House of Hazelwood - Whisky from the Gordon Family private collection [Tasted #639 - 642]

As I think I've mentioned a few times on this blog, Glenfiddich is the whisky that got me into whisky (an abnormally large percentage of my posts from 2012 were about the distillery), and a whisky for which I've always had a soft spot. Over time that extended to sister distilleries Balvenie & Kininvie, so it's fair to say I'm a fan of what parent (and still family-owned) company William Grant & Sons produce. 

It shouldn't be a surprise then that when I was asked if I wanted to try some well-aged releases from House of Hazelwood, the latest venture from the Gordon Family (owners of WG&S), a very emphatic yes quickly followed.

Depending on when you began your whisky journey, "Hazelwood" could mean a few different things - a limited series of releases dating back to 2001 (with the first released only to WG&S employees, and the second being the first official bottling of Kininvie single malt), or a 2016 series of blended releases found largely in duty free, bottled in 500mL format as an 18, 21 and 25 year old.

It's the Hazelwood brand's most recent incarnation we're here to discuss though, and arguably its most exciting. To learn more, I sat down with Director Jonathan Gibson for a virtual tasting recently.

Jonathan explained that Charles Gordon (great-grandson of William Grant, father of the current WG&S Chairman & influential character in the company's history) began collecting casks not for commercial release, but for the family's personal stocks decades ago, and built the collection to the point that it simply became "too large". No doubt buoyed by whisky's immense rising popularity, the family decided it was time to bottle and sell these, and hence the House of Hazelwood collection was born, with a plan to release 8 new whiskies every 6-9 months.

 

(A point I found interesting is that the casks that go into the House of Hazelwood collection don't contain old Glenfiddich, Balvenie or Kininvie. The distilleries are diverse and varied, and the majority of the whiskies are blended, blended malt or blended grain whiskies.)

 

I asked Jonathan (who himself came from Compass Box) about the cask management - he explained some are actively managed, and others are left alone. Some are blended at birth (like the aptly titled "Blended at Birth"!) and others blended later in life.

The company (under the WG&S umbrella, but run as a separate company to the distilleries) launched in June 2022, and has recently officially launched in Australia, largely following a model of selling direct to consumers. With some luck Hong Kong distribution won't be too far behind.

Having covered the background, it was time to dive into a tasting of the 4 releases House of Hazelwood had kindly sent me:

• 33 Year Old "The Tops" Blended Malt Whisky (details)
• 44 Year Old "The Unknown" Blended Scotch Whisky
• 1965 56 Year Old "Blended at Birth" Blended Scotch Whisky (details); and
• 37 Year Old "A Breath of Fresh Air" Blended Grain Scotch Whisky

House of Hazelwood 1965 "Blended at Birth" Blended Scotch Whisky (47% ABV, Blended Scotch, 56yo, 1 of 192 bottles, Scotland, £4,500)

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A blend containing Girvan grain whisky, blended into the cask at birth and bottled a whopping 56 years later.

Colour: Deep amber

Nose: Dunnage warehouse, menthol, orange and almond.

Palate: Quite nutty initially - almonds, almondmeal and almond cake. Orange and grapefruit notes show up soon after, followed by herbal jelly. With some time in the glass, a brandy fruitiness emerges.

Finish: Long and lingering, with a slight fruit spice towards teh end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100 (Martin). A very solid start, and a whisky that evokes those "old whisky" notes (as opposed to "old bottle") the way very few can.

House of Hazelwood "The Tops" Blended Malt Whisky (51.6% ABV, 33yo, 1 of 523 bottles, Blended Malt, Scotland, £1,450)

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Containing a blend of Speyside malts, matured in ex-Sherry casks.

Colour: Dark copper-brown.

Nose: Cherry, berry fruits at first. Rich, but beautifully clean sherry notes follow with juicy oak and some coffee grounds.

Palate: Spiced oak, caramel, hunidor, followed by more cherry, some sherry-soaked raisins, and rum & raisin ice cream.

Finish: Lasts incredibly long, with a fruity, rum & raisin finish with a hint of residual oak.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100 (Martin). Exactly what you want in a sherried Speyside - clean but noticeable sherry, with the oak in-check.

House of Hazelwood "The Unknown" Blended Scotch Whisky (43.3% ABV, 44yo, 1 of 143 bottles, Blended Scotch, Scotland, £3,000)

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Distilled in 1978 and blended in 1989, "The Unknown" underwent an extensive secondary maturation for a further 33 years in a single refill butt

Colour: Bright yellow-gold.

Nose: Fresh vanilla pods in a fruit salad - pear, peach, apple predominantly.

Palate: More vanilla - creamy, with the same fruit salad notes from the nose, adding in nectarine and some citrus. There's a light, delicate mouthfeel and an underlying sweetness you find with some old grain whiskies.

Finish: Medium to long in length, with vanilla-laced smooth oak notes.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100 (Martin).

House of Hazelwood "A Breath of Fresh Air" Blended Grain Whisky (46.4% ABV, 37yo, 1 of 417 bottles, Blended Grain, Scotland, £3,000)

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Colour: Morning sunrise golden

Nose: Strawberries, Butter Menthol lollies, creamed honey and an underlying butteriness.

Palate: Light, with the buttery notes continuing alongside some rum-like esthers, heather & honey.

Finish: Medium in length, with a sweet buttery shortbread note that gains some dryness towards the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100 (Martin). A delightful example of the unique characteristics old Grain whisky can produce.

House of Hazelwood whiskies are available now in UK and Australia, purchased directly from the official website, with further distribution to follow. The collection is expected to grow every 6-9 months (with another 8 bottles added), and we can't wait to see how the future releases shape up.

Cheers,

Martin.

Thanks to House of Hazelwood for the samples, and to Jonathan for his time.

The Balvenie x Blue Butcher Valentine's Day Dinner: "An Edible Story of Whisky Making"

For Valentine's Day this year The Balvenie have teamed up with Sheung Wan institution (and temple to all things meat) Blue Butcher to bring diners an "Edible Story of Whisky Making" - a 4-course menu featuring Balvenie-infused ingredients echoing 4 stages of whisky-making. Paired with 4 whiskies from The Balvenie (12 Doublewood, 14 Caribbean, 17 Doublewood and 21 PortWood), the menu is available only on Valentine's Day and costs just $520HKD/head.

A few nights ago I had the pleasure of trying two dishes from the menu, paired with two drams of The Balvenie. First was The Balvenie & Earl Grey smoked salmon with creme fraiche, charred eggplant, roasted nuts and puffed barley paired with The Balvenie DoubleWood Aged 12 Years. Designed to echo the malting process, the dish contained crunchy barley pieces which made for a nice textural counterpoint to the soft salmon, as well as providing a slight nod to The Balvenie being one of the few Scottish distilleries still with its own malting floor.

Next was the gargantuan The Balvenie 21yrs aged Grass Fed Australian sirloin with Hollaindase sauce and aged fat roasted potatoes, paired with The Balvenie 21 PortWood. Easily a whole meal in its own right, the theme here was "maturation" - with the sirloin having been aged in Blue Butcher's special drying room for extra rich flavour. The Balvenie 21 PortWood might seem like an interesting choice (it's more commonly paired with dessert), although it worked well here, bringing out a sweetness to the meat.

Whilst we didn't try the other two courses (the full menu can be found below), what we did try was more than enough to confirm that this meal should make any whisky-loving couple happy, and at $520HKD/head? Bargain.

Those looking to further the whisky-theme for Valentine's Day could do worse than gifting a bottle of The Balvenie 12 DoubleWood too - which for a limited time and at certain retailers will come with a solid cologne "inspired by the key notes in The Balvenie 12 DoubleWood". Don't worry, it doesn't make you smell like you've bathed in whisky, but it does have nice fruity honey notes.

The Valentine’s Day menu is only available on the 14th February 2019. Reservations can be made via e-mail to reservations@bluebutcher.com. TimeforWhisky.com attended as a guest of Telford Wine & Spirits and Maximal Concepts.

Cheers,

Martin.

Full menu (from press release):

"The first step is called Malting, introducing the starter The Balvenie & Earl Grey smoke salmon with creme fraiche, chard eggplant, roasted nuts and puffed barley paired with The Balvenie DoubleWood Aged 12 Years. The barley grain is stepped in water, germination will turn the starch in the barley grain into sugar. The Balvenie’s malt men will regularly turn the barley by hand using a wooden shovel to ensure the grains germinate equally. It is one of the few distilleries to still operate a malting floor.

 The second step is Fermentation, using Buffala burrata with kalamata tapenade, charred baby fennel, fermented melon and arugula. Post malting, the barley is dried in the kiln then milled. Hot water is added 3 times to extract out the sugar and yeast is added to the cooled down sugar solution. The fermentation process will produce a liquid with alcohol content of around 6-8% known as “wash”. The fermented melon exact echoes the fermentation process in whisky making. This crafted dish is a perfect match with The Balvenie Caribbean Cask Aged 14 Years. To refresh the taste buds, the third step is Distillation. The “wash” is distilled 2 times in copper pot stills into a new make spirit of 60-70% alcohol content. The shape of the pot stills in is a key contributing factor to style of the whisky. The Balvenie employs its own team of coppersmiths to maintain this important asset. Refreshing Citrus Zest Sorbet is paired with The Balvenie DoubleWood Ages 17 years to set your dinner into the spotlight of the main course. The sorbet is created using a distillation process to extract citrus concentrate.

 Maturation is the forth step of whisky production, and Blue is demonstrating this important process with The Balvenie 21yrs aged Grass Fed Australian sirloin with Hollaindase sauce and aged fat roasted potatoes. The meat aging process is carefully monitored by the Chef just as The Balvenie’s Malt Master, David Stewart MBE watches over his whiskies. The new make spirit is put into oak barrels for maturation. The type of casks selected for maturation is the key factor which affects the flavours of the whisky. Each year around 2% evaporates, as some calls it “Angel’s Share”. David is skilled at using different types of wood to create unique flavours for each expression of The Balvenie. The succulent steak is paired with The Balvenie PortWood Aged 21 Years to enhance the savoury experience.

 To make a great ending to this romantic night, Blue presents Dulce De Leche Rocher with apple pie and The Balvenie infused chocolate sauce with hazelnut on top. Which will definitely wrap up the dinner with a sweet touch, enjoying The Balvenie PortWood Black Cherry Flip specially created by our in house mixologist."

Tasted #400: Balvenie Fifty (50) Year Old (Cask #4570)

In keeping with the theme of reserving the hundredth tasting posts for rare and/or old whiskies (#200 was a 60yo Glenfarclas, #300 was a 65yo Macallan), "Tasted" post #400 is a 50yo OB Balvenie, bottled by the distillery in 2014.

Unfortunately I didn't win the lotto, so I didn't go and drop $47,000AUD on a bottle. This (very, very generous) sample bottle came courtesy of a (very, very generous) benefactor. Often when I have a rare, old or expensive whisky (sample or bottle), I'll try to save it for a special occasion. With this one though, that occasion was "I have a Balvenie 50!" and it was tasted that first night. It was a Monday.

One of two 50 year old Balvenies released in 2014, this was the less sherried of the two, and was distilled on 28th May 1963, with only 128 bottles produced.


Balvenie Fifty Year Old Cask #4570 (45.9% ABV, 50yo, Speyside, Scotland, Cask #4570, $47,000AUD)

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Colour: Dirty dark copper-gold (awesome).

Nose: A slightly OBE-like mustiness at first, quickly developing into rich citrus (tangerines primarily), with deep earthy oak and some sweeter perfumed notes. Cranberries, molasses, spiced honey, cinnamon all show too. After some time, there's some milk chocolate and peanut butter cups.

Palate: Slightly earthy / asparagus notes at first. Then spiced honey, vanilla, sweet oak. Some whole ripe oranges and spicy cloves, then a toffee sweetness with some creamed honey.

Finish: Medium to long in length. Sherry-soaked pears, more cloves, lots of cinnamon, and some oaky tannins at the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Not a sherry bomb, nor an oak bomb. Yes there's noticeable oak there (the whisky did spend 50 years in the stuff..) but its not overpowering, and on the whole all the notes are incredibly balanced. A beautifully made whisky that has stood the test of time.

Thanks again to the incredibly generous whisky legend who sent me this sample all the way from the UK.

Cheers,

Martin.

The Balvenie Dinner at Hong Kong Parkview with David Stewart and Kelsey McKechnie

One of the benefits of being a whisky lover in HK (as I've mentioned a few times) is the steady stream of international whisky personalities who pass through. William Grant & Sons are no exception, with a visit by Glenfiddich Global Band Ambassador Ian Millar in 2014, The Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart in 2015 and former global brand ambassador (and the funniest man in whisky) Sam Simmons in 2016.

Fast forward to 2018, and The Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart again came to town (for one night only), this time with Kelsey McKechnie who had only just been announced as new apprentice Malt Master weeks earlier.

The pair had come to Hong Kong for a Balvenie pairing dinner, held at Hong Kong Parkview's Ming Yuen restaurant, in conjunction with Parkview's brilliant whisky bar and Telford Wine & Spirits.

For a select few media, the event actually kicked off a little earlier in the evening, with a tasting of The Balvenie 40yo kindly sponsored by the Parkview's brilliant Parkview Whisky Bar. I'll save the tasting notes for a separate post (suffice to say, it was a special dram indeed), along with an even older Balvenie post I've been saving...

Kicking off with a rich complex cocktail made with The Balvenie 12 Doublewood, sherry and coffee, as guest arrived we chatted with David and Kelsey, and collectively wondered if they'd make their flights the next day, given the impending typhoon (subsequently the strongest in HK's history).

Admiring the drams laid out, it was clear we were in for a good night, with the following on the menu:

• The Balvenie 12 Doublewood
• The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask
• The Balvenie 17 DoubleWood
• The Balvenie 21 PortWood Finish
• The Balvnie 30 ("Thirty")

After taking our seats, David gave a brief introduction, reflecting on his incredible 56 years (and counting) with William Grant & Sons, and talking us through the DoubleWood's 25 year history, starting with the first bottling in 1983 (coincidentally, recently marked by a limited-release 25yo DoubleWood). David, known for his pioneering ways in the field of cask finishing ("ACEing" in some circles), explained the first four whiskies were finished (Sherry, Rum, Sherry, Port), whereas the 30 is a marriage of 1st fill American Oak casks, refill American Oak casks and 1st fill European Oak casks.

Kicking off with Chilled Fresh Abalone (which is actually kind of clever, because Abalone itself doesn't have a lot of flavour, but soaks up other flavours), and then Double Boiled Shi Hu with Sea Conch & Pigeon (soup), both with The Balvenie 12 Doublewood, and then Kurobuta Pork Roll with Teriyaki Sauce, paired with The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask, it was clear the new chef has taken Ming Yuen in a much more interesting and modern direction (presentation-wise), whilst keeping the flavours traditional and delicious. Steph and I had eaten there only once before (it's typically only open to Parkview residents), but this was much, much better than I'd remembered.

Kelsey presented the The Balvenie 17 DoubleWood next, paired with Pan-fried Cod with Passionfruit Jus with each bringing out (or rather, amping up) the sweetness in the other.

It seemed like almost every attendee had brought at least one bottle of their of Balvenie to ask David / Kelsey to sign (I was no exception), and in between courses queues started to form. There were a number of rare and interesting bottles (DoubleWoods from the 80s, TUN 1858s etc..) but none more so than this bottle, brought by Kam from Dram Good Stuff...

Not on tasting, obviously!

(We also learnt that the DCS5 collection is likely to have a 1962 release with an even older age statement - 56 or 57yo!)

Whilst Dessert and whisky pairings are an "easier" match to make, this one was particularly good, with Mango Pudding with Rose Jelly paired with The Balvenie 21 PortWood Finish. David explained the casks for the 21 come from Speyside Cooperage, supplied from Portugal (exact provenance unknown), with about 100 casks used each year and the whisky undergoing a 4 month finish.

The 30yoI figured was deserving of tasting on its own, and will post tasting notes in a separate post shortly. I'd tried the Thirty before and always found it fantastic, but this (more recent) release even more so - a sentiment echoed by friends and others online too, who all agreed it was a great whisky which seems to have recently gotten even better. A truly beautiful dram.

As the dinner wrapped up, those of us who stuck around availed ourselves of a second (and umm, third) dram of our favourites, before heading home with a bottle of DoubleWood 17yo for our troubles. 

A wonderful night spent with great company.

Cheers,

Martin.

Time for Whisky attended the dinner as a guest of Telford and Hong Kong Parkview, and would like to say a massive thanks to all involved. It should be noted that the price of this dinner also included a bottle of The Balvenie 17 DoubleWood.

Glenfiddich 1977 40yo "Rare Collection" Launch (Tasted #385)

Glenfiddich, in partnership with Heinemann Tax & Duty Free, has released the prestigious Glenfiddich 1977 Rare Collection Cask (cask 15176). Aged for 40 years in an American Oak Refill Hogshead single cask, this special single cask release forms part of the Glenfiddich Rare Collection Programme and is exclusive to the Heinemann stores at both, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur airports.

Brian Kinsman; Glenfiddich Malt Master noted that "This is an exceptional whisky of rare character and complexity. Only a small number of casks are chosen for the Rare Collection and I am delighted to have selected this particular whisky for consumers to enjoy.” The rarity is certainly true given the single cask nature of this particular release and the quality of casks available at this particular age profile.

The launch of the Rare Cask in Sydney was held at Kittyhawk, and saw the Rare Cask presented with other prized Glenfiddich releases including the 21yo, 25yo and 30yo. Each of the malts was paired alongside delectables including a Glenfiddich based Fizz cocktail (based on the 15yo Glenfiddich), rye cured salmon and steak tartare.

Being a big fan of Glenfiddich, the night was truly special and dram-tastic for me. I still remember my early whisky days with the likes of Glenfiddich 12yo, 18yo, Select Cask and even a Cathay Pacific exclusive Glenfiddich I had at Martin's. The continuation of this relationship on the night with the Rare Cask and the other priced releases was an exciting one.

Led by William Grant & Son’s brand ambassadors; Ross Blainey and Glenfiddich's new Ambassador Luke Sanderson, the unveiling of the exclusive 40yo Rare Cask focused on the rarity and balanced, delicate nature of the malt. The 30yo and the Rare Cask were presented neat and left to bask in its own glory. 

Glenfiddich "Reserve Cask" (Cask:  (40% ABV, 40yo, Speyside, Scotland, $4,352 AUD)
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An elegant, soft, subtle and balanced yet not tired or over oaked (given the age) Glenfiddich that takes its profile from the refill hogshead. The flavour profile is true to Glenfiddich with the hint of apples though very, very delicate. For a 40yo, the malt packs quite complex and layered nose and palate. It will certainly not disappoint those who choose to daydream away with a dram of this malt at hand.

Colour: Gold

Nose: Riddled with summer fruits including fresh peach and apples. There is a layer of sweetness resembling some raisins and Turkish delight.

Palate: The palate is balanced with some spiced apple, a bit of Portuguese tart with cinnamon dusting that fades into soft, perfumed flower notes.

Finish: The finish is slightly sweet and dry with gentle lingering cinnamon spice.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100.

This 1977 40yo "Rare Cask Collection" has been bottled exclusively for Heinemann Tax & Duty Free and is available from Sydney and Kuala Lumpur airports for $4,352AUD and is limited to 150 bottles.

Thanks to William Grant & Sons and Agent 99 for having us at the launch.

Cheers,
Hendy.