Category Archives: Whisky Reviews & Tasting Notes

GlenDronach 18 y.o. Marsala Cask Finish Review

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GlenDronach 18 y.o. Marsala Cask Finish275

46% abv

Score:  85/100

 

GlenDronach in all its incarnations is a personal favorite brand of mine.  They always keep it exciting and their adherence to a top notch wood policy keeps me loyal and spending money.  I’ve found a few oddball single casks that weren’t quite firing on all cylinders (for me, at least), but they were unquestionably the exception, not the rule.  Day in, day out the team at GlenDronach puts out great whisky.

While the distillery’s output is typically rather heavily sherried, here we have an 18 year old malt that spent its twilight days in Marsala wine casks.  I’m not certain as to the length of finishing period, but the impact is huge.  The whisky itself is a shimmering gold/orange/pink colour in the bottle (the likes of which I’ve only ever seen in one or two other malts) and the drink itself is syrupy, bold and fruity.  It’s exactly what should be expected: mature and elegant Highland whisky with a big burst of mouthwatering – then subsequently drying – wine fruitiness.

And does it work?  Yes.  But it’s a close one.  The wine is a little too big, to be honest, but like a spinning top or a Weeble, its off kilter quirkiness is enough to keep me engaged, as opposed to turning away.  I like this one.  More for the nose than the palate, but nevertheless I do like it.

Nose:  Big fruity, wine-y nose.  Spicy, rich wood notes. Orange zest (and juice!) and maraschino.  Some custard and vanilla.  Banana peel.  A slight nuttiness.  Ginger, mild cinnamon and a dash of pepper.  A faint floral soap breeze blows across the top of it all.  All in all…rather delicate and rather appealing.

Palate:  All the wine promised on the nose makes an appearance here.  Brace for it.  A moment or two in it puckers the back edges of the tongue.  Lots of syrupy fruit.  Now ginger again and truckloads of spice.  Wet oak.  Like cognac over poached fruit.  Walnut and almond.  Leaves behind fruits skins at the back end.  A little heavy on the wine, but not so top heavy that it falls over.

Thoughts:  Not too harmonious, really, but there is something that works about it all nevertheless.  I really, really like the nose, and sorta kinda like the palate.

* Thanks to our mate, J Wheelock, for bringing this one by not too long ago and generously pouring for a crowd of unsavoury sorts.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Brora 25 y.o. (2008) Review

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Brora 25 y.o. (2008) Closed Distilleries Photos 017

56.3% abv

Score:  90.5/100

 

Brora has become my own personal rabbit hole.  My red pill, if you will.  I was lost to it completely upon first taste (an almost incomparable 2005 30 y.o.), and have continued to fall end over end with each subsequent expression I’ve tried.

Malts like this remind me of the double helix of a DNA strand, intricately weaving together the nuance of spirit itself with the complexity of historical context.  Those two pieces become inseparable in whiskies like this and are an intrinsic part of what makes them unforgettable.  It’s arguably part of the rationale used in justification of pricing schemes and collectability.  Let’s face it, Scotch is a drink built on history and tradition.  And Brora has an infinitely fascinating story.  Let’s not get too deep into it here, but do head over to our friend Serge’s Whiskyfun site to learn a bit more about Brora’s backstory.  Well worth the effort.

For now though, quick and dirty must suffice: Brora was a Highland distillery that last flowed in 1983.  It has subsequently been partially dismantled and now languishes dead in the shadows (literally) of the Clynelish distillery, its sister/replacement/pseudo-doppelganger/what have you.  The last remaining drops of Brora have crept further and further away from the laymen’s tax bracket, but nearer and dearer to our hearts.  Ergo we end up with a bunch of sentimentalists dying to try the malt, but an ever-decreasing chance of that happening.  Sad times indeed.

Is this the best Brora I’ve ever had?  Nah.  It’s exceptionally good, but we’re talking degrees of greatness now.  Like trying to pick the greatest quarterback of all time (Tom Brady) from a field of other great QBs, then looking back in prespective to see all of the hundreds of thousands of never-rans that can’t even compete at that big league level.  Make sense?

This 2008 Diageo official release was limited to just 3,000 bottles.  I feel blessed to have drunk my share.  And a little guilty ’cause I probably drank a few others’ shares as well.

Nose:  Great nose, built on fruits and more earthy, organic notes.  Peat, yes, but faint and very secondary to the dominant profile.  Pistachio, marzipan and cream.  Apple and orange and lemon.  Wet rock, grass and damp barley.  A light floral note and wisps of smoke.  Closer to Clynelish than the older, peatier Brora I lean toward.  Very multi-dimensional.

Palate:  Way bigger on the palate than the nose.  Oily and thick.  Waxy and flinty.  More smoke and peat here.  A nice toast/char note.  Also a dry nuttiness that reminds at once of almond and oaky Chardonnay.  Caramel apple and lemon.  Popsicle sticks or tooth picks.  Quite drying.  Leaves behind notes of old cask, herbal tea and green apple.

Thoughts:  Not in the same league as the 30s or 35s, but special nonetheless.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Port Ellen 25 y.o. Cask #4176 (Douglas Laing OMC) Review

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9 Port EllenPort Ellen 25 y.o. Cask #4176 (Douglas Laing OMC)

54.7% abv

Score:  92/100

 

I tried this one for the first time about a week and a half ago.  Since then I’ve been fortunate enough to sit down with it twice more.  In the first two instances I was in the company of good friends (and many other fine malts).  In the last instance I was alone while taking notes.  This more dedicated time only served to reinforce what initial impressions told me: this is a spectacular example of Port Ellen.  Probably one of my all time favorites, to be honest.

This expression, a 25 year old, bottled by the Laing Brothers in 2008 (long before the company division), is almost like a time machine for me; immediately bringing back memories of the oceanic breezes, chimney smoke, farm life and maritime trappings of life on Islay.  If you’ve ever awakened to the early morning breezes on the island you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.  If you haven’t, I’m not sure why you’re reading here and not searching Expedia for airfare deals.

There are a few Port Ellen expressions I’ve tried that not only hint at the sensory experience of being on Islay, but actually serve to mimic it.  Whiskies that so encapsulate the smells of the island’s villages they seem almost transportive in their abilities to transcend distance.  This is one.  They’re few and far between, but when found the impact is immensely powerful and evocative.  Elegant and sophisticated.  One for the ages.

This cask was selected by, and bottled for, Kensington Wine Market here in Calgary back in 2008.  Unfortunately that means it’s now but a memory.  Great cask selection, guys.  This one is a showstopper.

Nose:  Sweet, soft fruit notes.  A touch of lime and maybe honeydew.  Subtle peat and a very elegant smokiness.  Vanilla and cream.  Seaside breezes and wet shores.  A great gristiness here, like freshly milled barley.  Biscuits.  Salty dough or pie shells.  Faint dry leather.

Palate:  Oh, man, what an arrival.  So much harmony and complexity, and so much sweeter than expected.  Salt and pepper.  Licorice.  Peat and smoke, as we’d expect.  A touch of honey.  A squeeze of citrus.  Like chewing soft grains of barley.  Still creamy, bit with a nice lime counterpoint.  Some apple.

Thoughts:  An almost perfect realization of Port Ellen.  Exceptionally harmonious.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

BenRiach 12 y.o. Sherry Matured Review

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BenRiach 12 y.o. Sherry Matured085

46% abv

Score:  87/100

 

Single cask releases from BenRiach will always be the heartsblood of this distillery in my eyes, but it’s truly impressive how consistently enjoyable even the standard expressions are.  This 12 year old – an age that generally doesn’t excite me beyond the realms of Islay malts – performs like a budding rock star.  Yes, it’s a little shy when held up against some of the other BenRiach expressions we’ve tried to date (dozens), but still puts on a hell of a show.

I’m a huge fan of naked BenRiach – there’s just something about the distillery’s fruity spirit matured in bourbon barrels that works for me – but trying it all wrapped up in a clean sherry blanket is a real treat.  Interestingly enough, this one bears all the hallmarks of one of our favorite NAS malts, a’bunadh.  But, shhhhhh…we’ll not deign to discuss NAS here for now.  Instead, suffice it to say that this one ticks all the flavour boxes, if not necessarily the desire for the pure, unadulterated whomp! of cask strength offerings.  So be it.  Still a tasty drink in an approachable tax bracket.

Nose:  Jammy and sweet.  Almost a red licorice.  Spicy.  Very spicy.  Like sharp cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.  Great berry and stone fruit aromas.  Lavender and white chocolate.  Soft and smells infinitely sippable.  Something about this one hearkens back to gramma’s kitchen.

Palate:  Cinnamon sticks and big juicy sherry notes.  Jams and jellies.  Candies and dried fruits.  Crunchy MacIntosh apples and a squeeze of very fresh orange.  Juicy and tangy.

Thoughts:  Very clean sherry.  Nice barrels in this one.  Not far off an a’bunadh, as I said, but obviously about 15% less punching power.  Maybe like an a’bunadh meets a Balvenie, if you can wrap your head around that one.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Bruichladdich 12 y.o. (Second Edition) Review

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Bruichladdich 12 y.o. (Second Edition)087

46% abv

Score:  85.5/100

 

I’m happy to say my friends and I did our part a few years back, drinking our way through many of the earlier Laddie releases and ensuring the distillery kept the cash flow strong.  It’s only now I rue the lack of foresight that might have had us squirrelling away a few of these old releases for future years and tastings.  Fortunately I came across a couple bottles of this mid-2000s 12 year old expression recently, and for a very decent price.  This ‘Second Edition’ would have been from about five years after the distillery’s 2001 restart, therefore built entirely on stock produced before the McEwan/Reynier era.  In other words…most likely very different juice than the teal tin brings us nowadays.

Not sure if any of you are like me, but I find I’ve started to mark the passage of time through my whisky collection and recollections.  The speed at which it rolls by is rather alarming when we look back at something like this malt and realize it hit the shelves nearly ten years ago now.  Obviously a lot has happened in the Bruichladdich camp in that time, but a lot has gone down in my personal life as well.  It’s arguable that this coastal Islay distillery is the one brand that has been most consistently present for me through it all.  As I write this, I have tried at least 73 different Bruichladdich expressions.  And when held up against the lot, this one holds its own quite well, boasting much more character than most 12 year olds currently on the market.

There is a recognizable Laddie DNA here, despite the different lineage, but this is not a whisky I can really see the current team producing.  Hard to put a finger on just what is different, but I’d bet dimes to dollars that this one was a recasking of spirit from dead wood into something more active for its last few years*, and also that there is something in here a little older than 12.  Not much older most likely, but maybe some 15 or so.  Speculation aside, it’s neat to try a piece of history that speaks to the days before the Laddie machine really stepped it up into high gear.

(*We do know that when Jim McEwan and the gang took over the distillery they spelled out a bunch of barrels they were unhappy with and recasked much of the inherited maturing spirit.)

Nose:  Slightly prickly.  Nice sweet barley notes.  A touch of dust and dunnage.  Lemon, orange and honey.  Something reminds of old books and old furniture.  A very different character than contemporary Laddie, but not better or worse.  Less on the butyric side, to be sure.  Gets softer and fruitier the longer it breathes (which brings a creamier edge too).  Maybe a drop of pear juice.  A slight floral overtone.

Palate:  Spicier arrival than expected.  Like a cinnamon and ginger dusted fruit salad.  A fleeting taste of banana cream pie.  Still citric.  Big grains and woods here too.  More coastal on the palate than the nose hints at.  By that trait, it is decidedly Laddie.  Definitely has some nip to it.  A lot of personality for a 12 year old.  Leaves behind apple and toothpicks.

Thoughts:  Enjoyable as hell, beyond simply being a nostalgia act.  An easy drinker, if not a showstopper.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt 6 y.o. Prototype Review

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Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt 6 y.o. Prototype106

43% abv

Score:  72.5/100

 

Check these cats out.  What the hell?  Two Brewers is the brainchild of a couple of pals, Bob and Alan, up in Whitehorse who have been batching up craft suds for close to two decades now and decided to take a bit of a swing at the distilling side of things at some point in the late 2000s.

As you can see by the photo this was a prototype release (i.e. nothing official and not available retail).  The gents had bottled and labelled up this young buck specifically for the MS Whisky Fest here in Calgary.  Towards the back half of that festival night I took a flyer on this one and decided to give it a go instead of reaching for one of the old standbys.  Glad I did.  They’re onto something up in the great white north.

Here’s the deal:  This is a young malt.  It’s not quite there yet.  But…it’s a fair bit further along than it should be at six years and it’s a surprisingly great cut of spirit.  The nose here is wonderfully redolent of spicy bourbon notes and hints at more age than the bottle declares (always a good thing).  The palate isn’t quite on par, but again…give ’em time.  A few more years and this will be a solid option for denting your whisky budget.

Thanks to Bob for passing on the wee heel of this one so we could share the word.  Can’t wait to see where these gents go from here.  Keep those stills flowing, fellas!

Nose:  Single malt, maybe, but noses like a big ol’ bourbon.  That’s some active wood.  Big spicy bourbon notes.  Tons of fruit (almost Speyside-like).  Cinnamon.  Eucalyptus.  Cedar and pine.  A surprising amount of soft chocolate.  Rising bread dough.  So much immensity of spice it almost burns the nose.  Cool as hell.

Palate:  Spicy and meaty delivery.  Tastes a lot younger than it noses.  Slightly waxy and new make-ish.  I don’t think this has anything to do with anything but youth.  In other words: decent spirit cut, but needs time.  A few years down the line and this will be a hell of an interesting whisky.  Reminds a tick of Montana Roughstock single malt.  Big wood notes smash headlong into eucalyptus.  Again…very bourbon-ish.

Thoughts:  It’s young, yeah, and not quite there, but man, what an exciting nose.  Worlds of potential for these chaps if they stick to this plan.  Neat stuff.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Craigellachie 13 y.o. Review

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Craigellachie 13 y.o. 007

46% abv

Score:  79.5/100

 

Craigellachie absolutely killed it with this branding.  Man, look at that bottle!  Gorgeous, old school packaging that instantly creates a preconception of the magical old school malts that folks like Serge at Whiskyfun gets to try seemingly at will.  Unfortunately, while the wrapper is definitely of the old guard, the malt is unquestionably of the new.  The former helped lure me into the purchase.  The latter led to this review.

I think you can see where I’m going with this.  Put simply, this is a minor league malt that isn’t quite being given the coaching it needs in order to play in the big leagues.  Most of the distillery’s output ends up in Dewar’s blends.  They put out about four million litres of spirit each year, but it’s only recently we’ve seen a real presence of the Craigellachie distillery releases.  I’d argue there might be a reason for that, if this malt is any indication, but I’ll remain somewhat on the fence until I get an opportunity to sample the 17 and 23 year variants.  Hopefully those have a little more balance and finesse.

I do appreciate the 46% abv though, and will keep an eye on this one in coming years to see if there’s any tweaks to the recipe.

Oh, and by the way…what the hell sort of testimonial is it when the brand itself offers up this little nugget on its website:  “Full, belligerent, and sulphurous as a struck match.”  WTF?!

Nose:  Slight grape note.  Nice barley notes.  Milk chocolate covered raisins.  Honey and lemon.  Banana, ginger and pepper.  Poached apple and cinnamon.  Some dried fruit, leather and spice (maybe some sherry influence here?).  A touch of tobacco too.  Black currant scones.

Palate:  A little more zippy here, with some tangy fruit notes and bigger oak than the nose belies.  Apple skins and lemon juice.  Burnt chilis or something, almost immediately after sipping.  Juicy at first, then dries along the sides of the tongue as it develops.  Sharp (almost bitter) vanilla notes.  Pineapples in pudding…with pepper.

Thoughts:  A punchy little malt that falls under the ‘fairly generic’ heading.  Aside from being slightly…errr…off-kilter in balance, it’s not a bad beginner malt.  Not one I’d reach for often, but that’s personal bias.  I find most Speysiders in this age bracket to be fairly interchangeable and rarely to my taste.  There’s something a little darker and more biting here than most though.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

“Islay Malt” (Bunnahabhain 10 y.o.) Review *

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“Islay Malt” (Bunnahabhain 10 y.o.) Review *007

59.2% abv

Score:  88.5/100

 

* Tasted and scored blind.  This l’il review will be done in two parts (in this same post).  I will update these notes as soon as I know more and find out what exactly this whisky is. 

Alright.  Not gonna get too deep into this one aside from saying it was shared with me, unsolicited, from a mate out in Eastern Canada.  Such is the wonderful world of whisky.  A lot of good people out there just looking to share the experience.

So…this is what we do know as of now:  It’s a 10 year old malt from a bourbon barrel (#900070 from distillery ‘x’).  Served up at a big, big 59.2% abv.  You can see the handwritten label in the photo above.  I don’t know any other details.  I’m not sure if further info is online anywhere, but I intentionally did not Google any additional details  regarding this cask number or anything else related to what is stated above.  What would be the fun in that?

I’ll drop a few more lines under the tasting notes below when the truth sets me free.  For now…

Nose:  Chocolate and chili.  Peat.  Flinty, wet rock notes.  Ash and deep char.  Smoke.  BBQ sauce and a tangy wine note.  Apple and maybe some citrus.  An odd note I’m having trouble putting my finger on.  Ivory soap.  Licorice as it open up.  And just slightly farmy/leathery.

Palate:  Big and jammy up front.  Great arrival.  Smoke and anise.  Can’t get over how chewy this is; stays sweet and juicy.  Somewhat of a disconnect between nose and palate…for the good!  The nose seems dry and punchy, while the palate is lush and mouthwatering.  Notes of what I can imagine apple skins dropped in ash would taste like.  Big dry smoke.  A squeeze of tangy citrus.  Big whisky, this.

Thoughts:  Reminds a little of Ardbeg Alligator, due to the char notes…and Galileo, due to the fruit notes…and Day, due to the ash notes.  Having said all of that…it’s not really Ardbeg-esque.  I really like this.  There is an odd note on the nose that takes me back to a whisky from my early dramming days, but I’ll be damned if I can remember what that malt was.

Follow up:  So…turns out this is an indie Bunnahabhain, bottled by Whiskybroker.  Never would have guessed it, especially with phenols hovering between Diageo’s Islay specs (35 ppm for Lagavulin and Caol Ila) and those of Laphroaig (give or take 40 ppm).  This is a very different beast from other peated Bunna I’ve tried (Toiteach, Ceobanach and a few indies).  Out of character and enjoyable as hell.  It’s kinda like the average housewife who breaks out the leather and latex behind closed doors.  Fun stuff.  Here are a few more details for those who may be interested.

** Thanks to our mate, Portwood, for the opportunity to try something unique and to have a little fun with it.  Enjoyed the malt and the experience.  He didn’t want thanks or anything, but that’s not how we roll.  Anonymity maintained, however.  Cheers!

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Tobermory 10 y.o. Review

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Tobermory 10 y.o.008

46.3% abv

Score:  79/100

 

First off:  Not that we score with this in mind, understand, but I do love the simple and aesthetically pleasing packaging.  No need for frills and all that jazz when it comes to young, readily available malts.  Old school, clean and classy.  But what strikes my eye as pleasing is incidental to what’s in the bottle, right?  So let’s move on.

Tobermory is a distillery on the Isle of Mull.  You may recall we tried one of their peated expressions (Ledaig 10) just a few days back, so I won’t rehash any of the details here that we already covered there.  The distillery produces a rather limited range of products and independent versions are few and far between (at least where I live), so, to date, I have managed to wrap my hands around only four different bottles of Tobermory: two indies and two distillery bottlings.  All quite different from one another, I might add, but none especially vibrant in its own right.  And yes, this release is one of those that I have tried a few times before.  Suffice it to say that sitting down to jot up some notes on the standard 10 year old is a slightly less than thrilling endeavour.

I won’t throw a lot of words at a whisky that I’m really sort of ambivalent towards, so let’s just let the malt speak for itself.

Nose:  A youngish ten.  Somewhat aggressive.  Vaguely peaty.  Even a little feinty.  Lemon.  Pepper.  There’s hints of Jura here and even a banana-like note that reminds a little of young Bunnahabhain.  Some very under ripe cranberry and crunchy apple with a dusting of cinnamon.  Wood shavings, a barley mill and just a hint of ash and dirt.  This is supposed to be the unpeated malt from this distillery?  Hmmm, sorry…not quite.

Palate:  Wow.  Like a mouthful of white flour and raw grains.  Pastry dough.  More apples and a hint of ginger.  Honey.  Almost tastes like a young virgin oak malt.  Not a lot in the way of fruit.  More woods and cereals.  Even some grassy notes.  Or maybe damp green tea leaves.  A rather fun palate in some ways, and a little bit of a departure from the nose.  Interesting, if a little unbalanced.

Thoughts:  Not bad, but not a very subtle malt either.  Could stand to benefit from either longer maturation or better wood choice, I think.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

 

Octomore 4.2 Comus Review

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Octomore 4.2 Comus076

61.0% abv

Score:  88.5/100

 

Let’s do a five year old Bruichladdich today.  In honour of the ongoing Feis Ile (Islay Festival) and all.

By now I’m sure most whisky cognoscenti are familiar with Octomore, Bruichladdich’s heavily peated variant.  The term ‘heavily peated’ is actually selling Octomore short, believe it or not.  This brand is unquestionably the most heavily peated single malt in the world.  The 6.3 edition from last year came in at a whopping 258 parts per million of phenols.  When you stop to consider that Ardbeg’s typical peating level is somewhere around 50-55 ppm, that is a staggering number indeed.

I think we’ve touched on this before, but let me briefly do so again for anyone who may just be tuning in:  It would be a mistake to assume that this phenol count is directly proportionate to the smokiness of the dram.  It’s not.  I can guarantee you that there are Laphroaig and Ardbeg releases out there that will seem to pack more of a peaty punch than some of the Octomore expressions.  In fact, even Bruichladdich’s moderately peated range under the Port Charlotte moniker often seem bigger than Octomore, despite their peating levels only weighing in at about 40 ppm.

Alright…elementary ‘soft science’ aside, make no mistake about it, this is not a whisky for the faint of heart.  Comus weighs in at 167 ppm and has been bottled at 61% abv.  It is bigger than big.

Team Laddie is still obviously having fun with their cask exploration, as what we have here in the 4.2 edition is the razor sharp Octomore distillate matured in bourbon barrels, before being ACE’d (read: finished) in Sauternes casks.  The result is a sweeter and more elegant presentation than the straight bourbon-matured releases (those that end in “.1”).  In short, it’s a balance of soft and sharp.  Like getting hit in the face with a pillow…filled with peat bricks and swung by Barry Bonds.

Nose:  Sweet smoke and chocolate.  Tar, licorice, lime and cola.  Earthy and farmy peat behind an elegant creamy haze.  Some soft overripe pear, berry and vanilla ice cream.  A touch of rubber.  A splash of salt water.  Sauternes is obviously a wonderful softening influence, as I’m getting similar notes here as on the Glenmorangie Nectar D’or.  Obviously very different drams otherwise.

Palate:  A moment of sublime sweet smokiness, then…WHAM!  Monstrous.  More smoke now.  Some hot rubber too.  Tart and tangy-er than the nose would belie.  That would be the wine at work, I’d venture.  Bittersweet chocolate, tannic fruit skins, espresso.  Anise.  Burnt pineapple.  And somehow…still rather gentle.  Strange and oxymoronic.

Thoughts:  Another example of how malleable this Octomore stuff is.  Great whisky that you’ll be tasting for hours after the glass is empty.  No bad thing, that.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt