Month: January 2023

Whisky #599: Starward Cognac Cask Single Malt

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Starward Cognac Cask Single Malt. Victoria, Australia. ABV: 48%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $135 (bottle).

Happy Australia Day! 🇦🇺🦘Thought it was only appropriate to rip into this bonza Starward Cognac Cask single malt made in Melbourne, Australia. Enjoy!

Colour: Deep sunburnt plains.

Nose: Dried apricots, fresh banana bread, cinnamon & vanilla.

Palate: Medium bodied biscuity goodness. Buttery soft salted caramel macarons. Both the taste and mouthfeel of freshly baked Anzac biscuits that are still soft and warm as you bite into them.

Finish: Fresh strawberries and cream, passionfruit pulp. The creamy juiciness you get at the bottom of a tropical fruit salad slathered over pavlova.

Comments: A rich, creamy and fruity delight. This is a wonderful summery whisky. The perfect dram to sip on a stinking hot Australia Day! 🇦🇺🥃

Whisky #598: Glengoyne Pedro Ximenez Sherry Finish Single Malt

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Glengoyne Pedro Ximenez Sherry Finish Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $155 (bottle).

Colour: Shimmering topaz.

Nose: Very soft, quite delicate actually. Pineapple jubes, soft hay and freshly baked lemon tarts.

Palate: A sweet-spicy dichotomy. Raw sugar, cinnamon scrolls with a hint of cloves, washed down with creaming soda. A rich, creamy, oily mouthfeel.

Finish: The creamy sweet flavours fade, leaving the spices and oaky notes to poke through. Medium length.

Comments: Finished in ex Pedro Ximenez casks after initial maturation in European oak, this Glengoyne Pedro Ximenez Sherry Finish has a robust juicy sweetness and fantastic balance with the spicy oaky notes. The 46% ABV is also a great balance, affording plenty of rich flavours to shine through whilst being an approachable ABV point for most drinkers.

Whisky #597: SMWS 44.143 Good Traditional Fare

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SMWS 44.143 Good Traditional Fare. 17 year old cask strength, single cask bottling from Craigellachie distillery. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 57.0%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $260 (bottle).

Colour: Electric amber.

Nose: Initial nose prickle, then quickly giving away to caramelised balsamic, blueberries and sweet BBQ beef jerky.

Palate: Heavy, chewy and rich. Dried muscatels, smoked honey, rich raspberry jam and salted caramel macarons. Sweet cigar box & saxophone reed woody notes.

Finish: A drying finish, with a long-lingering warmth on the front half of the palate.

Comments: It’s a delightfully intense and chewy dram. A meaty and oily mouthfeel, but then a drying finish. The contrasting flavours and sensations perhaps reflect the double cask maturation, initially in an ex bourbon hogshead, then finished in 1st fill ex Olorosso sherry barrique. I can’t help but wonder if the bold, meaty, and oily flavours and mouthfeel are driven to a large extent by Craigellachie’s worm tub condensers, which are nowadays somewhat of an outlier compared to most distilleries with shell & tube condensers.

A definite departure from the typically grassier, lighter notes of Craigellachie’s original bottlings, but damn it’s a tasty drop. Worth every penny.