Whisky Discovery #231

The Glenrothes 1995 (43% abv, OB, D 26/10/95, Bottled 2011)
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Circa £45.00 70cl

Our penultimate dram in our introduction to The Glenrothes

The Vintage 1995 was the first ever vintage specifically laid in cask with the intention of, when mature, bottling as The Glenrothes single malt. None of this has been used for blending elsewhere.

With about 30% from first fill American Sherry oak delivering butterscotch, Spice and dried fruits from first fill Spanish Sherry oak and the rest from refill casks giving the characteristic Glenrothes balance and complexity of flavour. Arguably it is preferable post-dinner when conversation is in full flow.

It fulfils every anticipation of The Glenrothes: A “come-hither” nose filled with exotic spices is followed by a citrus and fruity richness coated in honeyed butterscotch. These flavours, and more, are all delivered on the palate culminating with a long, rich and satisfying, fruity spiciness.

So What Did We Think?

Kat Said: Typically, the nose provides you with the same fruitiness & spices as all of the ones I have sampled so far. I found the nose on this vintage to be more closely matched with the Select Reserve, it shares the same sweet caramelised sugars, as previously picked out as pineapple jam and mango fruit leather. What is different is here is the sherry; this came through beautifully on the nose. 

I have found in the last 12 months of my whisky journey that I prefer sherry casks and finishes, so this was very welcoming. The oak aromas don’t present itself until a drop of water is added, when I did, I instantly got dried seasoned oak. 

Compared with the others, I found this to be more robust, so if the others were steel, this is cast iron. Again the sweetness and fruits are here. The fruit has moved away from the cooked fruits to a fresh plums, this sweet and freshness reminds me the bumper crop of Victoria plumbs we had last year from the garden. You couldn't get any fresher, picked from the tree and straight into my mouth. 

Interestingly this whisky changes character for me when some water is added. Apart from becoming smoother and sweeter, the vanilla notes are more vibrant and it's creamy, reminding me of crème caramel.  

As a side note, I made the best plum jam from Victoria plums, and have given me a good idea for a new plum jam recipe; Plum jam with some Glenrothes whisky (writing note to self). My mutts enjoyed them as well, they kept eating the fallen ones on the ground. Don’t worry no dogs were harmed, as the clever pooches learned to spit the stones out after they have eaten the fleshy bits. 

For the finish, it is the longest so far with hints of pepper that mellows into a maple syrup. With water, the pepper is subdues leaving just the mellow maple syrup. 

Dave Said: This was lighter and more fruitier that the 1998 Vintage and was our favourite of the four nosed so far. With bags of vanilla and butterscotch on the nose. It also had a lovely fragrant floral note. With water the nose became much more woody with cut oak or hardwoods

The taste was rich yet smooth. Sweet and fruity with ripe plums and butterscotch, leading to the 'house style' spiciness. A drop of water reduces that peppery kick and becomes much sweeter and creamier with vanilla custard

This expression had the longest finish of the four tasted so far on our Sunday afternoon's sampling of The Glenrothes and followed the house style peppery kick at the end. This had become my favourite of the afternoon so far.

The Glenrothes included a handy 'character profile' card which puts the Select Reserve in the middle  of the card, everything above this label  has increasing citrus notes, to the left more vanilla, to the right more spice and everything below would be fruitier. The 1995 Vintage sits in the bottom left hand corner of this 'character profile'. i.e. Vanilla and Fruits.

If you would like to know more about the background of this whisky check out both The Glenrothes and the Berry Bros & Rudd websites. If you're on Twitter why not follow @TheGlenrothes and @berrybrosrudd

Many thanks to Berry Bros & Rudd for the tasting samples

Whisky Discovery #230

The Glenrothes 1998 (43% abv, OB, D 17/12/98, Bottled 2011)
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Circa £42.00 70cl

Dram No.3 of our Glenrothes education

So moving on to dram number three of our Sunday afternoon education and this, the latest core expression from the Glenrothes catalogue. Released in early 2012 as a replacement for the dwindling 1994 vintage.

This Vintage 1998 is the next Core Vintage to follow the Vintage 1991 and 1994, and it's the first of the vintages that have been bottled that were expressly laid down at origin to be bottled as Glenrothes on maturity and as such has a greater availability of stock than any of the previous bottlings.

This is also Gordon Motion’s first bottling as Malt Master and he describes it as: “It’s said that pictures speak a thousand words and this is like Carmen Miranda’s hat in a bottle. Tropical fruits lead with pineapple and mango developing into sweet bananas, coconut and classic Glenrothes vanilla pods.”

So What Did We Think?

Kat Said: If you have been reading the last 2 posts, you will know by now the key characteristics of The Glenrothes range. For this vintage the distillery has described it as ‘Carmen Miranda’s hat in a bottle’. Now some of you may know who she is, if you do I have to apologise now for my ignorance. For those who don’t, to put it in plan words, she was the lady that sang songs & acted on the silver screen back in the 40s/50s who wore crazy extravagant hats that’s covered in fruits and flowers. After Googling it, I instantly recognised her and can understand the analogy, completely agree.

I was picking up the same aromas that closely matched the official tasting notes: golden syrup, spicy and vanilla. I also picked up the citrus notes as I did in the previous samples but at the time it didn't connect with anything specific. The official tasting notes gave the citrus scent I smelt as lemongrass, so after reading this I too can pick up lemongrass in the glass.

It’s amazing the power of suggestion. For me the creaminess that I found in the Robur Reserve is as present here but there is tad more white pepper present. With water, it reveals the pineapple jam that I had picked up before in the Select Reserve.

As I sipped, I find it that it’s smoother than the previous samples with the same familiar richness and sweetness. I did pick up a woody taste, almost a light charcoal and malt, only very subtly, which were not described in the distillery official tasting notes. This made me doubt my taste buds, as I’m unsure if it’s down to my taste buds being correct, or my brain’s lower capacity to search my memory bank as my Mother’s lovely home cooked Thai dinner was settling nicely in my stomach, reaffirming the lazy Sunday feeling I had for most of that day. Have made a ‘note to self’ to sample this again a second time.  With water this whisky becomes silky smooth and creamy.

Out of the 3 so far, this has the longest finish and had the same peppery kick as the Robur Reserve. 

Dave Said: 1998 was the year I returned to the UK after seven years working in the Far East. It was the beginning of a new chapter for our family as we moved lock stock and barrel from Thailand to Bedfordshire. This whisky was distilled just before our first Christmas in the UK and around the time of my youngest daughters first birthday - happy memories!

But enough of my reminiscing, lets get back to the whisky. This seems to follow the same 'house style' and is richer and spicier with more pepper, but the creamy vanilla is always underlying. After a little while the nose opened up with Golden syrup, hints of lemon grass leather and thick cut marmalade.

On the palate it starts of sweet, lulling you into a false sense of security when the intense peppery fire kicks in for a short burst before settling back to fruity banana bread. With a drop of water the fierce pepper is calmed and it becomes smooth sweet and very creamy.

The smooth finish is slightly longer than the previous two drams with a fruity sweetness  a pinch of brine and the pepper spice.

If you would like to know more about the background of this whisky check out both The Glenrothes and the Berry Bros & Rudd websites. If you're on Twitter why not follow @TheGlenrothes and @berrybrosrudd

Many thanks to Berry Bros & Rudd for the tasting samples

Whisky Discovery #229

The Glenrothes Robur Reserve (40% abv, OB)
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Circa £50.00 100cl

No.2 of our Sunday afternoons Glenrothes experience

The second dram of our Sunday afternoons Glenrothes 'vertical tasting'  was this travel retail exclusive. Glenrothes Robur Reserve is named after Quercus Robur, the official name for European or Spanish oak, and contains a greater proportion of first-fill Oloroso Spanish oak ex-sherry casks, which have a significant influence on the profile of the whisky.

So What Did We Think?

Kat Says: The Robur Reserve shares the same key characters as the Select Reserve, but for me, there were just a few differences: 

This time on the nose, the spice offering is just from cloves, and the stewed fruits in the Select Reserve have been replaced by the richness of plump dried dates and dried figs. The vanilla is only ghosting in the background, unlike the citrus which is more noticeable from the beginning where it has moved to the front of the main stage and before a drop of water is added.

Something that I didn't get from the Select Reserve is fudge. The Robur has a sweet creamy butter quality of fudge that acts as a canvas for the rest of the other aromas. 

Taste very similar to the Select Reserve but smoother, and just as pleasant, so nothing really new to add. I would only be repeating everything I have said in the previous posts. I'm sure you wouldn't want me to bore you with the same words, when you can just look back to the previous post!

Again I found the finish to be short compared with other whiskies I've tatsted. The Robur Reserve has got a slightly longer finish only by a sneeze, with a flash of a peppery kick making itself known. 

Dave Says: A few weeks back I decided I should start educating my palate and try some sherry for a change and have been enjoying a bottle of Viejo Oloroso Dulce on a Sunday lunchtime, I've also been trying other Sherries and Ports in order to experience the full flavours within to appreciate the effect these casks have on whisky.

The Glenrothes 'Robur Reserve' is much spicier than  the Select Reserve. The initial waft of spice on the nose gives way to dried fruits; dates and figs, soft flowery notes with vanilla in the background. There was a caramel toffee smell which reminded me of the Quality Street gold 'penny' toffees and also a hint of worn leather. 

Again this is very velvety and smooth on the palate. Both malty and fruity with rich stewed fruits, sweet sultanas and spicy pepper blasts, and the vanilla is in the background again. With water it becomes much sweeter and more citrus notes are evident.

The finish is a little longer than the Select Reserve, nice but by no means a long one. It is persistently spicy with a chili pepper heat although starts off sweet with toffee.

Really mellow and easy-going, but less sherry than I was expecting from first-fill casks.

If you would like to know more about the background of this whisky check out both The Glenrothes and the Berry Bros & Rudd websites. If you're on Twitter why not follow @TheGlenrothes and @berrybrosrudd

Many thanks to Berry Bros & Rudd for the tasting samples

Whisky Discovery #228

The Glenrothes Select Reserve NAS (43% abv OB)

Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Circa £30.00 70cl

The first dram of the afternoon's introduction to The Glenrothes

From six Canadian whiskies last week we're heading back to Speyside and will be reviewing five from The Glenrothes range following a head to head tasting last Sunday afternoon

We began with The Glenrothes Select Reserve, our thinking being that this was the core expression from the five we had. It’s a blend of various aged casks that was created by Malt Master, John Ramsey. 

The Glenrothes Distillery was built in 1878 beside the Burn of Rothes in the Speyside region, and the first whisky ran off the stills on the 28 December 1879, which happened to be the same day as the Tay Bridge disaster. The distillery itself had a shaky start and a chequered history, but then I think many of them have from what I've learned on this journey to date. The Glenrothes usually released in vintages as opposed to a standard core range of 10 Year, 12 Years etc. It is also used in blended scotch whiskies such as Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse, and is currently owned by Berry Brothers and Rudd, after being bought from the Edrington Group in 2010.

What Did We Think?

Kat says: For me this is a whisky that provides a good entry to The Glenrothes range, it captures the ‘House Style’ as the distillery says. This ‘house style’ that runs through the range consist of four core flavours: fruits, vanilla, citrus, and warm spices. 

This may not seem complicated to some but if you think of these flavours in terms of food, you will find these in many classic puddings that we all know like fruit cake, Christmas pudding, stewed fruits…... you get the idea. All are flavours that have been proven to be great companions. 

As I described, unmistakeably you get the vanilla, I got hints of dried coconuts, followed by sweet stickiness of a mango fruit leather and pineapple jam, and stewed winter fruits. Rich and full bodied. With some water, it mellows out the full bodied characters to a more relaxed tone, bringing forward the citrus notes. 

I wasn't disappointed when I took my first taste, the majority of the aromas transferred through. You first get the sweetness and vanilla flavours come through, then a new flavour of oak which adds a nice robust woody note which is followed by warm spices of cinnamon and cloves. These put the sweetness in check, providing the balance that ties everything together. With some water and a bit of time in the glass, same as before it relaxed all of the flavours and became sweeter but not sickly, just a light smooth honey flavour. I found the finish to be short with a lingering hint of lemon bonbons.  

This is a whisky that I have previously enjoyed a few times in the past, and in future it will be a whisky that I will keep going back to. A reliable whisky to add to my whisky shelf. 

Dave says: I'd never tried anything from The Glenrothes before, and although had heard of the name and would recognise the distinctive bottle shape, I knew little about the brand. The Glenrothes traditionally bottle single malts from specific vintages, so this no-age-statement example apparently raised a few eyebrows when it first appeared.

My first impressions were wow, what a lively fresh nose. Lots of zesty citrus, fruity with pineapple jam, mango leather, bourbon cask vanilla. The palate is silky smooth and again very refreshing, sweet and creamy, lemon cheesecake dribbled with honey. A little vanilla and malt with toasted cereals and rich oak. I found the finish to be quite short with a little mild spice with some barley sweetness.

I was pleasantly surprised with my first Glenrothes and certainly think Select Reserve is a great value for money single malt, exhibiting the wonderful spicy house style.

Many thanks to Berry Bros & Rudd for the tasting samples, and if you would like to know more about the background of this whisky check out both The Glenrothes and the Berry Bros & Rudd websites. If you're on Twitter why not follow @TheGlenrothes and @berrybrosrudd

Mystery Twitter Whisky Tasting Adventure #2

Following the eventual success of the inaugural Mystery Twitter Whisky Tweet Tasting Femke (@Girl_Whisky) organised this second event which was scheduled right from the very start with a time and date, so excuse for missing this event, unless of course you had Internet problems or simply forgot.

The three mystery drams

The mystery drams were sent in plenty of time and beautifully presented in the carefully put together package which included a tea-light candle, and some silk rose petals along with the three numbered and 'decorated' miniature bottles.

With a time of 20:00 GMT and date set for Thursday 1st of November the assembled blind tasters were ready for the event. We had ‏Tom (@ifotou) from Edinburgh, Olaf  @Jake1965Blues from Germany Andrew @Ardbaggie from the Stourbridge, me and of course our host Femke @Girl_Whisky  We waited a little while for two others who unfortunately weren't able to make it.

The three bottles, decorated with a Flying Bird, a Butterfly and a ceramic Owl tied on with string!

Dram #1

All tweets used the #MTWTA_2 hashtag and we began with bottle number one, which had a green circular sticker attached to the lid and on top of this a flying bird, which looked a little like a dove or even the Twitter bird.

‏@Jake1965Blues Opened up the tweets and told us that it 'Smells very smooth and sweet! Smells like rock candy, a little bit of orange, some vanilla and posed the question. Some kind of bourbon?

‏@ifotou Nose very familiar nose, would almost suggest slight grain whisky! It's sweet and had touches of custard creams, malt and vanilla 

I tweeted: The palest of the three drams, yet glistening golden. Long thin legs on the glass, but falling slowly. Spicy oak on the nose initially before revealing it's sweetness, a little dustiness too. Crisp cooking apples for a fleeting moment, almost a spicy rye note, but then I'm note sure. There it is again! Perhaps I had had too much Canadian Rye whisky during this week?

@Girl_Whisky It's sweet... ( just like me) is it a lovely nosing? Little bit of Citrus and sweetness, Creamy vanilla? and then added the first 'clue' I can tell you this is a wild one.

After nosing we went on to tasted the whisky:

I tweeted: More citrus on the palate than the nose, zesty sourness, tangerine orange and a light peppery spice. Quite light on the palate, not a high alcohol content burn, oily in the glass afterwards. Reminding me of a lowland style scotch now, young, NAS, 40% abv more grassy now and sweetness of candy. I then added: Need bigger drams!

I 'lost' some of @Ardbaggie's tweets as I don't think we always used the hashtag in all of our tweets, the only notes I had from @Ardbaggie were: Reminds me of Rosebank, agree easy drinking, light soft palate, like a Lowland 

‏@ifotou Palate smooth and creamy, a little tickle to the throat but nothing major, more of the vanilla notes with tangy blood oranges. Definitely more of a grain/bourbon/rye style than malt, there is a little tang there, almost like a thick custard over a tangy orange. ABV can't be much above 40% at most 43% would be my guess 

To which @Girl_Whisky replied Correct.. It's not a wild guess... 43 % (First points to ‏@ifotou and none for me!) 

@Girl_Whisky asked us about the bird on top, and we guessed at what bird it could be? it's one that's flying ... long distance! was our second 'clue'

We were thinking of the obvious ones, Turkey (Wild Turkey) Grouse (Famous Grouse) but it really did look like the Twitter bird!

@Girl_Whisky then gave us our third 'clue': It's a long bird.. loves water, webbed feet ..and ‏@ifotou guessed it correctly with: I'm going to take a guess at it being one of The Wild Geese whiskies from Cooley To which @Girl_Whisky replied A limited edition of unlimited beauty..' 93 Points. - Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2009

All the points went to ‏@ifotou on this one, but I registered a new discovery. The Lowland style I was getting is attributed to the triple distillation and the rye note I thought I was getting would have been the unmalted grain used in Irish Whisky

Whisky Discovery #225

The Wild Geese Limited Edition Fourth Centennial (43% abv)

Irish Blended Whiskey

Circa £44.00 70cl

The Wild Geese Limited Edition Fourth Centennial Irish Whiskey

A limited edition version of Wild Geese's blended Irish whisky, rated 93/100 in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible in 2010.

Producer's Notes
Nose: The nose is full, malty and sweet with a hint of citrus; and on the higher notes spice, a touch of cardamom.
Taste & Finish: Smooth, sweet to start, balanced, spice and an oatmeal maltiness. Hints of marzipan and a subtle and satisfying overtone of chocolate. A lingering and satisfying finish, full with a taste of oak. Rich and luxurious - truly a delightful, masterfully blended tasting whiskey.

Dram #2

Dram Number two had a blue butterfly on the lid, was this another clue? Following the flying bird on number one I certainly was expecting this to be but I couldn't think of any whiskies with either a butterfly or a moth in the name so was stumped from the start! @Girl_Whisky told us that this was a complex one, was that a clue?

I launched straight in with: A very malty nose, slightly darker in colour that No.1 and thicker legs. Malted milk biscuits, nice heavy sweetness, treacle, vanilla underneath. Starting to open up now with the banana bread/ treacle cake notes, burnt sugar, honey, almost rum like notes hiding there.

@ifotou: Stunning malty nose, malted loaf and sweet manuka honey, a little fresh carnations and some oak. Once the maltiness subsides, it's manuka honey and carnations for me

@Girl_Whisky: Flowery tones on this second one. Like a flowershop during valentine!

@Jake1965Blues: Same here. Very difficult to smell something else than malt, oak, little peat. Some fine sweetness after the oak, no flowers here, then Ok got some honey, and some flowers when I have more distance between my nose and the glass.

I was liking this this more that the first dram and went on to taste and tweeted: I'm liking this a lot, a little earthy peat on the nose too. 46% abv Rich and luxurious definitely, sweet honey, juicy fruits, sultanas, raisins, toffee, spiced orange candied peel with soft peat smoke. Orangey zest at the end. A high quality blended malt or a high malt ratio Scotch. Something like a Compass Box whisky, it reminds me a little of Compass Box Spice Tree, but can't figure out where the damn butterfly sits in this, unless there is one sitting in the tree!

@Ardbaggie Drying palate seems a lot going on complex is right, 48% its got me going 

@ifotou: Palate starts off very smooth but has a kick of a finish heating back up the throat very malty in the mouth Weetabix with honey, I'm going to go slightly stronger and aim for 50% ABV I genuinely don't have a clue, at a guess I'd probably suggest something Japanese. Then at my mention of Compass Box Spice Tree tweeted: That's a decent call, the bottom of the compass box logo looks a bit like a butterfly

@Jake1965Blues: Although the taste is very light in the beginning, just dancing on the tongue, I think it's only a little bit stronger than No.1, about 46 %, and I like it much more than the first one

@Girl_Whisky: It's very smooth .. and soft, but different than number one. Have you noticed in the background a hint of anise? Was that a clue? In the summer, you could climb up a tree, enjoy the view, and sun while drinking this whisky. I would if I had a tree-house - another clue? I can tell you right now, this one will not fly! This whisky is a unit and binds you together, small hint, A smooth and rich 'triple' malt.

We were told we'd all gone too high with our abv guesses, this whisky came in at 40% abv, which we found hard to agree with as it certainly tasted stronger than the first.

Notice the butterfly?

@ifotou: Triple (distilled) would hint at Irish again or Auchentoshan (I don't think so) or maybe triple blend? My guess of Compass Box Spice Tree was looking good!

I tweeted: Monkey Shoulder is a 'triple malt' and 40% but I still can't see where the butterfly fits in! To which @ifotou replied No not Monkey Shoulder, that doesn't have any burn and I can send you a sample to prove it! But I was right! A lucky guess! and the butterfly? @Girl_Whisky saw this picture and thought.. monkey, butterfly! Still another new whisky on my journey.




Whisky Discovery #226

Monkey Shoulder (40% abv)

Blended Malt Whisky

circa £24.00 70cl

Monkey Shoulder is a mix of three different Single Malts - Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Kininvie - and is great with mixers or just on its own. Smooth, sweet and very easy to drink. A superb blended malt whisky from William Grant, made with single malts from the companies neighbouring distilleries. The result is a smooth, creamy, supple and very malty Scotch which works superbly well neat, over ice, or in whisky cocktails (where it really excels).

Notes from the chaps at Master of Malt

Nose: An elegant, stylish nose of marmalade, Crema Catalana, cocoa and malt. A sprinkling of winter spice (nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon) adds an extra dimension, alongside a mouth-watering hint of aniseed.

Palate: Very malty, creamy delivery which offers up a palate redolent of berry fruit, juicy toasted barley, cloves and butterscotch. A hint of manuka honey, hot-buttered-toast and dried apricot develop.

Finish: Medium length, with clove-studded oranges, creamy vanilla and peppermint on the tail.

Dram #3

So onto our final dram of the evening, distinguishable from the rest by the ceramic owl hanging on a piece of string tied around the neck of the bottle - oh and having the No.3 marked on the bottle too. We had sampled The Belgian Owl in our last Mystery Tweet Tasting so was fairly certain Femke wouldn't be pulling this distillery out again. The whisky was the darkest of the three, and far to dark for the young Belgian single malt. We started nosing this mystery dram and it was an instant hit with most of the tasters before we even took a sip.

@Jake1965Blues Looks dark brown, sherry or even red wine butt? In the glass it's oily, heavy, small, long tears in the glass. Before opening the bottle I shook it and got lots of small bubbles. It looks fine! Smelling deep it bites in the nose, and some sweet dark chocolate

@Girl_Whisky Something I like, chocolate, toffee,feels a bit like summer, or the winter is coming Lemon sorbet ice. The smell is wonderful and strong!

@ifotou Rich fruit, not quite cakey, but definitely rich fruit, orange peel and sultanas, a bit of furniture polish and lots of oak 

I tweeted: I love this rich nose, of polished wood and dark fruits and we went on to start tasting and to have a guess at the alcohol content:

@ifotou The palate is strikingly fruity, acetone, malty and oaky, has a lot going on, pulls the palate in different directions something 'Speysidey', maybe Glenfiddich but I'm not sure. 46%-50% abv I would say

‏I tweeted: It tastes old, leather armchair, polished wood, pile of old books on the leather topped desk. Someone had been smoking a pipe in the room earlier. Figgy, walnuts and a nice spicy finish. Now this tastes much higher abv, perhaps cask strength?

‏@Jake1965Blues Seems to sparkle on my tongue. Heavy notes of Sherry or Port, chocolate, dark cake 

I was convinced that Femke had brought something back from The Glenlivet following her recent trip to the Glenlivet School and tweeted: Gotta be a Glenlivet I'd say, drawn from the cask while you were there, the owl? Who knows, not after butterflies on monkey head.

@Girl_Whisky told us it was 50% abv and then gave us some clues in quick succession: It's big and hairy, and This lovely and cuddly whisky contains 50% malt whisky and 50% grain whisky, a great combo! 

‏@Ardbaggie guessed: Sheep dip and ‏@ifotou tweeted Black Bull 30 Year Old? to which ‏@Girl_Whisky replied That could be his father When I nailed it Black Bull 12 Year Old, 50% abv, 50/50 mix of malt and grain whisky 

Whisky Discovery #227

Black Bull 12 Year Old (50% abv)

Blended Scotch Whisky

circa £36.00 70cl

This special blend is a marriage of the finest 12 year old single malt and single grain whiskies distilled in Scotland. The selection of whiskies falls true to the Duncan Taylor ethic of unbridled quality, each whisky from each cask is nosed and tasted before going into the Black Bull vatting. Black Bull 12 Year Old is 50% malt, 50% grain and bottled at 50% abv

Producers Notes

Colour: Full Amber
Nose: Robust, chunky aromas. Chocolate, toffee, sherry, vanilla and lemon sherbet.
Flavour: Smooth, mellow and rounded. Milk chocolate, treacle toffee, pears, green apples and lots of sweet vanilla.
Finish: Some heavier fruity notes emerge, and lots of creamy notes coming through.
Comment: A very creamy whisky with a lot fruity toffee notes.

Verdict: Once again this goes to show that this blind tasting game certainly isn't easy, but it was great fun and got the senses working hard. Only a couple of points for me on this one, lucky guesses I think, though I still haven't worked out where the owl fitted in!

Check out @Girl_Whisky on Twitter, Facebook and her website to find out when the next event is being held.

Posted by Dave

Whisky Discovery #224

Forty Creek Port Wood Reserve NAS (45% abv Lot 061 Bottle #5247)
Canadian Whisky
Not available in the UK (yet)

Photos courtesy of @WhiskyLassie

So onto the final tasting in this first experience of Canadian Whisky, and hoping I've saved the best to last! When I received the five drams from @Whiskylassie I lined them up and arranged them in colour order, and this being the Port Wood was the darkest and so was destined to be the final dram of this series.

I've been hoping to get a hold of some Forty Creek as there has been a lot of good things being said in the whisky forums that I've been reading so was pleased when Johanne included this Port Wood Reserve, a limited edition, which sold out almost instantly the first time this was released.

The Forty Creek distillery was started by winemaker John K. Hall in 1992 in Grimsby, Ontario, After being a for over 20 years, John decided he needed another challenge, being a whisky lover and seeing no one in Canada was enhancing the heritage of Canadian Whisky. Whilst the Scotch whisky makers were promoting their single malt whiskies and Bourbon whisky makers were beginning to develop & promote small batch bourbons. John noticed that over the years, the craftsmanship of the Canadian spirit was being lost amongst distillery closings and consolidations. In the mid 1800’s there were over 200 whisky makers in Canada yet today Forty Creek is the only independent whisky maker in Ontario.

Forty Creek treats each of their grains individually; fermenting, distilling and ageing each grain separately to highlight the best characteristics of each grain. This brings out the fruitiness and spiciness of the rye, the nuttiness of the barley, and the heartiness of the corn, John says "the mash bill concept doesn't make sense to a winemaker. Wines are vinted by individual varietal to bring out the best taste characteristics from each grape type. Corn doesn't taste like barley, and rye doesn't taste like corn, so why mix them altogether at the beginning of the process?" 

Today, in Canada, all whiskies are column distilled, but it wasn't like that in the 1800’s when whisky makers used copper pot stills. Conversion to column stills came about when whisky taxes were imposed. Forty Creek favours copper pot stills as you would find in Scottish single malt distilleries. Pot stills capture not just the alcohol but also the flavour.

Port Wood Reserve is made in the same style as all Forty Creek whiskies. No mash bill is used, the varietal whiskies are aged separately, and once completed, they are brought together for marrying. The Forty Creek blend was thenaged in the vintage port wood barrels for another two years prior to bottling.

John makes his own vintage ports, made from Niagara grown grapes and aged in white oak heavy charred barrels. There were just 6,600 bottles filled.

So what did I think?

As I said earlier this was the darkest of the five drams sent from Canada, and is a rich copper colour. It's rich and luxurious, with thick legs clinging to the nosing glass. The nose is just divine, and seems to go on evolving in the glass. As soon as you've identified one component something new flashes before you. Toffee and butterscotch, sweet sherried fruits; black cherries, plump raisins figs and dates and some rich candied orange peel. Vanilla and cereal grain notes then spicy rye, but wait there's more! Tobacco and dark chocolate notes, just glorious!

On the palate I was immediately reminded of an aged Oloroso Sherry. Beautifully balanced with the rich sherried fruits coming out in force; juicy black cherry and raisins, port is evident too with a slight tannin 'tartness' that keeps the honey and toffee sweetness in check. The finish is long with peppery spice heat, yet at the same time it's sweet and very mouth watering, before a hazlenut and/or coffee bitterness lingers.

This was definitely the best of the five Johanne traded with me, but each has been a great experience. I can honestly say I've thoroughly enjoyed each one and certainly want more than the 50ml teaser I've had of each. 

Many thanks to Johanne and Graham of The Perfect Whisky Match for sharing these whiskies with me and for introducing me to Canadian Whisky, check out their blog, it's a great read and for the oracle on Canadian Whisky take a look at Davin de Kergommeaux's fabulous website, simply named Canadian Whisky 

Whisky Discovery #223

Caribou Crossing Single Barrel NAS (40% abv)
Canadian Whisky
Circa £50.00 75cl

Photos courtesy of @Whiskylassie

The fourth of the five dram sample swap with @Whiskylassie and the first one of the five that I have found to be available in the UK! (at the time of tasting it was for sale on The Whisky Exchange Website).

However to find out a little more about Canadian Whisky I stumbled upon Davin de Kergommeaux's fabulous website, simply named Canadian Whisky where I quickly learnt that this whisky was part of the Sazerac empire, and found out a great deal about the brands they represent and/or own, which includes Buffalo Trace among many others - go check them out it might surprise you! Anyway drilling down I eventually found Caribou Crossing on their website:

There they state that Caribou Crossing is the world’s first single barrel Canadian whisky, selected from their finest whisky available from an inventory of more than 200,000 barrels. The whisky has been patiently aged in oak for many years to give it a rich and complex yet smooth flavour Each barrel is then bottled individually with expert care and skill under rigorous quality standards.

They go on to describe the unique features in being the world’s first single barrel Canadian whisky, and it's bottle being 'a beautiful nod to its Canadian heritage with its maple leaf topper and blue wax seal'. I must admit the photos Johanne has sent are favbulous and the 'over-the-top' cork stopper is a work of art!

Maple Leaf Stopper!

So What did I Think?

Well I found this to have a really resinous softwood nose initially, the sappy resinous smell of the sawn soft wood in Wickes (other DIY stores are available). The spicy rye notes came next, along with the vanilla and butterscotch, maple syrup notes that I was starting to become accustomed with. There was also a 'figgy' fruity note, and still is in the empty bottle

The palate was smooth, soft and creamy with the vanilla and maple appearing from the nose, and then quite a lot of peppery spice takes over quickly. To me the nose gave a great deal more away than the palate, but then I only had what would be considered a 'double' in the UK so I'm not sure I had the chance to really get to know this expression. Davin certainly found a lot more in his notes, but like he says, these are single barrel whiskies, and so while the flavour profile will be similar, they could quite different between barrels. It wasn't disappointing and I enjoyed the experience, I just found it not nearly as rich as the nose had initially suggested.

It all seemed to be over a little too quickly, quite drying, a nutty dryness like eating too many hazlenuts, with a little rye spice. The empty glass has a soft toffee fudge note along with the sappy resin note from the beginning.

To get the full story of this whisky I would recommend that you check out Davin's page on this expression, as he has done a great deal more research than me, this link will take you straight there: 

Whisky Discovery #222

Centennial Limited Edition 10 Year Old (40% abv)
Canadian Rye Whisky
Not available in the UK (yet)

Photos courtesy of @Whiskylassie

Continuing my Canadian Whisky education with the third from the five dram sample swap with @Whiskylassie. It wasn't easy to find out about this whisky, they really are keen on keeping it all to themselves! While savouring this dram I also had the opportunity to actually meet up with both Johanne and Graham from The Perfect Whisky Match blog through the wonders of Skype and discuss my thoughts while we were both sipping the same whisky, from the same bottle - magic! Anyway, talking to Graham and Johanne I learned that this expression is made by a relatively unknown Canadian Distillery, Highwood Distillers, based in Alberta

The distillery was founded in 1974 and originally operated under the name ‘Sunnyvale’. In 1984, it was renamed ‘Highwood Distillers’ after the famous river and region that surrounds the distillery in the foothills of Western Canada’s beautiful Rocky Mountains. Until 1997, both the distillery and sales offices were located at the distillery in High River, Alberta. Today, the sales team operates out of Calgary, Alberta while the distillery continues to thrive and grow in High River. After nearly 40 years Highwood Distillers is now one the largest independently owned distilleries in Canada, producing a number of Canadian whiskies as well as Gin and Vodka. It's also a sub-contract distiller who'll do whatever you ask them to.

So What Did I Think?

Centennial Limited Edition 10 year old is a Canadian Rye whisky, but uses wheat in the mash bill with the rye to give a smoother, richer taste.  Their website says that this is created in small batches, and go on to say a great deal of attention is given to the selection of grains – wheat lends to a gentle sweetness, rye a spiciness, while corn delivers a robust body.

The nose immediately has those spicy, dusty rye notes - almost chalky, and I had to dig a little deeper to bring out the sweetness of honey and caramel from it, but when it does release itself, it comes across as rich, dark sweetness, like that of dark cherries.

On the palate it started with a juicy mouth-watering sour note, as though it's cleansing or preparing the palate for what's about to come next. Sweetness of honey and caramel, smooth and mellow, before the spicy rye kicks in near the end, leaving a peppery tingle on the tongue.

It's smooth and mellow right through to the finish, there's a light bourbon note near the end amongst the sweet spicy finish.