Month: January 2019

Whisky #547: That Boutique-y Whisky Company Aultmore 20 Year Old Single Malt

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That Boutique-y Whisky Company Aultmore 20 Year Old Single Malt (Batch II). Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 52.1%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $189 (500mL bottle).

There’s nothing like kicking back with a great whisky after a particularly hectic day. Though it’s not often your day is as hectic as a velociraptor attacking a shark from a container ship whilst an oil rig burns in the background…welcome to the crazy world of That Boutique-y Whisky Company!

Colour: Rich gold.

Nose: Creamed honey & lemon cheesecake.

Palate: Soft and creamy mouthfeel; lemon sherbet dusted across the top of a slice of lemon cheesecake. Not that I’ve ever tasted such a creation, but this is how I imagine it tasting. A lemon zing, along with a smooth creamy cheesecake with a buttery biscuit note underneath. Divine.

Finish: It’s like you’ve just downed the last bite of creme brûlée and you’re still enjoying the creamy caramelised goodness as it slowly slips away. Medium length finish.

Comments: A cask strength, single cask release that yielded only 215 bottles. One of the best whiskies I’ve tried in some time. I am definitely trying to get my hands on another bottle of this one, an amazing drop.

Whisky #546: Glenfarclas Whisky & Wisdom Edition 2

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Glenfarclas Whisky & Wisdom Edition 2 (2008 Single Cask 10 Year Old). Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 59.8%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ (sample courtesy of Whisky & Wisdom).

Following on from Whisky & Wisdom’s first foray into bespoke bottling of a Glenfarclas in 2016, comes this second edition. Fellow Sydney-sider, self-described whisky tragic and the man behind one of my favourite whisky blogs (Whisky & Wisdom), Andrew Derbidge has hand selected this 10 year old single cask at the Glenfarclas distillery which yielded just 319 bottles at its natural cask strength of 59.8%. What a terrible way to spend an afternoon…sampling cask after cask of delicious whisky!

At the time, I rated the Glenfarclas Whisky & Wisdom 9 Year Old Single Cask as one of my top 10 whiskies I’ve ever had, hands down. Nothing has changed that opinion, it was a mesmerising whisky. Can the Glenfarclas Whisky & Wisdom Edition 2 live up to its elder sibling’s lofty standards? Let’s find out.

Colour: Deep honeycomb.

Nose: Juicy raisins, golden syrup, melting butter, and fresh leather. More time in the glass yields earthy almost musty notes with the rich undercurrent of dried sultanas.

Palate: A rich oily mouthfeel to start, with flavours and sensations like biting into orange and cherry chocolate liqueurs. Later sips seem to be like your tongue has wandered into a spice market – there’s a barrage of rich flavours competing for your attention. Orange toffee crisps, dried cranberries, cinnamon and dry cocoa powder.

Finish: Treacle, white pepper, cinnamon, cloves and a slightly prickly spice. A long gentle warmth with a drying mouthfeel and surprising slightly salty tang to finish.

Comments: It takes you on a journey this one, it simply demands your attention. It’s not your typical sherry bomb, there’s a lot more complexity and spice.

So how does it stack up to the first edition of Glenfarclas Whisky & Wisdom? They’re both quite different beasts, as you might expect for single cask whiskies despite sharing much of the same Glenfarclas DNA. Edition 1 was more akin to your typical Glenfarclas sherry bomb, whereas Edition 2 has an air of mystery and has a multi-layered personality. There’s just so many things to explore here – light and dark, sweetness and spice…your tastebuds are racing to keep up with the barrage of flavours popping around your mouth, as your mind gallops to keep up.

It’s not in my top 10 whiskies of all time like Edition 1, but geez it’s a tasty bit of juice and a very interesting expression of Glenfarclas. I’d be very interested to compare both editions of the Glenfarclas Whisky & Wisdom side by side (perhaps Andrew should organise a tasting!) but in the meantime I’ll be grabbing a couple of bottles of this before they are gone forever.

Whisky #545: Ardmore 2008 Signatory Vintage 8 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt

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Whisky #545: Ardmore 2008 Signatory Vintage 8 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt (Celebrating 60th Anniversary of La Maison du Whisky). Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 62.2%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $18 (30mL sample from Casa de Vinos).

Colour: Golden honey.

Nose: It smacks you in the nose initially with a hit of smoke and hessian sacks. But with time in the glass it softens and the smoke lifts, leaving some cocoa and cherry notes.

Palate: Going back for the charred sausages at the end of the BBQ, you’ve already had your fill but you want another bite. A black pepper zing on the tongue, along with golden syrup and intense salted caramel.

Finish: Salty and smokey, almost cool smoke on the tongue. Like ripping into a stick of biltong that leaves a long salty tang on the front and mid palate.

Comments: An independent bottling of Ardmore by Signatory Vintage to celebrate the 60th anniversary of La Maison du Whisky, a renowned French whisky importer and distributor. That’s more confusing than a polygamist’s family tree, but no matter…it is delicious juice, regardless of its lineage. Single cask, cask strength Ardmore is a fantastically powerful and unique Highlands whisky…love it!