Linkwood 15, 2008-2023, Hogshead 306517, 59.9% – 240.000 bottles in Whiskybase

Posted on 2 October 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Lucky for us whisky fanatics, Whiskybase keeps bottling nice things for every ten thousand bottles that are added to the system. That is apart from the Whiskybase Plus bottlings, Archives and every other thing that comes out from the people in Rotterdam.

This time it’s a Linkwood at a decent age and a fairly ridiculous ABV. Of course, there’s a lot to say for cask strength whisky, and I prefer to get things as pure as they get, but this one is not for the light-hearted.

Image from Whiskybase

Linkwood tended to be hit or miss, with some pretty mediocre bottlings having been released in the past, but they have been on a roll the last couple of years. That is to say, the independent bottlers have been on a roll in picking some solid casks.

Sniff:
Austere with notes of grass, sand, straw and some sherbet like milkiness. A hint of turpentine too, so quite an old fashioned whisky. This is very interesting. There is a note that I do recognize, but I don’t know from what.

Sip:
The palate is fierce, but not as much as I expected from its nigh 60% ABV. The flavors are rather gentle, with hints of dry oak and straw, a bit of honey and some pastry cream.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more straight forward with the high ABV coming through here. A little bit of vanilla to go with the pastry cream. Oak, barley, straw. Austere with some minerals and heather.

For a change, this bottle share filled up rather quickly. Probably due to the track record of Whiskybase and the decent price for a 15 year old single cask. In this case, I wouldn’t have mind to have a couple of centiliters more. It’s a very enjoyable dram, even though the ABV is really high. It bites, it kicks, but with a bit or warm-up you will be able to tame this one enough to be very delicious!

88/100

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Calumet 16, Single Rack Black Citation, bottled in 2022, 53%

Posted on 18 September 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

When you’re traveling to the United States for work, you have to combine the useful with some fun. In this case that meant taking a very long walk from the hotel to Binny’s for some booze. Binny’s was the obvious choice due to their selection, and the South Loop location was the obvious choice due to location and it being across the street from Manny’s and we needed lunch too.

In the end, three bottles were bought because there were enough people in our travel group for this amount. The bottles had to be split across suitcases due to customs limitation, of course.

Calumet is a brand I heard about and is not available in The Netherlands, and since the review from Bourbon Junkies and some other channels were rather stellar, I decided this one was a necessary addition. The other two were a Redwood Empire, and a high octane Stellum bottling. Those will be reviewed at some time in the future.

As far as I know Calumet doesn’t distill themselves but has an external distillery produce bourbon specifically for them. The distillery is Western Spirits Beverage Company in Bowling Green Kentucky.

Image from Whiskybase

At 16 years this bourbon is quite old and there’s always a risk that it has gotten too bitter. With review tending towards the positive, I was willing to take the risk. Especially since the risk was split between people in my bottle share group.

Sniff:
It’s very gentle and mature, and based on what I’m smelling it’s not gone bitter with 16 years in oak. The nose brings hints of cigars, but there’s some crispness too. A hint of spices and orange.

Sip:
The palate is slightly dry but not overly so. The 53% comes off as less than that. It’s quite intense but not fiery or harsh. Spices, tobacco, orange and dark bread. Roasted barley, a hint of charcoal.

Swallow:
The finish brings a surprising punch that adds a bit of chili pepper to the flavors. Dry, with oak and a bit of a mulchy sweetness. Very autumnal, very mature.

This is such an awesome dram. It’s complex, with lots of layers, an infinite finish.

It was one of those drams that sat on my shelf for quite a while before I got around to it. But when I did try it, the rest of my half bottle went rather quickly. A truly fabulous dram that you just want to have another one of. And another one.

90/100

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Duich (Tamdhu) 8, 2016-2024, 1st Fill PX Cask 30369, 57.2% – Dràm Mòr

Posted on 16 September 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Apparently Duich is another name for Tamdhu Distillery, to be used by independent bottlers. I didn’t know that until recently, and it’s another one to be added to the dictionary, next to things like Burnside, Westport, and certainly others that I can’t recall right now.

Having said that, I’m not one to keep an eye on Tamdhu releases. I am not entirely sure why that is, but the distillery has never really seized my attention. Except a 6 year old bottling by The Ultimate / Van Wees from 13 years ago. That was a really good one.

Let’s see if this indie release from Dràm Mòr changes my outlook on the distillery.

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
A lot of sweetness in a combination of honey and dried fruits. Peaches and prunes mostly. Some raisins. A hint of nutty bitterness but it’s not overly specific.

Sip:
The palate brings a punch due to the alcohol, as a lot of dryness to accentuate it. There still is a lot of sweetness. Again, honey and dried fruits. It’s rather typical of high octane Tamdhu.

Swallow:
The finish brings more heat and makes me tear up a little bit. Fairly straight forward with sweetness, honey, fruits.

So, with this being a 1st fill PX cask, I expected it to be a lot more heavy on the sherry, but it’s not. That’s a good thing, for a cask to make itself known but not overpower a whisky completely. Much like the awesome Inchfad / Loch Lomond from a while ago, it seems Dràm Mòr knows their way around a sherry cask.

Then, on the flipside, the whisky does exactly what I expect from a Tamdhu, and that is that it is a tad on the simple side. It is a bit of a one-trick pony and if that happens to be your kind of trick, this whisky is really solid. It’s not entirely for me, though.

The quality of the whisky is an easy 86, maybe 87. But my personal approach doesn’t get it higher than an 84.

84/100

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BenRiach 10, 2013-2023, 1st Fill PX Hogshead Finish, 55.5% – Dràm Mòr

Posted on 9 September 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another one I tried at the Hielander Whisky Festival early this year. While chatting to Kenny of Dràm Mòr, we had a couple of drams. Some of them I already knew because of review activities, and wanted to try again (before buying a bottle). Others were new, like this BenRiach.

Image from Whiskybase

Because of the bottle nearing its end and because we’re visiting the distillery in November for the Grape & Grain tour with Rachel Barrie, it was high time I wrote some tasting notes for it.

Sniff:
Barley with grilled banana, a tad sweet with notes of pastry and crunchy muesli. The sherry cask is prominent, but not overly dominant. A bit honeyed with some vanilla too.

Sip:
The palate shows the same notes of honey and banana. There’s barley, oak and some chili pepper.

Swallow:
There’s more dryness on the finish. More distillery character, more grain and oak. A hint of honey and grease.

Typically I would not have bought a PX cask finished whisky since they tend to be on the sweeter side of the spectrum. This one I would not have bought if I hadn’t tried it first, but while there is sweetness, it’s not too much and there are quite some dry flavors to counter the sweetness. The barley and oak sits comfortably next to the notes of banana and pastry. This one works well, and even though the ABV isn’t exactly low, it’s a dangerously drinkable dram.

86/100

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Benrinnes 10, 2013-2024, Refill Palo Cortado cask, 54.3% – Dràm Mòr

Posted on 3 September 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer
Image from DramTime

It’s been a shamefully long time since I got this sample in the mail. Viktorija and Kenny were kind enough to send some samples from the batch from spring to me and I left them hanging. There have been personal circumstances that would explain this, but let’s not go there in an otherwise rather cheerful situation. We’re reviewing whisky, after all!

Based on previous experiences, when whisky has been drawn from Palo Cortado, Fino or Manzanilla casks, I generally am automatically very interested. I tried some amazing ones in the past and only a few that were not so good. I like Benrinnes, this too based on quite a few encounters in the past.

Normally Benrinnes isn’t released by Diageo and used for their blended whiskies only. Luckily, there’s quite a few casks going around at Indie bottlers like Dràm Mòr. Good for us!

Sniff:
Banoffee pie, so a dry note of barley and banana sweetness and thickness. A whiff of glue and some apple show up later on. A little bit of grape seed bitterness too.

Sip:
The palate focuses more on the dry notes and leaves the sweetness behind for a little bit. There’s some left, but it’s mostly oak sap instead of banana. Porridge, graham crackers, dry apples, quite some oak too.

Swallow:
The finish is slightly different again. Dry with oak and barley, crackers. But there’s a sweetness that sits between sap and honey. Quite a long finish with a speck of pepper for bite.

For a Palo Cortado I am a tad surprised by the sweetness of the whisky, but luckily some of the drier characteristics come through as well. A very enjoyable dram, with enough character to stay interested for a while!

87/100

Available at DramTime for € 91.50

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Another 2 Old Pulteneys, this time the Distillery Only bottlings from 2022

Posted on 22 August 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

And by ‘the’ distillery only bottlings, I mean the two casks that were available at the end of October 2022. A bourbon cask one, and a sherry cask one, both at rocket fuel like ABVs.

When I was there with the male side of the adult in-laws (we sensibly left the kids at home) we went for the most extensive tour available, which took about half a day, involved every nook and cranny of the distillery and a fairly massive tasting afterwards.

Of course, driving back was not an option after that so we went for lunch in Wick, and then for a walk along the coast and explored Castle Sinclair for a bit. The drive back started when it was already dark.

Anyway, two bottlings at over 61% ABV. Let’s go!

Old Pulteney 15, 2006-2022, Bourbon Cask 710, 61.4%

Image nicked from Whiskybase. I forgot to take a picture of the bottle before I chucked it in the recycling bin.

Sniff:
On the nose this one starts out fairly timid with clean hints of barley, a bit of oak and some coastal salinity. A dry highland character, with only minimal notes of vanilla and coconut. There’s something slightly buttery like some cask aged Chardonnays in there too. A note of lichen comes through as well as slate.

Sip:
Definitely not a dram to start an evening with, because the ABV is not hiding. The character of the whisky as well as the massive amount of alcohol in each sip make this a very dry dram with only a little sweetness. Some cask brought vanilla, a heathery note with a hint of bitterness. A very clean style of coastal highland whisky.

Swallow:
The finish shows a bit of a spirity youth, but it’s not with an alcoholic sweetness. More a mossy, lichen like note that hasn’t been overpowered by cask influence and time yet.

Gorgeous, if you’re into Old Pulteney. It’s very true to the distillery’s output, which I think is a very good thing. It’s quite complex, and it’s a more dry whisky, which is right up my alley!

89/100

Old Pulteney 14, 2007-2022, Sherry Cask 1467, 61.9%

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Quite some oak, a good amount of spicy sherry with some yeast, almonds and date stones. A bit coastal, but with notes of heather, twigs.

Sip:
The palate, it’s fierce. The abv shows as it didn’t on the palate. There’s oak and almonds, apricots and heather. Some barley and a note of dirt.

Swallow:
A bold finish, wood and sherry. Not overly sweet, but complex and layered.

Really enjoyable too, with not too much sweetness and enough sherry flavors that it makes for a very different experience than the Bourbon cask. The bitter notes make for a nice surprise too, but I think Old Pulteney works slightly better from Bourbon casks.

88/100

Lovely stuff, and if you ever find yourself in the very north of Scotland, it’s a distillery well worth visiting.

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Old Pulteney times two, for Whisky Festival The Hague

Posted on 20 August 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

It’s been awfully quiet here. Mostly due to the start of the summer holidays for the kids, but also because of family matters. However, that doesn’t mean no whiskies were tasted during this time, and I hope to be able to continue business as before soon.

Anyway, in 2022 two single casks from Pulteney Distillery were bottled for Whisky Festival The Hague. Around the same time as the festival I actually was at Pulteney Distillery, although these two things have nothing to do with each other. I did snag two Distillery Only bottlings that will be reviewed shortly. Tasting notes are at the ready.

The two bottlings for The Hague are both from bourbon casks, if I can go by the volume of bottles drawn from each cask. Interestingly the ‘Bourbon Barrel’ bit is only mentioned for one of the casks on Whiskybase, and I can’t find the information in the order confirmation either. Anyway, if cask 1306 was a sherry cask I’d be very, very surprised.

Old Pulteney 13, 2008-2022, Bourbon Barrel 1248, 51.3%

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Pound cake at the beach. So it’s coastal and sweet with hints of vanilla, a buttery creaminess, a hint of salinity. Charred oak, bricks, with a warming feel to it.

Sip:
The palate continues down the same sweet road with that little brick and salt dusting on top. It’s a bit sharper than I expected for the ABV, but that’s not necessarily a negative thing. Some peppery heat, as well as more hints of barley and straw.

Swallow:
The finish is very similar to the palate. Slightly more sweet and buttery, but otherwise there still are those hints of straw, barley, a hint of oak is added.

Rather cask driven, where the distillery character is left behind just a tad. A very solid dram though, but on the sweeter side of single malt.

86/100

Old Pulteney 13, 2008-2022, Cask 1306, 52.8%

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Can a whisky be lighter and darker at the same time? Lighter in that it’s less sweet and more volatile, more ephemeral. But darker in a way that’s more representing the north of Scotland, more moody and less amicable. There’s a hint of charcoal, some sand and salinity. Slightly green with ferns and mosses.

Sip:
The palate is a little bit richer, but stays away from the sweetness of the first one. More coastal, more woody, more complex too. There’s straw, sandy beaches, marram grass, oak. Also pepper, salt, grist. After a while the coastal notes start soaring more and more.

Swallow:
The finish continues down the same line but let’s the spirit shine a little bit more, which works rather well with a dram like this. Still some cask influence, but in a timid, more subtle way. There’s some vanilla, some sweetness. But more coastal notes, more barley and straw.

This one works better for me, with a slightly more austere and dry approach. Really good whisky, with just a hint of that vanilla sweetness.

88/100

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Blended Malt 38, 1977-2015, 45.4% – Creative Whisky Company

Posted on 15 July 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Back in 2015 David Stirk released the David Rampling Series. A series of 12 bottlings with special labels by David Rampling. It’s all about falcons with this artist, so it’s not overly surprising that the labels all contain those.

Since then, David Stirk has sold The Creative Whisky Company and continued his whisky escapades with a consultancy firm, a shop and a new brand of independent bottlings. But, with The Creative Whisky Co. bottlings still being available the old name is not going away anytime soon. This bottle, though, has gone away. I finished the last couple of drams over the weekend after picking it up at De Whiskykoning years ago.

I did a quick review of this one 8 years ago, when I tried it there in one of the Bad Ass Tastings we did. Reading it back I agree with what was said back then, so there’s a little bit of consistency after all!

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Rich on the sherry in such a way that it’s recognizable as old whisky. There’s a soft oakiness, slightly bitter spices and lots of dried fruit. Plums and peaches, tree bark, and a minor note of peppermint.

Sip:
The palate is gentle, warming and quite sherry’d. Not overly so, but it is unmistakable. Slightly bitter, with almonds and cherry stones. The bite is peppermint like but the flavor is not. Not overly sweet with lots of clean European oak. A minor note of cream, peaches and apricots.

Swallow:
The finish is very similar to the palate but adds a little bit of chili pepper and its heat. Dry, woody, a bit pithy. There are lots of things happening still.

It seems the level of spoiled-ness has not increased too much over the last decade. Understandably so, because I wouldn’t know where it would go from where I am…

Anyway, a cracking old sherry cask whisky. It might have gone ever so slightly more thin over the 8 years since I opened it, but it’s so, so good. I love that it’s rich and toffee-y, but still has some crisp notes to balance things out!

90/100

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Glenlaird 10 and 12, both at 48%

Posted on 10 July 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Glenlaid is a new brand by Stravaig Spirits, who also bottle the Tri Carragh line of single casks. More on those single casks soonish.

To get a bit of continuity Ryan and Ola decided to not bottle everything as a single cask, single malt. Glenlaird is the brand to do that with. Currently there is a 10 and a 12 year old which they want to have as their default range. There might be an extension of that standard range in the future.

These single malts are of an undisclosed provenance to get a bit of leeway in what is to be used in the make-up. In the case of the the 10 year old they know it to be a Balmenach. The 12 year old is a Highland single malt and their best guess is that this is a Loch Lomond but there is no certainty to be given.

Last week saw an introductory online tasting of these two and four whiskies from the Tri Carragh range, because they are being introduced to The Netherlands by the importer Spirits Services. Samples were received and tasted, fun was had!

Glenlaird 10, 48% – Stravaig Spirits Limited

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Big and feinty with lots of oily notes. Quite rough around the edges, with hints of a very old fashioned and slow approach. Rich with hints of leather and oak. Some old attics, a hint of orange pith. It takes some time to settle in the glass, but oxygen really opens it up.

Sip:
A hint of copper with a lot of character. A tad dry without it losing all the sweetness. Oak, barley, a hint of orange and a bit of a zesty bitterness.

Swallow:
The finish bites a little bit, it let’s you know it’s there. Still orangey, with a whiff of engine. A green note too, forest soil with pine needles.

Comments on Whiskybase that this tastes quite immature despite the age stated. I don’t disagree, but I do disagree with that being something negative. To me this one tastes like it’s been distilled in a very old fashioned way with the spirit given way more room compared to the cask. I love that it’s a bit clunky, it gives it something to be discovered and some more layers than yet another random bourbon cask driven whisky. As said to Tom during the tasting: “I wouldn’t mind drinking this for a night”.

85/100

Glenlaird 12, 48 – Stravaig Spirits Limited

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Lightly peated with a bit of a honey sweetness. Vanilla, oak, digestive biscuits. Very well balanced and complex. A hint of banana and baked apple. Some grass and slate.

Sip:
The palate is a bit more sweet but the lightly peated edge keeps it in check, and brings some dryness. Some grass, moss, slate.

Swallow:
The finish brings a bit of a wood smoke too, charcoal. Quite long, and this lightly peated note really appeals to me.

Some side notes are somewhat important here. The choice was made to be able to always have a 12 year old whisky on the shelf. Therefore this one is bottled as such, but it’s actually a 14 year old single malt. The slightly peaty note gives it just that little bit extra to get stuck in, and it makes for a highly drinkable whisky.

86/100

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Bushmills 21, 2001-2022, Ex-Bourbon Casks, Times 2! – Lichtburg / Rolf Kaspar

Posted on 3 July 2024 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I believe it was early 2023 that I put my greasy mitts on these two bottles through the Whiskybase Newsletter. Last week, I decided it was high time that I emptied them.

Both whiskies are Irish Single Malts, distilled at Bushmills distillery and bottled by Rolf Kaspar under their Lichtburg Historic Series. One matured in bourbon cask 19, the other one in cask 22.

Apart from the bottler and the series name, there also is a title for each bottle. One is called the Entrée Single Cask, the other one is called the Golden Twenties cask. Both whiskies are from peated barley.

Buhsmills 21, 2001-2022 ‘Golden Twenties’, Ex-Bourbon Cask 19, 53.1% – Lichtburg by Rolf Kaspar

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Light on the nose with a bit of dryness and a whiff of acidic smokiness. Very bourbon-cask-y, with dry oak and barley. Quite different from what I expected for an older Irish whisky, with almost no sweetness to it. A hint of unripe banana, and crisp apple. Slightly coastal with a hint of salt too.

Sip:
The palate packs a bit of a punch, and the (by now) expected dryness helps that along to bite just a little bit more fiercely. Apple seeds, oak, barley, dark toast. It’s very dry indeed.

Swallow:
The finish keeps biting for a while, and is even more dry if that’s possible. Quite long with lots of barley forward notes. Dry oak as well, very much white oak.

It’s quite different from those Irish single malts that were older and from about a decade ago that were all the hype. Those were a lot sweeter than these are, and if that’s your thing, you probably like those more. By now, and even then, those are a lot more expensive though. Personally, I would opt for a bottling like this, because of its dryness. It’s not overly typical for Irish whisky, but it doesn’t stray far from the path either. A very lovely dram!

88/100

Bushmills 21, 2001-2022, ‘Entrée’, Ex-Bourbon Cask 22, 53.4% – Lichtburg by Rolf Kaspar

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
The way the peat manifests itself makes this smell a lot younger than it is. Initially the lighter style of whisky doesn’t seem to get past this note of younger spirit. Slightly acidic with lemon and star fruit.

Sip:
The palate is quite sharp and, as on the nose, the peat makes this taste a lot younger than its 21 years. Green with some barley, heathery smoke and a bit of a bush like bitterness. Unripe lemons, green banana peels, a bit of oak.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit warmer, a bit more mature. Still it doesn’t feel like it’s 21 years old. The finish is quite long, and shows lots of acidic peat. Oak, barley, sharp orchard fruit notes.

This one feels a bit green throughout. Which is not necessarily a problem but it does make it taste younger, and that makes the 21 years you’re paying for a bit steep. The fruity notes are quite lovely, but it does lack a bit in depth.

86/100

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