tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61187861209167357142024-03-13T19:17:54.494+00:00Whisky DiscoveryA Voyage of Discovery, 'one dram at a time'. From my 'conversion' to whisky in December 2010 follow our journey.
Father and Daughter team, Dave and Kat, blog about our whisky experiences, the new drams, the whisky shows and the people we meet, as well as other spirits.
We're also on Facebook now, http://www.facebook.com/WhiskyDiscovery so pop over take a look and like us please!Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.comBlogger350125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-88016951818427068162016-09-07T01:00:00.000+01:002016-09-07T01:00:29.466+01:00Whisky Discovery #1646<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Loch Lomond Single Grain NAS 46% abv</span></b><br />Single Grain Scotch Whisky<br />Circa £32.00 70cl</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ya3I5UHYJMQ/V88qmrIFVBI/AAAAAAAAFdI/awG19vw5QLYmHdSm8CgXpd1Z2St782tNgCEw/s1600/IMG_9152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ya3I5UHYJMQ/V88qmrIFVBI/AAAAAAAAFdI/awG19vw5QLYmHdSm8CgXpd1Z2St782tNgCEw/s640/IMG_9152.JPG" title="Loch Lomond Single Grain" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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I first discovered this whisky at Whisky Live London earlier this year, I was intrigued at the time, to learn that it was a single grain made with 100% malted barley distilled through their Coffey Stills.</div>
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You see, the Loch Lomond Distillery is a very adaptable distillery, being somewhat unique (certainly for Scotland) having a range of different distillation apparatus.</div>
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We were fortunate to visit the Loch Lomond distillery earlier this year, the headline trip of <a href="https://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/dramboree-2016-part-1.html" target="_blank">Dramboree 2016</a>, and saw for ourselves the unusual set up of stills. When we visited there were four pairs of copper pot stills, however, all but two of them are fitted with rectification columns instead of the traditional swan necks, alongside there was a Coffey Still that was installed in the early 1990's. There's also five continuous stills used for their grain whisky production. The distillery's capacity is noted at around 5 million litres of malt spirit and 18 million litres of grain.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="474" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KfRVMFrBSlQ/V88q9jFjZ2I/AAAAAAAAFdM/g1VN1D5H8NgXHq_2Sx2gsWAGxL0eKiWJACEw/s640/IMG_9110.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Loch Lomond Distillery" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A curious combination of stills</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The legal definition of a single malt whisky says it "<i>must be made exclusively from malted barley (although the addition of E150A caramel colouring is allowed), and must be distilled using copper pot stills at a single distillery.</i>" Therefore this Coffey Still distilled spirit cannot be called a single malt, hence the Single Grain tag.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>So What Did We Think?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Nose:</b> Plenty of sweet, fruity grain character here, I was picking up a strawberry note, which Kat said reminded her of strawberry shortbread. There are subtle hints of candied lemon peels, icing sugar, and fresh grasses, not your lawn grass, but summer hedgerow grass.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Palate:</b> Pineapple juice is one of the official notes,and it's certainly something I picked up, albeit more of a canned pineapple flavour. It's sweet, but not overly so. I found stewed apples too, alongside pencil shavings and some woody spices adding a mild peppery hit. There's a pithy dryness towards the finish</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Finish: </b>Surprisingly long, which starts off dry with grapefruit pith, and finishes with Wrigley's Juicy fruit chewing gum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Verdict</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a very easy drinking whisky, It's soft, and smooth, with a barley water sweetness. It's not overly complicated, but it is very enjoyable. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Think of it if you will, as the Scottish equivalent of Nikka's Coffey Malt, but at a fraction of the price!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.48px;"><b>Slàinte! </b><i>Dave</i></span></span></div>
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Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-23565641638130720962016-07-28T12:51:00.001+01:002016-07-28T12:57:02.105+01:00Dramboree 2016 - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sL3pkm59pWc/V5neelIC5aI/AAAAAAAAFcE/dMR6c5AZMTAogzBpOqhSoWfhJdcTH_GzgCLcB/s1600/Dramboree%2B2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="404" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sL3pkm59pWc/V5neelIC5aI/AAAAAAAAFcE/dMR6c5AZMTAogzBpOqhSoWfhJdcTH_GzgCLcB/s640/Dramboree%2B2016.jpg" title="Dramboree 2016" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first weekend of July has been the weekend of ‘<b><a href="http://www.dramboree.co.uk/" target="_blank">Dramboree</a></b>’ for the last four years. A chance to get away from it all, along with sixty or so other whisky fans, for a long weekend in the land of Scotch. While we both missed the inaugural event, and K</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">at, </span>unfortunately<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> missed the second event too, it’s now a highlight of our Whisky calendar.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This year we returned to </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.syha.org.uk/where-to-stay/lowlands/rowardennan-lodge.aspx" target="_blank">Rowardennen Lodge</a></b><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, a Youth Hostel on the Eastern shore of Loch Lomond, and the home for my first taste of Dramboree, two years ago.</span></div>
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The Dramboree weekend commences precisely at 1400 on the Friday, usually at a bus depot, and this year was no exception as it was Glasgow’s Buchannan Street Bus Station, Stand No.26 where we all congregated. We were even listed on the digital Departures board!</div>
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Our weekend started much earlier though, an eight o’clock train from Milton Keynes needed to be caught before we could climb aboard the Dramboree charabanc. Arriving at Glasgow Central at around 1330 it was just a short stroll through the city centre to meet up with friends, both old and new.</div>
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Amazingly, we had all heeded the warnings that the bus would leave without us if we were late. We were, on time, and in full, allowing our bus to depart on time for our short trip up the A82, running along the Western shore of Loch Lomond, to Tarbet, where we transferred to the ferry that would take us to our lodgings.</div>
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The 45 minute trip across the loch was where we made our first Whisky Discovery. Maverick Drinks Brand Ambassador, James Goggin, presented the official Dramboree 2016 exclusive bottling; a <a href="https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/arran/arran-19-year-old-batch-5-that-boutiquey-whisky-company-whisky/" target="_blank"><b>19 Year Old whisky from the Isle of Arran</b></a> bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company, and in keeping with the Boutique-y series the label is packed full of Dramboree-related fun.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ePE1cqWVcI/V5nff44EUHI/AAAAAAAAFcU/3vbwcJNcKL0d6JxMTdz4zrDTi2PpQhQKwCLcB/s1600/IMG_9094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ePE1cqWVcI/V5nff44EUHI/AAAAAAAAFcU/3vbwcJNcKL0d6JxMTdz4zrDTi2PpQhQKwCLcB/s640/IMG_9094.JPG" title="Dramboree 2016" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The official Dramboree 2016 bottling</td></tr>
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The heavens opened up, with a short sharp shower as we approached the lodge’s wooded jetty, a weather pattern that was sadly to be the format of the weekend, but we didn’t let that spoil the fun. With rooms allocated, I found I’d been assigned the top bunk in a room of six – it was going be very interesting weekend getting up and down that I thought!</div>
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Like the well-oiled machine Dramboree has become, everything was running to the agenda, and if anything we were slightly ahead of schedule for the first listed event, which allowed us to quench our thirst with a cold beer while catching up with old friends. The dram table was starting to load up as everybody unpacked their bags, and I opened the bottle of Port Charlotte I had taken this year, a private single cask bottling, it had been sitting behind my sofa for the last two years waiting for the opportunity to share it. Kat had brought along the bottle of Mortlach from Wemyss Malts, we picked up during our visit to their Kingsbarns Distillery last year, and a bottle of Balblair, ’97 Vintage. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cz1AThd7LCQ/V5ne0dx-i2I/AAAAAAAAFcI/da7RcLZ8_t8zbBx3iy6ISw-NibN21GmMgCLcB/s1600/IMG_9086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cz1AThd7LCQ/V5ne0dx-i2I/AAAAAAAAFcI/da7RcLZ8_t8zbBx3iy6ISw-NibN21GmMgCLcB/s640/IMG_9086.JPG" title="Dramboree 2016" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: justify;">With the first </span>dram<span style="text-align: justify;"> down I started to peruse the table and spotted a bottle of Italian Single Malt from the Puni Distillery and thought I really ought to get this on the Liquid Log too!</span></span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Headline Masterclass</u></span></b></div>
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The first official event of Dramboree is the headline masterclass. Two years ago it was Stephen Marshall from Dewars, showcasing the new single malts not yet released at that time from Royal Brackla, Aultmore, Deveron, and Aberfeldy. Last year we had three presenters, from new, or young distilleries; Ballindalloch, Strathearn and Ailsa Bay, tasting what has gone on to be a very successful launch for William Grant & Sons Lowland Distillery.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rcEWF8pt2Go/V5ngWfMmrEI/AAAAAAAAFck/Qd8lnWQdSbwLvw2DBdDcIlrYvSwywfxNgCLcB/s1600/IMG_9087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rcEWF8pt2Go/V5ngWfMmrEI/AAAAAAAAFck/Qd8lnWQdSbwLvw2DBdDcIlrYvSwywfxNgCLcB/s640/IMG_9087.JPG" title="Dramboree 2016" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Headline Masterclass with an unusually high proportion of Paul John Whisky Glasses!</td></tr>
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This year’s tasting was another collaborative event, but this year between three of the oldest and most well-regarded companies independently bottling whisky today - <b><a href="http://www.bbr.com/" target="_blank">Berry Brothers & Rudd</a></b>, Britain's oldest wine and spirit merchant, having traded from the same shop since 1698, <b><a href="http://www.gordonandmacphail.com/" target="_blank">Gordon & MacPhail</a></b>, founding partners, James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail, established the business in South Street, Elgin in 1895, and <b><a href="http://www.wmcadenhead.com/" target="_blank">WM Cadenhead</a></b>, Scotland's Oldest Independent Bottler founded in 1842. These three family-owned companies have an amazing 613 years of history between them in total, and each procures, produces, ages and bottles an incredible array of whiskies.</div>
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With introductions over Cadenhead’s Mark Watt lead us straight into a <b>19 Year Old Glenlivet</b>, distilled in 1996 and bottled at 52.1%. It had been drawn straight from the cask and can only be purchased as part of their Cadenhead Warehouse tastings. </div>
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Gordon & MacPhail’s UK Sales Director, Steven Rankin introduced us to a <b>Clynelish</b> from their ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ range, distilled in 2000 and bottled in 2015 having been matured in a refill ex-Sherry Hogshead and a refill sherry butt.</div>
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In the mid-1960s Gordon & MacPhail took the unprecedented step of launching a range of single malts from different distilleries under the brand name 'Connoisseur's Choice', and offered the range for sale in the rapidly expanding Italian, French, American and Dutch markets. This move laid the foundations for the significant interest in malt whisky in these countries that remains to this day.</div>
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Next up was Berry Bros & Rudd’s Rob Whitehead, who had brought along a 30 Year Old from the long closed <b>Lochside</b> Distillery. The Lochside distillery was established in Montrose in 1957. The distillery was producing malt and grain whisky up to the early 1970's but was still producing malt whisky until it was mothballed in the mid 90’s. The distillery was sadly demolished in 2005, and very few single malt bottlings have been released, mostly originating from independent bottlers. Lochside single malt is indeed very hard to find, so this was indeed another rare treat</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bZ1l0SCVyMA/V5nfKvgLXxI/AAAAAAAAFcM/l41SFBPk0O8FnssGzcrYgU9xUbMOD-KLACLcB/s1600/28079806406_2d807f1a6f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bZ1l0SCVyMA/V5nfKvgLXxI/AAAAAAAAFcM/l41SFBPk0O8FnssGzcrYgU9xUbMOD-KLACLcB/s640/28079806406_2d807f1a6f_o.jpg" title="Dramboree 2016" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The full line-up, and in order!<br />
(Photo courtesy of Martin Sykes Jones - Manchester Whisky Club)</td></tr>
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Mark Watt introduced his second whisky to us next, again drawn straight from the cask, and only available from the distillery, a <b>19 Year Old Springbank</b> from a re-charred sherry butt bottled at 55% abv </div>
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Springbank, Scotland’s oldest family run and owned distillery, established 1828 in Campbeltown on the site of the families illicit distillery dating back to the mid 1660’s. Springbank, unlike most other distilleries, carries out 100% of the production on-site - from the malting of the barley to the bottling of the aged product.</div>
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Steven followed with his second whisky and blew us all away with a <b>1965 Strathisla</b>. This whisky was bottled in 2012, making it at least 45 years old!</div>
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Rob Whitehead concluded the tasting with a young Ledaig, again from their 'Berry's Own' range, not quite five years old being distilled in 2005 and bottled four and a half years later at 62.7% abv. A full strength sherry matured single cask that was actually bloody good! Fruity ‘sherry-bomb’ notes dominate the sweet peaty palate.</div>
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With the masterclass behind us, it was onto dinner. Haggis, Neaps and Tatties – just what you need for the beginning of a whisky extravaganza, and there was plenty of it! Enough for seconds if you needed it.</div>
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With dinner cleared away, it was time to introduce the dram table. Everyone had brought at least one bottle, some had brought two or three. We each had exactly 15 seconds to introduce our whisky before we explored the table, and what a wonderful selection we’d brought together. Whisky from across the ages and indeed across the world, with whiskies from The Netherlands, Italy, and Iceland to name a few! </div>
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The choice in front of me was pretty daunting to say the least, so I decided to check out That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s Islay Blended Malt #2, A 27 Year Old, and another cracking blended malt made exclusively with single malts from Islay.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Grey Dogging with Goggin</span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James in action! I think Kat has just tried the 19 Year Old Cask Water!<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">(Photo courtesy of Martin Sykes Jones - Manchester Whisky Club)</span></td></tr>
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One of the highlights of the weekend for me was a workshop hosted by Maverick Drink’s James Goggin, entitled ‘Grey Dogging’ that was held on Friday evening</div>
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This was full-on whisky geekery at its finest! James had deconstructed a 19 Year Old Ben Nevis into two separate components by vacuum distillation. In one bottle we had 19 Year Old’ new make spirit, in the other bottle was the woody water.</div>
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New make spirit is known as ‘White Dog’ but this new make spirit had been matured for 19 years in a sherry cask! It was now known as Grey Dog for the purposes of this workshop. Once free of the water and cask impurities it was once again clear, with all the vibrancy and potency of new make spirit, ending up at over 70% abv.</div>
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The dirty cask water on the other had was cloudy, and rather less than appealing! However, bring the two back together and ‘hey presto!’ We have our whisky back! The woody water turned clear, and smelt and tasted like the whisky before it was separated.</div>
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James had also brought along some virgin new make spirit. James had matched the abv to the alcohol removed during the vacuum distillation, and added some of this to the 19 year old cask water, to see if we could recreate the whisky again. I can tell you it didn’t work, and wasn’t a patch on the original single malt. </div>
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With a late night the previous evening (we’d been in London for the launch of the Tomatin 1971 Vintage) and an early start that morning, I was beat!. I needed to get to my bed, and indeed work out just how I was going to get up the little wooden ladder to my top bunk! I’m pleased to report I made it through unscathed, and slept soundly until my usual ‘oh my god it’s early’ natural alarm clock, although did return home with some significant unexplained bruising to my right arm and chest that is still visible after three weeks!</div>
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An early start was on the cards for Saturday as we all had to be aboard minibuses for 0930!</div>
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<b>Slainte!</b> <i>Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-5521365257342839722016-06-12T21:33:00.000+01:002016-06-12T21:59:54.682+01:00Whisky Discovery #1747<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Compass Box Enlightenment 46% abv</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Blended Malt Scotch Whisky</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">circa £60.00 70cl</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the latest limited edition releases from those clever folk at Compass Box, Enlightenment is their response to the recent hullaballoo after their full disclosure on their last releases.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>‘There is no desire more natural than the desire for knowledge.’ – Michel de Montaigne</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">John Glaser says <i>“Since launching the Compass Box Whisky Co., I have always been a firm believer in the spirit of enlightenment – that the more information we can share with our customers about the Scotch whisky we produce, the better. Alas, it transpires such beliefs fall foul of current EU and UK regulations, which prevent us from sharing information about the age of every component whisky used in the creation of our blends.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He goes on; <i>“Inspired by the writers, philosophers and scientists of the Age of Enlightenment it sets out to encourage the industry to consider the absurdity of a system that prevents producers from telling consumers exactly what has gone into the whiskies they are drinking."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Concluding; <i>“And of course the whisky itself is something rather special. A blend of fruity, fragrant Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, it is bursting with aromas of fresh orchard fruit, flavours of vanilla, soft spice and pear and an alluring apple peel waxiness on the finish. An uplifting, enlightening whisky with which to ponder the world of Scotch not only as it is but also as it could be.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bottled in April 2016 this limited edition release is as expected from Compass Box, is of natural colour and non-chill-filtered. A total of 5,922 bottles were filled at 46% abv and it should be available worldwide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>So What Did I Think?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We’ve long been fans and supporters of Compass Box whiskies and admire their quest for full transparency. This blended or ‘vatted’ malt as previously known, is a marriage of just four distilleries. The overwhelming majority of the blend consists of Clynelish and Glentauchers with Clynelish getting the lion’s share. Malt from Balblair and Mortlach make up the balance, and while the ages are not disclosed on the packaging or press releases, I’m sure you can ask next time you see any of the Compass Box team and they’ll tell you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The nose certainly hints at some older matured whisky lying within. There's an abundance of waxy orchard fruits, crisp rosy red apples in particular but I was also noting softer Comice pear. Beyond these orchard notes, there were fragrant floral notes reminding me of orange blossom. Malty biscuit notes alongside the sweetness of icing sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Taste; Beautifully balanced with fruit, wood, and spices. Dried apple notes were leading the fruit, while pencil shavings brought the woody element to the fore. Peppery spices completed the flavour triangle for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Verdict: </b>Loved it! I must admit I don't think there has been a release from Compass Box I haven't loved. I might not be able to afford them all, but I have been fortunate to have tasted most of the releases, certainly over the last five years. Enlightenment has a lovely balance of flavours and at around £60 is certainly A 'bang for your buck whisky'. I loved the label too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many thanks to <a href="http://www.compassboxwhisky.com/" target="_blank">Compass Box Whiskies</a> for the sample and the opportunity to enjoy this at my leisure. Would I buy it? Yup, it's certainly within my whisky budget</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Dave</i></span></div>
Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-700898486553107162016-04-12T09:00:00.000+01:002016-04-12T09:00:01.144+01:00Whisky Discovery #1647<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Golden Age Blend, 40 Year Old (44.3% abv)</span></b><br />Blended Scotch Whisky<br />£349.95 70cl<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Named for the ‘Golden Age’ of distilling spanning the early ’60s to the mid-'70s, The Golden Age Blend has been named <b>Best Blended Scotch</b> at the <a href="http://www.worldwhiskiesawards.com/">World Whiskies Awards 2016</a>.</div>
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The <b>Blended Whisky Company</b> are the creators of the award-winning Golden Age Blend and The Lost Distilleries Blend, which was named World’s Best Blended Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards 2014, as well as receiving Gold Outstanding and Master medals from the IWSC and Scotch Whisky Masters respectively.</div>
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To create this whisky, The Blended Whisky Company took a selection of the finest venerable malts. All the whiskies used are aged for over 40 years and have been distilled at Macallan, Glenrothes and Tamdhu. Next, additional character and ‘seasoning’ was added in the form of gently peated whisky from Bunnahabhain. Finally, an exceptionally well-aged grain whisky from North British was added to tie the other malts together and form the backbone of the blend, at a ratio of approximately four parts malt to just one part grain.</div>
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This superbly rich, intense and full bodied award-winning blended whisky stands as a testament to the extraordinary depth of flavour that can be found in some of the marvellous whiskies distilled during the ‘Golden Age’. Just 210 bottles are available worldwide.</div>
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The Golden Age Blend is available from all the very best retailers including Amazon and Master of Malt and has a recommended retail price of £349.95</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>So What Did I Think?</u></span></b></div>
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This was the one of my highlights from Whisky Live London, and I had the time to get to know this before the show opened on Saturday as we were working with <b><a href="http://www.maverickdrinks.com/">Maverick Drinks</a></b>. It was my 'breakfast' dram, or 'product training' as I like to call it. Fortunately, the thoughtful people at <a href="http://www.drinksbythedram.com/"><b>Drinks by the Dram</b></a> also sent me a wee sample as a thank you for helping out on the day and it was my Easter Monday dram. It was wonderful to revisit it and it gave me the opportunity to write some notes.</div>
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This has the colour of oiled teak, a colour I'm very familiar with having spent a number of years building yachts that contained a great deal of it.</div>
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On the nose, I was reminded of chocolate brioche initially. Fruit followed with raisins, figs, and dried peel, like a Christmas cake steeped in Sherry. There are hints of dark 'old fashioned' marmalade, Demerara sugar, Cigar box and tobacco, and is simply divine. I didn't consider adding water to my sample. Glorious!</div>
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The palate opens with a gentle sweetness before the spices rush on to the tongue. As these settle, the sweetness returns, soft and warming while the spices leave a sherbet tingle. Flavours noted included Chelsea Buns, bitter chocolate, coffee grounds, and raisins. Tobacco notes come a little later with just the faintest smoky note developing towards the long finish. Delicious!</div>
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The finish is long, with hints of smoke and tobacco, turning woody, with an earthiness of a forest floor, eventually turning dry as the tannins remain at the very end.</div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Verdict</span></u></b></div>
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I had the pleasure of not only tasting this but, working with The Maverick Drinks stand at Whisky Live London on Saturday, I had the opportunity to share it with appreciative whisky fans, as it was one of our 'under the counter drams'. </div>
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Of course, it's not an affordable whisky for most, but then 40 Year Old whiskies don't tend to be. However, checking prices of other 40-year-old whiskies, this is competitively priced. This is a superbly blended Scotch, and a little piece of history. But don't just take my word for it, it has been named Best Blended Scotch at the World Whiskies Awards 2016.</div>
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Huge thanks to <a href="http://www.drinksbythedram.com/"><b>Drinks by the Dram</b></a> for the review sample</div>
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<b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-76751347164483471152016-03-31T09:00:00.000+01:002016-03-31T09:00:20.198+01:00Glencadam, two new releases<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Early in February, I received an email from Angus Dundee Distillers telling me about some new releases from The Glencadam and asking if I'd like some samples. </span>Of course,<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> we love emails like this, especially as we've re</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ally had little exposure to this distillery. Checking the liquid log, just two listed; the first was from </span>a '<a class="" href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/a-whisky-advent-calendar.html" target="_blank"><b>Drinks</b></a><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/a-whisky-advent-calendar.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b> by the Dram' Advent Calendar</b></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> back in 2013 when I was treated to a sample of their 21 Year Old. The only other expression was a superb single cask release from retailer and independent bottler <b>Abbey Whisky</b>, with a sample from their </span><b><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/whisky-discovery-784.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">‘Rare Casks’ series 22 Year Old</a></b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>The Glencadam Distillery</u></b></div>
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Once again I had to turn to <b><a href="http://www.maltwhiskyyearbook.com/" target="_blank">Malt Whisky Yearbook</a></b> to find out a little more about the Glencadam Distillery. Located in Brechin, the Eastern Highlands, a region once known for its whisky smuggling past, whisky production has been decimated in recent years with the closures of North Port, Glenesk (Hillside) and Lochside distilleries. Just Fettercairn and Glencadam have survived, and apart from a short period between 2000 and 2003. The Glencadam Distillery seems to have been in continuous operation since it was founded in 1825. Angus Dundee Distillers bought the distillery in 2003 (they also own the Tomintoul Distillery) and its capacity of 1.3 million litres per year puts it at the same size as the Ardbeg and Scapa distilleries.</div>
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Michael Jackon’s <b><a href="http://www.dk.com/uk/9781409348603-malt-whisky-companion/" target="_blank">Malt Whisky Companion</a></b> tells us that the ‘House Style’ is; Creamy with a suggestion of berry fruits, and recommends that this is enjoyed with dessert, or after dinner</div>
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A few weeks after the original email was received, a wee package arrived, beautifully presented, with two small samples of their latest releases, and one evening towards the end of the month I sat down and enjoyed these two new Whisky Discoveries</div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><u>Whisky Discovery No.1589</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Glencadam Origin 1825 NAS 40% abv</span></b></div>
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Highland Single Malt</div>
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Circa £30.00 70cl</div>
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First out of the box was the recently released Glencadam Origin 1825 the first No Age Statement whisky that the distillery has launched. We’re told from the Press Release that a very special collection of casks was chosen, with the final selection consisting of a unique marriage of whisky matured in first-class American white-oak bourbon barrels with whisky “finished” in the finest Spanish Oloroso Sherry butts. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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The nose has a creamy buttery feel to it with sweet floral notes alongside melting vanilla ice-cream. Hints of tangerine start to come through a little later. On the palate, it’s soft and light with a creamy fruitiness finishing with gentle spices and hints of cinnamon. The sweet fruit remains to the very end which turns a little dry.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Verdict</span></b></div>
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So the ‘marketing speak’ was perhaps a little nonsense as Scotch whisky can’t be ‘unique’! Firstly the SWA (Scotch Whisky Association) have strict rules of what can be and what can’t be done with maturing Scotch whisky. Secondly, American ex-bourbon barrels and Oloroso Sherry butts have been the norm for way longer than I’ve been drinking whisky!</div>
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I must admit I was immediately sceptical of another average NAS whisky launch but much to my delight, I was pleasantly surprised by this new release. Whilst not overly challenging, this is a very pleasant, dare I say it, ‘entry level dram’ and while it is a no-age-statement whisky they’ve decided to pitch it at a price point that reflects its position in the full range rather than ‘have our eyes out!</div>
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The original press release was dated October 2015, but I’ve not seen it on general sale from the on-line retailers yet and I tried to revisit it at Whisky Live London recently and it was unavailable here too.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Glencadam 25 Year Old 46% abv</span></b></div>
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The second sample was of their soon to be released 25 Year Old, with the press release describing this to be a limited release of just 1600 bottles with each bottle individually numbered. Master Distiller, Robert Fleming, deemed that the time was right to bottle the whisky at 25 years of age when the combination of exciting flavour notes such as sweet malt, exotic fruit and mixed nuts had reached a wonderful balance. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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The nose was simply glorious! I’d only received a small sample but wanted this to last forever! Its maturity was instantly apparent with those ‘old malt’ notes. It wasn’t particularly sweet, but the light fruity notes picked up on the Origin were evident. This too was a delight on the palate. Creamy, light and wonderfully fragrant and gently spiced while ‘old malt’ notes of polished oak hinted at its vintage. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b></span></div>
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I really loved this vintage release, and while it was just a small sample I sat and savoured this for as long as I could resist draining the glass. £250 is a great deal of money to spend on a bottle of whisky, and it’s certainly not something I consider on a regular basis, but I try to put it into context. There are 14 ‘healthy’ drams in each bottle (a single is rarely enough!) so think of it as 14 instalments for 14 special evenings over a period of time of your choice. I tried to revisit this at Whisky Live London recently too, but sadly it hadn’t travelled down with the team.</div>
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Want to find out more? You can find <a href="http://www.glencadamwhisky.com/" target="_blank"><b>Glencadam on-line here</b></a> and across social media with <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Glencadam" target="_blank"><b>Facebook</b></a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/GlencadamWhisky" target="_blank"><b>Twitter</b></a>, and <a href="http://www.instagram.com/glencadamwhisky" target="_blank"><b>Instagram</b></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.48px;">Slàinte! </b><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.48px;">Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-62482856180831752412016-03-29T10:00:00.000+01:002016-03-29T10:00:00.161+01:00Women in Whisky Lunch 2016<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As mentioned earlier, March has been really busy, both in our day jobs and with the amount of whisky events we've attended. Kat even managed to squeeze a short trip to Scotland into our packed schedules.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">To celebrate </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.internationalwomensday.com/">International Women’s Day</a></b><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> on 8th of March, Geraldine Murphy part of the famous whisky pub, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ThePotStillGlasgow/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Pot Still</b></a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, of Glasgow and founder of the women’s only whisky club </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Pot Stills Whisky Girls</b><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> held, what has become a new tradition, a </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Women in Whisky Lunch</b><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hTMNGTZhHog/VvldVVwiVnI/AAAAAAAAFaM/u17VaWalEWIZL6hhVqo-D6zMo8N0xjzhw/s1600/InternationalWomensDay-landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hTMNGTZhHog/VvldVVwiVnI/AAAAAAAAFaM/u17VaWalEWIZL6hhVqo-D6zMo8N0xjzhw/s640/InternationalWomensDay-landscape.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As soon as I saw the tickets go on sale, I booked myself to go. The lunch was held in the beautiful <a href="http://www.thegrandcentralhotel.co.uk/"><b>Grand Central Hotel</b></a> which is situated right next to Glasgow's Central train station. The hotel was built in the Victorian times in the Queen Anne style, which has been renovated sympathetically, keeping many of the period features. I absolutely adored the character of this place. A great feature was a row of windows in one of the hallways where you look directly into the station. I admired the juxtaposition of the old ornate Victorian window frames fixed in view and seeing the rush of modern life outside.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mRf1g-BPLNw/VvlbN6U4ZII/AAAAAAAAFaA/oY8zETXuwRIjn6kjLs1OLB9LYvGsYyB4Q/s1600/Grand%2BCentral%2BHotel%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mRf1g-BPLNw/VvlbN6U4ZII/AAAAAAAAFaA/oY8zETXuwRIjn6kjLs1OLB9LYvGsYyB4Q/s640/Grand%2BCentral%2BHotel%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Grand Central Hotel from inside the station building</td></tr>
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It was a truly international affair. On my table was the food & drinks writer <a href="http://www.rosemarymoon.com/"><b>Rosemary Moon</b></a>, two ladies from Switzerland, and a group of ladies from Pernod Richard including Chivas Regal Brand Ambassador Lauren Mustard who brought along the new no age statement Longmorn.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZhhQAtL8FFU/VvlX9pVKrII/AAAAAAAAFZU/inGdtlsKlT4WfYNpW7AjT8XW0f8JSt_dA/s1600/2016-03-08%2BWomens%2BDay%2BLunch%2BLongmorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZhhQAtL8FFU/VvlX9pVKrII/AAAAAAAAFZU/inGdtlsKlT4WfYNpW7AjT8XW0f8JSt_dA/s640/2016-03-08%2BWomens%2BDay%2BLunch%2BLongmorn.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This was great easy drinking dram, especially pairing well with the trio of dessert that was served with lunch.</span></span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: justify;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XPq2W2TXBDY/VvlZl2nIzkI/AAAAAAAAFZ0/43KA-PHlOyAjdISu29xW9c1vNgU4AyEiQ/s1600/Desserts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XPq2W2TXBDY/VvlZl2nIzkI/AAAAAAAAFZ0/43KA-PHlOyAjdISu29xW9c1vNgU4AyEiQ/s640/Desserts.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the fabulous desserts (photos courtesy of Crystal Coverdale)</td></tr>
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Before we heard from the industry’s key speakers we were introduced to the chosen charity <a href="http://www.say-women.co.uk/"><b>Say Women</b></a>, a local charity run by volunteers who offer help and support to vulnerable young women between the ages of 16 – 25 who have experienced childhood sexual abuse, rape or sexual assault. This includes finding safe accommodation, teaching & providing financial advice, through to counselling. The aim of the charity is to help give these women gain their confidence so they can have the right to choose their own positive path in life without living in fear.</div>
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In the UK it’s common to hear that demand for small charities like <b>Say Women</b> exists due to a lack of services being offered by the NHS or other local government. In Glasgow, it’s no different, very tragic considering whisky is a major export of Scotland, and many of these women grew up with alcoholic parents, which is the reason why they seek help. I feel it highlights an area that the drinks industry as a whole can do more to help.</div>
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With all the money raised from the event going to the charity, it was nice to see that under whisky, a positive light was shining through to show a different side of the drinks industry, and making a positive impact. As we were waiting to hear from two women where the whisky has changed their lives in a good way, hope that some of the vulnerable women might also these stories and be inspired to choose whisky as their new career path.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MFLGKSBTsbI/VvlYbfKWDgI/AAAAAAAAFZY/fFokYtXwV_YjsOgLgL9wAiryukrsZNneg/s1600/2016-03-08%2B15.02.27%2BRachel%2BMcN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MFLGKSBTsbI/VvlYbfKWDgI/AAAAAAAAFZY/fFokYtXwV_YjsOgLgL9wAiryukrsZNneg/s640/2016-03-08%2B15.02.27%2BRachel%2BMcN.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rachel MacNeill addressing the <span style="text-align: justify;">Women in Whisky Lunch</span> </span></td></tr>
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The first guest speaker was <b>Rachel MacNeill</b> from <a href="http://www.whiskyforgirls.com/"><b>Whisky for Girls</b></a>. Whisky has always been part of Rachel’s life growing up on the Isle of Islay. She told us of how she used to play in the malting barns of the distillery near her home as a child, not really knowing what it was until she got older. Then she got that lightbulb moment, realised she can turn her interest into a career when it hit her that people would pay her for taking them on whisky tours, courses, and tastings on Islay! Who can blame her, this was the golden ticket other people can only dream of. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Jjz_tT__mY/VvlYgbfG8eI/AAAAAAAAFZc/5Kfbx34p744rthd8_sZ9EPEW0r6JsLKMg/s1600/IMG_9621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Jjz_tT__mY/VvlYgbfG8eI/AAAAAAAAFZc/5Kfbx34p744rthd8_sZ9EPEW0r6JsLKMg/s640/IMG_9621.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dr Kirstie McCallum addressing the </span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Women in Whisky Lunch</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">(photo courtesy of Crystal Coverdale)</span></td></tr>
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The second and last speaker was <b>Dr Kirstie McCallum</b> from Burn Stewart Distillers. Her whisky story started differently, entering the industry by chance, her passion for whisky then grew from there. With a Ph.D. in hand, her original goal was to work in the pharmaceutical industry but as needs must, she accepted a part-time role in a distillery. This lead to her becoming the youngest female blender in Scotland, then on to Global Brand Ambassador for Burn Stewart Distillers, and recently announced, into a new role of Senior Blender at Burn Stewart. She is currently finishing the last few events of her Ambassador role. </div>
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What is it about whisky that stole her heart? She explained this is down to the range of smells, taste, and texture that’s unique to each whisky. Truly believes that there is whisky for everyone and it’s a drink that has no gender. Telling all the ladies in the room that there is no right or wrong way to drink whisky, reminding us it’s a drink, to be enjoyed however you like as long as you enjoy tasting it! </div>
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All in all, it was a great afternoon, with everyone ending up for a few beers and more drams at The Pot Still. I'm proud to say that over £1000 was raised this year which I'm sure the charity will put to great use. If you too would like to donate to Say Women you can do so by following the link to their donation page here: <a href="http://www.say-women.co.uk/donations.htm."><b>Donate here</b></a></div>
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More pictures of the event can also be found on <b>The Pot Still Whisky Girls</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ThePotStillsWhiskyGirls/posts/695141847255046">Facebook page</a></div>
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<b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Kat</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-87975977059741746792016-03-28T15:27:00.001+01:002016-03-28T15:27:13.408+01:00Exile Casks Launch March 2016<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've had a very busy March and have so much to catch up on! With so much news to </span>share<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I've decided to start with the latest news first! </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Wednesday, I headed down to London’s Soho Whisky Club for the launch of the first from Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley’s latest venture, The ‘Exile Casks’</span></div>
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The ‘Exile Casks’ is a new range of single cask scotch that will be available only from <a href="http://exilecasks.com/">exilecasks.com</a> For the past 3 years Neil and Joel been searching all over Scotland for lost and forgotten casks, and they say that they’ve found some gems amongst the warehouses.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RWaZaxA8o4Q/VvkpHE9m5XI/AAAAAAAAFY8/IHJSPiNTX6QJdMNpsXFlzyiHllW9sEjmA/s1600/IMG_8214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RWaZaxA8o4Q/VvkpHE9m5XI/AAAAAAAAFY8/IHJSPiNTX6QJdMNpsXFlzyiHllW9sEjmA/s640/IMG_8214.JPG" title="Exile Casks The Trojan" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three new Whisky Discoveries to log!</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><u>Whisky Discovery No.1653</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Caskstrength And Carry On 3D Whisky 56.4% abv</span></b></div>
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Blended Malt Whisky</div>
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no longer available</div>
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The first dram of the evening was the last release from Neil and Joel under the ‘<b>Cask Strength</b>’ brand. 3D is a 'vatted' malt from 3 distilleries beginning with the letter D; Dalwhinnie, Dailuaine and Dufftown, was created by Joel and Neil themselves under the guidance of Diageo Master Blender Dr Matthew Crow.<br />
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Unfortunately, I never managed to taste any of these early releases from the Cask Strength label so this, the last in their short series was the first for me.</div>
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Just 504 signed and numbered bottles were produced, at 56.4% abv, complete with stereoscopic 3D label and glasses. They were available exclusively from Master of Malt at around £50 a bottle and have all sold out long ago, although if you really want to try it there were some ‘<b><a href="https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/caskstrength/caskstrength-and-carry-on-3d-whisky/" target="_blank">Drinks by the Dram</a></b>’ available when I looked.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><u>Whisky Discovery No.1654</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Trojan 25 Year Old 57.1% abv</span></b></div>
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Single Cask Speyside Whisky</div>
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£65.00 500ml (only available from exilecasks.com)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5L9YOrrB9mY/Vvko4xqAuBI/AAAAAAAAFY0/iGiL2B-uBschzMBsAzwfe9IegFEw74wjw/s1600/Label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Exile Casks Whisky" border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5L9YOrrB9mY/Vvko4xqAuBI/AAAAAAAAFY0/iGiL2B-uBschzMBsAzwfe9IegFEw74wjw/s640/Label.jpg" title="The Trojan" width="570" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was being bottled on the day of the tasting, so no bottle shot!</td></tr>
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The Trojan, a 25 Year Old single cask from a Speyside distillery will be the first release from Exile Casks. Neil and Joel were not prepared to discuss the distillery this came from, but records showed that this cask was filled with spirit from one distillery and then labelled as being something else. Distilled 19th June 1990 and matured in a refill hogshead, it was currently being bottled (as we were tasting) at 57.1% with just 306 500ml bottles, and will be available from 31st March at £65 but only from <a href="http://exilecasks.com/">exilecasks.com</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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Quite a punchy dram with a gloriously rich, almost sherry cask, colour. Lots of woody oaky notes on the nose with liquorice and nutty notes too, walnut in particular. There was also a surprising celery salt note detected – and I thought it was only Kat that had these oddities in her tasting notes! This is also surprisingly lively for a 25-year-old, with lots of rich spicy notes on the palate. Water tamed the spicy heat and sweetened the flavours. One of the Soho Whisky Club members had brought in some home-made chocolates, and this whisky worked wonderfully with the chocolate – Bravo!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><u>Whisky Discovery No.1655</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">'TBA' 1992 55.5% abv</span></b></div>
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Single Cask Speyside Whisky</div>
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£TBA0 500ml (only available from exilecasks.com)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9mHjR-78CxE/VvkqEUYAUGI/AAAAAAAAFZE/npWJNOd1zygZlZcpSmE7rCO246N55RMXQ/s1600/Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9mHjR-78CxE/VvkqEUYAUGI/AAAAAAAAFZE/npWJNOd1zygZlZcpSmE7rCO246N55RMXQ/s400/Logo.jpg" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No bottle, No label, not even a name yet!</td></tr>
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Our third and final dram was a teaser from their next release. Another single cask from a Speyside distillery and again no distillery name will be released, although we were told that this cask had travelled, having been moved to four different warehouses. Distilled 9th April and matured in a 200-litre refill ASB (American Standard Barrel) and the sample we were tasting was at 55.5% abv. This yet to be named release is about a month away and if you want to find out more you’ll need to sign up on <a href="http://exilecasks.com/">exilecasks.com</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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Now this very quickly won me over and was my favourite of the evening’s three new Whisky Discoveries. The nose having a tropical fruity feeling with pineapple and coconut cream, lots of coconut cream! - Delicious!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Verdict</span></b><br />
I always enjoy my trips to The Soho Whisky Club as more often than not it's because I've been invited to the launch of a new expression! The original plan of the Cask Strength team was to release an A-Z series of whiskies, but quickly realised that they were going to be hard-pressed to do this, especially in order! The first two casks are indeed very different and divided the Soho Whisky Club members fairly equally. That, however, is hardly surprising as single cask releases from the same distillery can be very different. There's no brand profile in terms of taste or style being sought here, just single casks that appeal to Neil and Joel. There's no exclusivity other than the limited release that a single cask can yield. When it's gone, it's gone!<br />
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hy 500ml bottles? Well firstly more people will be able to enjoy each release! The initial release, limited to just 306 500ml bottles would yield just 218 bottles at 700ml. Secondly, Neil and Joel looked at their own whisky collections and noticed that many of their bottles had around 200ml left in the bottom of them (yeah, mine too!). There's nothing like opening a newly purchased bottle, and these releases are meant to be drunk!<br />
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So, if you want to find out just what whisky Neil and Joel really like you'll just have to sign up on their new website as this will be the only place you can buy them from. You can follow them on Twitter too <b><a href="https://twitter.com/ExileCasks" target="_blank">@ExileCasks</a> </b>we'd suggest you do just that!<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">Slàinte! </b><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-89707933878396310132016-02-08T09:30:00.000+00:002016-02-08T09:30:24.310+00:00Whisky Discovery #1565<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Wemyss Malts 'Fallen Apples' 1989 Glen Garioch (46% abv)</span></b></span></div>
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Highland Single Malt</div>
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Circa £110.00 70cl</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Dd661Tglpk/Vq5P2A00JVI/AAAAAAAAFWA/F0bRIYm7YT0/s1600/Wemyss%2BSingle%2BCasks%2BJan%2B15%2BRelease%2Bgroup%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Glen Garioch 1989" border="0" height="544" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Dd661Tglpk/Vq5P2A00JVI/AAAAAAAAFWA/F0bRIYm7YT0/s640/Wemyss%2BSingle%2BCasks%2BJan%2B15%2BRelease%2Bgroup%2B2.jpg" title="Wemyss Malts Single Cask Release 2016" width="640" /></a></div>
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Independent bottler, <a href="http://www.wemyssmalts.com/home.html" target="_blank"><b>Wemyss Malts</b>,</a> announced their first Single Cask release of 2016 towards the end of January with six casks selected to showcase the best of Speyside, Islay and The Highlands and, ranging in age from 13 to 25 years old.</div>
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The full list from this tranche of single casks released:</div>
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<li>"Sizzling Charcoal" 1997 single cask from Bunnahabhain Distillery, Islay,</li>
<li>"Coastal Confection" 1996 single cask from Bowmore Distillery, Islay, Cask Strength</li>
<li>"The Highland Mariner 1997 single cask from Clynelish Distillery, Highlands</li>
<li>"Fallen Apples" 1989 singe cask from Glen Garioch Distillery, Highlands</li>
<li>"Barrista’s Dram" 2002 single cask from Craigellachie Distillery, Speyside</li>
<li>"Toasted Anise" 1996 single cask from Glenrothes Distillery, Speyside</li>
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Each cask has been selected and named by the Wemyss tasting panel, under the watchful eye of industry aficionado Charlie Maclean, and Dave was one of the few who received a review sample of the Glen Garioch 'Fallen Apples'</div>
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There are only a few hundred bottles from each cask and the suggested retail prices range from £55 to £110. These bottlings will be available in selected retailers in the UK, EU and key Asian markets.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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When I saw the press release, two of the six single casks interested me a little more than the others; the 1997 Clynelish and this <b>1989 <a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/whisky-distillery-discovery-no2-glen.html" target="_blank">Glen Garioch</a></b> and cheekily asked if there was a sample available to review.</div>
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In 1989 <a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/whisky-distillery-discovery-no2-glen.html" target="_blank">Glen Garioch</a> still had their own floor maltings, hence my immediate interest when I saw this list. When the floor maltings were in operation, the malt was peated, albeit to a very low level, at circa 8-10 ppm.The practice discontinued when the distillery was mothballed in 1995, and like most distilleries these days, all the malt is brought in from independent maltsters. </div>
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'Fallen Apples' bottled at 46% abv at the end of last year was distilled in 1989 and just 266 bottles are out there so when it's gone, it's gone!</div>
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As with so many of their single cask releases, the Wemyss Malts team are bang on the money with naming this one as an Autumn apple harvest was my first impression when bringing the glass up to my nose. With a drop of water, it's baked apples covered in glazed brown sugar, while a herbal heather note brings up the background. There's also an elusive hint of smoke, not an earthy peat-like smoke, but more like the smoke from a blacksmith's forge (anthracite) and some charred wood.</div>
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Apples dominate the palate flavours too, with stewed apples initially, which is followed by apple wood notes, freshly cut at first, seasoned and polished later. The gentle wood smoke comes through right at the end of the spicy finish.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jl5U2SNfHEU/Vq5QyRIyf9I/AAAAAAAAFWI/C6CXq5CjGLU/s1600/IMG_7830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jl5U2SNfHEU/Vq5QyRIyf9I/AAAAAAAAFWI/C6CXq5CjGLU/s640/IMG_7830.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Verdict:</b> I really enjoyed this traditional Highland malt, it's a little over my £100 budget but for a little piece of history, this gently peated 25 Year Old Single Cask Glen Garioch is good buy. Many thanks to <b><a href="http://www.wemyssmalts.com/home.html" target="_blank">Wemyss Malts</a></b> for the sample (any chance of a sample of the Clynelish too?)</div>
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<b>Slàinte! </b><i>Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-1091211312495883082016-02-06T08:00:00.000+00:002016-02-06T08:00:03.296+00:00Whisky Discovery #1564<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Japanese Whisky has been very much in the news over the last twelve to eighteen months and we were very excited about our invitation to the UK launch of the <b>Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016 Edition</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U9Tpe6YJA70/Vq_KXYQE5UI/AAAAAAAAFYA/RFEMgDxldcA/s1600/YSC_BRANDING_EU%2Bsm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U9Tpe6YJA70/Vq_KXYQE5UI/AAAAAAAAFYA/RFEMgDxldcA/s640/YSC_BRANDING_EU%2Bsm.jpg" title="Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016" width="532" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We'd missed out on the previous release which made all the headlines after being crowned the world’s best whisky by <b>Jim Murray</b> in his 2015 Whisky Bible. A friend and fellow Bedford Whisky Club member who had bought one before the announcement now had a predicament to consider as to if or when he should open it. He actually bought two, one for his Father-in-Law who did open it, and it all went down very well! The second bottle is now in a safe place while he decides if he's going to 'cash in' or wait for a significant 'life event' to open it, but anyway, I digress....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The launch event, organised by </span><a href="http://thrsxty.com/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b>Thrsxy</b></a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> was held in London's </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Savoy Hotel</b><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> and Suntory's global brand ambassador, </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Mike Miyamoto</b><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, was on hand to take us through the company's philosophy and history, as well as a tasting of three core expressions before introducing us to the 2016 release. Mike Miyamoto joined Suntory in 1978 and is well qualified for the position of Global Brand Ambassador having spent time in all areas of whisky making; from running a cooperage in the USA, running distilleries with Morrison Bowmore, to the blending rooms working alongside the Master Blenders creating their 'alchemy' with both masterpieces and experiments that didn't make it to market. </span></div>
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The 2013 release was a very limited edition and by the time it was announced as the world’s best whisky, it had all but sold out. The 2016 release is again a very limited edition, the UK allocation of 2,000 bottles will be available from Monday, February 1st from Selfridges, The Whisky Exchange and Harvey Nichols. Priced at a little more than twice the price of the award winning 2013 release, at £200 for a 70cl bottle, it would appear that Suntory has either decided to trade on their previous success or have made the move to reduce the incidences of 'flipping' by speculators.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The birth of Japanese Whisky</span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vn2-0J7GD9g/Vq_GRke1U7I/AAAAAAAAFXg/6LnA45JYfMw/s1600/DSC_0146.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vn2-0J7GD9g/Vq_GRke1U7I/AAAAAAAAFXg/6LnA45JYfMw/s400/DSC_0146.JPG" title="Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Global Brand Ambassador Mike Miyamoto</td></tr>
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Before the tasting began, Mike took us through a brief history of Japanese whisky that will be celebrating it's centenary in just seven years.</div>
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Shinjiro Torii 'The founding father of Japanese whisky' established the first Suntory whisky distillery, now known as the Yamazaki, the birthplace of Japanese whisky, on the outskirts of Kyoto 1923. The stills first ran in December 1924, and initially, Japanese whiskies copied the then current Scottish styles. The Suntory branded 'Shirofuda' released in 1929 did not go down to well being too smoky for the Japanese palate, but just eight years later they got it right when they released 'Kakubin'. It's smoothness and balance was a big hit in Japan. Shinjiro who had a knack for blending whisky, remained master blender up until 1960. The following year, he passed the role of president and master blender on to his adopted son Keizo Saji. The Third and current master blender, Shingo Torii took the helm in 2002, maintaining the family bond, the basic philosophy of the Suntory business.</div>
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Unlike Scotland, Japan only has a handful of distilleries, and trading between distilleries just doesn't happen. Suntory has just three distilleries, two making single malts and one making grain whisky and in order to create the range of whiskies, they have had to become a little more resourceful. Yamazaki, for example; has two types of fermenting vats; wood and stainless, 16 pot stills, with seven different types and using both direct firing and steam heated. Then for maturation, they have oak casks of various types, ex-bourbon, ex-wine, ex-sherry and of course, Japanese oak. The variety within this distillery alone allows them to be able to make a number of different whisky styles.</div>
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In 1972, Suntory opened their Grain distillery, Chita and it wasn't until 1973 that their second single malt distillery, Hakushu was established. Hakushu, located in the foothills of Mt. Kaikomagatake, is known as Japan’s Southern Alps, where cool, clear waters flow through a bountiful forest environment. Suntory launched Yamazaki as a single malt whisky in 1984, followed by Hakushu in 1994, while their blended whisky came to the market with the creation of Hibiki in 1989. With the introductions over we moved onto a short Masterclass with three current expressions, one from each of the two single malt distilleries and their blended whisky Hibiki before moving on to the reason we were all there.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--PWXq50t8UQ/Vq_Fn7oW3CI/AAAAAAAAFXY/j8MzipPtKpY/s1600/IMG_7806.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="302" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--PWXq50t8UQ/Vq_Fn7oW3CI/AAAAAAAAFXY/j8MzipPtKpY/s640/IMG_7806.JPG" title="Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">Whisky Discovery #89</span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Yamazaki 12 Year Old (43% abv)</span></b></div>
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Japanese Single Malt Whisky</div>
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circa £120.00 70cl</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5V_C-vo3Xkg/Vq_Lckyh_KI/AAAAAAAAFYI/BWFJ2XQ60MU/s1600/yamazaki-12-year-old-whisky.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5V_C-vo3Xkg/Vq_Lckyh_KI/AAAAAAAAFYI/BWFJ2XQ60MU/s640/yamazaki-12-year-old-whisky.jpg" title="Yamazaki 12 Year Old" width="430" /></a></div>
This, a favourite of Mike Miyamoto, is now getting difficult to find, even in Japan, and it was good to revisit this delightful single malt. First discovered fairly early on in my personal journey, at The Whisky Loung London Fest in 2012, I wish I'd brought a bottle or two! The nose came across fruity with plenty of zesty grapefruit at first. Soft peach and ripe pineapple follow along with fudge and vanilla while hints of Amontillado Sherry balance the flavours with a distinct nuttiness. The palate is soft with a gentle sweetness and subtle spices.<br />
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<b>Verdict:</b> Fabulous! Unfortunately due to the current trend with Japanese whiskies this is very difficult to find and it's not currently available from either <a href="https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/" target="_blank">The Whisky Exchange</a> or <a href="https://www.masterofmalt.com/" target="_blank">Master of Malt</a><br />
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<b><u><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">Whisky Discovery #1563</span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Hakushu 12 Year Old (43% abv)</span></b></div>
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Japanese Single Malt Whisky</div>
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circa £75.00 70cl</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QVMe5yB8j_o/Vq_LkeAFHTI/AAAAAAAAFYQ/Zepmq62nRQ0/s1600/japan_hak1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QVMe5yB8j_o/Vq_LkeAFHTI/AAAAAAAAFYQ/Zepmq62nRQ0/s640/japan_hak1.jpg" title="Hakushu 12 Year Old" width="480" /></a></div>
Whilst I've tried a few from the Hakushu Distillery, the 12 Year Old was a new Whisky Discovery for me. The nose comes across clean and fresh, with menthol, pine forest notes and an almost 'sanitised note' initially but with time the forest smoke starts to develop in the glass. Herbal with thyme and dried pine needles interplaying with each other. The palate is softer than the nose suggested but still reminded me of a pine forest, although a little more smokey, Lapsang Souchang sprung to mind but the spices that follow remind you that it's whisky, not tea your drinking! The smoke lasts long into the peppery drying finish<br />
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<b>Verdict:</b> Lovely fresh smoky Hakushu. This one is currently available at <a href="https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/" target="_blank">The Whisky Exchange</a> but for how long who knows? It is out of stock at <a href="https://www.masterofmalt.com/" target="_blank">Master of Malt</a></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">Whisky Discovery #168</span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Hibiki 17 Year Old (43% abv)</span></b></div>
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Japanese Blended Whisky</div>
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circa £100.00 70cl</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R9EMMVv1FsM/Vq_LqI1n9sI/AAAAAAAAFYY/yR-cgDWAZhs/s1600/suntory-hibiki-17-year-old-whisky.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R9EMMVv1FsM/Vq_LqI1n9sI/AAAAAAAAFYY/yR-cgDWAZhs/s640/suntory-hibiki-17-year-old-whisky.jpg" title="Hibiki 17 Year Old" width="506" /></a></div>
In Japanese Hibiki means Harmony, and the Hibiki range is a blended whisky, but unlike Scotch, all of the whisky in this blend brings together the many styles of matured malt and grain whisky from the companies three distilleries. I'd forgotten just how lovely this whisky was after first coming across it at Nickolls and Perks Midlands Whisky Show. This is so easy to drink and I was able to go back for seconds of this! The nose comes across clean with a sanitised note initially, perhaps the Hakushu showing it's colours first? Creamy caramel notes follow after some turn in the glass, buttery but again with a herbal oregano note. The palate is smooth and creamy with caramelised banana. Spicy oak flavours develop towards the end</div>
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<b>Verdict:</b> I could drink this all night, but, unfortunately, it's not currently available from either <a href="https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/" target="_blank">The Whisky Exchange</a> or <a href="https://www.masterofmalt.com/" target="_blank">Master of Malt</a></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">Whisky Discovery #1564</span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016 (48% abv)</span></b></div>
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Japanese Single Malt Whisky</div>
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circa £200.00 70cl</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e_BdpXwiFwg/Vq_Hd7nAp6I/AAAAAAAAFXs/ekG6q232voQ/s1600/IMG_7813.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Whisky Discovery" border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e_BdpXwiFwg/Vq_Hd7nAp6I/AAAAAAAAFXs/ekG6q232voQ/s640/IMG_7813.JPG" title="Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016" width="480" /></a></div>
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One of the oldest casks at Suntory was the Sherry Cask. As with all good whisky makers nowadays Suntory select their own oak from the forests of Northern Spain. With the wood seasoned, they work with the coopers to create their own sherry casks, shorter with more girth (puncheons) so they still hold the same capacity as a butt. Oloroso sherry is matured in these casks for three years before they are shipped to Japan for whisky maturation. The new 2016 Yamazaki Sherry Cask release has spent three years longer in oak than the 2013 release, and Mike told us that it contains some 25 Year Old Yamazaki too</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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Of course, this falls into the sherry monster category, the nose is thick with liquorice, aniseed, and clove initially. Once settled the chocolate notes start to develop, and whilst there is a rich fruity raisin note, there's also a meatiness to it too, a very savoury dram.<br />
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Moving onto the palate, the quality of the balance is immediately evident with a velvet-like smoothness. My initial note written was Black Forest gateau, rich with chocolate, and dark cherry while the woody notes start to build, clove and woody cassia dominating the spices for me. As expected, it's drying, and you can almost feel it starting to suck the moisture from your mouth as the body builds! On second sip a sour cherry note was more evident, reminding me of the Chinese dried plums/cherries I used to love in the Far East, but the savouriness continues reinforcing the meatiness I noted on nosing.</div>
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<b>Verdict: </b>It would have been amazing to be able to try the new 2016 release against the previous release, I don't suppose there are many that will get the opportunity to do this though.<br />
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I used to be a big fan of Sherry monsters, however, some bad experiences over the years with some real woody drams, I'm a little more apprehensive with them nowadays. I must admit, this recent release from Yamazaki is something special and there's not a hint of 'struck match' sulphur. I'm fairly certain this will be another Jim Murray hit, but by the time the next release of his Bible comes out it'll be all gone! In fact, if you're umming and arh-ing like I am on whether you should get a bottle, you're probably too late as well!<br />
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Splendid stuff! Now can I really afford £200 for a bottle of this?</div>
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<b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-29697250947371769992016-02-04T05:17:00.000+00:002016-02-04T08:32:09.072+00:00Whisky Discovery #1560<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Glenmorangie Private Edition 'Milsean' 46% abv</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Highland Single Malt<br />Circa £76.00 70cl</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ssL0Vn1d8Fo/Vq5WzuI4IGI/AAAAAAAAFWg/uN3qlaDJPUU/s1600/Glenmorangie_Milsean_LOW%2B%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Private Edition" border="0" height="620" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ssL0Vn1d8Fo/Vq5WzuI4IGI/AAAAAAAAFWg/uN3qlaDJPUU/s640/Glenmorangie_Milsean_LOW%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="Glenmorangie Milsean" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Candy stripes on the bottle seal but wait till you see the box!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We always look forward to marking the start of the year with a <b>Glenmorangie Private Edition</b> release! On cold grey Tuesday afternoon in mid-January, we sneaked out from our respective 'day jobs' early in order to make the 1700 train into London and headed down to <a href="https://www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/browns-hotel/?gclid=CjwKEAiA_ra1BRDV-byb_aDqpQoSJAA-ofB9YrNwzMeTUwvAT48n9aWfcCfzpTFkwcUoWQ6EwXIJlhoCH0vw_wcB" target="_blank"><b>Browns Hotel</b></a> Ablemarle Street to join Dr. Bill Lumsden and his team for the launch of the latest release in Glenmorangie’s Private Edition series.</span><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b> <b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Milsean </b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(pronounced ‘Meel-shawn’) meaning 'sweet things' in Scots Gaelic, marks the seventh release in this range, and follows </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/whisky-discovery-1151.html" target="_blank">Tusail</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in 2015, Companta in 2014, </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/whisky-discovery-304.html" target="_blank">Ealanta</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, Artein, Finealta and Sonnalta PX from previous years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a packed room, dressed with jars of Flying Saucers, Dolly Mixtures, Sherbet Lemons and icing sugar dusted Bon-bons (both strawberry, and lemon flavours) to remind you of an old-fashioned sweet shop. Dr Bill Lumsden commenced proceedings with a dram of </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/whisky-discovery-9.html" target="_blank">The Original</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, the single malt that almost all of the Glenmorangie releases start from.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wish all sweet shops looked like this!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, perhaps the sweet shop was a little stretch of the imagination with the back wall lined with alternate bottles of The Original and the new Milsean, but there were plenty of sweets to go round, and we all had at least one bag of sweets to take home with us. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dr Bill explained his love of old-fashioned sweets before going off piste for a short while, telling a story of the state of teeth in Scotland, and his relationship with his dentist!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back on script Dr Bill went on to explain how the Private Edition series came to be. Prior to the first release, Glenmorangie had released some single cask editions that were very well received (and now highly collectable) but single casks make each release very limited, and exclusive, and a wider release was desired.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Extra-maturation is a process pioneered by Glenmorangie. Whisky is first matured in one type of cask (such as ex-bourbon), then is transferred into a different type of cask (such as ex-wine casks) where it spends additional years gaining further layers of flavour. With a greater outturn the risk is higher, so for the first Private Edition release Dr. Bill decided to stick with a known 'finishing' cask, Pedro Ximenez Sherry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Milsean is the first Glenmorangie expression to be extra-matured in heavily toasted Portuguese red wine casks. Milsean, draws on the effect of charred wine casks, unlocking an unusual dimension in extra maturation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Created from Glenmorangie first matured in ex-bourbon oak casks, Glenmorangie Milsean then spent a number of years in casks which had contained Portuguese red wine. Yet before they were used to create a Glenmorangie Private Edition, the casks were heavily charred to enhance the sweeter notes of Glenmorangie, which has created a whisky with such attractive hints of sweetness, that it has surpassed even his expectations.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tthe Douro valley is said to be one of the most distinctive terroirs in the history of world viticulture</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before presenting the Milsean, Dr Bill had a glass of the Portuguese Red Wine for us to adjust our senses while introducing future successor <b>Brendan McCarron</b> who played a major part in creating this new release.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dr Bill told us: “A glass of Glenmorangie Milsean transports me straight to an old-fashioned sweet shop with its sweet and spicy bouquet, with hints of sugar cane, ripe fruits and fudge. Extra-maturing Glenmorangie in heavily toasted red wine casks for the first time, has allowed us to create a whisky recalling a bygone era. I hope its deep tastes of cherries, angelica, candied orange peel and unusual intensity of caramelised fruits, will surprise and delight whisky aficionados and malt connoisseurs.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bottled at 46% abv, and non-chill filtered for extra body and texture, Glenmorangie Milsean will be available from specialist whisky shops worldwide, including The Whisky Exchange, Soho’s Vintage House, Selfridges and Royal Mile Whiskies from 19th January 2016</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">mmmm Flying Saucers and even a hint of giraffe!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Kat says:</u> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The difference with this year's release that interested me was the way the cask was toasted. The wine cask was re-toasted over a brazier of oak chips before the whisky went in, instead of the whisky going straight into a wet cask. Their plan was to make a whisky that smells and tastes like old fashion sweets. This explains the red and white stripped packing resembling the striped paper bags you get in the older or traditional British sweet shops. It's very cute, very playful.<br /><br /><b>Nose:</b> Begins with a full on sugar hit, full of fudge, Dolly mix sweets, sticky sweet tobacco and figs. With some time in the glass, the more familiar house style of orange zests starts coming through with more aromatic notes specifically picking up bay leaves. Lacing between all of this, more robust notes of toasted coconuts and sesame seeds, adding some good depth. The general feel is sweet without feeling sticky or clinging, the sweetness being uplifted by the zesty notes, and the toasted aromas offering dryness offering some balance to the sweetness.<br /><br /><b>Taste: </b>It came as no surprise that the sweetness carries on through into the taste. Found it to be a straightforward sweetness of white caster sugar, with the same consistency as watered down sugar syrup. Following on is orange zests, providing a nice all-round light coating of orange essential oil, same as the nose, this provides a balance to and lifting the sweetness stopping it becoming sickly sweet. As time goes on, other notes that were picked up on the nose is pretty much mirrored in the taste and in a similar sequence. Leather notes and toasted coconut emerges with some welcome dryness, allowing spice notes of mace and nutmeg to come through. Subsequent sips still begin with plenty of sweetness but turns more complex, becoming more of Dolly mixture sweets and fudge.<br /><br /><b>Finish: </b>Here surprisingly, it’s not overcome with sweetness but of toasted oak and coconuts. Some of the essential oils are also here, with some spices that vanish a bit too quickly for me. Would say a medium finish but only because I wished it would linger for a little longer.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <span style="color: blue;"><b>Dave Says:</b> <i>Well not quite as much as Kat! When someone is waxing lyrical about something they are passionate about, it's easy to be led through the power of suggestion, especially when you're in a room dressed as a sweet shop, with open jars and bags of sweets that we were 'expected' to find during the tasting. It had been an awfully long time since I'd had 'Flying Saucers' and these made a very happy food pairing with Milsean for me! Fortunately not only did we get to enjoy this at the launch event, we were also sent a review sample to follow up on.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><br /></i></span></span> <i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Whilst this is a very sweet dram, something I picked up on both at the tasting and at WDHQ, was that the distillery character certainly comes through and much more evident than the previous four editions that we've tasted.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></i><i><span style="color: blue;">Nose: There really is a great deal going on in here. The sweet shop notes are all here as initially directed, Dolly Mixtures and Sherbet Lemons for me. The bags of sweets given to us at the beginning of the tasting made a great reference point for candied fruity notes. I picked up some summer fruit notes too though, raspberries in particular. The 'house-style' orange notes were clear but there was also an interesting toasted coconut flavour.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></i></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: blue;">Palate: This is a definitely a dessert whisky. with soft fudge leading the flavours, before a cornucopia of sweet fruits evolve, with ripe cherry, golden plum, melon, mango and a hint of BBQ'd pineapple, alongside citrus, which was more grapefruit than orange for me. The sweetness is balanced by the spices that follow, ginger predominantly but hints of cinnamon were noted, and I found that toasted coconut coming across towards the short and sweet finish.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></i></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: blue;">Finish: As mentioned above, short and sweet is most apt. There are so many interesting flavours, both on the nose and on the palate, but once swallowed, it seems to finish abruptly.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <b>Verdict: </b>Definitely moreish! Compared with the previous two releases, this stayed much closer to the house style and flavours of The Original. It is a seriously sweet dram and those without a sweet tooth, this is not the whisky for you. Dr Bill and his team set out to make a whisky that resembled the smells and tastes of an old-fashioned sweet shops and Milsean pretty much did that.<br />
<br />This was also the second time we had met Dr. Bill Lumsden, and was very happy that we managed to have a good chat with him. We discussed the flavour profile of the previous release <b class=""><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/whisky-discovery-1151.html">Tusail</a></b> and what the Maris Otter barley brought to that whisky. Kat told him how she would be interested in doing a side by side comparison with <b><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/whisky-discovery-1151.html">Tusail</a></b> and <b>The Original</b>, and Dr. Bill agreed this would be an interesting comparison. Something they carried out at the time, with The Original acting as a control.<br />
<br />Having been fortunate to taste the last four Private Editions we'd really like to run a tasting with them all alongside each other with The Original acting as control. At the time of the release of Ealanta, I wasn't a huge fan. I'm not sure 'I got it' then, so would really love to revisit it. Now to get my hands on a bottle of Ealanta…<br />
<br /><b>Slàinte! </b><i>Dave and Kat</i></span></div>
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Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-54036593726227505702016-01-31T17:40:00.002+00:002016-01-31T17:40:33.363+00:00Whisky Discovery #1546<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Karuizawa 33 Year Old </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cask No.136 </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">(55.3% abv)</span></b></div>
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Japanese Whisky</div>
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Only available at Auction</div>
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My first Whisky Discovery of 2016 and what a way to start! A single cask release from the now legendary Japanese Distillery Karuizawa, which ceased all production in 2001 when the distillery was mothballed.</div>
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Distilled in 1981 this has spent 33 years in a Sherry butt before being bottled in 2014 at 55.3% and thanks to French Whisky enthusiast and blogger <a href="https://twitter.com/lacavedecobalt"><b>Franck Debanardi</b></a> for this very special sample. Cask 136 was a single cask release for French whisky specialist <b>La <a href="http://www.whisky.fr/en/">Maison Du Whisky</a></b> and just 595 bottles were released. Whilst not a cheap buy at the time of release, at a recent auction a bottle of this sold for over £2,500!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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I must admit that I'm no longer a huge fan of 'Sherry Monsters' as there have been a few that have put me off over recent years but I was pleased to say this one did not disappoint.</div>
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Of course, the nose is full of rich sherry notes, but there's a rather pleasant sourness of Chinese preserved plums, a dried fruit snack I particularly enjoyed during my time out in the Far East. There are hints of liquorice, waxy furniture polish and leather. With a drop or two of water, the sour cherry notes sweeten giving cherry liqueur, hints of orange peel appear and eventually some floral notes come through too.</div>
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On the palate, the woodiness comes through strong and a little waxy, but not overpowering as it's balanced by the slightly sour cherry/dried plum flavours and a pleasant hit of peppery spice. As found with the nose, a drop of water sweetens the palate too, giving ripe plums and liquorice which last long into the woody finish.</div>
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<b>Verdict: </b>Gorgeous and a great way to start the Liquid log off in 2016. Unfortunately with auction prices forever climbing, getting the chance to try anything from Karuizawa is getting more and more difficult. Thanks again to Franck Debenardi - why not follow him on Twitter <b><a href="https://twitter.com/lacavedecobalt" target="_blank">@lacaveducobalt</a></b> and check out his <a href="http://lacavedecobalt.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">blog</a>. </div>
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I'm looking for a sample of another Karuizawa release that I was hoping to get onto a bottle share, with but just missed out! If you have an open bottle of The Whisky Exchange release <b>1984 Vintage Cask #3663 56.8% abv</b> I would love a sample, please!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eMtkW2MuT74/Vq5BFfWNakI/AAAAAAAAFVw/N-J2MeJ9v0g/s1600/IMG_7660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Karuizawa Cask 136" border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eMtkW2MuT74/Vq5BFfWNakI/AAAAAAAAFVw/N-J2MeJ9v0g/s640/IMG_7660.JPG" title="Karuizawa 1981" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-32531227060316621402015-11-08T20:32:00.002+00:002015-11-09T09:44:23.870+00:00The Whisky Exchange Single Cask Exclusives - English Whisky<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Head Distiller David Fitt and Kat and the two Whisky Exchange Single Cask exclusives at the show</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We caught up with The English Whisky Company's Head Distiller, David Fitt, at this year's Whisky Exchange Whisky Show, who as usual blew us away with their new releases (as well as a rather exciting 'under the counter' experiment). David took us through the new triple distilled Chapter 17, which we followed with the 2015 release of Chapter 10 before moving on to two single cask releases that he was immensely proud of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two casks personally chosen by Sukhinder Singh, founder of the Whisky Exchange, bottled as exclusive releases and launched at the show. We were mightily impressed with both of them on the day and were delighted to receive a pair of review samples a few days afterwards, to revisit them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These are only available from The Whisky Exchange, and being single cask releases, only a limited number of bottles are available.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two review samples at WDHQ (no I didn't blend them into one glass)</span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><u>Whisky Discovery #1438</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">English Whisky Classic a TWE Exclusive 53.4% abv</span></b></div>
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English Single Malt Whisky</div>
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£59.95 70cl only available from The Whisky Exchange</div>
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This Whisky Exchange exclusive release from The English Whisky Company is one of their favourites that they've produced. Soft and fruity, despite being bottled at cask strength, it's a perfect example of how great whisky from the distillery is.</div>
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The specially commissioned packaging features a red telephone box which has been a feature on the streets of England since 1926, becoming an iconic sight across the country. As time has moved on, most of them have vanished, with the few remaining saved for posterity through private ownership.<br />
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Just 270 bottles were filled</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>So What Did I Think?</b></span><br />
<b>Nose:</b> A gorgeous soft candy nose. There's dusted milk bottle sweets, candied lemons and shortbread biscuit. These biscuit and lemon notes in time give lemon drizzle cake notes while floral notes bring up the backdrop<br />
<b>Taste:</b> A very creamy mouth feel and again reminding me of milk bottle sweets. There's vanilla creams, the biscuit notes coming through before the peppery spices push through and hints of pencil shavings<br />
<b>Finish:</b> Vanilla ice cream with a hint of chilli comes in right at the end<br />
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<b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><u>Whisky Discovery #1439</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">English Whisky Peated TWE Exclusive 53.4% abv</span></b></div>
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English Single Malt Whisky</div>
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£59.95 70cl only available from The Whisky Exchange</div>
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Only a small amount of the whisky produced at St George’s distillery is heavily peated, adding a thick layer of smoky flavour to their fruity spirit.<br />
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The telephone box theme is repeated, but in black. In the 1980s, a few of the UK’s red telephone boxes were painted black as the telecommunication industry moved into private ownership. While the iconic shape designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott did not change, these telephone boxes were stood in stark contrast to their red counterparts.</div>
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Just 290 bottles were filled</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b><br />
<b>Nose:</b> My first impressions when revisiting this was Citrus peel and charcoal ash. The lemon peel notes coming across at toasted and a sweet smoke follows. There's even a 'beach feel' to this with sea spray and driftwood before some hedgerow fruits of blackberry and blackcurrants<br />
<b>Taste:</b> A very chewy dram with a great mouth-feel which seems to thicken over time, with a liquorice sweetness, enriched with cloves while an underlying earthiness that slowly builds into the long peaty finish.<br />
<b>Finish:</b> Long peaty earthiness, gentle smoke with just a hint of candied peel.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Verdict</span></b><br />
We're both big fans of English Whisky, it was the first ever distillery I'd visited and these two single cask releases are simply superb. At circa £60 each won't break the bank either. If I had to pick a favourite and only had £60 to spend? I'd pick the peated cask, and then ask Kat to buy me the Classic cask for Christmas.<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: start;">Slàinte!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: start;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: start;">Dave</i><br />
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</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-57114079444036849682015-10-14T11:23:00.001+01:002015-11-03T13:48:39.379+00:00Whisky Discovery #1470<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Littlemill Private Cellar Edition 2015 25 Year Old 50.4% abv</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Lowland Single Malt</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cy9lt5KthOI/Vh1oJxMfP3I/AAAAAAAAFUk/lnkPKS5Lbkc/s1600/littlemill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cy9lt5KthOI/Vh1oJxMfP3I/AAAAAAAAFUk/lnkPKS5Lbkc/s640/littlemill.jpg" width="373" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Littlemill distillery was founded at Bowling to the west of Glasgow on the banks of the river Clyde in the 1770’s and laid claim to being Scotland’s oldest distillery. That was up until 1992 when it stopped production. Triple distillation was practised at Littlemill until around 1930, when new equipment was installed. The stills had rectifying columns and were also isolated with aluminium. Their goal being to produce whisky that would mature faster (<i>Malt Whisky Yearbook 2016</i>). The distillery was dismantled in 1996 and part of the buildings demolished, the remaining buildings were destroyed by a fire in 2004.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Michael Jackson</b> described the house style as <i>'Marshmallow-soft'. A restorative, or perhaps with dessert</i></span></div>
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All that's left is the ghost of Littlemill and the last remaining drops of this Lowland whisky, once gone, an important piece of Scotch whisky's heritage will be lost for ever</div>
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I've only tried three releases from the Littlemill distillery previously;</div>
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<li> #200 A 1990 22 Year Old from Single Malts of Scotland</li>
<li> <a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Littlemill" target="_blank">#260 A 1992 20 Year old from Berry Bros & Rudd</a></li>
<li> #904 A 1998 25 Year Old from Douglas Laing's Executive Decision series</li>
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and so the opportunity to taste this new and rare limited release from The Loch Lomond Group was a very special treat indeed.</div>
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The Loch Lomond Group's Master Blenders John Petersen and Michael Henry have selected ten of the remaining casks from 1989 and 1990, which they believe to best represent the style of Littlemill to create this 2015 release. The spirit was originally laid down in American and European oak casks on 17th December 1989 and April 1990. For this special release it has been married together and has been finished in first fill Oloroso Sherry casks from European oak. Just 1500 numbered bottles will be available, each packaged in a premium bottle with ornate stopper and collar house within a bespoke wooden box. Each box contains a miniature of the the whisky too.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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I know I've often mentioned this before, but a whisky with an age statement takes me back to that point in time. From what I remember 1989/90 was a bit of a wild time for me so we won't dwell on that here, but I can tell you a few stories of the shenanigans that I was up to if you pour me a drink or two!</div>
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We're told that this has been made with locally grown peat kilned barley and blended with spring water from Auchentorlie Burn. When I first poured my sample into the glass, bread dough notes came through initially but these were quickly masked by the sherry notes - a first fill Oloroso cask will do this! The light delicate Lowland style I was expecting has been covered up by the dark fruity Sherry with notes of blackberry and cherry. A drop of water brings the malty notes which is followed by dark chocolate, with that slight bitterness from a high cocoa content.</div>
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Tasting and the 50.4% abv comes across as quite punchy and I felt benefited with a drop or two of water just to open it up. The water brings a silky chocolate note and texture, balanced with a woody maltiness. Gentle spices of cloves and just a hint of ginger are here too. Both the chocolate and spices linger for the long finish, which concludes with the slightest hint of smoke.</div>
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Many thanks to Steve Rush of <b><a href="http://www.thewhiskywire.com/" target="_blank">The Whisky Wire</a> </b>and to <b><a href="http://www.lochlomondgroup.com/brands/littlemill/" target="_blank">Loch Lomond Distilleries</a></b> for sending me this review sample</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Verdict</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">
Whilst this is a pleasant enough dram, I was a little confused as to why this little piece of history needed to be finished in a Sherry cask. The renowned 'Lowland Style' has been completely masked by the Sherry in my opinion, and I would have preferred to have tasted this in its unfinished state. The cynic in me thinks that perhaps these 10 casks were not quite up to scratch for single cask releases. With such a high perceived 'book value' these rare casks (there can be no question about their rarity as no whisky has been laid down since 1992) needed some 'work' in order to make the book value into commercial value.</div>
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I once spoke to a spirits buyer and master of cask selection who told the owners of a large stock of old maturing whisky that the majority of their perceived book value had to be written off, as quality was not good enough for single cask releases and was therefore sold off for blending stock. I'm sure this story brought on this recent bout of cynicism. Writing off 10 casks of a closed distillery would be hard to swallow (no pun intended) and I too would try anything permissible to rescue and retrieve it’s value. </div>
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Finishing in a first fill Oloroso cask will impart a significant flavour profile. My cynical mind says that this has lifted what was perhaps a mediocre whisky into something the master blenders would be happy to put their name, and reputations on. But perhaps I'm completely wrong and it has simply been done to update the whisky to align with today’s taste.</div>
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That said, I did enjoy the chocolatey notes the Sherry cask has imparted, and this release should interest a Littlemill collector as I'm sure Sherry cask finished releases have been few and far between.</div>
<br /><b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Dave</i>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-36894762789009749482015-10-01T14:00:00.000+01:002015-10-01T14:00:09.301+01:00The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7ob4MorLi7k/Vg0tirNawZI/AAAAAAAAFUI/r2wA0TP428U/s1600/twe2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7ob4MorLi7k/Vg0tirNawZI/AAAAAAAAFUI/r2wA0TP428U/s400/twe2015.jpg" width="309" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The UK’s largest dedicated whisky exhibition, The Whisky Show, will return to the capital for its seventh year this weekend and is once again demonstrating its unparalleled collection of whiskies. Working alongside exhibitors, The Whisky Show will present a range of Dream Drams exhibiting rare, exotic and discontinued expressions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As with previous years, all visitors to the show will receive a Dream Dram token to redeem against a range of outstanding drams from the exhibitors. With some expressions costing thousands of pounds to purchase, the Dream Drams offers visitors a once in a lifetime chance to sample some of the finest whiskies ever created.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Dave Broom</b>, award-winning whisky writer: <i>“I was blown away by the organisation and attention to detail which makes this the best whisky show in the UK by some distance”</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Serge Valentin</b>, Editor of www.whiskyfun.com: <i>“Impeccable as always. Whiskies, company and atmosphere – and I mean it. And a great opportunity to taste the newer bottling.”</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Whisky Show 2015 theme is ‘Whisky Legends’ and will be held at </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Old Billingsgate, London, EC3R 6DX</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday 3 October 2015: <span style="color: red;"><b>SOLD OUT</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sunday 4 October 2015, 11.30am – 6.30pm</b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tickets for Saturday are sold out but there are still tickets available for Sunday (at time fo writing this post!) Day tickets <b>£99</b> | Weekend tickets <b>£165</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tickets are available from <a href="http://www.whiskyshow.com/">www.whiskyshow.com</a> and for </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Whisky Show packages: </span><a href="https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/featu%E2%80%A6/whiskyshowgiftpacks" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/featu…/whiskyshowgiftpacks</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Your ticket price includes:</b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All food and drink (apart from ‘Dream Drams’, see below) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One token to try a rare ‘Dream Dram’. Additional tokens can be purchased at the show for £10 </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A two-course whisky themed meal</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Access to the food pairings, including Ibérico de Huelva jamon and cocktail confectioners Smith & Sinclair</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>UNPARALLELED COLLECTION</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The exclusive tasting opportunity aims to educate and excite guests with a collection of ultra-premium whiskies from some of the most famous distilleries, brands and regions of whisky production in the world. Highlights of the offering includes Scotch whiskies such as the extra-matured Glenmorangie Pride 1978 (RRP £3,900), The Macallan 1965 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt (RRP £2,500) and Benromach 1976 (RRP £495) as well as Japanese Single Malt, Yamazaki Sherry Cask.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Particular specialities exclusive to The Whisky Exchange’s stand include drams from the now silent distilleries, Karuizawa and Hanyu. Karuizawa Noh 31 Years Old 1981 Cask #4676 (RRP £2,000) and Hanyu 2000 will both be available to sample, as well as the new release of limited edition Karuizawa 1980.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>KARUIZAWA NOH 31 YEAR OLD 1981 CASK #4676</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Premium Japanese whisky distiller Karuizawa boasts one of the world’s most sought after whisky collections. Since the closure of the distillery in 2001, whisky aficionados have celebrated and held in high esteem this scarce, supremely crafted liquid and it has become one of the most lauded and treasured whisky brands amongst investors and collectors alike.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Matured in sherry casks, Karuizawa Noh 31 Year Old combines maraschino cherries and warm leather on the nose with rich bitter chocolate and damp oak notes. It’s strength reveals intense liquorice, soy sauce, damp earth, dark polished oak and burnt raisins. With a powerful berry, oak-laden spice finish, this is a dram not to be missed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>HANYU 2000</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An exclusive bottling from Hanyu’s final vintage, this rare and exquisite whisky is the embodiment of Japanese elegance. After silencing the distilling back in 2000, this highly sought after whisky is now available exclusively at London’s ROKA and ZUMA restaurants.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A combination of toffee and toasted orange gives way to oats, raisins, sawdust on the nose, complemented by pine resin, sweet cinnamon, polished oak and stewed sultanas. The palate is delicate yet rich and intense with woody oak tones perfectly balanced with sharp green fruits. The flavour intensity develops as it sits on the palate, culminating in a focused apple and oak punch finishing with a lingering buttery spice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Further Dream Dram tokens are available to purchase at the show for £10 each, get your tickets soon!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out their website here: <a href="http://www.whiskyshow.com/">www.whiskyshow.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can also find them on Facebook here: : <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WhiskyShow">www.facebook.com/WhiskyShow</a> and of course you can follow them on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/TWEWhiskyShow" target="_blank">@TWEWhiskyShow</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Whisky Show is run by <b>The Whisky Exchange</b>, who will have a shop on site where customers will be able to purchase the exclusive premium malts. The Whisky Exchange also has a shop at Vinopolis, Borough Market.</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-58774148153179874782015-07-28T09:00:00.000+01:002015-07-28T09:00:08.092+01:00Whisky Discovery #1368<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hyde No. 1 'Presidents Cask' </span></b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">10 Year Old </span></b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">46% abv</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Irish Single Malt Whiskey</span></div>
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circa £51.00 70cl</div>
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It wasn't that long ago that almost all Irish Whiskey came from either the New Midleton Distillery (Jamesons, Powers, Redbreast, Midleton, Greenspot and others) or Bushmills in Northern Ireland.</div>
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Cooley were the first of the new distilleries coming on line in 1987 producing Connemara, Michael Collins, Tyrconnell, and others. It wasn't until 2007 when the next distillery re-opened with Kilbeggan followed by West Cork Distillers in 2008. The next group of start-ups followed four years later, and they're still coming. Irish Whiskey is riding a wave of optimism and every month there seems to be news of a new distillery either coming on-line or new plans are being drawn up.</div>
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Hibernia Distillers are one of the latest new names in Irish Whiskey and has recently launched its Hyde Irish Whiskey onto the Irish and international markets, as this demand for Irish whiskey continues to grow. Hyde is a single-malt Irish whiskey, made from 100 per cent malted Irish barley and aged for ten years, named to celebrate Ireland’s first president, Douglas Hyde, who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945.</div>
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There's no distillery just yet, but they have ambitions, with plans to start their own production in the near future in West Cork. So the casks for this release were sourced from the Cooley distillery (as read on IrishWhiskey.com) and had been distilled in traditional copper pot stills from 100% malted Irish barley, aged in flame-charred oak first fill Bourbon barrels for 10 years, and finished off in toasted Oloroso Sherry casks from Spain for a further 10 months. It is non-chilled filtered and cut with West Cork spring water, and then bottled at 46% abv and limited to 5,000 bottles, all of which are individually numbered and comes in a bespoke wooden box.</div>
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Official tasting notes:</div>
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<i>Nose: Delightful peaches & cream, vanilla, slightly custard, barley malt softness, with citrus, sweet, honey, caramel, vanilla, chocolate, orange, lemon, banana, & infused with spices.</i></div>
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<i>Taste: Wonderfully smooth yet complex, creamy yet fruity with notes of caramel and manuka honey, apricot, plumb, and a silky malt texture.</i></div>
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<i>Finish: Rich, Spicy, & Oaky. It lingers in the mouth with a long rich finish.</i></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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Colour: Rich Gold</div>
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Nose: Sweet with a creamy peachy type flavour initially.It feels unmistakably Irish to me, but would I have said that in a blind tasting? Probably not! Foam bananas come later along with a gentle orange note and lots of lovely ripe grains</div>
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Taste: Very smooth and creamy. Tinned peaches and evaporated milk (a tea time trat as a kid!) A soft orange note comes across later along with milk chocolate. The spices come late leaving a sherbet like tingle in the long finish. The empty glass the following morning yeilds plenty of malty chocolate notes.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Verdict:</span></b></div>
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A nicely balanced Irish whiskey and I'm looking forward to hearing more from this new company. Their next release, HYDE No.2 ; a 10 Year Old Rum Cask finished version will be ready to launch in September, however it will be a long wait until we get to see their own 10 Year Old release.</div>
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<b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Dave</i></div>
</b></span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-77601561869169376372015-07-26T13:20:00.000+01:002015-07-26T13:20:08.211+01:00Whisky Discovery #1367<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Dalmore Distillery Exclusive 2015 NAS (48% abv)</span></b></span></div>
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Highland SIngle Malt</div>
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£150.00 Only available from the distillery</div>
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The Dalmore recently announced the release of a Distillery Exclusive and Dave has been fortunate to receive a sample to review. This latest bottling, The Dalmore's Master Distiller, Richard Paterson, has hand selected a collection of Port, Moscatel and Madeira casks to mature this whisky in, before finally being finished in first fill bourbon barrels.</div>
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Richard Paterson Master Distiller for The Dalmore commented: “The Dalmore Distillery Exclusive 2015 is a stunning whisky. Our artisanal approach to whisky making bestows this bottling with a bold, rich, sweet amber gold colour with aromas of caramelised orange, forest fruits and marzipan, and on the palate macerated plums, almonds and pecans.”</div>
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Only 450 bottles have been made available, each individually numbered. Priced £150 The Dalmore Distillery Exclusive 2015 is available from The Dalmore Distillery.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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This sits in the glass, a rich amber gold and colour of my favourite Amontillado Sherry. The nose is rich and sweet with a distinct orange oil note that's been softened with caramel. There are wood notes too, a new cedar wood cigar box, followed by a slightly sour note of tart fruits and just the faintest hint of parma violets</div>
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There's an underlying sourness to the sweet entry, reminding me of stewed plums. An almond/marzipan note follows and on my second sip found dark cherry and that hint of parma violets found on the nose comes across on the palate. Spices linger on the long finish.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Verdict</span></b></div>
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I enjoy visiting distilleries and always look out for a 'distillery only' release which is often in the form of a single cask, 'fill you own' affair. It's a great idea and a just reward for those who make the pilgrimage to the distillery. However I find £150 a little steep for a distillery exclusive. Don't get me wrong, it's a smashing drop of whisky that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I don't feel value for money at this price - it's a great deal more expensive that their 18 Year Old and King Alexander III releases that I also enjoyed.</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Slàinte!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-61148105368777407912015-07-12T17:22:00.000+01:002015-07-12T17:22:03.835+01:00The Telegraph Whisky Experience<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another Whisky Show, but one we haven’t been to before. At 5.30 pm we arrived at </span><a href="http://telegraphevents.co.uk/the-telegraph-whisky-experience" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">The <b>Telegraph Whisky Experience</b></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> where we were greeted with a goody bag, and by the host, drinks author Charles MacLean. He gave a talk to a crowd of mainly newcomers to whisky, explaining how to maximise their tasting experience. Discussing how you should take your time to nose a dram, sipping the spirit, and importantly enjoying it how you like – straight, mixed, in cocktails, and adding water. Charles made it clear he doesn't agree with adding ice to neat drams because it kills the aromas.</span></div>
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To begin the experience, Charles took us through a mini tasting – a comparison of Wemyss Malts’ latest release of <b>The Hive</b> and <b>Craigellachie 13 Year Old</b>. We decided that both were equally as good as each other, a view that most would agree on if judging by the empty glasses (which were perfectly pocket sized mini Glencairns).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5mbVrTbYEs/VaKSr4YTRmI/AAAAAAAAFSs/lEIHx4wtqJc/s1600/2015-07-12%2B15.26.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5mbVrTbYEs/VaKSr4YTRmI/AAAAAAAAFSs/lEIHx4wtqJc/s640/2015-07-12%2B15.26.01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'goodie bag' contained a miniature of The Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old</td></tr>
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The atmosphere was alive with many discussions and questions from an enthusiastic crowd. All of the exhibitors remarked at how refreshingly it was to be able to talk to so many people at the start of their whisky journeys. Other shows usually lean more towards a larger percentage of experienced drinkers; here many tasted core ranges for the first time.</div>
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Due to the show being held over a Monday and Tuesday, the feel was less about a going-out-drinking-party vibe, really setting the tone for drinkers wanting to be educated instead of being full of alcohol. Many purchased bottles of drams they really enjoyed, <a href="http://www.whiskyshop.com/" target="_blank"><b>The Whisky Shop</b></a> stand was certainly busy, running out of stock of certain bottles due to sales were being higher than they had anticipated. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--I45RmTmp6M/VaKTMxBmgtI/AAAAAAAAFS0/cfAzYb20wmE/s1600/2015-06-09%2B18.15.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--I45RmTmp6M/VaKTMxBmgtI/AAAAAAAAFS0/cfAzYb20wmE/s640/2015-06-09%2B18.15.17.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave about to get his nose into something!</td></tr>
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One thing I did notice that left me feeling a little disappointed is the crowd was still made up of older men with just a few ladies peppering the room. A clear lack of under 35s too I'm not sure if this was any different on the other day but I was expecting a more mixed crowd. </div>
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We found ourselves revisiting many drams we had previously tasted, for example the Highland Park 18 year old, Talisker Skye and Mortlach Rare Old. There were only a handful of drams that were new discoveries. Most of the non-standard drams where being poured in the master classes which we did not attend, so can’t comment. </div>
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The full dram list enjoyed as follows, with only two Whisky Discoveries to add to Dave's 'Liquid Log'</div>
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<ul>
<li>WD #1219 Wemyss Malts 'The Hive'</li>
<li>WD #1149 Craigellachie 13 Year old</li>
<li>WD #1030 Mortlach 'Old and Rare'</li>
<li>WD #395 Highland Park 21 Year Old</li>
<li>WD #1274 SMWS G7.8 'Sweet Seduction in a Car Wash'</li>
<li>WD #951 Wemyss Malts Glenrothes 1988 'Aromatic Orange Tobacco'</li>
<li>WD #1218 Wemyss Malts Bowmore 1987 'Sweet Peat Posy'</li>
<li>WD #1301 The Arran Malt Sauternes Cask Finished</li>
<li>WD #533 The Arran Malt Amarone Cask Finished</li>
<li>WD #1302 The Arran Malt Port Cask Finished</li>
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2plfGR_ZQvI/VaKTfHeXqQI/AAAAAAAAFS8/SnkgbIBFmfQ/s1600/2015-06-09%2B20.12.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2plfGR_ZQvI/VaKTfHeXqQI/AAAAAAAAFS8/SnkgbIBFmfQ/s640/2015-06-09%2B20.12.22.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just two new Whisky Discoveries to add to the Liquid Log this time</td></tr>
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There were two masterclasses to choose from, one a tasting of <b>The Macallan</b> 1824 Series consisting of Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby with an added special dram of The Macallan Rare Cask. The second masterclass was led by Charles with a selection of drams chosen by him under the title of Charles MacLean’s Taste of Scotland.</div>
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Lastly the food at the show was the best that we have tasted out of all the shows we have been to – a two course meal was included in the ticket price. It’s a great intimate show, not too crowded giving more opportunities for people to have one-to-one chats with the brands, all set in a beautiful and historic surroundings. </div>
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You can find more about the Telegraph Whisky Experience and their next event in December here: <a href="http://telegraphevents.co.uk/the-telegraph-whisky-experience/">http://telegraphevents.co.uk/the-telegraph-whisky-experience/</a>.</div>
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We would like to say thank you to Wemyss Malts for inviting us as their guest. You can find out more about Wemyss Malts here: <a href="http://www.wemyssmalts.com/">http://www.wemyssmalts.com/</a>. </div>
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<b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Kat</i></div>
</span> Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com01 Whitehall Place, London SW1A, UK51.5062577 -0.1237200000000484625.9842232 -41.432314000000048 77.0282922 41.184873999999951tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-79978050737654755532015-07-11T18:43:00.004+01:002015-07-11T21:31:45.720+01:00Midlands Whisky VIII<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've been to all but the very first Midlands Whisky Show, and it's getting close to our next hop up to Stourbridge for Nickolls and Perks' eighth event held at Stourbridge Town Hall</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can read how our day went at each of the previous events here!</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/midlands-whisky-festival.html" target="_blank">Midlands Whisky Festival II - September 2012</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/midlands-whisky-show-iii.html" target="_blank">Midlands Whisky Festival III - April 2013</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/midlands-whisky-show-iv.html" target="_blank">Midlands Whisky Festival IV - September 2013</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/midlands-whisky-festival-v.html" target="_blank">Midlands Whisky Festival V - March 2014</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/midlands-whisky-vi.html" target="_blank">Midlands Whisky Festival VI - September 2014</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.827112594032831.1073741881.370972602980168&type=3" target="_blank">Midlands Whisky Festival VII - March 2015</a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each event has been getting bigger and better and we're looking forward to seeing what the line up will be this September.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once again there is a Friday evening show, <b>tickets are £30.00</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Entrance at 6:00pm, all drams on taste free inside venue, souvenir tasting glass, show programme</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Saturday event has a number of ticket choices:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Standard Ticket £40:00</b><br />
entrance at 12:00pm, all drams on taste free inside venue, souvenir tasting glass, show programme </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Premium Ticket £75:00</b><br />
All standard features, early entrance 10.45am, free masterclass, 2 x dream dram tokens, complimentary canapés </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Devotee Ticket £150:00</b><br />
All standard features, all premium features, selection of dream drams to take home, £10 food voucher</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tickets are now on sale for their September Show now - so don't delay, get yours now by clicking through the links below:</span></div>
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var Ticketscript={};
Ticketscript.Application={
containerId:"ts-shop",
channel:"6UB4AXSX",
eventId:"",
type:"iframe",
language:"en",
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};
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<script src="https://shop.ticketscript.com/assets/js/ga-embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-84083752904501170732015-06-08T21:14:00.001+01:002015-06-08T21:14:26.719+01:00Three Ships Whisky<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rMRN2OclQt0/VWHgbh7wm8I/AAAAAAAAFNM/mV6Ss4NB49s/s1600/James%2BSedgwick%2527s%2B08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rMRN2OclQt0/VWHgbh7wm8I/AAAAAAAAFNM/mV6Ss4NB49s/s640/James%2BSedgwick%2527s%2B08.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The James Sedgwick Distillery in South African sunshine</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The James Sedgwick Distillery has a long history in South Africa, being founded in 1886 when Captain James Sedgwick, captain of the clipper 'Undine' purchased the distillery that would go on to become the oldest on the African continent. Set in the picturesque region of Wellington, about 45 minutes drive from Cape Town, best known for the spectacular Bainskloof Pass, and an economy centred on agriculture such as wine, table grapes, deciduous fruit and a brandy industry. The James Sedgwick Distillery is now owned by the Distell Group Ltd after the merger between Stellenbosh Farmer's Winery and Distillers Corporation in 2000. The company produces a huge range of wines and spirits including the popular cream liqueur Amarula Cream.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The whisky distillery produces both malt and grain whiskies on the same site and handles the entire whisky making process – from milling the raw ingredients through to maturation and blending. Our latest copy of </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.maltwhiskyyearbook.com/" target="_blank">The Malt Whisky Yearbook</a></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> informs us that the distillery has undergone major expansion recently and is now equipped with one still with two columns for their grain whisky production, two pot stills for their malt whisky production, two mash tuns and 23 stainless steel washbacks. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gvbx0TPExFE/VWHlaYJD3zI/AAAAAAAAFNw/9YYOaxPp-3o/s1600/James%2BSedgwick%2527s%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gvbx0TPExFE/VWHlaYJD3zI/AAAAAAAAFNw/9YYOaxPp-3o/s640/James%2BSedgwick%2527s%2B02.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">23 Stainless Steel Washbacks are hiding in here</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Malt whisky is only produced during the winter months , just two months of the year in July and August. Fermentation is approximately 72 hours yielding a wash for distilling in the copper pot stills of circa 9% abv. Grain whisky is produced for nine months (one month of the year is for annual maintenance) and the wash is continuously fed into the column still which results in a lightly flavoured spirit of 94.3% abv which is reduced to around the industry standard of 65% before being filled into oak casks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With more than 150,000 casks of whisky in maturation any given time, the James Sedgwick Distillery has been the home of South African Whisky since 1990, but the Three Ships story starts some thirteen years earlier.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Three Ships brand of South Africa was launched in 1977, the brainchild of Irish marketing guru Francis Naughton. It couldn't be called a whisky at that time as the initial product was a blend of South African Grain spirit and Scotch malt whisky, but in 1981, when the South African grain had been matured for three years, Three Ships Whisky was born. It was certainly a bold and pioneering move to create a South African whisky to compete against the iconic Scotch Whisky blends that were available at that time, especially when the spirit of choice was still Brandy.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hIRJW-dFfw4/VWHhR6Jz3zI/AAAAAAAAFNc/dCPqakqRoEI/s1600/Andy%2BWatts%2B05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hIRJW-dFfw4/VWHhR6Jz3zI/AAAAAAAAFNc/dCPqakqRoEI/s640/Andy%2BWatts%2B05.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Distillery Manager - Andy Watts</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We first met their sixth and current Distillery Manager <b>Andy Watts</b> at Whisky Live London a couple of years ago and we've kept in touch via Twitter and email ever since. We bumped into him again at this years show and asked him how he came to be involved with Three Ships Whisky, as well as why we weren't able to find it in the UK yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy's involvement started when he was appointed as the Spirits Blending Manager for the Stellenbosch Farmers Winery (SFW). At that time they were still receiving Scotch Malt Whisky in bulk and blending it with their own grain whisky, distilled at the Robertson & Buxton (R&B) distillery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A technical relationship had been established with <b>Morrison Bowmore Distillers</b> and Andy had been volunteered to be sent to their distilleries to learn from them with the aim of improving the quality of South African whisky going forward. Andy was promptly packed off to Scotland and spent the next four years regularly travelling back and forward with extended experience working at all three of their distilleries, Auchentoshan, Glen Garioch and Islay's Bowmore which was then under the leadership of now legendary, <b>Jim McEwan</b>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t_9EpE7QfQw/VWHgl9luHNI/AAAAAAAAFNU/nQI1a9VoQWk/s1600/James%2BSedgwick%2527s%2B05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t_9EpE7QfQw/VWHgl9luHNI/AAAAAAAAFNU/nQI1a9VoQWk/s640/James%2BSedgwick%2527s%2B05.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Still Room at The James Sedgwick Distillery</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following a trip to Scotland in 1989, Andy was tasked with closing down operations at the R&B Distillery in Stellenbosch and move the business across to the James Sedewick Distillery, which up until then had been a brandy distillery. By 1991 the transfer was complete and Andy was given the Managers role at the James Sedgwick Distillery holding total responsibility for all whisky related activity excluding bottling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn't and easy start though, Andy had inherited stocks of both South African malt and grain which were a bit 'hit and miss'. There had been no 'wood policy' back then and Andy had been given all of the casks nobody else wanted. He had red wine casks, brandy barrels and some very old American whiskey barrels, blending was still a major challenge!. However, Andy remained positive and began a program of change, making small enhancements to their processes and equipment, and the quality of the new make spirit started improving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During Andy's last spell with Morrison Bowmore he spent time on Islay and fell in love with the island, the people and their whiskies and returned to South Africa wanting to make his own peaty blend. Allowing some South African grain whisky to age a further two years, and purchasing five year old Bowmore malt whiskies in bulk, he created the Three Ships 5 Year Old Premium Select. However, when Suntory took over Morrison Bowmore in 1994, the bulk purchases were no longer an option and Andy had to find replacement components in order to continue the range.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy had already set up their own malt program, importing British barley each year, peated to his specifications for the different styles of malt whisky produced. Over the years he has been slowly replacing the Scottish malt content of the of the blends with South African malt whisky, but there still is a slight Scottish component to both the Select and 5 Year Old Premium Select, probably a marketing decision with a nod to the history of the brand.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The James Sedgwick Distillery sure looks a great place to work</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Distell was formed following the merger, quality improved significantly; a wood procurement policy was put in place, controls on fermentation were completely revamped (a necessity due to their high ambient temperatures) and in 2009 completely revamped and installed new equipment throughout the distillery for the next step in their young whisky making history. It is no coincidence that since the mid 2000’s and after all of the the major improvements had started making their impact on the maturing spirit that the international awards started to come.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although the malted barley is imported, it is where the product is distilled and matured which gives it its origin, and Andy tells us that they have some amazing work in the maturation warehouses just waiting for the chance to be released to the market. The Three Ships Single Malt, released in 2003, Bourbon Cask Finish, released in 2005 and Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky are 100% South African. All of the new releases going forward will also be 100% South African and there are some exciting things on the horizon which includes the re-launch of the 10 Year Old Single Malt in September this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy is now into his 24th year in charge of the distillery and blending and says that it's been an amazing journey with no two years being the same. Whilst Andy is in the twilight of his career, South African whisky is only at the dawn of theirs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dave first came across South African Whisky at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show in 2012 where a bottle of their limited edition 10 Year Old Single Malt was on the table. It's the only time we've seen it and stocks have long since sold out. Searching for South African whisky online in the UK only brings up Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky, their 5 Year Old single grain release that has eluded us to date! Over the last ten years sales of their whiskies has more than doubled with about 97% of these sales within South Africa itself, but is this about to change? We were recently given a miniature pack containing one of each of their current range allowing us to make these discoveries.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><u>Whisky Discovery #184</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Three Ships 10 Year Old 43% abv</span></b></div>
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South African Single Malt Whisky</div>
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circa £50.00 70cl a while back</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 10 Year Old I tried at TWE Whisky Show 2012 - Why did I miss that Bain's?</td></tr>
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South Africa's first single malt whisky was another pioneering first for The James Sedgwick Distillery. First launched in 2003 as a limited release, it wasn't until autumn 2010 that the next batch was released. It sold out quickly and a further 8,000 bottles were released in October 2011 and a fourth batch followed in in December 2012. These three releases commemorated the pioneering voyages of Bartholomew Diaz, Vasco da Gama and Jan van Riebeeck in a special collectors' series. </div>
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Dave 'discovered' this at <a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-whisky-exchange-whisky-show-part-1.html" target="_blank"><b>The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show in 2012</b></a>, it was his first dram of the day and initially noted 'light and floral'. Looking at the release information it was likely that this was from their third batch from October 2011 unless early release bottles of batch 4 were at the show. The photo taken that day doesn't show the release information, but the tin packaging that it came with featured the ship of the pioneering voyager. He certainly wishes he'd bought a bottle then!</div>
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The chaps at <b><a href="https://www.masterofmalt.com/" target="_blank">Master of Malt</a></b> gave these notes:</div>
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<i>Nose: Sweet honey up front on a fresh nose. Almond notes give way to sticky toffee pudding.</i></div>
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<i>Palate: Spicy and mouth-coating. Vanilla and hints of greengages.</i></div>
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<i>Finish: Fairly long and warming with plenty of lingering oak.</i><br />
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Stop Press! </b>Dave found a bottle of their first 10 Year Old release in London at the weekend and it has been safely stowed in the WDHQ Whisky Vault - we'll bring it out one day soon I'm sure!</div>
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<u><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">Whisky Discovery #1263</span></b></u></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Three Ships Select 43% abv</span></b></div>
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Blended Whisky</div>
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Not widely available in the UK yet</div>
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Three Ships Select is where it all started, a three year old blend of malt and grain whiskies, first introduced in distilled in both pot and column stills that have been left to mature for a minimum of 3 years. It still contains a 'token' amount Scottish malt whisky. If you search carefully you should be able to find this in the UK for around £30 a bottle delivered, however it's not widely available. In South Africa this retails at circa R120-R135 which equates to around £7.50 for a 750ml bottle. Astounding value!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did We Think?</span></b><br />
<b>Kat says </b><i>(a lot more than Dave)</i><b>: </b>The nose begins with a sweet salty savoury note reminding me of Serrano ham. Not overly sweet on the nose, very subtle. There’s also a hint of floral and spicy notes, as to the exact notes, I can’t quite put my finger on. Overall a great balance of sweet, spicy, and dryness but with a noticeable crisp clean quality.<br />
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Taste: The sweetness hits you first, compared with the nose it’s sweeter than anticipated but not overly sweet. Sweetness comprises of dried fruits – specifically dates, raisins, sultanas, later turning into something more refined sugars - specifically demerara sugar. The texture is that of light syrup. Next spice notes come through mainly of cinnamon. The dry crisp and clean feel to this dram continues from the nose, resembling that of a Fino or Manzanilla sherry. Subtle floral notes are also present. Towards the end a toasted nut quality appears with the sweetness returning, reminding me of peanut brittle or sesame brittle.<br />
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Finish: Spicy with hints of dryness, and a lovely toasted oak note which lingers.<br />
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<b>Dave says: </b>I found this quite oily in the glass, with a floral, yet spicy nose. On the palate it was both sweet and spicy with fruity barley sugars. The empty glass the following morning gave rich barley sugar notes. I obviously didn't go into the depths Kat went into, however I was very much enjoying this very sippable blend.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b><u>Whisky Discovery #1264</u></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Three Ships 5 Year Old Premium Select 43% abv</span></b></div>
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Blended Whisky</div>
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Not widely available in the UK yet</div>
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First introduced in 1991 following Andy's Islay adventure, it was named the World's Best Blended Whisky in 2012. This too contains a token amount of Scottish single malt.<br />
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In South Africa this retails at circa R135-R150 which equates to around £8.00 for a 750ml bottle. More astounding value!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did We Think?</span></b></div>
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<b>Kat says: </b><i>(far more than Dave!)</i><b> </b>The nose of this also begins with a similar sweet savoury note, this time more of caramelised BBQ meat with gentle cold wood smoke coming through. I feel there’s enough Peat here to keep the Peat heads happy and will still be acceptable to non-Peat heads who occasionally fancies a hint of smoke to get that extra roundedness and depth to their dram. Floral spices then starts to come through – black pepper and cloves. All of this reminding me of black pepper covered salami. <br />
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Taste: Sweeter than the previous dram, plenty of clear runny honey here and dried fruits – specifically of figs and sultanas. Again very well balanced with distinctive wood charcoal smokiness, spicy floral black pepper, as well as a hint of floral notes, again can’t quite put my finger on the exact note. Whole coriander seeds maybe?<br />
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Finish: Spiciness lingers throughout, dry and smoky yet retaining those sweet notes. Really reminds me of the overcooked dried out bits of glazed honeyed BBQ ribs.<br />
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<b>Dave says:</b> Another easy sipping blend with a little added interest with the peated malt in the make-up. This is no smoky beast, but it does show itself towards the end. It's fresh and fruity initially with some warming spices along with the hints of peat smoke.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><u>Whisky Discovery #1265</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish 43% abv</span></b></div>
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Blended Whisky</div>
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Not widely available in the UK yet</div>
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First introduced in 2005, Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish is the first 100% South African blended whisky, with the malt and grain components distilled in both pot and column stills and then all matured at The James Sedgwick Distillery with a three year initial maturation followed by six months marrying in first fill bourbon casks.<br />
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In South Africa this retails at circa R155 which equates to around £8.50 for a 750ml bottle. Bazinga!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did We Think?</span></b></div>
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<b>Kat says: </b>A little different from the two previous drams, this begins with a sweet sour and savoury note to the nose. Next you get spicy floral notes of freshly milled Rainbow peppercorn mix. Now, unlike the other two drams, there are lots of creamy vanilla notes that you expect from Bourbon casks, starts to really shine through. Reminding me of vanilla Pana Cotta without the heavy cream feel, as to balance this out, the crisp clean notes and hint of dryness is again present. <br />
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Taste: Lots of demerara sugar and hints of bitterness like that of muscovado sugar. It’s also slightly smoky and savoury, with some dried fruit notes, all a bit like mixed dried fruits with warm toasted walnuts. Towards the end bitter sweet notes are more noticeable – specifically dark chocolate covered coffee beans. Throughout there’s a spicy back note of cinnamon.<br />
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Finish: Roasted sugar covered walnuts with the same dryness at the end like the other drams.<br />
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<b>Dave says: </b>This disappeared much quicker than I was expecting it too. Lots of creamy vanilla as I was expecting, but with some black pepper and cinnamon spices - another easy drinking blend and a true spirit of South Africa!</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">Whisky Discovery #1267</span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Three Ships 10 Year Old 2015 Cask Sample 66.4% abv</span></b></div>
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South African Single Malt Whisky</div>
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Patiently waiting for news of this release!</div>
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At Whisky Live London in March, Andy slipped us a sample of his latest 'work in progress', the next release of their limited edition 10 Year Old. The success of the first release took the distillery by complete surprise and there was no stock for single malt bottlings as the production all went into their blends. It wasn't until 2005 that planning for future releases was started and this should be the first release from this forethought.</div>
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The 'Angels Share' in South Africa is around 4 to 5% a year which is over double that of Scottish single malts. At 5% loss after 10 years 40% of the original spirit laid down has been lost to the Angels, but due to the warm dry South African climate, the Angels sip more water than alcohol and the alcohol content actually increases over the period. This cask sample was at a whopping 66.4% abv but the final release will be a quirky 46.4%.<br />
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With such a high loss through evaporation, the casks are are re-vatted after a period of time under Customs and excise supervision.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did We Think?</span></b></div>
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<b>Kat says: </b>Because of the very high ABV, I’ve had to add a good slug of water to this dram. The others have had no water added.<br />
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Initially there are lots of fresh apples and pears on the nose. Next darker notes start to come through. Notes of damp wood, black and white pepper also present similar to the other drams but a lot spicier, fresh chili heat is there too, with the fruitiness it’s reminiscent of Habanero chilies, however might not be detectable depending on how much water you add. Lastly towards the end there are dry straw notes, citrus zest, cinnamon, and cloves.<br />
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Taste: Completely different beast to the nose. It’s full on high impact flavours. Beings with some sweetness – dark honey, chili spice, as well as those cinnamon and clove notes (leaning more the clove end for me). Next toasted oak/wood notes then starts to come through, turning into a mahogany note, with some bitter dark chocolate and dark dried fruits – dates and prunes. Similar to the drams before the dram doesn’t feel heavy even though there are plenty of richer darker notes, and all of the flavours are still fairly balanced after ageing.<br />
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Finish: Toasted oak/mahogany notes, dark chocolate, cloves and cinnamon, and dark fruit notes lingers.<br />
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<b>Dave says:</b> Initial nosing revealed a citrus burst with lime tangerine and sherbet lemons. With water creamy vanilla notes develop</div>
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This was quite challenging to sip at cask strength, but very enjoyable with water added, I probably took it to below 50% and closer to it's final bottling strength and it came across as a perfect summer dram, very refreshing! This has a long lingering finish with sweetened limes<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Verdict</span></b></div>
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<b>Kat's verdict: </b>All three blended whiskies are very well balanced drams, showing great balance between sweet and savoury notes whilst still having a crisp clean feel. I was surprised to find that when I compared my tasting note to the official tasting notes on their website, they were pretty similar for all three drams. This doesn’t often happen so a nice surprise.<br />
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For those that don’t know I always write my tasting note without reading official tasting notes from the distillery or any marketing material, as I don’t want this to have any influence on my tasting notes. <br />
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I love all four but if I had to rank them in order of which one I liked most it will have to go Select, Bourbon Cask,and 10 Year Old leaving the Premium Select last. Personally the Select could easily become a session dram as it is really easy drinking. I really like that the crisp dry feel leaves the palate feeling clean. Can also see this going great with many different foods, and from what I’ve writing, leaving me yearning for a BBQ.<br />
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<b>Dave's Verdict: </b>If you're travelling to South Africa on your holidays, or business, make sure you bring back your full quota of South African Whisky, and bring one back for me too please! I found a bottle of the 10 Year Old halfway through writing this post and had to have it. Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky is next on my list!<br />
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When are we going to see more South African Whisky in the UK?<br />
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<b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Dave and Kat</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-55840419536788750702015-06-04T13:41:00.000+01:002015-06-04T13:41:33.578+01:00Havana Club Iconica Collection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Monday evening Dave took part in the Havana Club Rum Tweet Tasting and enjoyed four premium rums from their Icónica Collection. The rum is 100% Cuban, made from all natural Cuban ingredients, and overseen by six Masters blenders, or Maestro Roneros as they are called Cuban.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cuban Rum</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cuba has become known as the "Isle of Rum", due to a combination of world-famous sugar cane (first introduced by Christopher Columbus in 1493), a favourable Caribbean climate, fertile soil, and the unique know-how of Cuban "Maestro Roneros" (master rum-makers). Sailors, swashbucklers and locals liked to use this exceptional sugarcane to make fermented nectar and "tafia" (an early type of rum).</span></div>
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Quality improved drastically in the 1800s with the introduction of copper stills and the first attempts at ageing. Pedro Diago, known now as the father of Cuban rum, can be thanked for this. He had the idea of storing the "aguardientes", or eaux-de-vie, in pots and burying them in the ground. The second half of the 19th century saw the production of a lighter and more refined rum, known as "Ron Superior".</div>
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This was developed on the instructions of the Spanish Crown, which wanted a more delicate rum that could "satisfy the court and the elite of the Empire". El Ron Superior is the father of today’s Cuban rum: light, smooth, delicate, crisp and exceptional straight or in cocktails. Its popularity was such that by 1860 there were more than 1,000 distilleries in Cuba.</div>
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<b>Havana Club</b></div>
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The distillery was founded by José Arechabala in Santa Cruz del Norte in Cuba in 1878, however the Havana Club brand was first introduced in 1934, and was sold worldwide. Following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the brand was nationalised by the government. Sales to the US ceased and the Arechabala family emigrated to Spain before finally moving to America, after his company was nationalised, In 1994, the company was owned by a fifty-fifty partnership between the Cuban government and the drinks giant Pernod Ricard.</div>
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Havana Club has become synonymous with Cuba. It’s the leading Cuban rum in Cuba, and fifth-largest rum brand in the world. Havana Club has kept alive the art of añejamiento: the art of distilling, ageing and blending premium rums. Its strongest markets include France, and Germany, and it is also bottled in India, the world's second-largest rum market.</div>
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Havana Club’s rums have and the range is made up of a few standard bottlings which are essentially mixing rums, as well as the seven year-old, which is intended for sipping. In November 2006 the ‘ultra-premium’ Máximo Extra Añejo was first released. </div>
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At the launch, Havana Club’s Maestro Ronero said “There will never be a rum that better expresses the Cuban rum culture”</div>
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It's been a while since I was last sipping rum, so was really looking forward to tasting these premium expressions. The evening started with:<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><u>Rum Discovery #4</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Havana Club Selección de Maestros (45% abv)</span></b></div>
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Cuban Rum</div>
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circa £50.00 70cl</div>
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The new edition of Havana Club's very popular Cuban Barrel Proof, Selección de Maestros is bottled at the higher strength of 45% abv.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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Nose: Woody, oiled cedar? Resin, liquorice toffees and burnt sugar initially. Fruity, with a dark citrus note, BBQ'd lemons? There's a slight mustiness too, earthy, damp with woody spices. Nutmeg and Cassia are the spices I'm picking up, along with the nutty notes of Brazil nuts and Pecans - very nutty</div>
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Taste: An initial sweet burst of Chocolate Orange, rich and dark, followed by coffee beans, hints of cigar tobacco too. Spices follow and then a hint of smoke, finishing sweet again with citrus twist before turning dry. Love it!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><u>Rum Discovery #5</u></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Havana Club Añejo 15 Años (40% abv)</span></b></div>
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Cuban Rum</div>
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circa £125.00 70cl</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This 15 year old is created by 'repeatedly' blending the rums and aguardientes and maturing them in old oak barrels. Havana Club's Primer Maestro Ronero, Don José Navarro, describes this as "Cuban rum's great classic".</span></div>
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Legally for Cuban rum the age of the youngest rum in the blend is displayed (as with Scotch) Although the minimum age is 15 years old, I was told that it's a blend of rums from 15 to 35 years old</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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Nose: Richer, yet lighter toffee notes. Again spices of nutmeg and cassia. Brazil nuts too. Chocolate comes later along with the dried fruits. Another lovely nose. </div>
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Very easy to sip: Chocolate, rich and dad, coffee beans and treacle. Not as earthy as the first one. Spices follow. This is gentle, smooth and creamy and so sippable! There's dried fruits, figs and raisins. Tobacco later and a hint of vanilla essence too</div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><u>Rum Discovery #6</u></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Havana Club Unión (40% abv)</span></b></div>
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Cuban Rum</div>
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circa £250.00 70cl</div>
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Next up we tasted the newest rum in the Icónica Collection, Havana Club Unión is available in specific liquor stores in Cuba and 20 other countries. I think we were among the very few to have tried this in the UK</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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Nose: Antique wood notes alongside a sweet cough syrup note, cherry perhaps? Also finding some lemon</div>
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Taste: High cocoa content chocolate, 'trade mark' Brazil nuts, although woodier, Brazil nut shells? There's a dusting of pepper too and finishes with a musty wood note with cigar tobacco.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><u>Rum Discovery #7</u></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Havana Club Máximo Extra Añejo (40% abv)</span></b></div>
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Cuban Rum</div>
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circa £1,200.00 50cl</div>
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The Havana Club Máximo is an Extra Añejo rum made from a decidedly illustrious blend of rare, old rums taken from their extensive reserves, crafted by the skilled hands of Maestro Ronero, Don José Navarro. An extraordinary Cuban rum for the cognoscenti and connoisseurs. Of course, a rum of this stature comes presented impeccably, in a handmade crystal decanter alongside crystal stopper with the Giraldilla etched upon it.</div>
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Havana Club Máximo Extra Añejo isn’t widely available, but can be purchased via specialist spirits retailers and online</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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Nose: There's a slight smokiness to this, charred wood too, while coconut tries to sneak through rich toffee.</div>
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It's surprisingly fruity on the palate, lots of dried fruits, figs dates and raisins. It's sweeter than the nose suggested too. This really is something special - I could sit and sip this all evening if only my disposable income levels would allow!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Verdict</span></b><br />
OK, so these are not your ordinary 'everyday' rums, they are all a little special with the starting price at around £50 a bottle. The Havana Club Máximo Extra Añejo works out around £60/shot based on the bottle price - expect to pay an awful lot more than that at a bar! The Havana Club Selección de Maestros is certainly within my budget and it's something I'd like to revisit again soon, and although I would love to spend more time with them all, it's highly unlikely due to current UK prices.<br />
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I'm looking forward to hearing what Kat has to say about these, as I saved half of each of the samples received for her.<br />
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<b>Salud! </b><i>Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-25482578641971364102015-05-26T13:36:00.001+01:002015-05-26T16:43:06.911+01:00Whisky Discovery #1147<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Douglas Laing's 'Rock Oyster' NAS 46.8% abv</span></b><br />Blended (or 'vatted') Malt <br />Circa £38.00 70cl </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HuJrPBelQ2E/VWQ7gCevTWI/AAAAAAAAFPI/WSeOzEpVUR8/s1600/IMG_5748%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HuJrPBelQ2E/VWQ7gCevTWI/AAAAAAAAFPI/WSeOzEpVUR8/s640/IMG_5748%255B1%255D.JPG" width="640" /></a>Joining Douglas Laing's family of 'vatted' malts at the beginning of 2015, Rock Oyster pays homage the sea, created using the finest maritime Malts including those distilled on the Islands of Jura, Islay, Arran and Orkney. </span></div>
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Sitting alongside their other core regionally themed vatted malts – Big Peat from Islay, Scallywag from Speyside and Timorous Beastie from the Highlands - Rock Oyster is a small batch bottling at 46.8% abv without colouring or chill-filtration. As typical with this range, much attention has been spent creating the packaging which features a bespoke illustration of both an oyster, and a nautical scene, while telling it's story.</div>
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Managing Director Fred Laing say: “Rock Oyster showcases the archetypal Island character of gentle peat-smoke, vanilla’d honey and salt. If I could select just one dram to transport the Whisky enthusiast to the Islands of Scotland, it would be this one. </div>
<br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did We Think?</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">
Following on from the recent additions of <b>Scallywag</b> and <b>Timorous Beastie</b>, Rock Oyster certainly looks the part in it's bespoke packaging, and a line up of all four would look great on the shelf! We've taken our bottle down to the Bedford Whisky Club and it has been very well received there, and we've only seen positive reviews for this on social media. </div>
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<b>Kat says:</b> I was instantly transported to rock pools on the beach, and weekends visiting my Grandparents down at Portsmouth and Southampton docks. It just smells of pure brisk sea air, sun, salty sea spray, seaweed, damp ropes, and wet oak docks. Left for about 5 minutes in the glass, the sweeter notes makes its way through – for me fresh conference pears and seared scallops, along with a dry dusty soot notes. </div>
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Fresh ginger cuts its way through, balancing the sea notes and sweetness, lifting the dram. Tasting begins with soft honey sweetness, followed by a touch of oak note, leading gently into a delicate soft peat note that’s more of cold soot or cold smoke. There are two spices that really come through here, black cardamoms and star anise. There is definitely an earthier note on the palate than the nose, and the iodine/seaweed note doesn’t come through here for me. The finish is long and lingering – earthy, dry soot and spices.</div>
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<b>Dave Says:</b> We both wrote our notes completely separately but upon receiving Kat's notes to write this post feel she'd covered all of mine too! My notebook is full of one word descriptors that Kat has tied together nicely with memories. </div>
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I find this soft, sweet, with smoke, salt and ripe grain. I also found hints of aniseed and Bassets 'liquorice allsorts'. Returning to it again recently it's fresh and lively definitely bringing memories of beach walks and salty rock pools. On the palate it comes across as young and feisty, but a little richer than expected. The salty sea breeze leads, but there's a spicy black pepper note too. The peat smoke follows, but it's gentle rather than 'in your face' leaving charcoal notes and hints of vanilla and sweet green grapes, before finishing peppery and a little drying leaving that maritime saltiness, with the empty glass the following morning yielding sweet toffee and charcoal.</div>
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<b>Verdict:</b> A very balanced dram, we loved that the peat notes are not over powering but still noticeable, giving the dram a delicate smokiness and still let the sweetness shine. Kat was surprised to find this dram was light and delicate, as she was expecting this to be heavier. A fantastic dram and certainly fitting in the '<b>bang for your buck</b>' category. We can’t recommend this enough for anyone who prefers their peat on the lighter side and with some soft sweetness, and those who like a long finish.</div>
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<b>Slàinte!</b> <i>Dave and Kat</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-66626275686753783082015-05-10T17:21:00.002+01:002015-06-06T21:11:25.901+01:00Whisky Discovery #1277<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">SMWS 3.243 'Dark, Smouldering Flamenco Gypsy' 57.1% abv</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Single Cask Single Islay Malt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price £80.00 (members price)</span></div>
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I haven't made my pilgrimage to Islay yet, it's something I really must get round to soon. It was an <a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/p/journey-begins.html" target="_blank">Islay malt that started me off on this path</a> I decided to travel along, but I don't think it's going to happen this year unfortunately.</div>
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Every year, in the last week of May The Islay festival of Feis Ile is held. It's origins date back to 1984 when the first Gaelic Drama Festival took place, In the early days it was more of a traditional music festival and it wasn't until 1990 that the first ever whisky tasting took place. The islands distilleries started getting more involved in 2000 and introduced their special Open Days and ultimately their Special Feis Ile releases.</div>
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The Feis Ile is the charitable organisation from which this now huge Festival of Music & Malt has evolved. The Island population triples during the week of the Festival which means it's no longer something you can simply turn up to, forward planning is essential nowadays with many making their plans a year in advance.</div>
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This years Feis Ile runs from Friday 22nd May until Saturday 30th May and if you're thinking about making plans for 2016 the dates are Friday 20th - Saturday 28th May. You can find out more details at the <a href="http://www.islayfestival.com/" target="_blank">Islay Festival Feis Ile website</a></div>
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This year The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will be, for the first time in their history, will too be hosting an open day on Friday 22nd May, when Islay House becomes their home for the day and in celebration they're releasing a their own limited edition Islay Festival bottling, and it will be available to members and non-members alike.</div>
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If you're not a member of the SMWS then you might not be aware of their bottling and labeling specifications. Every release comes in the same green society bottle and labeling never refers to a distillery directly, with every release bearing a pair of numbers separated by a decimal point. The first number referring to the distillery, and the second referring to the cask number that the society has bottled from this distillery, i.e. 3.1 would be the first cask ever bottled from distillery No.3</div>
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Each release has a quirky name which is put together from the notes of a tasting panel, as are the tasting notes printed on the label. Dark, smouldering flamenco gypsy's notes read as follows:</div>
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<i>Wow - so much on the noise - sherry, tarry wood, clean smoke, dates, figs, roasted chestnuts, Christmas spices, egg custard, maple syrup-glazed pork ribs and HP sauce on bacon rolls. The palate was substantial - liquorice, treacle toffee, coffee and chocolate, with caramelised onions and Demerara-smothered, clove studded ham over embers. The reduced nose suggested spiced prunes, Branston pickle, fig rolls, treacle tart, duck in plum sauce and warm welly boots by a drying bonfire. The reduced palate's smoke and sherry combination gave us interest and pleasure - the toffee and oloroso, toasted almonds and barbecued meats gave it a dark, smouldering flamenco gypsy personality.</i></div>
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It goes on to give this drinking tip: Between dances at a Spanish barbecue party</div>
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SMWS 3.243 is from the Bowmore Distillery that has spent 17 years maturing in a refill ex-sherry butt before being bottled at 57.1%. Sherry butts have a capacity of 500 litres, and allowing for 2% Angels Share over the 17 years I'm calculating that there will only be around 500 bottles available</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So what Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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I've tasted a number of superb Society sherried Bowmore's and this certainly does not disappoint. After typing out their notes while writing this post and comparing them to mine, I can say I agree wholeheartedly with them! My notes as below are exceedingly similar.</div>
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Lovely sherry notes immediately on the nose, woody, nutty and the peated spirit giving notes of tarred parcel paper alongside a sweet alluring smoke. Barbecue sauce features heavily as the nose develops and there's that sweet meatiness to it; roast duck in Hoisin sauce (honestly, I never read the 'official' notes until after I'd finished writing mine!) A drop of water brings out the sherry fruits and Christmas cake notes I was expecting to find. </div>
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<b>Verdict</b></div>
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Superb! and I'm hoping I can get my hands on one from the London HQ later this month fingers crossed.</div>
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Many thanks to the society for thinking of me and sending me this sample. If you want more information on the SMWS's Islay trip, visit <a href="http://www.islayhouse.co.uk/">www.IslayHouse.co.uk</a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Sláinte!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-22617809801211717122015-05-03T20:07:00.001+01:002015-05-03T20:08:42.750+01:00Charity Whisky Tasting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier this year we were asked if we would hold a Charity Whisky Tasting for the <a href="http://relay.cancerresearchuk.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/General?team_id=7028&pg=team&fr_id=1510">Walking Warriors</a>, a newly formed team in the <a href="http://relay.cancerresearchuk.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/General?fr_id=1510&pg=entry">Relay For Life Aylesbury</a>, a <a href="http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/">Cancer Research UK</a> Charity.</span></div>
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Last July their newly formed team helped raise £6k during the 24 hour walk around Aylesbury Rugby Club, coming third, out of 33 teams, in the final team standings, and on the day won the Spirit of Relay 2014 team award.</div>
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After the event was out of the way it was time for the team to come up with ideas to raise money for Cancer Research UK over the next year (the next Aylesbury Race for Life is scheduled for July 4th 2015). One of the Walking Warriors was a good friend of Dave's and during their time working together, Dave had introduced Steve to whisky, and with his new found early interest in whisky an idea popped into his head.</div>
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With a busy schedule at the beginning of the year we settled for Friday 24th April so we could get everything together and thanks to the support from some of our friends in the Scotch whisky world, we managed to arrange a formal six dram line up with raffle and auction prizes, as well as holding back a special something for the finale dram.</div>
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The Walking Warriors organised the venue and food with Aylesbury College's <a href="http://www.aylesbury.ac.uk/other-services/hardings-restaurant-and-deli" target="_blank">Harding's Restaurant</a>, a fully commercial establishment and headed up by a professional team.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All set up and ready to go</td></tr>
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It was the first time we had enough glasses to lay out a full compliment for each of the tasters and we'd printed out tasting mats alongside the usual information we'd ordinarily provide. The set-up looked impressive thanks to the team at Harding's Restaurant who'd laid out the tables ready for us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasting mats too!</td></tr>
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After the initial drinks, food was served in the adjacent dining area before the tasters took their places and we started our whisky tasting. We had set up for twenty tasters; with both new and established whisky drinkers we hoped we had something to please everyone! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had malted barley, new make spirit and a piece of oak stave too!</td></tr>
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Whilst we weren't able to cover all of the Scotch Whisky regions we did have an impressive line-up of single malts, and started the tasting with an Auchentoshan 12 representing the Lowland Region. </div>
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Next, we visited two distinctly different Highland single malts from Aberfeldy and Tomatin before another two distinctly different Speyside single malts from Craigellachie and The Glenlivet. Our final whisky of the tasting came from Highland Park representing the Islands while we discussed the other regions.</div>
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Favourites were quickly established and additional drams poured while we answered questions. We had a very special finale dram from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, a 25 Year Old Glen Grant, 9.84 Playing 'Sea Battle' in the Garden' which everybody agreed was the highlight of the evening.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very special treat to close the tasting</td></tr>
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At the end of the tasting we auctioned off all the heels raising additional funds before finishing with a raffle that included bottles of whisky and glasses kindly donated from Glen Moray and Glen Garioch.</div>
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<b>The end result? </b><br />
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£517 raised for Cancer Research UK and a few new whisky converts! If you want to find out more information about the Walking Warriors check out their <a href="http://relay.cancerresearchuk.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/General?team_id=7028&pg=team&fr_id=1510" target="_blank"><b>Relay for Life Team Page</b></a> where you too can donate!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whisky related raffle prizes too!</td></tr>
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Many thanks to the generosity and support from: <a href="http://www.auchentoshan.com/" target="_blank">Auchentoshan</a>, <a href="http://www.lastgreatmalts.com/" target="_blank">Aberfeldy, Craigellachie</a>, <a href="http://www.glengarioch.com/" target="_blank">Glen Garioch</a>, <a href="http://www.glenmoray.com/" target="_blank">Glen Moray</a>, <a href="http://www.gordonandmacphail.com/" target="_blank">Gordon & MacPhail</a>, <a href="http://highlandpark.co.uk/" target="_blank">Highland Park</a>, <a href="http://www.theglenlivet.com/" target="_blank">The Glenlivet</a>, <a href="http://www.smws.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Scotch Malt Whisky Society</a>, and <a href="http://www.tomatin.com/" target="_blank">Tomatin</a></div>
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<b>Sláinte!</b> <i>Dave </i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-1358326442072510392015-03-01T11:55:00.000+00:002015-03-01T11:55:13.911+00:00Genever Discovery #1<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Zuidam Zeer Oude Genever 5 Year Old 38% abv</span></b></span></div>
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Dutch Genever - Single Barrel</div>
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circa £28.00 50cl</div>
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Last night I tried my first ever Genever thanks to lovely friends Ansgar and Thomas from Dutch whisky blog <b><a href="http://whiskyspeller.blogspot.co.uk/">Whisky Speller</a></b> </div>
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Whilst I am familiar with Dutch distillers <b>Zuidam</b>, famed for their <b><a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Dutch">Millstone</a></b> range of single malts, I'd never tasted a Genever before. The Zuidam family have over fifty years of distilling experience and all of their products are hand crafted, so I was already expecting good things!</div>
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<b>Genever</b> is the juniper-flavored national and traditional liquor of the Netherlands and Belgium, from which Gin is said to have evolved. Traditional jenever is still very popular in the Netherlands and Belgium and European Union regulations specify that only liquor made in these two countries, two French provinces and two German federal states can use the name jenever/genever/genièvre.</div>
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Zuidam Genever is distilled from the finest selection of Malted Barley, Rye and Corn. The grains used for the Zuidam Genevers are milled by traditional windmills. In using windmills for milling their malted barley the distillery helps preserve the important Dutch heritage of the world famous windmills. Even more importantly the traditional millstones of the windmills slowly grind the malted barley into flour. This traditional way of milling causes almost no increase in the temperature of the grain and thus helps preserve the wonderful aroma’s.</div>
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After the milling the mashing begins by adding hot water to the corn, rye and malted barley. The hot water triggers the enzymes to convert the starch from the grain into sugars. The process takes about 8 hours per batch and afterwards the resulting Mash is cooled to 20° Celsius and pumped to the fermentation tank.</div>
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In the fermentation tank the fermentation takes place in small batches at a very low temperature to give these genevers its fruity flavours. The fermentation takes about 5 days. This is much longer than is customary but is Zuidam say it's essential to allow for the delicate flavours to form.</div>
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At the end of this 5 day fermentation the resulting mash is distilled three times in handcrafted copper pot stills before the distillate is clean and fruity enough for their Genevers. Part of this new spirit is then distilled again over a secret mixture of botanicals (among others, Juniper, Liquorice root, Aniseed). Then everything is blended together before putting it into the barrels.</div>
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After the careful distillation the Genever is aged in small barrels. Zuidam use new barrels of American White Oak as well as barrels that have previously held Bourbon or Olorosso Sherry. The reason why their Genever ages rather quickly is that they use new or young barrels and they are stored in a warm and dry warehouse. The downside is that the evaporation losses are rather high and typically the “Angels Share” is between 4% and 5% per year.</div>
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This 'Old' Genever is a 5 Year Old Single Barrel chosen from casks that have been aged for a minimum of 60 months, and each release is bottled from one carefully selected cask and it is not blended with other casks. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So What Did I Think?</span></b></div>
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This immediately reminded me of Canadian Whisky, it was the rye I'm sure (and I have developed a real love of rye whisky). I was expecting to find the botanicals to be too over powering for me, but it wasn't like that at all, the five year maturation in quality wood has ensure a remarkable balance of flavours with rich vanilla and toffee flavours complementing the rye spiciness. This is eminently quaffable! </div>
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More good news as I've seen it's available at The Whisky Exchange (thanks for the main photo!)</div>
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Huge thanks to <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/113230566577849652204" target="_blank">+Thomas Speller</a>, <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/103108794569042023395" target="_blank">+Ansgar Speller</a> and their whisky blog <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/103608046440496048882" target="_blank">+Whisky Speller</a> Make sure you're following them on Twitter too! <a href="https://twitter.com/thomas_speller">@thomas_speller</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ansgarspeller">@ansgarspeller</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiskySpeller">@WhiskySpeller</a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;">Sláinte!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;">Dave</i></div>
</span>Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118786120916735714.post-78175317651488770032015-03-01T10:08:00.001+00:002015-03-01T10:08:52.176+00:00Whisky Discovery #1151<div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Glenmorangie Tùsail NAS 46%abv</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highland Single Malt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">circa £75.00 70cl</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every year since 2010, <a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Glenmorangie">Glenmorangie</a> have released a new expression from their Private Edition collection, and Glenmorangie Tùsail is the 2015 release, following on in the footsteps of Sonnalta, Finealta, Artein, <a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/whisky-discovery-304.html">Ealanta</a> and last years Companta.</span></div>
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Whilst previous releases have focussed on the casks used in the maturation (Sonnalta - Pedro Ximenez , Finealta - ex-sherry and American oak, Artein - Sassicaia, <a href="http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/whisky-discovery-304.html">Ealanta - virgin oak</a>, Companta - red wine) Tùsail is all about the grain drawing on the unique taste of Maris Otter barley, a rare quality grain that was almost lost to the world. But there was more to this story than just the grain selected. Glenmornagie's floor maltings were closed in 1980 but Dr. Bill Lumsden has traditionally floor malted the barley for this release.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Maris Otter Barley</span></b></div>
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Maris Otter was originally bred in 1960s England, near Cambridge, at a site on Maris Lane, the street after which the barley was named. Maris Otter’s flavour was initially sought after by the craft-brewing industry. But the variety’s popularity began to wane in the 1970s as tastes in beer changed and farmers switched to barley with higher yields. By the late 1980s, uncertified seed and cross-pollination had put Maris Otter at risk of extinction. This greatly alarmed some in the brewing industry, who still depended on its unique flavour to produce their cask-conditioned ales. Reacting to these concerns, two English seed merchants formed a partnership to rejuvenate the variety, and in 1992, began a programme to build the stocks back to an acceptable standard. </div>
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With Kat's interest in craft beer, she decided she would do some research and found that the revival of the Maris Otter grain is predominately down to a barley merchant Robin Appel of Robin Appel Ltd. His entrepreneurial spirit could see a demand Many breweries valued this barley over other varieties because it gave superior flavours, and breweries were prepared to pay a higher price for the crop. In the '90s the majority of barley that was grown was spring harvested barley, so growing winter harvesting barley like Maris Otter showed to be bucking the trend at the time. Robin’s vision was obviously very convincing as everything has paid off. Today Maris Otter is going strong with many beers produced with the barley winning awards year after year. </div>
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Kat contacted Robin Appel and to her surprise and delight, he replied to her email! Below is his reply giving us a brief history of barley:</div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;">‘Dear Kat,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;">Thank-you for getting in touch. Of course I can go on talking about Maris Otter forever, but the Media Pack which you have accessed on our website captures the main points.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;">I have been involved in saving and promoting the variety since 1990, and in 2001 purchased Warminster Maltings in Wiltshire, Britain’s oldest working maltings, to ensure Maris Otter could still be malted traditionally, by hand, on floors. With the maltings came the ‘preface’ to the Maris Otter story: E.S.Beaven, proprietor of the maltings at the beginning of the 20th century, was also a self taught plant breeder, who bred the first genetically true variety of barley in the world, in 1905. He crossed a Swedish variety called Plumage, with an Irish variety called Archer, and for the very first time produced a variety of barley, nay cereals, that was “uniform, distinct and stable”. Beaven named it Plumage Archer, and it was a massive breakthrough, and confined the ‘landrace’ cereal varieties, that had presided forever, to history.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;">The Plant Breeding Institute at Cambridge (Dr GDH Bell) picked up on Beaven’s work, and crossed Plumage Archer with Kenia to produce Proctor in 1953, and then crossed Proctor with Pioneer to produce Maris Otter in 1965.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;">So you see I have managed to round up the heritage of modern barley varieties – we have one grower still growing Plumage Archer – and in the wake of Maris Otter’s success, we are now expanding Plumage Archer production for the Whiskey market. Should we be trying to revive Proctor? I do not think so, because Maris Otter is really a Mk 2 Proctor. I can say this with confidence, because I joined the barley trade in 1963 when Proctor ruled. There were two strains – Spring Proctor and Winter Proctor, and the latter was regarded by the brewing industry as the ‘creme de la creme’. Maris Otter is, in my book, a more robust version of Winter Proctor!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;">So there is a few more snippets of information for you. </span></i><i><span style="color: blue;">Regards,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;">Robin Appel.’</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>So What Did We Think?</u></span></b></div>
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<b>Kat Says: </b>The nose begins with a delicate floral note which develops into a vibrant freshness, aromas becoming creamier, vanilla notes starts to come through together with a strong toasted cereal notes. With some time in the glass toasted cereal notes resembles that of seasoned oak on a hot day and the smell of oatcakes. Some dusty hot ash aroma can also be detected. </div>
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Tasting I first noticed the dryness; this quickly goes being replaced with a hint of clear runny honey and plenty of lemon zest. The sweetness is diluted so not very sweet and it is nicely balanced by the lemon zest note. After this plenty of spices come through – for me its mace and fresh ginger. Then I got a bitter sweet note – molasses maybe, but quickly goes away making way for lashings of juicy fruit flavours to come through (more white fruits than red fruits), mainly white grapes and sultanas for me. A spicy dry finish that’s short lived with lingering bitter sweetness. </div>
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<b>Verdict: </b>Compared with my memory of last year’s Private Edition release Companta, Tùsail is polar opposite. My memories of Companta were dark, rich, and full of dark fruit flavours, whereas Tùsail is very much light, fresh, and spicy.<br />
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<b><i>Dave Says: </i></b>The colour emulates golden fields of ripened barley on a glorious sunny day, and on pouring barley water flavours were my initial thoughts. once settled these give way to notes of sweet summer fruits; peaches and apricots. It certainly comes across as very rich and creamy. There's notes of fresh lumber too, sawn softwood and later a hint of that Glenmorangie soft orange notes coming through, almost blossom like in fragrance.<br />
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That creamy orange juice note comes across to the fore on the palate as does the softwood lumber notes. Tasting floral and fragrant there's a gentle sweetness which is balanced by a spicy build up while vanilla flavours richen with toffee notes which in turn evolves into milk chocolate. The spices build finishing with a peppery 'zing' and fresh ginger. The empty glass the following morning yielding notes of chocolate digestive biscuits (other chocolate covered malty biscuits are available)</div>
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<b>Verdict: </b>Personally, I loved it! The barley story interested me immensely and the rich creamy, yet almost rustic flavours drew me in completely!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A wee dram of Glenmorangie <span style="text-align: justify;">Tùsail</span></span></td></tr>
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We would like to thank Glenmorangie for providing us with tasting samples, and to Robin Appel for his passion and help with our research.<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;">Sláinte!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;"> <i>Kat and </i></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;">Dave</i></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Some further reading on Maris Otter Barley</span></b><br />
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After I read through other whisky bloggers reviews of Tùsail, many commented that they are not sure if they could taste the impact Maris Otter had on the flavour and aroma profiles of the whisky. I was wondering the same thing, so wanted to find out if I can find a description of the flavour profiles of Maris Otter and use this as a benchmark to compare my tasting notes against. I knew I tasted beers made from Maris Otter before but couldn't remember what they tasted like or what brewery they were from, just that the name rang a bell and knew I came across it before on beer bottle labels. </div>
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My research came up trumps, when I found that Robin Appel had commissioned the Brewing Research Institute to conduct two separate studies (2006 and 2007) to identify the flavour profiles of Maris Otter. It seems that within the craft brewing circles there was similar debates on whether the variety of barley used made any difference to flavour of the end product. The results of the two studies (which I've read included blind tastings of beers from the different malts) concluded that the flavour ranges were “very clean, crisp, with biscuit and grain notes”. Comparing this to my tasting note I came to the conclusion that the flavours of Maris Otter does seem to come through in the dram. </div>
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The only other whisky that I can find that’s known to be made with Maris Otter is the ultra-premium Hicks & Healey Cornish whisky which was jointly produced by St Austell Brewery and Healey’s Cyder Farm in Cornwall. This whisky is certainly on my list to try if given the opportunity!</div>
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This year sees Maris Otter celebrate 50 years of being in production and there are many beer related events around the country to celebrate this anniversary. To find out more about the 50 year anniversary campaign check out the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/marisotter50">Maris Otter Facebook page</a> and follow their Twitter account: <a href="https://twitter.com/marisotter50"><b>@marisotter50</b>.</a><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;">Sláinte!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; text-align: start;"> <i>Kat </i></span></div>
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Whisky Discoveryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270565726147519497noreply@blogger.com0