The Macallan Tweet Tasting

This was the official Tweet Tasting launch of the 1824 series of Single Malts from The Macallan. Four new expressions based upon colours with no age statement replacing the current 10, 12 and 15 year old single malts. I was really pleased to get the opportunity to taste these again, as although I was at the UK launch when brand ambassador Joy Elliot introduced them at April's Midlands Whisky Show I really wanted to revisit these.

The package from The Macallan was one of the best I've known in the Tweet Tasting series and had enquiries from enthusiasts the moment I posted a photo of the set on Twitter. I've since seen these sets on auction sites fetching incredible values. Mine is now fully emptied and safely stashed away, although open to offers!

The Macallan's whisky maker, Bob Delgarno has created each of the expressions by identifying the natural colours created during maturation in the different cask types and putting them together to create the character of each of the colours. As you progress up the range the whiskies, the colour becomes richer and the flavours more intense. 

All of these expressions are naturally coloured, no E150 has been added to achieve them, it has all been achieve by cask selection, which just shows what can be achieved by careful cask management.

Whisky Discovery #391

The Macallan Gold NAS (40% abv)

Speyside Single Malt

circa £35.00 70cl

The Macallan Gold was released in late 2012, in fact I think it was first seen at The Midlands Whisky Festival last September. This is the entry level single malt of a series of colour-themed bottlings introduced to replace the distillery's age-statement expressions. Gold has been produced from 9 to 15 Year Old first fill and refill sherry casks and replaces the now obsolete 10 Year Old Sherry Oak and 10 Year Old Fine Oak expressions.

So What Did I Think?

Nose: This opens with lots of vanilla and lemon notes. Sultanas and honeydew melon are in the mix with a light linseed oil note too. After a short while in the glass sweet wood notes develop which were almost apple wood like to me. A drop of water really brings out the fruit; sultanas and raisins in a cake mix.

Taste: Smooth, creamy vanilla and some spicy ginger adding to the candied lemon peel and boiled sweets.

Finish: There's a good shake of pepper leaving the tongue and roof of the mouth tingling for a short while leaving the taste of sultanas behind while turning dry with the oaky tannins

What did the others think?

@mattveira: Fresh nose. Big hit of lemon citrus, then orange peel & soft sweetness of sorts. This sweetness doesn't eliminate the zest.

@WorldWhisky: Fresh and fruity nose. Summer in the glass! Citrus, apple, some acacia honey

@steveprentice: On the palate it retains the lightness that you found on the nose, it's easy on the palate, smooth and easy drinking. A little youthful tasting with summery grass notes alongside oaks and chocolate sprinkles. There's a pinch of spices, also green apples and other autumn fruits at the tail end.

@mynameisgone: Palate getting some chocolate mingling with the fruits now, still loving that dash of pepper that comes through.

@dvdbloke: Palate - Smooth and clean. More fruit on the palate than in the nose. Some Vanilla, apples, pineapple, with a peppery development. Very light and easy to drink.

@DramStats: Palate: Sweet early with fig rolls and milk chocolate, caramac bar and sultanas before it gets a little spicy

Whisky Discovery #392

The Macallan Amber NAS (40% abv)

Speyside Single Malt

circa £45.00 70cl

Next in the 1824 series range is Amber which again has been matured in a mixture of first fill/refill sherry casks but with a higher proportion of European Sherry Oak in the make up. 

So What Did I Think?

Nose: Slightly richer than the nose of 'Gold' with the citrus notes becoming more orange like. There's a late summer meadow floral quality initially which richens with fruits, apples and sultanas complimenting the orange notes. As the nose develops in the glass vanilla pushes through with creamy toffee.

Taste: This is very smooth and creamy. Whilst opening with a gentle sweetness, soft pepper and ginger spices build, before fruit takes over with stewed apples, sultanas and raisins. The palate comes across as more 'rounded' than the Gold.

Finish: A fruity sweetness at first, more of those sultanas, this turns quite dry at the very end. Very drinkable

What did the others think?

@dvdbloke: Nose. similar, but more fruitier a nose than the gold. Apple, pineapple, lemons all up front.

@DramStats: Amber Nose: Vanilla, sherry soaked sultana, orange oil, lemon balm and freshly chopped braeburn apples

@ChrisWhiskyman: Hints of polished wood, raisin, sultana and a touch of grass

@whiskywardrobe: Nose is more Macallan; sultanas, oranges, wood and honey. Impressive!

@TheWhiskyWire: mmmmm toffee apples & lemon citron tart.

@abbeywhisky: Tropical fruits and toffee coming through the warmer the whisky gets... More vanilla, hints of almond

Whisky Discovery #393

The Macallan Sienna NAS (43% abv)

Speyside Single Malt

circa £66.00 70cl

Sienna follows Amber both in depth of colour and price. The alcohol content has been increased to 43% abv too. Sienna has been matured in first fill only sherry casks. Containing older matured spirit that the first two expressions, and produced in smaller batches.

So What Did I Think?

Nose: A much heavier sherry influence immediately apparent, then overripe pineapple and orange oil, spicy too with cloves and cinnamon while vanilla trys to push through the cream sherry notes of raisins and dates. There is a 'dusty book' note to this too. With a little air polished wood is picked up

Taste: Rich and creamy, the sweet oloroso sherry notes coming through with figs, dates, dark chocolate and some cloves, white pepper builds around the periphery of this rich and creamy 'experience'. It finishes with more Oloroso Dulce notes making my mouth water yet at the same time the back of the tongue is drying. The finish is longer and the dryness has a sherbet edge

What did the others think?

@whiskywardrobe: Figs? Raisins? Orange zest? Spices? Awesome? Aye!

@ChrisWhiskyman: Touch of baked apple but a fresher edge. Hints church incense and violets

@whisky_facile: Clear red fruits, and very creamy: toffee, banoffee pie!, tarte tatin. A bit of pipe tobacco and nuts

@dvdbloke: Time gives some polished mahogany, leather, some tobacco. Its a beauty alright, chocolate orange. Scrumptious.

@TonyWTC: Smooth and luxurious. Wood spice kicks in and takes it through to the end

@steveprentice: On the palate this dram is still silky smooth, medium oils in your mouth with just a sprinkling more of spice, mostly due to the slight hike in ABV, which is a welcome thing (although still quite low for the price point). Hold it on your tongue and the spices dissipate leaving the buttery creaminess that you found on the nose, it's rich plum pudding with a small dollop of vanilla ice-cream that's all melted down.

Whisky Discovery #394

The Macallan Ruby NAS (43% abv)

Speyside Single Malt

circa £118.00 70cl

Matured in only the finest first fill Sherry casks, and containing the oldest spirit in the 1824 Series Ruby is the darkest and most expensive of the new range.

So What Did I Think?

Nose: Again starts dusty, Oloroso sherry is evident but not as sweet as Sienna. Rich dried fruits, notably figs and candied peels, spiced with cloves, and notes of tobacco with a trace of menthol.

Taste: Starts sweet and quite gentle, spices build, with pepper and ginger, all the time getting richer and darker. Cloves take over as it gets richer then the wood notes start to come through, old polished wood. The finish is long lasting reflecting many of the flavours experienced with the polished wood notes staying to the very end.

What did the others think?

@DramStats: This is what good first fill oloroso is all about

@FrazerJ: Nose rich fruit, slight nutty-esque.. /maybe coffee/coca edge? nose is best so far for me.

@whiskywardrobe: For me this one isn't so sherried... brown sugar, oranges, spices, cinnamon and woody

@BeckyPaskin: Taste: Figs, caramel, rich fruit cake, tobacco, cinnamon. Yum.

@caskfinishcom: Palate Ruby starts with a sweet and gentle taste with pepper and ginger getting richer and rich together with the citrus

@steveprentice: On the palate there's an instant hit of oak that quickly subsides into fizzy fruitiness, late autumn to winter fruitcake type notes; hedgerow fruits stewed for pudding with lashings of vanilla custard.The oak then returns on the finish, which is long and brooding, a full and frank fruity mixture that I love

Verdict

My favourite of the four expressions when I first tasted these in April was Sienna and revisiting these again during this tweet tasting affirmed my earlier decision. Whilst all four are exceptional quality whiskies the balance of Sienna certainly appeals to my palate more than the other three, and is the most likely addition to my Whisky shelf later this year. 

If was was going to pick a second bottle it would be Amber, a very drinkable dram without breaking the budget. I really struggle to justify spending over £100 on a bottle of Whisky.

And finally....

As per previous Tweet Tastings there was a great deal of tweeting going on and to see what happened search on the #TheMacallan1824 hashtag on twitter for the full story. Ok so no new discoveries but an opportunity to revisit four new expressions and write some proper notes down.

A massive THANK YOU to Steve Rush at @TheWhiskyWire, Brand Ambassador Joy Elliott and all the team at @The_Macallan and of course the tweet tasters who were:

@TheWhiskyWire @WhiskyDiscovery @KirstyPryde1 @sjjgo @BeckyPaskin @LRWhisky @rodbodtoo @dvdbloke @steveprentice @TonyWTC @abbeywhisky @mattveira @simon_m_field @bumpythechemist @FrazerJ @mynameisgone @ChrisWhiskyman @rlemkin @dramstats @hoftj @whisky_facile @worldwhisky @caskfinishcom @whiskywardrobe

For more information see: www.thewhiskywire.com and www.themacallan.com

Four single casks from Hunter Laing & Co. Ltd.

Four single cask samples arrive at Whisky Discovery HQ

Hunter Laing and Company was formed when the brothers behind Douglas Laing & Co Ltd. decided to split earlier this year. Stewart and Fred Laing went their separate ways commercially in May 2013 after running the company they inherited from their father more than 40 years ago. The brothers are now at the helm of two separate business featuring key roles for their respective children.

Stewart Laing has been joined by sons Andrew and Scott in their new venture, Hunter Laing and Co. Ltd. Retaining half of the original companies brands including Old Malt Cask, Old & Rare, Douglas Blend, John Player Special and Sovereign as well as it's bottling operation in East Kilbride.

Samples of four of their latest single cask releases were sent to me recently, three from their Old Malt Cask range and one from their Sovereign range.

Old Malt Cask is probably one of the most established brands in the single cask market. Invariably bottled at 50% abv, each expression is non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. 

Whilst releases are regular, being from single casks, the number of bottles available are of course, limited, being dictated by the original size of the maturation cask, and the 'Angels Share'. These releases are also spread amongst a number of retailers.

The Sovereign range does what Old Malt Cask does for Single Grain Whisky which looks to be bottled at natural cask strength.

I decided to sit down one evening and run through the range in age order, I'm an engineer and I need order, so this is the order they were listed in the Liquid Log.

Whisky Discovery #520

Old Malt Cask Braevel 15 Year Old (50% abv)
Speyside Single Malt Whisky
Price TBC 70cl

The Braeval Distillery is located in the Speyside region of Scotland, currently owned by Chivas Brothers Ltd (Pernod Ricard). Founded in 1973 and originally called Braes of Glenlivet until 1994, it also went through a short period (2002-2008) of being closed or mothballed.

There are no official bottlings from this distillery with the whole production being used for blended Scotch. Independent bottlings come up from time to time, and this refill hogshead cask was filled in September 1997, and just 309 bottles have been released.

So What Did I Think?

The nose opens with a slightly charred wood note before settling down with sweet baked apples and lemon zest. Malty biscuit notes develop, not unlike Malted Milk biscuits, which is followed by vanilla creams.

On the palate this is not quite as sweet as the nose was suggesting, but has some lovely crisp pear flavours intertwined with the malty biscuit notes. Citrus flavours, more Mandarin orange than lemon pushes through while gentle cinnamon spice fleets across the taste buds. As the cinnamon fades a faint charcoal notes returns at the very end.

Whisky Discovery #521

Old Malt Cask Mortlach 18 Year Old (50% abv)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Price TBC 70cl

The Mortlach Distillery is another Speyside distillery and in terms of capacity is of a similar size to Braeval. Own by Diageo, Mortlach is a key component of their blended Scotch and in particular Johnnie Walker Black Label. The are no current official releases from Mortlach and so single cask releases are the usual route for the whisky connoisseur.

This 18 Year Old was distilled in June 1995 and matured in a refill hogshead yielding just 279 bottles when bottle in June 2013

So What Did I Think?

A sweet rich and malty nose with hints of dark chocolate right from the start. There are some sweet citrus notes alongside creamy vanilla toffee, Demerara sugar and honey. I love the sweet richness of this nose.

Matching the sweet nose, the palate meets expectations. It's rich and creamy and oh so smooth. Opening with the sweetness of honey, the woody peppery spice builds before revealing notes of malt, tangerines and chocolate.

Whisky Discovery #522

Old Malt Cask Ledaig 20 Year Old (50% abv)

Island Single Malt Whisky

Price TBC 70cl

Ledaig is an odd one. Firstly it's not pronounced how it reads, Led-chig is a little closer, and is Gaelic for the original name for the area, apparently meaning 'safe haven'. Secondly the Ledaig Distillery is now known as the Tobermory Distillery. 

Founded as the Ledaig Distillery in 1798, the distillery was finally closed in 1975 following filing for bankruptcy  When it reopened in 1979 it was renamed Tobermory after it's location and is the only distillery on the Hebredian Isle of Mull.

Ledaig unlike Tobermory is distilled form heavily peated malted barley and reintroduced in 1996 when it was decided that they would recreate the old style of Tobermory Single Malt.

This 20 Year Old Ledaig was distilled in March 1993, matured in a refill hogshead and yielded just 162 bottles in June 2013.

So What Did I Think?

The nose is surprisingly light sweet and fresh. I was expecting a much mustier nose for a 20 Year Old, but this feels remarkabley lively. Sweet fresh green wheat and barley fields in warm summer sun come to mind, fresh beansprouts, quite herbal and 'hedgerow' like. Not the peaty monster I was initially looking for. Vanilla eventully breaks through but I was finding sherbet sweets; Refreshers and Flying Saucers.

While starting light and thin on the palate, it seems to noticeably 'thicken' in the mouth. sweet and malty, like chewing sprouting barley, turning creamy with vanilla, baked apples and lemon zest. Towards the end it turns more malty and woody with some pepper spice.

While I was initially expecting the Ledaig to be peated, it is certainly evident form my notes that the malted barley used in this distillation was not.

Whisky Discovery #523

The Sovereign Cameronbridge 23 Year Old (50% abv)

Single Grain Whisky

Price TBC 70cl

The Cameronbridge distillery is said to be the largest of the grain distilleries in Scotland. Now owned by Diageo, Cameronbridge is no longer solely a large-scale grain Whisky distillery, being changed into a dual purpose site in the late 1980's manufacturing Grain Neutral Spirit for white spirits and sweetened products (Gin, Vodka and other flavoured spirits and liqueurs).

Ordinarily the grain spirit distilled and matured in oak is used in their blended Scotch but occasionally casks are matured for a considerable time resulting in long aged single cask releases such as this 23 Year Old, distilled in 1990 and bottled at cask strength in June 2013.

So What Did I Think?

The nose is very 'Bourbonesque' with vanilla, Demerara sugar, cloves, cinnamon and white pepper. There is just a hint of coconut too. On the palate again you could quite easily think you were sipping a Bourbon, the faint coconut notes picked out on the nose becoming more prominent. The spices build with cloves being the dominant flavour, remaining smooth and creamy with vanilla and more coconut  until rich, woody pepper spices close the experience, leaving a tannin dry mouth feel.

And Finally

Many thanks to Hunter Laing & Co Ltd for getting in touch with me and sending me these four samples. I've seen Old Malt Cask releases in a few Whisky shops before, but these were the first  I'd tasted on this journey to date. My favourite of these four would be the Mortlach.

I've not been able to find any of these releases for sale yet, hence prices TBC. Whether these are still available or yet to reach the shelves, I'm not certain.

To find out more about Hunter Laing & Co Ltd. check out their website  www.hunterlaing.com

Balcones Tweet Tasting

I was very fortunate to be invited to join the Balcones Fifth Anniversary Tweet Tasting at the end of August. Although I'd tasted all of these before (and you can find out what I thought of them then by clicking this link), it's always good to join in with a tweet tasting and read what others think as they nose and taste the drams.

Kat and I helped out Balcones at Whisky Live earlier this year, so have had the great fortune to meet Chip as well as revisit all of the drams we'd previously tried. One of the 'secret' drams he brought over to the UK at Whisky Live was his 5th Anniversary Bourbon albeit that the official labels didn't arrive in time (or got held up in customs) and so the bottle had a packing tape label.

We first saw the 'real' 5th anniversary Bourbon at Imbibe Live in June and have been eagerly awaiting it's release.

Both Chip Tate, President and Head Distiller at Balcones and Winston Edwards, Brand Ambassador joined us from the United States and were tweeting in on the action and on hand to answer any questions.

Just for the record, all 100% of Balcones whisky is mashed, fermented and distilled at their distillery. They never resell whisky from other distilleries or source aged whisky barrels for blending under the Balcones label. This is authentic craft whisky. It has not been chill-filtered, coloured or otherwise unnecessarily tampered with to ensure that its full aroma and flavour are preserved.

Whisky Discovery #346

Balcones #1 Texas Single Malt NAS (52.7% abv)

Texan Single Malt Whisky

Circa £75.00 70cl

This was the first Balcones we would pour at Whisky Live (if requested to run through the range) before we'd introduce the Blue Corn whiskies. This was first released in July 2011 and is a unique style of malt whisky, Texan style! Made from malted Golden Promise barley imported from the UK and made in the traditional way it would have been in Scotland right up through to the distillation process. The difference being the maturation; Balcones careful cask selection and management alongside the Texan climatic conditions.

So What Did I Think?

The nose on this has lovely sweet roasted malt notes, with hints of maple syrup and the smell of a wood shop. After a short while buttery notes start to evolve like butter melting in a frying pan. A drop of water really sweetens this nose and let's the fruit notes out, toffee apples and a little cinnamon 

The rich roasted malt notes come through on the palate, spiced with cloves and cinnamon. The wood shop notes come through as sawdust 

What did the others think?

@abbeywhisky: Nose soft vanilla, honey, chestnut stuffing, toasted malt, sweet orange zest, dried figs & a touch of maple syrup followed by hints of spice, cinnamon & nutmeg.
@ansgarspeller: Dark nutty raisin bread, with some almonds and pistachio. Sugar cane, vanilla, citrus, toast, sweet, pear, apricots, orange
@RLemkin: Sweet mixed fruits, cinnamon, something that reminds me of velvet.. so a wee bit musty?
@HMcnee: Malt, sweet, honey, candied orange peel, mixed spice almost like a rich fruit cake
@StewartCraigon: Mmm, creamy chocolate swirls in a pool of honey and orange jus.
@dvdbloke: Palate - oily, silky, burnt toffee/barley sugar. Certain creaminess, nutmeg spices and a dash of honeyed chilli.

Whisky Discovery #321

Balcones Baby Blue NAS (46% abv)

Texan Corn Whisky

Circa £55.00 75cl

This was the first Balcones we tatsed and it was Chip’s first whisky released from his new Texan distillery. Baby Blue, was the first whisky to be distilled (legally) in the state since prohibition.

This is a unique corn whisky made from atole, a roasted blue corn meal. Corn whisky isn't new, and common to American whisky making tradition, however Balcones are the only distillery to date to use a blue corn. This has become a favourite of Kat

So What Did I Think?

I've smelt the roasted blue corn as Chip brought over a bag of the stuff to Whisky Live, and as soon as I start nosing this dram was reminded of it. But as this starts to breathe the melted buttery notes start sneaking out with the slightest hint of well caramelised banana. It has a lovely sweet buttery nose.

At 46% abv I really don't think Baby Blue needs water. There's quite a lot of wood spice and some chilli heat on the palate at first, but this settles quickly, leaving an earthiness that I don't remember experiencing previously. It certainly doesn't taste as sweet at the nose suggests, however I think this would be perfect drizzled over vanilla ice cream, freezing the whisky first to thickened before pouring

It finishes with the earthiness and some aniseed, while being quite dry

What did the others think?

@MavDrinksCat: Whoa, momma. Baby blue is super creamy on the nose... 
@thomas_speller: Fat, salted butter, herbal and spicy too on the nose...
@StewartCraigon: Boiled milk from a saucepan on the nose, very malty, Ovaltine.
@TheWhiskyWire: Hot buttery sweet corn topped with autumn berry jam, yumzy! 
@emilymayfox: Palma violet hint with spice and pepper on the palate - bounces around your tongue!
@rodbodtoo: Baby Blue has a really soft, round mouth feel. burnt / creme brulee flavours, lovely.
@KirstyPryde1: Taste the oils on the tongue. Definitely has the chew factor 

Whisky Discovery #348

Balcones True Blue 100 NAS (50% abv)

Texan Corn Whisky

Circa £68.00 70cl

Out of the Balcones expressions currently available in the UK, True Blue 100 is my personal favourite. If the True Blue Cask Strength was available, I'd pick that, but this is the next best thing!

Introduced in 2012 this is 100 proof roasted blue corn whisky, a sibling of Baby Blue, but with deeper wood notes. it's made from the same select barrels of their blue corn whisky that have always gone in to their True Blue Cask Strength, but diluted down to 100 proof.

Since the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, '100 proof' has long stood for quality and authenticity. True Blue 100 carries on that tradition. 100% of the whisky in this bottle was born, raised, and bottled at Balcones-from mash to glass.

So What Did I Think?

True Blue is Baby Blue that's grown up, a lot spicier on the nose, with a little sourness too, an almost Balsamic sourness, with richer wood notes, clove oil, tee tree oil, coriander seeds and fennel . After a little while in the glass the sour note mellows, and becomes more tobacco like, drying tobacco leaves, sweetened with vanilla .

On the palate there is a woody char with a shot of licorice, but there's so much more. Wood notes remind me of the old boatyard I used to work at. 

Finishes with woody cloves and a slightly metallic taste

What did the others think?

@rodbodtoo: nose is suave, smooth. Like very expensive aftershave - lots of cedar & clove notes
@dvdbloke: Baby Blue with added OOOMPH. If it were possible to breath carameled treacle toffee I guess this is what it would feel like
@BeersIveKnown: Furniture wax, crème caramel and white pepper
@TheWhiskyWire: A Spinal tap version of Baby Blue with all its gargantuanly glorious blue corn bounty cranked up to 11.
@KirstyPryde1: Warm figs drizzled in honey, spicy, cloves touch of cinnamon, warm washing from the tumble dryer, vanilla
@petedrinks: Ppretty damn tasty - rich alcohol-soaked fruit, chocolate, slight tannic finish

Whisky Discovery #355

Balcones Straight Bourbon (53% abv)

Texan Corn Whisky

Circa £65.00 75cl

As I mentioned earlier I've tasted this a few times and have been dying to get my hands on some. It was one of the highlights of Whisky Live London for a lot of people.

Chip decided that he should be marking the distillery's fifth birthday with the launch of something special and this Straight Bourbon is claimed to be Texas's first single barrel Bourbon release.

US Federal standards state that Bourbon is made from a mashbill that is at least 51% corn. This Balcones Bourbon is 100% Blue Corn

Bourbon has no minimum specified duration for its aging period, and spirit aged for as little as three months can be sold as bourbon. However to be called a 'Straight Bourbon' the spirit must be matured in virgin oak for a minimum of two years

Just 10 bottles from the 53-gallon barrel will be made available in the UK from mid-September with an RRP of £95 through whisky specialist Master of Malt.

So What Did I Think?

This packs a punch on the nose, you need to sneak up on it! It really is quite meaty on the nose, and was getting a burnt bacon note, maple syrup and a sweet wood smoke. Earthy notes start to come through once the initial alcohol burn lifts, spices with cardamom seeds, cloves, licorice and some mown hay notes too.  

The palate opens with rich spiced orange notes followed by a huge hit of chilli pepper heat. Once the burst of chilli pepper fades it thickens in the mouth, coating everywhere with a sweet and sour sauce. Softer spices follow, with some dark fruits, black cherry, blackberry turning earthy towards the end with the earthiness of turmeric right at the very end.

What did the others think?

@simon_m_field: Wow, the aroma is quality, very oaky and reminds me of a famous bourbon I wont mention !
@petedrinks : Dried citrus fruit, almond, molasses and did I mention a lot of alcohol
@KirstyPryde1: Sugar almonds wrapped in soft organza, musty like a vintage dress, warm hay, crème Anglais, star anise
@abbeywhisky: An inviting nose, pulls you in.... orange, touch of smoked wood & spice followed by dried pear, apricot & subtle vanilla
@BeckyPaskin: Bold and creamy with punchy toasted almonds, dried fruit and warm liquid caramel
@ansgarspeller: A full body, with a finish of some nuts, cinnamon, dark chocolate and coffee. has a bit more of a bitter in it then the 1st

Whisky Discovery #345

Balcones Brimstone NAS (53% abv)

Texan Corn Whisky

Circa £65.00 75cl

Brimstone was launched in May 2011 and rather than using Scottish peat smoke, this 'one of a kind whisky' is smoked with sun-baked Texas scrub oak using Balcones own secret process. The result is a whisky full of fresh youthful corn and light fruit notes married with a bold smokiness.

Whether you like smoky whiskies, or just have a penchant for big, new flavours  Brimstone is sure to be memorable pour. Aromas of masa (a corn dough), Texan camp-fire and powdered sugar tempered with an almost salty goodness. Bold yet balanced, Brimstone is yet another Texas first from Balcones. Brimstone is the world's first wood smoked whisky ... a Texan camp-fire in a bottle. This is another of Balcones corn whiskies made from roasted Atole, the Hopi blue corn meal.

So What Did I Think?

When I first tasted it I got it immediately, all the BBQ sauce flavours, but once I picked up rubber on the nose these come straight to the fore for me every time I revisit. This evening was no different and it was like new school plimsolls! A drop of water tames the Brimstone rubber and the sweet and smoky BBQ flavours are back, perhaps that was where i was going wrong? 

This has such an insanely long finish that it's only place in a whisky tasting is the final dram as the smoky flavours will overpower everything else afterwards. If you have a few drams of this late into the evening I can almost gaurantee that I will wake up still living with the finish!

What did the others think?

@KiltedMoose: Nose: Smoking wood, honey-cured bacon, burnt salted popcorn, Dry roasted peanuts, dark chocolate, brown sugar.
@dvdbloke: Imagine pig skin was barbecued for 100 hours, and then its essence was magnified by the power of 7.6, and put in the glass
@glasgowgastro: Getting that smokey aroma, a bit peaty like some malts. 'Smokies' from Abroath (smoked haddock to non-natives)
@lvwhsky: Pretty unique stuff, Big mesquite woody note, sticky barbecue sauce, clove/allspice fragrance & an orange note
@rodbodtoo : Black pepper, sezuan pepper, barbequed aubergines. Wow that's a different beast
@thomas_speller: A strange combination of thoroughly baked bacon, burned matches and honey on the palate. Not sure yet...
@abbeywhisky: Lovely spice & BBQ sauce flavours combine. Smoked ham, hint of salt. licking the edge of a really salty but tasty crackling
@KirstyPryde1: Can't get enough of the smoke, I love that there's a little rubber on the palate

And finally....
As per previous Tweet Tastings there was a great deal of tweeting going on and to see what happened search on the  #BalconesWhisky hashtag on twitter for the full story. Although no new Whisky Discoveries to log, another entertaining evening revisiting the Balcones range currently available in the UK

A massive THANK YOU to Steve Rush at @TheWhiskyWire, Chip Tate and Winston Edwards from @BalconesWhisky, Emily Harris @emilymayfox from Mayfox Communications for sending out all of the samples to us and of course the tweet tasters who were:

@TheWhiskyWire @emilymayfox @beckypaskin @WhiskyMavericks @TheWhiskyBoys @LRWhisky @WhiskyDiscovery @Sherry_Ben @petedrinks @whiskyrepublic @abbeywhisky  @ardbaggie @beersiveknown @SquareMeal @rodbodtoo @dvdbloke @simon_m_field @rlemkin @HMcnee @paulnwright @glasgowgastro @KirstyPryde1 @TWLJoe @ansgarspeller @girl_whisky

For more information see: www.thewhiskywire.com and www.balconesdistilling.com

Whisky Discovery #451

Kilchoman 2007 Single Cask (60.9% abv)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Sadly No Longer Available

I came across this discovery via #TheDramOGram,  the follow-up to our #12Blends Tweet Tasting hosted by Tom Thomson of Toms Whisky Reviews. Whilst the 12 blends was immensely entertaining it was very time consuming and seemed to take up almost all of my spare time over the first 12 days of April this year.

#TheDramOGram was a similar blind tasting event, but this time each of the participants were required to send a single dram to their chosen recipient, while receiving just the one blind dram. All notes and guesses were to be tweeted on the day/evening/night of 31st May. Unfortunately it didn't quite happen with the 'togetherness' of the 12 Blends, and so while I thoroughly enjoyed my blind dram from +Gal Granov I didn't feel the connection we all had when we were all tasting the same whisky at the same time.

I made myself a tasting mat and posted the photo above on Twitter at the start of my tasting. As I made my mental notes I decided to scribble them onto the tasting mat, so I could post a' before' and 'after' photo while I tweeted my notes to Gal.

So What Did I Think?

The finished tasting mat - complete with scribbled notes, wild guesses and an empty glass

From the instant I opened the bottles I was very happy The medicinal Islay peat nose is a particular favourite of mine and it was immediately reminding me of SMWS 127.31 'Right of Passage' a dram tried at the London lounge just before we left for Whisky Live

On opening the bottle I thought could this be Ardbeg? (mostly because Ardbog Day was the following day) but this was way peatier! With my first sip, I was thinking that there couldn't be much more peat left in Islay with the levels in this dram. It was hitting all the right spots for me.

I thought I would try to determine the abv while scribbling my notes, but thought it might be difficult with the peat levels so dominating. I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol burn or the peat smouldering in my mouth That I was experiencing. I'd recently learnt of the 'bubble test' and by comparing that with other samples on the shelf this was putting it at around 45-46% abv yet my mouth was saying 60%!

• Nose:  Intense peat at first, earthy; stable straw, bracken, heaps of pepper, maritime notes; salty with some hemp rope. Recharging the glass I was getting spent coffee grounds too. With water, the first few drops enhance the earthy notes. Some sweetness trying to punch through the pepper.
• Taste: Initial sweet hit turns salty immediately followed by intense pepper which fades to peat smoke. With water the sweetness found neat lingers a little longer, the peppery spice is not so fierce, but over all a very similar profile.
• Finish: Is very long with peppery peat smoke, lightly salted with charcoal.

With SMWS 127.31 'Right of Passage' the 10 Year Old Port Charlotte (bottled at 64.2% abv) on my mind I was torn between an Ardbeg and a Port Charlotte, and my wild guess was Port Charlotte PC8 an 8 Year Old bottled at 60.5% abv - it fitted with my thoughts

The reveal was a pleasant surprise. Although I was checking out Kilchoman releases on one of the well known whisky retailer websites I had dismissed them for the Port Charlotte. I must get some Kilchoman on my whisky shelf soon!

Slàinte! Dave

Whisky Discovery #507

Tomatin Cù Bòcan NAS (46% abv)
Highland Single Malt Whisky
circa £43.00 70cl

I was delighted to take part in the Twitter launch of new release from the Tomatin Distillery last night. The small package arrived at Whisky Discovery HQ at the end of last week, elegantly wrapped in a black velvet pouch with just a short message on a tag tied around the neck reading. 'Join us on Twitter for the exclusive unveiling 3/9/13 at 7pm @Tomatin1897'

Initially I thought that I would miss this as I'm flying to Aberdeen this week and mistook my days thinking I would be at the airport, but I'm flying later today. However a mini crisis at work just before I was about to leave meant that I missed the first half hour of the launch, and had to quickly catch up from the moment I entered the door.

Cù Bòcan is the new release from the Tomatin Distillery, a lightly peated single malt (15ppm) matured in a combination of Virgin Oak, Bourbon and Sherry casks. Yes, another 2013 release of a single malt matured in virgin oak - was there a huge surplus a few years back of virgin oak, that a persuasive salesman managed to offload at a number of the Scottish distilleries?

I guess it must have been a risk at the time, maturing the distilled spirit in virgin oak casks when ex-bourbon and sherry casks were the norm. However the experiment seems to have worked and virgin oak casks look like they're here to stay.

So where does the name Cù Bòcan come from? 

It is Gaelic, but has a very loose translation, This is because nobody knows exactly what Cù Bòcan is! It could be a dog, but the last wolf in Scotland was also killed near Tomatin which has led to some speculation.

Cù Bòcan has stalked residents of the remote Highland village of Tomatin for centuries, his legend embellished by the hellhound's increasingly fractious behaviour.

Sightings are rare, once in a generation, always terrifying. A distillery worker, out walking late, was once relentlessly pursued by an imposing black beast, steam spiralling from flared nostrils, teeth bared.

Compelled beyond all natural reason to feel the hound's dense fur he stopped and reached out, hand trembling, only to see the ghostly spectre - Cù Bòcan - dissolve before his eyes leaving nothing but a vacuum of deathly silence and an inky blue cloud of smoke, soon spirited away across the peat moorland… 

Cù Bòcan is available from today and will be batch released as Tomatin only produce 60,000 litres of whisky per year at the moment. It's bottled at a respectable 46% abv and non-chill filtered

Official Tasting Notes:

Nose: You are initially hit with coconuts and cream with some botanic notes, parsley and coriander.  The smoke emerges after a minute, but only drifting past the nose.  A mesmeric mix of lime, grapefruit and tangerines with rich almond and aniseed.

Mouth: Initially feather light, followed by a honeyed smoke; toasted almonds.  The rich spice of cloves, cinnamon and star anise create an enigmatic elegance.  Imagine a café latte with fresh chocolate shavings.

Finish: Light with a hint of sweet smoke. 

So What Did I Think?

My initial impression (remember I'd literally just walked in the door from an hours drive across the Herts, Beds and Bucks countryside) was that this has a sweet fruity nose with a very gentle peat reek. Some honey, heather and a touch of white pepper, which I think made me sneeze! (I did sneeze, but can't be certain that Cù Bòcan was fully responsible) After a short while, vanilla now started to ooze from the glass along with some oak wood.

When I returned to the dram later on in the evening (I had to get something to eat first!) the citrus notes mentioned in the official notes came through for me; Lemons, Limes and Grapefruit, with a heather and herbal element too

Spicy on the palate with a fair smack of chilli and white pepper, but once the fire subsides this is getting very creamy. There is a vanilla sweetness behind the spiciness with woody pencil shavings and a light fragrant smoke.

The finish came across as spicy with more white pepper and then that gentle fragrant smoke remains to the very end.

What did the others think?

@abbeywhisky:  Nose; Sweet smoke, lemon & grapefruit zests combined, slight nutty hints

@BarryMBradford: I'm getting sweet pear drops and peanut and creosote and a hint of lemon, like cough mixture on the nose

@steveprentice: Nose: Buttery, light and distinctly Tomatin in nature, but with a back note of smoke. A light highland smoke, not a heavy coastal Islay peat smoke. Vanilla and fresh citrus notes.

@WorldWhiskyDay: Nose: Lemons + cinnamon powder + honey. Then a little bit of tobacco smoke appears. Its not overly complex but it smells great!

@ChrisWhiskyman: Honey becoming lightly floral with a touch of sweet spice. Very elegant

@LaCaveDeCobalt: First sip is so nice… and punchy, but not so strong on the palate. You can feel the peat, fresh but not smoky.

@whiskytutor: Toffee hazelnuts/amaretti biscuits palate: medium-dry with good weight quite rich toffee/coffee and dark chocolate

@ifotou: Taste; Sweetness and a touch of smoke and lots of sweet manuka honey, vanilla and a hint of almond paste.

@LRWhisky: Second taste, Loving the chilli spiciness - not overpowered though. Well balanced

@steveprentice Finish: A medium length helped by the creamy oils leaving their sweetness over your palate. Whiffs of smoke hang around for a while reminding you that they're there.

@yoavgel Medium length finish, spicy, not oak heavy which is good thing. peat is there in the back of the mouth, good harmony

And finally

Many thanks to Tomatin for inviting me to this launch new release to review. You can find out more at the Cù Bòcan website cu-bocan.com and you can also find them on Facebook facebook.com/cubocan

Slàinte! Dave