Scottish Whisky

SMWSA Cask No. 24.122

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, SMWSA Whiskies /

SMWSA Cask No. 24.122
Highlands, Speyside
53.0% ABV
Distilled September 1995
$120
US Allocation: 120 Bottles
Early August 2012 Outturn Release

What the SMWSA Says:
The satisfyingly fragrant nose offered dried pear, green apple, fruits in syrup, scented soap, light Pernod, vanilla, caramel and dark chocolate gingers; also hints of smoke (from burning paper). The palate conveyed ample sweetness (amaretti biscuits, honey, bourbon creams) but also some quite ‘grown up’ flavours – cinnamon, clove, star anise, chilli, salt, menthol and gunpowder. The nose was much lighter with water – jasmine, daffodil and floral soap, alongside poached pear, creamy dragon fruit, plantains and tree bark. The reduced palate was sweetly fruity, with pleasant lingering Christmassy spices, carrot cake and Rooibos tea. The distillery lies between Aberlour and Craigellachie.

Drinking tip: A perfectly reasonable alternative to afternoon tea.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Dried fruit, vanilla, fennel seed, cherry, oak, cinnamon, and a mild sulfur note.
Palate: It’s orange zest sweet and light. It kind of reminds me of black tea a bit.
Finish: The finish is mildly woody with helpings of dried straw.
Comments: A very nice and pleasant dram but nothing I would call extraordinary. It’s a fine dram to share in mixed whisky company as it won’t offend anyone but they aren’t going to be dying to know what it is either.
Rating: Average

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 No. 3.182

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, SMWSA Whiskies /

SMWSA Cask No. 3.182
Islay, Loch Indaal
46.4% ABV
Distilled August 1990
$145
US Allocation: 60 Bottles
Early August 2012 Outturn Release

What the SMWSA Says:
We found quite a bit of fruit on the nose – tinned pears, passion fruit and ‘someone peeling tangerines in the a recently painted hospital’ – in addition we enjoyed lavender, orange blossoms, patchouli, burnt paper, smoky bacon and well-kept stables – quite complex all in all. The palate had Elastoplasts and gauze bandages, star anise, walnut fudge, honeysuckle, nutty tobacco and baklava. Water brought freesias and parma violets, creosote and peat fires to the nose, while the palate became sweeter, developing slightly burnt treacle tart, sugar cane and dark chocolate coated marzipan with some coconut to finish. The distillery was built in 1779.

Drinking tip: A good barbeque or camp fire dram.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Ooooh creamy smokey yummy. Smoked bacon and ripe orchard fruits. I don’t like what water does to the nose on this one. It makes it a little too vegetal.
Palate: Sweet and spicy at first. Lots of honey. The spice is driving me nuts. I know I’ve had it before. It’s hot and peppery like some kind of southwestern Mex-fusion. Water makes it much more floral and peaty.
Finish: The finish plays out slow to a medium length. That honey sweetness lingers and slowly fades into the ember smoke of a camp fire the morning after.
Comments: After seeing the depth of notes the SMWSA puts out I’m a little intimidated. Well, we’ll see how it goes. 😉 [cough]Bowmore[cough] Honestly, assuming I’m correct about the distillery, this is one of the best glasses of malt from there that I’ve ever had. Very nice. This is a busy whisky with lots going on but you don’t get lost in the mix. It all plays very nicely together. Easily a must try dram.
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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Whisk(e)y Apostle Goings On

/ / Richard's Blog, Scottish Whisky

Some of my content may have seemed a little screwy lately. I started off on run of Irish whiskey reviews and a review of the Old Jameson Distillery coming off of my trip to Ireland. From there I was quiet for a while and then Four Roses, Spicebox, SoCo, and rum reviews popped up. Well, believe it or not I do have a plan in mind respective of when and what I review and what other content gets posted. That grand plan gets a little derailed when I have new product come in. I feel personally obligated to move up reviews of anything I received from producers. They don’t hound me (well some of the PR folks might 🙂 ) but I just feel it’s proper etiquette. That’s what caused the pause in my Ireland segment.

Along those same lines I was invited to be part of a unique program recently and that might delay the rest of my Ireland content just a little longer. Last week I was invited to be a part of the Blogger Sample Program for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America. Was does that mean? Well, plainly put they want me to take a stab at most of the casks they release to their members. For those not familiar with the SMWSA it’s a member’s only organization that sources and privately bottles unique casks at cask strength for their members. For the record I am not a member and I am not pimping for them. Believe it or not I was conflicted about whether or not to accept the offer and if I did what kind of coverage I could provide. Up until now I haven’t reviewed any independent bottlings of single malt scotch. Partially this was because they weren’t as widely available and therefore most of the Whisk(e)y Apostle family might not be able try them. There is also the problem that I lived in Atlanta and now live in Columbia. Georgia and South Carolina aren’t exactly on the short list for most independent bottlers’ distribution. There’s also just so much scotch out there that I haven’t needed to expand into independent bottlings. Really, I’ve still got plenty of the standard line up to review.

So why did I decide to do it? Free whiskey is always hard to turn down. That’s a given. However, it also gives me the opportunity to share part of the wider world of independently bottled scotch with all of you. I’m sure the SMWSA hopes it will drive membership and it probably will. They aren’t known for selecting crap casks. But even with the decision to participate made I was still unsure about what to say. I first considered just reviewing them with tasting notes but giving no rating but that just seemed kind of silly. I want all of you to know what I think about the whiskies and how they stack up to some of the regular stuff you are already drinking. I will however, be tagging the SMWSA reviews as such and giving them their own section in the Review Archive. It would be hard to miss them even if I didn’t. The SMWSA only gives you cask numbers and region of origin by which to distinguish them.

Hopefully, all of you will enjoy the additional content as much as I will. It’s going to keep me on my toes. They release 3 to 5 new whiskies every 3 to 4 weeks. Let’s hope I can keep up! Based on the limited quantities of each cask and frequency of new releases the SMWSA releases will jump ahead of whatever else I’m reviewing unless it is product sent to me by another producer. The first review will post later today and the next three will follow in the next couple of days. I hope you all enjoy!

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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New Releases – March thru May 2012

/ / Bourbon, Other Whisk(e)ys, Scottish Whisky

It seems like this move to Columbia is taking up a lot more of my time than I thought it would. I’m so far behind on Whisk(e)y Apostle content that it’s kind of sad. Well, I’m three months delinquent on new release updates so this will be covering everything I’ve heard about in March, April, and May.

Angel’s Envy Cask Strength
Timeframe: Q4 2012
ABV: 122% to 123%
Price: TBD
This new release from Louisville Distilling will be finished in port pipes just like regular Angel’s Envy but it will be finished for a good bit longer. Typically Angel’s Envy is 3 to 6 months of finishing but the Cask Strength will be soaking up that port goodness for around 22 months. It will be 6 to 8 years old after finishing.

Black Ridge Small Batch
Timeframe: TBD
ABV: 45%
Price: TBD
No details on this one. It was found to be a pending Buffalo Trace release from the COLA online database.

Dalmore Castle Leod
Timeframe: Now
ABV: 46%
Price: $135
This limited edition bottling celebrates the ancient and historic seat of Clan Mackenzie and is the second in a series crafted by Master Distiller Richard Paterson in homage to Clan Mackenzie. The Vintage 1995 expression was matured initially in American white oak and Spanish sherry wood, before being transferred for a final 18 months to barriques from a 1st cru classe Bordeaux chateau.

E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof
Timeframe: June
ABV: 67.25%
Price: $69.99
This barrel proof, uncut, unfiltered rye recipe bourbon was aged for seven years on the sixth floor of Buffalo Trace’s Warehouse C, built by Colonel Taylor in 1881. This release is fourth in the line of E. H. Taylor, Jr. collection of whiskeys.

Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Cask Strength
Timeframe: Now
ABV: 66%
Price: $75
This will be a distillery only bottling.

Elijah Craig 20 Year Old Single Barrel
Timeframe: Late May/Early June
ABV: 45%
Price: $130
This release will be replacing the standard 18 Year Old for a limited time. Apparently Heaven Hill has just too darn much 20 year old bourbon. More likely they had a good portion of the existing 18 that was actually close to 20 years old and they decided they could make a lot more money if they showed the real age on the bottle. Trolling the COLA online database also uncovered labels for 21, 22, and 23 year old one off bottlings that may be in the pipeline.

Glenmorangie Artein
Timeframe: Now
ABV: 46%
Price: $75
This is the newest in the series of Private Editions from Glenmorangie. This one is finished in Sassicaia wine barrels.

High West Campfire
Timeframe: TBD
ABV: TBD
Price: TBD
This is the new release from Dave Perkins at High West mixing bourbon, rye, and single malt scotch!

Jeffers Creek Bourbon
Timeframe: TBD
ABV: 40%
Price:TBD
6 year old release coming out from Buffalo Trace. This one also came out of the COLA online database.

Johnnie Walker Gold Reserve and Platinum
Timeframe: Summer 2012
ABV: TBD
Two in. Two out. Diageo is pulling Green label and Gold label and replacing them with these two priced around the same.

Jura 1976
Timeframe: TBD
ABV: 46%
Price: TBD
New release coming stateside but light on the details.

Mitcher’s 20 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon
Timeframe: TBD
ABV: 55.4%
Price: TBD
Another COLA find.

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel
Timeframe: TBD
ABV: 55%
Price: TBD
No official word. This is another product of COLA trolling.

Southern Comfort Bold Black Cherry
Timeframe: June 2012
ABV: 35%
Price: $16.99
The name kind of says it all. SoCo keeps expanding their stable of flavors to compete in the Red Stag environment.

Two Stars Bourbon
Timeframe: TBD
ABV: 45%
Price: TBD
Another pending Buffalo Trace release. This one is coming out under the Clear Springs Distilling Co. label which is a label that they use for wholesale releases like Costco, etc.

Wild Turkey 81 Rye
Timeframe: Now
ABV: 40.5%
Price: $20
Wild Turkey rolled this out earlier this year. It’s in the same vein as the previous 81 bourbon.

That sums it up. As always, if I missed anything please let me know. I’ll also try to get caught up with all the stuff I want to share the whiskey apostles out there.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Macallan 18 Year

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

The Macallan Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 18 Year Old
43% ABV/86 Proof
$150
Website

What the Distillery Say:
The Macallan Sherry Oak is exclusively matured for a minimum of 18 years in Spanish oak casks, handcrafted and sherry seasoned in Jerez, Spain. This delivers a classic Macallan style, wonderfully rich in colour with dried fruits, spice and chocolate orange.

Colour: Light Mahogany
Nose: Dried fruits and ginger, with a hint of citrus, vanilla and cinnamon
Palate: Rich dried fruits, with spice, clove, orange and wood smoke
Finish: Full and lingering, with dried fruits and sweet toffee, ginger and a hint of wood smoke

What Richard Says:
Nose: A big whopping sherry smack in the face. Very rich. Gingersnap cookies, vanilla, and orange zest.
Palate: Raisins, sherry, Fig Newtons, and little bits of wood and smoke play behind the scenes.
Finish: Meaty and chewy with sweet woody notes.
Comments: Is there a more universally praised dram of scotch? Macallan 18 is no secret. Ask anyone with even a passing interest in scotch to name a “great” scotch and more often than not this will come up. Despite how pissed I continually am as the price of this keeps going up I always have a bottle at home. I remember less than 10 years ago you could buy a bottle for almost half of what it costs now. I don’t think it’s any solace but I will say that I don’t believe you get much incremental return for moving up the range of Macallan beyond this dram. The 25 and 30 year olds are nice but to me this is the quintessential Macallan. What else can I say about Macallan 18 that hasn’t been said by everyone and there brother? Not much. It’s a great dram and a benchmark of sherry oak single malt scotch.
Rating: Must Buy

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