Distilleries of the United Kingdom - Part 3

Part 1 saw visits to Oban & Talisker, Part 2 took in Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet. For part 3 - Glen Moray, Abelour, Dalwhinnie, Glenfarclas and Jameson.

Enjoy!

Cheers, 

 - Martin.

Tasted #47: The Balvenie 14yo Cuban Selection

The Balvenie 14yo Cuban Selection (43% ABV, 14yo, Speyside Scotland)

Nose: Light, refreshing, with sweet, seabreeze (surely somewhat subliminal?) notes

Palate: Slight tang, but not the berry tang of a sherried Speysider. Sweet, but not overpowering. Well balanced.

Finish: Long and delicious. Sweet, syrupy, excellent. It's rare that I prefer a whisky's finish over its nose or palate, but that's the case here.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Better than Glenfiddich 21yo (also finished in rum casks)? I think so.

Cheers.
 - Martin.

Bar review #9: Papa Gedes Bar (Sydney)

In another win for the Sydney Bar scene, Papa Gedes Bar opened tonight, adding another fantastic, friendly small bar to Sydney's laneways, with a touch of voodoo. Inspired by it's namesake (the "Voodoo Spirit of Lust & Humour, Mascot of Good Times"), the bar pulls off the voodoo theme well, without going overboard or straying into the domain of kitsch.

Found at the end of a laneway/driveway at 346-348 Kent St (just past Since I Left You), the venue was previously a garage - which would explain the lengthy fit-out time, which the team chronicled in minute detail via their awesome Twitter feed (@PapaGedesbar) - we just hope they keep up the tweets now that they're up and running.

Steph and I checked it out during the soft launch last Saturday and were impressed. You don't usually expect soft launches to be perfect, and you can forgive the odd mistake, average drink, or niggle...but there was no need. The team had everything running like clockwork, the cocktail menu was fantastic, and (whilst not huge) covered a broad range of drinks - something for everyone. The team of 3 (Lara, Mick and Josh) were all on-hand taking orders, mixing drinks and making sure everyone was having a good time. Clearly a bar team who care.

Favourite drinks were the Remedy No.1 (Bourbon, Creme Brûlée, tea syrup and port) followed by the Psychopomp (Cognac, maple syrup, lemon and egg white). Despite being in soft launch mode when we visited, it was clear the owners (whose experience spans Red Lantern, ivy Pool Club, Grandmas and Wild Rover) have spent a lot of time on the details - from the glassware, wallpaper, decorations, lighting and (most impressively) the sound system, which pumped out an eclectic but awesome mix of tunes. Oh, and the church pews mixed in with comfy couches? Great touch.

The spirits selection is well thought out, with whiskies ranging from Macallan, Red Breast and Laprhoaig, to Bookers, Bakers and the ubiquitous JW Blue. The wine list seemed to have a French focus, although we did notice an Argentinian Malbec from Exclusive Vines, who we're big fans of. Feel like channelling a New Orleans vibe? Plenty of Absinthe for that.

Papa Gedes isn't a big bar (licenced for 60), but it seems like a bar with a lot of heart, and will no doubt win favour with Sydney's small bar crowd, without any spells needing to be cast. We'll certainly be back.

Papa Gedes Bar can be found at 346-348 Kent St Sydney, and opens from Monday-Saturday, 5pm to midnight.

Cheers,
 - Martin.

The Macallan 1824 Series Australian launch event

(By Steph)

I’ve recently reconsidered my take on Monday nights. When you think of Monday, what do you think of? Monday blues? Although I do love what I do for work, it’s always a little disheartening knowing that you have 5 full days to push through before you have 2 blissful days of weekend. The solution? Spend your Monday night at the Australian launch of The Macallan 1824 series! It turns the Monday blues into Monday excitement, particularly when the spectacular location of such a launch is the stunning Blu Bar on Level 36 at Sydney’s Shangri-La hotel. Who can argue with fine whiskies matched with this view?

The night started with a bang in the form of a cocktail inspired by the flavours and aroma of The Macallan 1824 Amber expression. Created using Crème de Gingembre, homemade vanilla syrup, grapefruit bitters and lime, it was a delightfully refreshing cocktail, and the freeze-dried apple garnish made a delicious talking-point.  Cheryl Tang, Brand Ambassador for The Macallan in Australia provided the 100 or so guests with a brief introduction to the brand and expressions (as a few guests joked beforehand, it was almost guaranteed we'd hear the phrase "Rolls Royce of whiskey", and we weren't disappointed), and as always, it was a pleasure to listen to Andrew Derbridge, Director and Cellarmaster of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Australia talk us through each expression.

I’ll admit, Martin and I had tried the 3 expressions (Amber (40%), Sienna (43%) and Ruby (43%)) at The Oak Barrel’s Whisky Fair in September, and Martin recently posted an article about the Australian release, including some background on the growing NAS (No Age Statement) trend, so we had an idea of what to expect. NAS, sherried, luxurious and reflective of the colours of each expression. My favourite expression would have to be Sienna, however I'd also give the Ruby a sideways glance. All expressions were aged in sherry oak casks with natural colours and flavours (i.e. no added caramel). Anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for sherry-aged whisky so the three expressions received my tick of approval. Martin also enjoyed the range more than previous Macallans, and found the Sienna his favourite too.

We were told that the canapés (created by Altitude Head Chef, Matthew McCool) were tasty and a great match for the whiskies, however sadly we'll have to go on this anecdotal evidence, as only one of the savoury canapés ended up making it around to our group (even though we were in a prominent part of the small room). Talking to other guests it seemed a significant number of us missed out on most of the food. Mind you, the chocolate truffle infused with Ruby, which we were able to try, was a delicious end to the night. 

Whilst the location and whiskies were both fantastic (and a great match for each other), it did seem like a number of guests really didn't care for anything except free cocktails and whisky, and consistently talked over the presentation of the whiskies by Andrew (who did an excellent job, considering the crowd, and read the audience well).

For an event that served (generous amounts of) alcohol and ran from 6:30-8:30pm, a little more food wouldn’t have gone astray. Most guests appeared to drizzle out as soon as the last expression was tried, perhaps to satisfy their growling stomachs. But overall, well done to Beam, CCA, Exposure PR and The Macallan for choosing such a stunning location and for curing my Monday blues. A fitting launch for what is sure to be a popular series in Australia.

- Steph.

(Martin will post detailed tasting notes on the series shortly).

This Week in Whisk(e)y #2

We get a fair few interesting press releases 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. So on with it then...

The Balvenie launches a craft pop-up bar in Melbourne (11-14th November)

"Craft" is having a moment in spirits circles, and while it's a term that can sometimes be bandied about a little too liberally, that surely doesn't apply to The Balvenie. From their "by hand" attitude to David Stewart's extensive involvement in the development of the whisky, The Balvenie are a distillery who do things a little different, a little old school, and are all the better for it.

No wonder then they're teaming up with Craftspeople from around Australian for a 4 day pop-up bar in Melbourne's CBD (if only it was in Sydney, or coincided with one of my Melbourne trips!)

To quote the press release:

Taking place at the Zenith Interiors showroom in the Melbourne CBD, six different craftspeople will display their wares in a shared space to the public. Visitors can also enjoy the different ages and variants of the iconic Balvenie whisky. The craftspeople showcasing their work at The Balvenie Craft Bar will be: 

·       Kris and Kim Torma (bar maker and stone craftspeople), their unique range began with a semi-precious metal coating process that was a world-first and is now widely acknowledged as a benchmark for high end surface technology. Their company, Axolotl, handcrafted the Balvenie bar from a design studio facet studios. The design was inspired by The Balvenie 50 year old wooden box.
·       Cinnamon Lee (metal smith) is an Australian artist and metalsmith who makes precious objects, jewellery and lighting. Her practice spans over 15 years during which time she has had numerous works acquired by public collections. According to The Balvenie archives, ‘Dipping Dogs’ were flasks used by distillery workers in the early 1900s to pilfer drams of whisky. Inspired by this tale, The Balvenie Dog is a wearable whisky flask.
·       Tim Kill (luthier) works in Ben Puglisi’s Melbourne workshop, restoring building and repairing classical stringed instruments. For over 18 years he has procured a vast array of skills in his craft. Tim will have a selection of his hand-crafted guitars at the venue which will be played by some local musicians.
·       Ruth Allen (glass blower) is a Melbourne multi media artist primarily working with glass, light, kinetics and the poetics of experiences. Ruth is creating a chandelier from Balvenie bottles for the event along with some bespoke whisky decanter and glass sets.
·       Nick Haddow (cheese maker) works at the Bruny Island Cheese Company, widely regarded as one of the best cheese makers in Australia. It sets the standard for many aspiring and new cheese makers. Nick has selected a range of his handcrafted cheese which he has matched to the different Balvenie whiskies that will be available in the bar.
·       Brad Nicholls (designer) founded ‘Nicholls Design’ in 2004 having been inspired by many years travelling around Australia and South-east Asia. Brad creates beautiful objects for the home using traditional joinery techniques with timeless design. Brad crafted a stool called “Tom” for The Balvenie bar. The stool was inspired by his grandfather-in-law and is crafted from scrap / recycled hardwood where only glue and joinery techniques are used. 

Sam Simmons, Global Brand Ambassador for The Balvenie, will be at the Craft Bar as part of a trip to Melbourne that also includes the culmination of “The Ultimate Father’s Day” competition in conjunction with Dan Murphy’s 

Simmons said: “The Balvenie is one of the only handcrafted malts in the world. Nowhere else will you find a distillery that still grows its own barley, that still malts in its own traditional floor malting and that still has coopers to tend the casks and a coppersmith to tend the stills 

“As such, we have a natural affinity with artisans who still ply their trade as they have done for decades. We’re extremely excited to be working with these craftspeople who share the same value as The Balvenie.”

A bar inspired by The Balvenie 50, flasks inspired by Balvenie's history and a Balvenie chandelier? Sounds like a impressive bar to us! The Balvenie Craft Bar will be open for the public from 4.30pm-7.30pm each night (11-14th November) at Zenith Interiors, 179 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC.  On the Thursday it will be open until 10pm.


Tasmania Distillery release a "mature your own" whisky kit

In an innovative move for Tasmania Distillery (producers of Sullivans Cove whisky), you can now mature your own Australian single malt, thanks to their new "Sullivans Cove Cellarmaster" kit. Whilst other Australian distilleries offer programs to invest in their whisky, and own a barrel which is kept in their bondstore (as we wrote about here), Tasmania Distillery's offering is unique in that you receive the new make spirit, barrel and all equipment required to age it yourself. Coming with 20L of new-make Sullivans Cove (at 63.4% ABV), the instructions are simply to store the barrel in a cool place out of direct sunlight, and in approximately 2 years you'll have yourself 20L (minus the angels' share) of fine Australian single malt.

A few other pieces of information about the kit from the website:

• The unique Cellarmaster barrels are crafted by Tasmania's cooper, Adam Bone and prospective Cellarmasters have the choice of ex-port, ex-sherry or ex-bourbon casks, or a bespoke combination of this wood for a more complex flavour.
• The barley for your single malt comes from a Tasmanian farm and is malted and brewed at Cascade Brewery, Australia's oldest brewery.
• The wash is then transferred to Tasmania Distillery, the home of Sullivans Cove Single Malt Whisky, where it is distilled twice in the distillery's copper pot still.

At $3,750AUD (inc GST and delivery) the kit may seem expensive (and sure, that's a lot of money to spend on whisky), but when you consider a bottle of Sullivans Cove sells for $110-$165, the kit (including the barrel and glassware) doesn't seem too over the top...if you think you'll get through 20L of whisky, that is.


Bulleit pre-batched cocktail program 
During a recent visit to Diageo Sydney, we spoke a lot about the Bulleit pre-batching program, recently run by Diageo throughout some of Australia's best bars. In short, the program (run as a competition) saw almost 100 bars receive special bottling equipment, and design a special Bulleit cocktail to be served in the pre-batched bottles. Apart from being a huge trend in New York cocktail circles (where all good cocktail trends seem to start), we think it's a funky, different way to serve cocktails, and no doubt helps launch the "Bulleit Batches" series which are now available from bottle shops (think of them as well-thought out RTDs with quality and unusual ingredients - more "cocktail in a bottle", less "Stoli Lemon Ruski".

Melbourne's Black Pearl won the winning cocktail, with Fred Siggins' "Bulleit Briar", consisting of Bulleit Bourbon, Blackberry Shrub, Citrus Oils and Vanilla.

As for the Bulleit Batches available to buy off-premise (300mL, 6% ABV), the following three are available currently:

LOUISVILLE LEMONADE – Bulleit small batch whiskey, old-fashioned lemonade finished with soda.
THE RAMBLER – Bulleit small batch whiskey and cloudy apple blended with maple
KENTUCKY BUCK – Bulleit small batch whiskey mixed with dry ginger ale, finished with orange bitters

I tried "The Rambler" recently and it was certainly unique - not your average sickly-sweet RTD at all.

Cheers,

 - Martin.

Distilleries of the United Kingdom - Part 2

Following on from Part 1 (Oban & Talisker), I give you Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet:

Cheers,
 - Martin.

Tasted #46: Talisker Port Ruighe

Bit of a Talisker-fest of late, and that's not even including the Scotch Club Talisker night we couldn't attend.

Talisker Port Ruighe (pronounced "Portree") is one of Talisker's recent releases (along with Storm and Dark Storm), though it isn't yet widely available in Australia. The name refers to both the maturation it's gone through, in ex-Port casks, and the historic trading port by the same name, on Talisker's home the Isle of Skye.

Being a big fan of interesting maturation and finishing, I was keen to see how Talisker's salty/smoky nature paired up with port's typical sweetness.

Talisker Port Ruighe (45.8% ABV, NAS, OB, Isle of Skye Scotland)

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Nose: Smoky and salty, but with hints of...bath salts and soap? No, I hadn't failed to rinse my glass! Sawdust too. An odd mix, but enjoyable.

Palate: Thankfully, not the big salty smack in the mouth I got from the 30yo, but some real complexity. Smoky but not overly so, silky smooth, rich and syrupy with toffee apples and raisins. In a word, "rich".

Finish: Not overly smoky, but with some bacon notes and some residual ash at the back of the throat, towards the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. A great dram, and one that delicately balances Talisker's typical character with new and unchartered finishing/double maturation territory. I'm looking forward to seeing what else Talisker come out with in the near future.

Cheers,

 - Martin.

Glenfiddich - "Celebrating 125 years of pioneering spirit" dinner

Last Monday night those fine folk over at William Grant & Sons Australia held another fantastic event, this time a dinner to celebrate the (very limited) release of the 125th Anniversary Vintage.

Hold up...125th Anniversary Edition? Didn't I cover that already, back in January?

Ah...no. That release (whilst bloody good) was a travel retail special (soon to be available off-premise for around $150AUD). This release is somewhat more special, with only 286 bottles available worldwide, 9 of which are available in Australia (8 after the night was over...) and a price tag of $1,250AUD.

  

Slightly more special, then, and that's not even mentioning the fact that it was casked on Glenfiddich's 100th Anniversary (Christmas Day, 1987), and bottled exactly 25 years later, when Glenfiddich's Malt Master Brian Kinsman selected just one cask (a European oak sherry butt) from the small selection of casks all laid to rest on Christmas Day 1987. Bottled at 55.2% and with an intensely rich, copper colour, it was pretty obvious we were in for a treat.

So how was this incredibly rare whisky celebrated? With a suitably impressive 3 course meal at Centennial Parklands Dining - an appropriate choice of venue it turns out, given Centennial Parklands are also celebrating their 125th anniversary this year.

The sound of bagpipes made the venue a breeze to find, and the "And see my baby" cocktail (Adam Bastow's finalise cocktail from the recent Pioneers Cocktail Competition) was a welcome refreshment. After meeting both friendly and new faces, we were given a brief rundown of the park's history (did you know it was the site of the last officially recorded duel in Australia? Nor did I. #youlearnsomethingneweveryday) while enjoying a 125th Anniversary Edition (yes the one I wrote about in January). James Buntin (regular readers of this blog will probably know who he is by now!) then talked us through the whiskies, before the 30 or so of us took our seats for dinner, which included:

Glenfiddich 12yo cured salmon, beetrooth relish and citrus aioli
Served with Glenfiddich 12yo

Notes: Absolutely fantastic match this one, with the whisky bringing out sweet candied / boiled sweet flavours. Delicious and gone way too soon.

Oregano & Glenfiddich 18yo glazed chicken breast, potato fondant, sautéed spinach and roast wine cherry tomato
Served with Glenfiddich 18yo

Notes: Another excellent match, with the whisky ramping up the sweetness but also the spice.







Vanilla créme brulee, orange chocolate & raspberry garden with a honey & Glenfiddich 21yo infused ice cream

Served with chilled Glenfiddich 21yo

Notes: Not my favourite match, but the Glenfiddich infused ice cream was fantastic, and the chilled 21yo was an interesting and fun twist.

Tea, Coffee & dark chocolate truffles
Served with Glenfiddich 30yo

Notes: You know it's going to be a good night when the 30yo Glenfiddich isn't the last whisky of the night!

With dinner cleared and the taste of Glenfiddich 30yo still lingering, head chef Paul Kavanagh said a few words about the pairings, before it was time to taste the main event - the Glenfiddich 125th Anniversary Vintage.

...which I've decided to save for its own tasting post (because it's just that good). Long story short - I've given it my equal highest rating ever.

 

A huge thanks has to go to the William Grant & Sons and Weber Shandwick crew (especially Mark, James and Steve) who did another fantastic job. The next event is already locked in the diary and we can't wait!

Cheers, 

 - Martin.

This Week in Whisk(e)y #1

We get a fair few interesting press releases 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 wrapup of relevant press releases we've received in the previous week. So on with it then...


Jameson whiskey Honours Sydney in "Love the City" Campaign
A while ago I read about a new Jameson travel retail (aka duty free) release, featuring 8 iconic cities. The good news is one of those 8 selected cities is Sydney, and Jameson are offering a pretty great prize as part of a related competition...

"...All eight iconic cities (Sydney, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Dublin, London, Moscow, Paris and Singapore) have been honoured with a bespoke Jameson¹s label as part of this limited collection of travel exclusives. The special Sydney edition of Jameson is now available for a limited time as SYD Tax & Duty Free at $38.99. 

When consumers purchase a bottle from the "Love the City" range, they are invited to enter a Facebook photo competition for a chance to win a retro-inspired travel trunk, which doubles up as a drinks cabinet and contains all eight "Love The City" limited editions along with four bottles of Jameson Original. They just have to post a picture of their limited edition bottle or the city they love on Facebook at www.jamesonwhiskey.com/cityedition"

Granted the liquid inside is standard Jameson, but these sort of releases are a fun way to engage fans in a specific region, and at $38.99 it's not exactly going to break the bank.




The Wild Rover launches the "Campbell Corner Whisk(e)y Co-operative (CCWC)
Continuing with the Irish theme, Sydney's The Wild Rover (see our review here) are launching an innovative new Whisk(e)y club  starting in November. Stretching beyond just tastings or discounts, the club involves an element of gamification, whereby members have to get through their personal "inventory" before being granted access to rare, discounted whiskies:

"The CCWC is a consumer-based group of like-minded individuals who all have an appreciation of whisky and wish to try, learn about and discover their favourite drams. It is a two part offering focussing on enjoying whisky, with education a secondary thought. 

The Wild Rovers back bar plays host to over a hundred whiskies from around the world and some these are featured in a personalised card called ‘your inventory of whiskies’. Your Inventory is a personal checklist of 50 drams gracing The Wild Rovers back bar. One of each need to be purchased in order to qualify as a ‘Buff’, giving access to purchase from The Wild Rovers ‘reserve selection’ made up of rare, hard to find whiskeys at a massively discounted rate. There are also benefits to signing up your friends and colleagues including passes to whisk(e)y events and bottles of the Co-operatives favourite drams.

The second part to the CCWC is a tasting event focussed on developing each persons interest with offering an experience rather than simply a tasting. Both international and domestic guests from the wide whiskey world are invited to present to the Co-op each month. It will most likely be on the first Monday of each month, or whenever the international presenters are in the country. 

A joining fee of $25 includes a shot of either Bushmills 21yo Madeira Wood or Balvenie 14yo Roasted Malt that can be checked off Your Inventory of Whiskies, invitations to the monthly tasting event and opportunities to receive bottles of Whiskey through the ambassador program. 

For more information regarding the upcoming launch of the Campbell Corner Whisk(e)y Co-operative please email manager@thewildrover.com.au."

No word yet on what the massively discounted rate is, but given you have to work through 50 drams to get there, presumably it'll be decent.

Cheers,
 - Martin.

Tasted #44 & #45: Koval Single Barrel Whiskey - Four Grain & Rye

World whiskies were a big part of my starting this blog - craft whiskies too. Discovering the weird, wonderful, unusual and unknown, all in the name of blogging science. Giddy up!

I'd like to say I stumbled across Koval Distillery, but it actually happened the other way around. Sitting at the airport one day I received an e-mail out-of-the-blue offering me a few samples, which I graciously accepted and gave my address. One month, two months...nothing. I sent a follow-up, nothing. Then finally a response - turns out the guys at the distillery thought I was a US-based blogger, and weren't too keen to send anything to Australia.

Luckily I had a US forwarder and had planned to have a few things sent over anyway, so shortly after I was in posession of two sample bottles of Koval whiskey - the Four Grain and Rye.

Koval are unique in a number of ways - first craft distillery in Chicago since prohibition, certified organic, certified Kosher, and with a seriously impressive portfolio for a distillery who have only been in operation since 2008 (Caraway or Chrysanthemum Honey liqueur, anyone?)

On the whiskey front, they offer everything from white whisky to Rye, Oat, Millet, Wheat and Spelt, as well as a Bourbon (made from a mashbill of organic corn and Millet). I was sent the Rye and Four Grain (Rye/Wheat/Oat/Barley) for tasting. So let's get on with it then..

Koval Distillery Single Barrel Four Grain Whisky (Barrel #196, 47% ABV, Chicago USA)

Koval Distillery Single Barrel Rye Whisky (Barrel #223, 40% ABV, Chicago USA)
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Nose

Four Grain: Youthful, spicy, with strong notes of banana fritters.
Rye: Youthful, buttery, with slight....rubber notes? Not in a bad way, but they're there, not dissimilar to those in Balcones Baby Blue (which I loved).

Palate
Four Grain: Initial big hit soon softens, almost as if you get the full 47% ABV at first, but then it actually feels like it could use a few more % ABV. Apple crumble notes, with some cinnamon and a creaminess not often found in a lot of whiskies. Very enjoyable!
Rye: Light, very light - great for our upcoming summer. Toasted coconut and oatmeal, banana, spice, but sadly without the creaminess of the Four Grain.

Finish
Four Grain: Overall I'd say a medium finish, but sadly the fun bits (creamy dessert notes) are a bit on the shorter side.
Rye: Short, but pleasant. No real dominant notes, save for the toasted coconut which stays around for the short finish.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 
Four Grain: 91/100. Certainly an interesting whisky, and one I'll happily sip again.
Rye: 90/100. Different enough to other ryes out there, while still being very much enjoyable. I don't normally consider Rye a sipping whisky (though a good rye certainly can be), especially not a "summer" whisky, though with its 40% ABV and lighter notes, I think this one could wear both hats with ease.

As far as unique, craft distilleries go, Koval are definitely up there. I'd love to try some of their other whiskies (especially the Oat), and I'm also keen to try the Rye in cocktails (perhaps a Problem Solver - or any other suggestions anyone has?)

Many thanks to Koval Distillery for the samples provided. H&R Craft Beverages are the distributors of Koval in Australia.

Cheers,

 - Martin.