Month: November 2017

Whisky #511: Laphroaig Select Single Malt

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Laphroaig Select Single Malt. Islay, Scotland. ABV: 40%. Tasted at home, $13 (50mL miniature).

Life is all about balance…

Colour: Brass that needs a bit of a polish.

Nose: Sweet leathery peat, soft oak and a handful of malted barley.

Palate: You know how you see polar bears at zoos given an ice treat, usually a block of ice with some tasty morsel on the inside that will keep them occupied for a period of time? That’s what drinking the Laproaig Select is like. It feels a little watered down and frustrating to get to the heart of the matter. It has a stronger smokey peat than the nose; some grassy notes and smoked honey too.

Finish: Fresh woody notes and cool smoke; quite a long fade.

Comments: Created from whisky matured in a “selection” of different cask types typically used across the Laphroaig range (hence the name), the Laphroaig Select also throws a spanner amongst the pigeons by utilising some virgin American oak casks (the type bourbon has to be matured in). With this mind, I was expecting some more dominant oak and vanilla notes.

There’s enough flavourful hints to keep you interested but fuck me it’s frustrating to drink. The 40% ABV takes me back to my school days, reminds me of when you gone around to your best mate’s place and his mum’s poured you a glass of cordial and it’s been watered down much more than you’re used to. I like the flavour, just crank it up a few notches!

Whisky #510: Berry Bros. & Rudd 8 Year Old Ardmore 2008 Single Malt Small Batch for The Whisky Club

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Berry Bros. & Rudd 8 Year Old Ardmore 2008 Single Malt Small Batch for The Whisky Club. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46.0%. Tasted at home, $135 (bottle).

Colour: Pale sandstone.

Nose: Blueberry tarts, fresh cream and sweet juicy lemon jellies. A soft, cool smoke hints at what’s to come.

Palate: Orange marmalade on hot buttered toast. Some creme brûlée that’s had a bit too long under the blow torch – it’s sweet and creamy, but there’s also some burnt sugar and smoke coming through too. It’s a light touch on the palate.

Finish: It’s like roasted marshmallows on a camp fire – smokey, creamy and a warm fuzzy feeling to finish. Medium length.

Comments: A small batch release comprising just 7 barrels, this 8 Year Old Ardmore 2008 was bottled for The Whisky Club in Australia. It has a smokey rather than botanical peat influence, one that starts soft and gradually builds as you make your way through each sip.

I reckon it’s the perfect Friday night whisky – the kind when you’re exhausted after a week at work, you’ve come home and put on some music before you crash on the couch with that first whisky in your hand.

A lighter style of whisky to start the night, but with enough variety of flavours to steer you in a number of directions for your next dram – do you want to go down the path of a Speyside fruit-driven whisky next? Or maybe the peat has tickled you in funny places and an Islay whisky with more oomph is what’s up next?

Either way, it’s a great appetiser for a quiet night of whisky to help you unwind from the working week.

 

 

Whisky #509: Glenfarclas Family Reserve £511.19s.0d Single Malt

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Glenfarclas Family Reserve £511.19s.0d Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 43%.

£511.19s.0d. That’s how much John Grant – the first generation of what would become a whisky family dynasty – paid for the Glenfarclas distillery way back in June 1865.  I wish I could set up a distillery these days for a tick over £500!

Colour: Glowing amber sunset.

Nose: Rose petals, dried raisins, creamy vanilla sponge cake and fresh pastries.

Palate: A mouthful of mixed dried fruits. Creamed honey, candied strawberries and almond biscotti. A cool, oily mouthfeel.

Finish: Drying; sherry and sultana notes, medium length.

Comments: This Glenfarclas Family Reserve was released to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the distillery. While this is far from my favourite Glenfarclas whisky (that honour goes to the Glenfarclas Whisky & Wisdom 9 Year Old Single Cask), it’s a damn fine example of the Glenfarclas house style.

Sitting here thinking about the long history of Glenfarclas, it makes you ponder about what legacy you’ll leave long after you’ve sipped your last dram. Having recently had a health scare (thankfully unrelated to drinking whisky!), it really has led me to contemplate a lot about what I’ve achieved in life so far and what I’ve yet to accomplish. Things can be taken away from us in an instant – I have some burning passions and drivers in life, there’s much more to do. Raising a glass here now is just the beginning.

Whisky #508: Limeburners Directors Cut M326 Cask Strength Single Malt

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Limeburners Directors Cut M326 Cask Strength Single Malt (bottle 114 / 199). Great Southern Distilling Company. Albany, Western Australia, Australia. ABV: 61%. Tasted at home.

It’s an unusually cold and rainy November afternoon in Sydney…some beef bourguignon is slowly simmering on the stove, time to bust out some peated sherry perfection from Limeburners in the form of their latest Directors Cut. Limeburners have recently picked up a swag of international awards, including Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2018 for their Darkest Winter release.

Like the Darkest Winter, this Limeburners Directors Cut has been smoked with peat sourced from the Valley of the Giants in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, not far from the distillery in Albany. It’s the only whisky in the world using this peat source which makes it quite a unique flavour.

Colour: Bright candied orange/gold.

Nose: Like walking through a damp forest or timber plantation where there’s fresh sawdust on the ground. Pine needles, hessian sacks and lemon sherbet hard boiled sweets.

Palate: It’s not your typical smokey peat at all – quite floral and herbaceous, with whipped cream and subtle liquorice notes.

Finish: A long satisfying tingle on the mid-palate; sweet smoke and creamy raspberry icing flavours too.

Comments: Matured in an ex-bourbon barrel and finished in an old Australian ex-Sherry cask, this is fresh, a touch musty but has some tantalising green woody notes.

When you’re reviewing a damn tasty cask strength whisky, it’s always a challenge to remember to make some tasting notes before you finish the whole bloody thing and have to pour another…and then it’s even harder to remember to make some tasting notes before…you get the picture.

I’ve re-filled my glass three times now, it’s that good.

Whisky #507: Blackadder Raw Cask Seven Year Old English Single Malt

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Blackadder Raw Cask Seven Year Old English Single Malt. Norfolk, England. ABV: 63.2%. Tasted at home, $202 (bottle).

Colour: Shiny hardwood timber floorboards.

Nose: Butter and caramelised brown sugar.

Palate: A powerful burst of flavour that shoots straight down the middle of your tongue. Mandarine peel, briny lemon notes, spiced mulled wine, sweet paprika.

Finish: Medium length, which is a touch surprising as for such a full-on whisky. Front palate gets most of the excitement. White pepper and dry oak.

Comments: Matured in a single Moscatel dessert wine cask that yielded just 251 bottles, decanted straight from the cask. The Blackadder Raw Cask expressions are pure to the no colouring, non-chill filtered approach…so much so that they don’t even filter out some of the sediment from the barrel, which you can see in the bottom of the bottle.

This is raw, this is pure; this will put hairs on your chest. It may even rip the hairs out of your nostrils and put them on your chest just for laughs. Certainly not refined and it’s not attempting to be – this is a whisky which will divide opinion, much like brutalist architecture. A new genre perhaps – a brutalist whisky.