Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 27, 1992-2020, Refill Sherry Butt, 42% – The Maltman

Posted on 13 October 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I don’t really try whiskies from the Maltman that often. It’s one of those bottlers that I know exists and releases rather high-scoring drams, most of the time. But when push comes to shove I often have to make a snap decision, and with prices as they are, I don’t want to take the generally rather expensive guess.

I guess that’s one of my peeves with the brand, that they’re a bit on the expensive side. And while that generally results in high quality whisky, you don’t really need to take the expensive guesses and therefore the bottles are not often on my shelf. More or less the same story for Adelphi, for example.

This Blended Malt was the third whisky sample I got from BvdP, like the Rare Ayrshire and the Benromach, and was tasted blind. Because of the blind tasting thing, I also didn’t know the ABV, and this came last, following the almost 60% ABV Benromach, so that might not have been the best idea, but you can’t undrink a whisky anymore than you can unsee your nan in her knickers.

This 27 year old Blended Malt consists of Caol Ila, Aberfeldy, Aberlour, Bruichladdich, Tomatin, Cardhu, Pittyvaich and Glenallachie. So there’s even a closed distillery in there. I always wonder, and not necessarily from a skeptical point of view, why one would blend a cask of Pittyvaich into something like this. The same goes for Aberfeldy, since that’s not known as the most charachterful whisky, so what would it bring to a blend like this?

Image from Whiskybase

I guess we’ll never know. What we might know, is what the result tastes like…

Sniff:
Tropical fruits with lots of oak and baking spices. Some walnuts and hazelnuts, spiced cake and milk chocolate.

Sip:
A lot more thin than I expected based on the nose (there’s the low ABV for you). Some dry, mulchy oak for a bit of bite, with dried apricots, figs and dates.

Swallow:
Again, dry with spices and fruits. Tree bark, baking spices and a bit of a dark chocolate bitterness.

This one definitely didn’t benifit from being third in line, but even then it did make itself known. So, there’s quite enough flavor in general, despite being a tad thin on the palate.

It’s a very traditional sherry’d whisky with lots of baking spices and dried fruit. The tree bark notes indicate some European Oak casks to me, but I might be wrong there. All in all a very solid whisky with some decent age to it.

At the price it’s not exactly a bargain, but with 27 years of age and knowing the track record of the bottler, it’s not too bad either. It’s still available for about € 165 in The Netherlands.

87/100

Posted in - Blended Malt, Aberfeldy, Aberlour, Bruichladdich, Caol Ila, Cardhu, Glenallachie, Pittyvaich, Tomatin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Benromach 8, 2011-2019, 1st Fill Sherry Hogshead 400, 59.1% – OB for The Whisky Exchange

Posted on 12 October 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another single cask from Benromach distillery! Don’t mind if I do!

And while I say that, let me also tell you that I tried this one blind. It was another sample I got from BvdP, and I tried it right after the Rare Ayrshire from last week. I can tell you this was a change of pace compared to that one!

Image from Whiskybase

It was interesting to try this blind, and while the flavor profile led me to think about Benromach, I couldn’t really place the fierceness of the whisky. Generally, the sherry casks I’ve had were a bit more gentle than this one, even though the bourbon casks normally aren’t.

Sniff:
Leather, shoe polish, furniture wax, wax coats. But also dates and plums, and a bit of charcoal in the background. It’s very dark, and I don’t mean the color. Barbecue soot and burnt marinade.

Sip:
The palate is more dry than I expected, and more spicy than the nose was as well. A lot of peppery heat to go with the barbecue soot, and the sweetness of the marinade. Leather, furniture wax, dates, plums and charcoal again.

Swallow:
The finish is slightly more focused on the dark fruits, and mellows rather quickly. The soot and charcoal linger and some pepper remains long.

It’s interesting that there are the typical notes of sherried Benromach, but it’s also different enough to not make me be 100% sure when tasting it blind. Especially since those barbecue-sherry casks are so influential on the spirit it could go either way.

What’s also a thing is that these drams are generally very divisive, and while I tend to like them, there are many others who don’t, which is reflected in the score on Whiskybase.

87/100

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Ayrshire 37, 1975-2013, Bourbon Barrel 3422, 48.5% – Signatory Vintage

Posted on 8 October 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I tried this sample blind. And now that I’ve looked up what it is, I am very grateful for having been given the opportunity to try it by BvdP. It’s not every year you get to try Ayrshire whisky. And as the years go by, I expect the interval might even get longer, if it ever comes by again!

Ayrshire whisky is a brand name used for whisky from the long-gone Ladyburn distillery. Ladyburn was a single malt producing ‘distillery’ within the Girvan complex in Ailsa Bay. That same Ailsa Bay is now a brand of single malt whisky produced at Girvan, but from an entirely new setup.

The Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the age that gave it birth comes again.

Image from Whiskybase

Or, more appropriately, the distillery is long dismantled when the owner who built it starts building it again.

Anyway, extremely rare stuff. Tasted blind.

Sniff:
Orchard fruits on a bed of straw. Lots of apples, pears and even a lot of melon. Some slate and oak shavings too. After a while it becomes a little bit more tropical with notes of pineapple and a bit of chalk. Towards the end there’s a whiff of fresh ginger.

Sip:
The palate is quite intense, but not hot. There’s pepper, oak, dry barley husks and straw. Some fruity sweetness is behind that all. Apple, pear, pineapple, melon. Again, some white pepper and ginger towards the end.

Swallow:
The finish is a little bit sweeter, and seems to integrate the fruit and the sharper spices better than it did before. Melon and apple, some oak and straw.

The better integration of flavors towards the end is not something I noticed a lack of before. It just stood out that it worked so well. The result is greater than the sum of its parts, so to say. I love these fruity whiskies and this Lowlands style is not something you encounter often.

Now if only this was still available at the original price, I’d buy a bottle. Or two.

90/100

Posted in Ailsa Bay, Ayrshire, Girvan, Ladyburn, Rare Ayrshire | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

North British 25, 1991, Virgin Heavy Toast Mediam Char Oak Butt, 63.9% – SMWS (G1.15, Could Pacify a Mob)

Posted on 7 October 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

That’s a new one, as far as cask descriptors go!

Image from ScotchWhisky.net

One of these samples that I found on my sample shelf, and a grain whisky to boot. Apart from ‘SMWS G1.15’ there was nothing on the label, so I had no idea about age or ABV going in, and that was an interesting experience, as most blind tastings are.

Grain whisky distilleries don’t tend to be the photogenic white walled places that a lot of single malt distilleries are. Generally, they look like they could be refining oil or making plastic at the same time. Not much charm, so to say.

North British Distillery is owned by Diageo and Edrington combined, and makes whisky mostly for blended whiskies like Cutty Sark, Famous Grouse, Chivas Regal, J&B and, apparently, Isle of Skye. It’s located in Edinburgh, but obviously, not in the city center.

There’s a 3d model of the distillery available here.

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
The nose is very dry for a grain whisky, but in hindsight that could also be the insanely high ABV. Based on the dryness I figured it was more like wheat than corn, but that seems wrong, based on the factoids on ScotchWhisky.net. A bit of fruity sweetness, unripe mango and pear. It shows some strange armagnac like quality, unaged armagnac, that is.

Sip:
The palate is razor sharp with chili heat and lots of pepper. Unripe magno and green banana peels, a sharp fruitiness. A bit of simply syrup and some grains.

Swallow:
Here, on top of some lingering heat, there’s the typical grain whisky sweetness. Lots of pastry notes and some baked fruit and wine gums.

I would never have guessed this to be 25 years old. Of course, if they casked this at some 90% ABV the alcohol should remain high for a very long time, but the weird cask might have had something to do with it as well. All in all, this is not necessarily a bad whisky, but it’s also not really comfortable to drink it either.

83/100

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Distillery 291 “Colorado Rye Whiskey”, 50.8%

Posted on 6 October 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This single barrel is a bit of an oddity in my book. A distillery I’ve never heard of selling single barrel rye whisky at pretty steep prices. Or at least, in Europe the bottles go for pretty steep prices.

This specific one, without a barrel indication on the front label that I can spot (here, to be precise), was made from a rye malt mash, an underwent an ‘Aspen Stave Finish’.

Here’s me being an idiot once more though. I initially figured ‘aspen staves’ were just some undisclosed kind of tree they got from Aspen, the skiing town. Obviously, giving it about 1 second of thought, it is quite a bit more likely they actually used staves from the aspen tree. Look at me being anything but a botanist.

Anyway, I got a sample of this, because it was so obscure to me.

The distillery is founded by Michael Myers, a photographer originally from New York. He indicated that, after watching the events of 9/11 first-hand, he decided New York wasn’t the place to raise his family and he set out for Colorado Springs.

Ten years ago the distillery was founded and has been making all whisky himself, instead of starting with sourced spirits. Everything is made in quite small batches with inspiration for the mash bill coming from Thomas H. Handy Rye, one of Buffalo Trace’s Antique Collection.

The whiskey ages in 10 gallon barrels (less than 40 litres) for around a year. The aspen staves come into play after this initial maturation. With this being a single barrel product, that means there’s not even 60 bottles per batch.

What’s also interesting and something that would immediately disqualify the product as whisky, had it been made in Europe, is that in the mash a portion of boiled IPA is used. The alcohol is cooked off and the remaining liquid is used in the mash. Distillery 291 is the only one doing this, and they dubbed this the ‘El Paso County Process’.

Image from Distillery 291

Sniff:
A very fruity distillate in the way the new oak combines with the sweetness found in the spirit. There’s hints of acetone and paint, but also apricots, cherries, green tree bark and some wood smoke.

Sip:
The palate brings a bit of a fatty grain style with hot pepper and lots of ‘fresh wood’ sharpness. Not necessarily virgin oak, since I guess the aspen staves come into play here too. Brown sugar, cherries and some vanilla.

Swallow:
The finish brings the woodiness again, but slightly sweeter this time. Red chili pepper, wood spices, brown sugar and caramel. Some cherry syrup even.

Obviously, this is quite a weird product with all its gimmicks and trickery. Had I been more of a purist I would have said this doesn’t really qualify as whisky within any other whisky category I know. However, I’m not that purist. And I love this whisky.

It’s quite young and therefore fiery, but with all its sharpness, the combination of fruit, spices and raw spirit scents I think it offers far more depth and layers than you’d normally expect. Very, very good stuff indeed!

88/100

Samples are still available through Whiskay.

Posted in - American Whiskey, - Rye Whiskey, Distillery 291 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Chichibu ‘The Peated’ 2012-2016, 54.5% – Ichiro’s Malt

Posted on 5 October 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

It’s not often that I get to taste Japanese whisky that actually makes sense. That’s quite a bold statement, but my case is this:

A lot of contemporary and available Japanese whisky are cheaply made and try to profit of the stellar reputation the style got ten years ago. The great Yamazakis, Yoichis, and dare I say Karuizawas boomed the Japenese whisky to a number one position.

Currently, most (not all) available Japanese whisky is a blend of things that aren’t really tasty. Heck, a lot of them aren’t even Japanese. They sometimes have an age statement, but that too is no indicator of quality.

However, when a Yamazaki comes out, or a Miyagikyo, or anything from the old brands, it still is quite good. Sometimes great, but mostly quite good.

And then there’s Chichibu.

On one hand it is a new brand. It’s been around for about 15 years. On the other hand, the brand was conceived by Ichiro Akuto. The same man who ran Hanyu for the last years of its existence. A great brand if there ever was one, and for many on par with Karuizawa.

Note:
After a very justified comment by Niels Viveen (a Japanese whisky connoisseur), I have to add that Ichiro Akuto didn’t run the Hanyu distillery. His grandfather did. Ichiro Akuto was heavily involved in selling the whisky in the years after the distillery closed, though.

So, while it’s new, it’s run to the standards of old. And while that feels a bit ‘Last of the Mohicans’ and a dying breed, it’s far from without merit. I fondly remember an IPA Cask from some years ago. I’ve had others too, but never reviewed them.

Let’s see where this one sits!

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Some oak, some straw, some vanilla. Not an awesome lot of smoke, but there definitely is some! A bit of seaweed and brine. Unripe pear, pastry cream.

Sip:
Not very strong, but it is quite dry. A hint of straw and hessian at first. Some vanilla sweetness, pastry cream. Banoffee pie, smoke, some oak shavings.

Swallow:
The finish continues with the sweetness, the banana cream, some caramel toffee. Of course there’s some smoke.

It becomes sweeter after a while, which isn’t uncommon in peated whiskies. The sweetness pushes the more complex flavors to the background.

While it’s not my favorite Chichibu, it’s a step in the right direction. This has mostly to do with the slightly lower ABV. Some years ago, these peated whiskies all clocked in at 60-odd%, and as a result it would by default be the last thing you’d taste that day until you brushed your teeth.

With this one that’s no longer the case, and with some more years of aging they’re really on the right track.

84/100

Currently available for some € 400, but that’s the case with all ‘proper’ brands of Japanese whisky

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Cameronbridge 1974 and North of Scotland 1971 by Boogieman Import

Posted on 4 October 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Last week Stefan van der Boog, the BOOGieman himself asked me if I would like to review the two new Single Grain Whiskies he just released under his own label. Of course, that’s flattering, and knowing these are from several years before I first drew breath, I didn’t have to doubt long.

A decade or so ago it wasn’t too uncommon to find grain whiskies of this age, and they were quite affordable as well. But as with Single Malt whisky, grain whisky too has become more expensive. However, when you realize you can buy a 50 year old whisky for € 400, when a similarly aged single malt would set you back a multitude of that, grain still is the affordable kind…

Anyway… with all covert complaining about whisky prices out of the way, there’s the actual whisky that I should be talking about…

There’s two in this review: A Cameronbridge from Leven in Fife, also called ‘East’ and a North of Scotland from Dumbarton near Glasgow, called ‘West’. Interestingly ‘North of Scotland’ is nowhere near the north of Scotland.

The Cameronbridge is a 46 year old whisky from 1974, while the North of Scotland is a 49 year old whisky from 1971. The latter is proving popular since it goes nicely with all people turning 50 this year, and you don’t often get the chance to buy something at this age, even if you have very deep pockets.

Let’s dive in!

Cameronbridge 46, 1974-2021, 40.1% – Boogieman Import

Sniff:
Warm oak and stewed forest fruit crumble. Strawberries and blackberries with vanilla custard. Dried, powdered ginger with a hint of sweet tea. Later on I get dried apple and peaches.

Sip:
The palate continues with a certain oaky dryness. Lots of oak, with a vanilla sweetness behind it. Strawberry crumble again, with more wood spices. Ginger, nutmeg and a bit of clove. Slightly bitter on the tea note now, and less sweet than the nose was.

Swallow:
The finish livens up the fruity part of the palate. Much more peach and apple than before. Peach cobbler, with vanilla and black tea.

It’s interesting to find that the inherent sweetness with long aged grain whisky has been kept in check in this whisky. A slight bitter note (nothing much or off-putting by any means!) is making this a layered and complex dram, with a lovely and comforting fruitiness to boot. Great stuff!

90/100

North of Scotland 49, 1971-2021, 40.4% – Boogieman Import

Sniff:
The nose starts with hints of applie pie and oak. Not too much vanilla in this one, with more baked apple and brown sugar. A bit of moss and ferns too, so some forest like notes as well. A bit more vanilla turns up after a little while, with some black pepper and sawdust.

Sip:
The palate is quite light with a lot of oak, apple, pepper and a note of sand. So ever so slightly coastal. Sawdust, green tree bark, black tea, peach stones and peach skin.

Swallow:
The finish stays on the dry side of things, but adds a bit more sweetness than there was on the palate. Applie pie, some foresty notes with ferns and moss. Less pepper but more vanilla.

At some point a few years more in oak don’t really influence the dryness or oak flavors in a whisky. I guess around 50 years old it turns out that that is the case. This one isn’t more cask forward than the other, which is a good thing.

The addition of the moss and fern notes in this one are rather interesting. The notes of tea that are present are very interesting again, and makes for an absolutely gorgeous whisky.

90/100

At the time of writing both whiskies are still available at Passie voor Whisky, but be quick. There are only fifty bottles in total of either bottling!

Thanks to Boogieman Import for sending samples! Absolutely gorgeous stuff!

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Dingle, PX & Bourbon casks, 60.6% – OB for Whisky & Rum aan Zee 2021

Posted on 1 October 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Next weekend the 15th Whisky & Rum aan Zee (..by the sea) is held in the port town of IJmuiden. For that festival this Dingle PX cask was bottled. Slijterij Zeewijck in the same town started the festival over 15 years ago (last year didn’t happen for obvious reasons) and although I’ve not been for a while, I do remember having an awesome lot of fun there!

Yesterday I was surprised by a call from the importer (WhiskyCenter) that they had a bottle for me, and whether they could drop it off. Apart from being quite surprised, I was also rather flattered that they thought of me, so many thanks for this, DJK!

Of course, the idea is to get the ball rolling for the sale of the 300 bottles that have been released, so a review is supposed to happen. Which, obviously, is the case with every sample or bottle that comes in this way.

This Dingle matured in Bourbon casks and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. It’s only available from Slijterij en Wijnhuis Zeewijck, so be quick if you want one!

Image from Slijterij Zeewijck

Sniff:
On the nose the very high ABV is already noticeable, but not unpleasant. Sweet notes of pastry and dried fruits start to come up quickly. Plums, dates, egg-washed puff pastry. After a little while there are peaches and yellow raisins too. A note of cinnamon is there as well.

Sip:
The arrival is a bit of a punch initially, but unlike some other high octane drinks, it’s not too bad. Quite sippable, so to say. A bit of dusty pepper and dry oak. The puff pastry notes are present on the palate as well. Very classic with notes of dried fruits, although it’s a bit less sweet here than it was on the nose. The dried fruit veers towards a slightly bitter note with plum- and date stones, and some almonds.

Swallow:
The finish holds the middle between the sweeter aroma and the slightly more bitter palate. Almonds and raisins, but also raisin twigs. Not overly long, but it comes with fruity notes and baking spices.

Well, this is a sherry cask. I can tell you that.

Compared to the ‘original’ Dingle I reviewed a little while ago, it’s very interesting that the same ‘baked goods’ note is here too, albeit a little bit more sweet than the bready notes of the earlier one. This, of course, is the fruity sherry cask that was used.

I was a bit afraid of this being completely overpowered by the sherry, and being cloying and overly sweet. Especially since I often find Irish whisky sweet to begin with. That, luckily, is not the case. There’s a certain lightness to it, which might find its origin in the triple distillation.

All in all, good stuff and very much worth the € 75 it is going for! Worthy of the festival’s 15th anniversary!

87/100

Again, available here, and again, thanks a million to Whisky Center!

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Glenrothes 1980-2007, 56.7% – Scott’s Selection

Posted on 30 September 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The always interesting, but also weird Glenrothes.

Why weird? Because in general they make awesome whisky, but they tend to not bottle it themselves. The official bottlings are rather generic, most of the times, while the independent bottlers tend to be pretty good.

This one is an oldie, bottled 14 years ago, and a sample was part of the Advent Calendar that I bought last December. Come to think of it, it’s around the time to start thinking of a new Advent Calendar. Unfortunately, getting one from the UK into the modern world is pretty tough and/or expensive.

Image from Whiskybase

Of course, I tried this months ago, when I did the bi-weekly Tuesday Night sessions with JPH, trying every sample the Calendar over the course of a few weeks. Let’s find out if this one fits the mold!

Sniff:
Massive sherry on the nose with heaps of dried fruits. Plums, dates, apricots, raisins. A bitterness of plum stones, some spices too. Lots of oak. Quite some alcohol on the nose.

Sip:
It is pretty gentle on the arrival, but the alcohol starts nipping after a few seconds. It’s not too strong, even as the opener of the night. Dry oak, dry spices, lots of dried fruit. Quite succulent, with hints of treacle, even some dark chocolate. I guess that’s the hint of bitterness.

Swallow:
A very long finish with more fruit and less spices than before. Dates, plums, apricots. Raisins. The bitterness is gone now.

This scores a little above 89 points on Whiskybase and that’s exactly where I put it after trying it. It’s a very good Glenrothes, and does everything the distillery does well. Good sherry casks, rather complex. Very good whisky!

89/100

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Benromach 11, 2009-2021, First Fill Bourbon Cask, 48% – OB for Germany

Posted on 29 September 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

About half a year ago I reviewed a Benromach 11 for Germany too. That one was drawn from a sherry cask, at cask strength. This one isn’t a single cask, and has been brought down to 48%. Which just happens to be in the range of my preference (which is from 46 to 53, give or take)

Image from Whiskybase

Anyway, Germany has a pretty good relationship with Benromach, or so it seems. There’s some quality cask picking going on there, whereas a lot of Benromach Single Casks or Private Casks are these 62%, 8 year old bourbon napalm units… Let’s see if this one fits the ‘high quality mold’!

Sniff:
Rich and old fashioned with a slightly feinty nose. Lots of barley and a bit of oak, some salinity, and a whiff of vanilla and hessian. Warm bread and puff pastry, with a hint of leather too.

Sip:
The palate has a nice bite, but is not sharp by any means. It’s not overpowering at all. Dry with notes of hessian, barley husks and toast. Some corky apple and puff pastry. A lot of good things!

Swallow:
The old fashioned, barley driven funkiness continues on the finish too. Quite similar to the palate, in that regard.

As far as Benromach goes, this is more or less what you would hope a bourbon cask would do. It leaves quite enough room for the spirit and highlights the similarities with the regular ten year old. That, to me, indicates that the spirit is very important in both bottlings, and brings the quality and flavors that I love so much.

It’s interesting that it tastes so much like single malts from a few decades ago, and with people (in the industry too) lamenting that things used to be so much better before all homogenisation, Benromach might the distillery to look at for answers. (As is Springbank, by the way).

87/100

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