Bowmore 21, PX and Oloroso casks, 51.8% – Aston Martin thingy

Posted on 7 December 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Sometimes whiskies just stand out for their branding. Like this series by Bowmore, with some kind of an Aston Martin tie in, and luxurious screen printed bottles…

I didn’t really dive into it, as to why this tie in exists, but apart from being ‘bottled for Aston Martin’ I don’t really care either. Also, is it really bottled for Aston Martin as it is/was available almost everywhere? Should it not be more rare, like Aston Martin itself?

Anyway, this one has almost 200 ratings on Whiskybase and averages out slightly over 90 points. That’s ridiculously high, so when I got a sample of this I was very curious about the whisky. I tried getting a bottle at the original price, but that was rather impossible. Everyone was instantly sold out, and when they said they had it, they either repriced when I asked for more info, or it turned out that their online stock keeping was lagging behind reality.

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
A sensible, gentle amount of peat, with quite a lot of sherry. Rather leathery, with an almond like bitterness. A bit of a ‘moldy plums’ aroma too, which I’m not the biggest fan of.

Sip:
Dry and quite hot for the ABV, with more peppery heat than I expected. An oaky dryness with almonds, plums, dates and a whiff of briny smoke. Slightly less funky than the nose, but still a bit out of whack. A bit of chocolate, but also a bit moldy.

Swallow:
The finish is strangely hot again, with peppers and dry oak. Old dried fruit, plums and dates, but again, that thickly, cloying flavor that I can only relate too rotten or moldy fruit.

It turns out to be a rather love-it-or-hate-it whisky. A LOT of people love it, but I’ve heard some folks (some that I really appreciate for their palate as well as their personality) that it’s just not that good.

I’m with the latter group. It’s fairly straight forward on the sherry cask, not much interesting stuff is happening. That is already not great. But the few things that are happening are not the style of sherry I thoroughly enjoy. Too sweet, too much fruit and not enough depth. A very modern approach of sherry matured Bowmore that just doesn’t work well for me.

It was also part of the Blind Tasting Competition, but I’ve not tried that sample yet due to having a cold. I might reconsider, but my first impression wasn’t good.

80/100

Available in the secondary market for about € 600 and over.

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Woodford Reserve Batch Proof, Master’s Collection 2018, 62.9%

Posted on 6 December 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

In this post I talked about it a little bit, about finally getting my hands on a few bottles that had been sitting in the UK for about a year and a half. One of these two bottled was that Jack Daniel’s, and the other one was this Woodford Reserve.

Interestingly, things like this have become less rare since I initially ordered them and while this 2018 release is sold out virtually everywhere by now, the Master’s Collection releases tend to pop up in Europe now too. Of course at a slightly inflated rate, but what do you expect…

Since this was a bottle-share I only kept 10cl of the whisky, and the rest was handed out to friends, who also had been waiting for about 18 months to get their hands on their part. Luckily, they’re an understanding bunch.

Image from Whiskybase

The whisky itself, then!

Sniff:
The alcohol really keeps the sweetness at bay. Lots of dry notes of black pepper and popcorn. Oak and unlit cigars with milk chocolate in the background.

Sip:
The palate is hot and bone dry with the absolutely mental ABV. Black pepper, chilis, popcorn. A second sip is a bit less of an assault. More like a skirmish instead. Cherry pie, with pecans. More typically bourbon-like.

Swallow:
The finosh goes down very hot, with burning embers, some wet casks and a meaty, barbecue-y note. Popcorn and not too much sweetness.

Insane stuff. Very good, but also very hot. The 62.9% is very noticeable, more so than I expected. Of course it’s a lot of alcohol but as George T. Stagg releases, or Stagg Juniors for that matter, as well as other things from Buffalo Trace’s Antique Collection have shown, a high ABV doesn’t necessarily come with an insanely hot palate. This one does.

Having said that, there still a lot going on and loads of flavors to be discovered. Even though it’s a bit of a flamethrower, it’s a layered and complex flamethrower that showcases how good well made bourbon at high strength can be.

Recommended stuff!

88/100

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Springbank ‘The Peat Bog’ 29, 1990-2019, Bourbon Cask 204, 47.5% – Glenscoma

Posted on 2 December 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Since this was released in 2019, and I was very active in the whisky scene (as a consumer) I would expect to be aware this bottle existed. Of course, I was not, and it wasn’t until I saw it listed at Teun’s samples that learned of it.

With my buddy JPH, I got a sample of it for our ‘quarterly advent’, which is more or less an excuse to drink ridiculously high quality booze now and again. We tried the first few we got from Teun a while ago, and there’s still four samples waiting for soon-ish. The Blind Tasting Competition got a little bit in the way of drinking them earlier, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Image from Whiskybase

I would expect, by the way, that when something is released from Springbank and is called ‘The Peat Bog’ it would be a Longrow, but it’s not. Let’s see if that makes sense.

Sniff:
Charred beef and other barbecue scents. But, without the smokiness. Smoked paprika, marinade. After a little while there’s a lot of fruitiness with black cherries, blackberry jam. A sweeter style of beef jerky. Maybe even a bit gamey, like venison with cranberries or something.

Sip:
The palate starts slightly timid and very gentle. The dryness of beef jerky and dry rubbed beef is here too. With a bit of sweetness in the background. Smoked paprika and brown sugar, in a marinade. Stewed forest fruits, black pepper, European oak(?).

Swallow:
A long finish with black pepper, dry spices and sawdust. Smoked paprika and beef jerky. A lot less fruity.

This is a very high quality whisky indeed! It’s very meaty, and that flavor of beef jerky running through it is not something you encounter often. It’s interesting, and very, very good, though!

Now it this Longrow? I don’t really know. It has flavors of smoke but in a very diferent way than I’m used to from a straight forward peated dram. Weird…

90/100

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Springbank Cask Strength, 12yo, Batch 20, 55.3%

Posted on 1 December 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

These Springbank Cask Strength bottlings are always a sure bet. I’ve not tried all of them, but I did have quite a few over the years, so far none of them were disappointing.

This specific version was released in 2020, and matured in a combination of sherry and bourbon casks (35% and 65% respectively).

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Lots of crisp green and yellow fruit. Apples, star fruit, unripe pears, orchard stuff. Some oak in the background, fresh oak shavings. With a bit of time there’s a bit of funkiness coming through. Like old leather and attics. Flint and slate too.

Sip:
The palate is a lot more timid than I expected. There’s some dryness but not much of a bite. Lots of old white oak, a little acidity that might be because of a slightly higher age. The fruitiness is a bit towards old apples and unripe pears. Grape seeds.

Swallow:
The finish start with a bit more sweetness towards the fruity notes. A slightly syrupy touch without becoming cloying or anything. Long with lots of bright notes and a grape seed edge of light bitterness.

Strangely, I found this whisky to be rather timid, for it’s over 55% abv. Also, the sherry was quite restrained and didn’t really show all that much. A very good bit of whisky making from Campbeltown, with the result being a layered and complex dram that is very enjoyable to sit back with.

I never guessed this was Springbank (and I had to guess since it was part of the Blind Tasting Competition). It comes across as a much older whisky, at a much lower ABV. It goes without saying that I scored no points at all.

89/100

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Balblair 9, 2012-2021, Bourbon Barrel, 58.7% – Whiskybase

Posted on 30 November 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

With another 10,000 bottles on the wall, as they call it, at Whiskybase, another bottling had to be released. Of course, by now the 200k bottling has been out as well, as it the 210k one.

So yes, another reasonable late review, but here we go anyway! I visited Balblair distillery last month and am doing a write up for Best of Wines, much like I did with Lindores Abbey Distillery earlier this year. The short summary is: great distillery to visit!

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
There’s a white oak base with hints of coconut, straw, barley and oak. Some yellow fruits too, but initially it comes off as a bit more fruit-cake like. After half a minute or so, that note disappears and there’s just bourbon cask left. Pears, white grapes, coconut husks and some grist too. It’s pretty dry.

Sip:
The palate starts light, but the heat of the alcohol kicks in in your cheeks as soon as it gets there. Slowly it envelops your entire mouth. The whisky is dry, with far less fruity notes than on the nose. There’s some dried apple, but it’s mostly a bit of oak and lots of straw and barley. Some more green notes too, slightly mossy even.

Swallow:
The finish leaves a bit of a thick coating, but also a lot of heat and dry bite. It’s not a very long after taste, but there’s some baked apple, pear and toasted oak. Coconut husk and milled barley again.

Nice, but rather hot. A few years more in wood might have worked wonders for a dram like this. It’s far from a bad whisky, but I imagine what Balblair is capable of with more time.

85/100

Of course this sold out quickly, but there are some bottles available in the Marketplace at the time of writing, at more or less the same price as it initially went for.

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Tomatin 14, 2008-2022, Cognac Barrique finish, 50% – Thompson Brothers

Posted on 24 November 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Some time ago I was talking with my in-laws about whisky. My father-in-law and both brothers-in-law are quite enthusiastic about whisky too, so we tend to end up drinking a dram and chatting about good booze quite often.

In this specific conversation I’m referring to, we started yapping about which kind of casks are used, and it was mentioned that there aren’t too many Cognac casks going around in the Scotch whisky industry. I know they exist, but they’re quite rare compared to other slightly less standard casks like fortified wines and such.

Of course, as fate would have it, the next day or so a newsletter dropped that had this Thompson Brothers bottling available, from a Cognac cask. A bottle-share was quickly arranged.

I think Tomatin is a good whisky to showcase different casks, since it’s a pretty high quality spirit, but one that does leave quite some room for the cask to shine. Let’s see what a 27 month finish in a Cognac Barrique does to a gentle spirit like Tomatin!

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
There’s a sharp oakiness, which I find on virtually all Cognac casks, as far as they exist. So, a lot of wood on a very gentle spirit. A scent of quill too (the wet-ish hay to feed animals in winter), and some copper. A bit of orange pith, and after a while it smooths out a little bit. The start is slightly harsh on the oak.

Sip:
The palate has that oaky harshness too, but not in a bad way since the ABV is rather toned down at a nice 50%. Slightly creamy, hay. That orangy note too, with the bitterness. It does start building some heat after half a minute with hints of white pepper.

Swallow:
The finish is quite dry, and brings that same heat and bite that the palate ended with. Nice and warming.

It’s a strange whisky, that only slightly works because of the not-ridiculous ABV. A bit higher and this would have gotten too harsh. Now it’s not a very complex whisky, but I do think it nicely shows what a Cognac cask does to a gentle spirit.

On Whiskybase I see that not a lot of people like it, and some actively dislike it. While I think it’s not actually that bad, I do get the lower rating. Cognac casks are hard to work with, or so it seems, and you need a more forceful spirit to stand up to it. In this case, the oaky harshness doesn’t really work and there’s not a lot going on to counteract the bitterness.

81/100

Still available for about € 80

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Kilkerran Sherry and Port Cask, 2022 releases

Posted on 22 November 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The Kilkerran Sherry Cask was part of the Blind Tasting Competition, as it turns out. I had tried it before some six months ago, but didn’t recognize it. Obviously.

I also had a sample of the Port Cask with tasting notes written but not yet published, so this is as good a shot as any to do both of them!

Kilkerran 8, bottled 2022, Port Cask, 57.9%

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
While all Campbeltown distillates tend to be rather funky (maybe except Hazelburn) this one pushes it to the limits. Slightly sulfury with a combination of funky Kilkerran and funky port cask influence. Old oak and red fruits that are well past their best-before-date. Rather jammy as well, but it’s mostly the port cask that’s dicating the nose.

Sip:
The arrival is deceptively gentle, but kicks in after a couple of seconds. Then it gets rather hot with alcohol (it’s a first dram of the day situation, though). Red fruits, lots of old oak and chilli peppers. Apart from it being a bit hot eventually (as in, it becomes less hot) there’s a syrupy mouthfell which goes nicely with the fruits. The massive funkiness of the nose isn’t all here, but there’s a bit of old oak and moldy attic going on.

Swallow:
The finish mellows quickly and leaves the typical port-cask flavors behind. Lots of stewed red fruits, lots of old oak

Massively funky but it is surprising how well port casks are handled by Kilkerran and Springbank whiskies. Even though the funkiness might not be for everyone, it does have its fair share of fans, and in this case it’s a rather good example of what it can bring in terms of unique flavors and layering of depth. Good stuff!

86/100

Kilkerran 8, bottled 2022, Sherry Cask, 58.1%

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Very intense on the nose, and the sherry leaps out of the glass. Pecan pie with dates, and a little bit of yeasty funkiness. Barley and oak, true to Kilkerran’s character. It is not overly clearly a sherry cask to me. The increases funkiness could also be port, so I was slightly mislead during the Blind Tasting Competition. Stewed forest fruits, blackberries, strawberries.

Sip:
Quite a biter, with some chilli pepper heat to indicate where you have any tiny cuts or scrapes in your mouth. Lots of funky sweetness, pecan pie with pecan paste, sweetened pastry, maple syrup. Some oak and yeastiness too. Stewed red fruits again, with more pepper. It stays hot, with a ‘fortified wine’ funkiness. Rather charry, the black bits on a flame grilled steak kind of note.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more dry, and shows more notes of oak, and a sudden whiff of mocha to go with the pecan pie. Charry beef with stewed red fruits.

A bit of a strange one that leans a bit towards the port cask version, more so than I expected. But, when you can get this around its release date for the original price it’s a tremendous dram to sit down with. It might not be the most complex or not as ridiculously good as the regular Springbank 10, for example, but it sure as hell is entertaining!

87/100

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Clynelish 18, Refill Bourbon Barrel 26.70, 54.7% – SMWS (Gobstoppers in the Headmaster’s Office)

Posted on 19 November 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Yes, one of those names that doesn’t mean anything to me unless I Google it. And even then relevance is highly limited. But in the end, it’s what in the bottle that counts.

Interestingly, this whisky is a bottle I had on the shelf for a very long time but the reviews weren’t too good on Whiskybase so I didn’t open it for quite a while. In the end I did open it for a whisky tasting during the pandemic. Now, when writing the review, I looked back once again to the Whiskybase page and the rating has gone up significantly. And understandably so…

But, in the end I see that most of the reviews are based on that tasting, so I was holding back on opening this bottle based on practically no one’s opinion. Silly me.

Sniff:
An extremely waxy and surprisingly mature Clynelish. Honey, candles, barley and oak. Warming with a bit of soft apples, and a bit of pie dough.

Sip:
Barely any sharpness or heat. There’s waxy honey and a pastry sweetness. It’s offset by a very dry kind of barley ears and chaff. After a minute or two there’s some white pepper.

Swallow:
The finish brings some heather on top of a less waxy background. Still dry with oak and grain.

Rather quintessential Clynelish that really let’s the spirit shine. Quite mature, but the cask plays second fiddle. It does very well what you hope Clynelish will do. Waxy with a light undertone of honey sweetness. Of course, most of these bottles are long gone, but if you can get your hands on one, I would do so.

90/100

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Glentauchers 21, 1997-2019, Barrel 3833, 49.3% – Archives for CaskAid

Posted on 18 November 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

CaskAid is a Belgium NPO that sells independently bottled whisky for charity. That sounds like a good way of raising money to me, and when combined with Archives, we should be in for some good stuff!

Image from Whiskybase

Archives is the independent bottling line from Whiskybase, and have been on quite a roll lately. Over the last couple of months I think there are more releases than there are months going by, so keeping up is challenging (and not happening any more for me…).

Glentauchers is a whisky distillery in Scotland’s Speyside, and one with many faces. Most of their outturn goes into blends as far as I know, and when there’s a single malt bottled you never really know what you’re going to get until you try it. So, let’s do exactly that!

Sniff:
This is a rich dram, and a much more complex dram than I expected from Glentauchers. Then again, it’s Archives… A slightly dry nose with a hint of vanilla behind the oak and the straw. Melba toast, oven baked sesame seeds. Dried apple skins.

Sip:
The palate is pretty strong for a sub-fifty percent ABV. Luckily, it mellows quickly. Quite a woody dram, with oak shavings and sawdust. Dried apple skins too, so all in all there’s definitely some bitterness. A pound cake’s crust too.

Swallow:
The finish is dry with the same bitterness as before, but rather gentle. Not very long, but it’s nice with that dry fruity note.

If I’d bought a bottle of this, I’d not regret it. There’s some flavors to discover and it has a nice age to it. And, I love these balanced bitter notes.

87/100

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Two brandies with Wu-Dram Clan involvement!

Posted on 17 November 2022 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Recently the guys behind Wu-Dram Clan released an old Cognac. A Jean-Luc Pasquet, which has proven to be a rather noteworthy Cognac house that works really well for whisky fanatics. More or less at the same time they released an Armagnac with Kirsch Import, under the GrapeDiggaz label. The first one is from 1958, while the second one is a lot younger but still has the respectable vintage of 1995.

I was lucky enough to get samples of both and last weekend I sat down to try both of them on a (rare) quiet moment.

Jean-Luc Pasquet 1958-2022, Cognac Grande Champagne, 43.1%

Image from Whic (bottle available there too)

Sniff:
Massive notes of soft oak and orange. Metallic notes of copper and iron too. It’s rather high on minerals as well, with some grapeseed oil.

Sip:
The palate is rather light and crisp on the arrival. Some pepper and bit of fruity richness follows. Oak, iron, minerals and grape stuff. Both grape seeds and grape skin, in texture. Black pepper too.

Swallow:
The finish is surprisingly intense with lots of iron and oak. Lots of grape things again, like on the palate.

This is a very layered Cognac! It’s very classical on one hand, but rather crisp notes keep it very interesting. The huge age on this brandy does not make it over aged, or dusty or boring at all. It’s very interesting for a deep dive, and very good to drink. Lovely stuff!

89/100

Available here for € 360

Maison Aurian 1995-2022, Bas Armagnac, 48.9%

Image from Passie voor Whisky (bottle available there too)

Sniff:
Well, compared to the Cognac, you get the traditional increased richness from a Armagnac. There’s quite some oak on this one, mostly notes of European oak (that would be my guess anyway). Spices and candied orange, black pepper and chocolate.

Sip:
The black pepper comes forward on the palate as well. There’s a fruity, orangy sweetness with a bit of pith bitterness behind it. White chocolate and espresso.

Swallow:
The finish is very dry, much more than I expected from the palate. There’s some chili pepper heat with orange and apricot. Some cocoa powder too.

The scents and flavors of this Armagnac is all over the place, but feels anything but inconsistent. It’s just quite complex and shows a lot of different flavors. A gorgeous brandy with lots of things to be discovered.

90/100

Available here for € 125

Posted in - Armagnac, - Cognac, Domaine Jean-Luc Pasquet, Maison Aurian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment