Highlands

Whisky #554: GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 7 Single Malt

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GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 7 Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 57.9%. Tasted at Whisky a Dy HQ, $134 (bottle).

After a brief hiatus, it’s time we got back into some serious whisky tasting. And what better way to kick in the front door on your tastebuds than with a GlenDronach Cask Strength Single Malt!

Colour: Deep fried golden batter.

Nose: Sweet strawberries and cream. Like ripping open a fresh bag of the lollies, not the fresh stuff.

Palate: Like some warm salted caramel sauce that oozes across your tastebuds and then down your throat to warm your chest. A touch of oak and spices – think soft flavours of cloves, cinnamon & black pepper overlaid the caramel notes.

Finish: Brown sugar and a spicy tingle on the front half of the tongue that lingers tantalisingly long after the flavours fade away.

Comments: The perfect dram for a cold winter’s afternoon.

Whisky #549: Edradour Ballechin Double Malt

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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 #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!

Whisky #536: Ben Nevis 1998 Three Rivers 18 Year Old by The Whisky Agency

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherBen Nevis 1998 Three Rivers 18 Year Old by The Whisky Agency. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 50.9%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $12 (30mL sample from Casa de Vinos).

An independent bottling of Ben Nevis by The Whisky Agency and Three Rivers Tokyo.

Colour: Pale lemon.

Nose: Cane-like notes hit the snout immediately, reminiscent of many Japanese whiskies. Perhaps that’s what attracted the Three Rivers Tokyo folks to select this particular cask? Some freshly peeled mandarine skins too.

Palate: Sharp and salty; tangy lemon and citrus. Grapefruit that has been baked under a grill with some brown sugar on top. The cask strength ABV is noticeable but not too imposing.

Finish: A dry, salty and woody finish with a long fade.

Comments: Aged for 18 years in a single hogshead cask and bottled at its cask strength of 50.9%. It has enough to keep you interested for a glass or two, but not enough for me to race out and track down where to purchase a full bottle.

Whisky #531: Glenmorangie The Tayne Single Malt

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherGlenmorangie The Tayne Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 43%. Tasted in the Barossa Valley with some very good friends after a weekend of wine tasting.

Colour: Filament glow.

Nose: Turkish delight, Juicy Fruit chewing gum, fairy floss and a touch of fresh orange peel. Paulie got some fresh caramel.

Palate: A creamy lemon dessert. Like some lemon sherbet dipped on creamy vanilla ice cream or the fresh creamy filling of a tart.

Finish: More zesty lemon tang and Chinese five spice; slightly salty.

Comments: A travel retail exclusive, the  Glenmorangie The Tayne was finished in ex Amontillado sherry casks. It’s an intriguing nose but a little disconnected with the palate – they’re both fine in isolation, but just quite different beasts.

Whisky #524: Ardmore Legacy Lightly Peated Single Malt

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherArdmore Legacy Lightly Peated Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 40%. $13 (50mL bottle).

When the new girls at sailing insist on pouring your whisky…

Colour: Bright gold.

Nose: Fresh lemons, straw and some peat. The smokiness quickly fades with some time in the glass, leaving sweet lemon notes.

Palate: Cool smoke, not as intense as the nose suggested. Creamy, yet thin on the palate.

Finish: Smokey charcoal, liquorice and lemon meringue. Medium length, with the smokiness the last to fade.

Comments: After a day sailing on Sydney Harbour with good friends old and new, a whisky was in order. The Ardmore Legacy was light and delicate, but ultimately not as approachable as the two delightful ladies who came sailing with us and generously offered to pour the whisky.

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

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherEdradour 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.

Whisky #517: Douglas Laing’s Single Minded Glengoyne 8 Year Old Single Malt

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherDouglas Laing’s Single Minded Glengoyne 8 Year Old Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 43%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $80 (bottle).

Colour: Golden toffee.

Nose: Creaming soda & lemon myrtle. A new-make like sharpness and nose prickle to start, but like an excitable toddler this settles down with time in the glass.

Palate: Creamy lemon flavours, quite thin on the palate. Sharp pepper and creamy lemon meringue. My trusted whisky tasting lieutenant Brett thought it tastes better than it smells.

Finish: Shortish finish. Lemon sorbet. Cane, oak and straw notes; like sucking for too long on an ice cream stick.

Comments: This Glengoyne has given Brett renewed vigour. That will happen when between him, me and my good mate Kiwi we’ve damn near polished off the whole bottle in an afternoon. Which I guess is a ringing endorsement for either the whisky or the company…the whisky is fair, but the company is excellent. Cheers gents!

Whisky #510: Berry Bros. & Rudd 8 Year Old Ardmore 2008 Single Malt Small Batch for The Whisky Club

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherBerry Bros. & Rudd 8 Year Old Ardmore 2008 Single Malt Small Batch for The Whisky Club. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46.0%. Tasted at home, $135 (bottle).

Colour: Pale sandstone.

Nose: Blueberry tarts, fresh cream and sweet juicy lemon jellies. A soft, cool smoke hints at what’s to come.

Palate: Orange marmalade on hot buttered toast. Some creme brûlée that’s had a bit too long under the blow torch – it’s sweet and creamy, but there’s also some burnt sugar and smoke coming through too. It’s a light touch on the palate.

Finish: It’s like roasted marshmallows on a camp fire – smokey, creamy and a warm fuzzy feeling to finish. Medium length.

Comments: A small batch release comprising just 7 barrels, this 8 Year Old Ardmore 2008 was bottled for The Whisky Club in Australia. It has a smokey rather than botanical peat influence, one that starts soft and gradually builds as you make your way through each sip.

I reckon it’s the perfect Friday night whisky – the kind when you’re exhausted after a week at work, you’ve come home and put on some music before you crash on the couch with that first whisky in your hand.

A lighter style of whisky to start the night, but with enough variety of flavours to steer you in a number of directions for your next dram – do you want to go down the path of a Speyside fruit-driven whisky next? Or maybe the peat has tickled you in funny places and an Islay whisky with more oomph is what’s up next?

Either way, it’s a great appetiser for a quiet night of whisky to help you unwind from the working week.

 

 

Whisky #499: Tullibardine The Murray 2004 Cask Strength Single Malt

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherTullibardine The Murray 2004 Cask Strength Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 56.1%. Tasted at home, $130 (bottle).

Colour: A dull yellow gold.

Nose: Fresh hay, malty cereal notes and lemon zest.

Palate: The flavours envelope your palate, they consume your thoughts for a moment as the whisky drowns out the empty space in your mouth. Toasted malt, honey and woody notes (like when the doctor puts the wooden stick on your tongue and asks you to say “ahhhh”).

Finish: Fresh oak, washed rind cheese, wafer biscuits and raw honey…the kind that still has lumps of honeycomb. Quite dry, medium length.

Comments: A dram of reflection; at times direct and quite simple, yet it has this come hither aspect to it. Like flames of a fire licking warmth towards you, drawing you closer.

Whisky #497: North Star Ardmore 8 Year Old 2008 Single Cask

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherNorth Star Ardmore 8 Year Old 2008 Single Cask. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 57.1%. Tasted at home, $215 (bottle).

What type of whisky soothes a broken heart? We’ve all been there – the breakups that leave you with an all-consuming sea of emotions. Emptiness, confusion, and a sadness that physically hurts and makes you feel ill.

But when your lover and best friend breaks up with you, what whisky do you turn to to numb the pain? To make you feel something, to distract you from the thousand questions and “what ifs” racing through your mind?

For me it has to be something robust – both in depth of flavour and with a high ABV. Something cask strength. Preferably a “single” cask (terrible pun; my sense of humour has really dried up).

A whisky that has plenty of character and isn’t too delicate – as the mind races in a thousand different directions thinking about the breakup, you want to enjoy the whisky without thinking about it too much. A whisky that doesn’t demand too much attention, yet with enough complexity so that you can take your mind off everything and just focus on the dram in front of you, if you so choose.

So I settled on the North Star Ardmore 8 Year Old 2008 Single Cask, which ticks all of those boxes perfectly.

Colour: Rich toffee.

Nose: Black jelly beans; a sniff of camp fire charcoal when you wake up the next morning and stick your head out of the tent.

Palate: Salty seaweed, char-grilled maple bacon, tart blueberries and sweet smoke.

Finish: Savoury and salty, soft smokey notes too. Like some caramelised onions cooked on a BBQ.

Comments: There’s no such thing as the perfect relationship, just as there’s no such thing as the perfect whisky. We shouldn’t be blinded by an endless search for perfection when there may be something amazing sitting right in front of you.

The North Star Ardmore 8 Year Old 2008 Single Cask isn’t the perfect whisky, but it’s pretty bloody amazing.

Whisky #490: Loch Lomond 12 Year Old Single Malt

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherLoch Lomond 12 Year Old Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46%. Tasted on a glorious winter’s afternoon on Sydney Harbour, $115 (bottle).

Colour: Glistening gold.

Nose: Dried pineapple chunks; a spoonful of honey stirred into some English Breakfast tea.

Palate: Honeycomb and creamy caramel oakiness – like sucking on the stick from a caramel Paddle Pop ice cream.

Finish: Short to medium length, but don’t let that put you off – there’s plenty to enjoy here. Soft oak, a hint of sweet gentle smoke and some buttery ginger nut biscuit flavours in the fade.

Comments: This Loch Lomond 12 Year Old was matured in three types of American oak casks – bourbon casks, refill casks and recharred casks. It’s fantastically subtle yet has boatloads of flavour too…it really is a whisky you can drink all afternoon in the sunshine.

Whisky #487: Glenmorangie Bacalta Private Edition Single Malt

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherGlenmorangie Bacalta Private Edition Single Malt. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 46%. Tasted at Button Bar, $24.

When you’re walking home on a cold and windy winter night and you pass a bar you’ve been meaning to check out for a while…better drop in a for a cheeky whisky to warm up! Button Bar are more known for their rum and gin, but I was pleased to see the Glenmorangie Bacalta behind the bar, a drop which I’d also been wanting to try for quite some time.

Colour: Candlelit gold.

Nose: Quite light. Wood chips with some caramelised savoury notes, think cured meats charred with a blow torch. All very light though.

Palate: Oakier than most Glenmorangies. Front palate, corn chips, caramelised onions on a BBQ, some faint raw sugar notes. Maybe I’m just hungry?!

Finish: Malty, dry yet soft. Salty warm tingle on the front of the tongue. Woody notes to finish. Medium length.

Comments: It’s a little different to your typical house style Glenmorangie; the lighter and slightly sweeter fruit driven style we’ve come to associate with many of their malts. This one has sweetness, but with balanced with more savoury tones. Definitely a drier mouthfeel and the malt flavours are more pronounced.

Overall, this was quite a hyped whisky amongst whisky fans around the world (as are many of the Glenmorangie Private Edition releases, and with good reason). Long time readers will know that Glenmorangie was my first favourite distillery, but for me this one didn’t quite hit the mark or scale the heights of some of their other recent Private Edition releases like the Glenmorangie Milsean.

Whisky #479: GlenDronach 1990 Single Cask 24 Year Old Single Malt

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherGlenDronach 1990 Single Cask 24 Year Old Single Malt (Cask No.1020). Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 53.8%.

What kind of whisky do you have when you’re trying to have a self-imposed booze ban for the week? This kind of whisky.

Colour: Dark, rich treacle.

Nose: Caramelised pork hock. Buttery burnt sugar, musty bookshelves. I love that smell.

Palate: Oh it’s smooth…caramel sauce over vanilla ice cream. Warm pudding. It’s basically a dessert…sticky date pudding in a glass.

Finish: Blackberry jellies. More caramel oozing over the tastebuds as you sit back and let the sweet sugary notes fade as some soft woody notes emerge. Like sucking on the ice cream stick after you’ve devoured the ice-cream, you’re craving more and can’t believe it’s finished so quickly.

Comments: Matured in a Pedro Ximenez sherry puncheon, cask strength…this is phenomenal. I am trying to not have too much to drink this week as I’m competing in a powerlifting competition this Saturday for which I’ve been training the last 10 months. So if I was going to break the self-imposed pre-competition booze ban it had better be for a damn good whisky. This one fits the bill perfectly! Stunning.

Whisky #465: Glenfarclas Whisky & Wisdom 9 Year Old Single Cask

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FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherGlenfarclas Whisky & Wisdom 9 Year Old Single Cask. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 60.5%. Tasted at home, $229 (bottle).

Now this is a special drop. Fellow Sydneysider, Andrew Derbidge – Director & Cellarmaster of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Australia, and also the man behind one of my favourite whisky blogs, “Whisky & Wisdom” – personally selected this cask for a special Whisky & Wisdom bottling. The man has some damn fine tastebuds, this one is a cracker!

Colour: Boiling caramel.

Nose: Dried cranberries, sultanas and a freshly opened block of dark chocolate. Leather-bound books and rich mahogany…must resist the urge to quote Ron Burgundy…

Palate: The intensity of the flavours is amazing; it’s rich without being overpowering. Strawberries and raspberries – rich and syrupy with a bit of tartness. Rich, creamy toffee with chocolate biscuits. The alcohol isn’t too much either, more a gentle wave of heat that builds along with the berry and some toasted oak notes.

Finish: A gentle warmth that slowly fades, drying woody notes too. Front of the tongue gets most of the joy.

Comments: This really is the kind of whisky you pour yourself when you get home after a tough day, slump into a comfy leather chair and put on some music to drown out the world. Don’t even think of talking to me, this whisky is taking me places. It’s so well balanced, smoother than it’s 60.7% ABV would suggest, and eminently drinkable. Bucketloads of flavour and subtle power, it really is one of those whiskies that has the ability to make the mind drift off and unwind. Which also made it a challenge to review, as I was enjoying it so much and just wanted to drift away with each sip.

I won’t hesitate to say this is one of my top 10 whiskies I’ve ever had, hands down.

Andrew selected this cask at the Glenfarclas Distillery. It must have been a tough job to taste all those contenders, but he eventually settled upon a 1st-fill European oak sherry butt that was distilled in 2007 and bottled as a 9 year old cask strength single malt in January 2016. If you want to hear more about how Andrew decided on this particular cask, check out the Whisky & Wisdom page.