Month: July 2017

Whisky #487: Glenmorangie Bacalta Private Edition Single Malt

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Glenmorangie Bacalta Private Edition Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46%. Tasted at Button Bar, $24.

When you’re walking home on a cold and windy winter night and you pass a bar you’ve been meaning to check out for a while…better drop in a for a cheeky whisky to warm up! Button Bar are more known for their rum and gin, but I was pleased to see the Glenmorangie Bacalta behind the bar, a drop which I’d also been wanting to try for quite some time.

Colour: Candlelit gold.

Nose: Quite light. Wood chips with some caramelised savoury notes, think cured meats charred with a blow torch. All very light though.

Palate: Oakier than most Glenmorangies. Front palate, corn chips, caramelised onions on a BBQ, some faint raw sugar notes. Maybe I’m just hungry?!

Finish: Malty, dry yet soft. Salty warm tingle on the front of the tongue. Woody notes to finish. Medium length.

Comments: It’s a little different to your typical house style Glenmorangie; the lighter and slightly sweeter fruit driven style we’ve come to associate with many of their malts. This one has sweetness, but with balanced with more savoury tones. Definitely a drier mouthfeel and the malt flavours are more pronounced.

Overall, this was quite a hyped whisky amongst whisky fans around the world (as are many of the Glenmorangie Private Edition releases, and with good reason). Long time readers will know that Glenmorangie was my first favourite distillery, but for me this one didn’t quite hit the mark or scale the heights of some of their other recent Private Edition releases like the Glenmorangie Milsean.

Whisky #486: Bruichladdich Octomore OBA Concept OBA/C_0.1

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Bruichladdich Octomore OBA Concept OBA/C_0.1. Islay, Scotland. ABV: 59.7%. Tasted on Sydney Harbour, $161 (500mL bottle).

I’m extremely fortunate to be able to go sailing with some of my best friends on one of the most beautiful harbours in the world most weeks. Sydney is a stunning place. But when you’re up early on a Sunday morning and dustier than the Nullabor after the night before, sometimes you need more than a little sea breeze to blow away the cobwebs.

I explained to my crew that I’d brought this amazing whisky to try after the race. “Show us!” they said. “Let us smell!” they said. “Have a cheeky pre-race whisky!” they said. Actually they said none of these things, so I poured one anyway for medicinal purposes.

Colour: Burnt orange glaze.

Nose: Sweet smoke, fresh liquorice and raspberry tarts. Pine needles and freshly sawn timber. Goes well with the saltiness of the gentle morning sea breeze. A slight warming sensation too as you breath in the smokiness – like putting your nose close to the hot coals of a campfire as it’s dying down.

Palate: Fresh oak on the front of the palate; liquorice sorbet and a lemon citrus tang. Lot of salty, sweet smokiness – like taking a bite of a freshly cooked fillet of crispy skinned smoked salmon.

Finish: The warmth creeps up and slowly builds, like warm honey slowly dripping down the back of your tongue. A long, lingering salty finish with cigar notes, nori and tea leaves.

Comments: If you’re going to have a 10am whisky when you’re out on the water, this is the one. Fresh, tangy and boatloads of flavour, it’s a fantastic balance of salty, peaty goodness. More peat than out and out smoke, by the sea really is the perfect place to enjoy this one. Highly recommended.