Whisky Live 2014 Archives

Whiskies #80-81 – Wemyss Malts: The Hive 12 Year Old Blended Malt & The Spice King 12 Year Old Blended Malt

June 5, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Wemyss Malts: The Hive 12 Year Old Blended Malt (ABV: 40.00%), Speyside, Scotland; & The Spice King 12 Year Old Blended Malt (ABV: 40.00%), Highlands, Scotland. Tasted at Whisky Live 2014.

Well I’ve made my way to the Wemyss blended whiskies now from Highlands and Speyside. I have to say after having the peaty whiskies from Isle of Jura, my palate is absolutely shot.

The Heemes, – sorry I mean the Wemyss (I can’t even speak properly now!) – The Wemyss ‘The Hive’ which is their Speyside blend – it’s called The Hive because it’s got honey-like tastes to it. Nup – I couldn’t tell it. Either I’ve had too many whiskies today, or my palate is goooooone after all the peat.

Similarly for ‘The Spice King’ which is the Highlands blend – it’s just not happening for me. The nose, the palate, everything is just gone – the palate…yeah nup. Nothing left in the tank folks, over and out.

I guess it just goes to show that if you’re heading to a whisky tasting event, you really need to plan out your whisky tasting strategy for the day. I think I did reasonably well on that front, with the Wemyss blends the only whiskies I would have preferred to have had at an earlier stage.

Whisky #79: 1999 Isle of Jura Boutique Barrels XU Bourbon Cask Strength Single Malt

June 5, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

1999 Isle of Jura Boutique Barrels XU Bourbon Cask Strength Single Malt. Isle of Jura, Scotland. ABV: 55.00%. Tasted at Whisky Live 2014.

Sampled: Isle of Jura 10 year old (ABV: 40.0%); 1995 Isle of Jura Boutique Barrels JO Bourbon Cask Strength (ABV: 56.5%); Isle of Jura Superstition (43.0%); Isle of Jura Prophecy (ABV: 46.0%); Isle of Jura 1999 Boutique Barrels XU Bourbon Cask (ABV: 55.0%).

Well the pick was certainly the smokey, meaty BBQ smell and flavour of the 1999 Isle of Jura Boutique Barrels XU Bourbon Cask at the end of the table (far right of picture). The 1995 vintage was ok, obviously the further up the line we worked the peatier they got.

But really, the last two (right of picture) were the only ones that I was really interested in. The Jura Prophecy was starting to get a bit more character, probably due to the fact it was finished in some oloroso sherry casks. There was a noticeable step up in peat too.

But the 1999 Boutique Barrels XU Bourbon Cask was definitely the pick of the Juras on offer here.

Whisky #78 – The Ultimate Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Mystery Speyside 1966

June 4, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

The Ultimate Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Mystery Speyside 1966. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 43.30%. Tasted at Whisky Live 2014, $32 (half nip) from the ‘Old & Rare’ bar.

Undisclosed “mystery Speyside”. It’s a Glenfarclas, but an independent bottling from The Ultimate Whisky Company. Distilled in 1966, bottled 04/10/2012. Bottle no. 102 of 182.

Well the Glenfarclas 1966, I’ll first throw it open to the floor (i.e. my whisky fiend mates)…what do we think boys? “Pretty damn good.” “Fucking sensational” added another. It’s almost as old as my mate Canning…to which he added “almost as old as my older brother”. Younger brother don’t you mean mate? 😉

For me, it had some delicious soft flavours of muscatels and sultanas, but not too strong. It was very subtle, very smooth, kinda sweet and syrupy. Bit of a fruity sort of nose and a lovely, smooth well balanced finish – not too strong in spice or heat, a very drinkable whisky (to put it mildly!). Much like the Glenrothes 1969 The MacPhail’s Collection, I guess it comes as no surprise that these amazing flavours are going to be extremely complex yet very smooth and subtle having spent 46 years in a barrel. Another amazing dram!

Whisky #77 – Glenrothes 1969 – The MacPhail’s Collection

June 4, 2014 by Whisky a Day 3 Comments

Glenrothes 1969 – The MacPhail’s Collection. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 43%. Tasted at Whisky Live 2014, $32 (half nip) from the ‘Old & Rare’ bar.

“Like liquified Christmas pudding”. My favourite whisky so far of the Whisky a Day project.

Distilled in 1969 and only bottled in 2008 by Gordon & MacPhail. This had a beautiful dark colour, that’s what most attracted me to this bottle at the ‘Old & Rare’ bar at Whisky Live. Darker than my ex-girlfriend’s heart.

I was expecting a really strong, Christmas cake sort of flavours based on the amazingly complex and sweet nose. Stunning aromas. However I was expecting the flavours to be a little more intense based on the nose. Beautiful, beautiful flavours though, just not as full or intense as the aromas had gently teased. Very smooth to sip, almost syrupy. An excellent finish too, with a fair bit of spice (flavours) but definitely no alcohol heat – perhaps unsurprising it was so velvety having spent so much time maturing in the barrel. A beautiful, smooth, and frankly stunning whisky.

Definitely the best whisky I’ve had so far – not just at Whisky Live but the best I’ve had so far across the Whisky a Day project. And that’s not something I say lightly, as I believe it’s difficult to really get to know a whisky (especially a malt as complex as this one) from only one dram. But this is such a standout in my book, amazing. If I could get my hands on a bottle of this I would, although I shudder to think of the price. It was a privilege to have tried it.

Whisky #76 – Blanton’s Gold Edition Bourbon Whiskey

June 3, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Blanton’s Gold Edition Bourbon Whiskey. Frankfort, Kentucky, United States. ABV: 51.50%. Tasted at Whisky Live 2014.

Sampled: Blanton’s Special Reserve, Blanton’s Original Private Reserve, Blanton’s Gold Edition & Blanton’s Single Barrel No. 136.

The first two (Special Reserve and Original Private Reserve) were actually quite similar, not too much of a difference. The Original Private Reserve was possibly a little bit smoother, but Gold Edition was definitely the pick of this bunch. Lots of oak, vanilla and sweetness. More like a Scotch whisky than a bourbon. Maybe that’s why I liked it the best? In fact the further I worked my way up the range, the closer their qualities started to resemble Scotch whisky rather than bourbons.

Finally, I had the Single Barrel No. 136, which was bottled at a cask strength of 66.6%. I didn’t enjoy it as much, thought there was a bit too much heat. It just seemed a bit too over the top; too strong, intense, too much alcohol heat and spice to really enjoy the flavours.

Whisky #75 – Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey

June 3, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey. Bardstown, Kentucky, United States. ABV: 45.00%. Tasted at Whisky Live 2014.

Bernheim…a straight wheat whiskey – I’ve never had one of those before. I like the nose, and the finish. But the nose is definitely very distinct. Quite a smooth, yet short palate. The palate actually is probably the most underwhelming part to it – it’s certainly not a bad drop though. The finish has some aniseed sort of flavours to it. Grainy, malty, slightly sweet aftertaste but also some of those aniseed flavours to finish as well.

Whisky #74 – Glen Moray 25 Year Old Portwood Finish

June 3, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Glen Moray Portwood Finish 25 Year Old. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 43.0%. Tasted at Whisky Live 2014.

Righto – so we’re here at Whisky Live 2014. Over 100 whiskies on offer. No, I’m not going to attempt to taste them all (although that does sound like a mighty challenge). Instead I’m going to take a slightly different approach to the day’s tasting – instead of writing up tasting notes for every single whisky I sampled on the day, I’m going to make a few notes about a particular distillery (in this case Glen Moray) and then decide which of their selection I preferred.

The reason for this approach is that I actually sampled 28 different whiskies on the day, but most were only 5-10mL tastings. In my opinion (and particularly for my somewhat immature palate), it is incredibly different to get to know a whisky off such a small sample. I also didn’t want to spend the entire day furiously typing notes onto my phone for all 28 whiskies, I wanted to actually take it all in and enjoy the day. So I made a few brief voice memos afar trying each table and have reflected that here.

So onto the Glen Moray tastings…

Sampled: Glen Moray 10 year old, Glen Moray 16 year old & Glen Moray 25 year old Portwood Finish. I think the Portwood Finish was definitely the pick of the three. It has a deep ambery colour, a sweeter sort of taste. A very different nose to the other two – the 10 year had a funny sort of nose…fuck this is going to get difficult to describe as the day wears on. All three were quite thin tasting, quite thin on the palate and all had quite a light, short finish – but the 25 year old was definitely the pick.

Whiskies #70-73: Whisky Live 2014, The Glenlivet Masterclass with Laura Hay

May 17, 2014 by Whisky a Day 1 Comment

Whisky Live 2014, The Glenlivet Masterclass with Laura Hay, Rydges Hotel, $40.

Happy World Whisky Day everyone!! Right – after a brief hiatus, I am finally getting back into posting my tasting notes. Apologies for being off the air for a few weeks – I’ve not been slack, I’ve simply been busy drinking whisky dammit!! Anyway, lots of tastings to catch up on so let’s get straight into it…

I was again privileged to attend the Whisky Live Glenlivet masterclass facilitated by the wonderfully experienced and erudite Laura Hay. Now some people might know a little about a particular region or distillery, some might even claim to know a lot. But no-one I have ever spoken to can claim to know a fraction of what Laura can about The Glenlivet, nor tell as many engaging or funny stories and historical anecdotes. Mainly because Laura grew up living and breathing Glenlivet whisky. Now that makes her sound like a raging alco (I trust you she’s not, well that’s what she tells us!), but she literally worked and grew up right at The Glenlivet distillery.

Anyway, in between learning some fascinating things about the history of The Glenlivet and Laura’s experiences growing up there, we also got to taste quite a number of their releases. We started by tasting The Glenlivet 12 year old, but having recently reviewed it as Whisky #65 you can find the tasting notes here: https://whiskyaday.com/whisky-065/.

Next up was The Glenlivet 15 year old French Oak Reserve, which I’ve also covered as Whisky #23 here: https://whiskyaday.com/whisky-023/

Whisky #70, The Glenlivet 16 year old ‘Nàdurra’. Speyside, Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 54.3%

Colour: Pale gold.

Nose: Lots of fruit here, also smells a bit like creaming soda – sweet and creamy.

Palate: Fresh, yet very full flavoured. Spicy vanilla, creamy and sweet. Definitely some of those creaming soda flavours. Oily mouthfeel. Love it.

Finish: Quite a long finish, which is great as I really enjoyed this one.

Comments: Definitely a noticeable step up from the 15 year old, both in terms of ABV and flavour. For me, this is the pick of the bunch from today’s session – but see the tasting notes below for the Glenlivet XXV for a comparison.

Whisky #71, The Glenlivet 18 year old. Speyside, Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 43.0%

Colour: Burnt toffee.

Nose: Floral, sweet, quite complex.

Palate: Very smooth, touch of sweetness and malt.

Finish: A hint of smoke, quite a dry finish.

Comments: Didn’t enjoy this one anywhere near as much as the Nàdurra, as evidenced by my lack of enthusiasm for writing more comprehensive tasting notes. Onto the 21 year old!

Whisky #72, The Glenlivet 21 year old. Speyside, Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 43.0%

Colour: Kind of like a light, clear tawny.

Nose: Minimal alcohol on the nose, soft hay aromas.

Palate: Toast; it has more flavour intensity, spice and complexity than the 18 year old.

Finish: Spices and warmth build around the mouth after you’ve swallowed.

Comments: Much prefer this to the 18 year old, has a lot more depth of character. Very keen to move onto the 25 year old now…

Whisky #73, The Glenlivet XXV 25 year old. Speyside, Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 43.0%

Colour: Dark caramel.

Nose: Christmas pudding aromas.

Palate: Quite a complex palate, soft and sweet but with loads of flavour.

Finish: Medium length with an oily mouthfeel; not much residual spice or heat.

Comments: Softer than the 21 year old. It’s a damn nice drop, but for the price point if you were buying a bottle (circa $500) I think there is probably better value to be had elsewhere. But if it’s on offer at a whisky event…well give me more!! Overall though, I think the Nàdurra is the pick of the bunch – the 25 is amazing, but the Nàdurra in my opinion is a cracking whisky and at a much better price point.

In summary, fantastic Laura – a very engaging and enlightening session, I learnt a lot. If you have the chance to attend one of her masterclasses – do it!! Highly recommended.

Whiskies #67-69: Whisky Live 2014 Masterclass with Nathan DeTienne

April 5, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Whisky Live 2014 Masterclass with Nathan DeTienne, Rydges Hotel, $40.

I had the privilege of attending one of the Whisky Live 2014 masterclasses run by one of the most knowledgable and passionate whisky fiends that I have met, Nathan DeTienne. For about 90 minutes Nathan not only shared his impressively vast whisky knowledge, but he also shared some special whiskies from his personal collection.

I tried not to make extensive notes for these tastings, I just wanted to soak up the info and enjoy the whisky. Or is that soak up the whisky and enjoy the info? In any case, apologies for the tasting notes below not being extensive enough to do these three fine whiskies justice.

As a side note, Nathan also has a whisky blog (Squidgy Ash the Whisky Fiend) that is definitely worth a look…it could even be the second best whisky blog in Perth! Just kidding mate 😉 Check it out here: http://squidgyashwhiskyfiend.blogspot.com.au

Whisky #67: Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix Single Malt. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 47.60%.

Colour: Golden.

Nose: Caramel, toffee.

Palate: Silky smooth entry, gentle sweetness.

Finish: Very light, like a snowflake melting in your mouth. Ok, rubbish attempt at humour there. I just wanted to enjoy this one, not too much to say. Despite the lightness, the flavours linger for quite some time. But not long enough…oh wait that’s because I enjoyed it so much I drank it rather quickly.

Whisky #68: Kavalan Podium Single Malt. Taiwan. ABV: 46.0%.

Colour: Copper.

Nose: Medicinal notes, slightly leathery. But not in a bad way.

Palate: Spice & heat builds gently; oily mouthfeel.

Finish: Fades to a soft oaky finish.

Comments: I had very low expectations of Kavalan. I mean, who has even heard of whisky from Taiwan?! Earlier this year I bought (but have yet to try) a 3 x 50mL tasting pack of different Kavalan expressions in the expectation that they would be prime contenders for the “Truly Awful” whisky category. Well let me tell you, if the Kavalan Podium is anything to go by, the other three expressions will most definitely NOT be entries in the “Truly Awful” category this year.

Whisky #69: Scotch Malt Whisky Society G10.3, 24 Year Old Single Malt. Independent bottling from Strathclyde Distillery, Lowlands, Scotland. ABV: 59.60%.

Colour: Dark straw.

Nose: Straw notes abound, plenty of wood too (and yes, I’m talking about the smell).

Palate: Bit of oak, creamy sweet flavours too.

Finish: Medium finish.

Comments: It’s my first ever taste of a SMWS bottling, seeing as I’ve just joined the Society I’m certain it won’t be the last! I believe it may also be the first Scottish grain whisky I’ve tasted. Certainly keen to try some more SMWS bottlings, this one was certainly intriguing and a drop that I firmly believe you need to have more than one dram to really get to know all its secrets.