Whisky tastings

Whiskies #319-321: The Balvenie Distillery Tour

December 13, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Tour of The Balvenie Distillery. Speyside, Scotland. £35.

After an enthralling morning touring Glenfiddich Distillery, it was time to duck right next door to their sister distillery Balvenie. Little did I know that I was about to taste one of the standout whiskies of the year for Whisky a Day.

Whisky #319: Balvenie Single Barrel First Fill 12 Year Old Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 47.80%.

Colour: Dull peachy gold.

Nose: Bit of an alcohol kick initially that quickly fades. Malty sweetness and cereal notes come through.

Palate: Oily mouthfeel, butterscotch flavours.

Finish: Spices and warmth, syrupy honey flavours in the fade.

Balvenie’s stills and spirit safe.

Whisky #320: Balvenie Doublewood 17 Year Old Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 43.00%.

Colour: Brassy copper colour.

Nose: Soft peat hits you immediately – even at only 3ppm. Very soft burnt toffee notes too. Almost a bit earthy too.

Palate: Dry, golden syrup notes, very faint straw notes. Delicious!

Finish: Sweet syrup and very soft smoke in the fade.

Balvenie are one of the few distilleries to still malt some (though not all) of their own barley

40 year old Balvenie hand-poured straight from the cask in Warehouse 24.

Whisky #321: Balvenie Bourbon Refill Barrel 40 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt (Barrel 17703). Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 53.7%.

Now this was the special one…

Colour: Deep, honied gold with particles of charcoal from the barrel.

Nose: Honeycomb, dusty bookshelves.

Palate: Stunning. Mouth coating, syrupy, rich vanilla. Velvety, creamy; like honey and butter on hot toast.

Finish: Intense, golden syrup and earthy notes – words fail me, I’m drifting away…

Comments: Now this was the special one. As a member of Balvenie’s Warehouse 24 club, on the tour I was granted a special surprise. Along with my new tour friends from the Boat City Whisky Club in Poland, we were given a “dog”, a small empty bottle, and tasked with locating barrel number 17703 upstairs in Warehouse 24. Once we located it, we could then use the dog to fill up the bottle with this precious liquid gold. Of course, there is absolutely NO truth to the rumour that the dog was then refilled and passed around when our tour guide wasn’t looking so we could sample some more of Barrel 17703’s contents straight from the cask…

Only when we got back to the tasting room did we learn that it was a 40 year old whisky that we had been tasting sraight from the cask in the warehouse where it has been maturing for the past four decades. It was simply divine, one of the stand-out whiskies of the year for me.

Balvenie Distillery

Whiskies #316-318: Glenfiddich Distillery Tour

December 9, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Tour of Glenfiddich Distillery, “The Pioneers Tour”. Speyside, Scotland. £75.

I went to Glenfiddich expecting due to their size for the tour to be a rather commercial, sheep-dip kind of experience. I chose to do their three-hour Pioneers Tour where I was pleasantly surprised to have one of the most personable, informative and enjoyable tours I’ve ever been on. Plus there was some fantastic whisky of course, including being able to taste & hand bottle some Sherry cask Glenfiddich straight from the cask. Reviews in that drop a little later, but for now let’s get stuck into some of the expressions I tasted on the day.

Whisky #316: Glenfiddich 14 Year Old Rich Oak Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 40.0%.

Colour: Rose gold.

Nose: Banana & toffee.

Palate: Rich oily oak, mouth coating. Vanilla and creamy fruit flavours.

Finish: Banana bread; quite a gentle fade.

Be “still” my beating heart…

Whisky #317: Glenfiddich 30 Year Old Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 40.0%.

Colour: Rich, dark honey.

Nose: Wicker chairs and dusty bookshelves.

Palate: So smooth and subtle. Rich and velvety. Caramelised pineapple. Brown sugar.

Finish: Very gentle, gradual fade – medium to long finish though. Cinnamon and banana, syrupy.

Comments: Sublime, absolutely amazing.

Whisky a Day sampling some of the wash

Whisky #318: Glenfiddich Age of Discovery Red Wine Cask Finish 19 Year Old Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 40.0%.

Nose: Oaky, dry, fruity not tropical.

Palate: Quite thin, buttery caramel – reminds me of a Scottish tablet.

Finish: Creamy, medium length.

Comments: I wouldn’t have picked it for a red wine finish, sweeter and not as dry as I would have expected.

Glenfiddich Distillery

Whisky #315 – Glendronach 1993 Single Cask 21 Year Old Single Malt

December 6, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Glendronach 1993 Single Cask 21 Year Old Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 55.8%. Tasted at the Craigellachie Hotel, £12.50.

Colour: Purplish copper. Stunning.

Nose: Dried muscatelles, dark chocolate – the kind of dusty cocoa scent you get from opening a block of 70 or 80% cocoa dark chocolate.

Palate: It slides into the mouth and the rich sherry flavours start to dance around your mouth. Spices abound; oily mouthfeel to start but then dries quickly as the flavours develop.

Finish: Satisfyingly very long. Sweet sherry notes, balanced by subtle cigar box flavours. Long tingle, predominantly at the front half of the palate.

Comments: Stunning; syrupy and chewy. An outstanding whisky, another amazing expression from Glendronach. This one really blew the Glenglassaugh Evolution I just tasted completely out of the water. I could drink this one all night!

Whisky #314 – Glenglassaugh Evolution Single Malt

December 6, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Glenglassaugh Evolution Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 50%. Tasted at the Craigellachie Hotel, £4.80.

Colour: Super light straw.

Nose: Fruity, citrus aromas, hessian sacks.

Palate: Dry mouthfeel. Lemon, dried banana; quite tangy.

Finish: A sherbety tingle, quite a long finish. Salty and sweet balance.

Comments: Lighter and a lot fruitier than I was expecting, but more citrusy rather than dried fruits and Christmas cake sort of flavours. Not too shabby.

Whisky #313 – Glenmorangie The Taghta Single Malt

December 6, 2014 by Whisky a Day 3 Comments

Glenmorangie The Taghta Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46.0%. Tasted at Glenmorangie Distillery (Tain).

Colour: Light golden toffee.

Nose: Juicy sultanas, brown sugar.

Palate: Creamy, oily mouthfeel. A slight peppery prickle on the tongue, but quite salty. Full flavoured, fruity, somewhat sweet and also spicy – the layers of flavour just keep coming.

Finish: Some toasty, sweet flavours linger. Lots of flavour, warmth in the medium to long finish.

Comments: “Taghta” translates in Gaelic to “The Chosen”. It’s the latest of Glenmorangie’s private edition releases, previous editions including the Companta and Ealanta. Like its forebears, it originates much like the Glenmorangie 10 year old, but is then extra matured in a Spanish Manzanilla Sherry cask (Manzanilla is a Spanish white sherry). The background to this expression is that Glenmorangie tried extra maturation of the 10 year old in three different types of barrels, then put it out to their loyal fans to choose which one they liked the most. The one they chose (hence the name “Taghta”) was the Manzanilla cask. I actually rate this one better than the Companta, it’s a fantastic drop – I “choose” to have another one!

Whisky #312 – Dalmore 18 Year Old Single Malt

December 6, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Dalmore 18 Year Old Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 43.00%. Tasted at The Bosville Hotel (Isle of Skye), £10.

Colour: Dark copper.

Nose: Burnt toffee, almost a bit meaty. Wow.

Palate: Tangy caramel, dried fruits. Warmth quickly builds and hits the roof of the mouth. Rich and full flavoured.

Finish: Sweet and sour, almost a touch salty as well. Quite a long and gradual finish.

Comments: Aged in Matusalem sherry butts, this was a fantastic whisky with great complexity, just how I like it.

Whisky #311 – Tobermory 1798 10 Year Old Single Malt

December 5, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Tobermory 1798 10 Year Old Single Malt. Isle of Mull, Scotland. ABV: 46.3%. Tasted at the Isles Inn (Isle of Skye), £3.75.

Colour: Faded gold.

Nose: Soft and light; pine needles primarily.

Palate: Citrus peel and saltiness, making almost a bit sour. Like sucking on a lemon sherbet lolly.

Finish: A drying finish, quite salty; medium to long.

Comments: Not as enjoyable as the 1798 Limited Edition 15 Year Old, but I guess that’s to be expected.

Whiskies #308-310 – The Arran Malt Distillery Tour

December 5, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Tour of Isle of Arran Distillery. Lochranza, Scotland. £15.

Over the course of the year, the whiskies from Isle of Arran Distillery have consistently been fantastic. Prior to embarking on Whisky a Day, I hadn’t come across them before as they are still a relatively smallish producer that isn’t widely available in Australia. Boy, have they been one of the finds of the year. So when planning my trip to Scotland, Arran was at the top of my list of distilleries I’d like to visit.

I received a very warm welcome from Richard, Stuart and the guys at Arran, not to mention all of the folks I encountered on this beautiful island. And so, onto the tastings…

Whisky #308: The Arran Malt 10 Year Old Single Malt. Isle of Arran, Scotland. ABV: 46%.

Colour: Bright yellow gold.

Nose: Creamy vanilla and toasted banana bread.

Palate: Fruity, cloves and other spices come through too.

Finish: Salty and spicy, medium length.

Whisky #309: The Arran Malt 12 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt. Isle of Arran, Scotland. ABV: 54%.

Colour: Orangey gold.

Nose: Sultanas and toast. So basically a freshly roasted slice of fruit toast.

Palate: Sweet dried fruit flavours dance around your palate. Rich molasses too.

Finish: The warmth builds with intensity, leaving a delicious lingering tingle all around your mouth.

Whisky #310: The Arran Malt 1998 Single Cask Sherry Cask Single Malt. Isle of Arran, Scotland. ABV: 54.1%.

Colour: A dull brassy hue.

Nose: Rich fruit cake.

Palate: Rich dried fruit, muscatels, molasses.

Finish: Coffee notes, long lingering warmth – now that’s the “Scottish central heating” my tour guide Richard was talking about!

Overall comments: Looking back at my notes, it looks like the 12 Year Old Cask Strength was my favourite, but actually the 1998 Single Cask Sherry Cask just pipped it. I was enjoying it so much I didn’t want to be distracted making too many tasting notes – I just wanted to sip and enjoy it. Both were fantastic drops though, enjoyed them immensely.

Personally, it was brilliant to finally see the distillery where all of this great whisky I had tasted this year was made, but even more fascinating to hear how the distillery site was chosen and set up. And while they are only a very young distillery, Arran have managed to produce some cracking whiskies in their short existence. Inspirational stuff for anyone who aspires to one day start up their own small distillery. Me? Of course not…*cough*

Beautiful Lochranza

Whisky #307 – The Arran Machrie Moor Single Malt (Fifth Edition)

December 4, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

The Arran Machrie Moor Single Malt (Fifth Edition). Isle of Arran, Scotland. ABV: 46.00%. Tasted at The Douglas Hotel (Isle of Arran), £4.95.

Colour: Very pale, very translucent.

Nose: Surprisingly peaty; I hadn’t tried a peated Arran malt before, I didn’t realise they did one to be honest.

Palate: Full flavoured. Slightly salty, raspberry flavours; a fair bit of smoke too.

Finish: Salty yet some ever so sweet citrus notes in the case. Tingles long at the front of the palate.

Comments: Like cooking some marshmallows over an open fire. A little smokey, yet with some residual sweetness acting as a nice contrast. I like it, but probably not as much as their other malts. Pretty cool to be drinking some Arran whilst on the Isle of Arran, can’t wait to check out the distillery tomorrow!

Whisky #306 – Invergorden The Five – Rich & Extremely Rare Single Grain 47 Year Old Whisky

December 3, 2014 by Whisky a Day 1 Comment

Invergorden The Five – Rich & Extremely Rare Single Grain 47 Year Old Whisky (Bottle 062 of 240). Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 48.4%. Tasted at The Ben Nevis Hotel (Glasgow)…by this stage of the night I have no idea what it cost me.

Colour: Radioactive orange.

Nose: Grassy grain aromas.

Palate: Salty liquorice, rich aniseed.

Finish: Quite short, very pungent.

Comments: A 47 year old single cask, single grain whisky. The eighth whisky of the night…damn I wish I’d had this at the start of the night rather than the end so I could appreciate it more. Abysmal tasting notes on this one, sorry!!

Whisky #305 – Laphroig 18 Year Old Single Malt

December 3, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Laphroig 18 Year Old Single Malt. Islay, Scotland. ABV: 48%. Tasted at The Ben Nevis Hotel (Glasgow), £…can’t recall.

Colour: Island golden shower.

Nose: Peaty iodine notes dominate. Typical Laphroig.

Palate: Strong smoked meat flavours, but somewhat softer and somewhat of an oily mouthfeel.

Finish: Front of your tongue – it doesn’t dominate & fill your mouth like a younger Laphroig.

Comments: By this stage of the night my ability to accurately and creatively describe the whisky was diminishing almost as rapidly as the pounds from my wallet…in hindsight? Quite similar to the Laphroig 10 and Quarter Cask, but much smoother.

Whisky #304 – Highland Park 18 Year Old Single Malt.

December 3, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Highland Park 18 Year Old Single Malt. Orkney Islands, Scotland. ABV: 43%. Tasted at The Ben Nevis Hotel (Glasgow), £6.10.

Colour: Goldy gold gold.

Nose: Like smelling your neighbour’s BBQ from a distance – very soft and subtle meaty aromas.

Palate: An initial hint of sweetness that dissipates quite quickly. Shortbread, lemony sweet kind of flavours, very subtle though.

Finish: Sweet medicinal flavours, hay-like notes too. Short to medium length.

Comments: It has a complexity that creeps up on you, gradually revealing more layers. I enjoyed this one.

Whisky #303 – Old Pulteney 21 Year Old Single Malt

December 2, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Old Pulteney 21 Year Old Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46.00%. Tasted at The Ben Nevis Bar (Glasgow), £8.20.

Colour: Orangey gold.

Nose: A bit floral, a touch fruity.

Palate: Nice and smooth, but not necessarily something to write home about. Toasted citrus and buttery notes.

Finish: Sweet soft smoke, medium length.

Comments: Like a juvenile dwarf, it’s slowly growing on me. It’s nice, but for me it’s not going to set the world on fire.

Whisky #302 – Gordon & Macphail Mortlach 21 Year Old Single Malt

December 2, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Gordon & Macphail Mortlach 21 Year Old Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 43%. Tasted at The Pot Still (Glasgow), £7.15.

Colour: Bright yellow gold.

Nose: It doesn’t just smell sweet, it really does smell like honey.

Palate: Cool, oily entry; mouth-coating. Exceptionally smooth. Rich buttery honey flavours. A tingle builds at the front of the palate.

Finish: A semi-sweet yet drying finish. Medium length for flavour, long for the tingle.

Comments: Such a rich full flavoured dram, yet very easy to drink – the kind of whisky that you could safely have as your go-to drop no matter what the occasion.

Whisky #301 – Edradour Natural Cask Strength Single Malt

December 2, 2014 by Whisky a Day 1 Comment

Edradour Natural Cask Strength Single Malt. Distilled 2000, bottled 2014 (cask #2008). Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 57.1%. Tasted at The Pot Still (Glasgow), £6.85.

Colour: Dark copper.

Nose: Sweet charcoal, perfume, sherry notes too. Fantastic layers.

Palate: Immediate tingle on the lips as the flavours begin to dance around your mouth. Oily mouthfeel, rich full sherry flavours – rich sultanas, saltiness too.

Finish: Nutty sweet sherry notes hang around for ages. The front half of the palate and your lips seem to tingle for an eternity; what a buzz.

Comments: Wow, what a dram. Love it. Rich, fruity and spicy – it’s hard to write a tongue-in-cheek review of a whisky this good. Highly recommended.

Whisky #300 – The MacPhail’s Collection 1986 Glenglassaugh Single Malt

December 1, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

The MacPhail’s Collection 1986 Glenglassaugh Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. Bottled 1998. 40%. Tasted at The Pot Still (Glasgow), £4.65.

Colour: Rich golden honey.

Nose: Freshly toasted bread with honey on top.

Palate: Oily mouthfeel at first, fruity with a good balance of sweetness and tartness – think pineapple.

Finish: Quite a drying finish. Soft woody notes in the fade.

Comments: Geez these whiskies in Scotland are much cheaper than we pay back in Australia! Not a bad drop – I don’t think I’ve tried a whisky from Glenglassaugh before so I can’t compare it, however it’s not bad at all…worth another taste. This Gordon & MacPhail’s release was distilled in 1986, the year that Glenglassaugh was mothballed for quite some time, until being sold and subsequently reopened in 2008.