Malt Fascination

Another one of those rather strange bottles in Ian Buxton’s ‘101’. This time it is the Swedish Mackmyra whisky. The distillery is one that, since its not in Scotland, has a little bit more leeway in what to use to produce whisky. They have tried different fuels like Juniper and Spruce twigs as well as Alderwood to find a replacement for peat. They also use many different kinds of casks, ranging from 2 liters to some 100 liters, to increase maturation speed.

This whisky is their official real release, after a set of different chapters. They used to produce small batch whiskies named Preludium in which they tried different styles, ranging from maturation in a cave, to peated, to sherry cask matured and so on.

Nose:
Its starts very fresh, like  pine tree needles. Also there is a smell of minerals with vanilla, green apples and grass. A nice mixture of fresh smells with hardly a strange note in there.

Taste:
The mouthfeel is very smooth, like a silk coating. Some sirupy sweetness like sugarwater. The freshness remains.

Finish:
Not unexpected to find a smooth finish here. Again, very crisp and the flavours last for a while, although nothing new happens. Also some vanilla and pear drops.

A nice whisky, very very very smooth, but the crispness is something I quite like. It reminds me of some very nice Chardonnays I tried in California. I hope the maturation brings a bit more depth to it over time for Mackmyra’s new releases, because that is about the only thing that’s missing.

Mackmyra 1st Edition, 46.1%, 2008, about 45 euros, available at Master of Malt

Nose: 7
Taste: 6
Finish: 6
Overal experience: 7
Price/quality: +1

Total: 27 points

Green Spot is a young Irish whiskey from a pot still, made by the Midleton distillery. The same distillery produces a lot of other brands like Jameson, Paddy, Powers and Red Breast. A lot of Green Spot’s reviews are very favorable and since the whiskey is mentioned in Ian Buxton’s’ 101 Whiskies to try before you die’ I thought I should try it.

Nose:
The smell of alcohol is very pungent and very hard to overcome at first. After that there is a certain association with unmalted barley, which is to be expected in Irish Pot Still whiskey. I also get quite a lot of spirityness, by which I mean that it tastes very young with almost no wood influence.

Taste:
The taste is much more fierce than I expected, with also a lot of alcohol bite. There is some thickness to it I didn’t expect and quite a lot of vanilla, gras and some acidity. After a few seconds most of the flavours are gone.

Finish:
Just after you’ve swallowed the stuff, its pretty fierce, but it doesn’t last very long, which also indicates that its a young whiskey. Some some lemon and vanille notes.

I just read somewhere that people find this one of the great whiskies of the world and to be honest, I disagree. There isn’t much Irish Pot Still whiskey, so they tend to be received favorably, but the lack of other options does not make for a great whiskey, in my opinion. I thought this dram is far too close to new spirit, with almost no refinement of maturation.

Green Spot, Irish Pot Still Whiskey, Midleton, 40%, € 35, available at Jurgen’s Whiskyhuis.

Nose: 1
Taste: 3
Finish: 1
Overal Experience: 0
Price/quality: -1

Total: 3 points

The Yoichi Distillery on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, is the northernmost distillery in that country. Its climate is comparable to the northern Highlands of Scotland, where in winter it can get incredibly cold. Apart from that, Yoichi is one of the few distilleries in Japan that uses a significant amount of peat in their whiskies. Not that it gets to a level op Ardbeg or Lagavulin, but it is quite noticeable, like Clynelish, Highland Park and Ardmore.

The most important thing that sets Yoichi apart from the rest of the world is that they are the only distillery left (to my knowledge) that still uses coal to fire the stills instead of indirect heating or steam heating. Coal heating was used in Scotland until about 10 years ago, but most of the distilleries switched during major renovations in the 60’s and 70’s. Coal firing the stills in a distillery gives a much more rugged pattern of heating since it has more highs and lows in temperature (opening the furnace to refill cools it down, a full furnace burns at a much higher temperature than an almost empty one, and so on). This results in a very unique flavour profile.

Nose:
Peaty and smoky, quite fruity with citrus and summer fruit and vanilla. It tastes quite crisp, all together. After a while, the taste evolves more in a direction of ash and tar. Quite complex!

Taste:
The mouthfeel of the Yoichi 10 is quite creamy but also pretty fierce with lots of pepper. There is some drying wood influence as well. A lot less fruity than the nose made you expect.

Finish:
Now it gets more smoky again, and the taste lingers for quite a while.

A bit of a strange one, this is. I usually am quite fond of Yoichi and have not tasted many that would get below 5 stars or at least high up in the four star ratings. This one is the least impressive I have tasted thus far, maybe because it is the youngest? Most Yoichi’s, like the single casks and the vintage editions are botteld around 18 to 20 years of age and in my opinion that is the best age for Yoichi. This one needs a bit more time in the cask.

Yoichi 10, 45%, Available from most specialist retailers between € 50 and € 70.

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

Total: 30 points

Millstone is one of the few Dutch whisky brands, produced by Zuidam Distillers, the same distillery that makes old genevers and a variety of liqueurs. This whisky has a somewhat mixed reputation, and I’ve never been part of the enthusiastic group.

They also make a peated version, a whisky matured in French oak, and a Dutch rye at 5 years old — which, by the way, I think is very good. But for now, let’s taste the American Oak release.

Nose

Distinctive “distilled potatoes” character — lots of cereal and a background of vanilla. There’s also a note of lemon and licorice. I usually associate that potato scent with younger spirits or those from certain types of stills, like older-style stills at distilleries such as Abhainn Dearg, Old Potrero, and Loch Ewe.

Taste

That same spirity potato flavor continues on the palate. It’s not as unpleasant as on the nose, but it’s still prominent. Again there’s some vanilla and light yellow fruit.

Finish

The finish is quite cerealy — not surprising — with a slightly greasy mouthfeel. There’s a little more vanilla than I expected, and a chalky or dusty texture as well.

Overall Impressions

As you might have guessed, I’m not too fond of this bottling. I’m looking forward to trying the French oak version soon — hopefully that’s more to my taste. I’ll also be visiting the distillery with our local liquor shop, so I’m guessing I’ll enjoy the company that makes it, even if their whisky itself isn’t quite for me.

Single cask bottles — straight from the cask — are available at Liquid Gold in Haarlem.

Rating

• Nose: 2

• Taste: 2

• Finish: 4

• Overall Experience: 4

• Price/Quality: -1

• Total: 7 points

No, this is not the first tasting note for Bottle-Share 2.5, this is an old version of the Eagle Rare 17. Usually it is not stated on the bottle, but my guess is, this is the 2008 version, since I have the sample on the shelf for over a year.

Eagle Rare is one of the standard bourbon ranges of Buffalo Trace but normally comes out as a ten year old. The special Antique Collection release is a 17 year old. I read on the interwebs that, in current times, they do not have enough old stocks for an annual release, but they do have an enormous reserve of 17 year old sealed in air tight stainless steel tanks. This is not uncommon in the United States, it also happened with old stocks of Hirsch (1974-1990, 16yo, released in approx. 2004).

Nose:
Not spicy, but full of herbs, with some dry tobacco leaves and an earthy smell to it. Something crisp is in there as well, but in the background. Peppermint? There is coconut and licorice root, but all in good measure. Also some new white oak.

Taste:
The first thing that comes to mind is ham… Those dried Italian hams. Smooth and dry with some cereal in there.

Finish:
Some red fruit and cereal. Also wood, dirt and coffee. The finish is quite long and has more than enough happening to keep you occupied for a while.

I like how this whiskey is developing in every stage. There are always some new flavours and smells to discover. This never results in inconsistency but in a rather well balanced dram. There are always some new tastes, but there are also some that you already found, to keep everything in check.

Eagle Rare 17yo, 2008 release, 45%, About 105 euros, available from Master of Malt.

Nose: 9
Taste: 9
Finish: 9
Overall Experience: 10
Price/quality: 0

Total: 37 points

The Bernheim Original is one of the few Straight Wheat Whiskies that are being produced. Apart from the William Larue Weller, its the only one I can think of. Straight Wheat means that at least 51% of the mash of which the whiskey is made is wheat. The rest can be any other grain, usually barley, corn or rye.

Nose:
The nose is quite malty with lots of cereals. The sweetness is quite different from a bourbon, probably because of the different mash being used. It also has some mint and some flowers. Quite light with the focus on cereals and dough. Some licorice maybe?

Taste:
The mouth feel is somewhat dusty with a bit more oomph than I expected. Also a little dry in the mouth. For some reason it is not as sweet as I expected and it reminds me of salsa with some peppers, tomato and maybe avocado. The lack of sweetness can be caused by wheat being less sweet than corn…

Finish:
The finish is a lot sweeter than I thought it would be after tasting it. A LOT! Its quite long, but very light in flavour. By the end of the finish its gets a little drying again. There is also some oak in there, the first I encounter in this whiskey and a little spice.

Quite nice, but not really great. There are some very nice characteristics to this whiskey, but it is not as different as I expected. The wheatedness is something to be explored, but I don’t think I would return to this whiskey as often as I would like.

Bernheim Original, 45%, about 60 euros, available from Master of Malt.

Nose: 7
Taste: 7
Finish: 6
Overall experience: 7
Price/quality: -1

Total: 26 points

The first year of this brand new festival organized by Wullie MacMorland of Hielander Scottish Restaurant, also in Alkmaar. The idea behind the festival was to keep it a lot smaller than its counterparts in Leiden (next year in The Hague) and Groningen. Only 650 tickets per session, which gave everyone a lot of room to maneuver and have some peace while tasting their new favorite drams…

I spent most of the evening at the booth of Dutch Whisky Connection, where my friends Bert and Michiel displayed a big part of their collection, of which you could have a taste of course. The whiskies I tasted are below…

Ben Nevis 10, Drinks & Gifts bottling, 46%, 2011
Very malty with some saltiness and a hint of light smoke. The taste was a bit heavier than I expected with some liquorice and more alcohol bite than usualy at 10yo and 46%. Quite nice, and quite affordable at 43 euros. (soon available at http://www.drinks-gifts.nl)

Yoichi 20, 1990-2010, not yet available in Europe, 50%
Sweet and full fruitiness with a lot of light peat smoke in there. A very typical Yoichi and also typical, quite stunning at 20 years of age. That seems to be the perfect age for their whiskies. The taste is quite dry with a lot of fresh fruit again.

Glencadam 32, Old & Rare, 54.9%
A very old Glencadam which I just had to try, after last weeks 15yo standard range. Just to see if this was any good too. It is. Lots and lots of dried raisins, plums and dates on the nose. The taste is quite sweet as well with a lot of honey and fruit again. Lots of sherry influence but never overpowering the whisky. Available here.

Lochside 1981-2010, 46%, Berry’s Own Selection
Sweet dough and fresh yellow fruit on the nose. The flavours are more sweet citrus fruits and a fuller taste than I expected, since it is not at cask strength. The nose is good, the mouth is fantastic, but the finish let me down a bit.

Rosebank 8, 40%, bottled around 1970
Lightly smoky? It starts of with a spring meadow full of flowers. It gets a bit more fruity after a minute and on the palate. The finish, however, is like 10 fruit cakes crammed in every sip. On of the best whiskies I ever tried. So many flavours, so many different directions without being an unguided projectile. Very complex and very balanced.

Tamdhu 1973-2008, 56%, Gordon & MacPhail Reserve
A rather recent bottling that still is available. It starts with candies fruits, honey and a bit of dry, sweet wood. It gets more citrusy after a bit, pink grapefruit and after a while it gets more bitter and a touch of old polished leather appears.

Ben Nevis 37, 1967-2010, 54.4%
One of the few Ben Nevises I ever tried. This one made a lasting impression. Hidden fruits like banana. Also dry barley. A little dusty and a little dry, but great balance. Old fashioned whisky with a hint of saltiness as well.

Mosstowie 40%, 75cl bottle, 17yo
Very salty, grassy, sandy dunes and sea water. A long finish that gives a bit more fruit and lemongrass. A love it or hate it dram. I am in the first categorie.

Brora 28, Daily Dram, 52.3%, 1982-2010
A very light colored Brora that is much more peaty and salty than I am used to. Very clean, lots of smoke. After a bit the sweet cacao and waxiness come through. A bit chalky.

Old Pulteny, 8yo, Gordon & MacPhail, Bottled +/- 1990, 40%
VERY waxy, very smooth. Quite full and a lot of white chocolate and sweet spices. Not the best order to taste these in, but a very good dram!

Glen Garioch, OB, 8yo, 43%, no more info.
Dried flowers and dried herbs. Quite earthy and a bit drying. A very odd combination of flavours and smells and one I have not encountered before. Not unpleasant but takes some getting used to.

Glenlivet 1961, Gordon & MacPhail, 57%
The whisky deliveres a lot of odd sherry flavours with heaps and heaps of woodiness in it. Very spicy, a bit too much. Also cacao and coffee in there. Mocha. An odd one. Not my first choice.

Caol Ila 17, Secret Treasures, 1990, 43%
Delivers a lot more punch than you’d expect. Very clean and a lot of slate and minerals. Clean smoke, salty. Very nice and very unexpected!

A night that combined highlights and more highlights. An enrichment of my whisky tasting list. But also a money sink… I simple love that Rosebank 8 so much. It is definetely in my top 5 ever.

The left over tasting is the same concept as yesterday’s bottoms up tasting, just named differently. This one was organized by a whisky shop/liquor store in IJmuiden, which is a bit closer to home, but just as far by public transport. Since I had the idea that it was going to be way past the bus schedule before I wanted to leave I went by bicycle.

The tasting was a fair bit larger, some 50 people instead of the 15 in Den Bosch, but that had everything to do with the size of the room in which the tasting was held.

St. George Chapter 6, 46%
This is a very young English whisky, from the only distillery in England. It never held much appeal to me, but since it is in Ian Buxton’s excellent “101 whiskies to try before you die”, I wanted to try it, just to check it off. The nose give away the fact that it is a young whisky right away. Some dry bread and other cereals. Not much wood influence. Rather bland. The taste and finish don’t add much to it.

Jack’s Pirate Whisky 11yo, 59.9%, Islay (Jack Wieber)
A pretty decent Islay whisky, albeit a little one dimensional. Some light smoke and bread crust in the nose and a little vanilla. The  taste is a bit more full bodied and more smoky. Quite peppery as well.

Three Ships South African Whisky 5yo, 40%
Three Ships is a blended whisky consisting of South African and Scottish whiskies. There are also varieties that consist only of South African whiskies. The nose is rather full with a little wood. The taste is somewhat sweeter than expected but it displays all qualities of a well made, but rather simple dram. Far from unpleasant, though.

Fleeting, Michel Couvreur, 47%, Single Oloroso Cask, 1995
A very obscure bottler with some interesting cask choices for finishes. The one I tried didn’t give me much information about the distillery or the region. The nose reminded me of the sweet wine finishes that Bruichladdich produced. This winey sweetness gives a lot of fruit flavours but comes off as a bit odd. Very interesting, but hard to pin down on such short notice.

Old Rip van Winkle 10yo, 45%
One of the few bourbons on the table, but a very good one. The sweet corn flavour is a little restrained, which gives the whiskey a Scotch like complexity. A little dry with some soft tobacco flavours and a lot of different spices.

Wild Turkey 12yo, 50.5%
This is more a bourbon as you get them. Lots of full bodied sweetness of the corn in there. Also some spicyness and chocolate in there. 12 years of ageing has given it some time to settle, all the flavours are very nicely woven together.

Glenmorangie Finealta, 46%
The newest addition to the Glenmorangie range and a peated one at that! I was a bit scared that this was only made because Glenmorangie wanted a piece of the peated whisky pie. It maybe is, but it is a rather nice expression at that. Some smoke and creme brulee on the nose. The taste is pretty malty. In the end it is a very typical Glenmorangie with a little peat added to it. Which is good.

Longrow Tokaji, 10yo, 55.6%
I was a bit hesitant to try it, since everybody warned me about this whisky. The Tokaji was supposed to be the worst Longrow ever, as I had been told. While it isn’t that bad, its not good either. It has the overly sweet character of a dessert wine, not unlike PX sherry. The bad thing is that it is cloyingly sweet with stale, old herbs in there. The mouth is quite dry and (no surprise) sweet with some light smoke. The finish is a tad bitter and the thing in its entirety is simple not good.

Jameson 18, 40%
Another whiskey for Buxton’s ‘101’. Those nose is very soft. After tasting several whiskies I had the idea my glass was empty. The taste is rather surprising, with a lot of soft vanilla and some coconut. There are some other flavours in there too, but it is all very smooth and easy going. Despite that, it is a very well made whiskey that surprised my in a good way.

Tyrconnel, 40%
Same reason to taste it as above. If there is something as a typical Irish whiskey scent, its in here. Probably the unmalted barley. Some cereal, the taste is very gentle, too gentle, even after the Jameson. I ate a cube of cheese just before and it couldn’t even overcome that. The finish is the best part of this whiskey with a surprising sherry-like sweetness and taste.

Glencadam 15, 46%
This is a brand that i am rather unfamiliar with, but I remembered that the last time I tasted it, it kind of surprised me. In a good way. It displays a lot of vanilla and some citrus like notes. It must have been some very good bourbon casks. The whisky reminds me of Glenesk, but that might just be wishful thinking. The taste is rather dry and chalky, but I like that in this case.

Port Askaig 17, 45.8%
The precentage might tell you that it is a Talisker, since they bottle almost everything at that ABV.  It is, as far as I know, a Caol Ila. It has some straight forward Caol Ila smokiness, maybe some smoked eel. An okay whisky, but I stopped taking notes at this point!

In the end I had to ride my cycle back home, with a rather sore ass. I think, since I had been just talking with some people for the last two hours and I had tasted only tiny drops of each one I could have driven back home. I didn’t like that idea when I was cycling past the docks of IJmuiden, with the wind ravaging me. The tasting was very good and I met some really nice people, some of who I already knew, some new ones. I hope to be invited next year as well!

About two weeks ago I put up a message with some tasting notes of  a couple of Blackadders, which I tasted at a Bottoms Up tasting in Den Bosch, at the Whiskykoning. I still had to report on the other non-Blackadder stuff I tasted there, so here it goes!

Caol Ila, Feis Isle 2010, 61.9%
Bacon and sweet peppers, smoke and charcoal. Typically a current day sherried Caol Ila. Quickly it becomes a bit lighter in the nose. Pretty fierce because of the high alcohol.

Longrow 7yo, James MacArthur’s Old Masters (bottled for Japan), 56.3%
Citrus and light smoke are dominant. Quite salty as well. The taste offers more fruit and is a little bit sweeter than I expected with citrus, vanilla, slate and ‘minerals’. The finish is pretty long and flows away more than it stops.

McCarthy’s Oregon single malt, 3yo, 40%
Everybody I heared about this whisky thinks its really good, but to me, apart from the nice and full nose it gives, it doesn’t do much. Heavy smoke and some green tea on the nose. Ash and lime on the palate, but you really have to search for it. The finish is short.

Glenfarclas 1972, 5yo, 40%
The nose is light and fruity with peach and apricot. The taste is a little bitter fruity with lemon and the finish is rather short. Its still a beautiful whisky from times gone by, but it is also still and entry level dram from the past.

Bunnahabhain 12yo, Queen of the Moorlands, Feis Isle 2010, 53.2%
Light peat with a little sweetness, but a bit bland. The taste is rather thin, peppery with some light smoke, The finish has a bit more iodine, sea weed and some peat again.

Lochside 10yo, OB, 40%
A very old Lochside bottle from when it was still operational. The nose has sweet cereal, lots of fruit (apple, pear, banana and sweet tangerine). The taste has some dough but again, lots of sweet yellow fruit. The finish is pretty long but there are not many new flavours.

Maker’s Mark Gold Was, 50%
Typical bourbon, but an improvement over the red waxed regular bottle. All flavours are a bit more expressed, although the only real difference according to Maker’s Mark is the proof. What 10% more alcohol can give you…

Glen Grant Cellar Reserve 1992, 46%
Dusty and a little thin on the nose. Sweet european oak with some peach a bit flowery as well. The taste is more sugary sweet with a little spice in it. A short finish with a little dryness. Nothing special. An improvement over regular Glen Grants, but nowhere near the older indies

Braes of Glenlivet 15yo, 1989, 56.2% (Signatory?)
The nose has leather, a little wood and some light fruit in it. The taste is a bit more fierce than I expected with old fruit, wood and light sherry. The finish is long but not very exciting.

A very very good tasting it was! Some really special bottles were discovered, and it really is a discovery since there are about 150 bottles available and you have to search them closely. In the end I found out to have missed Port Ellens, many many many other Blackadders and lots of other goodness. I hope to be invited again next year!

The Glenfarclas is kind of a staple whisky when it comes to Cask Strength sherry wood bottlings. It has been around for ages and is quite affordable for a 60% whisky. But is it any good? I tried it recently, also because it is in Ian Buxton’s “101 whiskies to try before you die”.

Nose:
You get lots of European oak influences in tannines, leather, dried fruits like orange and peach. Also some honey in there for added sweetness. The alcohol, although prominent does not overpower the other smells I get from nosing this whisky.

Taste:
The taste is incredibly fierce. There is a lot of punch in this dram for sure! The mouthfeel is somewhat oily, dry and peppery at the same time. Fruitcake and candies fruit is very much there.

Finish:
The taste lingers for a while but the alcohol burn quickly fades to give a bit more room to the other flavours that appear. A lot of sherry influences again and some nuttiness as well!

This is a very solid dram. Its not the best sherry cask I’ve tried, but for the price of about 50 euros it is very acceptable, and a good entry into the realm of cask strength whiskies. A few years ago it was awarded the best “bang for your buck” whisky by the Malt Maniacs and I know exactly what they mean by that! Yummy!

Glenfarclas 105, 60%, available everywhere, for about € 45 to € 50.

Nose: 8
Taste: 8
Finish: 8
Overal Experience: 9
Price/quality: +2

Total: 35 points