Month: August 2017

Whisky #490: Loch Lomond 12 Year Old Single Malt

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Loch Lomond 12 Year Old Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46%. Tasted on a glorious winter’s afternoon on Sydney Harbour, $115 (bottle).

Colour: Glistening gold.

Nose: Dried pineapple chunks; a spoonful of honey stirred into some English Breakfast tea.

Palate: Honeycomb and creamy caramel oakiness – like sucking on the stick from a caramel Paddle Pop ice cream.

Finish: Short to medium length, but don’t let that put you off – there’s plenty to enjoy here. Soft oak, a hint of sweet gentle smoke and some buttery ginger nut biscuit flavours in the fade.

Comments: This Loch Lomond 12 Year Old was matured in three types of American oak casks – bourbon casks, refill casks and recharred casks. It’s fantastically subtle yet has boatloads of flavour too…it really is a whisky you can drink all afternoon in the sunshine.

Whisky #489: North Star Arran 20 Year Old Single Malt

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North Star Arran 20 Year Old Single Malt. Isle of Arran, Scotland. ABV: 51.9%. Tasted at home, $251 (bottle).

Colour: Brilliant topaz.

Nose: Freshly sawn timber, pine needles and freshly baked lemon tarts dusted with icing sugar. All very light and delicate though, there’s nothing too overpowering…just a subtle invitation to take a sip.

Palate: Burnt orange marmalade on a fresh croissant…all tart, citrusy, buttery and very moreish. Quite malty too, much more so than most Arran expressions I’ve had before.

Finish: Like biting into some orange and lemon fruit pastilles – juicy, chewy and lots of sweet citrus flavours. A light peppery finish too.

Comments: North Star are a relatively new player in the independent bottler game. Bottled at cask strength and drawn from a single cask, this 20 year old Arran was distilled in August 1996. Given the Arran Distillery only opened in 1995 this is one of the oldest expressions of Arran malt that you’re likely to find.

It’s much maltier and a different kind of fruitiness to most other Arran malts…more citrus than tropical fruits. Recommended, though for the price it’s not exactly a daily drinker.

Whisky #488: Talisker Dark Storm Single Malt

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Talisker Dark Storm Single Malt. Isle of Skye, Scotland. ABV: 45.8%. Tasted on the dock at the Southport Yacht Club.

Having just completed the Sydney to Gold Coast Yacht Race, one of my crew mates Ola brought a bottle of smuggled contraband up on deck as we crossed the finish line at dawn. A perfect time for a celebratory whisky!

Colour: Like a morning sunrise. Fuck it, I don’t care if that sounds like a cliche – it’s dawn, we’ve just finished a 3 day yacht race, and the whisky we’ve just cracked as we arrive at the dock is as welcome a sight as the morning light!

Nose: Charcoal and blueberries. My skipper Lindsay got slight buttery notes and freshly cut lawn. Not the first time he’s cut another man’s grass…

Palate: Smokey brown sugar flavours. Quite a bit of heat as it slides around your mouth and down your chest. Almost a medicinal, menthol tingle on the front of the tongue. Lindsay got sunflower seeds.

Finish: Salt and pepper heat, medium length. Some warm honey notes to fade.

Comments: Lots of spice and rich dark sugary flavours, a fair bit of heat too. A real warming whisky when you’ve been chilled to the bone sailing offshore for the past 3 days. Sailors typically drink a lot of rum, but I’m gradually  to convincing my crew to embrace a Whisky a Day!