Month: January 2020

Whisky #565: Just Derek…Single Cask Independent Bottling from Craft Works Distillery

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Just Derek…Single Cask Independent Bottling from Craft Works Distillery (bottle 047 of 155). ABV: 65.8%. New South Wales, Australia. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $220 (500mL bottle).

Happy Australia Day! It’s only appropriate that we continue our Whisky a Day Bottle Kill Week by chucking another shrimp on the barbie (hint: we never say that) and polishing off another bottle of booze (hint: Aussies have definitely been known to say that).

Tonight, we polish off a special whisky. It’s called Just Derek…and it’s the very first release from Craft Works Distillery. Hand produced by Craig “Crafty” Field, Craft Works is a small artisan whisky distillery based up in the Blue Mountains a few hours west of Sydney. From a single cask, we’re finishing off one of only 155 bottles that were made. 

Colour: Deep luscious caramel.

Nose: Sweets in a workshop. Fresh liquorice, brown sugar and melted butter that’s just started to separate in the saucepan. Along with old leather and the smell of walking through a mechanic’s workshop where the smells of old engines abound. 

Palate: It’s a contemplative dram, there’s so much going on here flavour-wise.  Chinese BBQ pork, caramelised pork hock, crème brûlée, salted caramel, just a hint of sweet smoke. Very “food driven”…or maybe I’m just hungry? Either way, it’s delicious juice.

A long warm tingle buzzing the front of the tongue, reminding you that as a whisky with an ABV of 65.8% (in that most Aussie of phrases)…it’s not here to f*^# spiders.

Finish: A soft, sweet crème caramel flavour coats the mouth, and a slight saltiness as you lick your lips.

Comments: This is definitely a drop that benefits from time in the glass, as well as some time after first opening the bottle. It was a little sharp when I first cracked open the bottle last year, but it has softened slightly and was absolutely fantastic to drink right now.

As for the unusual name “Just Derek…”? You can read more about Crafty’s touching backstory and tribute to his late mate Derek here. 

A small craft producer in all senses, this is one to look out for. If Just Derek is the starting point, then with Crafty’s infectious passion and humble desire to keep striving to be better and better every step of the way, Craft Works Distillery has a bright future indeed.

Whisky #564: The Arran Sauternes Cask Finish Single Malt

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The Arran Sauternes Cask Finish Single Malt. ABV: 50%. Isle of Arran, Scotland. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $100 (bottle).

Stop the deadly spread of Coronavirus…don’t drink Corona, drink whisky instead! And tonight it’s an absolute banger, an Arran malt finished in ex Sauternes casks.

Bottle kill week continues unabated here at Whisky a Day, there has been much whisky spilt. Time to quarantine another bottle.

Colour: Rich shiny gold.

Nose: There’s some dry cocoa or hot chocolate dustiness that lays over the usual Arran house style of tropical fruits. Smoked caramel on hot banana bread.

Palate: Toasted malt, dried mandarin peel and a salty/sweet balance that is like sucking on an orange Fruit Tingle lolly.

Finish: A long warm tingle on the front of the tongue and lips. The sweet tanginess of boiled lemon sherbet sweets lingers long.

Comments: It’s Arran, but not as you know it. Arran are one of my favourite distilleries as long time followers may recall, but this is a different yet still comfortable beast. A fantastic drop.

Whisky #563: Teeling Revival 15 Year Old Irish Single Malt

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Teeling Revival 15 Year Old Irish Single Malt (Vol. IV). ABV: 46%. Dublin, Ireland. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $170 (bottle).

Victim #4 of bottle kill week here at Whisky a Day…tonight we’re heading across to Ireland to finish off the last drops of the Teeling Revival 15 Year Old Irish Single Malt.

Colour: Shimmering gold.

Nose: Fruity and a faint hint of sawdust or freshly snapped branches off a tree. Like taking the cardboard lid off a fresh tray of mangoes.

Palate: Fresh white toast with honey and lots of butter. Creamy, cool mouthfeel with a syrupy coating of the tongue. Fruit salad with lots of passionfruit.

Finish: Dark chocolate and pineapple chunks, but it’s very soft and subtle. Medium length, fades to a taste like sucking on the stick of a banana Paddle Pop – woody but with a fading fruity sweetness. 

Comments: This Teeling Revival 15 Year Old had its initial maturation in ex bourbon barrels, then jumped into some Muscat barrels to finish for over 12 months. It’s all tropical fruits and cream, absolutely delightful and dangerously easy to drink. 

The first 95% of this bottle disappeared rather quickly…the final 5% I hung onto in a vain attempt to stretch out the enjoyment. A pointless exercise; enjoy whisky in the moment and if it runs out…buy another one!

Whisky #562: Edradour Straight From The Cask 10 Year Old Single Malt

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Edradour Straight From The Cask 10 Year Old Single Malt (Cask #160). ABV: 57.7%. Highlands, Scotland. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $143 (500mL bottle).

The carnage continues during Whisky a Day bottle kill week, tonight it’s a cask strength Edradour that bites the dust!

Colour: Deep amber.

Nose: A slight prickle, sweetness and zing initially, like opening a packet of ground cinnamon. Slightly overripe strawberries and raspberries too.

Palate: Like biting into your grandma’s Christmas cake – glacé cherries, dried sultanas and raisins, rich and moist spongecake…delicious.

Finish: Sweet then a fade to a drying saltiness. The sherry tannins come through as the finish dries.

Comments: It’s a rich, robust and full mouthfeel, but without being too overpowering. It drinks a lot softer than you might expect for a 57.7%ABV cask strength whisky.

Drinking this is like having Christmas all year round. Fantastic balance for a cask strength whisky and a wall of flavour that sits perfectly on the palate. Outstanding.

Whisky #561: 2009 Inchmurrin Manzanilla Finish Single Cask Single Malt

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2009 Inchmurrin Manzanilla Finish Single Cask Single Malt. ABV: 46%. Highlands, Scotland. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $110 (bottle).

Bottle kill week continues here at Whisky a Day, all bottles must go!

Colour: Dull brass.

Nose: Worn leather. Creme brûlée and freshly baked muffins that are just slightly overcooked and are a few too many shades of brown, but you rip off that warm muffin top and…clearly I’m hungry and have a sudden hankering for muffins!

Palate: Blackcurrant Soothers lollies initially, but minus the menthol. Then the dominant flavours come forward: brown sugar, salted caramel and dried muscatels.

Finish: Slightly sour initially then it gives way to a salty sweetness.

Comments: A real “food” whisky, in that it evokes lots of food flavour memories. A cracking dram, shame it’s all finished now!

Whisky #560: North Star Glentauchers 11 Year Old Single Malt

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North Star Glentauchers 11 Year Old Single Malt. ABV: 58.9%. Speyside, Scotland. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $167 (bottle).

It’s bottle kill week here at Whisky a Day! Do you find yourself hanging on to the last dram or two in a bottle you’ve really enjoyed, trying to stretch out the enjoyment? It’s a trap I sometimes fall into, though maybe there’s also an element of opening a bunch of new shinier whiskies and some bottles get a little lonely and forgotten at the back of the whisky shelf. 

With an impending move to a new house, it’s time to do some spring cleaning and polish off those pesky bottles with only a drop or two left. I’ll be killing off a different bottle every night this week!

Colour: Candlelight.

Nose: Soft hay, vanilla sponge cake and freshly cut juicy oranges. Though I’ve left this one on the shelf a little too long, the nose has started to lose some intensity compared to how I remember when I first cracked the bottle.

Palate: Toastier than a marshmallow. Honey on buttered toast, malty, roasted almonds.

Finish: A drying new oak finish with a slightly tannic aftertaste.

Comments: Bottled in 2018 and from a cask that yielded only 288 bottles, this North Star Glentauchers was from Series 005 of North Star’s stable of increasingly impressive releases. A good dram, but one in hindsight I’d finished off a little earlier rather than leaving it around on the shelf.