De Whiskykoning’s Bottoms Up 2019

Posted on 14 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

As is tradition for Rob Stevens of De Whiskykoning, he hosted his annual Bottoms Up tasting yesterday. The second Sunday in January is an afternoon to be reckoned with, and this year was no different from before.

Of course, it’s really tricky to blog about this afternoon, since Rob always puts in a lot of curveballs, depending on how much time he has beforehand. And by curveballs I don’t mean an unexpected whisky, but whisky’s swapped between bottles, or sometimes swapped with something else entirely.

A few years ago there was a tail end of ‘Ardbeg Kildalton’, the original from 1980, which turned out to contain Wenneker Jenever that was finished in an Islay cask.

Here’s some pics of what we supposedly had.

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This wasn’t really this. The Winter Storm was somewhere on the table, but I doubt I had it.

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This was nice!

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Hidden in a tiny sample bottle, we ended this quickly after finding it. Such a good dram!

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A bottoms up bottle of which the seal wasn’t broken. Interesting, and not a bad whisky either.

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Also hidden in a sample bottle. A bit strange on the nose, but a very tasty whisky.

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Even though it’s an old bottling, it wasn’t very good. Didn’t finish it.

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This one was also hidden in a different sample bottle. I put the original upside down to finish the last five drops. Stellar stuff.

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Strong, but tasty.

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This wasn’t this either.

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This wasn’t this either. 

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This legendary whisky was in on of the two bottles above and it was epic. Since nobody was looking at it twice, I finished it all.

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This was whisky too. Not very good, but not too bad either.

In between these I got handed a couple glasses from obscured bottles, since JP was trying to try all the ones in tin foil. There was a very tasty Springbank 25 in there, but a lot of them were so-so.

All in all, by the time the tasting was nearing it’s end I was very much done with the amount of different flavors that had been barraging my palate for about two hours. I did have some epic drams that weren’t going to be topped anyway. I think we headed off little before the official end of the tasting, and we weren’t alone.

Pizzas were bought and Magic was played for the rest of the night. In short, an epic Sunday.

Thanks to Rob for inviting us over once again!

Posted in - Blended Malt, - Blended Whisky, - Grain Whisky, Belgian Owl, Bladnoch, Bowmore, Elijah Craig, Finlaggan, Floki, Glen Drummond, Glen Moray, Glenfiddich, Longmorn, Port Dundas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kilkerran 11, 2007-2018, Sherry Butt, 58.1% – Cadenhead

Posted on 11 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I just opened up the stats on this Kilkerran on Whiskybase and it’s currently going for € 162. It was released in July, and back then it was not even € 80. It has already doubled in price. Maybe at some point that used to be shocking, but since we’re in 2019 now and this is a single cask, cask strength, full sherry Kilkerran, it’s not as mental as you’d guess.

I don’t have much else to say except to just get into the fray. It is, after all, a single cask, cask strength, full sherry Kilkerran!

Sniff:
Big sherry, with spices, dried fruits, earthy notes and some very heavy, slightly sulphury notes. I think the ‘pro tasters’ won’t really like this one. Some burnt pork fat, the stuff that sticks to the barbecue grill. Lots of meaty notes. Dates and figs too, all big notes.

20190111_225042.jpgSip:
It’s slightly sharp, but only because it’s not my first whisky of the night. If it was, and I’ve tried, it’s insanely harsh. The fruits are a bit more prominent on the palate compared to the nose. It’s also not as meaty and as heavy as expected. Even though I like these big whiskies, I think that’s a good thing.

Swallow:
The afterburner is quite something in this dram. Even though the palate can be a bit harsh (depending on the prep) this is just hot at first. The flavors, luckily, are big enough to combat the heat with some really big, heavy and feinty notes. Earthy, barbecue char on pork drippings.

This is quite something. It’s a massive dram. It doesn’t pretend to be anything that it’s not, so you are actually drinking a not-too-old massively sherried Kilkerran. But it is insanely tasty if had late at night. It absolutely is not a starter, and when I did try it without warming up properly, I actively disliked this whisky because of it’s harshness. Keep in mind this comes from a guy who virtually never adds water to even the strongest whiskies.

The whisky itself brings a lot of heavy flavors and especially the barbecue-y notes are a nice change of pace. A decade ago they seemed to be everywhere, but now it’s been a while since I had a really meaty whisky like this. So, highly recommended, but do warm up.

88/100

Kilkerran 11, 2007-2018, Sherry Butt, 58.1%, Cadenhead’s Wood Range

 

Posted in Glengyle, Kilkerran | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tomatin 1997-2014, 51% – The Whisky Agency / Liquid Library

Posted on 10 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

When this came out I was planning a trip to Scotland with a couple of friends for the end of 2015. Also, Tomatin was suddenly widely available with some really good bottlings, so I decided to pick one up. What helped is that The Whisky Agency is a very good bottler with above average results in what they release.

I never did a write up of that visit to Tomatin, because the Usquebaugh Society chose a Tomatin as their next club bottling in early 2016, and I did a write up in the club magazine. I might translate it at some point and put it on the blog…

So, a fairly random 1997 Tomatin, at 17 years old. It was drawn from a refill hogshead, which I consider to be, in general, quite a good way of maturing whisky. It it not too intense, which means the spirit gets some room to shine. It’s also not too flat so you’re not drinking 17 year old new make. Luckily, Tomatin has a very nice vegetal spirit that can take a beating.

I emptied the bottle last Maltstock, except for the sample I am emptying tonight. So, a bit of live blogging here, that also gets me a bit closer to my goal of emptying loads (half, at least) of the things I’ve amassed over the last few years.

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Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Some barley sugar and malty sweetness. A bit vegetal, like expected. Some hay, ferns, slightly green with some moss and algae. You know, the north side of a tree in the northern hemisphere. Almost no oak, although the spirit is quite tamed. All typical for a refill hogshead.

Sip:
Quite sharp, even though it’s ‘just’ a 51% whisky. Dry, grainy notes. Freshly fallen leaves, forest floor, a bit of oak. A bit sweeter than I expected initially, even though the sweetness was there on the nose too. So, green with a lot of grain. Typically Tomatin.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit warmer than the palate made me expect. Still some sweetness but it’s  a bit more woody and goes in the direction of cooked apples, some baking spices, bread and butter pudding. Not overly long.

So, this is absolutely not a bad whisky. It’s maybe a bit predictable, although there’s enough happening to keep one interested for a while. I think to go through an entire bottle is a bit much, but it’s far from bland.

A typical Tomatin, albeit a bit generic and one that does not stand out from any other 12 to 20 year old single cask, in my opinion. Enjoyable and not something you’ll regret, but not remarkable either.

Maybe not surprisingly, it’s still for sale for some € 100

84/100

Tomatin 17yo, 1997-2014, Refill Hogshead, 51%, The Whisky Agency / Liquid Library

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The samples

Posted on 7 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

So, I tallied the samples I’ve got lying and I got to 110 samples of whisky. That’s specific because there’s eight more samples of new make and thirty samples of assorted booze.

I already finished three of them over the weekend. Reviews will follow shortly, of two good ones and one ‘meh’ sample of Bowmore. Quite a good score.

The fun thing about counting all these samples is that they passed through my hands again and I found some goodies. There’s a 1978 Glen Albyn, and a 1973 GlenDronach and some others I have yet again forgotten about.

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But, I didn’t want to empty just samples. Some bottles have been around for a bit, some are leftovers from bottle-shares, and some have been open for the last year or so. The point is that I want to empty them so I can start trying some new ones I’ve got lined up.

On Mark Zuckerberg’s private spy network I already started offloading a few of them, but there’s quite a few more that I’m ready to part with. Below there’s the list. Get in touch if you fancy some of them.

Samples are 10cl, prices are per said 10cl.

  • Glenallachie 1995, 22yo, Whiskybase, 51.8%, € 22 (x3)
  • Glen Moray 2002, 15yo, OB for their 120th anniversary, 52.4%, € 22.50 (x3)
  • Inchgower 1982-2011, 29yo, Duncan Taylor, 54.6%, € 25 (x4)
  • Glenrothes 1997-2017, 19yo, Whiskybase, 58.8%, € 18 (x2)
  • Glenrothes 1997-2017, 19yo, The Single Cask, 58.5%, € 24 (x1)
  • Speyburn 1989-2013, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseur’s Choice, 46%, € 17.50 (x2)
  • Willett XCF, American Rye finished in Curacao Casks, 51.7%, € 20 (x3)
  • Speyburn 2004-2018, OB for Boomsma, Sherry cask, 52.5%, € 17.50 (x2)
  • I.W. Harper, Kentucky Straight Bourbon, bottled in the early 80s, 40%, € 15 (x4)
  • Heaven Hill, 2001-2015, Sherry Cask, Malts of Scotland, 48.9%, € 17.50 (x3)

 

I might update the list in a little while, but I first want to start with these.

But honestly, I also kind of want some cash to flow back towards me after spending after a few ridiculously expensive months. That’s why there are some really good whiskies in that list and I’m not just getting rid of shit I don’t like…

Posted in - News and Announcements, Glen Moray, Glenallachie, Glenrothes, Heaven Hill, I. W. Harper, Inchgower, Speyburn, Willett | 2 Comments

Bunnahabhain Moine 2004, 13yo, Marsala Cask, 56.6% – OB Distillery Only

Posted on 6 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

In April of last year I went to Islay with three of my best friends for a rather epic week of booze, scenery, Scotland and a few games of Cards Against Humanity. We decided to not do too many distillery visits, since we also wanted to see the island itself, which was a good decision (read more here, here and here).

Of course, way more was spent on whisky ‘for bottle sharing’ than anticipated, but this one was a no-brainer as soon as we tried it. The then Distillery Only bottling at Bunnahabhain was one that I didn’t expect much of (weird cask, peated to where I prefer their unpeated whisky), but a sip of it during the Warehouse 9 Tasting made me change my mind. Of course, there’s the risk of it being significantly less impressive out of its natural habitat, but here we are.

20190106_141347.jpgSniff:
Far lighter than you’d expect from a peated Bunna, Marsala and the ABV. The smoke is slightly menthol like. Some leather and a bit of dried fruit. Mango, peach, figs and honey, a bit more gentle than ‘normal’ sherry casks (so, no dates, plums). Fatty/creamy milk chocolate.

Sip:
Still not ‘unsharp’, but more in the range of a 48/50% drink, compared to the 56.6%. Thick, juicy and fruity with hints of leather, and baked fruits. Peaches, mango. The smoke is quite present, but not overpowering. A crisp hint of menthol and thyme. Dry oak and old dunnage warehouses.

Swallow:
The finish focuses more on the oak and the smoke than before. The fruit is still there, but slightly dialed back. A bit funky with old moldy warehouses and old casks. Rather long and warming.

Truly like being back at the distillery during the very epic tasting, on a Monday morning. We had an awesome tasting then, which colors your judgment. But in this case the enthusiasm is still alive and kicking nine months later. An absolutely gorgeous and fruit dram that really embodies what Bunnahabhain makes me think of.

It’s rather thick and syrupy, which works well in this case, with the light dried fruits and leather. A very old fashioned Bunnahabhain, and I love it.

The only drawback of this whisky is that I decided to split it with my friends, and therefore only had a (sizeable) sample. Silly me.

90/100

Bunnahabhain Moine 2004, 13yo, Marsala Cask, 56.6%, OB Distillery Only in 2017/2018.

Of course, it’s now available through the secondary market for a lot more…

Posted in - Distillery, Bunnahabhain | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Welcome in 2019

Posted on 4 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I’m not sure everyone saw it coming, but 2019 had been on the verge of being the year we live in since Christmas or so. How quickly these things go.

Anyway, let’s do this 2019 thing!

I’m not going to bore you to death will all kinds of whisky related goodie-two-shoes resolutions in which I want to be nicer to people and respect other people’s tastes more. Sometimes people are just wrong. Sometimes taste isn’t as subjective as it is supposed to be. Some whisky is just shit whisky.

I do have some plans for the year, but that’s more a to-do list than they are New Year’s Resolutions, although I can’t really explain what the difference is. It’s not any of that new year, new me shite.

What I’m going to plan and hopefully do is get a bit more financially sane. So less whisky buying and actually drinking some of the bottles I have amassed over the last decade or so. The same goes for my other hobbies, apart from the fact that I can’t really drink boardgames and cardgames.

Sneaking one resolution in

Spending far less on beer than last year, in which I already spent far less than the year before.

Not because I dislike beer or dislike brewers having my money, but because
a: I have to save money for more important things somewhere.
b: I am getting a bit jaded with the beer industry. Every new brewer thinks they’ve laid the golden egg and ask 3 or 4 euros for a random blond beer or an IPA. When it gets a bit more exclusive with barrel aging, 7 or 8 euros for a bottle.

The collection

Almost three years ago I wrote a piece on being tired of having a ‘whisky collection’ that was completely invisible and unreachable. Things have changed for the better since because I got ‘whisky room 2.0’ back. Everything is crammed into the third to smallest room in the house (as in, it’s slightly bigger than both bogs).

Luckily, I’ve pruned my collection a bit over the years and what’s there is much more to my liking than the utter randomness than what came before. However, I do have too many open bottles and I’m going to fix that. Both by finishing more of these first, and by doing a bit of a ‘yard sale’ of samples from my open bottles.

This can also be read as: I took slightly too large samples for myself over the last year or so, to make bottle-shares happen. Now I’m going to try again with what’s left.

Not in the last place because I can use the money for other things that I’ve got lined up.

This can also be read as: I spend too much money on shit and I want to get some back before the misses gets too mad at me. This might sound like she’s got me under her thumb (not denying that), but in this case she’d be right.

The samples

This plan has been around for as long as I’ve been buying samples: Get through them! It got a bit better last year in which I actually decreased the amount of samples on my shel(f/ves). That’s going to continue in 2019 too.

There’s still some 200 or more, I plan to count them today and make a plan with some steps, much like ‘finish X samples in January’.

Wrapping up

That’s it for the first post in the new year. Happy new year and stuff. Have a good one!

In regards to the whisky industry and any other industry for that matter: Vote with your money. Prefer the whisky with no packaging. Buy beer in cans. Don’t give in to ridiculous price hikes. Try before you buy if possible. Be honest but don’t be a dick about it. Prioritize.

Posted in - News and Announcements, - Opinion | Leave a comment

Inchmurrin 1996-2018, 51% – Malts of Scotland

Posted on 31 December 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I was just checking, but I’ve not reviewed an Inchmurrin since the triptych from the Whisky Nerds came out last year. I’ve had some in between and even guessed on right in a blind tasting I was at, a few weeks ago. It’s a rather recognizable character, so to say.

Then, a while ago, I bought this sample of my ‘whisky neighbour’ RvB since it was a decently aged Inchmurrin, from a respected bottler, and from a sherry cask. A recipe for success, I’d say!

Let’s dive right in!

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Image from WhiskyBase

Sniff:
Moldy sherry notes. Dry, slightly coastal, hay, old fruit. It’s very weird, very unconventional. Pencils.

Sip:
Strangely thin, but strong. Some oak, plants, hay, sherry. But it’s not overly rich or complex. Gets stronger and strangely beery.

Swallow:
Some pencils, sulphur, sherry and hay. Not very long, but rather green.

It’s weird in the wrong way. Hence the lack of introduction, since I couldn’t really talk this up. Technically, it has all the right flavors, but there’s a lot more happening that doesn’t sit well with me. The pencil like note doesn’t combine with the sherry on the nose. The beery note on the palate doesn’t combine with the other flavors, and it’s weirdly thin.

Short to say, I’m glad I didn’t buy a whole bottle.

70/100

Inchmurrin 1996-2018, Sherry Hogshead #18020, 51%, Malts of Scotland

 

What a way to close out the year…

Posted in - News and Announcements, Inchmurrin, Loch Lomond | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Arran 11yo, 2006-2018, Sherry Hogshead, 51.9% – OB for The Old Pipe

Posted on 29 December 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Normally I’d be busy writing about the best whisky of the year in the days between Christmas and New Year’s. Not only the best whisky, but also the best records I found, the best beer and other booze. I’d also be making a to-do list for next year and many other things thirty-something dudes nowadays do.

However, this December has been mental as you might have noticed by the complete lack of posts regarding the Usquebaugh Society’s Blind Tasting Competition. This year, I didn’t really get around to it, so there’s still eight of the eighteen samples waiting to be tasted, and of the ones I did try some were too late, some I forgot to fill in and only about four or five were actual guesses. Strangely, I didn’t even end up last.

What I AM doing right now is writing about yet another whisky I bought last year, and a good one it is!

During spring, it’s become tradition to go camping with a group of friends. We’ve known each other for about 16 years and we’ve been doing weekends away for about a decade, maybe more. Three years ago we added a weekend of camping so we could bring the kids as well (the other weekend is without kids). The camping we went to thusfar is in Schijndel, which is pretty close to Sint Oedenrode, where The Old Pipe is located. Of course, during such a weekend you need proper booze, so a proper bottle shop is high on the ‘to visit list’. Last time, I bought this bottle of Arran.

IMG_20181221_163720Sniff:
Heavy, dry and leathery. Lots of dried fruits, spiced sherry, slightly funky. This was a very good cask. Baking spices with cinnamon, nutmeg and tree bark. Some cigars, autumn leaves, dates and plums.

Sip:
Fairly gentle for its ABV. A syrupy texture, with sweetness that builds to a bit of a peppery heat. Lots of dried fruits. Dates, peaches, plums, apricots. Big flavors. A hint of apple and iron from Arran’s spirit.

Swallow:
The baking spices come right back. Some blown out candles, lots of fruit and sweetness. The heat lingers at a very warming and comfortable level.

Me, and everyone I know who tried it love this bottle. I always love it when a shop that’s quite out of the way make an effort to lure people in with things only they sell. Luckily, in this case that thing is a very tasty thing. This is a cracking Arran that has their spirit shine through all the flavors the cask has imparted.

It’s a complex dram, with lots of things to discover, and a very well balanced one at that. I absolutely love it. Also, the € 65 for a bottle is a steal for whisky of this quality.

89/100

Arran 11yo, 2006-2018, Sherry Hogshead, 51.9%, OB for The Old Pipe. Available from their shop.

Posted in Arran | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What’s in a name? Double casking…

Posted on 23 December 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

My friend Tom van Engelen has written another one of his posts comparing whiskies that should never be compared.

Does a name really influence your experience of a whisky? I am not well acquainted with all those Viking expressions from Highland Park, but is drinking a HP Thor (does it exist?) better than a HP Loki? Maybe for Marvel geeks, but not for me. I am only interested in the liquid inside. For good whisky you more often turn to independent bottlers, maybe, but I am always curious about official expressions too. So when Tamnavulin, a true gem in the whisky industry I suppose, put out a new official bottling, I just had to try it for myself.

Tamnavulin Double Cask

Even if this would be a 90 points whisky I would deduct 10 points for the sadly uninspiring name for this expression. Also, 40 percent? What’s the purpose? You’re better off buying a more transparent whisky, like a Glenfiddich 12 years old. But let’s discover the liquid inside the bottle:

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Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
The sherry finish did its job, that’s for sure. Nice deep raisins. Hints of the inside of an old cigar box. It is remarkably deep and layered.

Sip:
A weak whisky, unsurprisingly, but not without attraction. The grassy freshness I still remember from the previous flagship expression is still there but now wrapped in this cigar leaf. This at 46 percent would have been really punchy.

Swallow:
The finish is actually the part I like most about this malt. It’s sharp and with enough bite to make this whisky very acceptable. Good, active wood, modern taste but well-constructed. Just good.

79/100

I just can’t grasp why a producer would dilute such a decent malt. It’s probably
around 10 years old and at anything higher than 40 percent would be the way to go.
The loosely handled theme of this session was ‘irregular whisky you don’t taste every day’.

Tamnavulin is a rare one. I dipped into the sample drawer and found something unusual to finish this session.

Teaninich 1973 – 39 years old

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Image from Whiskybase

Bottled at the age of 39 years at just 40,1 percent, we will keep it modest today when it comes to ABV. Teaninich is not often bottled but still you can find expressions if you really want to. This bourbon cask (#6068) was filled in 1973.

Sniff:
Dry, yellow fruit. It’s fresh and soft, really going into the tropical department. Candy sellers at the carnival would love this. Really an autumn whisky, so with all this rain beating against my window a good dram!

Sip:
Oh my, surprisingly bitter! It does feel very pliant, good balance. Water makes it more fresh.

Swallow:
A perfect candidate for a daily dram. The only thing it misses is a little punch. But this dram delivers what it promises on the nose.

86/100

Good stuff!

About Tom van Engelen

tomI’m a writer in a variety of fields and have a soft spot for whisky, mainly malt, mainly from Scotland. In other times I enjoyed a stint as editor-in-chief of one of the first whisky magazines in the world. When not sipping a good glass I like to write some more, read, watch 007 movies or listen Bowie music. I’m engaged to Dasha, I have a sweet daughter and I live somewhere between the big rivers in the middle of The Netherlands.

Posted in - Guest Post, Tamnavulin, Teaninich | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Miltonduff 10, 2004, 1st Fill White Wine Hogshead, 59.8% – SMWS (72.43)

Posted on 21 December 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This is about as random as it gets, I think. Miltonduff, which you don’t come across often and therefore I have no idea what to expect. It’s not overly old and a Speyside whisky, so my money would be on some fruit, lots of barley and a hint of oak.

However, this one is drawn from a white wine cask, which could mean anything. It could be intensely dry, it could be very fruity, it could be slightly nutty or it could just be vile. All depending on what kind of wine cask they used.

It’s called ‘Bunsen burners and burnt capacitators’. Honestly, that doesn’t bode well. Capacitators are generally covered in plastic, and that burning is not something very appealing.

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Miltonduff Distillery. Image from whisky.com

Sniff:
Sharp, with a sherry sweetness of fruit and spices, which is strange since it’s a (white) wine cask. Pear and apple, some ripe white grapes.

Sip:
Sharp with a lot of acetone bite. It’s not too strong initially, but grows in intensity and dryness. Fruity, dried pear and apple notes. Quite woody and spicy. Cinnamon sticks and nutmeg.

Swallow:
It’s mostly the woody notes that linger.

It’s actually a rather good whisky for the amount of skepticism I had going in. I’m not a fan of wine casks, and those random Speysiders don’t really tickle my fancy. Also, it being from the SMWS made me a bit worried too. They’re very hit and miss, if I’m fair.

So this thing then. It’s quite nice on the nose. The alcohol isn’t too overpowering, and there’s quite some unexpected scents to be discovered. However, the palate doesn’t offer much news and gets very strong after a while. The finish is rather dull. So, a good start, but not much after that.

83/100

Miltonduff 10 years old, 2004, 1st Fill White Wine Hogshead, 59.8%, SMWS (72.43, Bunsen burner and burnt capacitors)

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