Scottish Whisky | Whisk(e)y Apostle: Proselytizing the way of the malt

Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend Single Marrying Cask (2018)

January 31, 2020 / Gary / Review, Scottish Whisky / Must Buy

Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend Single Marrying Cask

Selected by The Whiskey Library DC, Scotch Trooper &
Dekalb Bottle House, Cask No 5
49% ABV
$50
Website

What the Blender Says

(Referencing the bottle details):
French Oak Barrel
Married 1/24/2017
Bottled 7/16/2018 (married 18 mos)
192 bottles
The Great King Street range from Compass Box is dedicated to creating contemporary Scotch Whiskies in the full-flavoured style of the great 19th Century blending houses. In creating these blends, we drew upon archive recipes from the golden age of whiskymaking then updated them with our own 21st Century custom cask maturation techniques. The result is a style of Blended Scotch unlike anything else available today.
Bold, Peaty, Sherried

What Gary Says

Nose: Thick peaty goodness, raisins, roasted marshmallows, subtle sea air with baking spices, wisps of barbecue sauce and rubber bands.
Palate: Thick and oily mouthfeel, peat with medicinal notes and dark fruit, vanilla, cinnamon, a hint of curry spice.
Finish: Moderately long, oily with lingering peat and subtle spice.
Comments: Third of these ‘single marrying casks’ I’ve bought, and only regret is not grabbing multiples. While I would buy any of them again given the chance at retail, this is my favorite. Just a lovely, intense, robust whisky with spice notes from the french oak. Compared to the standard Great King Street lineup, the additional proof points and marrying casks make more of a difference than you might suspect.

Rating: Must Buy

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Compass Box Great King Street Artist’s Blend Single Marrying Cask (2018)

January 28, 2020 / Gary / Review, Scottish Whisky / Must Buy

Compass Box Great King Street Artist’s Blend Single Marrying Cask

Dekalb Bottle House Exclusive, Cask No 27
49% ABV
$50
Website

What the Blender Says

(Referencing the bottle details):
American Oak Hogshead
Married 1/18/2017
Bottled 7/16/2018 (married 18 mos)
162 bottles
The Great King Street range from Compass Box is dedicated to creating contemporary Scotch Whiskies in the full-flavoured style of the great 19th Century blending houses. In creating these blends, we drew upon archive recipes from the golden age of whiskymaking then updated them with our own 21st Century custom cask maturation techniques. The result is a style of Blended Scotch unlike anything else available today.
Rich, Round & Fruity

What Gary Says

Nose: Rich, baked apple chips, vanilla, biscuity, rickhouse oak, bits of apple cider spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg).
Palate: Rounded, slightly waxy mouthfeel with apples, pears, vanilla, honey, allspice, nutmeg, a hint of cinnamon give way to freshly cracked pepper.
Finish: Moderately long, damp with building pepper spice and over-ripe pears.
Comments: This is the 2nd Compass Box Great King Street Marrying Cask I’ve bought, and they’ve all punched well above their weight for the money. I had an opportunity to try this at the launch party, and immediately bought one. Unlike private barrels, these aren’t everywhere you look – but I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on one.

Rating: Must Buy

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BenRiach 10 Years Old Single Malt

January 22, 2020 / Gary / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / Average

BenRiach 10 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

43% ABV
$55-$65
Website

What the Distillery Says

Bottled at 43% vol, the BenRiach 10 Years Old is Classic Speyside in character. The cask formula focuses on ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks – exactly the types of wood we favour at BenRiach. This fresh, lively, fruit-laden single malt captures WARM OAK SPICES, GREEN APPLE, DRIED APRICOTS, PEACH and BANANA with subtle touches of ANISEED, LEMON ZEST and BARLEY.

TASTING NOTES
COLOUR: Crisp summer gold.
NOSE: A fresh and lively combination of crisp, green orchard fruits, stem ginger and hints of tangerine mellows to creamy vanilla with a delicate note of mint and a gentle twist of citrus, all held together with a sweet barley back note.
TASTE: Warm toasted oak spices flood through green apple skins and dried apricots, ripening to hints of peach and soft banana. Subtle touches of aniseed and lemon zest create a contrasting edge to the fruit and add an intriguing character to the long, crisp barley finish.

What Gary Says

Nose: Floral and cereal with honeysuckle, apples, pears, peaches, vanilla with a hint of lemon and cinnamon.
Palate: Cereal sweetness with vanilla, honeyed-malt, a hint of spice (nutmeg).
Finish: On the short side, drying with a bit of spice.
Comments: Not objectionable, but a bit uninspiring. I prefer the nose over the palate by a fair margin. While it definitely fits into the Speyside character, it is on the thin end of that spectrum. For the money, I’d go for a Balvenie 12 yr Double Wood or Macallan 12 yr, both of which are within $5 of the same price here in Atlanta – but obviously different strokes for different folks.

Rating: Average

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Tamdhu Dalbeallie Dram

January 9, 2020 / Gary / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / Must Buy

Tamdhu Dalbeallie Dram

62.1% ABV
$160
Website

We would like to thank Paul (check out his reviews here, or on Dapper Drams) for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says

Tamdhu Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky has launched an exclusive limited edition malt, the Tamdhu Dalbeallie Dram, at the 2018 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

The bottling honours Dalbeallie train station, and the part the Victorian railway played in receiving Tamdhu’s precious sherry oak casks from Spain. Dalbeallie Dram is 100% matured in Oloroso sherry casks from Jerez in Southern Spain, bottled un-chill-filtered at cask strength (62.1% ABV). Only 1,000 individually numbered bottles will be made available of Collectors Journey 01 with future limited edition Dalbeallie Dram Collectors Journey releases planned annually for each Speyside Festival.

Carefully chosen by a team at the distillery, Tamdhu Dalbeallie Dram has notes of blackcurrant jam, mint tea and Bakewell tart on the nose, with sherry oak, cream soda, orange and nutmeg on the palate – then a finish of malt biscuit, dark chocolate and cinnamon. Like every bottle of Tamdhu, the rich natural colour comes from sherry casks alone.

Sandy McIntryre, Tamdhu Distillery Manager, said:

Having a new expression of Tamdhu is always exciting, and launching to guests during the Speyside Whisky Festival makes it all the more special. John Glass, our Master Blender, prepared a selection of drams for the team to nose and sample before we decided what we thought would best compliment the current Tamdhu range. We are absolutely delighted with the end result.

What Gary Says

Nose: Rich and thick, chockful of sherry with raisins, plums, dates, figs, clove, nutmeg, allspice, worn leather, old books, pipe tobacco, mixed nuts. A bit of water brings out some caramel fudge and toffee notes along with hints of pears and apples.
Palate: Luscious, rich and creamy with dark fruits, honey, chocolate, anise, clove, walnuts, cherries, and bits of melon. Some water brings out more chocolate with pecans and a bit of caramel.
Finish: Long and gently drying with nutty chocolate and dark fruit.
Comments: Wow. Just wow. This is only the second Tamdhu offering I’ve tried, and damn – this is just as delicious (maybe a touch better – and retailed for roughly half the other!). Easily one of the top three drams I tasted in 2019 (when I started my review notes). This whisky has such a rich and dense flavor, with a thick and creamy mouthfeel. It reminds me a bit of Macallan cask strength (in the glass it has that super-dark color, although a bit more brown than red by comparison), which is one of my favorites. If I had the opportunity to snag one at the $160 it was sold at, I think I’d buy multiples. Sadly unlikely to ever have a chance to buy one at anything close to that (or buy one period). This would be a contender for my Top 5 of all time, with the likes of Compass Box The General (and for those familiar with that dram and me, yes . . . it’s that good).

Rating: Must Buy

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Tamdhu 120th Anniversary Single Cask

January 7, 2020 / Gary / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / Must Try

Tamdhu 120th Anniversary Single Cask #7389

59.3% ABV
Distilled 12/12/2002; Bottled April 2018
European Oak First Full Sherry Butt
603 Bottles (sample from bottle 238)
$342 (SRP £250)
Website

We would like to thank Paul (check out his reviews here, or on Dapper Drams) for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says

Tamdhu Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky has released an exclusive Single Cask Distillery Team Edition, bottled to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Speyside distillery.

Selected by the 15-strong Tamdhu distillery team and bottled un-chill-filtered at cask strength, only 603 individually numbered scarce bottles will be released. Matured in a European oak first-fill sherry butt, the single malt has a smooth, long-lasting finish and a deep natural colour.

To find the cask best suited to mark the momentous anniversary, a range of ages and cask types were selected, including European and American sherry oak, and blind-tasted by the expert distillery team

Sandy McIntyre, Distillery Manager at Tamdhu Distillery, said:

“The distillery team had a lot of fun nosing and tasting nine samples and voting for their favourites. The final top three were then selected for a blind nosing and tasting and ranked by each of the team members to agree on the winning cask.”

The victor was a European first fill sherry butt, which boasts an exceptional natural colour from years of maturing in Tamdhu’s traditional dunnage Warehouse Number Five.

Sandy McIntyre continued:

“This cask is something to savour and enjoy over a prolonged period. I would expect this bottle to be opened on special occasions when you would share a dram, or two, with close friends and family or even just to keep for yourself – selfish, perhaps, but who can blame you!”

Tamdhu is owned by one of Scotland’s leading, independent family-owned distillers, Ian Macleod Distillers. Tamdhu Single Malt is matured exclusively in the finest Oloroso sherry oak casks from Spain, nothing less. This scarce wood bears two great gifts; colour and taste. Tamdhu’s deep natural amber is developed by the cask and each dram owes its rich, complex taste to the wood.

What Gary Says

Nose: Hello sherry bomb! Loads of sherry with raisins, plums, dates, figs, clove, nutmeg, pecans, allspice and hints of cinnamon with wisps of smoke.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel that starts off with rich dark fruit, dark chocolate covered cherries, and sharpens a tad with some pepper; cloves and allspice along with pecans.
Finish: Long and gently drying with dark cherries, smoke and cocoa.
Comments: This is delicious. The first Tamdhu offering I’ve tried, I fear I’ve started at the wrong end of the spectrum. Very rich and intense dram, and an unabashed sherry bomb (if you like that sorta thing, which I do!) One of the best whiskies I’ve tried in 2019, and reminds me a bit of Macallan cask strength. Yes, it is pricey for a 15 yr single malt – and one can argue that any single cask is just as exclusive. For a special anniversary bottling, this is just as special as you’d like it to be. And remember that age isn’t everything; I’ve had 20 yr single malts I liked less than this. A brash whisky that definitely has me looking to explore Tamdhu further . . . which is fortunate as I have another sample from them to get to shortly!

Rating: Must Try

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