May 2014

Laphroaig for Father’s Day & Graduation

/ / Richard's Blog, Scottish Whisky

We recently received a feature request from the folks at DBC Public Relations for a Laphroaig feature leading up to Father’s Day and Graduations. Well we love Laphroaig over here at Whisk(e)y Apostle so it was a no-brainer. Over the next few days we will feature reviews of several expressions provided to us for review including:

  • Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength
  • Laphroaig Quarter Cask
  • Laphroaig Triple Wood
  • Laphroaig 18 Year

Again, in full disclosure we were provided the above bottles for review but that in no way impacts our reviews.  Additionally, we’ll pull an old bottle of Laphroaig 15 Year from the dusty Whisk(e)y Apostle bunker for comparison to the 18 Year that replaced it.   That one we paid for and sadly it’s the last one we have. 🙁

Laphroaig is spearheading their campaign with the cask strength expression of their 10 year old.  Here’s a little piece from them on gifting Laphroaig this season:

I wanted to share info on a great Scotch that dads and recent grads (21+ up!) will love.

  • Laphroaig 10-Year-Old Cask Strength is a strong, peaty single malt Scotch bottled straight from the barrel and only barrier-filtered to remove remnants of American oak barrel char. Both fathers and graduates will appreciate the thoughtful gift of Laphroaig 10-Year-Old Cask Strength – deserving Dads will be able to enjoy a classic and unforgettable Scotch, and Grads will be given the chance to start a worthy Scotch collection.
  • Your gift will also keep dads and grads in good company, considering that Laphroaig’s most famous patron is recognized by the distinctive coat of arms, which is proudly carried on every bottle. In 1994, HRH Prince Charles personally came to Laphroaig and gave his Royal Warrant — which is especially fitting for Laphroaig, as His Royal Highness is the present “Lord of the Isles.”
  • Lastly, you’ll be giving more than the world’s #1 Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky! Each bottle of Laphroaig contains a lifelong gift: a unique code inside the bottle allows recipients to register as a Friend of Laphroaig and receive a lifetime lease on one square foot of land on the island of Islay, right next to the distillery.

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Glenlivet XXV

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

The Glenlivet XXV Single Malt Scotch Whisky
46% ABV
$300 to $400
Website
glenlivet XXV
What the Distillery Says:
Character: The intense and opulent one
Colour: Rich amber with ripe gold hues
Nose: Dark chocolate with scents of dried sultanas
Palate: Silky, sweet and caressing with cinnamon notes
Finish: Incredibly long, rich and balanced

Craft facts
The XXV is a batch-produced whisky finished in individually selected ex-sherry butts.

The Oloroso-soaked oak imparts a nutty spiciness and enriches the flavour of the expression.

Each cask is individually monitored in the finishing process to ensure only the subtlest sherry tones are added to this intense, silky and elegant whisky.

What Matt Says:
Nose: Burnt sugar, candied orange zest, and an antiseptic note reminding me of an enclosed public pool.
Palate: Very smooth and elegant. Aged like a refined elder statesman. Vanilla, mint around the edges, and sherry stand out but the oak jumps forward first. A very strong woody flavor (very different from an aged bourbon) that is evident of the time spent in the barrel. The viscosity is very nice and in that “just right” zone that isn’t too viscous or too dry.
Finish: The finish is nice. This is where the sherry really asserts itself. The front half of my tongue is all sherry and the back half is all vanilla.
Comments: When you talk about a whisky being too easy to drink this is definitely what you’re talking about. You could easily go through this bottle and not notice.
Rating: Must Try

What Richard Says:
Nose: Nice sherry plays into caramel, vanilla, toffee crisps, a bit of licorice on the back end, and that luscious combination of aged tobacco and old leather you get from nowhere but old scotch.
Palate: Orange marmalade, more old leather, fine pipe tobacco, with a nice oily texture. It’s better mouth feel than I would expect from chill filtered scotch.
Finish: Dry and clean with a mild tannic and white pepper bite playing with the wood.
Comments: Regular readers will know the history of my bottle. Going through the notes again I can of course see how this disappeared off my shelf. This is a delicious dram and anyone fortunate to have the opportunity to try it most definitely should.
Rating: Must Try

Overall Rating: Must Try

For those keeping count this is our 300th review! We’re so happy to still be commenting on whiskey and having all of you take interest in our thoughts. We even managed to bring Matt out of semi-retirement to chime in on this one. Maybe it was offering up 25 year old Glenlivet that did the trick! 😉

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Ron Burgundy Scotch

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Ron Burgundy Scotchy Scotch Scotch Blended Scotch Whisky
Great Odin’s Raven Special Reserve
40% ABV
$20 to $30
anchorman-scotch-600x450
What the Bottler Says:
“I don’t know how to put his, but my Ron Burgundy Blended Scotch Whisky is kind of a big deal. Named in of me, award winning anchorman, poet, and Scotch aficionado, Ron Burgundy. This exceptional blended Scotch whisky contains grain and mature malt Scotch whiskies from Speyside, Highlands and Islay. The result is a complex rich fruit flavor and long finish. I hop you enjoy this smooth Scotch whisky as mush as I do. And remember…Stay Class!”

– Ron Burgundy

What Richard Says:
Nose: A hint of sherry and wet dog.
Palate: A little too sweet with a medicinal back note but not offensive. Bland really.
Finish: Short and young.
Comments: Wow, this did not suck nearly as bad as I thought it would. Let’s face it, if you’re buying this it is solely because of the movie gimmick. That said, this could’ve been really rot gut stuff but it’s not bad. It’s not particularly good either but it’s not offensive. Are there plenty of things you should spend your money on rather than this? Yes of course. However, if someone gives you a bottle like they did me [thanks Matt] then you can find something to use this for. Mixed drinks, Scotch sours, or that fourth Scotch of the night.
Rating: Average

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Compass Box Great King Street New York Blend

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Compass Box Great King Street New York Blend Blended Scotch Whisky
46% ABV
$55 to $70
great king streetny_large_0
What the Blender Says:
GREAT KING STREET, the Blended Scotch whisky specialist brand launched by the Compass Box Whisky Company, has announced they will launch next month their NEW YORK BLEND, the first of the brand’s Limited Release regional blends.

Compass Box founder and Great King Street whiskymaker John Glaser explains: “We were approached by the New York WhiskyFest last year asking us to debut a new whisky at this year’s festival, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to start a series of regional blends, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. What better place to begin than New York?”

Glaser has long been inspired by the old Scotch whisky blending houses of 120 years ago who commonly made different blends for regional tastes. He has also been inspired by the ways in which blends were made in this period, delivering far more flavour than those of today. These things have formed the basis of his whiskymaking approach for the Great King Street brand.

For the New York Blend, Glaser made two key discoveries that inspired this one-off, limited edition bottling. One was an ancient New York Times article describing an 1890s bartender named Patrick Duffy who was responsible for instigating the importation of branded Scotch whisky in glass bottles for the first time into New York. Second, was an old Scotch blend recipe from a Glasgow blending house from the same era. Glaser fashioned a blend based on the old recipe and dedicated the bottling to Duffy, and the New York Blend was born.

What sets this Great King Street blend apart from Scotch whisky blends of today is flavour. The New York Blend uses lots of peaty single malts, plenty of sherry cask-aged single malts, and a much higher proportion of malt to grain whisky (80%/20%) than is typically used today (generally 30%/70%).

The Great King Street “New York Blend” was launched on Saturday, October 27th, 2012 at the New York Whisky Fest at the Marriot Marquis hotel in Manhattan. Only 1,840 bottles are being released and it will be available primarily in the New York metropolitan area and via the Compass Box Whisky Company web site. Glaser plans more Great King Street regional blends in the future, but for now he is mum about the details of where or when!

What Richard Says:
Nose: Big doses of peat and sherry. It’s like an Aberlour – Laphroaig love child.
Palate: Surprising sweet punch up front. Sherry, ripe stone fruit, and dark berries all served with brine.
Finish: A nice slow smokiness playing around the wood. A Broadway encore!
Comments: Bam! This resembles it’s Great King Street stablemate in name only. This is a large, arrogant, and muscular blend. It grabs your attention and gets in your face…not unlike some other New Yorkers. An answer to the Johnnie Walker blues? [wink] No doubt!
Rating: Must Try

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Glenmorangie Companta

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Glenmorangie Companta Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
46% ABV
$90 to $110
Website
Glenmorangie-Companta-big
What the Distillery Says:
Inspired by Dr Bill’s travels across France’s greatest vineyards and the friends made along the way, Glenmorangie Companta (Scots Gaelic for ‘friendship’) is a refined balance between bold spice and rich, smooth sweetness; the result of a careful assemblage of spirit extra matured in Grand Cru casks from Clos de Tart and those of a lusciously sweet fortified wine from Côtes du Rhône.

“The smaller vineyards of the region don’t seem to worry about yields, costs, or timings. They work tirelessly, simply to produce the very best wine. In the same spirit as Glenmorangie, they stop at nothing in the pursuit of perfection.

“This shared philosophy inspired me to create the ultimate tribute to my longstanding love for French vineyards and the friends that I’ve had the pleasure to make throughout my travels.” – Dr Bill

Non chill-filtered

Aroma: On the nose, Companta exudes rich, ‘autumnal’ scents of red berries and damp forest floors, with a hint of fragrant woodsmoke complementing notes of aromatic, nutty oak.
Taste: Upon tasting, a spicy palate redolent of cherries and stewed fruits is slowly revealed, as notes of sugared plums, blood orange and rose-hip syrup emerge alongside milk chocolate and brown sugar.
Finish: Companta lingers on with a rich, mouth-coating finish.
Colour: Cherry red

What Richard Says:
Nose: Leaf compost. Like if you pile up your fall leaves in the corner of the backyard and go digging in it in the spring. Agitate it a little and it opens up to a rich nuttiness with a nice sherry note.
Palate: Light sweetness that slowly builds to a rich more molasses flavor with hints of berry jam. This is very viscous.
Finish: Long, wet, musty oak.
Comments: Looking back over my notes on this one it doesn’t look like it would be good but really it is. 🙂 I was weary of this expression because probably my least favorite Glenmorangie ever was the old Burgundy wood finish but this one works very well. Nice balance and very earthy.
Rating: Stands Out

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