Yamazaki 10 yo, 40%

Another Suntory product in a glass. Yamazaki is Japan's first and oldest malt distillery. These Suntory bottlings are very hard to find nowadays, I bought this bottle many many years ago on a ferry from Denmark to Sweden.  

Color: Gold.

Nose: Grassy, vanilla, yellow ripe exotic fruits. Heavy honey notes. As I opened the bottle the first note on the nose was quite a strong aroma of Finnish wood glue (Eri keeper), but fortunately after a few hours that aroma had totally vanished. After an hour a whiff of demerara sugar emerges. I have to say that there are certain similarities with the Dalwhinnie 15 yo in this dram, maybe the grassy vanilla honey combo makes me think about it.

Palate: Sweet, spicy and fruity. Bitter oak and sweet honey. Orange marmalade. Light coffee notes towards the end. Mouthfeel is surprisingly strong at 40% - just wondering how great this could be at 46% or at cask strength.

Finish: Oak and soft spices.

Kudos to Yamazaki, a very well executed whisky, lovely stuff.

www.suntory.com/yamazaki

The Hakushu 12 yo, 43%.

Let’s start the new year 2022 in this blog with a whisky from Suntory’s mountain forest distillery Hakushu.

Hakushu means “white sand banks” named after the mineral deposits in the streams that feed the distillery. I believe that this fairly young Hakushu release is fully matured in American oak, please correct me if I’m wrong. 

Colour: Straw with a orange hue.

Nose: The nose is extremely green and grassy – superbly fresh indeed. Sniffing crushed dried mint from the palm of your hand. Also some bitter new oak & toasted oak with some minty fudge. There’s some peat smoke, but I must emphasize that the smokiness of this dram is not at all like the coastal Scottish smokiness, it is very gentle and well integrated. The green apples and pears bring Glenfiddich strongly to my mind, which is in my opinion always a pleasant thing. 

Palate: Spicy bitter oak. Citrus fruits with a mixture of herbs. Herbal ice tea. Yes, this is a very zesty and fresh dram. Warning to the sweet tooths out there, this is not in any way a sweet dram. Peat smoke is there and it’s bubbling under. Smoke is even more discreet on the palate than on the nose. Somehow this dram reminds me of some zesty bone dry Gewürztraminer white wines, perhaps due to some acidic apricot stone fruit notes. 

Finish: Quite short, notes of green tea and bitter oak.

Comments: Fresh and excellent aperitive for the spring. It is literally a verdant whisky as the Suntory’s slogan states. Great job from Japan.  

whisky.suntory.com

Ballantine’s Deluxe Scotch Whisky. 18 years old. Bottled in the 80’s. 43%

I found this miniature among another exciting miniatures in a tiny liquor store in Torremolinos Spain about 15 years ago. My first encounter with the Ballantine’s goes back to the golden 80’s when my brother shared a bottle of Ballantine’s 12 yo on our vacation in Benidorm Spain – as a teenager our goal was get drunk. As you can guess it all ended up in our hotel bathroom, talking to the toilet. Since that I haven’t touch Ballantine’s 12 yo, oh those fond memories.

Colour: Gold.  

Nose: Nice mellow aromas of oloroso sherry. A hint of crushed coriander seeds and curry powder. There is also some Highland peat in the mix. Malted barley & beef stock. Dark chocolate and vanilla extract. Very nicely balanced nose. 

Palate: Feels quite a bit stronger than 43% ABV. The palate follows the nose:  Nutty oloroso sherry. Middle part of the palate is quite spicy with nice nippy oak tannins. 90 % dark chocolate and cooling mint & cocoa powder. All in all, good strong balance.

Finish: Green oak, strong spicy minty notes.

Yeah, a fine old blend – From now on I will not avoid the Ballantine’s finest.

www.ballantines.com

Mortlach, Douglas Laing's Old Particular 12 years old. Distilled December 2002 and bottled February 2015. Refill Hogshead. Cask number DL 10696. Number of bottles: 348. 48.4 % Vol.

It was a beautiful day in May 2015 when I bought this bottle in the Whiskyshop Dufftown, just a stone’s throw away from the distillery itself where we had a stroll after shopping in the whisky shop. A dozen of blackbirds were singing in the distillery courtyard in the setting sun – Oh those were the days it’s almost painful how much I miss traveling…

Colour: Gold

Nose: Ok, let’s have a sniff. The first thing that hits you is a strong vanilla flavour, almost like an ice cream sensation.  Followed by waxy honeycomb and fizzy citrus. A pinch of dried red berries such as strawberry and red currant, especially strawberry jam comes to my mind. Well, that was not quite something that I was expecting from a dram from the beast of Dufftown. No beef stock, no sulphury notes, no meatiness, you know. This dram shows just how versatile and exciting fun single cask bottlings can be. 

Palate: Very nice thick and oily consistency, you can almost chew the dram. Starts with notes of salted butter and zesty lime. Nice sweet notes of Crème brûlée and Scottish fudge. Ahaa, now there’s Mortlach’s signature meatiness appearing – it’s funky in a discreet way, but it’s still there. No sulphur detected which is good news in this matter, don’t get me wrong, there is a time and a place for the sulphur in whisky. I just love the palate, it’s extremely palatable.

Finish: Scottish fudge and cooling mint.

As I said, quite a different Mortlach but terrific stuff anyways.

www.malts.com/mortlach

www.douglaslaing.com

Redbreast 15 yo, 46%, (matured in Bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks)

As it’s St.Patrick's day, I thinks it’s appropriate to have a dram from the Emerald Isles today. As the Redbreast is on of my absolute favorite Irish whiskey brands out there, it is a no brainer for me to pour a glass of something from the Redbreast range of the Midleton distillery. Almost every whisky connoissuer in the world is more than likely familiar with the 12 yo Redbreast, so I decided to go with the 15 yo version of the range.

Color: Pale copper.

Nose: Mint chocolate and nutty dry Oloroso. This is something rather different comparing to the 12 yo RB. The sherry character is kind of old-school type of sherry – it’s more nutty and leathery than for example the soaked raisins / sultana type of aroma which you’ll find in the 12 yo RB. The spicy potstill characteristic goes hand in hand with good quality toasted oak aromas. Great nose indeed. Oh! I almost forgot: a hint of Leprechaun. 

Nosing this dram reminds me a of one fond experience from past; A few years ago I paid a visit with my lovely wife to the Bushmills distillery in the Northern Ireland. In the distillery tour there was a chance to nose an empty cask which was earlier filled with 10 yo Bushmills whiskey, the cask has been emptied several years ago. The nose was as vibrant as the cask would have been emptied last week, it was amazing how the aromas were still so strong after being empty for all those years. The reason I’m telling this story is that the smell was quite close to this 15 yo Redbreast, except some sweetness.

Palate: Whisky fudge, brown sugar. Brown worn out leather jacket or should I say a shoe polish. A hint of liquorice in the middle. Sweet figs dusted with cocoa powder. Dried red berries such as cranberries.  Around the palate there is hovering this beautiful aromatic toasted oak scent which I think is the backbone to the whole experience here. 

Finish: Minty & tannic. Gets spicier towards the end.

I must say that you cannot go wrong with the Redbreast, it’s always a delight to sip a quality dram, no matter what. 

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!

www.jamesonwhiskey.com

Ben Nevis aged 20 years. Cadenhead’s (miniature). Vintage 1992, bottled 4/2012. Bourbon hogshead, 56,2%.

I bought this miniature in the Cadenhead’s whisky shop Berlin a few years back. An excellent shop, by the way – pay a visit if you’re visiting the neighbourhood.

Color: Straw.

Nose: Oh yes, very typical bourbon hogshead nose: Vanilla for sure and Walker’s shortbread (in case you didn’t know this shortbread factory is in Aberlour, Speyside). Fruits are yellow, apricots come first to my head.  I have to say that this is rather fierce stuff to nose as neat – so you have to be a little bit careful not to nose it too eagerly. After a while in the glass, dried apricots & strawberries pop up. With water, strawberry notes get stronger.

Palate: For some reason it brings some quality riesling white wines to my mind, I guess it’s the apricots and the acidity that make it happen. A selection of nuts, peeled almonds in the front.  The yellow stone fruits (apricots and yellow plums) make the whisky more mellow to the palate. White pepper, nippy oak with some ginger. 

Finish: Sour and nutty. As it develops it turns herbal – freshly crushed mint.

Summary: Quite average dram but still fairly enjoyable.  Summery whisky for the sunrises & sunsets.  

www.bennevisdistillery.com

www.cadenheads-whisky-shop-berlin.de/

www.walkersshortbread.com

Dailuaine aged 8 years. Hepburn’s Choice. Distilled in 2007. Bottled by Langside distillers. Single cask. 46 %

Let’s start the new year 2021 in this blog by a Speysider youngster. I bought this tiny bottle a couple of years ago in the Drinkmonger in Pitlochry Scotland just out of curiosity. 

Colour: Gold (the label of the bottle states not colored). 

Nose: Fruity with hint of smoke & wet cardboard. Some fresh pineapple and vanilla. Overall the nose is fairly green, it feels almost like a tequila in some sense, if you know what I mean.

Palate: Nice mouth-coating oily texture. Bittersweet with notes of ginger, mixed herbs, bourbon wood and ripe sweet mango. Hint of smoke and vanilla & dried spices - it is also a little bit metallic, especially in the finish. It’s funny that in the palate there’s also something that reminds me of tequila.

Finish: Grassy and slightly metallic. Short.

Verdict: Mediocre easy drinking stuff with no obvious faults. A summery dram for a holiday in Mexico. Vamos a la playa!

www.malts.com/dailuaine

Kyrö Rye, single malt rye whisky. Cask No 0002. ”Parempaa bordista buliin janoon”. A special bottling from the single cask for the friends of Kyrö. Made from wholegrain 100% Finnish rye. Cask filled 03/07/2014 – Bottled 16/01/2019. Copper pot distilled and matured in a 64 litre American white oak cask. 46,5%.

When I had in 2014 the chance to buy a share of a whisky cask from the distillery which is located almost next to my childhood home, I didn’t hesitate too much. Keeping that in mind I’ll try to be in this review as objective and critical as possible.

If you’re anxious to know what ”Parempaa bordista buliin janoon” means, you have to get a copy of Finnish slang dictionary.

Color: Bronze.

Nose: Huge burst of caraway followed by red berries like red currant.  Also some freshly cut rhubarb or rhubarb pie which my mother use to bake when I was a kid. Beautiful sweet rounded rye sings blues underneath.

Palate: It delivers all that the nose promises: Caraway is in the front which soon tranforms into new oak. Juicy maltiness brings out nice depth to the palate. Notes of red currant vinegar & dried red berries in the middle to give balance, coffee to add fragrance, sweet fresh oak to finalize the
experience.

It has all typical elements of a proper rye whisky, it is loaded with spices and tannins. The strength is spot-on.

Finish: Very dry with a pinch of cocoa powder. The end is sour and a bit woody.

Rairai! Great and very enjoyable whisky we have here – luckily I have a spear bottle.

PS.  I love the smell of caraway seeds but hate it when they overseason crispbread / hardbread (näkkileipä in Finnish) with it – please don’t do it.

kyrodistillery.com in rye we trust

UISGE X - The Judgement Days

At the very first UISGE (2011) 

I just want to share my thoughts after having been part of the jury of the Uisge whisky Festival. The festival has been held annually in my home town Helsinki for the last nine years. This year Uisge will be celebrating its 10th anniversary: Congratulations, that’s quite an achievement knowing the fact that Finnish government’s stand for the alcohol is not so liberal. For example the Uisge whisky festival cannot promote / advertise the event at all due to our country’s strict laws - and still the festival has been sold out for years – thanks to the whisky geeks. Luckily I haven’t missed any Uisge festivals during its ten year path so far. For those who don’t know the history of the Uisge festival, here’s a tiny history lesson: The first Uisge 2011 was held in the Gallows Bird pub in Espoo, since then the venue has been Vanha Ylioppilastalo in the heart of Helsinki city. I think that Vanha is absolutely the best venue that our capital has to offer for such a great event (see the pictures).

Vanha Ylioppilastalo - The venue

This year I was honoured to be a judge for this festival for the second time (as a blogger). The jury consists  of bar professionals, whisky enthusiasts, whisky bloggers etc. The judging itself takes three days in total – do to a vast amount of whisky and spirits to be judged/scored. I participated in the last two days of tastings.  The task itself is colossal. As this was a judging, we had to taste all whiskies in blind, so we could not get any influence in the scores by seeing the bottle labels or even get a hint of the distillery we were about to taste.

46 drams

Mark Watt @ Duncan Taylor
tasting (2012 Uisge)

The day #1 my job was to score Highland region whiskies, 46 whiskies in total from the biggest whisky region in Scotland. After scoring the whiskies (1-10 points) we handed over our scoring sheets to the organizers, and only then we got to see which whiskies we had just tasted/scored. There are always some surprises among the drams, no wonder. I was delighted to notice that I can trust at least a little bit my taste buds as I scored my highest points to drams/distilleries I’ve been a fan of for many years (the Glenlivet, Aberlour…).


My personal favorite of the punch was Aberlour´s A’bunadh, batch#62. Well this is a no brainer that heavily sherried cask strength (and cask strenght whiskies generally) whiskies get the highest scores in blind tastings. If these CS sherry bombs don’t have any clear faults (as heavy unpleasent sulphur etc.) they tend to get higher scores since they have such powerful aromas, both in palate and nose. Don’t get me wrong – of course this doesn’t apply to all sherried whiskies or cask strength whiskies. Naturally great whiskies tend to get decent points. I loved the A’bunadh; I’ve tasted this batch in question earlier and I loved it even back then. My second best points went to the Glenlivet’s Single Cask #19911, 17 yo (55,4%), an absolutely lovely natural cask strength American oak beauty. I have tasted in the past at Uisge festivals many other Glenlivet’s single cask bottllings and to be honest, I’ve loved them all. A little disappointment in the lineup was the Balvenie’s ”A Day of Dark Barley”, no particular reasons why, it just wasn’t my thing.I also scored pretty high marks to Glenallachie’s (10 yo, 12 yo, 18 yo) & Glenburgie’s whiskies (15 & 18 yo) & Tamdhu’s Batch Strength, batch #4, 57,8%.

Highland Park guitar on the
hands of Martin Markvardsen

Day #2 was the day to score the best of the best whiskies from each category winners which got the highest scores the earlier days of judging (Highland, Islands, Islay, American whiskies, Irish whiskies, Nordic whiskies, Lowlands & Blends), eight whiskies in total to put in order. This was no walk in the park either as there were quite narrow margins, but after an hour and a half my rankings were done. However the tastings were not over yet for the day: the day’s last task was to score Nordic gins, 14 in total. Again - not an easy job.However, separating the wheat from the chaff had to be done. Among these gins were clearly some excellent, some average and some not so good gins, therefore scoring them was a surprisingly easy job. In cas
e you’re interested in my scores - Helsinki Distillery Company’s Rhubarb gin (42%) got my highest marks followed by Spirit of Hven’s Organic Navy Strenght Gin (57,1%).

So that’s all folks, see you at the Uisge X on 7-8 February 2020!

Aberlour pic - Master of Malt
The Glenlivet pic - Alko
Other pics © WhiskyBloke
viskisieppo.blogspot.com/uisge

Ledaig 2008 Tobermory Distillery. Morrison and MacKay (MMcK) Potstill's Dog Edition - English Setter. Bottled for Potstill Austria. Distilled 13.05.2008 Bottled 22.08.2017. 9 years old, sherry butt. Cask number 700707. Number of bottles 72. Strength 59.9 % Vol.

I bought the bottle in the Potstill Austria, Vienna, back in May after a recommedation by the shop stuff. They kindly informed me that the dogs on the Dog Edition labels belong to the shop customers who had their share of these particular casks/butts. Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to meet the English Setter Duff from the label – nice dog, I’ve heard.
So this is drawn from a sherry butt and there are only 72 bottles out there. As this is not 50 years old butt, I guess there are some sister bottlings out there - or the share of the angels has been very generous.

Color: Light mahogany.

Nose: Smoked fudge and red berries & a breath of sea breeze. Sherry is there but it’s not dominant, peat hovers above and masks potential sherry dominance. Sherry is quite discreet indeed so I quess this is a 2nd or third fill butt. There are some signs of young age as well; sweaty gymsocks, wet gravel & concrete.

Palate: Sweet arrival, dusting sugar mixed with sherried peat & ethanol.  Brine (sea weed) and red berries. Also some wet cardboard, which isn’t so disturbing because it is just lurking in the background. Gets leathery with water and it brings out more obvious sherry notes – such as spices & sultanas. 

Finish: Quite long, getting saltier with time.

Great dram for the black winter days here in Helsinki.

tobermorydistillery.com
www.mandmwhisky.co.uk
www.potstill.org

Longrow Cadenhead's Authentic Collection. Distilled 1998, bottled April 2012. 13 years old. Bourbon Hogshead. 306 bottles, 55.0 % Vol.

Expections are always in high altitudes when you crack open a Cadenhead’s bottling from the Springbank distillery. ( …oops, I broke the cork, but no worries, I have a few spares…)

Color: Straw.

Nose: I know, this is from Islay – someone eager might shout in a blind tasting. Barbeque bacon & sweet peat. A bowl of ripe tropical fruits next to a cow stable. Haha!- a hint of Suave hair cream which my dad used to comb into his black hair in my childhood (it is not an unpleasent odor) . Very nice and alluring aromas, so how about the palate?

Palate: First impression - somehow it reminds me of Ardbeg’s Airigh Nam Beist 1990. I cannot pinpoint exactly what it is, but perhabs it is this creamy sweet smokiness that rings the bells.  Gentle sweet’n oily vegetal peat. Mustard oil and salmiac (Turkish pepper, a famous Finnish salmiac sweet), toasted oak with smoked vanilla custard. The balance is spot on as neat. Adding water emhasizes vanilla notes and adds a little chalkiness to the palate. 

Finish: Medium lenght. Dries out to a little chili heat.

As you might know I’ve always been a fan of these pure bourbon matured whiskies and this robust beauty makes absolutely no difference.  Perfect winter warmer as they say.

www.cadenhead.scot

springbank.scot/whisky/longrow/

Royal Lochnagar, Cadenhead’s. Aged 12 years. 58,5 %

Erm, it’s been ages since my last encounter to this blog. Some might speculate that my whisky vault has dried out – that’s not the case here, quite the opposite fortunately.

So, let’s start a new chapter in this blog with a highlander, from the neighborhood of the Balmoral Castle. I’ve visited the distillery once (just the visitor center) – two years ago, to be precise. A beautiful little distillery, as you may observe from the picture. I bought this miniature (among a few others) in the Berlin’s Cadenhead’s shop back in 2012, which means this royal liquid was distilled not later than 1999.

Color: Gold medal.

Nose: Very chalky & mineral to begin with. Pavement gravel after pouring rain. River bank clay from the River Dee plus some crème brûlée.  Citric notes in the form of ripe grapefruit, seasoned with muscovado sugar. Quite pungent stuff, enough to burn your nostril hair if you’re not careful. Adding water will certainly help.

Palate: At arrival sharp citric notes, in a little while melting butter on mashed potatoes. Ginger with barley sugar. Some herbal notes, rosemary perhaps. Water brings out notes of honeydew and vanilla. Turns metallic/tannic with water, especially in the finish.

Finish: Herbal, lemony, over-brewed tea. Short.

Quite an average dram, to be honest.

Royal Lochnagar, Cadenhead’s. 12 años. 58,5 %
Mmm, hace mucho tiempo que no escribo en este blog. Uno podría sospechar que mi stock de whiskies se ha acabado - eso no es el caso en esta ocasión, todo lo contrario.

Así que vamos a empezar una nueva etapa en este blog con un whisky highlander, desde la vecindad del castillo de Balmoral. He estado en la destilería una vez (solo en el centro de visitantes) - hace dos años, para ser preciso. Es una destilería pequeña y hermosa, como se puede ver en la foto. Compré esta botella miniatura en la tienda Cadenhead´s en Berlin en 2012, así que este whisky real ha sido destilado no después que 1999.

Color: Medalla de oro.

Nariz: Primero está muy calcáreo y mineral. Camino de grava después de llover mucho. Barro de la ribera del Rio Dee y además un poco de crème brûlée. Notas cítricas en la forma de pomelo maduro, con un poco de azúcar muscovado. Bastante acre, está lo suficiente picante como para quemarte los pelos de la nariz si no tieness cuidado. Añadirle un poco de agua ayuda mucho.

Paladar: Unas picantes notas cítricas pero después de un rato, mantequilla fundente sobre puré de patata.  Jengibre con azúcar cebada. Unas notas de hierbas, a lo mejor romero. Con agua aparecen notas de melon chino y vainilla. Agua lo hace más metálico/tánico, especialmente en el final.

Final: Aromas de hierbas, con sabor a limón, té demasiado fuerte. Corto.

Un trago bastante promedio, para ser honesto.

www.malts.com//royal-lochnagar
www.cadenhead.scot

Glen Grant Cadenhead’s Small Batch. 24 years old. Bourbon barrels. Distilled 1989, bottled 2014. 186 bottles. 55,5 %

I believe this is a vatting from two bourbon barrels.

Color: King of metals.

Nose: Quite aromatic - like walking in a meadow on a hot summer day, passing by a couple of beehives, heading towards a lemon orchard. As more formal whisky notes: Some kind of aged sweet wine – muscat perhaps? I guess it would be appropriate to call it rancio in this case. Honeycomb and beeswax. Quite strong stuff as neat, heavy lemony citric notes along with crushed mint leaves. After a few minutes, peach jam and faint notes of ripe black currant and vanilla. With water – all of the above plus more honey.

Palate: Sweet and pungent, not austere though. Oak is there, but it is subtle. Fresh ginger, lime and limoncello ice cream. After adding a few drops of water – tinned peach with citric oak. Honey and then green tea tannins.

Finish: Clean and long - from ginger to vanilla.

Wonderfully summery dram – reminds me a bit of Rosebank in some senses.

www.glengrant.com
www.cadenhead.scot


Glen Grant Cadenhead’s Small Batch. 24 años. Barricas de bourbon. Destilado 1989, embotellado 2014. 186 botellas. 55,5 %

Creo que se trata de un encubamiento de dos barricas de bourbon.

Color: El rey de los metales.

Nariz: Bastante aromático - como se estaba caminando en un prado durante un caluroso día de verano, pasando unos nidos de abejas, dirigiendose hacia un limonar. Y como una cata más formal: algún tipo de vino añejado - ¿a lo mejor moscatel? Creo que sería apropiado llamarlo rancio en este caso. Miel y panal. Está bastante fuerte como puro, unas notas cítricas muy intensas y parecidas al limón. Unas hojas de menta machacadas. Después de unos minutitos, mermelada de melocotón y unas ligeras notas de grosellas negras y vainilla. Con agua – todo lo anterior y también más miel.

Paladar: Dulce y áspero, sin embargo no austero. Tiene roble también pero está suave. Jengibre fresco, lima y helado de limoncello. Después de añadirle un poco de agua – melocotón en lata con roble cítrico. Miel y luego taninos de té verde.

Final: Limpio y largo – desde jengibre hasta vainilla.
Un whisky maravillosamente veraniego – me hace pensar en Rosebank de alguna manera.

www.glengrant.com
www.cadenhead.scot

Glenfarclas 2000 Premium Vintage edition, 15 yo. 46%. 9 000 bottles.

So, this one is a millennium vintage distillate, bottled for the German market after spending approximately 15 years in oloroso sherry casks. 

Color: Light amber. 

Nose: Sherry monster? Nah, the arrival is fairly soft and mellow - this is gentle stuff. Demerara sugar and nutty dry Jerez oloroso sherry. Caramel on a toasted bread. A whisper of curry powder. Raisins with sweet malted barley.

Palate: Semi-sweet arrival. Oloroso sherry for sure. A hint of metal spoon. Some nuts with skin. Spices show up towards the middle. A small bite of Christmas cake. I think this whisky was bottled at perfect strength, so adding water would be a waste of time (and whisky).

Finish: Dried herbs & demerara sugar. 

An easy after dinner sipper from the green meadows. Don’t bother if you’re yearning for a huge sherry bomb.  

glenfarclas.com

Glenfarclas 2000 edición Premium Vintage, 15 años. 46 %. 9 000 botellas.

Se trata de un destilado del año 2000, embotellado para el mercado alemán después de estar aproximadamente 15 años en barricas de jerez oloroso.

Color: Ámbar claro.

Nariz: ¿Un monstruo de jerez? No, primero está bastante suave y delicado – es una copa agradable. Azúcar moreno con seco jerez oloroso y nueces. Caramelo sobre pan tostado. Un susurro de curry. Pasas con cebada malteada dulce.

Paladar: Primero está semidulce. Claramente jerez oloroso. Un poco de sabor de una cuchara metálica. Un toque de nueces con piel. Especias aparecen hacia el medio. Un trocito de tarta de navidad. Creo que este whisky está embotellado en potencia perfecta, así que añadir agua sería una pérdida de tiempo (y del whisky).

Final: Hierbas desecadas & azúcar moreno.

Un fácil trago desde las verdes prados para disfrutar después de cenar. No vale la pena si estás buscando una enorme bomba de jerez.  

glenfarclas.com

Benromach Exclusive Single Cask for Royal Mile Whiskies. Distilled 2008, bottled 2017. First fill bourbon barrel number 392. 244 bottles. 59,1%

Benromach Exclusive Single Cask for Royal Mile Whiskies. Distilled 2008, bottled 2017. First fill bourbon barrel number 392. 244 bottles. 59,1%

I reviewed the sister cask (# 335) last fall and found it a bit challenging. Let’s see how its older sister behaves.

Color: Straw.

Nose: Closed as the North Korean border. A big hit of alcohol with moderate peat smoke, tangy citrus and some tropical fruits – ripe mango maybe? Very pungent and austere. It’s needless to say that water is obligatory with this dram. With water: Wet Highlander sheep, subdued smoke in the distance and slice of some yellow tropical fruit – papaya? After a good splash of water, still very sharp

Palate: As the nose suggests, sharp as a razor blade. Peeled almonds and grapefruit with a touch of lime juice. The barrel has been very active, no surprise there as this is a first fill barrel. With water (you don’t have to be shy with water in this case) : Getting sweeter but still very acidic & sharp. Lychee, yellow plums, apricot and definitely apricot stone. As it develops, oak hits the stage - green oak, green tea and grapefruit. After a good while things calm down drastically, water produces some shy vanilla notes also.

Finish: Lime, oak and liquorice.

Fresh as a daisy, it would work as a good appetizer. It is a tad challenging, just like its sister cask was, not for the beginners.

www.benromach.com
www.royalmilewhiskies.com



Benromach Exclusive Single Cask para Royal Mile Whiskies. Destilado 2008, embotellado 2017. Barril de bourbon de primera carga, número 392. 244 botellas. 59,1%

Caté la hermana de esta barrica el otoño pasado y ella me pareció un poco desafiante. Vamos a ver cómo se comporta su hermana mayor.

Color: Paja.

Nariz: Cerrado como la frontera de Corea del Norte. Un fuerte golpe de alcohol con moderado humo de turba, cítricos agrios y frutas tropicales - ¿a lo mejor mango? Muy acre y severo. Huelga decir que agua es obligatorio con esta copa. Con agua: ovejas mojadas de Highland, humo apagado a lo lejos y notas de alguna fruta tropical amarilla - ¿papaya? Después de una buena cantidad de agua todavía sigue muy ácido.

Paladar: Como sugiere la nariz, muy ácido. Almendras peladas, pomelo con un toque de zumo de lima. La barrica ha sido muy activa, lo que no es sorprendente porque se trata de una barrica de primera carga. Con agua (no tienes que tener tanto cuidado con el agua en este caso): está cambiando más dulce pero todavía está muy ácido y fuerte. Lichi, ciruelas amarillas, albaricoque y claramente hueso de albaricoque. Mientras se desarrolla, aparece roble en el escenario – roble verde, té verde y pomelo. Después de un buen rato las cosas se calman muchísimo, el agua muestra también algunas tímidas notas de vainilla.

Final: Lima, roble y regaliz.

Fresco como lechuga. Serviría muy bien de aperitivo. Es una copa un poco desafiante, igual que también fue su barrica hermana, no es para principiantes.

www.benromach.com
www.royalmilewhiskies.com



Royal Mile Whiskies & Benromach pics ©WhiskyBloke

Glenfarclas The Family Casks 1967. Distilled 22.09.1967, bottled 28.11.2006. 39 years old. Sherry Hogshead. Cask number 5118. Number of bottles 181. 58.5 %

Glenfarclas The Family Casks 1967. Distilled 22.09.1967, bottled 28.11.2006.
39 years old. Sherry Hogshead. Cask number 5118. Number of bottles 181. 58.5 %


Let’s start the new year with a big bang. This bottling is from the first batch of Glenfarclas Family Casks series of different vintages (1952-1994).
I’m a huge fan of sherry matured whiskies and this Ballindalloch distillery in question is one of my favorite distilleries out there, not forgetting that the distillate itself is older than yours truly – so expectations are through the warehouse roof.

Color: Deep amber.

Nose: High-class rum - oh yeah - that’s the first impression, then typical dried fruit / Christmas cake - sherry wood notes. Molasses and sweet juicy sultanas, figs and more than a fistful of dried fruits. Sesame oil, aromatic oils, a hint of Cointreau (orange peel). With water: it gets sweeter - ripe red summer berries, barley sugar. Stunning and totally overwhelming – prepare to nose this beauty for hours.

Palate: Mouth-coating goodness. Full of oloroso sherry character plus a hint of good quality rum. The consistency is thick and concentrated. Salted caramel and fresh liquorice. Mixture of herbs and raisins & some peanut skin. Dusty oak, Belgian pralines, ripe apricot and wild strawberries. Gets sweeter with water and oak becomes louder and dustier. As this is a very old sherry monster, you have to be extra careful with water, just add it drop by drop until the sweet spot has been achieved. If you add too much H2O it will sink the ship.

Finish: Long as the winter in Lapland back in 1967. Various herbs, strong English tea and salmiac.

Oh well, as great as expected or even more. The tasting soundtrack from the 1967 summer of love would be the Doors’s debut album. Break on through to the other side.

PS. Kiitos Hannu!

glenfarclas.com

scotchwhisky.com/glenfarclas-the-family-casks-10-years-on

Glenfarclas The Family Casks 1967. Destilado 22.09.1967, embotellado 28.11.2006.

39 años. Sherry Hogshead. Barril no 5118. Cantidad de botellas 181. 58.5 %


Vamos a empezar el año nuevo con una gran explosión. Esta botella es del primer lote de la serie Glenfarclas Family Casks de diferentes añadas (1952-1994).

Soy un gran aficionado de whiskies madurados en barriles de jerez y esta destilería en cuestión de Ballindalloch es una de mis favoritas, no olvidando que el destilado mismo tiene más años que su servidor – así que las expectativas están en las nubes.

Color: Ámbar oscuro.

Nariz: Ron de buena calidad – oh yeah – es la primera impresión, luego típicos frutas secas / tarta de Navidad – notas de madera de jerez. Melaza con jugosas y dulces pasas sultanas, higos y más de un puñado de frutas secas. Aceite de sésamo, aceites aromáticos, un toque de Cointreau (cáscara de naranja). Con agua: está más dulce – bayas rojas y maduras de verano, azúcar cande. Impresionante y totalmente aplastante – prepárate para disfrutar de sus aromas por horas.

Paladar: Buenos sabores que cubren la boca. Lleno de carácter de jerez oloroso y además un toque de ron de buena calidad. La consistencia es espesa y concentrada. Caramelo salado y regaliz fresco. Una mixtura de hierbas, pasas y un poco de piel de cacahuete. Roble polvoriento, pralinés belgas, albaricoques maduros y fresas silvestres. Con agua el sabor se vuelve más dulce y el roble se fortalece y está aún más polvoriento. Como es un monstruo de jerez muy añejado, tienes que tener mucho cuidado con el agua, solamente una gota a la vez hasta que logres encontrar el sabor perfecto. Si le añades demasiado H2O vas a hundir el barco.

Final: Dura mucho tiempo como el invierno en Laponia en 1967. Muchas hierbas, té inglesa fuerte y regaliz salado.

Bueno, es tan excelente como era de esperar o a lo major aún más excelente. Para este whisky la banda sonora del verano del amor de 1967 sería el primer álbum de The Doors. Break on through to the other side.

P.D. ¡Gracias Hannu! 

glenfarclas.com


scotchwhisky.com/magazine/glenfarclas-the-family-casks-10-years-on/

Bottle pic: © whiskybase
Distillery pic © WhiskyBloke