St Pat's Day Whiskies - Tullamore, The Whistler (PX I Love You), The Dubliner, Slane [Tasted: #562 - #564]

St Pat's Day on March 17 has always seen a global celebration of all things Irish and this year is no different. As we all emerge from our prolonged hibernation, we may be wondering what's the best way to celebrate St Pat's Day. Perhaps we might need to re-kindle ourselves with traditional Irish beverages  - Irish whiskies, beers or ciders.

Of the three, the choice is clear for us. Without a doubt, our pick would be Irish whiskies.

To showcase the goodness of Irish Whiskies ahead of St Pat's Day, we joined William Lavelle from the Irish Whiskey Association, Rosie Keane, the Irish Consul-General to Sydney and a number of Irish Whiskey Distillery Reps to explore four Irish Whiskies as part of the Discover (Irish) Whiskies campaign.

To kick off the session, we were (virtually) serenaded by Dan Elliott, an Irish singer-songwriter from Cork, Ireland who had managed to welcome us to the session. He did so rather well, given no whiskies had been drunk at that time and clearly not by Dan as it was pre-breakfast for him.

An interesting fact that was shared at the start of the session was the fact that Irish Whiskies are now growing significantly globally. It was also not lost to me that the session started with William sharing reminding us that Ireland is in fact where whiskey distilling first started and where whiskey got its name. Here we are in 2022 and Irish whiskies continue to be one of the world's fastest-growing categories with significant growth in both emerging markets such as Africa and other mature markets.

As with most Irish whiskies, they are traditionally distilled three times. A distillation process designed to isolate and remove the esters and other impurities. Also, similar to the Scotch, all Irish whiskey is, by law, matured for at least three years, though there are now various methods used by distillers to mature their whiskies. The Whistler (PX I Love You), for example, is initially matured in ex-bourbon casks but finished in ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for 9 months. Compare this to Slane, where after distillation, Slane matures their whiskies in 3 different barrels - virgin oak, seasoned Tennessee whiskey and Oloroso sherry before being blended.

The four Irish whiskies that we explored in the Discover (Irish) Whiskies session were Tullamore D.E.W, The Whistler (PX I Love You), The Dubliner and Slane.

Tullamore D.E.W (The Original)

Tullamore D.E.W just broke 18 million bottles last year, this follows the return of distillation back home in 2014. A tripled distilled and triple blended (single malt, single grain, single pot still) whisky, the original Tullamore D.E.W (DEW) is very fresh, grassy and clean. The palate is light to medium bodied with hints of apple and citrus on the palate and finish. It is quite light and fresh, an outcome of the triple distillation.

The Dubliner Bourbon Cask (40%, Dublin, Ireland, A$47.95) 

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The Dubliner distillery was opened in 2018 and is led by ex-Bushmills Master Distiller Daryl McNally. Their whiskies include the original Dubliner 10-Year-Old single malt, Whiskey & Honeycomb liqueur and a couple of beer cask matured whiskies.

There were actually two Dubliners we explored; the Bourbon Cask and a Whiskey & Honeycomb liqueur. I will go into the Bourbon Cask. 

Nose: The nose is light and crisp, there are apple and pear notes.

Palate: The palate is quite peppery at first but slowly opens up to the vanilla, honey and caramel notes. 

Finish: The finish is full of tannin but there are remnants of honey that is left behind.

Rating: 89/100 

Slane (40%, Boyne Valley, Ireland, A$54.95) 

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Slane Distillery was established by the Conyngham family, a family that is famously connected to the Slane Castle, located by the river Boyne. Brown Forman took over the Slane Distillery project in 2015 before ramping up production in 2018. It initially became popular in America but is now found widely abroad. 

Nose: The nose is light, smooth and creamy. There are apple, cereal and grain notes.

Palate: The palate is elegant, composed. There is vanilla and fudge on the palate with some pistachio in between. There is some heat but it is very much restrained.

Finish: Light, enjoyable and invites you to take another sip.

Rating: 90/100 

The Whistler "PX I Love You Single Malt Irish Whiskey" (46%, Boyne Valley, Ireland, A$89.99) 

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The Whistler P.X. I Love You Single Malt was one of the highlights of the four whiskies in the session. 

The distillery name is aptly named after Peter Cooney, not so much Peter himself but the notion of the whistling antic that Peter would do at the distillery. Peter Cooney, the co-founder and export director of Boann - the company that owns The Whistler would walk around the distillery all day - whistling. 

This particular bottling that we explored is a single malt Irish whiskey that is initially matured in ex-bourbon casks before being finished in ex-PX sherry casks for 9 months. The PX sherry and the influence this fortified wine’s casks had on the single malt Irish whiskey was excellent. The finishing in PX casks has given this particular whiskey, a lot of sherry influence. 

Nose: The sherry-cask finishing comes immediately to the nose. Lots of sweet cranberries, dried fruit, currants, citrus and port-like nose.

Palate: The palate is less sweet than the nose yet still quite fruity. There are dates, cranberries, and lots of vanilla coating the mouth and there is nuttiness and citrus as it lingers on.

Finish: The finish is relatively long and leaves a good drying heat.

Rating: 92/100 

As part of the Discover (Irish) Whiskies campaign, there are a number of articles that have been published- all centred around Irish Whiskies including a food pairing guide and Irish whiskey cocktails recipes. You can find those articles and guides here, Irish Whiskey - Depth and Diversity: https://www.ibec.ie/drinksireland/irish-whiskey/campaigns/depth-and-diversity

Cheers

Hendy

Thanks to the Irish Whiskey Association for having us as part of this campaign.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company "Australia" Series: Part 1

Indie bottler That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC) has been renowned for not only bottling malt from brands and distillers around the world but also for its fun and novel-style labels. They have set out to bring great whisky in a fun, colourful and informative way with no nonsense. They've been able to bottle over 100 different bottlings and a variety of fans far and wide with whiskies from the likes of Ardbeg, Paul John, Overeem and even the elusive Karuizawa.

Locally, TBWC worked with Overeem just as the Australian whisky industry was growing, around the time when Overeem started to push into the UK market in 2014. With the continued growth of the Australian boutique malt whisky industry over the years, TBWC saw an opportunity to bring more Australian whiskies abroad through a new whisky series.

The new series dubbed 'The Australia Series' follows TBWC's World Series and World Rye Series and present the best of Australian whiskies including whiskies from Starward, Black Gate, Tin Shed and Fleurieu. 

What's exciting is that the range in the series showcases a wide variety of flavour differences created by the different whisky producers from across Australia. This is an exciting prospect as the new series will undoubtedly help to bring more Australian whiskies into the international whisky community.

I will do a two-part post to cover this series with this post providing an overview of the Australia series as well as sharing some insights from Atom Brands Head of Whisky and friend of this blog, Sam 'Dr Whisky' Simmons followed by another post where I'll share my thought on the series and some backstories on the local producers.

The full line up of the Australia series include:

• Black Gate 3YO Single Malt - $255.00
• Belgrove 4YO Rye - $299.00
• Tin Shed 3YO Single Malt - $215.00
• Fleurieu 3YO Single Malt - $190.00 (exclusive in Australia to The Oak Barrel)
• Killara 2YO Single Malt - $375.00
• Riverbourne 3YO Single Malt - $239.00
• Starward 3YO Single Malt - $179.00
• Bakery Hill 5YO Single Malt - $299.00

Sam Simmons summed it up well when he said "Take note of these distillery names, it may be the first time you’ve heard some of them (certainly if you're not from Australian Shores), but it will not be the last." That's likely not far from the truth given most of these labels will be foreign for people abroad who may only have heard or sampled whiskies from one or two Australian distillers.

Sam also added... “While I think it’s fair to say that most of the world is just waking up to the fact that Australian whisky is on the map at all, I would dare say that these whiskies, and the future of whiskies from down under, may turn the world upside down. Literally flipping the hegemonic order on its head, with Australia at the top of the pile in the 21st century.”

The series will see bottlings from a collection of highly sought after, small-batch craft distilleries, many of which have not previously been available outside of Australia. Included amongst this list is Belgrove, a farm-to-glass distillery run by Peter Bignell, one of the most known and loved faces in Australian whisky."

As part of this post, I put out five questions to Sam earlier this week to get a bit more on the series and here's what he's got to say:

1. Favourite part of your journey to put together this new TBWC Australia series?

Well, my colleague Felix Dear had the joy of travelling around Australia staying with distillers and coming home with casks, poor bastard.

And I was on the World Whiskies Awards (WWA) judging panel for the famed 2014 award for Sullivans Cove, however, I didn't actually vote for that winner...

So for me, I think it began when I was in Australia in 2013 and 2016 with Balvenie. My visits were only a few years apart but there was a marked increase in available domestic whisky, there were more people I met asking "have you tried..." (so I did), and what I tried was for the most part incredibly tasty. 

It was on one of those trips that David Vitale described Australian regulations (since 1992, anyways) as being "so forgiving you could blow a cannonball through them", and they are. So that moment when what was in my glass was world-class AND I was being told that the possibilities are as wide as the distillers' imaginations, I thought "fuck yes; THIS is exciting".

2. In your experience are there any differences in how whisky drinkers differ in how they enjoy their whisky from different regions? What can people from perhaps Australia, Asia, UK expect from this new Australia series?

This is a great question as, let's remember, most of the world drinks their whisky mixed with ice, soda, cola, ginger ale, green tea, coconut water etc, but for most "new world" distilleries, the intention is to be sipped and enjoyed like a fine cognac or single malt scotch. 

These Australian bottlings are no different, as many Boutique-y drinkers around the world may have never had an Australian whisky before let alone a Fleurieu or Tin Shed.

3. What's the one (or two) whiskies out of this series that has really surprised you - either in a good way or in a somewhat interesting way?

For me, the standouts were the Black Gate ex-apera and the Tin Shed pinot gris cask. I've never tasted anything like them, and I've never liked anything that tasted like them. Whiskies whose magic you immediately want to share with someone, "you gotta try this"

4. The labels on these bottles all look fun (as with all TBWC bottles), any particular favourite from the set?

The Belgrove is just perfect, but I also really like Black Gate's colour palate/mood and Bakery Hill's fun. Emily Chappell is an incredible visual storyteller and is the Glaswegian artist behind all the labels.

5. Lastly, what's the one whisky trend you think will continue to grow in 2021? (e.g. will we see more craft distilleries flourish, growth in independent labels, rum starting to take over whiskies?)

It pains me to say it, and it may only be a dip, but the trend of declining Scotch whisky may pick up speed in 2021.

For now, the Australia series will launch today across Australia as well as abroad and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the series in the next post.

Cheers
Hendy

Tasted #370 - #371: Nantou Whisky Distillery OMAR Single Cask ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry

Ask most whisky drinkers about Taiwanese whisky, and they'll probably respond with "Taiwanese whisky? You mean Kavalan?"

Whilst Kavalan undoubtedly produce some incredible Taiwanese whiskies (see our distillery tour review here), they're not the only ones. State-owned Nantou Whisky Distillery, in the central East of Taiwan, have been producing single malt whisky since 2008, and (judging by what I've tasted over the years) are doing a great job of it.

See more whisky photography @TimeforWhisky on Instagram

I recently picked up a pack with the above two 200mL bottles from Taipei airport - each containing a single cask, cask-strength Nantou "OMAR" expression, one ex-Bourbon (5yo) and one ex-Sherry (6yo).

Both were impressive (even more so when you consider their relative short maturation), but one really impressed me, a lot more than I expected. Read on below....

See more whisky photography @TimeforWhisky on Instagram

Nantou OMAR Cask Strength ex-Sherry Cask #21091313 (58.4% ABV, 6yo, Nantou, Taiwan, $2,200NTD / $570HKD / $92AUD as a set of two bottles, available from Taipei Airport)

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Colour: Copper-orange.

Nose: Berry sweetness leads to red apples, milk chocolate and hints of oak.

Palate: Quite tannic / dry, with sweetbread, pot-pourri and berry notes, followed by a slight nuttiness (Brazil nuts) and raisins. Water brings the oak out a little more - I suspect this was a fairly active cask.

Finish: Long, slightly tannic and with lots of sweet oak.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 88/100.

Nantou OMAR Cask Strength ex-Bourbon Cask #11110097 (54.1% ABV, 5yo, Nantou, Taiwan, $2,200NTD / $570HKD / $92AUD as a set of two bottles, available from Taipei Airport)
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Colour: Light golden straw

Nose: Grassy and herbaceous at first, with a fair amount of coconut and pencil shavings. After some time comes hints of tropical fruit, and some milk bottle lollies.

Palate: Rich and viscous. Initially dry, but after time a sweetness emerges, along with pineapple and mango notes. Water adds some oak and caramel chews.

Finish: Long, smooth and very creamy. Just the right balance of sweetness.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. An incredibly complex whisky considering it's only been maturing (albeit in Taiwan's climate) for 5 years. Delicious too - easily my pick of the two.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #358: Mackmyra 10 Year Old

A key goal of this blog, right from the very start, was to celebrate "world whiskies", or "new world whiskies". That goal has never changed (and in fact I now write a monthly column on the subject  in Hong Kong's Malt & Spirits magazine), so it's fair to say when a world whisky has a "coming of age" moment, like releasing their first 10 year old single malt, it's a cause for celebration.

Mackmyra have done just that recently, with the launch of Sweden's first official ten year old single malt (simply called "Mackmyra Ten Years") - also the first Mackmyra to officially bear an age statement.

Bottled at 46.1%, the whisky was aged 50 metres underground in Mackmyra's Bodås mine warehouse, and has been released in a run of 20,000 bottles (12,000 retained for Sweden's alcohol monopoly retailer Systembolaget, 8,000 for various export markets).

The distillery was kind enough to send me a sample recently, and I have to say, it's definitely the most "complete" and mature Mackmyra I've ever tried. Read on...

Mackmyra Ten Years (46.1% ABV, 10yo, Sweden, £56.77 ex-VAT)
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Colour: Yellow gold

Nose: Lemon zest, grass, tea leaves, pot-pourri and pear initially. After a little more air comes some undertones of rich vanilla. I've always enjoyed Mackmyra, but there's more to this than any I've tried in the past.

Palate: "Sweet and zesty" in a nutshell. There's stewed/baked apple. Hints of lemon (less than the nose though). Some raisins, and a lot of fruity herbs - like a fruit tissane tea. There's a creaminess, some "fruity cream", and even some candied orange. It's a fruit bomb, and a delicious one at that.

Finish: Long, fruity, creamy.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. To me, easily the most complex, matured and "well-rounded" Mackmyra to date. There's a lot of fruit, but not like a tropical fruit bomb like a lot of ex-Bourbon matured Scotch. No, this is fruity, but in a uniquely Scandinavian way, if that makes sense. Definitely worth a try.

Cheers,
Martin.

Review: Tiffany's New York Bar's Whisky Advent Calendar 2016

Not two days after this advent calendar arrived from Master of Malt, I was kindly offered one of Tiffany's New York Bar's calendars - also a 24 day / 24 drams calendar, containing whiskies from around the world.

Quite a bit bigger and more solid than Master of Malt's, the concept is roughly the same (24 drams, 24 days), this Tiffany's calendar had a few nice little features:

• A branded GlenCairn glass with which to enjoy the 24th and final dram
• A $100HKD voucher to spend at the bar
• A printed list of each day's dram
• Polyseal cone caps on each bottle, which many whisky lovers (myself included) swear by for long-term storage. In fact the bottles are more or less the same as the ones I purchase separately for sample storage, so soon I'll have another 24!
• Available in HK, so no concerns with shipping or taxes for HK-based whisky lovers. 

There were three different variants available, but such is the popularity of these that the $1,388HKD one sold out weeks ago. There are still the $1,788HKD World of Whisky Edition and the $5,888HKD Aficionados Edition available though, so it's not too late to catch up (it's only the 8th after all)!

The calendar I received was a special media edition, with whiskies selected and bottled by attendees at the recent media event (which sadly I couldn't attend). With drams like Michel Couvreur, Michter's Toasted Barrel, Asta Morris Cambus IB, a 36year old Cadenhead (distillery not stated) and even an SMWS Ardmore, there's something in here for everyone - from OBs to IBs, single casks to blends, American to Scottish to Welsh to Japanese.

The commercial releases differ a little, but also feature a fantastic selection of world whiskies, including:

World of Whisky Edition ($1,788HKD)

• Aberlour A'Bunadh
• Glenfiddich 12
• Octomore 7.1 Heavily Peated
• Amrut Single Malt Cs
• Glengoyne Cask Stregnth
• Penderyn Madeira Wood
• Armorik Sherry Finish
• Kavalan Single Malt
• Penderyn Sherry Wood
• Arran The Bothy
• Kilchoman Px
• Pogues
• Auchentoshan Three Wood
• Mackmyra Oak
• Slyrs Px Edition
• Big Peat Festive Edition
• Maker'S Mark
• Springbank 10
• Bruichladdich Port Charlotte
• Mars Komagatake
• Sullivans Cove Double Cask
• Crown Royal
• Michel Couvreur Overaged Malt
• Yamazaki 12

Aficionados Edition ($5,888HKD)

• Bunnahabhain 18
• Linkwood Sherry Butt
• First Edition Fettercairn
• Arran Smuglers
• Old Pulteney 17
• First Edition Glen Grant
• Spring Bank Green 12
• Glendronach 21
• Tomatin 25
• Kavalan Vinho Barrique
• Kavalan Amontillado
• Macallan 25
• Michel Couvreur  Overaged Malt
• Balvenie 21
• Macallan 30
• Glenrothes 1988
• Glenfarclas 25
• Highland Park 30
• Samaroli 99
• Laphroaig 18
• Glengoyne 21
• Aberlour 18
• First Edition Glen Keith
• Bowmore Devils Cask III

Years ago I said these calendars are a great way to explore new whiskies, and I still stand by that - any month of the year! With two calendars to get through, and a holiday in December, I'm not likely to finish all 48 samples by Christmas...but January is looking pretty good!

Tiffany's New York Bar Whisky Advent Calendars are available here and from the bar, and are just one of a number of whisky innovations the bar has come up with this year (others being the HK Whisky Festival, their cask programme, Whisky Mooncakes, whisky truffles, whisky ice cream and the list goes on...). We can't wait to see what 2017 has in store.

TimeforWhisky would like to thank the bar, and the tireless efforts of James, Lars and John for their ongoing hospitality this year, and for this lovely Christmas present.

Cheers,

Martin.

Distillery Tour #6: Amrut Distilleries (Bangalore, India) (Tasted #217)

If you were to say our Distillery Tour posts had a theme, it would surely have to be "Not Scottish" (don't worry, those tours have happened, they were awesome, and the posts will be up soon). So far we've covered distillery visits in Melbourne, Sydney, Japan (twice), and Taiwan, and now it's India's  turn.

This tour was originally planned for 2013, but after having to cancel a work trip to Bangalore for personal reasons, it wasn't until 2015 that another chance came up. I needed to make a quick Mon-Fri trip to Bangalore for work, and took the opportunity to ask Amrut Distilleries if I'd be able to take a look around the distillery on the Saturday. Thankfully they were more than happy to have me, and so the plan was set.

Saturday rolls around, and we (myself and a colleague) make the journey out to South West Bangalore (25km, a little over an hour) in a hotel car. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but we did learn that our tour would be conducted by Master Distiller Surrinder Kumar, who had kindly come in on his day off to show us around!

Surrinder, with a whopping 29 years of experience under his belt, started by talking us through the fascinating story of how Amrut Single Malt came to be, and how even though it makes up an incredibly small percentage of their total output (details further on), it's put them on the global map.

To most whisky drinkers, Amrut was unheard-of until their single malt started gaining a global following in the late 2000's. The company however has been actually been making spirit since 1948 (initially "IMFL", or "Indian-made Foreign Liquor" distilled from molasses), and was producing Indian "whisky" a long time before the single malt came along. In fact, an excess of malt whisky (previously used for blending popular local Indian blended "whiskies"), which the distillery noted was of significantly higher quality than most other Indian whiskies, was one of the catalysts for the launch of Amrut Single Malt.

3rd generation owner and son of current Chairman, Rakshit Jagdale (studying his MBA at the time in England) was asked to investigate launching a single malt product outside India, starting with the UK. The product was already there - they just needed to get it into the public's conscious. Research showed that the public perceived it to be similar in style to a 15-18yr old Speysider, and so a plan was drawn up to launch it in the UK - initially in Indian restaurants, taking the same approach as Indian beers like Kingfisher and Cobra.

After some time, volumes weren't picking up and the company considered ending the project, but (taking a renewed spirit of perseverance from the Gahdhi statue in London), Rakshit forged on, seeking importers for each country and...well the rest is history, with Amrut currently available in 22 countries (although still very limited in India).

I mentioned Amrut Single Malt being an "incredibly small percentage" of Amrut's total production. How small? Well, there are approximately 14,000 x 4.5L cases of Amrut Single Malt produced each year (a total of 63,000L), compared to 200,000 x 9L cases produced of all other products.....per month! In other words - 21,600,000L, making the single malt about 0.2% of total production. A very successful 0.2%, you'd have to say!

Unsurprisingly, Amrut can't keep up with worldwide demand for that 63,000L, and are currently increasing warehousing from their current 6 warehouses. They're also experimenting with temperature-controlled warehouses, like some Bourbon distilleries in the US, but for now it remains an experimentation only.

Just before Surrinder took us out to tour the operations, he mentioned that a new product was on the horizon - "Greedy Angel's Chairman's Reserve", at an incredible 10 years old ("incredible" considering the distillery experiences 10-12% Angels' share each year). That product has since been released (and likely sold out) - and comes with a 50mL cask-strength sample of the whisky at 71% ABV.

By this stage we'd spent a good 90 minutes with the clearly passionate Surrinder, and our tour was no less comprehensive, taking another 90 minutes and showing us into all facets of the operation, which employs hundreds of staff from Bangalore.

Production of all products occurs via two 7.5hr shifts each day, with the single malt being distilled on a Monday. Temperature controlled fermentation takes 1 week (kept under 30degC), and whilst we didn't get to taste the wash (at 6.5-7% ABV), we did taste the new make (73% ABV off the still, 63% ABV into the cask), which was fruity, oily, rich, subtly peaty (on the palate, not the nose) and incredibly smooth.

We got to talking about distillery visits, and Surrinder mentioned a visit to a popular Lowland distillery (he didn't mention it by name, but we figured out it was Auchentoshan) where he noted some tips for triple distillation. Despite only having two stills (that's them above), Surrinder experimented with triple-distilled Amrut about 3 years ago, and mentioned that it was currently ageing away in the underground "cellar" - possibly a year or two away from release...

...which of course, was my queue to try my luck, and ask if I could taste it. Before I knew it, Surrinder was asking one of the production managers to fetch a sample from the "cellar", and a few minutes later, this vibrant orange sample appeared:

Triple Distilled Amrut (name not yet known) (64% ABV, ~3yo, Karnataka, India, not yet available)
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Colour: Intensely vibrant orange.
Nose: Light, citrusy. Lemon oil. Some esthers and some caramel chews.
Palate: Light, zesty. Lemon cheese cake. Young and hot, but very drinkable. In another 12-18 months I imagine it will be incredible.
Finish: Very long, lots of caramel chews.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

Exciting stuff. After a look at the malt mill, the delivery setup (which receives 16-17 trucks per day) and the fermentation tanks, it was time to venture into one of the warehouses.

Maturation Warehouse 1 (just next to the still room) is home to casks racked 5 high, including a few weird and wonderful whiskies which have featured in recent and soon-to-be-released (we hope) whiskies. Chief amongst these was this cask of Amrut "Naarangi", which saw Amrut age sherry infused with orange peels in the cask for 3 years, before emptying it, then ageing an already 3 year old sherry-matured Amrut for another 3 years in said cask. The resulting whisky is said to have some subtle, but noticeable orange notes, without being considered a "flavoured" whisky.

Next, it was off to the bottling and packaging floors, where I saw whiskies the likes of which I'd never seen before. How so? Take a look for yourself...

That's right - Tetra-pak "whisky"! This is an example of the local blended "whisky" Amrut produces for the local market, and sells for mere cents. The packaging line for these products runs 24 hours a day - such is the popularity of these throughout India.

Having seen the production, ageing and packaging facilities, it was time to visit Surrinder's "lab", with a variety of International and local whiskies, and several single cask samples (Amrut do a great private cask program, which was taken up by Dram Full with the recent Dram Full Amrut bottling - now sold out).

Amrut aren't allowed to sell any bottles from the distillery, but we were kindly gifted a 50mL mini each - continuing my tradition of collecting miniatures from distilleries I've visited.

..and with that, it was time to draw the tour to a close, and head back to the city, then the airport, then back to HK. An extremely informative and enjoyable day, and a tour I'm very glad I (finally) got to take.

A huge thanks must go to Surrinder, Ashok and Pramod for making this tour happen - especially Surrinder for spending so much time with us on his day off. If you ever find yourself in Bangalore and have some spare time, I can highly recommend booking a tour of this fascinating distillery.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #84: Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky (#101drams)

We've been to Sweden, Australia, France, Japan, Scotland, India & Wales as part of the #101drams challenge (well not literally)...so where to next? South Africa sounds as good a place as any!

Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky, from the James Sedgwick Distillery in Wellington (South Africa) is a single grain whisky, aged for approximate 5 years in ex-Bourbon casks. It's also a #101drams whisky and sounds bloody interesting, so let's get on with the tasting shall we?




Bains Cape Mountain Whisky (43% ABV, NAS, Wellington, South Africa, $52AUD)
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Colour: Honey gold
Nose: Light and floral, gaining complexity over time with some cake icing and coco pops coming through
Palate: Sweet, light, fruity, with some pineapple, apples, pears. Lots of tropical fruits. Incredibly smooth, with just the slightest hint of smoke after letting it sit and warm for a while.
Finish: Sadly too short and with a little too much burn.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. Very good - lots to offer for a relatively cheap and young whisky. I'd love to see it with a longer finish, perhaps in a cask strength variety.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #83: Mackmyra Small Casks 03 (#101drams)

Another for the #101drams list - this time from Sweden, aged in 30L casks (yes, 30L!) - a mixture of sherry, bourbon and new Swedish oak. As far as unique/interesting whiskies though, this pretty much ticks all the boxes...

Mackmyra Special Small Casks 03 (48.2% ABV, NAS, Sweden, $130AUD)
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Colour: Light, bright gold.
Nose: Stewed pears, big alcohol burn, toffee apples, boiled sweets.
Palate: Light - wouldn't initially pick it as 48%+. Pears, toffee, coffee grounds. Special K!?
Finish: Long, with some burn. Hint of coffee.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. The nose is probably the highlight here - let down by the palate slightly. Overall though, an enjoyable whisky.

Cheers, 

 - Martin.

Tasted #70: Spirit of Hven Seven Stars No.1 Dubhe Single Malt Whisky (Sweden)

In the interests of expanding my world whisky horizons, when putting in an order with Master of Malt last year I added a sample of this strangely named whisky from Sweden, because, well, why not?

Spirit of Hven Seven Stars No.1 Dubhe Single Malt Whisky (45% ABV, NAS, Hven, Sweden,  $170AUD)
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Colour: Pale honey.

Nose: Unusual. Young, but pleasant. Nutty, rich and honied all at the same time. Actually, the nose reminds me a LOT of whisky liqueurs, like Lochan Ora or Glenfiddich's discontinued whisky liqueur.

Palate: Lighter than the nose suggests. The honey remains, with notes of sweet cloves, spices, and some very light smoke at the end, which compliments the palate perfectly.

Finish: Medium length. Slightly smokey and with a mild burn, with lots of spice. The honey notes evaporate quickly.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but this was actually a very enjoyable whisky. A mix of sweet, almost liqueur notes with a smokey end. Wonderful.




Cheers,
 - Martin.

#101drams - a charitable challenge

Last Updated 7/2/2017 (71 whiskies tasted)
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Donations:

• Donation for drams 1 - 20: 12th July 2013
• Donation for drams 21 - 40: 13th March 2014
• Donation for drams 41 - 60: 30th April 2015

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Reading the Qantas magazine on a recent flight (as far as in-flight mags go, it's actually pretty good), I noticed an article for Sebastien Terry's "100 Things" challenge - in a nutshell, one Aussie's goal to tick 100 things off his "bucket list", and raise $100,000 for Camp Quality in doing so (he's currently at $65,000, with a little recent help from TimeforWhisky).

At the time I was trying to come up with new ideas for this blog, and that's when it hit me - why not a similar challenge, with a whisky focus? Instead of 100 things, how about 100 drams (and hey, why not 101)?

"But Martin", I hear you say. "Sebastien started his list for a good cause, and you've taken his idea and applied it to...drinking?"

Fair call. So how about this - for every 20 drams I tick off the list, I'll donate $100 to Cancer Council Australia (chosen for personal reasons). For the 101st dram, I'll donate another $100. That's $600 all up - all for a great cause.


The drams I've included are a real mixture - with only one commonality being that I want to try them but haven't. Some are readily available (some even in sample format from Single Malt Whisky or Master of Malt), some are whiskies I really should have tried already (#2, #19), some will be easy to tick off this year (#17, #23), some will take me a few years (#13), and some I might never get to taste (#4). But hey, what's the point in a goal if you don't reach for it?


I'll revisit this post every time I try one of the drams, and mark it off (and add a link to the tasting post). Actually since starting the list, I've already ticked off #18 and #21.

..and so with that in mind, onto the list:

1: Glenfiddich Age of Discovery "Dawin Edition" Red Wine cask 19yo - because I loved the first AoD release and I have an obsession with all things 'fiddich.
2: Ballantine's 17yo (World Whisky of the Year 2011) - because the one time I attempted to order it, the bar (on my honeymoon in the Maldives, of all places) ran out, and gave me a 30yo for the same price. A great dram, but it means I still haven't tried the 17yo.
3: Kininvie Hazelwood (either 105 or 110...in fact I'll settle for any Kininvie single malt, future releases included) - Not just because it's super rare and expensive, but because when I toured the Glenfiddich distillery with my dad in 2009, and heard all about how Kininvie was a single malt produced by WGS that very, very rarely saw the light of day as a single malt, and when I tried Monkey Shoulder, I knew I had to try Kininvie as a single malt.
4: Glenfiddich 50yo - I'd include the Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve, but I think this one I might actually stand a chance of trying. One day. Possibly. If I'm extremely lucky.
5: A distillery-bottled Port Ellen - I can't be too specific with the release, because trying any Port Ellen would be brilliant. Apart from the rave reviews, I love the idea of trying a whisky from a since-defunct distillery.
6: Ardbeg Supernova - Because I've loved every Ardbeg I've tried to date, especially other special releases (Ardbeg Day, Corryvreckan).
7: Octomore Orpheus
8: Hellyers Road Pinot Noir Finish - I love trying new Tassie whiskies and I love Pinot Noir.
9: Something I've barrel-aged myself - Most probably with this kit from Master of Malt.
10: The Nant 3yo Cask Strength - I don't always agree with Jim Murray (see here for example), but I've enjoyed the other Nants I've tried, and I'm keen to experience the Tassie whisky that Jim deems worthy of a 95.5.
11: Shine On Georgia Moon Corn Whisky - I saw this at a Whisky store in London about 5 years ago and have wanted to try it ever since. I'm sure it's horrible. (It was).
12: Balcones Single Malt Whisky - Because these guys seem to be destined for big things.
13: Makers Mark from my own barrel - Should be ready in about 2015. Now I just need to find an excuse to be near Kentucky then.
14: Ardbeg Galileo - See #6.
15: Talisker 25yo - I love the 10yo, 18yo and 57˚ North, so it stands to reason I'll love this.
16: Seagram's Blender's Pride - I work with a few colleagues who are in India and for my birthday last year they told me they were pouring a "Blender's Pride" for me. I hadn't heard of it, but in the interests of trying as many world whiskies as I can, I'd like to.
17: Four Roses Bourbon
18: Glenfiddich Age of Discovery Bourbon Cask Finish 19yo - See #1.
19: Balvenie 21yo Portwood - Because I haven't met a Balvenie yet I haven't enjoyed
20: Something distilled the year I was born - '83, by the way.
21: Glenfiddich 125th Anniversary
22: Johnnie Walker "The Royal Silk Route" - Hopefully I'll be able to tick this off the list when I travel after May 2013, as the first in the series (Spice Road) has been available for tasting in various duty-free stores.
23: AnCnoc 12yo 
24: Ardbeg Alligator - See #6.
25: Caol Ila Distillers Edition
26: Yoichi 10yo - Because every Japanese whisky I've tried to date has impressed me.
27: Ardbeg Rollercoaster - See #6
28: Limeburners Single Malt Standard - An Aussie whisky I sadly haven't yet tried.
29: Mackinlay's Shackleton Rare Old Highland Malt - "Journey Edition" - I tried the Discovery Edition. It was decent, but it's the back story that makes this whisky interesting.
30: Glenfarclas 40yo
31: Laphroaig PX Cask - I really enjoyed the Lagavulin PX finish, so would like to see how Laphroaig have approached it.
32: Grant's Ale Cask reserve - Beer aged? Why not.
33: Amrut Single Malt - Loved the Fusion.
34: Pappy Van Winkle's 23 Year Old Family Reserve - Tried the 15yo, found it fantastic. An old colleague says this is the best Bourbon he's ever tried.
35: Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX - See #31, replace "Laphroaig" with "Glenmorangie"
36: Dalwhinnie 1995 Oloroso Finish (Distillers Edition)
37: Old Pulteney 40yo
38: Thomas H Handy Straight Rye - I've been getting more and more into Rye whiskies of late, and this is supposed to be one of (if not the) best.
39: Penderyn Madeira Finished Single Malt - Because I've never tried a Welsh whisky before.
40: Hakushu 12yo
41: Balvenie TUN 1401 (any batch) - Because everyone seems to love these releases.
42: Springbank 10yo
43: Caol Ila 25yo
44: Brenne French Single Malt - French? Cognac barrel aged? That ticks two boxes for me - 1) interesting and 2) a world whisky from a region I haven't tried.
45: Millstone French Oak 8yo - Dutch whisky, another region I haven't tried.
46: Jack Daniels White Rabbit Saloon
47: Strathclyde Grain Whisky - Any age
48: Mackmyra Small Casks - Swedish, aged in 30L casks? Sure to be interesting.
49: Compass Box "The Peat Monster"
50: Moonshine - Not even sure where to start looking with this one.
51: Auchentoshan Valinch - I gave packs of miniature Auchentoshans to my groomsmen as part of a thankyou just before our wedding. Kept a few for myself and enjoyed every one, but haven't tried the Valinch.
52: Aberlour 18yo - Because the A'bunadh is brilliant.
53: Laphroaig 18yo - I like the 15yo and the Quarter Cask, and even the standard 10yo, so it stands to reason I'll like this.
54: Mortlach 16yo
55: "Elements of Islay" Ar# (any release) - I've tried a few, including the CL4 and BR4, but I'm keen to see how their Ardbeg fares.
56: Oban Montilla Fino Finish (Distillers Edition) - I was lucky enough to visit Oban a few years ago. Lovely town, and lovely whisky.
57: Speyburn 10yo
58: The Glenlivet 25yo
59: The Macallan 21yo [Fine Oak] - Truth be told, I don't really like any of the Macallans (clarification: Fine Oak range) I've tried to date (including the 18yo). Maybe the 21yo will change my mind?
60: Jura Prophecy
61: A distillery-bottled Brora - For the same reason as #5.
62: Glenmorangie Ealanta
63: Kilchoman 100% Islay
64: Tobermory 15yo - Because I always see this case at Dan Murphys and it catches my eye, every time.
65: Glenmorangie Finealta
66: George T Stagg Bourbon - 71.4% ABV? 97.5 pts from Mr Murray? Phwoar.
67: Nikka All Malt
68: Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky - Continuing with the world whisky theme - a South African grain whisky.
69: Powers 12yo - I'm still on a mission to find an Irish whisky that I really like (the Jameson 18yo came close)
70: Old Pulteney 17yo
71: Black Bottle - The price may be an indication of the quality that lies within..but a blend of (almost) every Islay malt? Sign me up.
72: Master of Malt 40yo
73: Bowmore 18yo - In the interests of expanding my Islay whisky exposure (also, I've enjoyed the few Bowmores I've tried to date)
74: Finlaggan Old Reserve - It's Caol Ila, right?
75: Laphroaig Cairdeas
76: Old Pulteney 21yo
77: Dalmore King Alexander III - Not one, not two, but SIX different types of casks!
78: Glenfarclas Movember edition - I do Movember every year, but had no idea there was a whisky dedicated to it!
80: Johnnie Walker "The Gold Route" - See #22.
81: Big Peat - Coal Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg and Port Ellen? Yes please.
82: Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
83: Yamazaki Bourbon Barrel - Love the 12 and 18yo.
84: Ben Nevis 10yo
85: Aberfeldy 12yo
86: Bailie Nicol Jarvie Blended Whisky - A bunch of guys on a whisky forum are always talking about this being a decent drop for the (relatively little) money. 
87: Sazerac Rye - Neat (I've had it in plenty of cocktails before. Plenty of tasty, sharp, strong cocktails).
88: Balcones Baby Blue Corn Whisky
89: Balvenie 17yo Doublewood
90: Laphroaig cask strength - I meant to buy this one a recent trip overseas, but got sidetracked by a few new Glenfiddich releases.
91: The Chivas Brothers' Blend - As far as blends go, I don't mind Chivas, and I should hopefully be able to tick this one off the list when I next travel.
92: Teerenpeli Finnish Single Malt Whisky - I was curious if there were any Estonian whiskies out there (seeing as I'm a small part Estonian), but it seems there's only one, now-defunct distillery bottling Scottish whisky in Estonia. This Finnish whisky seemed a bit easier.
93: Woodford Reserve Double Oaked - I love Woodford Reserve and since their NSW Brand Ambassador told me about this, I've been wanting to try it.
94: Redbreast 12yo
95: Hammer Head Czech Whisky
96: An Islay new make - I've tried a few Scottish new makes (and Glenfiddich twice), but never an Islay new make. Not sure if this one will be easy or not, but they can't all be easy.
97: A special bottling made specifically for a bar - But not the Highlander Bar's special bottling from Highlander Singapore, because I've already tried that...
98: A Scotch bottled in the 70s
99: A Scotch bottled in the 80s
100: A Scotch bottled in the 90s
101: Master of Malt 50yo - A 50yo whisky that I'll most probably have the opportunity to try sooner rather than later.

....easy, right? Let's get tasting!

Cheers,
Martin.