Review

SMWSA Cask 85.23

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, SMWSA Whiskies /

SMWSA Cask No. 85.23
Highlands, Speyside (Lossie)
59.4% ABV
Distilled September 1999
$105
US Allocation: Unknown
October 2012 Outturn Release

What the SMWSA Says:
The first notes are typical of ex-sherry wood maturation: lightly sulfury, with struck matches, or as one put it ‘home-made egg mayo with granary bread’. The sulfur notes soon blow off, leaving yeasty, sour pumpernickel bread and baked pecan pie. At natural strength the taste is very sweet, burnt and aggressive. Water re-introduces the sulfur notes, which linger behind burnt toast spread with butter and bramble jelly or plum jam, and later treacle toffee. In the mouth, the texture is thick and smooth, the taste very sweet and slightly bitter, with raw brambles and redcurrants.

Drinking tip: Strolling in an autumnal orchard

What Richard Says:
Nose: Butterscotch and sherry jump way out and overshadow everything else.
Palate: Sweet like dark corn syrup with nutty bread pudding notes.
Finish: Wood sticks to the back of the tongue like glue. Savor roasted meats and a nutty essence on the way out.
Comments: Candy covered whisky? This is a dram for those with a sweet tooth. I myself have a huge sweet tooth so I’m loving this one. Water works well it. It mellows out the alcohol and keeps all the rest.
Rating: Must Try

Review sample provided courtesy of the SMWSA and is available to society members through their website or 800.990.1991.

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SMWSA Cask 26.84

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, SMWSA Whiskies /

SMWSA Cask No. 26.84
Highlands, Northern Highlands
49.1% ABV
Distilled August 1990
$145
US Allocation: Unknown
October 2012 Outturn Release

What the SMWSA Says:
We immediately noted a lightly mentholated effect, then a complex of fruity and woody scents: artificial peach, fruity syrup, varnish, natural liquorice, stripped wood, sawdust, beeswax. The taste, unreduced, is sweet, herbal and fruity (‘lime pith’), with light waxiness and white-pepper spiciness. It takes a while to open up with water, then becomes very fragrant (patchouli and vanilla, meadowsweet and elderflower) and fruity (fruit salad chews, fresh pineapple, rhubarb), with a whiff of snuffed candle. The taste is sweet and waxy; the floral note of jasmine, and the fruity element Juicy Fruit chewing gum and orange pith. The distillery stands adjacent to another of the same name, overlooking the North Sea.

Drinking tip: An early-evening dram in the Highlands, when the rain has ceased.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Lovely notes of heather, wild grass and fresh pine needles. As it opens up little whiffs of peat smoke sneak through. Water brings out a weird fruity varnish smell. I definitely prefer the nose at cash strength.
Palate: Ooh that’s lovely. Honey, vanilla, and wildflowers. Water make it fruitier and herbal.
Finish: The finish is long, lightly peated, bitter, with a flavor of raw wood (think of a toothpick left in the mouth too long). It makes you want to reach for more of the nose and palate.
Comments: I’m betwixt by this one. The cash strength nose and palate are great but it doesn’t close nearly as well. I also don’t really enjoy it with anything more than a drop of water. Good thing it’s under 50% ABV out of the cask!
Rating: Stands Out

Review sample provided courtesy of the SMWSA and is available to society members through their website or 800.990.1991.

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Balvenie Caribbean Cask

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

The Balvenie Caribbean Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 14 Years
43% ABV/86 Proof
$60
Website

What the Distillery Says:
The delicate fresh taste of Caribbean Rum enhances The Balvenie’s vanilla notes in the finishing – whilst adding spicy aromatic qualities to the whisky. Characterised by toffee, vanilla and a hint of fruit.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Vanilla, alcohol dribbled treacle tart, and a roast beef savory note.
Palate: The rum adds a nice sweetness above and beyond the regular Balvenie. Vanilla, honey, and a Cuban guava pastry come to mind.
Finish: The finish starts slow and sweet and builds to a long, dry finish of black peppercorns and oak.
Comments: This isn’t as good as the recent 17 Year Old rum finishes but it is very nice in its own right. Fans of the long gone 17 year expressions and Glenfiddich Gran Reserva might want want to take a look at this one for a less expensive alternative. And in case you’re wondering, this is a whole different animal from the GoldenCask.
Rating: Stands Out

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Onyx Moonshine

/ / Other Spirits, Review /

Onyx Moonshine
40% ABV
$23.99
Website

What the Distillery Says:
Onyx Moonshine is the first moonshine to be produced in Connecticut since prohibition. Our authentic American moonshine is handcrafted in small batches from our very own secret recipe. Extremely smooth and delicious, Onyx Moonshine can be enjoyed:

…on the rocks,
…as an exciting replacement for vodka or whiskey in your favorite cocktails, OR
…to make actual prohibition era cocktails.

Moonshine is a truly American spirit, and while not yet part of mainstream American liquors, it can be extremely high quality and enjoyable.

Enjoying Onyx Moonshine is an experience. It begins with the sweet aroma of honey & apple with spicy wood undertones. Onyx has a delicate flavor with a pillow soft texture giving way to a refreshing hint of botanicals. It rounds out with a full-bodiness and is smooth from start to finish.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Surprisingly un-vodka like. The nose is very bourbon-ish with a hint of vanilla along with fresh cream, granny smith apples, and wildflowers. The vanilla really surprised me with no time spent in wood.
Palate: The palate is almost scotch like in it’s floral notes. Very clean and delicate.
Finish: The finish has just a little pepper pinch at the end.
Comments: I’m an admitted white whiskey hater. I think whiskey needs to hit the wood. Onyx isn’t calling this whiskey though. They aren’t calling it vodka either. It’s a very nice clean spirit that can bring nice flavor to bland vodka cocktails. This is definitely something worth trying.
Rating: Stands Out

I would like to thank the Onyx Spirits Company for providing me with a bottle for review.

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Kilbeggan Distillery Reserve

/ / Irish Whiskey, Review /

Kilbeggan Distillery Reserve Irish Malt Whiskey
Batch No. 2, bottled 9/2011
40% ABV
$60 (Give or take depending on exchange rate)
Website

What the Distillery Says:
For over 200 years, the Kilbeggan Distillery produced some of the finest whiskey in the world. In 1957 the stills ran dry but 50 years later Cooley Distillery, the multi-award winning independent whiskey distiller, breathed new life into the world’s oldest distillery and today, the first new whiskey to be distilled at Kilbeggan in over 53 years was officially unveiled at an intimate gathering at the Kilbeggan Distillery in Co. Westmeath.

The Kilbeggan Distillery Reserve Malt, the latest addition to the Kilbeggan family of fine whiskeys, is produced from the oldest pot still in the world which dates back to 1830. The Kilbeggan Distillery itself was established in 1757 and is the oldest distillery in the world.

The whiskey world has waited in anticipation for half a century for the first new bottling from the historic Kilbeggan distillery. Distilled from 100% malted barley, the Kilbeggan Distillery Reserve, due to the distinctive narrow necks of the ancient pot still design, is an exceptionally smooth and flavoursome Irish Malt whiskey of distinctive character.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Lots of honey and malt play with something similar to a treacle tart. Very, very malty nose.
Palate: This spirit is clean, light and floral with a little cereal around the edge reminiscent of distiller’s beer.
Finish: The finish shows the heat of youth. I think a few more years in wood to tame the finish and it would be quite nice.
Comments: Kudos to Cooley for bottling some of the new whiskey they are making at Kilbeggan. I just wish the whiskey wasn’t quite as new…as in young. It really needs more time in wood, especially given the price they want to charge for it. I’m thinking this Irish girl is barely legal.
Rating: Average

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