independent bottling

Whisky #489: North Star Arran 20 Year Old Single Malt

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

North Star Arran 20 Year Old Single Malt. Isle of Arran, Scotland. ABV: 51.9%. Tasted at home, $251 (bottle).

Colour: Brilliant topaz.

Nose: Freshly sawn timber, pine needles and freshly baked lemon tarts dusted with icing sugar. All very light and delicate though, there’s nothing too overpowering…just a subtle invitation to take a sip.

Palate: Burnt orange marmalade on a fresh croissant…all tart, citrusy, buttery and very moreish. Quite malty too, much more so than most Arran expressions I’ve had before.

Finish: Like biting into some orange and lemon fruit pastilles – juicy, chewy and lots of sweet citrus flavours. A light peppery finish too.

Comments: North Star are a relatively new player in the independent bottler game. Bottled at cask strength and drawn from a single cask, this 20 year old Arran was distilled in August 1996. Given the Arran Distillery only opened in 1995 this is one of the oldest expressions of Arran malt that you’re likely to find.

It’s much maltier and a different kind of fruitiness to most other Arran malts…more citrus than tropical fruits. Recommended, though for the price it’s not exactly a daily drinker.

Whisky #471: Berrys’ 2005 Single Malt From Bunnahabhain Distillery

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Berrys’ 2005 Single Malt From Bunnahabhain Distillery (Drawn from Cask Ref. 9000058). Islay, Scotland. ABV: 56.9%. Tasted at Mjølner, $23.

Mjølner is a new Viking whisky bar here in Sydney.

Viking. Whisky. Bar. Absolute genius.

An awesome array of whiskies behind the bar and a great basement fitout, can’t wait to come back and pillage and plunder some more liquid gold.

Colour: Bright lustrous gold.

Nose: Soft smoke, honey on slightly burnt toast, creamy pink marshmallows.

Palate: Oaky, smoky and…oki dokey. A light burst of salted caramel down the middle of your tongue, then a gentle warmth that slowly builds in your mouth.

Finish: A long gentle smoky fade; dusty blueberry without the sweetness.

Comments: Bunnahabhain’s official distillery releases are typically unpeated, so a peated independent bottling from Berrys’ was worth a try.

It’s a nice whisky, but quite straightforward and gentle in all aspects – nose, palate and finish. Nothing too outlandish or bold; a little beige. I found myself searching for ways to describe it, looking for depth when it wasn’t there. The smokiness is the dominant flavour, but it’s not overpowering like some (typically younger) Islay whiskies.

Whisky #5: Blackadder 1999 Raw Cask

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

IMG_2506Blackadder 1999 12 Years Old Raw Cask.  Distilled at Mannochmore Distillery. Speyside, Scotland.  ABV: 60.9%.  Tasted at The Royal Hotel, $16.

Colour: Pale straw. Similar in colour to a third-day pitch at the SCG where the Aussies typically wrap up the Ashes. What’s that Pommies, 5-nil?!

Nose: Hay / grassy scents. Not the strong waft of alcohol that I was expecting from a cask strength whisky at 60%.

Palate: Woody notes, a moderate amount of peat.

Finish: Ah, there’s the alcohol kick.  Lingering warm sensations, slowly filling the mouth and moving back on the tongue. Much like my date the other night!

Comments: Dangerously drinkable, I’m predicting this will be one of my favourites. Didn’t have the pungent alcohol kick or fumes I was expecting from a dram at 60%.  Quite a rare drop being a single cask release, only 304 bottles released.  Definitely will be coming back to have some more of this one before they run out.