Stands Out

Ardbog

/ / Islay, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Ardbog Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
52.1% ABV
$100
Website
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What the Distillery Says:
The name Ardbog was chosen to highlight the peat bogs of Ardbeg’s island home Islay and the part they play in the whisky making process. The unique peat bogs contain highly aromatic plants that when used to dry malted barley gives Ardbeg whiskies their distinctive smoky flavour.

Ardbog has deep, enticing waves of pecan nuts, salty toffee & caramels, fudge, leather and a distinct whiff of herbs, lavender and violets. The smoke is soft and aromatic, and is interwoven with savoury notes, like Iberico ham (de bellota) and olives.

Tasting Notes:
Colour: Deep ochre
Aroma: Deep, enticing waves of pecan nuts, salty toffee & caramels combine with fudge, leather and with a distinct whiff of herbs, lavender and violets. The smoke is soft and aromatic and is interwoven with salty, savoury notes, such as berico ham and olives. The addition of water brings forth herbal, perfumed notes, smoked rhubarb, aged balsamic vinegar and some salty, ‘graphite’ notes reminding you of the Manzanilla cask element.

Taste/Texture: A full, oily/tingly mouth feel leads into a powerful, salty, savoury burst of flavours including salted cashews and peanuts, clove, aniseed flavoured toffee, green olives and a curious hint of anchovy. A long, lingering aftertaste, in which the classic Ardbeg sweetness (like a hint of maple syrup) is kept in check by oak tannins, clove and coffee grounds.

What Richard Says:
Nose: The peat weaves through but there is a sweetness that takes center stage. It’s kind of a nut-cream sweetness playing with the smoke and salt. There is also a menthol like effervescence that reminds me or Proraso.
Palate: The way this is bottled is the first thing that stands out to me. The flavors are a little reserved at first but the mouthfeel says this isn’t chill filtered and bottled well above the “standard” 40/43 of most malts. There is a nice rich oiliness to it that I really like. The flavor is an interesting interplay of savory and sweet. Fried salt pork with a dark chocolate mole maybe. There is also a weird minty and herbal thing going on. It’s like a Ricola cough drop and a wintergreen breath mint had a baby.
Finish: Minty, smokey and salty. It’s got a bit of hang time but I wouldn’t call this a long finish.
Comments: This is one of those whiskeys that I have a hard time reviewing because while I respect what’s been done it also not really my cup of tea. I in no way think that I have the market cornered on good taste in whiskey. Ardbog doesn’t do it for me but there are a lot of parts here that I can see would appeal to a lot of people.
Rating: Stands Out

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Alexander Murray Dailuaine 16 Year

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

Alexander Murray & Co Dailuaine Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 16 Years
40% ABV
$45 (Costco Exclusive)
Website
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What the Bottler Says:
Dailuaine Distillery is found in the heart of the Speyside Region near Aberlour. Only 2% of Dailuaine Distillery whisky production ends up as a Single Malt. It is also a key component in all the Johnnie Walker Blends. Alexander Murray & Co brings you this rare bottling of Dailuaine Single Malt Distilled in 1997. It has been matured in Oak Casks for 16 years. This gives our single malt a sweet vanilla nose, followed by a sweet, creamy butterscotch taste and a long soft-spiced fruit finish. Perfect for an after Dinner Drink.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Sweet vanilla cream and honeysuckles. As the nose opens it becomes a bit more herbal and grassy yet retaining the back sweetness almost like a Ricola cough drop but much better.
Palate: The palate is a bit thin (probably due to the low bottling proof) but the rich sweetness hits you out of the gate. Vanilla whipped cream on butterscotch pudding. Around the edges is a little hint of prickly spice.
Finish: There is a distinctive malty note before settling to slow mellow oakiness.
Comments: This is another private bottling by Alexander Murray for Costco. They’ve done a few of these over the years and they also do the Kirkland Signature bottlings and bottlings for Trader Joe’s. This isn’t a mind blowing malt but it is tasty and easily drinkable. I wish it was at 43% or 46% and unfiltered. I think then a nice oiliness might show through that would be great with the rich sweetness. If you are a scotch drinker and happen into a Costco it’s worth grabbing a bottle of a rarely seen malt at this great price.
Rating: Stands Out

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Thomas H. Handy 2014

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey / ,

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey – 2014 Release
64.6% ABV
$75-80
Website
thomas-h-handy-sazerac-rye-whiskey-2014-release
What the Distillery Says:
Named after the New Orleans bartender who first used rye whiskey in the Sazerac Cocktail, this uncut and unfiltered Straight Rye Whiskey is bottled directly from the barrel, just as it was over a century ago. Full of rich flavors, this authentic American rye whiskey is a symbol of the timeless history of New Orleans and the legacy of Thomas H. Handy.

TASTING NOTES: Powerful, lush, and boldly spicy. Flavors of toffee, fig cake, and candied fruit, followed by mint, cinnamon and clove. The finish ultimately reveals subtle notes of allspice, coconut and nutmeg. Long and warm.

What Gary Says:
Nose: Toasted orange zest and mango, cinnamon, nutmeg, warm banana nut cookies with toasted oak.
Palate: Christmas; fruit cake; warm pepper spice, stewed raisins, red hots, orange bitters.
Finish: Warms to near hot, but lingers nicely.
Comments: While not a departure from the Thomas H. Handy flavor profile, this one comes across as a bit harsher with more alcohol burn. I compared it to the 2011 release (the only other one I have on-hand) after making my notes, and it definitely has more edge to it – despite being only 0.3 ABV higher. The good news is most of us are not often sipping this next to a previous vintage. Handy has always been a rough and up-front rye whiskey, and it delivers on that – with perhaps a bit more of a bite. If you have been a fan of Handy in the past, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed – and if you’ve never had the opportunity – I recommend giving this one a try!
Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

What Richard Says:
Nose: Mint tea, with a fruitcake scone drizzled with cinnamon icing.
Palate: More fruitcake up front followed by citrus zest, cinnamon, and then a harsh peppery kick in the teeth.
Finish: Whoa hot! It takes more than a few splashes of water to tame this beast. Once the heat dies down it’s much more of a bitter wood flavor.
Comments: Not my favorite rye for sure. The nose is great; the palate isn’t doing it for me but all the components are there to make an outstanding old fashioned. It’s a bit pricey for a cocktail rye and the finish is too off putting for a sipper. I’m not sure what I would do with this bottle if I’d bought it rather than sampled Gary’s bottle.
Rating: Stands Out

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Compass Box The Lost Blend

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Compass Box The Lost Blend
Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$115 to $125
Website
TheLostBlend-Bottle

What the Blender Says:

In 2001, we created our first single malt blend which we called Eleuthera. It was an elegant and simple blend of approximately 80% unpeated Highland and 20% peaty Islay single malts. Alas, after 3 years, we were suddenly no longer able to obtain one of the key whiskies required for the recipe so, sadly, we retired Eleuthera in 2004. Quietly, I have always been looking for whiskies that we could use to bring it back, even if temporarily, but not with any luck. Until now.

“Yes, sir, the stuff was distilled elixir of battle, money and high life.”
From The Lost Blend by O. Henry, 1907

I’ve had a name that I’ve been waiting to use for a whisky project like this—The Lost Blend, inspired by the O. Henry story of the same name. This sharp and witty portrait of life in a New York bar in the early 1900s was published in 1907 and centres around two business partners who try to recreate a blend of different spirits with close to supernatural properties.

Having been blending Scotch whiskies as an amateur and a professional for the better part of 20 years, I can say with confidence that I believe there exist “magic” combinations of whiskies. For me, they are like the whisky blending equivalent of spiritual truths. And what better name to lend to our lost blend, but “The Lost Blend”!
John Glaser, Whiskymaker

Availability: A limited edition of 12018 bottles. Bottled in August 2014.

Flavour Descriptors: An elegantly complex union of two fruity Highland single malts and a peaty Islay single malt. An ethereal fruit and herbal character and a sweetness on the palate is buttressed by an underlying smokiness.

Distillery Sourcing: Single malt whisky (of a certain age) from the Clynelish distillery, and a small cache of extraordinary whisky from the Allt-A-Bhainne distillery, aged in American oak barrels and just a few years shy of two decades old, combined with malt whisky from the Caol Ila distillery.

The Labels: We’ve created three different front label designs all around the same theme: lost items. The whisky behind each label is the same ,and the three labels have been randomly bottled and put into cases, which allows you an additional discovery to the whisky itself: which label did I get?

What Richard Says:

Nose: It is an interesting interplay of sweetness with a smokey peat nose. As it airs out a bit it becomes more herbal.
Palate: Much less peaty on the palate than the nose. It’s more like brined honey chews with more lovely herbal notes.
Finish: Salty and smokey before settling to slow, long honey and herb mix.
Comments: Delicious! I was sad to see Eleuthera go years ago and while this isn’t exactly the same thing it is a terrific whiskey in its own right. There are so many layers and so much nuance to this whiskey that you could contemplate it for days. My notes purposely appear to gloss over specifics because it changes every time I go back. Sometimes the sweetness is honey, then candied pineapple, then peach cobbler. This is a really fun dram to play with and explore.
Rating: Must Try

What Gary Says

Nose:  Soft peat smoke, earthy mineral notes, herbal with fennel and lemongrass, vanilla, honey, subtle fruit notes of kiwi and peaches.
Palate:  Peaches and pears with earthy peat, cracked pepper, honey and a bit of chocolate.
Finish:  Long and drying with pepper, peat and grilled peaches.
Comments:  Reviewed this in a side-by-side with Eleuthera, and by comparison this is more rich and fruity with the intensity turned up a notch. Really delicious dram with a nice balance between the smoke, peat and fruit notes.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Dewar’s Monarch

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Dewar’s The Monarch Blended Scotch Whisky Aged 15 Years
40% ABV
$40
Website
dewars-15-year-blended-scotch-whisky
What the Blender Says:
Known as “The Monarch”. This rare and special whiskey is named after the famous painting, “The Monarch of the Glen”.

In 1851, Sir Edwin Landseer created the famous painting, an instant masterpiece, that depicts a stag in the Scottish Highlands. John Dewar and Sons purchased the painting in 1919 and hung it proudly.

Master blender Stephanie Macleod used the painting as inspiration for this rare and special whiskey.

DEWAR’S 15 Blended Scotch Whisky is a blend of very rare vintage single malt and single grain scotch whiskies. The blend is then married in oak casks for a light, velvety finish.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Rich and floral. Shaved coconut like the bagged kind you find in the grocery store mixed with wildflowers and just a hint of honey.
Palate: In the mouth it has that great Dewar’s custard creaminess. Vanilla flan with toffee crumbles on top. There’s also a bit of fresh cut grass back note to it too.
Finish: The finish a little dry and short. Wet popsicle sticks and a grassy, earthy note. As you continue to drink it the finish gets a little more hint of pepper and spice but again, it is short and fades to the popsicle sticks again.
Comments: I’ve often thought that the Dewar’s slogan should be “Dewar’s, the drinker’s dram.” By that I mean its blends don’t stretch the boundaries of scotch in anyway but they make for pleasant everyday drinkers. Even the Signature if your pocket book allows a $200+ table whiskey. It’s a nice alternative to the Johnnie Walkers (hit or miss as they continue to try new things) and the Chivases (trying too hard to be sophisticated) out there. Dewar’s seems to have more of a consistent soul shared by all their offerings. Plus, at $40 for a 15 year old blend it’s at a great price point.
Rating: Stands Out

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