Month: July 2015

Whisky #379 – Glenglassaugh Evolution Single Malt

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IMG_5489.JPGGlenglassaugh Evolution Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 57.2%. Tasted at my good friend Kiwi’s place, $27 (100mL bottle split).

Colour: Extremely pale straw.

Nose: Grassy notes with a citrus prickle.

Palate: Lemon sherbet zings on the front of the palate. White pepper and oak notes too.

Finish: Warmth tingles on the front of the palate and all around the mouth. It’s quite a long and dry finish with some salty lemon notes.

Comments: Making use of first fill ex-bourbon casks (from George Dickel I believe), there’s definitely an abundance of fresh oak and peppery notes but not much evidence of the typical honeyed vanilla flavours you might expect. There’s a freshness about it and some nice flavours going on, but it’s not a mouthfeel that I really warm to – it just comes across as a little too young and brash. It represents one of the NAS releases since Glenglassaugh was brought back to life, the distillery having been mothballed from 1986 until it was refurbished and recommenced production under new ownership in 2008.

Having moved from Perth across to Sydney for work, I couldn’t bring my entire whisky collection…some of that was bequeathed to a few of my good mates before I departed. However I did pick up a handful of 100mL bottle splits before I left as they were much more easily transportable and also provide the opportunity to try a broader range of whiskies without lashing out on a full bottle. Stay tuned for a few more shortly, there’s a couple of interesting ones coming up!

Whisky #378 – Great Southern Distillery – Limeburners Port Cask Barrel M175 Single Malt

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IMG_5467-0.jpgGreat Southern Distillery – Limeburners Port Cask Barrel M175 Single Malt (bottle 300.2 of 344). Albany, Western Australia, Australia. ABV: 43%. Tasted at my good mate Kiwi’s place.

Colour: Pinky orange Turkish delight.

Nose: Cinnamon, honey and rose petals.

Palate: Vanilla spice; hot buttered fruit toast with a smattering of raspberry jam.

Finish: Quite a drying finish; spiced fruits with a warming fruit tingle at the front of the palate. Actually, kind of like letting a pink Fruit Tingle sweet sit on the tip of your tingle and slowly dissolve.

Comments: The port flavours came through more in the finish, but definitely not in an overly syrupy, sweet kind of way. It’s a whisky of contrasts – on the one hand it’s very easy to drink, not brash or in your face. Yet it has this subtle complexity that you could sit there and really analyse the multitude of layers if you so choose.

I chose to have this Limeburners as my first whisky in Sydney since moving back here from Perth last week. I thought it fitting that I should bring a little piece of Western Australia over with me and introduce Limeburners to some of my Sydney friends. Sitting here at my mate Kiwi’s place overlooking the Harbour Bridge, it’s really the perfect drop to contemplate how things have changed, but also reflect on how good it is to be back in Sydney too. I look forward to sharing some more Limeburners malts with my Sydney friends soon, they really are producing some cracking whisky over there in the wild west.

Whisky #377 – Bell’s Finest Old Blended Scotch Whisky

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IMG_5384.JPGBell’s Finest Old Blended Scotch Whisky. Scotland. ABV: 43%. Tasted at the City Park Motel & Apartments, Wagga Wagga (the town so good they had to name it twice). $0 – courtesy of my able road trip buddy Pete.

Colour: Dehydrated truckie’s piss. Bear with me, continuing the road trip theme…

Nose: Floral notes, a touch of fresh strawberry then a funny prickle in your nose as you pull away from the glass. Pete got a hint of oak & sultanas with an antiseptic kick at the end. 

Palate: Like licking a dried ice cream stick. Mixed spices with a very faint hint of vanilla. The mouthfeel is as dry as some 3 day old roadkill across the Nullarbor Plain.

Finish: Medium length, quite a drying finish with a dried oaky fade. Slightly bitter aftertaste for Pete. Bit of an alcohol burn as it passes down into your belly. The aftertaste is actually mildly pleasant, mixed spices.

Comments: I tried this one with Pete as we neared the end of a 12 day, 5500km road trip across Australia from Perth to Sydney. I’m really looking forward to starting a new job in Sydney next week, but I’m also looking forward to explore the Sydney whisky scene.

After such long days on the road, it’s been good to unwind with a dram, but unfortunately isolated roadhouses in the middle of Australia don’t have the best whisky selection. Luckily I brought a dozen of my favourite bottles with me for the ride!

Pete helpfully threw in this little bottle of Bell’s for a bit of a laugh to give us something interesting to taste & for me to review. It’s not a particularly complex whisky, but to be fair it’s probably not aiming to be a world beater. It’s surprisingly better than I had anticipated. Like a roadhouse motel in the middle of Australia, you’re thankful for the comfort it provides but you don’t have high expectations. Perfectly quaffable, but I’m not about to rush out and buy a bottle.

Whisky #376 – SMWS 123.9 The Big Fat Tipsy Wedding

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IMG_5219.JPGSMWS 123.9 The Big Fat Tipsy Wedding. 16 year old single cask from Glengoyne distillery, Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 56.6%. Tasted at home, $258 (bottle).

Colour: Rich caramel.

Nose: Golden syrup, honeycomb, dusty bookshelves. My mate Pete had a nose and got blackcurrants, sultanas and muscat.

Palate: Tangy, spicy, orange syrup flavours – think Duck a l’Orange, but with an Asian twist – star anise, cinnamon and cloves. It actually reminds me of Kylie Kwong’s crispy skin duck from her Sydney restaurant Billy Kwong. Fantastic stuff.

Finish: Drying tobacco notes, like the aftertaste of a good cigar.

Comments: Like attending any wedding, your mind drifts to loves you’ve had and lost, those you’ve missed because of unfortunate timing, or those in the wedding party that you wouldn’t mind, ahem, getting to know a little better. Drinking this dram caused my mind to wander, contemplating not just these aforementioned things but also musing at the amazing complexity of this whisky. I also wonder what whisky I will serve at my own wedding some day…surely a top shelf cask strength one at the wedding party’s table, as I’m sure I’ll only marry a woman who is a massive whisky fan!

Whisky & Chocolate Truffles

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IMG_5240.JPGWhisky and chocolate…it’s been a partnership I’ve wanted to explore for a while, so when I heard of a fantastic chocolatier in Perth named Sue Lewis (http://suelewischocolate.com) who makes whisky truffles, I just had to try them. Sue mentioned that when she makes the ganache for her truffles, she only adds the whisky towards the end so that the flavours of the whisky are preserved and unaffected by other flavours and the heat required to make the ganache.

On this occasion, Sue had some milk chocolate truffles made with The Glenlivet 12 Year Old Single Malt as well as some Knob Creek Small Batch Bourbon Dark Chocolate Truffles. I also have a weakness for salted caramel, so I grabbed some of her salted caramel dark chocolate truffles as I figured they might go nicely with a smokey or spicy malt.

 

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Glenlivet Milk Chocolate Truffles with The Glenlivet 12 Year Old Single Malt: Milk chocolate truffles with a chocolate ganache with The Glenlivet 12 Year Old. A very faint hint of whisky, but it’s very subtle. Chocolatey almost rum ball kind of flavours to the ganache. Smooth, creamy milk chocolate, the ganache almost has some hazelnut flavours to it. I think the truffles are amazing, though perhaps The Glenlivet 12 is too subtle a whisky to let its characteristics shine though over the rich creamy chocolate flavours. I think the whisky compliments the chocolates very nicely, but truffles are definitely the star in this pairing.

IMG_5212.JPGKnob Creek Small Batch Bourbon Dark Chocolate Truffles: Dairy free dark chocolate with Knob Creek 9 Year Old Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon. These were sweeter than the Glenlivet truffles, presumably that’s the bourbon’s sweeter characteristics shining through. Rich, brown sugar & cream notes, dry cocoa too. As a whisky truffle I think this combination allows the bourbon flavours to come through more compared to the Glenlivet truffles, though purely on flavour I’d go for the Glenlivet truffles (even if the whisky influence is extremely subtle).

Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Truffles with Talisker 57° North Single Malt: These truffles did not contain any whisky, but I figured a salted caramel truffle would be a good match for the salty, rich and subtle honeycomb flavours of the Talisker.IMG_5213.JPG

There was a satisfying crack as we snapped through the exterior of the salted caramel truffle. The Talisker was smokey on the nose, but had some intense saltiness on the palate…which complimented the salty sweetness of the salted caramel truffle brilliantly. Stunning. Individually they are both great, but together they are amazing. Wow, what a combination. I think the dark chocolate worked particularly well with the salted caramel and whisky combo.

Overall, the Glenlivet truffles were fantastic on their own and would appeal to everyone, whether a whisky fan or not. I’d like to try some truffles containing whisky with a bit more body and character, maybe some rich sherry flavours from say an Aberlour. But the winner was definitely the salted caramel dark chocolate truffles – you don’t have to have whisky in the chocolate to enjoy whisky with chocolate. These flavours were amazing with the Talisker 57° North, though I’d like to explore some more dark chocolate, salted caramel flavours with some other smokey and spicy malts, particularly from Islay.

If you’re in Perth I’d suggest you pick up some dark chocolate salted caramel truffles, grab a few Islay or other Island malts and settle in for a night of gastronomic experimentation, you won’t be disappointed.