Month: February 2016

Whisky #398: The Arran Malt Lochranza Reserve Single Malt

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img_6453.jpgThe Arran Malt Lochranza Reserve Single Malt. Isle of Arran, Scotland. ABV: 43%. Tasted at home, $100 (bottle).

Colour: Pale brilliant gold.

Nose: Extremely light, to the point where a good swirl of the glass was required to really excite some of the aromas. Some more time in the glass revealed citrus, pine needles and freshly sawn timber notes. It’s all very fresh.

Palate: White peppery spice, vanilla and lemon cheesecake. Quite a dry mouthfeel.

Finish: A salty, drying finish of medium length – though the warmth and tingle around the front and mid palate outlasts the flavours.

Comments: Whilst as a typical Arran it is quite light and a little fruity (citrus driven rather than juicy stone fruits), it’s not as sweet or flavoursome as other malts I’ve enjoyed from them. I’ve got a soft spot for Arran as it’s a newish distillery (relatively speaking, established in 1995) and it was the first distillery in Scotland that I made a beeline for when I visited a while back. They produce some amazing whiskies for such a young distillery, but for me the Lochranza Reserve is ok but far from their best representation of the distillery’s style.

Whisky #397: SMWS 39.108 Baked Alaska

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img_6450.jpgSMWS 39.108 Baked Alaska.  10 year old single cask from Linkwood Distillery. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 61.7%. Tasted at The Clock Hotel’s Whisky Room, $0 – a welcome dram to celebrate Dram Full Sydney’s 2nd birthday.

Colour: Pale golden straw.

Nose: An amorphous nose, it seems to change in waves with different flavours each taking turns at coming to the fore. Light and fruity on the nose, yet quite sweet.  Chunks of dried pineapple. My Dram Full compatriot Garry described it as like orange brûlée. On top of the fruity notes, other aromas include ginger nut biscuits and caramelised condensed milk.

Palate: Sharp thin grassy notes on the front of the palate, as the waves of sweetness break like a bow wave around the outside of the mouth, leaving a syrupy coating. Creamy sweet mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium length yet a warming mouthfeel. Tingles on the front gums as the flavours linger on the mid palate.

Comments: The nose really reminded me of a Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or, yet more intense and focused. A Nectar reduction perhaps? This Linkwood certainly didn’t drink like a whisky at around 61% ABV, it was much smoother yet packed a big punch in terms of flavour, aroma and length. Which is what you want from a whisky.

A gathering of whisky fiends from Dram Full Sydney to celebrate Dram Full’s 2nd birthday. We are very fortunate in Sydney to have Andrew Derbridge, Cellarmaster & Director of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Australia (not to mention author of a fantastic whisky blog Whisky & Wisdom), as one of the main driving forces behind Dram Full in Sydney. Andrew very generously brought along this SMWS bottling for us Drammies to have a welcome drink before we got stuck into the Clock Hotel’s extensive range of whiskies. A cracking night was had, fantastic to catch up for an informal drink and meet other whisky fiends and talk bullshit about all things whisky.

Whisky #396: Glenlivet 1955 George & J.G. Smith’s Gordon & MacPhail 50 Year Old Single Malt

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img_6438.jpgGlenlivet 1955 George & J.G. Smith’s Gordon & MacPhail 50 Year Old Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 40%. Tasted at home, $225 (100mL bottle split). No, that wasn’t a typo…$225.

Colour: Golden syrup.

Nose: In a word, astonishing. It’s so delicate; like gently brushing your nose with a feather. Rose water, raspberry marshmallows, orange chocolate, warm caramel and a hint of cigar box. I’ve been just enjoying this nose for about five minutes now, words are failing me, it’s taken me away. I’d better take a sip!

Palate: Dry mouthfeel, with dusted cocoa and some soft oak. You can taste the influence from the sherry cask but it’s not a rich full frontal sherry bomb, nor is it overly creamy. Front and mid palate get all the fun.

Finish: Fades quickly to start, then the flavours linger ever so softly on the front and mid palate for quite a long time. Some slightly tart dried tropical fruit flavours emerge right at the end, mainly dried pineapple. Quite a soft finish overall.

Comments: Absurdly priced, but then again this is a 50 year old whisky (distilled in 1955, bottled in 2005). Along with some of my fellow whisky nutters from Dram Full Perth, we decided to splurge and grab a bottle of this and split it 7 ways. Which is more financially responsible than dropping $1575 on a whole bottle and keeping it all to yourself. Yes, I’m trying to justify this purchase as being financially responsible…

The nose was stunning, right up there with some of the best I’ve had. I felt the palate and finish though left a little to be desired. They weren’t poor by any stretch, I think they were simply overshadowed by an exceptional nose. It’s not every day you get to drink a 50 year old whisky, so overall this was a special experience.

Whisky #395: Cadenhead Small Batch Speyside-Glenlivet 18 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt

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img_6430.jpegCadenhead Small Batch Speyside-Glenlivet 18 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 62.80%. Tasted at my mate Joel’s place, $0 (ah it’s great to have good mates with nice whisky!).

Colour: Bright toffee.

Nose: Like a not-so-gentle tug on your nostril hairs, this one wants to rip out all unnecessary olfactory distractions and dominate your attention. Freshly cooked toffee, caramelised balsamic, creamed cheese and a hint of straw. It’s a big nose.

Palate: A satisfying tingle as the whisky dances around your mouth. Joel got toffee and peanut brittle, while I detected some tart raspberries. There’s almost a dusty sweetness; think salted caramel macaroons.

Finish: It’s a drying finish, slowly fading from the centre of your palate to the extremities. Very long, which is unsurprising given the high ABV.

Comments: It’s interesting – Joel thought the nose sweeter than the palate, I also got loads of sweetness and also some straw notes. Yet looking back on what we got on the palate there’s a fair bit of sugar too. In hindsight it’s a rich sweetness, definitely not saccharine. It’s rich and full bodied, lots of complex flavours without any of them dominating. One of those whiskies to enjoy sitting back and appreciating as it offers something different, especially as an independent bottling it’s quite different to your typical company-released Glenlivet.

Whisky #394: Heartwood Convict Resurrection 14 Year Old Cask Strength Tasmanian Single Malt

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img_6418.jpegHeartwood Convict Resurrection 14 Year Old Cask Strength Tasmanian Single Malt. Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 72%. Tasted at home, $230 (bottle).

A deeply contemplative dram…

Colour: Luscious, syrupy maple.

Nose: Like a chord hammered out on a Hammond organ, minor fifths and sevenths going everywhere. There’s a cacophony of notes that seep into your consciousness at different times as the aromas float into your head.  A certain tension, but they are deliciously balanced and bring a smile to your face. Caramelised pineapple cooked on a BBQ, freshly baked carrot cake or even a hint of honey cake. Freshly hewn sawdust, musty bookshelves and lemon sherbet.

Palate: Rich, full and a mouth-tingling warmth. This is big. Sticky date pudding balanced out by a sharp heat and spiciness; like a lamb korma that bites initially, then the sweetness and spices take turns at dancing on your tongue. Mid and front palate get all the fun. A hint of tart raspberries.

Finish: Sweet and very long, as you might expect from a whisky at 72% ABV. Rich, intense sweet notes, like some treacle on warm damper with melted butter.

Comment: Distilled in March 2000, decanted December 2014, gracing an ex American oak port cask with its presence in the interim.

This is a whisky of contrasts. The kind of dram that you pour when you get home after a manic day at work. The kind of day when you just want to give a two-fingered salute to the world, drift away and switch off while listening to some jazz, with the 72% ABV and comforting flavours enveloping you and bringing you into its embrace. Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” is my choice of accompaniment tonight; a timeless classic and one of my favourites.

It’s also the kind of whisky that you pour if you want something complex and layered to analyse and enjoy.  The sheer delight you get when a whisky makes you go back and pour another couple of drams just so you can keep enjoying it and getting to know it at a deeper level.

Yet it’s also one of those whiskies you pour when you feel like being a bit contemplative. The kind when you’re feeling a bit down, when you’re reminiscing. The whisky when you’re thinking about where you want to head in life; a whisky when you’re thinking about the long lost love who lives on the other side of the country and you wonder every day what might have been had circumstances been different and whether you’ll ever see her in the future.

For me tonight, it’s been all of those things.