Edradour Archives - Whisky a Day

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

January 22, 2020 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

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 #549: Edradour Ballechin Double Malt

February 17, 2019 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Edradour Ballechin Double Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $19 (50mL sample bottle from Casa de Vinos).

Colour: Bright toffee.

Nose: Rich timber and varnish notes, like walking into a woodwork shop. Smokey notes like you’ve pressed the timber a bit too hard against the planer or circular saw and it’s started to smoulder a little.

Palate: Cool smoke, blueberries, dark chocolate and cocoa.

Finish: Charcoal notes in the finish, becoming drier. Like the slightly burnt sausages left over at a BBQ, you just keep going back for one more bite.

Comments: Created as a vatting of one cask of Edradour sherry cask matured whisky, along with three casks of Edradour’s Ballechin peated whisky matured in ex Bourbon casks. For me, it’s a little too heavy on the peated notes, which dominate the sherry and juicy dried fruit notes that Edradour is known for.

Whisky #523: Edradour 2006 Bourbon Cask Matured 10 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt

March 12, 2018 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

by Edradour 2006 Bourbon Cask Matured 10 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 60.2%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $17 (50mL bottle split from Casa de Vinos).

Colour: Liquid sunshine.

Nose: Straw, vanilla and fresh pine furniture pulled straight out of the IKEA flatpack box. My trusted whisky tasting lieutenant Kiwi gets lemon aromas along with some barley and sunflower seeds.

Palate: Powerful and intense – a dry mouthfeel but with bucketloads of flavour. Toasted malt, hay and cereal notes with a salty lemon tang. Not sweet at all, quite sharp but very moreish.

Finish: Preserved lemons. A dry timber paddle pop stick on your tongue at the doctor when you’re made to open your mouth wide and say “ahhhh”.

Comments: This one leaves a long salty tingle on the front of the palate and around the lips, making you want to lick them before diving back for another sip. Quite different to the more creamy mouthfeel whiskies I’ve had previously from Edradour, but the difference should definitely be celebrated. A top drop.

Three Whiskies with Sirloin & Smoked Cheddar Sauce

June 13, 2015 by Whisky a Day 2 Comments

by Three whiskies with sirloin and a smoked cheddar sauce…it’s a mouthwatering way to spend a quiet night in. Long time readers will know that I love my whisky (obviously) but also fine food and cooking, so the step from tasting a Whisky a Day to exploring whisky & food pairings is a logical one.

For this exercise, seeing as I’m a novice at pairing whisky with food I decided to cook one meal and try it with three contrasting styles of whisky to begin exploring what flavours might work together. I’ve got a fantastic cut of sirloin, then I made the sauce using a smoked cheddar from the Margaret River Dairy Company along with some cream and a few other goodies. These are all whiskies I’ve tasted before, which was a deliberate choice as I’m already familiar with each dram and know what to expect, plus I figured to taste a whisky for the first time and consider the food combination as well might be overcomplicating things a little. So without further ado, let’s get tasting!

Gordon & MacPhail Reserve Highland Park 15 Year Old Single Malt – Exclusively Bottled for Dram Full (Cask No. 4255): The fruity vanilla notes get a bit drowned out by the rich smokiness of the cheddar and salty char-grilled goodness of the steak. But surprisingly, they then come through like a wave. Even when taking a sip of whisky while still having some steak and sauce in my mouth to let the flavours really get to know one another, it’s not a comfortable union. It’s almost like the cheese and whisky are playing tug of war for the attention of my tastebuds. When the cheddar cuts through you get more alcohol notes without the whisky flavour. I love this whisky on its own, but it doesn’t really work with the food here.

Edradour 12 Year Old Caledonia Selection: A much better match – the rich sherry and caramel notes of the whisky balance out the sharpness of the cheddar beautifully. It doesn’t have the alcohol heat come through like the Highland Park. The sweetness complements the charring on the steak brilliantly as well. The Caledonia was the only whisky that I had to go back to get a refill…which should indicate how much I enjoyed this combo!

Kilchoman Machir Bay Single Malt: I have to admit I wasn’t quite sure how this combination would go – a char-grilled steak; a sharp aged cheddar sauce; and then the smokiness of an Islay malt. Does it work? Absolutely!! I think that perhaps because the Machir Bay has some slightly sweeter notes compared to other Islay malts, it definitely works with the steak and smokey cheddar combination. I noted in my original review last year that it didn’t have the peatiness or the meatiness of the really great Islay malts, but for this particular setting with some other dominant flavours it actually compliments the steak and sauce beautifully.

Overall comments: I love my steak, usually accompanied by a big ballsy red wine with lots of flavour and rich fruitiness. We’re lucky here in Australia to have some absolute ball-tearers when it comes to red wine, so the notion of having a whisky with a big juicy steak was a step into the unknown. I think the Edradour Caledonia was definitely the pick of the combinations, though the Kilchoman Machir Bay was a close second. Maybe the sweetness and rich, caramelised fruitiness of the Caledonia was akin to some of the bold, fruity red wines I’d usually go for? To test this theory, as always I might just have to continue the research…

Whisky a Day – The Year in Review

March 8, 2015 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Ok then, I’ll have just one more wee dram…

Well, what an adventure that was…

As I sit here at home sipping on a Michel Couvreur Overaged Single Malt, reflecting on the whole Whisky a Day project / adventure / life changing experience / excuse to use ridiculous hyperbole, it seemed remiss of me not to share these reflections and answer some of the most common questions I received, such as:

“What was your favourite whisky?”
“Does a whisky a day really keep the doctor away?” or
“How much did it all cost?!”

So without further ado, let’s pop the cork from the Whisky a Day bottle, sit back into a comfy leather chair, slip into something more comfortable and enjoy a dram of the Whisky a Day Year in Review…

By far the most common question I’ve received right throughout the year was “What was your favourite whisky?” And it’s a very hard to name just one – an analogy I’d use is to imagine if you listened to a different song every day for a year and had to name your favourite song. After listening to a song just once, it’s very hard to say that it’s your new favourite! It might piqué your interest, you might love the band or that style of music, you might really like it and want to listen to it some more to really get to know it and learn the lyrics…but you’re not going to say it’s your new favourite after only one listening. It’s the same with the 365 whiskies I tried.

So with that in mind, I’ve decided to call out some of my highlights from my Whisky a Day adventure, a few interesting facts, and then finish up with not “a favourite” but a list of the top four whiskies that really rocked my world.

Whisky collection – start of year vs end: I tried to buy whiskies at bars whenever I could, but obviously there were just a couple of bottles I picked up along the way. I’ll let the pictures tell the story…

My modest whisky collection on January 1st, 2014

My slightly expanded whisky collection on December 31st

So does a Whisky a Day keep the doctor away? Well, throughout 2014 I drank a whisky a day and had ZERO visits to the doctor. In the first 2 weeks of of 2015, I took my foot off the gas whisky wise and didn’t have one each day…then BAM – I came down with a nasty virus and had to go to the doctor. You be the judge!

Some special moments of the year:

Tasting some 40 year old Balvenie straight from the barrel with the guys from the Boat City Whisky Club

Tasting 40 year old Balvenie straight from the barrel with the guys from the Boat City Whisky Club

Glenrothes 1969 – The MacPhail’s Collection. The first truly outstanding whisky of the year that really made me sit up and take notice. I can still remember the taste now, it was like liquified Christmas pudding.
The Balvenie Bourbon Refill Barrel 40 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt (Barrel 17703): Drinking 40 year old Balvenie straight from the barrel in the warehouse where it’s been maturing for the last four decades. Wow.
Gordon & MacPhail 1940 Generations Glenlivet 70 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt: This really was like drinking history. Seventy years old, laid down in 1940 during the Second World War. Stunning.

Worst whisky of the year: only a few made it to the rarified air of being dubbed a “truly awful” whisky. Somewhat surprisingly, I didn’t get around to tasting many commonly available entry level whiskies, e.g. Johnnie Walker Red Label. In the interests of keeping the positive vibe going, I’ll refrain from singling out one whisky as the worst of the year. Suffice to say though, that I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of whiskies I tried – I thought to get to 365 whiskies I would’ve had to try a lot more truly awful whiskies!

Favourite new distilleries that I hadn’t previously discovered: A tie between Isle of Arran Distillers (Isle of Arran, Scotland) and Great Southern Distilling Company (Albany, Western Australia, Australia). Searching out 365 different whiskies really opened my eyes to trying some new whiskies I hadn’t tried before. These two distilleries aren’t huge names, but geez they both produce some amazing stuff.

Most surprising whisky of the year: Kavalan Solist Ex-Sherry Cask Strength Single Malt.

Best Islay Malt: Very hard to split, there’s been so many great ones. I’d have to nominate it a tie between the Blackadder Smoking Islay Raw Cask (Sherry Cask) Cask Strength Single Malt and Douglas Laing’s Old & Rare Port Ellen 30 Year Old Single Malt.
An honourable mention goes to the SMWS 3.194 Surf and Turf BBQ.

Slightly surreal but fantastically fun experiences of the year:

Whisky a Day with Scottish comedian Alan Anderson at his Whisky For Dafties show at the Perth Fringe

Ardbeg 10 year old…through the medium of interpretive dance. Taking part in Scottish comedian Alan Anderson’s “Whisky For Dafties” show at the Perth Fringe Festival.
Finch Whiskies: interviewing the winner of Germany’s Best Whisky 2014 for Stuttgart’s Die Neue 107.7 radio station? Yes indeed.

Favourite Blended Whisky: Suntory Hibiki 21 Year Old Blended Japanese Whisky

Favourite Australian Whisky: Great Southern Distillery – Limeburners Barrel M93 Single Malt

Favourite American Whiskey: Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Baby Bourbon.
Honourable mentions: Booker’s Bourbon Whiskey (Batch C04-J-19) & Balcones True Blue 100 Proof Corn Whisky

Best value whisky: Edradour 12 Year Old Caledonia Selection. Purchased online from Japan (god bless Claude Whiskies!), around just $65AUD for the bottle (plus shipping).
Honourable mention: Glendronach 15 Year Old Revival 100% Sherry Matured Single Malt. At around $100AUD/bottle in Oz, for the amount of rich, full flavour you get in this it’s hard to go past this one – cracking value.

Over the course of the year I’ve found my tastes gravitating to the rich, full flavoured, syrupy, somewhat fruity almost chewy drams – especially the cask strength releases. Even at the end of the year when I thought I might find it difficult to uncover new whiskies I’d yet to try, I was still discovering absolutely outstanding whiskies in this style, such as the Murray McDavid Dufftown Distillery Speyside Single Malt Whisky (distilled 1979).

So how much did it all cost?! A question I’ve been avoiding all year…I’ve kept track of the price I paid for almost all drams and bottles, but I’ve resisted the urge to add them up until now as I was afraid to find out. This quite sizable figure adds up to a grand total of…$10,053.60. Wow. And that doesn’t include the cost of my trip to Scotland, that’s just the whisky costs through the year. Ouch!

So what were your damn favourites for the year??! It’s impossible to land on one…so here are my top four whiskies of the year – in alphabetical order, to avoid any arguments! Here we go:

Balvenie Bourbon Refill Barrel 40 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt (Barrel 17703): Stunning. Velvety, creamy; like honey and butter on hot toast. It really was special to be drinking 40 year old Balvenie straight from the barrel in the warehouse where it’s been maturing for the last four decades.
Glenrothes 1969 – The MacPhail’s Collection: “Like liquified Christmas pudding”. It was a standout when I tried it in March, and it’s still a standout looking back over the year. The first time I came to love the nose of a whisky even more than the taste.
Great Southern Distillery – Limeburners Barrel M93 Single Malt: Like golden syrup slathered on top of hot buttered crumpets. I bought the last bottle from the cellar door, then when I heard there was another bottle available at a bottle shop in South Perth I grabbed that as well. A stunning drop!
Kavalan Solist Ex-Sherry Cask Strength Single Malt: What a colour, what an intense flavour! I tried the Kavalan thinking it would be a “truly awful” whisky seeing as it’s from Taiwan and who’s ever heard of a good Taiwanese whisky, right? It blew me away and deservedly takes its place in the top echelon for the year.

So there you have it, my standout top 4 whiskies of the year. Simply sublime, each of them.

What now for Whisky a Day? My passion for whisky has only intensified, there are some grand plans in the years ahead but in the short term I’m going to continue exploring new whiskies and posting tongue-in-cheek tasting notes here at Whisky a Day. I’m also starting to explore whisky and food pairing and also cooking with whisky, so stay tuned for some of that.

Before I go, I must thank a few people. Thanks to you readers for your support, interaction and for making this adventure so fun and intriguing. Thanks also to the many fine bartenders, whisky industry folks and others who I’ve shared a dram with – I have learnt so much and my appreciation of this fine spirit has grown immeasurably. Special mention to the guys at a couple of Perth’s finest whisky bars, Helvetica (Jason, Hutch, Gareth and the rest of the gang), Varnish on King (Xander! Absolute legend of a whisky fiend), Canton Lounge (Steve), Bobèche (Joe) and of course The Hoff of The Flour Factory / Luxe Bar / every other damn bar in town. These guys, plus countless others, are bartenders who are all so passionate and knowledgeable about their industry and also about whisky. It really was a pleasure to sit across the bar from you guys on a random Tuesday night and shoot the breeze about this amazing amber liquid.

Special thanks also to Dram Full – Perth! What an amazing whisky community we have here in Perth, mainly thanks to the driving force behind it all – Nathan DeTienne. I’ve learnt so much from Nathan and all the other guys who are active, plus I’ve been fortunate to share some amazing drams with some fellow whisky fiends.

But most of all I’d like to thank my three “whisky tasting lieutenants” – Brett, Giles and Joel. Three of my best mates, you magnificent bastards have always been there to share a dram, split a bottle, or help us twist one another’s arms to have just one more dram…and I know that we will have many more whisky adventures over the years ahead.

Slàinte!

Todd (aka Whisky a Day)

Below the nose, above the chin. You’d think I’d have this whisky drinking business down pat after 365 drams in 365 days…

Whisky #343 – Edradour Natural Cask Strength Bourbon Cask

December 21, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

by Edradour Natural Cask Strength Bourbon Cask. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 57.4%. Tasted at my friend Nathan’s place, courtesy of the whisky fiend himself.

Colour: Pale golden apple juice.

Nose: Nose prickle; lemon sherbet.

Palate: Salty popcorn, some creamy light fruit flavours too. Oily mouthfeel.

Finish: Long tingle all around the front of the tongue and mouth.

Comments: Edradour has been one of the finds of the year for me, I hadn’t come across it before but I’ve been loving exploring their range of malts. I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the other Edradour Natural Cask Strength that I tasted in Glasgow recently, but this one is still quite enjoyable.

Whisky #301 – Edradour Natural Cask Strength Single Malt

December 2, 2014 by Whisky a Day 1 Comment

by 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 #277 – Edradour Straight From the Cask 11 Year Old Burgundy Cask Finish Single Malt

November 5, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

by Edradour Straight From the Cask 11 Year Old Burgundy Cask Finish Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 58.8%. Tasted at home, $70 (500mL bottle).

Colour: Bright orange.

Nose: Dry, soft oak; almost a bit powdery in a way.

Palate: Not as smooth, sweet as the Edradour Caledonia; dry and oaky. Like licking a paddle pop stick.

Finish: Straw-like flavours, medium length; leaves a tingle at the front of tongue.

Comments: I definitely had high expectations given how much I enjoyed the only other Edradour I’ve tasted before, the Edradour 12 Year Old Caledonia Selection. However this one, while still a solid dram, failed to live up those lofty expectations. It didn’t have anywhere near the same level or complexity, sweetness or depth of flavour in my opinion. I’m keen though to drop by the Edradour distillery in Pitlochry to see what other drams they have on offer!

Whisky #224 – Edradour 12 Year Old Caledonia Selection

September 10, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

by Edradour 12 Year Old Caledonia Selection. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46.0%. Tasted at home, $55 (bottle).

Colour: Luscious deep copper. It’s a beautiful thing.

Nose: Sweet sherry goodness awaits. Mixed dried fruit aromas too.

Palate: Intense sherry and caramel flavours; a perfect balance of sweetness, spices and heat. Oily, syrupy mouthfeel. Amazing.

Finish: Long flavour fade, medium length for the heat. Soft pepper and toffee flavours.

Comments: This expression was apparently created when Edradour asked Scottish singer Dougie Maclean to select a single Oloroso cask and they named it after his most famous song, “Caledonia”. What a load of marketing hogwash.

All that bullshit aside, this is a stunning whisky – it makes me want to drink it all day. For many days on end. It has huge depth of flavour yet with that residual sweetness that makes you want to lick the inside of the glass to make sure you’ve gotten every last little drop. All of this from Scotland’s tiniest distillery, reportedly run by just three guys. Amazing stuff fellas.