Review: Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2017 by Drinks by the Dram

As they were last year, Drinks by the Dram / Master of Malt were again kind enough to send us one of their Whisky Advent Calendars for 2017 - the "Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar" this year.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, it's basically an advent calendar with the chocolate taken away, and in its place, 30mL samples of whisky! There are more version than you can count over at Master of Malt (Bourbon, Japanese, or some of the rarest Whisky you can possibly imagine? Sorted. Rum, Irish Whiskey or single cask whisky? Covered. Heck, even if your tastes tend towards Mezcal, Armangac or Absinthe, they've got you covered.).

The full list of the Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar can be found below (spoiler alert), but suffice to say it has some pretty varied and wonderful drams, including one at 50 years old! Not bad for the "standard" calendar, at £124.96 (ex-VAT).

• Bowmore 15 Year Old Darkest
• Auchentoshan Three Wood
• Smokehead
• Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition Blended Scotch Whisky
• Glenfarclas 21 Year Old
• Monkey Shoulder
• Glenfiddich Experimental Series - IPA Cask Finish
• Copper Dog
• The Half-Century Blend
• Inchmurrin 12 Year Old
• Riverflow
• Kilchoman Single Cask 524/2011
• Inchmoan 12 Year Old
• Big Peat - Drinks by the Dram
• Singleton of Dufftown 12 Year Old
• Angels' Nectar Blended Malt - Rich Peat Edition
• Wolfburn Aurora Single Malt
• Loch Lomond 12 Year Old
• Port Askaig 8 Year Old
• Glengoyne 15 Year Old
• The Lost Distilleries Blend
• Tamdhu 10 Year Old
• The GlenDronach 12 Year Old
• Peat's Beast 

I've always been a big fan of whisky samples (either professional samples like this, or samples shared amongst whisky mates), and to get 24 of them, over 24 days in such a fun way is something every whisky lover should consider.

As we slowly work our way through the calendar, we hope you all have a wonderful Christmas / Holiday Period, and a very Happy New Year!

Thanks again to Drinks by the Dram / Master of Malt for the generous gift of this "Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar".

Cheers!
Martin.

Master of Malt Advent Calendars return for 2017

Much-loved spirits retailer Master of Malt have again launched their series of advent calendars, covering the full gamut from whisky to gin to cognac to bourbon to (eep) vodka. Prefer tequila, mezcal or Armagnac? They've got you covered too.

The calendars this year span two pages of the MoM site, and again include an incredible £8,333 "Very Old and Rare" calendar (ex-VAT) which includes a 48 year old Karuizawa, 46 year old Balvenie DCS, 60 year old Glenfarclas and many other bottles (OBs and IBs) from distilleries past and present.

We reviewed 2016's whisky calendar here, and found it an incredibly clever and enjoyable way to try 24 drams without having to comit to a full bottle.

The full range of 2017's calendars can be pre-ordered from here now.

Cheers,
Martin.

Review: Whisky Advent Calendar 2016 by Drinks by the Dram

Back in September we wrote about Master of Malt's 2016 Drinks by the Dram Whisky Advent Calendars - still one of the more popular articles of the past few months by the looks of things!

Fast forward a few months, and Master of Malt were kind enough to send us a calendar to review - their "Whisky Advent Calendar".

There are 25 different calendars (covering everything from rum to Japanese whisky to insanely rare whiskies), but the one we received (selling for £124.96 ex-VAT) includes the following drams:

• Glenfarclas 21 Year Old
• The Lost Distilleries Blend
• The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask or The Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak
• Kavalan Concertmaster - Port Cask Finish
• Lagavulin 16 Year Old
• Rock Oyster (Douglas Laing)
• Wolfburn Single Malt
• Oban Little Bay
• Kilchoman Machir Bay
• Fettercairn Fasque
• Buffalo Trace
• Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera
• Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
• English Whisky Co. 5 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)
• Highland Park 12 Year Old
• Mackmyra Svensk Ek
• The Half-Century Blend (50yo)
• Evan Williams Extra Aged
• Teeling Single Malt
• Invergordon 25 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)
• Old Perth Sherry Cask
• Tomatin 14 Year Old Port Wood Finish
• Dalmore 12 Year Old
• Glengoyne 12 Year Old

A solid line-up of Scottish stalwarts (Macallan 12, Glenfarclas 21, Lagavulin 16 etc..) and some great world whiskies too (Mackmyra Svensk Ek, Teeling Single Malt, Kavalan Concertmaster etc..), but what really impressed us was the inclusion of a 50 year old blend - the Half-Century Blend which retails for £499 ex-VAT!

Being somewhat impatient, we may just have the tasting notes for this one up early in December, rather than waiting until the 24th...until then, we're going to work our way through the calendar day by day, starting with a Balvenie 12 DoubleWood. Cheers!

A big thanks to Master of Malt for sending this calendar to review.

Cheers,

Martin.

Whisky Advent Calendars by Drinks by the Dram return for 2016

Last year around this time we brought word of the Drinks by the Dram Whisky Advent Calendars. What started off 5 years ago as a one-off calendar (which I badly wanted at the time, and still do) had grown into a whole range, including a £999 "Old & Rare" calendar.

The range has clearly been well-received over the years, as it's back again for 2016, with a whopping 25 calendars, including the "Very Old & Rare Whisky Advent Calendar" for the princely sum of £9,999.95 (side note: if you live outside the UK, it's only £8333.29)!

The full range can be found here, but you might be curious as to what sort of samples you can find in an (almost) £10,000 calendar.

...unfortunately, Drinks by the Dram haven't yet published the full list of drams, but one look at the press shot (below) tells us we can expect Glenfiddich 40yo (which we tasted all the way back in 2012, funnily enough on Christmas Eve) and Port Ellen 5th Release, which should tell us something about the level of drams. Apparently one of the drams is from a full bottle worth £19,000.

Update: The full list is now available, and wow.... (links are to our tasting notes)

Glenfarclas 60 Year Old, Ladyburn 40 Year Old 1974 (cask 74), Private Cask Collection (William Grant & Sons), Karuizawa 48 Year Old 1964 (cask 3603), Balvenie 46 Year Old 1968 (cask 7293), The Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter One, Yamazaki Age Unknown, Keizo Saji, The Last Drop 50 Year Old Double Matured, Port Ellen 25 Year Old 1979 - 5th Release (2005 Special Release), The John Walker, Port Askaig 45 Year Old, Glenfiddich 40 Year Old Limited Edition, The Balvenie 40 Year Old, The Macallan M, Highland Park 40 Year Old, The Golden Age Blend, Teeling 33 Year Old, Glengoyne 35 Year Old, Auchentoshan 44 Year Old 1966, The Half-Century Blend, The Macallan 42 Year Old 1969 (cask 6860) - The Rarest of the Rare Collection (Duncan Taylor), Pappy Van Winkle's 23 Year Old Family Reserve, Karuizawa 1984 Cask 4021 - Koi, The Glenrothes 1969 (cask 11485), The Dalmore Constellation 1981 - 30 Year Old, Tomatin 1971 44 Year Old.

Does the value of the 24 samples add up to £10k? Quite possibly not. Will people who buy it care? Pretty sure they won't!

To quote the full press release:

"For the fifth year running, the range of Drinks by the Dram Advent Calendars has returned. The selection once again features classics like Whisky, Ginvent and Rum, while exciting new additions include calendars dedicated to Scotch, American, Irish and Japanese whiskies along with calendars full of Glenfarclas Single Malt, independent whisky bottlings from That Boutique-y Whisky Company and Origin Single Estate Gins made with juniper sourced from specific regions all around the world.

The Whisky Advent Calendar was launched in 2012, and has since become a tradition among whisky enthusiasts, letting them count down to Christmas and explore the world’s best whiskies. Each handmade, wax-sealed dram allows whisky fans to sample a new expression, tasting everything from single grain and bourbon to rare Scotch worth up to £600 a bottle.

2016 marks the debut of the Drinks by the Dram Very Old & Rare Whisky Advent Calendar (RRP £9,999.95), developing on the concept introduced by the Old & Rare Advent Calendar launched in 2015. Each calendar is a bespoke wooden box built by hand by cabinet-maker Simon Jewell Designs in Kent, and is available in a walnut or macassar ebony finish. Within every calendar sit 24 individually numbered 30ml drams of some of the world’s most sought-after whiskies, including expressions from long-closed distilleries, a 60 year old single malt and a whisky worth up to £19,000 a bottle.

Drinks by the Dram’s 2016 Advent Calendar range also includes calendars filled with single cask whiskies, mezcal, gin and more. The full range of calendars (listed below) will be available later this month. 

 

Very Old & Rare Whisky Advent Calendar
Old & Rare Whisky Advent Calendar
Premium Whisky Advent Calendar Craft
Premium Whisky Advent Calendar Red
Whisky Advent Calendar Craft
Whisky Advent Calendar Red
Glenfarclas Whisky Advent Calendar
That Boutique-y Whisky Company's Advent Calendar
Single Cask Whisky Advent Calendar
Japanese Whisky Advent Calendar
Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar
American Whiskey Advent Calendar
Bourbon Advent Calendar
Irish Whiskey Advent Calendar
Cognac Advent Calendar
Armagnac Advent Calendar
Rum Advent Calendar
Mezcal Advent Calendar
Tequila Advent Calendar
Absinthe Advent Calendar
Ginvent Calendar
Gin Advent Calendar
Vodka Advent Calendar
Origin Single Estate Gin Advent Calendar
Naga Chilli Vodka Escalation Advent Calendar"

On the slightly more affordable end of the spectrum, the "Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar" appears to include Glenfiddich 18 (tasted here), Talisker Skye and "The Half Century Blend", for £149, whilst the "Old & Rare" (still £999) looks to include Balvenie 30 (tasted here), Glenfarclas 40 (tasted here) and Glenfiddich Excellence 26.

Drinks by the Dram Whisky Advent Calendars are available for pre-order here now.

Cheers,
Martin.

This week in whisk(e)y #26 - Bowmore Mizunara HK release, Christmas Whisky Dinner at Tokyo Bird Sydney, New Hong Kong Bar "Foxglove" & Master of Malt's "Build your own" Advent Calendars

As you might know if you read this blog regularly, we get a fair few interesting press releases and news articles here at TimeforWhisky, and usually try to feature them with our own spin, experiences or comments. Sometimes though, they come thick and fast, and we just don't have time to do them all justice.

So we've decided to take a leaf out of some other excellent whisky blogs, and feature a "PR roundup" every now and then - basically a wrap-up of relevant press releases we've received in the previous week or so (including other interesting whisk(e)y news Steph, Hendy & or I think you might enjoy). So on with it then...

Bowmore Mizunara to launch in Hong Kong
You've no doubt heard about it, read about it, maybe even tasted it - Bowmore's recent Mizunara release, limited to 2,000 bottles globally. NAS (though widely known to contain malts between 15 and ~25 years old), it's created a significant amount of discussion in recent months, partly because it's a little bit unique, being the first single malt Scotch to be finished in Mizunara, aka Japanese Oak (as far as we're aware, Chivas Regal is the only other commercial Scotch whisky release to spend some time in a Mizunara cask, and that's a blend), but mostly because it's really very expensive - £750 to be precise (of course, it's mostly sold out everywhere now, and selling for more at auction...)

Hong Kong will see an on-premise release only, to be available by the glass and bottle from Island Shangri-La's excellent (and recent award-winning) Lobster Bar. 

How does it taste? We'll let you know next week...

Tokyo Bird's Japanese Christmas whisky dinner
Sydney bar and good friends of TimeforWhisky Tokyo Bird (whom Hendy visited back in May) are holding a unique Japanese Christmas whisky dinner on 22nd December, pairing five courses with five Japanese whiskies, spanning different styles, ages and distilleries.

"Over two sittings guests will be served a degustation of five unique Japanese blended and single malt whiskies which are not available in the local market, matched to five courses of izakaya-style food with a festive focus.

The Tokyo Bird bar team has selected five Japanese whiskies from Tokyo Bird’s extensive back bar from both major distilleries – Suntory Whisky and Nikka Whisky – and independent Japanese whisky distilleries to feature at the Christmas Whisky Dinner.

“We wanted to treat our loyal customers and Sydney’s whisky lovers with this unique menu of Japanese whiskies, which you probably wouldn’t see anywhere else in Australia,” said Tokyo Bird bar manager, Yoshi Onishi.

“We’ve picked a varied range which showcases the breadth and depth of Japanese whiskies; including a buttery soft blended whisky from an independent distillery, a uniquely Japanese grain whisky, and then moving on to some heavy hitting pure malt and single malt whiskies, including a World Whiskies Award 2015 winner,” said Yoshi."

Sounds like a pretty great dinner to us.

Date: Tuesday, 22 December 2015
Sittings: 6pm or 8.30pm sitting (6pm sittings must vacate tables by 8.15pm)
Tickets: $135 per person; available via info@tokyobird.com.au. Bookings are essential.
Menu / whiskies / further details: http://tokyobird.com.au/christmas-whisky-dinner-2015



New Hong Kong Bar - "Foxglove"
We received an invite to a whisky event a few weeks ago, and were told it would be at a new, secret bar in Central. The event, to be held next week, is not for your average whisky (fair to say it'll be one of the rarest / most expensive we've tried this year), so we knew the bar was going to be impressive.

Turns out, that bar was "Foxglove", a new bar in Icehouse / Duddell St Central, modelled on a "drinking den of the 1950s", from the Ming Fat Group (known for the excellent "Mrs Pound" in Sheung Wan).

"Set within 4,300 square feet on one floor, Foxglove is one of central Hong Kong’s most exclusive venues.  Travel back in time with our selection of rare cognac and spirits, bottled in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s and aged for as long as half a century. Bottles from defunct distilleries as well as Japanese cask-strength whiskies are also available.

Journey through the decades and taste our iconic cocktails from each era, dating as far back as the start of the 20th century. A carefully crafted cocktail menu pays homage to a bygone time when spirits were king and bartenders revered. Kick back with one of our classic cocktails – the Sazerac – or sip a rare, vintage brandy bottled in the 1930s paired with fine European cuisine. 

The main lounge area is spacious enough to accommodate 80 guests seated. The focal point of the room is a stage, where Foxglove’s resident jazz band and special acts performs live sets every week. For intimate gatherings, a VIP room, inspired by first-class train cabins, offers seating for up to 32 guests."

We love Mrs Pound and we also love old, ancient spirits bottles, so this sounds right up our alley. Full review to follow in December.

Master of Malt Advent Calendars - now you can create your own
We mentioned a few months ago that Master of Malt's Christmas advent calendars were back with a vengeance, and now they've taken it one step further with the ability to "build your own".

With 4,000 drams to choose from, this sounds like a bloody good way to design a custom Christmas present for any whisky lovers you might know (or you know...yourself). Add a few cheapies you've been meaning to try, a few special occasion drams...add it up and away you go.

We had a play with the interface and it's slick, fun and somewhat addictive. Check it out here.

Thats all for this week. Until next time...

Cheers, 
Martin.

PR #29: Master of Malt Whisky Advent Calendars

Hands up who loved the lead up to Christmas as a kid, excitedly opening up their little advent calendar windows, one each day (or more, if you were impatient like me) to get at the chocolate inside?

More than a few of you, no doubt.

You might be grown up now (and if you aren't, you shouldn't be reading this blog!) but that doesn't mean you have to give up the 25 days of joy that an advent calendar brings. Enter - Drinks by the Dram's Christmas Advent Calendars.

I remember a few years ago when these advent calendars were first released - there was only one (or maybe two), and while I really wanted one, I never got around to getting one (I have since sampled many a whisky through Master of Malt's 'Drinks by the Dram' samples however, which form the basis of these calendars).

Fast forward a few years and now there's a whole bunch of calendars - from the basic "Whisky Advent Calendar" (£149.95) to the "Premium Whisky Advent Calendar" (£249.95) and right through to the "Old and Rare Whisky Advent Calendar" (£999.95), which includes goodies such as the 60 year old Speysider (see our tasting notes here), an OB Port Ellen, an OB Macallan 25, an old Glenfarclas Family Cask, a single cask Ardbeg, Brora 35 and more. What a way to spend the leadup to Christmas....

There are even now "Ginvent", Rum and Cognac calendars, and even a "chilli vodka" calendar (the latter we think might be taking it a bit far...). You can see the full line-up of drams in each calendar if you really want to know, or keep it as a surprise.

Calendars are available for pre-order now, with shipping expected by the end of October. The full list of available calendars can be found here.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #200: Master of Malt 60yo Speyside

It wasn't all that long ago that we tried a few 40yo whiskies on this blog (like this OB Glenfarclas, this IB Glenrothes and this OB Glenrothes), and we thought they were pretty special. Not the best whiskies we'd ever tried, but without a doubt special (especially this 1973 Balvenie, hand-drawn by David Stewart just a few weeks earlier).

Then we discovered Master of Malt, and their 40yo unnamed Speyside whisky (tasted here), and even their 50yo unnamed Speyside whisky (tasted here).

Surely a 50 year old whisky would be pretty hard to top, right? Short of winning the lotto (or meeting an incredibly generous, whisky-loving person who did), I thought that would be about the limit for me in terms of well-aged whiskies....

Then Master of Malt released their 60 year old unnamed Speysider.

SIXTY. YEARS. OLD.

Sure, there are whiskies older than 60 years old, but when was the last time you found one that was even close to accessible? They're usually the sort of whiskies you see selling for $20,000+ AUD (~$120,000 HKD) for a bottle, or $1,000+ AUD (~$6k HKD) for a nip in any bar lucky enough to have an open bottle.

Which made this 30mL sample, at £52.93, all the more interesting. I'd wanted to try this for a while, but wasn't too keen to try Master of Malt's high shipping costs for a few sample drams. When a work trip to London came up though, it was on for young and old.... (and by that I mean, I ordered a dram, along with a few others, to my hotel in advance, so it was there waiting for me on arrival).

(For what it's worth, while no-one has published a definitive answer on which distillery this whisky comes from, the general consensus is that it's a Glenfarclas, which would make sense given there are a number of older 'farclas casks out there with independent bottlers. I also got similar notes to other well-aged Glenfarclas releases I've tried in the past, and if you need any further proof, I was told these were from Glenfarclas by, let's just say, someone who would know...).

Master of Malt 60yo Speyside (42.2% ABV, 60yo, Speyside, Scotland, £999.95)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colour: Dark, dark brown copper.

Nose: Wow. Truly a bit of everything going on here. Citrus (limes and burnt orange), spice (pepper), a hint of sulphur, even some juniper! Lots of sour gummy worms (hmm, I got those notes once before...)

Palate: Initially light, but clearly "well-oaked" (read: "overly oaky"). Drying and tannic, with Taiwanese Pineapple Cake, furniture polish, and the slightest hint of smoke. No Citrus like on the nose, but some coconut. Talk about a mixed bag!

Finish: Medium to long. A little smoky. A lot of varnish. Oaky, but not too tannic. Whole oranges.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. Look, for a whisky to make it to 60yo (and still be at least 40% ABV and therefore legally allowed to be called whisky in Scotland) is an impressive feat. Was it the best whisky I've ever tried? No, and I didn't expect it to be. Older does not always mean better. The Nose was A+++ fantastic. The remainder, interesting, but not quite as exciting. All over, it feels like a whisky that would have been in its prime about 10 or so years earlier. But hey, when you're experiencing a whisky that was distilled in the 50s, none of that really matters. It's all about the experience...and what an experience this was.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #50: Master of Malt 50 year old (3rd edition) (#101drams)

Having just tried 80 years of whisky beforehand (40yo Master of Malt Speyside and 40yo 1969 The Glenrothes D/T Lonach), I figured why not continue with the age theme and try the 50yo I've had tempting me for the last month or so (plus making my 50th tasting post a 50year old whisky seemed fitting. Not sure it's a trend that can continue though...)

This also qualifies as the oldest whisky I've ever tried (to date).

Master of Malt 50yo (3rd Edition) (43% ABV, 50yo, Speyside Scotland, £34.77 for a dram)

Colour: Is this really 50yo!? Light golden, not "pale" like the 1969 The Glenrothes, but still very light for a whisky of this age.

Nose: When I think of long-aged whiskies, I think leather, oak, perhaps deep rich demarara sugar notes. On this? Pears - instantly. Stewed apples and some pineapple too. No oak, no leather. Reminded me of a Glen Moray Chardonnay 10yo!

Palate: Blind I'd pick this as a 12-15yo, based on both nose and palate. Light and vibrant, the pears shone through, with some slight oak notes showing at the back of the palate.

Finish: Medium to long, with those oak notes shining through a bit more. Smooth right to the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Certainly a good whisky, and to be honest - about as good as I expected, but I wasn't expecting this to be a knock-my-socks-off, standout whisky, because let's face it, if it was, <mystery distillery> probably would have kept it for themselves right?

Just 130 years of age in 110mL...

Cheers.
 - Martin.

Tasted #49: Master of Malt 40yo (2nd edition) (#101drams)

As I've mentioned on the blog before, Master of Malt run a fantastic sample service called "Drinks by the Dram", with literally hundreds of drams available at very reasonable prices. They're based in the UK, and their shipping costs aren't too friendly unless you're buying a few full-size bottles too (or a LOT of samples), but it really is a great way to try a special dram without forking out hundreds (or thousands) of dollars for a bottle. From Southern Comfort to a 1958 Glenfarclas, if you're keen to try something, it's worth checking out. I've found generally the prices are much better than ordering similar whiskies at Australian bars (if you can even find the whisky at a bar).

I'd been keen to try their 50yo for a while (see tasting notes here), so figured I'd give the 40yo a go too (a ful bottle is $445AUD but the sample is only $22 or so). 

In the interests of being mysterious (and you know, probably protecting the original distillery's reputation and whatnot), Master of Malt don't mention the distillery from which the 40 and 50yo drams come, except to say they're Speyside single malts. I really don't know which distillery this came from, nor will I take a guess, though they do call it a single malt so it's not from a teaspooned* cask (so unlikely to be from Glenfiddich or The Balvenie, who are known to teapsoon the majority of casks they release externally).

On with the tasting then...

Master of Malt 40yo (2nd Edition) (43% ABV, 40yo, Speyside Scotland, £28.24 for a dram)

Colour: Rich copper - not overly dark, but not dissimilar to other 40yo whiskies around this strength.

Nose: As I was expecting/hoping for - complex, with the expected leather and oak notes, but also sesame seeds and fresh laundry! 

Palate: Lighter than the nose suggests. Slightest hints of smoke give way to tangy orange notes, and some residual oak (though not so oaky that I felt like I was chewing an oak stave).

Finish: Oaky and long, but with none of the complex notes I've had on other similarly-aged whiskies. Reminds me of a Glenfiddich 30yo.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. An enjoyable dram, but I wouldn't rush out and buy a bottle at $445AUD.

Cheers.
 - Martin.

* "Teaspooning" is when a small measure of one distillery's malt whisky is added to a cask of another, effectively making the whisky a blended (or vatted) malt, and no longer a "single malt". Typically done to protect the reputation of distilleries who are putting their casks out there on the market for blenders / independent bottlers. If anyone ever comes across a "Burnside" (Balvenie with a dash of Glenfiddich) or "Warhead" (the reverse), please let me know!