Malt Fascination

A truly ancient sample from the Master of Malt ‘Drinks by the Dram’ program. This was a Signatory vintage bottling, you know, the ones in those flower vases. I bought it because I never had anything from North British, and I wanted to check it off my list.

Luckily I was so smart to have the sample sit on my shelf for a couple of months, in which I forgot it and ordered it again later… Dumb-ass.

O, and by the way, North British is a grain distillery on the outskirts of Edinburgh. I have tried to get someone there so far as to give me a tour when we will be in the area soon, but they refused. I’d really like to see a grain whisky plant someday…

Nose:
A huge impact of European oak, with slightly burnt caramel, some banana. Stale raisin bread but also shoe polish and leather. Its a strange dram because it shows all the mature signs of a good single malt but it lacks a bit in complexity. I guess that can be expected from an old grain whisky.

Taste:
The mouthfeel is rather sweet and dry with some tannines. The taste is a lot like the nose with less development than I hoped for. It adds a bit of orange marmalade and other old dried fruits, lemon, apple. It also picks up a slight nutty aroma.

Finish:
A long finish, very long, where all flavours appear again but a lot more intense. Like an extract of European oak with all typical flavours. Quite nice and it makes it linger for ever.

This is a very typical grain whisky in my book, but since it has been matured/finished on an active sherry cask it has picked up many additional flavours that you usually don’t get in the typically bourbon cask matured grains. I like that about it, but I do think I tasted more of the cask than of the whisky.

North British 45, 1963, 50.7%, Signatory Vintage decanter, about 150 euros at Master of Malt.

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

Total: 35 points

Yesterday, I went to Zuidam Distillers, in Baarle-Nassau on the Dutch-Belgian border. Zuidam is a family company that started distilling liquors in the 70’s and expanded into Dutch Genevers a while later. Since about a decade or so they also make a whisky. Et voila, my attention spiked!

I have tasted some of their whiskies, and apart from their Dutch Rye, I’ve never been a fan. I thought a trip there would be a great opportunity to taste some of their core product, which is still Genever and Liquors. I didn’t taste the liquors however, since that is not something I am interested in.

We started of with a tour of their distillery where we got to see their liquor infusions, the warehouses and the Holstein stills. For some reason we forgot all about the potstill, which I only realized during the elaborate tasting afterwards.

Patrick van Zuidam, the son of the founder of the distillery told us all about the company and held no secrets about recipes, herbs used for the genever and stocks or anything. Very refreshing!

The tasting:

Jonge graan Genever, 35%
Sweet with a background of cereal and some light fruits on the nose. The taste is a little sharper with sweet citrus and other fruits. A quite sirupy mouth feel. The finish has some more warmer fruits and is pretty sweet again. About a million times better than other young genevers I have tasted. Not bad, but this doesn’t really convince me.

Korenwijn, 1 year old, 38%
Some nice wood influences with cereal and some apple. The taste and finish are a bit sharpish with some sweetness as well. Some confit fruits too. Nice, but not too special, in my opinion.

Zeer oude Genever, 5 years old, single barrel, 38%
Very mature with quite some wood influences in it. Vanilla and quite herbal, licorice. The taste is sweet and herbal as well. A bit of spice in there as well and some white oak. The finish is rather terrific, sweet and spicy with vanilla and cinnamon.

Rye Genever, 35%?
Very unlike I expected. Not the typical rye flavours but more lemon and very floral and some mint. The mouth feel is much thicker with cereal and a flavour of English marmelade. Quite nice but very unexpected. I did miss the rye flavours a bit.

Dutch Pot Still Genever, 40%
A very warm nose with a very different character than the others. Its much more like a young smooth whisky like Auchentoshan or Rosebank. Maybe because its a triple distilled pot still product?! The flavour is full and creamy with some nice spice and freshly ground black pepper. Less sweet than I expected with sweet herbs and wood spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, that kind of stuff).

Korenwijn, 5 years old, 38%
The nose is somewhat less full with a bit wood influences, vanilla and some herbs. Not too much I haven’t tasted before. The taste and finish have some wood and cinnamon. A bit treacly, full and sweet.

Zeer oude Genever, 8 years old, first fill American oak
This was a rather generous cask sample for the trip home. Jolanda of Drinks & Gifts already told me there would be something nice for the way home. This sample is from a single cask that will be bottled when its 10 years old but in my opinion they shouldn’t wait!

Heaps of vanilla, white oak, coconut and white chocolate. Some cocoa and lemon curd as well. The flavour has Creme Brulee with thyme or rosemary. Very crisp with orange and other fruits. Slightly drying and has more fruit cake after a while. The finish is long and fruity with confit fruits, heaps of vanilla and some caramel. The best of the day!

All credits for today’s goodness go to Wouter and Elize of DH17, and Jolanda and Marcel of Drinks & Gifts. I had a terrific time, thanks a million! For more pictures you can visit Facebook or this website.

PS: The difference between “young” and “old” genever is that neutral grain spirit is used in young genever.

Another first! After Monday’s book review, I decided yesterday to do a magazine review as well. This one is about a Dutch magazine, so it might be slightly less interesting to foreign readers — but I just had to get this off my chest… (which might indicate this won’t be a very positive review).

About a year and a half ago I was reading the newest issue of Whisky Etc. on the couch and thought it was quite annoying that I no longer had guaranteed delivery of the magazine. My favorite whisky shop had gotten into a bit of a quarrel with them and decided to stop selling it, which meant I had to start looking around for it — or I could just get a subscription. There was a discount that month, so I chose the latter.

With the quarterly delivery of the newest edition of the magazine I was always happy to get something whisky-related in the mailbox, and I still have that joy when it arrives. Then I start reading it.

It is a small Dutch magazine — not even the biggest in the country — and most of the advertising is for one chain liquor shop that not many whisky enthusiasts I know go to for their supply.

Since it is a specialist magazine like Whisky Magazine and Malt Advocate, it uses freelance writers to fill it with articles. Nothing wrong with that, but what annoys me more and more every time I read it is that they state things like “Whisky Etc. was invited to <enter random event>.” They weren’t — a writer was, and they decided to buy an article.

This not only happens with event coverage. According to Whisky Etc., all writers who supply them with articles are employees — not correspondents, not editors, but employees. For some reason, that ticks me off every time.

Tonight, while reinstalling my laptop, I was reading through the latest edition, and before I got to page 10 I found at least 10 errors in spelling, grammar, or data. Minor things like incorrect verbs or punctuation, but also missing words in sentences and references to the “Bush Mills” distillery — come on guys, this is a whisky magazine! Please proof-read, and at the very least check the names of distilleries.

There is also a quarterly piece about newly released things that are not whisky. This time it was limited to “new” whisky books and that Islay DVD with a bad voice-over. Normally, however, this column also includes watches, shoes, and golf supplies. For some reason I just cannot wrap my head around the idea that people like you and me — who spend most of their hard-earned cash on the newest release from distillery X — want to know about a €10,000 Rolex or some funky golf shoe that leaves smaller holes on the green…

So tonight, I decided to unsubscribe from this magazine and to stop buying it altogether. There are four other magazines I read with much more satisfaction than this one: Whisky Magazine, Malt Advocate, Whisky Passion, and De Kiln — our terrific club magazine. That saves me another twenty euros to spend on drams!

Two stars — because the articles themselves aren’t that bad and there are some good columns. It’s just poor proofreading, a bit too much arrogance, and content that feels out of place for a whisky magazine.

The Sazerac 18 is the old Rye Whiskey of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, and after tasting a bunch of old Rittenhouses over the last couple of months I was getting very excited to taste this one! In previous years it was one of the first of the collection to sell out, so I was thrilled to be able to get this one for the Bottle-Share!

Nose:
When you pour it you already get the full smells of the whiskey, far away from the glass. Nice sweetness and very alluring… Then, when you stick your nose in you get fields of grain, rye, some chocolate and caramel. It gets a little more spicy after those sweet scents with cinnamon and tobacco. At some point I picked up green leaves and clove. Sweet yellow fruits like lemon and pineapple and some peppermint to boot!

Taste:
Cherries with a nice peppery kick to them. A little drying and a heap of rye. Again, the wood spices, cinnamon and clove. Very nice and you just keep this swimming around in your mouth for minutes.

Finish:
The finish is somewhat less sweet and drying with added fruitiness. Lemon, lime and orange. Lots of citrussy goodness that is! The finish more or less lasts forever. The spices are still here but the fruits are a bit more prominent.

Halleluja! If there was a church of American Whiskey, this one would preach. Such heaps and heaps of flavours and smells that keep circling back to you. Everytime they do they do bring along a new friend as well. I tasted this twice and with every sniff or sip I found something new. The balance is perfect and it just keeps you hooked from the beginning! This just shot up to number 1 on my wish list!

Right up there with those old Rittenhouses. Apparently I should start paying more attention to rye whiskies, since I really really love them. Especially the old ones. Shame they are so bloody expensive in Europe.

Sazerac 18, 45%, 2010, available at Master of Malt for about 125 euros.

Nose: 10
Taste: 10
Finish: 10
Overal experience: 10
Price/quality: +2

Total: 42 points (full maximum)

William Larue Weller, the wheated bourbon of the bunch. Wheated bourbons usually are the smooth ones, but since this comes in at a whopping 62.65%, the ABV might have something to say about that!

Nose:
It takes a minute or so before the alcohol gives way to the other scents in the glass, but then there is a small party going on! Chocolate chip cookies it the first thing that stands out, but there is also vanilla and clove, and something crisp. That little freshness seems to be a staple in Buffalo Trace’s whiskies. Sweet cream and sticky toffee pudding as well.

Taste:
The alcohol is very warming, but not as fierce as I expected. Brown sugary sweetness and some fruit as well. Lots of tropical fruit is what I am getting, but I am having a hard time pinpointing which fruits. Highly unexpected but very nice!

Finish:
A looooong finish. Sweet cereal and vanilla. Some alcohol burn at first but that quickly dissapears. This is the first time I am getting some Chili pepper. A bit more bite in the end!

This is good. Very good. I am loving the developments this whiskey goes through. It evolves over time in the glass as well, so you might want to savour this one for a little while. The smoothness really works to the good of the full flavours and the chocolaty fruits of this dram really make me happy!

William Larue Weller, 2008, 62.65%, about 110 euros at Master of Malt.

Nose: 10
Taste: 9
Finish: 9
Overal experience: 10
Price/quality: +1

Total: 39 points

Finally, the first tasting note to the Buffalo Trace Bottle-Share! I have been incredibly busy over the last couple of weeks, which meant that I hadn’t had the time to taste any of them until last week. Eagle Rare 17, the upgraded bourbon from their standard Eagle Rare 10.

Nose:
Cigar tobacco, banana, toasted oak. A very warming scent comes from your glass with vanille and cinnamon. Also caramel and sweet dough. After a few minutes it does get a bit more crisp. Very, very nice!

Taste:
The taste is very full and creamy. There is a lot going on with more of the tastes I expected after giving this a good smell. Cinnamon sticks, sweet with a little pepper. Baked apples, and apple pie.

Finish:
This is the first spot in tasting this whiskey that I have some comments. All the usual bourbon flavours are present, and they’re all very good. But, for some reason, its just not that special. The smoothness, the spices, the tartiness, its all there, but not as pronounced and it doesn’t really add anything new. Still, very good, but just not stellar.

Eagle Rare, 17yo, 45%, available sporadically for about 100 euros.

Nose: 10
Taste: 9
Finish: 8
Overal experience: 9
Price/quality: 0

Total: 36 points

The World Atlas of Whisky is Dave Broom’s newest book and has been released late last year. I have finished it for a while, but have never gotten around to writing a review of it. Since Hans Offringa is translating it to a Dutch version its bound to become a little bit more popular here so I thought it time to post my findings.

The book takes a different approach to describing distilleries, since Dave has taken great effort to write a very good summary of all distilleries in the book, from their founding to recent history. Many of the train tracks, harbours and roads come into play as to why distilleries are where they are. I like the fact that there are so many distilleries described in great detail. It reminds me a little bit of the (far more elaborate) Japanese Whisky by Ulf Buxrud.

Of course, a whisky book wouldn’t be a whisky book if there weren’t heaps of tasting notes in it. Although I am a fan of tasting notes, I don’t read them in books. I reckon there is no point in reading them unless you are planning to visit the distillery and are looking into what to get there. I skipped most of them, although I did read quite a few. Mostly because in the description of the process at a given distillery there would be hints to heavy and light spirits, lyne arms, copper contact and I was curious to read what the resulting taste would be. Well done to get me reading more!

The pictures in the book are simply fenomenal. There are SO many great photographs in it that its barely possible to pick a favorite, so absolutely 100% satisfied on that front.

What I like about the book is that it really is a world atlas, by that I mean that almost all countries that have a distillery that complies with the rules for whisky are described and there are some distilleries I never heard of in countries I wouldn’t expect. Well done again!

Also the division of flavours into flavour groups is also nice. I like the fact that Dave has not succumbed to using geographical locations to group distilleries together flavourwise. No “Islay whiskies are the peaty whiskies” bull. He looks at each individual style and then groups them accordingly.

The only remark I have is that I found a few mistakes in the early chapters of the book in which the distilling process is described. On one line it says that in Irish whisky no peat is ever used, and the next paragraph states that Connemara is a heavily peated Irish whisky. Woe to the proof readers 🙂

EDIT: Dave Broom got back to me to clear this up. The text states that peat is used in Irish Single Malt, and the diagram shows Traditional Irish Pot Still, in which peat is not used. Thanks Dave! Kudos.

So, good writing, good pictures, completeness (is that a word?), maybe a tasting note too many here or there: Highly recommended!

I have not even posted my tasting notes to the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, and I am already talking about the next Bottle-Share… Here it goes:

The 4th Bottle-Share is coming up in a while. This time, I am planning to share some bottles of the Bladnoch Forum. The guys at Bladnoch bottle some casks they have from (mostly) Diageo distilleries into single casks that are available for their forum members to buy at very reasonable prices (not to say cheap).

The bottles that I plan to share will be listed below, but I have to say that it is all in a quite early stage and their stocks may change by the time I am ready to order them.

This is how it works:
I will ask around (through here, Twitter, Facebook and some e-mails) to find people who want to join in this Bottle-Share, and by the time I think there will be no more participants added to the list I will order the bottles.

In total, the Bottle-Share will consist of 8 samples of 5cl. Everyone will receive one of each sample of course and I will supply a small description about each distillery, the Bladnoch guys and some general information about the Bottle-Share.

Of course, the idea behind a Bottle-Share is not to make money, but to be available to taste a larger variety of whisky, without having to buy a full bottle of each. The costs will be kept to a minimum and will consist only of the whisky itself, the sample bottles and a little coverage for printing and labels.

Some people have already expressed their interest in participating in this Bottle-Share, so I only need a few more people to make it all happen. Of course, it is possible to order a second set of bottles, if I can fill all spots in that one too. Unlike the SMWS Bottle-Share, the second set will only happen if I completely fill it, the SMWS ones were a bit expensive, since I had to take up 5 spots…

The whiskies that I have planned for this Bottle-Share are the following:

• Benrinnes 25, 51%
• Balmenach 26, 52.8%
• Cambus 24, 52.7% (single grain)
• Cragganmore 19, 53.8%
• Dailuaine 26, 53.1%
• Glenburgie 26, 53.7%
• Teaninich 27, 50.7%
• Bladnoch 18, 55% (OB)

Quite the list, if I may say so. Now for the fun part: a 5cl sample of these whiskies will only cost you € 45,-.

If you have any interest in participating, you can leave a comment below, contact me on Twitter, Facebook or Skype! The samples will be sent out at the end of May, because I will have been able to pick up the bottles at Bladnoch distillery by then.

My first Canadian whisky ever! And if I am to believe Davin de Kergommeaux and Mark Gillespie, I have been missing out. I thought it wise to take my first ‘Canadian’ step with a staple Canadian whisky, Crown Royal.

It comes in a flashy bottle with a velvet bag around it instead of a tube or a box. Nice trick to get peoples attention! It is a blend of Canadian whiskies but apart from that there is little information at my fingertips.

Nose:
It starts of with some fresh American oak, very crisp, quite a full nose. Although its bottled at only 40% ABV it doesn’t feel thin. Some red apples, lightly spicy and quite sweet.

Taste:
Sweet spicy dough, a little drying but not tanninous. Some vanilla is added to the mix which gives it a distinct flavour of creme brulee and caramel.

Finish:
Oranges! More fruity than I expected with sweet citrus and vanilla sorbet. Not too long but I like the fact that I taste something new in the finish.

Well, its not a spectacular dram, but it is a lot better than I expected it to be. It has many nice flavours and the mouthfeel is very smooth and gentle. I might have to track down samples of other Canadian whiskies to see if this is where it starts or just a fluke…

Crown Royal (original/fine deluxe), 40%, available at the Whiskykoning for € 30

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

Total: 25 points

EDIT: As my whisky friend Bas told me, its not my first Canadian whisky, since Whistle Pig is also Canadian. Its just released by an American company. Thanks Bas!

As I said yesterday I am very much getting into Dailuaine lately, and of this bottle I could get a sample from my friend Tom. 1966 is his vintage, so he was quite proud of this, and after tasting it, I agree he has every right to be!

Nose:
It smells of old whisky, the age is detectable. There is a light woodiness to it, but a lot less than I expected after 31 years in the cask. Sweet citrus as well and almonds. A slight hint of a full bodied red wine. Leather bound books.

Taste:
The taste gets a bit sweeter than the nose was, with raisins, milk chocolate and more fruit. Strawberry and raspberry mostly. Very smooth and soft, especially for a 56.8% whisky.

Finish:
The finish is smooth and gets a bit stronger after a few seconds. It gets more fruity than the taste. Lots of tropical fruit. Still that ‘old’ taste.

That old taste of libraries, polished leather and a hint of wood is something I like very much. Usually its very hard to find whiskies that have that in any balanced way but here its perfect. I think I am in love with this dram!

Dailuaine 31, 05-1966 – 12-1997, Cadenhead Chairman’s Stock, 56.8%, sold out ages ago.

Nose: 10
Taste:10
Finish:10
Overal Experience:10
Price/quality: ?

Total: 40 points