Ben Nevis 21, 47.5% – The Whisky Show Exclusive (Past Future)

Posted on 2 October 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Past Future obviously sounds weird. This is the first of a triptych by, I want to say, The Whisky Exchange. But it’s bottled for The Whisky Show of last weekend. Bottled by Speciality Drinks or Elixir Distillers. I’ve lost track of all the brands.

Anyway, the ‘Future series’ is based on what ‘the industry’ expects the future of whisky to be. Past Future refers to them thinking what the future would be in the past. So, what they’re trying to say is that this is what people thought the future of whisky was going to be some time ago.

Of course, this also means there’s a Present Future and a Future Future. Quite gimmicky, but at some point there’ve been enough randomly chosen semi-Gaelic names, so you’ve got to come up with something new, right?

This 21 year old Ben Nevis fits right in with the last couple of  years in the world of Single Malt, since Ben Nevis is quickly becoming a favorite distillery of many people out there. Rightfully so, I might add. This particular bottling was matured in a sherry butt.

Sniff:
Lots of gentle oak and jars of apple sauce. Quite some fruit, and vanilla. Quite crisp, even though there’s a hint of nutmeg.

Sip:
Gentle, with a whiff of pepper and nutmeg. Vanilla, sugary grain, Frosties, and oak. Some fruit, sweet pears and stewed apples.

Swallow:
The finish is very focused on the barley sugar. Slightly less fruity than before. Some spices like nutmeg and crushed black pepper.

This actually is quite a nice whisky. There’s quite some cask influence which makes it slightly more generic than what Ben Nevis is getting vastly popular with. The fruitiness is quite lovely, and the hints of nutmeg makes it stand out.

88/100

Ben Nevis 21, 47.5%, Sherry Butt, 144 bottles available initially. They might pop up online, if there’s any left after The Whisky Show.

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Glen Grant 2002, 12 years old, 59.9% – SMWS (9.100)

Posted on 30 September 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Sometimes you come across a sample in your sample collection that you can’t remember buying. When you find out it’s a 12 year old Glen Grant at almost 60%, you honestly can’t think why you ever spent money on it.

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Image from ScotchWhiskyAuctions.

That might sounds insanely snobbish, but it’s mostly that I generally don’t really like modern Glen Grant, and especially those insanely strong SMWS bottlings normally don’t get a rave review from me.

Then you see that it’s called ‘Coffee and Cigarettes’ and, in combination with it being a 1st fill bourbon cask makes absolutely no sense to me. I still wonder how it ever got on my shelf.

Anyway, I brought it with me on holiday to review it and see what’s what.

Sniff:
Wood ashes, very dry, some light wood spices. Eventually, there’s a bit of cigarettes and vanilla.

Sip:
A bit thin, but very sharp. A lot of heat from the alcohol. Chili peppers, wood, some weird bit of cigarettes and ash.

Swallow:
A massive afterburner. Insanely sharp, too sharp. More vanilla and oak, slightly fruity with some hints of pear and cooked apple.

What I’m glad about is that in some cases I think I know what to expect, and then it turns out to be the right thing to expect. This isn’t so much a bad whisky as one that’s absolutely not in my wheelhouse.

It’s way too strong, and I think the charring of the cask has completely taken over the whisky. Not a good one, in my book.

75/100

Glen Grant 12, distilled on 20/08/2002, 1st fill bourbon cask, SMWS, 9.100, Coffee and Cigarettes, 59.9%. It used to cost £ 48,40 from the SMWS, but six months after release it didn’t even get that in auction.

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4x Reservoir Distillery, by That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Posted on 28 September 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Reservoir Distillery is one of the thousands of micro distilleries that have popped up in the United States over the last decade or so. A lot of them are forgettable at best, but some of them are doing some very interesting things.

I remember the single malts of Westland Distillery fondly, and I have a soft spot for the rough-and-tumble bourbons and ryes from FEW. There are some distilleries that (I think) produce utter shite, like Lost Spirits. Some do a bit of both, like St. George in Alameda (great gins, liqueurs and all, but their single malt is horrible).

Apart from there being interesting stuff from some American distilleries, this batch of four different ones peaked my interest because it is an educational batch. When reading about American whiskey, you always hear things about the mash bill, which grains they use and to which ratio. However, it is very hard to compare what grain does what to a whiskey.

That’s where this series comes in. Four whiskeys from Reservoir Distillery, with four different recipes. One Wheat, one Corn, one Rye and a bourbon that mixes the grains. The three non-bourbon whiskeys are all 100% of the grain that’s on the label.

Going from left to right tonight!

All four of them are two years old and all non-bourbon ones are bottled at 47.5% ABV. Sounds like a good thing to sit down for and do some educational tasting, right?

reservoir-distillery-2-year-old-that-boutiquey-bourbon-company-spirit

Reservoir Bourbon, 46.6% – That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Sniff: Young bourbon, that’s not yet overly mellow. Lots of fresh oak, with dry wood spices and some rye.

Sip: Dry and surprisingly sharp. The youth and dry oak add lots of spiciness, which gets a bit dominant. Some corn sweetness, but with lots of spices, dry wheat and some chili pepper.

Swallow: Rather crisp because of the spices and how ‘green’ the whiskey still is. Very summery, but intense.

87/100

reservoir-distillery-2-year-old-that-boutiquey-rye-company-spiritReservoir Rye Whiskey, 47.5% – That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Sniff: Slightly more gentle on the nose, with a more mellow oak. The spices are present, but more fresh and minty. A touch of vanilla, basil and some foresty green things like moss and ferns.

Sip: Dry, spicy and bold. Quite some peppery notes. Both black and red, with lots of dry oak. It’s a bit syrupy compared to the bourbon.

Swallow: Some strange notes, like fresh oak, slightly spirity. Rather ‘different’ than expected.

86/100

 

reservoir-distillery-2-year-old-that-boutiquey-wheat-company-spiritReservoir Wheat Whiskey, 47.5% – That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Sniff: Very gentle, more grain focused. A light touch of vanilla and oak. A bit of custard and crumble pastry. Stewed apple, maybe.

Sip: Very gentle with, later, some peppery heat. Dryness, without a lot of flavor to back it up. Some oak, some spices, but all dialed back.

Swallow: Without more flavorsome grain to back it, it’s a bit shallow. Smooth, but also more generic.

80/100

reservoir-distillery-2-year-old-that-boutiquey-corn-company-spiritReservoir Corn Whiskey, 47.5% – That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Sniff: Sweeter and slightly more focused on chemical notes. It’s getting some light roasty notes. Sweet with some spicy

Sip: Dry and sharp. Rough stuff, compared to the others, but lots of flavors.

Swallow: Dry here too, and intense with sweet corn, fresh oak and pastry. Rather long, oaky and young, in a good way.

87/100

Well, this was interesting. Personally, I had high hopes for the rye whiskey since I generally like rye whiskey a lot. This one didn’t exactly disappoint, but it didn’t do more than expected either. The bourbon I thought was a very good one, especially at just two years old.

Where it got really interesting was with the Wheat and Corn whiskeys. Both styles are not the most generic ones, although with W.L. Weller’s reputation (a high wheat bourbon) I had high hopes for that one, and it fell rather flat. Wheat does give a lot of dryness to a whiskey, but in this case it didn’t offer much else.

The Corn Whiskey did, though. I didn’t expect much of that, somehow. Normally I think of Corn Whiskey as the most generic of the grains used in bourbon, since it’s always spiced up with other stuff to make it good. Also, the few corn whiskeys that I’ve tried over the years didn’t help the case much either (Hirsch and Platte Valley come to mind). This one is pretty rad, which is great!

 

All of these whiskeys are available through Master of Malt, for about 55 pounds each. I bought the bottles to do a bottle-share.

Posted in - American Whiskey, - Bourbon, - Corn Whiskey, - Rye Whiskey, - Wheat Whiskey, Reservoir | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dufftown 1979-1998, 57.1% – Cadenhead’s

Posted on 24 September 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

As a thank you for hosting the Blog Birthday Bash (which I still haven’t blogged about) I got a sample of this from whisky friend MvZ. He is a guy that focuses on old whisky, with shifting interests. There was a period of pre-Midleton Irish whiskey, and now there is pre-Prohibition bourbon and rye, but there is always room for something different from yonder year.

Like this Dufftown. One of those distilleries who’s complete output is gobbled up by The Singleton range and independent bottlings are at least sort-of-rare. I don’t see many of them, or maybe just not many interesting ones. Maybe that was different two decades ago, when this one came out. A full on sherry matured Dufftown of 18 years old. Sherried in a way that you don’t come across often, nowadays.

What surprises me most, to be honest, is that this is a Cadenhead’s bottling. Most of the old Cadenhead’s whiskies from this era that I know are razor sharp bourbon casks at insanely high ABVs. Not always bad, but always very strict to that style. This one is different.

Sniff:
Massive on the dry, fruity sherry. Dates and figs, some blackberries and old wood pulp. Sherry casks and dunnage warehouses. Very ‘old style’, and light regarding the spirit. Milky coffee too.

Sip:

91476-big

Image from WhiskyBase

Thicker and more syrupy on the palate. It becomes sharper and drier soon. Lots of fruit, plums and dates, but mostly figs. Old casks and woodspices. A bit moldy too, with hints of coffee.

Swallow:
The finish comes right back with a lot of fruity and dry sherry. I’d expect it to be good Olorose in this cask before there was whisky. Sweet and spicy, with old oak, wel soil and a hint of flint and iron.

I can’t imagine someone not liking this whisky. Yes, it is massively cask driven and I very much doubt the ‘style’ of Dufftown Distillery is recognisable, but there’s just so much good flavors and scents to discover that it’s an absolutely gorgeous dram.

Dufftown 12/1979 – 04/1998, 18 years old, Sherry wood matured, 57.1%, Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection. Obviously it has long gone.

90/100

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The Return of the Queen

Posted on 22 September 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I like this guest-post thing, so when Tom van Engelen asked me if he could write one about Rosebank, one of his (and mine) favorite distilleries, I didn’t have to think about it for long! Read on!

 

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The Falkirk Wheel, for now the most famous of Falkirk attractions.

A whisky connoisseur never forgets a first time, especially when he gets to taste a whisky he never tasted before. On the road to Speyside in the year of 2011 a group of whiskynerds including yours truly made a stop at Daftmill Distillery in the Kingdom of Fife. After a decent tour we tasted a sample of quietly maturing Daftmill single malt straight from the cask. What a first time that was! Wonderful whisky, much in line with the Summer Release Sjoerd tasted a few weeks ago. In an article I wrote for the Dutch whisky magazine De Kiln I rejoiced in the fact that a new Queen of the Lowlands had returned, to follow in the footsteps of the then closed Rosebank Distillery.

Rosebank always was my favourite of the closed legends of Scotland. I can’t exactly explain why this is, but if I would pressure myself it would be 50-50 between accessible output and excellent quality. Read this review for instance and you need no more convincing. More importantly, in the early days of my whisky hobby I could just go to my everyday liquor store Gall & Gall and buy a small batch bottling like this one. It was my first Rosebank ever and the love is everlasting. For the sake of this blog I sampled a few cl of my precious last stock that has survived. My impressions:

rosebank

Image from WhiskyBase

Sniff:
The light gold colour indicates a light scent as well, and this is true. I experience wild roses in a garden that hasn’t seen rain for a while. Combine this with sweets in the mobile cart during a Summer carnival and you’re there. Rosebank all over.

Sip:
The taste is dominated by the two casks this bottling was created from. Nice, obedient oak combined with spicy flavours which really shine, despite only 43% abv.

Swallow:
A warm malty finish with just enough bite to make you warm inside and out. With a higher alcohol content this would have been a killing machine. Maybe too rough for some.

Score: 84 points. (Average value € 40,-? Then sell me three please!)

Thanks to a fellow (online) whisky enthusiast I was able to purchase a sample of a classic. Where the above notes are from a Rosebank 1991 vintage, the next is from a 1981 vintage A good year indeed for Rosebank malt whisky. Sjoerd tasted it before, too, here.

 

54823-big

Image from WhiskyBase

Sniff:
At this high volume abv of 62.3% it is not easy to get into the glass. This may very well be the killing machine I suspect the 1991 has the potential to. Close to the glass I only sniff banana, the overripe kind, but anything else is covered. I start to understand why the 1991 was diluted. When I add water to this one it becomes a lot brighter and then the name of the distillery does it justice. What an abundance of flowers and grasses where wind has free play. Freshness. Lots of lemon too. The previous sample was Autumn, this sample is Spring! I suspect very subtle casks were used for this vatting as well. But, yes there is a “but”, even if you have poured an ocean of water into your glass, this Rosebank does suffer some austerity. 

Sip:
A whiff of peat on an otherwise fruity palate (not the tropical kind, mind you), very old-style whisky where wood is not overpowering the distillate. I’m a sucker for that.

Swallow:
The finish goes on and on, with all of the aforementioned influences and the added pleasure of tea. This whisky is a good swimmer. The only complaint would be that it is a little one-dimensional.

Score: 88 points. A classic, but less to my liking than the Special Release.

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Another famous Rosebank.

Why these notes? Well, if you haven’t lived underneath a rock, you have read the news about the resurrection of Rosebank, in the wake of those other giants coming back from the dead. I decided to be enthusiastic about it, even though I will miss the melancholy of tasting a glass of a long lost classic, be it from Port Ellen, Brora or indeed Rosebank. A few weeks ago I was lucky to find a sample of the good old Rosebank Flora & Fauna 12 Years Old. I could cry over the simple beauty of it, and then I found myself longing for a new expression, to be in my glass by the time I will be 50. If it is of the same quality as the wonderful whisky the Cuthbert family is putting out, we can truly speak of the Return of the Queen of the Lowlands.

 

About Tom van Engelen

I’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 whiskymagazines 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.

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Barrell Bourbon, Batch 4, 6 years old, 58.4%

Posted on 21 September 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A few years ago, my mate Shai went back home to America, for some holiday. He thought it a good idea to do a bottle share of some things he picked up there. If I recall correctly there was a Maker’s Mark Cask Strength in that batch too. There were two others, but I don’t remember which ones. I might even still have the samples… Oh, the decadence…

Barrell Bourbon isn’t a distiller. They are not unlike many of the scottish blenders in that they blend their bourbons after sourcing them from undisclosed distilleries. They produce bourbon, rye whiskey, American whiskey (that’s not bourbon or rye) and a rum.

Unfortunately, I don’t think their bourbon is available in The Netherlands, or Europe for that matter. And in this case it is rather unfortunate.

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Image from WhiskyBase

Sniff:
Scharp, rich bourbon with a boat load of corn on the nose. Hard candy, lime, pear drops. Also some apple and oak scents. Charcoal and embers.

Sip:
Sharp, with a lot of alcohol and chili peppery heat. Very dry and spicy, mostly pepper and sawdust. Black and chili pepper. Some corn sweetness, but not as much as on the nose.

Swallow:
A long and drying finish. Still with some heat, but not as sharp as the palate. Not by a long shot. Dried apple peels, some sweetness.

This is a bourbon with a complexity that I don’t often encounter in the spirit. Generally, and this is going to rub a lot of people the wrong way, bourbon is rather straight forward, with the pitfall of becoming one dimensional. Of course, there are others that are much better than that, but those aren’t readily available in Europe. Especially newer releases are increasingly hard to get.

This one I was very happy to taste and drink. Yes, it’s sharp, but that also fits it, since the sharpness is backed up with lots of bold flavors. Very enjoyable, and very good.

Barrell Bourbon, Batch 4, 6 years old, 58.4%

87/100

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Dutch Whisky Festival 2018

Posted on 17 September 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

31870404_231401954105153_8042889374922178560_nIn twelve days the inaugural edition of Dutch Whisky Festival will take place. A couple of whisky buddies of mine (Jeroen Koetsier and Arno Borsboom, with help from Michiel Wigman) are organizing it in Arnhem with the festival focusing on super premium drams.

Contrary to, for example, The Whisky Show, the list of available whiskies shows lots and lots of ancient stuff from decades ago, whereas The Whisky Exchange’s Whisky Show focuses more on premium whiskies from modern times (unless you go to the Old and Rare version, obviously).

By the looks of it, they’ve taken a close look at Limburg an der Lahn’s Whisky Fair in their setup. There are lots of collectors and not as many importers and bottlers as you might think.

ben-nevis-1966-49-yAnd, even though September has been an insanely busy month at the De Haan Residence I am looking forward to spending my day drinking exquisite drams. Yes, I said ‘day’ since they’re not doing those annoying 3 or 4 hour sessions like most other festivals. By doing a seven hour session there’s ample time to wander into Arnhem center for a bite to eat or have a cup of coffee to regain a bit of your composure.

I, for one, am looking forward to meeting lots of likeminded people and drinking a few amazing drams like a 1966 Ben Nevis, Highland Park 1968 or Talisker 1979.

Also, I’m rather curious to their 4 year old sherried Strathearn. It’s my first from that distillery!

And I honestly think the ticket price is one of the best out there. You do pay € 50, but for that you get access, a glass, 25 tokens, two vouchers for a drink at the bar, and a € 25 Catawiki voucher!

Note: I’m not entirely unpartial in this, since I’ve helped these guys out with their website. I do believe they’re doing things right here, otherwise I wouldn’t have posted about it

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Miltonduff 2009 – Casqueteers

Posted on 12 September 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

So, there’s not a lot of information on this bottling. It’s a bourbon cask from 2009, number 900068, to be precise. Also, the Casqueteers bought it in 2015 and plan to store it until 2021-ish.

The shares were available for buying at 180 euros a piece. They indicate excise, bottling, transport and such at another 240 euros, with some 8 bottles as the result for a share. Roughly 50 euros a piece, towards the end.

I got this sample recently from, I assume, a shareholder of the cask (RvB) and I just reviewed it. I figured I might as well get the review out of the way.

miltonduff2-1-590x425

Image from the Casqueteers website

Sniff:
Young, malty and strong. Toast, fresh barley, some vanilla and straw. A mossy green spirit is still rather prominent.

Sip:
Strong on the palate too. Close to 60% I guess. Straw, dry with some herbs. A hint of oak and fresh, young oak. A bit of nougat too. A hint of honey sweetness towards the back.

Swallow:
A bit syrupy and rather hot. Green, spirity and a hint of vanilla. Quite short and youthful.

Honestly, I find this hard to rate. Generally I like a good bit of spirit in my whisky, since that is what gives the whisky character. On the other hand, in this case the spirit is rather generic. It does everything you expect a Speyside whisky to do, but on steroids. The steroids, however, translate mostly to the fiery flavors and the alcoholic strength of it.

So, yes, there are certain things to like here. However, it’s all a bit generic. I think it’s a good thing they’re leaving it in the cask for a little while longer. Those three years (assuming this was sample was drawn recently) might improve this significantly.

At the moment I rate this 83/100

Miltonduff 2009, Casqueteers. More information here.

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Two Springbanks from the Cage!

Posted on 10 September 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

When in Campbeltown you have to visit Cadenhead’s. Especially since Mark Watt took over they’ve quickly become one of the, if not the, best bottler I know. However, when at Cadenhead’s, you’re technically also at Springbank. And, maybe coincidentally, that happens to be one of my very favorite distilleries.

Apart from their older expressions quickly reaching a price point at which I can no longer afford them, I more or less love all their expressions to some degree.

So, when I was at Cadenhead’s and had just emptied my body of all spare organs I needed to sell to afford everything I wanted, I remembered ‘the cage’. The cage in which they sell some 1-of-1 bottlings of Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn. Maybe there’s Kilkerran too, but I’ve not seen it.

I picked these two, based on age and cask types used. A port cask and a sherry cask. Both types of cask that work well with Springbank’s products, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, they didn’t last long after selling some samples (at some point you do need a kidney, so I held on to the second one). The last bits I reviewed last week.

20180906_205557Springbank 12, Fresh Sherry Hogshead, Rotation 265, 59.2%

Sniff:
Lots of oak, sherry, leather and shoe polish. Dark chocolate, dried plums and sour cherries. Toasted rye bread. Very dark, roasty and gorgeous.

Sip:
Not as strong as I’d expect. Lots of sherry and fruit. Oak, some almonds and walnuts. Plums, cherries, chocolate and espresso.

Swallow:
Long on the finish, and more mellow suddenly. Fruity, with lots of leather and fruit.

90/100

20180906_212437Springbank 14, Fresh Port Hogshead, Rotation 392, 58.2%

Sniff:
Pretty heavy on the Port, but also with the known and loved Springbank funkiness. A whiff of diesel and engine grease, but with some old oak and stewed red fruits.

Sip:
Pretty sharp, but rich too. Port, and port casks. Earthy, dark and big in flavor. Slightly smoky and funky. Mushrooms, wet cellars and mold.

Swallow:
The finish quickly mellows, but stays on track with the same flavors as before. A bit more earthy, maybe, and some notes of flint.

90/100

As you might have concluded, correctly, these are tremendous whiskies. I absolutely loved them to bits. They are both intense and funky, just like you love Springbank in its teens.

I hope to go back there in February when I’m doing a tiny Scotland trip with my mate JP, and must remember to not blow my dough before I get there. In this case that might be a bit easier since it’s only Arran before Campbeltown, and not the entirety of Islay.

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Knob Creek 9yo, Cask 3080, 60% – OB for K&L Wines

Posted on 3 September 2018 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

September is Bourbon Heritage Month, apparently. For us outside of the USA it doesn’t mean anything and I’m not even sure it’s still a thing stateside. Anyway, I thought it was a good excuse to review a bourbon that I had recently.

It’s one of those samples that were sitting around on my shelf for far too long and I had completely forgotten about until I started digging around to find some things for our family vacation.

Normally I take the tail ends of bottles but with a third kid we didn’t have much room to spare for non-essentials. Samples are much smaller and can be stashed anywhere between other things.

Knob Creek then. My favorite go-to bourbon, even though I don’t drink much bourbon. I’ve had at least one bottle in my posession ever since our trip to the USA in 2009. It’s especially good since it’s rather affordable. A lot more expensive than in its country of origin, but still ‘only’ 40 euros.

I was rather surprised to find out this was made by Jim Beam, since I’m not very partial to many of their products.

1245898xSniff:
Big bourbon with lots of autumnal, cigar like scents. Not too sweet, and I even think I get an ashy note from the cask. Shortbread and some light spices.

Sip:
Sharp (no surprise at 60%), with a lot of wood spices. Hot cinnamon, ginger, stuff like that. Some sweetness but less than in regular bourbon. Dead leaves, cigars, ash.

Swallow:
A rather short finish in which all flavors from before show themselves again, but none stick around. There’s a hint of bitterness too.

Not bad, but not one I’ll recall in a few years time. It’s a bit thin compared to what I am used to and what I look for in Knob Creek. I’m not overly surprised, since I’ve found that I prefer the regular 50% versions over the 60% single casks.

Anyway, not bad, but not particularly good either. If I had a bottle I’d drink it, but I’d rather drink something else. Something with a bit more depth, and a bit less alcohol.

84/100

Knob Creek 9yo, Cask 3080, 60%, OB for K&L Wines. No longer available, since it was released in 2016.

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