because I don’t have much to compare it to. Especially the Sweet Spiced version is very far out of my comfort zone and I wouldn’t feel able to rate it. I know I’m not in the demography that the product is targeted at, but it was fun to give it a go!

The other two, if I would have to rate them, I would set at 83 and 80 points respectively. The non-age statement feels a bit better in my book.

Fun to try, and it certainly makes me interested in trying a couple more genevers. Let’s see if that’s going to happen anytime soon…

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Ardmore 8, 2011-2020, Rum Barrel Finish, 59% – King Cask

Posted on 15 May 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

It’s not overly complicated to get me enthusiastic about whisky. That’s true in general, but for some distilleries it’s a bit more than usual. Ardmore is one of those distilleries, especially if not too much weirdness has been done to the spirit. Finishing an already peated whisky in a Laphroaig cask, or something like that always makes me a bit apprehensive.

Image from Whiskybase

Anyway, Joris Dam of Dam Dranken and King Cask bottled this Ardmore a couple of years ago, before King Cask was on my radar. I did get to try a sample of it, which is a good thing.

It’s a youngster at only 8 years old, and has been finished in a rum barrel for seven months. After that time it was bottled at 59% ABV.

This having the Thalassa label indicates that this one was matured at sea as well. Dynamically aged, as they call it. Actually, it was the first one they did like that.

Sniff:
The coarse malt-forwardness, that is typical for Ardmore, is definitely there. But, with a sweeter note too. Some tropical fruits like mango, papaya with some golden syrup. A tiny whiff of smoke.

Sip:
The sweetness and the smoky note arrive first. Rather treacle-y with molasses and tropical fruit. Mango, papaya, sweet peat smoke, barley, grist. Slightly dusty, with a bit of peppery heat.

Swallow:
The finish is less sweet, rather long and less coarse too. Surprisingly smooth, so to say

A fine whisky that does the thing it says on the label. The rum is noticeable but hasn’t made the whisky too sweet. It could have done with a bit more time in the cask for complexity, although I understand this being bottled at this level as well. And it’s hard to find a shit Ardmore…

86/100

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