Two new rums by The Duchess

Posted on 27 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The Duchess is at it again! Rather soon after the release of their Australian Beenleigh rum, just a little while ago, they’ve just released two new bottlings! This time, Hans Dillesse painted fish instead of hummingbirds, ducks or a platypus.

The rums are about to be released later today at various shops in Europe and Singapore, but I was lucky enough to get a few samples and taste them, so the review would coincide with the release.

For a change, I actually am on time with this review!

Foursquare 21, 1999-2021, Cask 4, 60.2%

Sniff:
Rather funky and sweet on the nose. Lots of oak, some brimstone and even a hint of pencil, both graphite and cedar. Stewed strawberries, but also something more tropical. More like papaya. Cocoa powder after some time.

Sip:
Intense on the arrival, with its 60%. Bell pepper, oak and some wood shavings. Quite hot, but not uncomfortable, fried chili peppers. Tropical sweetness of papaya, mango. A lot of oak, quite whisky-like in that regard.

Swallow:
The finish is, although quite a bit more oak driven, more typically foursquare. Less funky and a tad sweeter, lots of tropical fruit syrup, molasses.

Foursquare is ridiculously popular in the part of the rum world I can see. And that’s justified. Their rums strike the right balance between funky and sweet, with a lot of great fruitiness that is very well loved by whisky fanatics.

I think this one will be loved by these whisky fans even more, because the prolonged aging has imparted some rather recognizable wood flavors that apparently also mix well with rum.

Very different from regular foursquare, less smooth and sweet, more funky. Lots of oak, and less sugarcane than I expected.

89/100

Great House 13, 2007-2021, Cask 6, 66.9%

Sniff:
Massive on the overripe fruit. Lots of sugary, slightly cloying fruit rot. In a way that you can only like it for it. Vegetal, with sugarcane and grass. Lots of alcohol, obvjously, with a bit of a Mezcal like whiff of smoke. The diesel kind.

Sip:
Insanely strong, with lots of alcohol, which brings a lot of chili pepper heat. Some dry sawdust, a whiff of bitterness. Apple seeds, grape seeds. Later on the actual light fruityness of apple and grape.

Swallow:
Somewhat sweeter than before. More fruity with a bit of a drying sugarcane funk. Hay-like.

“Great House” isn’t a distillery, which results in this being an undisclosed one. Obviously the ABV has some impact, since it’s ridiculously strong. However, the alcohol isn’t all there is and there’s lot of lovely light fruitiness going on, with a bit more funk than the Foursquare.

Much like the Foursquare, it approaches things in its own way, and is all the better for it!

Massive, but very, very good.

89/100

Both rums will be available at Best of Whiskies, Whiskysite, Passie voor Whisky, Zeewijck and Van Zuylen in The Netherlands.

Retail prices are about € 120 for the Foursquare, and € 100 for the Great House. Very acceptably priced, if you ask me!

Thanks a million to The Duchess herself for the samples!

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Laphroaig Cairdeas 12, Feis Ile 2009, 57.5%

Posted on 26 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

An older sample I got somewhere, probably from Tom van Engelen, since he’s recently turned in to a supplier of good Islay whisky from years gone by.

This one is from the Cairdeas (‘friendship, in Gaelic’) range, which is Laphroaig’s Feis Ile / Distillery Only range, which is surprisingly easy to get for something that is supposed to be quite limited. Luckily, this is represented in the price as well, when it’s released.

Of course, this being bottled 12 years ago, it has now ramped up to a jumping off point of € 369, which is quite a bit less ‘easy to get’.

Image from Whiskybase

There’s virtually no information on this one, no cask information or anything. I guess that means it’s a bourbon cask, and the color and palate support that.

Sniff:
Very typical Islay smokiness, backed up by a light, but intense whisky. Very fishy, briny, coastal with lots of salinity, brine, fishing nets and kippers.

Sip:
Here the lighter side shows, before the coastal notes take over. Some dried flowers and straw, but then it’s back to fierce alcohol and smoke. A dry saltiness, fish, iodine and lots of peat smoke.

Swallow:
On the finish, the iodine and band aids show. Quite medicinal, with those typical coastal hints again. True Laphroaig, in overdrive.

This is a true Islay whisky, which made me fall in love with the region all these years ago. It’s almost a Lowlands whisky in style, the straw and grass notes, but with an Islay make over. Harbours, fishing boats, windy beaches at the Atlantic coast.

This is a very solid Laphroaig. Unfortunately it’s ridiculously expensive now.

87/100

Available here.

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Kingsbarns Bell Rock, Sherry & Bourbon Casks, 46%

Posted on 25 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

About two months ago I wrote about De Whiskykoning’s Spring Tasting, in which the biggest hit was Kingsbarns Family Reserve. A surprisingly fruity and intense, but light dram. A Lowlands dram like you don’t find many these days.

Of course, that got me interested in Kingsbarns in general, because if an STR cask is that light and fruity, how good would one be without any wine influence?

On STR then, because that even is that? STR stands for ‘Shaving, Toasting, Recharring’. More or less what they used to call ‘cask rejuvenation’. They put an older cask through the process of preparing a new cask for use. Scratching out the top layer on the inside, and then toasting and charring it again so more vanillins come out of the wood, and more caramelisation happens.

It is also called ‘the Jim Swan method’, after the late Jim Swan (distillery consultant extraordinaire) who was a big advocate of this.

Kilchoman also uses this method, as is explained on their website.

Generally I consider wine casks to impart a rather heavy and funky influence on whisky, so when an STR wine-cask got fruity like the Kingsbarns Family Reserve is figured this was despite it being an STR’ed wine cask.

A Kingsbarns from sherry and bourbon casks must therefore be even more fruity, right?

Pretty bottle!

Sniff:
Rather timid on the nose, with just some hints of straw and a touch of sweet honey. Lemon candy, with a bit of wine gum sweetness after a few minutes. A bit of sawdust, for a touch if dryness.

Sip:
The palate is dry with a bite like a chili pepper. Still quite sweet with wine gum and honey. Sweet lemon drops, a bit of straw and a little bit of oak.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit dry too, with some bite on the way down. It stays sweet, and loses some of the lemony touches, in favor of more honey.

I guess I was wrong. I also guess that the Family Reserve being at cask strength has something to do with it, but the Bell Rock is not as good as the Family Reserve. They’re not even in the same league.

This one is more like any random single malt that didn’t get much care. It’s just a bit of honey and barley. In fact, the only thing I wrote down initially was ‘boooooooring’…

So I guess that STR, cask strength, not-sherry-cask combination works for Kingsbarns, or at least that’s what I want to ‘investigate’ further. This one isn’t it.

80/100

Why only 80? Shouldn’t this be a little bit more than that, because it’s not bad, right?

No it’s not bad. It is just very bland. And being devoid of anything that draws my attention is perhaps worse than being bad, because it makes it utterly forgettable.

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Athrú Whiskey, three of them

Posted on 24 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

What Whiskey? Athrú, pronounced Ah-roo. From Ireland.

I never heard from them, and after looking things up it still is quite mysterious.

It’s an Irish whiskey brand, currently bottling whiskey they bought from other distilleries, but also creating their own spirit. The distillery, called Lough Gill Distillery, was commissioned in 2019.

Billy Walker, formerly of BenRiach, GlenDronach and GlenGlassaugh, currently of GlenAllachie, acts as a consultant but isn’t part of their official story. At least, not on their website. I guess that’s a good thing if they want to start their own thing.

Of course, with the distillery being a recent start-up, they don’t have their own whiskey yet, but they have bottled three 14 year old releases. Currently there are some recent 16 year olds and a 6 year old. These latter three are cask strength, single cask releases.

I got samples of the three 14 year old bottlings from Whisky Center, a little while ago. I planned to review them sooner, but my son knicked my tasting-note-booklet, and forgot about that afterwards. It took some doing to dig it up again…

So, Athrú. From Ireland’s north west coast. Let’s dig in!

Athrú Annacoona, 14yo, PX & Oloroso Sherry Casks, 48%

Image from Athrú

Sniff:
Quite malty on the nose, with hints of toast, digestive biscuits and green apples. Later on the apples get a bit older, more corky and red, but there’s also a hint of dry apples.

Sip:
Quite sharp on the arrival and still rather malty. Toast, stale bread and apples in as many forms as there were on the nose. A touch of vanilla and honey, more smooth with some time. After a couple of minutes there are raisins on the palate too.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more sweet, but also brings some other fruits like sweet grapes. Honey, cider and apple sauce.

Decent, but with this being a sherry finish, it feels like it’s limping a bit. It’s like it cannot decide between the bourbon and the sherry casks, and that harms the balance a bit.

86/100

Athrú Knocknarea, 14yo, American Oak and Oloroso Sherry Casks, 48%

Image from Athrú

Sniff:
Massively spicy on the nose, with cinnamon toast, nutmeg and cocoa powder. Not typical for an Oloroso cask, but with the wine gums I generally get with Irish whiskey. Somehow, it makes sense with the candy sweetness being off-set by the spices. Ground almonds too.

Sip:
A rather intense dryness that soon becomes a bit more sweet. Baking spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisin twigs and almonds. Slightly funky with some walnuts too.

Swallow:
The finish has more nuttiness than the palate with baked pecans and caramel.

Utterly weird and based on the rating on Whiskybase, I like this a lot more than most people. Then again, I really like spicy whiskies, so that seems to make some sense at least.

88/100

Athrú Keshcorran, 14yo, American Oak and Tokaji Casks, 48%

Image from Athrú

Sniff:
Not entirely surprising, but this one is again quite dry and very malt driven. Slightly more harsh with a dark and sweet funkiness. Black cherries, blackberry compote. The dryness is like raisin twigs and grape seeds.

Sip:
Dry with a slight syrupy texture. Some raisins and vanilla, cinnamon. Quite autumnal, and it mellows nicely after the initial dry bite.

Swallow:
The finish has quite a lot more wine-like sweetness, with overripe fruit. The Tokaji makes itself known.

This one is more like the first full-sherry finish, and has some issues with balancing the flavors. Although, having said that, it’s still a very decent dram.

85/100

For a new brand I find that they’ve released quite some interesting whiskies already. However, the problem with this is that they’re rather expensive at € 130-ish per bottle.

Let’s find out whether it’s going to be an Ardnamurchan or an Annandale in regards to pricing their initial own releases…

Thanks to Whisky Center for sending the samples!

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Daftmill 2008-2020, Winter Batch Release, 46%

Posted on 23 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

It’s not often that Daftmill becomes ‘actually’ available. And by that I mean that it’s not just for sale at Berry Bros. and Rudd in London, with £ 30-odd shipping costs and the additional requirement that you order over 200 quid worth of booze before they even consider shipping. And that was before Brexit.

Anyway, this one is available in the EU, or at least it was at the end of July. Now it still is but the price had increased by some € 50 in little under a month.

Daftmill then. One of the more rare currently-operational Lowlands distilleries that had the patience to wait for 12 years before they released their first bottling. Ever since they’ve released some more casks and bottlings, but always decently aged and sort-of prohibitively priced.

Sniff:
At first, I get a whiff of copper and iron. After that there are green apples, straw and grass. Some glue and even a whiff of petrol. Green, mossy tree bark and ginger.

Sip:
Quite sweet with vanilla. Brioche with whipped cream. Some straw, moss and oak. Quite sharp with sawdust and white pepper. More dry on a second sip.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more like the nose. Less sweet, more grassy. More typically Lowlands.

Contrary to my previous experiences with Daftmill, this one is a little bit more middle-of-the-road. A bit more typical of Speyside whisky with a bourbon cask maturation, and therefore a little bit less ‘Lowlands’ in style. Therefore it’s still pretty tasty, but not truly great.

87/100

Available in various markets and secondary markets.

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Springbank 24, 51.7% – Elixir, Art of Whisky

Posted on 19 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another sample I got from Fiddler’s Advent Calendar, late last year. And one I got quite excited about. It’s not everyday you get to try new, old Springbank. 24 years old is something that goes for quite a bit of money nowadays, even if it was ‘only’ some € 250 back in 2017, when it was bottled from an ‘oak cask’.

Image from Whiskybase

I am quite surprised by the lack of information on the label, especially since Elixir Distillers, one of the companies linked to The Whisky Exchange is so brief in it’s disclosure of information.

Anyway, as said before, and even though I don’t always buy into this, it’s the liquid that counts.

Sniff:
The typical Springbank funkiness, albeit light, with a creamy note makes me think of a light Stilton, right away. The white bit, at least. Apple sauce too.

Sip:
A bit more dry than expected, and very gentle. Some straw, oak shavings, a hint of moss. A bit of an apple-y sweetness. A tiny hint of earthiness and smoke. Very, very subtle.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more intense, with more smoke than before. An acidic flavor adds to the mix. Apples, oak, straw.

For a Springbank at this age, I got rather excited. But to be completely frank, I found this a bit underwhelming. It doesn’t show the depth or the complexity that I expect, and often encounter in Springbank whisky, even at a younger age.

Of course, it’s not a bad dram by any means, but I’m glad I didn’t spend € 250 on it.

86/100

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Port Ellen 19, 1977-1996, 58.9% – Scott’s Selection

Posted on 18 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Sometimes you realize you have some rather interesting tasting notes lying around. Stuff you tried but for some reason haven’t written about yet. By ‘you’ I mean me, because I realize most people do not write whisky blogs, although it might seem otherwise, nowadays.

This Port Ellen was part of Fiddlers’ Advent Calendar last year, which means I tried it early in this year, which means it’s been sitting in my tasting-note-stash for a couple months now.

Image from Whiskybase

I can start writing about how Port Ellen is a closed distillery that’s about to be reopened. That the late seventies are the best vintages of said closed distillery (that are at least somewhat reachable, before someone starts on that 1968 stuff that’s supposedly the best thing to ever come from any distillery). I guess I won’t, and will just get to the tasting notes.

Sniff:
A gentle whiff of peat over an intense whisky. Marram grass, shammy leather. Straw, sand. Surprisingly, it’s not very coastal on the nose. It becomes more smoky with some time in the glass, and more briny too. Somehow, stale lemon-drizzle cake.

Sip:
Rather dry and with some white pepper bite. A hint of vanilla over briny flavors. Dry grist, stale lemon-drizzle cake. Marram grass, shammy leather. Smoke, ashes, soot.

Swallow:
Quite hot on the finish, but in a good way. It makes you notice what you’re having. White pepper, smoke, brine, charcoal. Again, the marram grass, grist, straw. Long.

This, dear reader, is awesome. It’s one of those Islay whiskies where the peat is unmistakably present, but already gives some space to other flavors. By a bit of maturation this is a rather complex whisky, but by being not too old it’s also still quite feisty and ‘in-your-face’. An absolute belter.

Thanks Jon!

91/100

At the time of writing it’s available in the Whiskybase Marketplace for € 799

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Knockando 12, 1975-1988, 43%

Posted on 16 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

If you are looking to get some old, official single malt whiskies, Knockando is one of the cheapest options out there. They did lots of vintage ‘dated’ 12 year old releases during the eighties, which dates the distillation date in the seventies, and they generally go for around € 150-ish.

I picked up this one a while ago at De Whiskykoning, where it sat on a bottom shelf, hidden in a corner between much more impressive, and much more impressively priced, bottled. The ugly duckling, so to say.

I decided to go for it after some deliberation. Generally, these Knockandos are nothing to write home about. But I figured it would be interesting enough for a bottle share so I’d not bear the full cost myself. In the end, not many people joined in the share and I ended up with quite a significant part of the whisky myself. Let’s hope it’s not too bad, then!

Sniff:
Vanilla and oak, with straw and warm apple pie. Oak, and strangely, that scent of straw wrappings that come with old bottles, old apples.

Sip:
Dry on the palate, brittle straw dust, dry pulpy oak. Cloudy apple juice, some puff pastry, quite sweet. A surprising bite, for a 43% whisky, actually.

Swallow:
A rather long finish, with the same dry bite as before. Old sawdust, the dustiness of an attic, or a granary.

This one is more interesting than it is good. As in, I like to be able to try stuff like this, but I don’t expect the bottle to be empty quickly. I think with stuff like this the decline of the whisky industry in the seventies is noticeable. Of course, that decline came to a lot of closings in the early eighties, but it set in earlier, of course.

It feels a bit like this stuff was truly made for the blends of Justerini & Brooks (J&B). It tastes like they didn’t really want to make something very good, just good enough. And at the original price it probably was, but at € 150, it’s not.

80/100

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The Ghost Piper of Clanyard Bay

Posted on 13 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Recently a new brand of whiskies was brought to my attention (Thanks, Tom) from a bottler called ‘Fable’. I had never heard of them, but what I found out was that they had just released a set of five whiskies accompanied by an old Scottish folk tale.

Two of said whiskies had just been reviewed by the imitable Serge of Whiskyfun, and that triggered me to get my grubby hands on all five of them. A bottle-share was born (which, lately, is not a rarity…)

A day or two later a truly massive box of whisky came in, with enough bubble-wrap to wrap our house, but at least the whisky was safe!

If you want to see the gorgeous animations and listen to the story, you can go to Fable’s web site.

Apart from there being five whiskies, which we’ll get to in a bit, there’s a lot of other stuff to unpack as well. I think this is one of the best looking whisky products in a while, with the labels and artwork, but also the bottle wrapper, neck tag and everything else.

Hugo Cuellar, who did the artwork, really brought the story to life and there’s a certain Mike Mignola-esque approach to it all.

Let’s dive in, because there’s quite a lot to go through!

Caol Ila 12, 2008-2021, Hogshead 309952, 56.8%

This first chapter in the story is the Caol Ila called ‘Clanyard’. The kick-off point for the story, the town itself.

Sniff:
A briny smokiness, with burning sea weed. Salinity, bonfires, some honey and resin. Engine grease and a bit of pastry cream. Rather well balanced between all aromas.

Sip:
It’s surprisingly smooth for a 56.8% whisky, with a slow build-up in white peppery heat. Honey, engine grease, smoke and brine.

Swallow:
The finish has a quick blast of intense smoke before it veers back to the pastry cream, pepper and engine grease. Also, the coastal salinity is quite present.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve had a better Caol Ila in a long while, and especially not at such a young age. It is quintessential Caol Ila with the slight creamy pastry notes accompanied by smoke and engine grease. It’s exactly what I want from such a whisky.

89/100

Available in the secondary market for € 130

Benrinnes 12, 2008-2021, Hogshead 305966, 58.4%

The second chapter is the introduction of the ghost. It lives in a cave in the cliffs beneath the village. Or so it is said…

Sniff:
Grass and honey at first. It’s rather clean and pure, and crisp. Flint, basalt and an earthy note. Vanilla and white pepper again.

Sip:
The palate is warming and quite austere. Basalt, minerals, white pepper, but also with some foresty notes. Ferns, slate, moss, and that mulchy, earthy note from the nose.

Swallow:
The finish is slightly less austere and mineral-like. A bit more honey, soft oak and vanilla.

It’s lovely to see a good whisky with so little ‘extra’. It’s just a whisky, in a way. But it’s just a whisky that seems to tick all the boxes and I have the idea that this one was left alone to mature gently in some warehouse. No re-racking, no nonsense.

Also available in the secondary market, at the same price.

87/100

Linkwood 12, 2008-2021, Hogshead 300860, 54.8%

Chapter three sees the protagonist of the story arrive in Clanyard Bay, the piper. Gruff and haggard, but piping a merry tune despite that.

Sniff:
It’s quite light and malty, with hints of straw, hay and a whiff of vanilla. Some slate, moss and pear peels too.

Sip:
Dry, with hints of straw, grass, hay. Freshly cut oak. A little yeasty with pear peels and star apple.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more sweet with an increase in vanilla and more oak. Slightly less dry than before.

This one feels a little bit generic, compared to the other two. I’m also missing the slight beery notes that normally come with a Linkwood, although there is that hint of yeast on the palate.

Again, available at € 130

85/100

Mannochmore 12, 2008-2021, Hogshead 7040, 55.4%

Along with the piper came it’s hound. A shaggy thing with hair as grey as its owner’s beard.

Sniff:
It starts rather timid, with some hay and dried apple, resin and pine cones. Soil and mulch, quite foresty (or sylvan, if you will…).

Sip:
While it’s pretty fierce on the arrival, think chili pepper and dry oak, there’s also some vanilla to combat that. There are subtle hints of apple and pear apart from all this.

Swallow:
The crisp finish with lots of apple, pear, melon skin and green banana. Some vanilla and oak. Quite a pure distillate.

This Mannochmore is the one that started it all, and while I think it’s a great whisky, I don’t think it’s a 90 point whisky. I love that it’s foresty and brings quite some notes of fruit. It’s just shy of 90 because it’s not overly complex apart from that.

Unsurprisingly, this one isn’t available anymore.

89/100

Dailuaine 12, 2008-2021, Hogshead 307138, 54.8%

The moon kept shining on Clanyard Bay, even though the piper was never seen again and the hound fled the cave without a hair on it.

Sniff:
Warming and a bit funky on the nose, Hessian, old wallpaper on a leaky attic. Vanilla custard, leather and dirt.

Sip:
The funkiness is a little bit suppressed by fresh black pepper, it’s heat and some oaky dryness. Again, rather earthy with dry soil, paper and a hint of vanilla.

Swallow:
The finish brings a bit of stewed fruits and jam on top of the flavors and aromas that came before.

It’s almost Springbank-like in its funkiness, which seems to be the direction Dailuaine is going in, for the last few years. I like it, if they don’t push it too far (like what happened on the Watt Whisky one).

And finally, this too is available, but for a few bucks less.

88/100

My conclusions to this are manyfold:

  • I like something extra, like the way this looks. It does add to your experience with a dram.
  • I absolutely love that they kept these whiskies as pure and straight forward as possible. No finishes, no guiding the whisky along, just letting it be.
  • The Mannochmore, Caol Ila and Dailuaine are great.
  • I’ll be keeping my eye on Fable for future releases!
Posted in Benrinnes, Caol Ila, Dailuaine, Linkwood, Mannochmore | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dailuaine 13, 2007-2020, PX Sherry Finish, 52% – Maltman

Posted on 12 August 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer
Image from Whiskybase

The Maltman is one of those bottlers that showed up about a decade ago, at least on my radar they did. Since then they’ve been putting out quality whisky and aren’t shy of using good sherry casks. It seems there was some money there to get started.

I don’t have many whiskies of them, though. Mostly because they’re often not on the cheap side of things, and although the quality generally warrants the price, I prefer to try before I buy. Somehow that is not really a thing with a bottler like this. I rarely see any of their stuff in tastings.

Where I get to taste this is, is like this, when I get a random sample with my order from Dramtime. The other place I see this bottler regularly is at Wullie’s Hielander restaurant in Alkmaar. And, of course, on the Hielander whisky festival in all Februaries. Before the plague, that was.

But, as said, this one came from Dramtime, so credits where credits are due. Thanks!

Sniff:
Incredibly rich with a lot of dried fruits. Very sweet and thick and syrupy. Lots of dried plums, peaches, apricots. A bit of a sponge cake with baking spices background. Very cask driven, with only a little bit of the light spiciness of the spirit remaining. Quite some oak in the background too.

Sip:
The palate brings a bit of a tingling sensation, with a dry bite after it. The sweetness is here too, but it’s slightly less fruity and slightly more spicy. There’s a bitter note on top of the dried plums and apricots, which is a bit almond like, a bit like plum stones, powdered spices and sawdust.

Swallow:
The finish continues down the same road. Lots of fruit, quite some spices. Some sherry trifle with a syrupy fruitiness. Some oak, but not a lot.

This is quite on the money as far as PX casks go. There’s lots of rich fruits and a syrupy texture. On top of that is the rather rich spirit of Dailuaine. Luckily the oak also brings some spicy to balance all that richness, or this would have been one cloying and thick whisky.

Now, it’s a pretty good Dailuaine, which also is reasonably priced at € 90 in the secondary market. Official channels seem to have sold out by now.

87/100

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