Hanging out with an old dram

A few weeks ago @MaltMan_Mike tweeted a picture of a 57 year old sample he'd been send from Glenfarclas, we were all insanely jealous!

A few days later a DM came through asking if a few of us were possibly interested in trying a sample? What could we say?

A date was set and some #dramples of the Glenfarclas and 4 other blind tasting samples sent out.

One of these drams was a little older than the others!

Rather than the usual tweet tasting type format that we are used to he held a Google Hangout instead - this meant we had live video and sound - meaning we all got to watch each other try the drams and see & hear the reactions!

@MaltMan_Mike & @Tim_Squixl

So first up was dram #1

Nose : Apples and pears, marzipan, some spice
Palate : Sweet honey, some spice and a little banana
Finish : Short and spicy, slightly creamy
Overall : An OK dram but not great, I felt it just lacked a little something.

We all had a guess at the region, ABV, distillery and expression - Mike kept score!

This turned out to be The Gauldrons Blended Campbeltown Malt from Douglas Laing (46%)

@Whisky_Viking

Next up was another pale dram, #2

Nose : Tropical! Pineapples with vanilla - and a nice spicy element.

Palate : Lots of vanilla, more of the honey and a mild chilli spice.

Finish : The spice came through on this one and a long vanilla finish.

Overall : Definitely thought this was a grain from first nose and turned out to be right - but wasn't expecting a Japanese one!

This turned out to be The Chita Suntory Whisky (43%)

@GentlemanGrimm

Third of the evening was another pale dram #3

Nose : Another tropical nose.

Palate : Honey, some pineapple and a little spice but seemed weak and watered down. 

Finish : Orchard fruits with a little spice.

Overall : I was disappointed with this one, and even more so when a found out what it was - usually a huge fan of GM but this one just didn't do it for me, I think the low ABV let it down.

This turned out to be The Glen Moray 15yo (40%)

@GavsDrams

Fourth up was the Glenfarclas 1957 (50.3%)!

Nose : Road tar, lots of oak, sherry

Palate : Sour blueberries (in a nice way), the ABV stripped the moisture from your mouth. A little vanilla and a gingery spice. 

Finish : More of the oak, a sweet sherry note but masked again by the slightly sour note.

Overall : A nice dram, easily the oldest (57yo) and most expensive (£10k / bottle) I'd ever tried. Some interesting tasting notes from everyone but I felt it was loosing it's whisky identity and taking on too much oak - maybe it had spent to long in the cask? 

Yours truly!

The final dram of the night was one I'd supplied #5

Nose : Peat smoke but with an equally intense salty maritime note.

Palate : Loads of smoke, some salt, can tell its a young whisky.

Finish : Long lingering BBQ smoke.

Overall : A lovely dram, typical Islay but not medicinal - so that narrowed it down a little.

This one was a Creative Whisky Company Islay Single Cask (50%) which is reckoned to be a youngish Bunna!

The Whisky Viking changed hats for each dram!

A really enjoyable night tasting a great range of drams including a real special from Glenfarclas. The Hangouts aspect really made the evening - being able to talk rather the tweet to each other and see the reactions of tasting and each other comments made for a great night.

Thanks to @MaltMan_Mike for the samples and @whisky_viking @GentlemanGrimm @gavsdrams & @Tim_Squixl for making a great evening!

There was even time fro some PorkiePorkiePorkie pies afterwards!

The Real McCoy Rum Tasting

OK, OK, OK, yes it's a whisky blog, I know, I know but I got offered the chance to try some rum and as I'd never had any before I thought - "well why not?"

The #TheRealMcCoyTT twitter tasting was arranged by TheFloatingRumShack (what a brilliant twitter handle!) and he wanted to include some whisky drinkers to see what we thought - you can say no to that can you?

So as is usual with these things a small parcel arrived a few days before the tasting:

#BlindTasting Series 2 - Review

Series 2 of #BlindTasting finished just after Christmas! Following on from a fantastic Series 1 - this one was a huge amount of fun with the five of us trying to identify 15 mystery drams through smell and taste, having #NoPreconceivedIdeas or #MarketingBullshit to sway our opinions.

#BlindTasting Series 2 - part 3

And we finally get to the 3rd part of Series 2 of #BlindTasting, like all good bands and the search for the second album we had some issues - these were mainly down to prolonged episodes of severe Man Flu on the part of a couple of members of the team and of course Christmas.

What about Ardbeg?

The title of this post is pointing a finger, and it's pointing it at me....

The second ever bottle of whisky I ever bought was an Ardbeg Ten and I'm been a peat fan ever since, but I've never written a blog about Ardbeg.... Well that has now been rectified after a bottle (not sample) swap of Uigeadail and a couple of recent #drample swaps of An Oa (From @Maltman_Mike) and Kelpie CR (from @SpiritAndWood). So I have a set of four to compare, if anyone is willing to swap a dram of Corrie I'd be very grateful!

First a little story!

One of them bottles look wrong doesn't it? The bottle swap came about when a colleague at work approached me and asked if I liked peated whisky? Not a difficult question to answer! (Un)fortunately he didn't, but on the occasion of his 60th birthday his daughter had bought him a beautifully engraved bottle of Uigeadail. He'd tried a couple of drams but just couldn't drink it. Did I have an empty bottle I could decant it into as he wanted to keep the engraved bottle? After a little struggle I managed to find one and now have a nearly full bottle of The Claymore! In return I filled up his bottle with a lovely Speysider which was much more to his liking!

This smells like no Claymore has ever done before!

You can't imagine how my room smelt after I'd poured these four drams - it was like I'd just lit a BBQ - heaven on earth!

L:R An Oa, 10yo, Uigeadail, Kelpie CR

Whisky : An Oa
Characteristics : 700ml 46.6% ABV Non-chill filtered, Non-coloured
Price : £49 many outlets
Distillery info : "Singularly rounded, due in no small part to time spent in our newly established bespoke oak Gathering Vat where whiskies from several cask types - including; sweet Pedro Ximenez; spicy virgin charred oak; and intense ex-bourbon casks, amongst others - familiarise themselves with each other. The result is a dram with smoky power, mellowed by a delectable, smooth sweetness. Hallmark Ardbeg peat, dark chocolate and aniseed are wrapped in smooth, silky butterscotch, black pepper and clove, before rising to an intense crescendo of flavour."

Colour : Pale Gold
In the Glass : Thin swirls, very slow to develop legs
Nose : Smoke, gentle citrus maybe a little sherry? There's a sweetness which develops after a little time in the glass. Pine needles!
Palate: Smooth sweet runny honey, some citrus notes.
Finish : Slow to develop then gives a spicy kick of ginger and cardamom in amongst the smoke!




Whisky : Ten
Characteristics : 700ml 46% ABV Non-chill filtered
Price : £40 many outlets
Distillery info : "Revered around the world as the peatiest, smokiest, most complex single malt of them all. Yet it does not flaunt the peat; rather it gives way to the natural sweetness of the malt to produce a whisky of perfect balance. Named World Whisky of the Year in 2008."

Colour : White Wine
In the Glass : Thin swirls, very slow to develop legs
Nose : Medicinal smoke, some gentle baked apple and honey.
Palate: Thin but flavoursome, some honey notes but not as sweet as the An Oa, Lots of spice on the tongue and some hints of dark fruit & nut chocolate. After a few sips a dryness develops - the smoke taking the moisture out of your mouth. Hints of peanut but not in the bad way I've had with other recent Islay drams.
Finish : More peaty smoke than the An Oa and tons more spice, this is real spice - chilli being forced down your throat!





Whisky : Uigeadail
Characteristics : 700ml 54.2% ABV Non-chill filtered
Price : £60
Distillery info : "Pronounced ‘Oog-a-dal’, it’s a special vatting that marries Ardbeg’s traditional deep, smoky notes with luscious, raisiny tones of old ex-Sherry casks. Ardbeg Uigeadail was voted by the 120,000+ strong Ardbeg Committee as their favourite Ardbeg."

Colour : Pale Gold
In the Glass : Thin swirls, very slow to develop legs
Nose : Smoke with some maritime notes, foam bananas and stewed pears.
Palate: A very chewy mouthfeel, coats your tongue with a light honey sweetness and hits you immediately with the peat smoke. A hint of the foam bananas from the nose and some burnt marshmallow. Lots of spicy ginger on the tongue and again some dryness.
Finish : Lots of smoke, gingery spiciness and some chocolate orange.






Whisky : Kelpie Committee Reserve
Characteristics : 700ml 51.7% ABV Non-chill filtered
Price : £360 (limited edition - discontinued)
Distillery info : "Part-matured in Bourbon and Russian oak casks from Adygea by the Black Sea, this cask strength Islay malt scored 86 points on WhiskyFun and has been generally well received by critics and punters alike. The Kelpie takes its name from the Scottish water-faeries, who are known to take the shape of a horse or bull when luring mariners to their watery doom. The sound of a Kelpie’s tail entering the water is said to resemble that of thunder. So, should you be passing a river and hear an unearthly wailing or howling; beware it could be a Kelpie warning of an approaching storm!"

Colour : Pale Gold
In the Glass : Thin swirls, very slow to develop legs
Nose : Tiny amount of smoke, definitely not as much as the others and a strong honey soaked porridge aroma.
Palate: The honey porridge from the nose come through on the palate initially but is quickly masked by the spices - there's allsorts here - ginger, chilli, pepper. Hints of walnuts, pears and dried fruit try to get through but the spice doesn't take any prisoners!
Finish : Lots of peat smoke, some chocolate orange (like the Uigeadail) and the maritime saltiness from the nose.

Overall: I surprised myself here and actually prefered the An Oa of the four, it didn't have the peaty smoke kick of the Ten but the sweetness and spicy kick stuck out. The Uigeadail and Kelpie both shared a chocolate orange note the first without, the second with some salt. As I said at the beginning the Ten was probably the second bottle of whisky I ever bought and has been a go to staple for a long time, but I think the An Oa has just taken the place away on my shelf.

Review of my whisky year - 2017

First of all thank you to all the people who have read my blog (c16,500) and followed me on Twitter (c900) since I started back in January with my first whisky post.

GlenDronach Trio

I'm ashamed to admit that I've never tried a GlenDronach whisky before.... I can't explain why, they just never came on my radar. So in an effort to clear some space in my sample box I've put together three of their whiskies that I've swapped over the last few months.

Thanks to @MaltMan_Mike for the 12yo & 18yo and @Whisk_Whisk for the 15yo - so a nice range of #dramples, what can I tell you about them?

@GlenDronach is a Highland distillery founded in 1826 and now owned by the BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd under Brown-Forman.

So on to the whiskies!

All of these are natural colour and non-chill filtered, matured in ex-sherry casks and you can immediately tell the age difference (left to right) as the colour becomes darker.

On pouring the drams my room immediately filled with the aroma of sherry!

Whisky : 12yo Original
Characteristics : 700ml 43% ABV Not coloured & Non-chill filtered
Price : £40 many outlets
Distillery info : "This superb richly sherried single malt is matured for at least 12 years in a combination of the finest Spanish Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry casks. A sweet, creamy dram."

Colour : Deep Copper
In the Glass : Fast thin legs when swirled
Nose : Sweet sherry with orchard fruits and a little toffee. A bit of a burnt sugar note after a while.
Palate: Very smooth creamy, tongue coating little number! Lots of honey along with the apples and pears from the nose. This is joined by dried fruit and a little drying icing sugar. There is a little sweetness but not as much as expected. There's lovely spice notes and a hint of dark nutty chocolate.
Finish : A spicy drying finish with sherry tickling all the way down!

Whisky : 15yo Revival

Characteristics : 700ml 46% ABV Not coloured & Non-chill filtered
Price : Discontinued whilst stock matures
Distillery info : "Renowned amongst many whisky enthusiasts around the world, this remarkable and full bodied malt is matured for a minimum of 15 years in the finest Oloroso sherry casks. A truly excellent single malt."

Colour : Tawny
In the Glass : Slow thin legs when swirled
Nose : Quite different from the 12yo - there is hardly any sweetness but there is a distinct note of balsamic vinegar and again a little toffee but no apples or pears.
Palate: A much thicker mouthfeel than the 12yo, again honey but no orchard fruit - more dried raisins and sultanas, there's that drying icing sugar note and a loads of nuttiness. Some biscuit, chocolate and red berry notes but not much spice.
Finish : Again quite drying, the spice hits you now - a peppery chilli hit. again a hint of nuts along with the sherry. This is a much longer lingering spicy finish than the 12yo.

Whisky : 18yo Allardice

Characteristics : 700ml 46% ABV Not coloured & Non-chill filtered
Price : £75 many outlets
Distillery info : "Named after the renowned founder of the distillery, James Allardice. This exceptional sherried single malt is matured in the finest Spanish Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 46%, this sublime richly sherried malt is truly unforgettable."

Colour : Mahogany
In the Glass : Gravity defying very slow thin legs when swirled
Nose : Again a quite different nose - plums, rich dark chocolate and a lots of toffee. This develops with a fruit and nuttiness reminiscent of that well known chocolate bar! This one is very complex - there's also some plump juicy raisins bursting out of the glass.
Palate: Like the 15yo a thick mouthfeel, smooth and creamy and like the 12yo has a little spice. Not as much sherry as the 15yo, the oak has had a longer influence and is coming through a little more. There is a nutty note alongside the drying icing sugar. The spice, like the 12yo, is a little more immediate than the 15yo but is more intense - they obviously used hotter chillies in the recipe!
Finish : Very spicy, drying, oaky finish with fading sherry notes and a nuttiness.



Overall : After these three drams I needed to go and get a drink of water - my mouth was bone dry, all three had similar icing sugar notes which stole the moisture from my mouth.
They all shared an obvious sherry influence but I think that mellowed as the age increased and the wood had more of an influence. It's interesting that I didn't get the Christmas cake mix impression from any of them - they were sherried but not huge sherry bombs.
Personally I think they are all great whiskies, the 12yo has some lovely orchard fruit notes which alongside the sweet honey makes for a great east drinking dram. The 18yo was slightly better, it's older age giving a more spicy plate but I think the 15yo hits the sweetspot and the spice holding until the finish really impressed me. 

Walsh Whiskey @TweetTastings

Another Wednesday - another @TweetTasting from @TheWhiskyWire, this time a set of Irish drams from @WalshWhiskey. This is the second Irish tasting Steve has organised in a few weeks, see Dublin Liberties here.

This one is from a long standing Irish bottler which has also recently opened it's own distillery, and started distilling in 2016 - we look forward to sampling their whiskey in the fullness of time. In the meantime they have a range which includes The Irishman and Writer's Tears which we sampled this evening.

As usual an unmarked package arrived in the post....

Opening it revealed four #dramples of Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey and a nice leaflet giving information about the distillery and tasting notes for the drams.

There was nearly a hiccup the night before the tasting when Rudolf nearly ran away with my drams....

On to the tasting:

First up was Writer's Tears Copper Pot

My thoughts:

Nose : Light gold in colour, initial nose : vanilla and tropical fruit. Woody influence, bags of vanilla, tropical fruit and some baked apples. Hint of a little cinnamon or ginger?

Palate : Smooth and slightly oily, quite sweet initially, then fruity and a lovely spice at he end. Quite a long spicy finish, seems to gets drier as your drink more - the fruitiness tails off a little and the spice kicks in - a very pleasant dram!

Other people's thoughts:

Next was The Irishman Cask Strength 2017

My thoughts:

Nose : Oak, Toffee, old leather. No indication of the 54% ABV, this one develops well have being left in the glass for a while - baked apples or apple crumbles but with a citrus note - oranges maybe? There's some toffee or fudge there too - like a apple toffee cobbler thing - what do you call them?

Palate : Apple crumble and orange,  a bit hit of spice, don't really get the strength very much. Smooth slightly oily, very drying  with hints of the apple from the nose. Some vanilla on the tongue with oak.

Other people's thoughts:

 

Third was Writer's Tears Red Head

My thoughts:

Nose : Lovely red tint to this one. Initial nose has hints of Christmas cake mix and spices. Dried fruit and sherry - some cinnamon, also a little oak and leather - beautiful!

Palate : Very smooth and buttery with a hint of honey, lots of spice with citrus fruit on the tongue. A little hint of nut chewing away in the background!

Other people's thoughts:

Final dram of the evening was The Irishman Founder's Reserve

My thoughts:

Nose : Beautiful golden colour, slow legs in the glass. Initial nose gives the red wine hints but also red fruit! Wine, plums dates and a hint of spice. Some vanilla maybe marzipan (Thanks @Whisky_And1) definitely almonds in there - yummy!

Palate : Unexpectedly chewy! Hints of the wine but hold it on the tongue and it's fruity and it's but as soon as you swallow the spice hits you!

Other people's thoughts:

For me the Irishman Cask Strength was the best of the evening, but not everyone agreed!

Many thanks to Steve for organising, Walsh for supplying the drams and my fellow tweeters for making a really enjoyable evening!

Other reviews:

WhiskyGirl