Malt Fascination

Anoter SMWS dram, a Bowmore this time. I’m always a bit afraid before tasting a Bowmore, since there are so many drams high in FWP. FWP is a description given to Bowmore’s taste, since it can taste a lot like fabric softener or cheap perfume. FWP stands for French Whore Perfume. Overly flowery with a whiff of alcohol.

Luckily, recently Bowmore has veered away from FWP in their releases and they are much improving again. It’s never going to be up to the level of greatness it was in the 1960’s, but they can be quite highly rated once more.

Nose:
Light heather with a whiff of smoke and VERY floral. A hint of salt is there too, but a tad too high in FWP.

Taste:
Sweet vanilla and a flowering meadow with poppies and such. Some white pepper too for a spicy edge. Its sharp, but not too much alcohol.

Finish:
Now I’m getting the true Bowmore character I recognize. Its not overly smoky, its floral but less so than on the nose. A hint of spice and a little bit of zest. Maybe a hint of white grape?

An odd one. In general, its too floral for me. Slightly peaty fabric softener. I like the heathery notes, and the general character of this whisky, but the floral scents and tastes overpower it a bit.

SMWS 3.169, Pagoda reek drifting over Loch Indaal, Bowmore, 14 years old, 56.6%, April 1994 to 2010. Used to cost about €70, but its sold out.

Nose: 3
Taste: 5
Finish: 5
Overal experience: 4
Price/quality: -1

Total: 16 points

With the previous releases of the local SMWS chapter I ordered a sample of all new bottlings, including this Linkwood. I believe Linkwood is Tom’s favorite distillery and I think I understand why. There are many great bottlings and the ‘default’ style of the place shows some true character. Of course, there are some hits and misses, but the average is pretty high.

This particular bottle has matured in a Refill Bourbon Hogshead.

Nose:
Malty and rather crisp, in a weird way. Old apple, stale and corky. After about 15 minutes it starts to show more character with straw and a bit of a farm yard scent.

Taste:
It really builds up in strength. The first though was that it didn’t do much, but that changed after a few seconds of swimming. Soft and fruity with dried apples. Again a few hints of straw and such.

Finish:
Not unexpected, but rather nice. Soft and creamy with a hint of spiciness. Apple pie made from apples that were about to go bad.

This whisky has a real old fashioned feel to it, and I like that. Its not a spectacular dram, but its quite good. At first I was a bit mislead by the old musty apple scent, but it managed to straighten me out pretty well.

SMWS 39.78, Welcome Wake-up Call, Linkwood, 27 years old, October 1982 – 2010, 55.1%. Used to cost €87, but its sold out.

Nose: 6
Taste: 7
Finish: 7
Overal experience: 7
Price/quality: 0

Total: 27 points

And yes, another one for the ‘101’ list! I started tasting many of the samples I accumulated over the last couple of months a while ago. I had to, since the shelf was full and I didn’t it to spill over to other parts of my cupboard. Luckily, Jolanda from Drinks & Gifts had samples of this one, since its rather hard to get a drop from. I didn’t want to buy the bottle, since it is supposed to be one of the gentlest single malts available, and I usually prefer somewhat bolder flavours.

Nose:
Soft sweet honey with a fresh hint of recently sawed wood. Creamy and something autumnal, like small cigars. At one point I thought to get a hint of leafy herbs, like basil and parsley.

Taste:
Again, loads of light and sweet honey. A tad dry with some peaches. Rather simple to be honest.

Finish:
The finish is a bit more exciting with some spices added to the honey mix.

Well, it is smooth. Its also a bit simple. What it does, it does very well, but to me, its just not a really enticing dram. There’s not enough going on to keep me hooked and I found my mind wandering rather quickly. Good, but boring.

Aberfeldy 21, 40%, available for € 89 at the Whiskykoning.

Find a bottle here.

Nose: 6
Taste:4
Finish: 6
Overal experience: 4
Price/quality: 0

Total: 20 points

This beer is a blonde Belgian trappist style brew. Mind the trappist style. Its not brewed at a monastery, which means it can never be a true trappist. It is brewed, however, at a small brew pub in Den Bosch, in ‘my old street’ at Van Kollenburg.

The guys there run a bar with many many many beers available, and they made their own in the basement. Nowadays they also run a small shop and brewery above ground around the corner.

They use extra wheat in their mash for a bit of added body and crispness.

The nose is quite grainy and very crisp, as promised on the label. I smell some coconut biscuits. On the palate its a bit more robust with a little citrus and other tangy fruit. A little sweetness and some more tropical flavours are also present.

A great brew and one to go back for. In older beer encyclopedias it was stated that beer at Van Kollenburg was always tainted by molds and such from their basement, but that didn’t hinder the writer to give their beers a 5 star rating. Nowadays things have gotten a little more professional, but still a 5 star rating is justified!

Thanks to Theo and SJ for bringing me a bottle!

Hibiki is a range of Japanese blended whiskies from Suntory (I had to look that up…). They produce the Yamazaki and Hakushu single malt whiskies and have a lot of varying styles, which is rather typical for Japanese distillers. With those styles of whiskies they can create their own blended whisky without having to trade casks. The Hibiki range is the result of these efforts. There are 12, 17, 21 and 30 year old version, but above the 17, it can get quite expensive!

Nose:
Light, with a clear wood influence. The wood is not as overpowering as it gets in some other Japanese whiskies. Plums, but also a slightly spicy fruitiness.

Taste:
Spicy again with lots of white pepper, chilli and wood dust. The sweetness comes through after the spiciness has faded a little bit. There’s a lot going on with spices fading and fruit coming up. There’re some sweet spices present too, clove. Quite viscous too!

Finish:
The finish is a little bit more quiet. It faded gently, but rather fast. After a few seconds you get a short revival of the chili pepper I found before. After that there is sweet wood that lasts.

This, for a change, is a blend from which I can get many flavours. There’s an incredible lot going on but all flavours are rather clearly marked. The 12 year old is a lot sweeter and has far less wood influence, and I think I like this one better. Especially the chili and fruit combination works very well for me. I’ll try to review the 12 year old soon, to compare notes.

Hibiki 17, 43%, Suntory, € 80 at Master of Malt

Find a bottle here.

Nose: 9
Taste: 9
Finish: 8
Overal experience: 8
Price/quality: +1

Total: 35 points

In July I wrote tasting notes to my first Macallan 18 Sherry Wood, but that was from a bottling from 1994 or 1995. The dram I had now was a more recent version and I thought it rather interesting to see if there’s a big difference. Initially I bought this dram to check it off my ‘101’ list, and the older style dram because it was an old Macallan.

Nose:
A full blast of sherry to start with. There’s a lot of fruit in there, but mostly sweet citrus. A bit nutty as well. Most of the fruits go in the tropical direction. Mango and pineapple and such.

Taste:
A nice full flavour that coats your entire mouth in goodness. Loads of fruit again. I do get some spices this time, and some wood as well. I also get ‘spekkoek’ (which, according to the internet, translated to layered cake…).

Finish:
Papaya and mango dominate the long and lingering finish. Very smooth and sweet.

This is also a cracking dram, but just slightly less so compared to the older version. This one has a little less depth and complexity, and some of the flavours are less pronounced. Now I got sweet citrus, and in the older version it was clearly orange.

The only reason to go for this one is the fact that its 4 times cheaper…

Macallan 18, Sherry Wood, 43%, available at Master of Malt.

Find a bottle here.

Nose: 8
Taste: 8
Finish: 8
Overal experience: 8
Price/quality: +1

Total: 33 points

A little dram from the ‘101’ list, to complete it. I had spotted this grain whisky on several shelfs before I finally got a sample from it. While it has a really low price tag (€ 21 at Master of Malt), I never bought it, even though I like grain whiskies. I think I was a little scared of it being so cheap…

Anyway, Grain whisky, the ‘other’ whisky. From Cameronbridge distillery in Fife. I must have passed there on our most recent trip to Scotland, and I only saw the ‘distillery hospital’ or something like that.

Nose:
Incredibly grainy. Heaps of cereals. I also get a whiff of alcohol like you get from perfume sometimes. American oak, newly shaved. Quite light, but also some spices.

Taste:
Vanilla and cinnamon. Again lots of cereals. A bit like whole grain bread. I find the flavour a bit odd, but not in a bad way. Also icing sugar.

Finish:
A rather sticky finish that lingers for quite some time. It doesn’t do anything new though.

Well, what to say. Its another grain whisky. At approximatly 5 years old and at €21 I didn’t expect mountains to move. They didn’t. However, it is a good dram and for someone who likes to try a grain whisky, this one’s cheap and not too shabby at all! Of course its young, but rather well behaved.

Cameron Brig, 40%, € 21 at Master of Malt.

Find a bottle here.

Nose: 6
Taste: 6
Finish: 5
Overal experience: 7
Price/quality: +2

Total: 26 points

And not just a regular Haig Gold Label, but one from the 1940’s. According to the supplier the whisky was distilled between 1945 and 1950, and bottles at 12 years old, most likely the early sixties.

I don’t know much about the company, except that the name Haig is synonymous with a vast whisky empire in the 1800’s. I’m currently reading ‘Scotland’s Lost Distilleries’ (see the bottom of the page) and I have encountered that name countless times.

Nose:
A very full nose right away. Dough, complex with a hint of sulphur, cereal and wood. Its quite a heavy oily dram thus far.

Taste:
The flavour is, again, quite a full blast. A little viscous which I didn’t expect from a 43% blend. It does have a bit of a byte.

Finish:
The finish is very smooth, with the cereal and wood again. Also a little fruit here and there, but nothing spectacular.

As with many blends, I find it very hard to pinpoint flavours and scents. What I do know is that this one does not have the thinness or lightness I expect from blended whisky. There is quite a lot going on and the flavours are a lot bolder than you find in regular blends nowadays.

Haig Gold Label, 12 years old, 43%, 75cl, imported into Italy. Samples available for 2,50 at Rare Whisky Site.

Nose: 8
Taste: 7
Finish: 7
Overal experience: 8
Price/quality: +2

Total: 32 points

I’ve come to discover more and more good beers recently. Browsing through Untappd also helps, but most of the craft beers I find at Drinks & Gifts. I especially like the huge selection of De Molen Brewery’s beers available.

Recently I tried the following brews from the crew in Bodegraven

Geboren & Getogen (Born & Raised)
A thick and heavy pale ale with heaps of hops and a big acidity. It tastes a bit like a wash in a distillery, but in a good way. The wood smoke (the malt is smoked over English Birch) is quite heavy on the palate, but in a ‘dying campfire’ way. The smoke is quite fierce and more or less scrapes your mouth clean. Smoke and ash, hops. Very, very good stuff!

Op & Top
A bitter style beer which is usually quite nice. A full flavour with sweet cereal but not too heavy or cloying. Not creamy… Quite hoppy and slightly bitter. Some tropical fruit like mango and roasted malt.

Rijn & Veen
This one also reminded me of the brew I tasted at Springbank, but not in such a good way as the Born & Raised above. Yeasty with some herbal influences and some ginger. Fresh and light on the hops with heaps of herbs. There’s coriander and ginger in there, according to the label, but I can’t put my finger on the coriander. Wheat/Weizen beer, with a twist!

The results show I should taste more of their stuff and visit the brewery soon. Unfortunately I can’t make it to their festival at the end of September, but I suggest you go there if you’re able!

To get the list of ‘distilleries I want to taste a whisky from’ completely checked off by the end of the year, I had to taste a Dallas Dhu. A while ago Jolanda from Drinks & Gifts had a sample available which was left over from a tasting done by the guys from Van Wees, who own The Ultimate.

I didn’t know what to expect, which I generally find a very good feeling when tasting whisky. No expectations usually means you’re more open for new things or varying flavours.

Nose:
Its starts off quite heavy and compact, but as it airates a bit, it opens up and becomes a lighter dram. There’s a floral note, together with oranges and corn.

Taste:
Quite light, actually, with some wood and cereal. A touch of pepper and a thin layer of citrus is present as well. Its a very bourbon-casky whisky.

Finish:
Wow, an utterly unexpected fruit blast with thick sweet citrus and forest fruits. Strawberries. Like it finally opened up!

What a weird whisky. I was thinking of it as an okay whisky at first, during nosing it and having a sip. Rather thin, a bit too compact to release all flavours. Then the finish happened. Big on fruits and goodness. A bit off balance, I guess…

So, a nice whisky, with a tremendous finish. Unfortunately, I want a € 100+ bottle to offer me something before the finish too!

Dallas Dhu 30, 1980, The Ultimate, 46%, available for € 115 at DH17

Nose: 6
Taste: 5
Finish: 8
Overal experience: 7
Price/quality: 0

Total: 26 points