Distillery Tour #3: Kavalan Distillery (Taiwan) - Makers of the 2015 World's Best Single Malt Whisky

Third in our Distillery Tour series (don't worry we haven't forgotten about Yamazaki - it's due soon) is the Kavalan Distillery in Taiwan. Or should we say, the distillery responsible for the World's Best Single Malt Whisky 2015, as crowned by the World Whiskies Awards in London last week.

Just a few weeks before the Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique Single Cask Strength picked up the coveted title, Steph and I were lucky enough to be treated to a private tour of the distillery (which was very lucky, considering the regular tours are in Mandarin, which neither of us speak).

Located in Yuanshan, a rural township in Yilan County (about 1hr 20m away from Taipei city), the Kavalan Distillery really is a sight to behold. Much like its parent, the King Car group, the distillery is absolutely massive, with everything done on a grand scale - the grounds, the warehouses, even the tasting room.

..but what really fascinated us, before all that, was Yilan County itself. Kilometer upon kilometer upon kilometer of flat, water-filled plots, some with shacks and run-down houses, some with modern mansions. Truly unlike anything we'd ever seen before (the photos below don't do it justice - but believe us when we say the landscape was like this for a good 30-40 minutes before we got to the distillery). Simply amazing.

Unfortunately Ian Chang (Master Distiller, who we met at The Whisky Show 2014 in Sydney) wasn't on site, but nevertheless we were given a very enjoyable tour by an enthusiastic tour guide who showed us the ins and outs of the distillery.

Kavalan obtain their barley already malted from the UK, Sweden and Finland, and don't do any in-house malting (though if they wanted to, they'd certainly have enough room!) Producing 3 million bottles a year, with the average cask aged for 3-4 years, means you need some serious storage facilities. In addition to the incredible 5 story warehouse they currently have, at the time of our visit, the distillery were constructing another. Unsurprising really, given the popularity in recent years. Due to frequent earthquakes in the region, the casks are bound 4 at a time, to reduce the risk of them toppling over - particularly those racked towards the top.

As with many distilleries, casks are a mix of port pipes, sherry butts and bourbon barrels, with the type of cask identifiable by a unique code on the front (and of course, the shape / size). The 3 casks below, first filled in 2006, were the first Kavalan casks to be filled (when you think about it, to win the World's Best Single Malt is a pretty incredible achievement for a distillery that's only been producing for 9 years!

Interestingly, in addition to the regular spirit/wash stills producing the single malt that has made Kavalan famous, the distillery has recently installed a number of other, very different German stills, which are intended to produce gin and brandy. Watch this space.

The tour itself (which I should point out, is completely free) is, in a similar fashion to the Suntory Hakushu Distillery we tourd back in December, somewhat of a "standard" tour. You see the mashing, you see the fermentation, you see the distillation, you see the barrel houses, and then you go into the tasting room. It's enjoyable, and you do get to see a few close-ups (such as some sample grains, open casks, new make spirit / whisky at various stages of aging in different casks), but you're not going to try a single cask whisky straight from the barrel, or taste a new make with your hands. From the looks of it, the distillery simply gets too many visitors each year to offer any specialist tours. It's certainly a popular tourist destination.

Unlike the aforementioned Hakushu Distillery tour, the tasting at the end of the tour is of one whisky only - the Kavalan Classic Single Malt 40% (4yo). There are nosing bottles on each table to allow tasters to nose each Kavalan expression (including the award winning Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique Single Cask Strength), but they aren't for tasting.

What the distillery shop offers, however, is 50mL sample bottles of every expression, along with a limited distillery-only peated 7yo expression (housed in a stunning presentation box, and available for a very reasonable ~$350HKD / $57AUD). If there are two things I really like to see in a distillery shop, it's a distillery-only expression that doesn't cost the earth, and a large range of samples. Tick, tick. Well done, Kavalan.

Was the tour worth doing? Yes, absolutely. While it might not be the most interactive of distillery tours you'll go on, you'll get to see whisky distillation / aging on a simply massive scale, in a country that just a few short years ago no-one would have thought could produce a decent whisky, let alone a world-beater.

A few tips if you do plan to visit:

• As mentioned, the distillery is a decent drive from Taipei (it took us about 1h 20m in a taxi), and if you're not driving yourself, your options are pretty limited. Our hotel (the excellent W Taipei) arranged a taxi for us, who waited at the distillery and drove us back. If you're not driving, I'd suggest doing something similar.
• If you are driving though, there's plenty of parking (of course it goes without saying - don't drink and drive, but this isn't like some Scottish distilleries where you'll be tasting 4-5 whiskies at the end).
• Book ahead, and if you don't speak Mandarin, see if you can arrange an English tour.

With Ian Chang (Kavalan Master Distiller) the day after his 
"Best Single Malt 2015" win, in London.

Cheers,

Steph & Martin.

Tasted #167: Glenfiddich Age of Discovery "Dawin Edition" Red Wine cask 19yo

Considering this whisky is the first in my #101drams list, and I actually purchased this bottle around two years ago (and took these notes about 9 months ago), it's taken me way too long to get this post up (2 years and 2 months after tasting the Age of Discovery Bourbon Cask, in fact).

Oh well, better late than never...


Glenfiddich Age of Discovery "Dawin Edition" Red Wine cask (40% ABV, 19yo, Speyside, Scotland, $158AUD)

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Colour: Dark gold
Nose: Instantly recognisable as a 'fiddich. Pears (stewed this time), but slightly dusty and more earthy than other 'fiddichs. Sweet too - would have guessed there'd be some bourbon-matured stock in it if I'd nosed it blind.

Palate: Big, sweet, citrus zest. Fills the mouth well for 40% ABV. Quickly changes to a drying, berry flavour, with mouth-puckering tannins

Finish: Dry! Relatively short. Tannic but smooth to the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. I really enjoyed this. It starts off like a regular Glenfiddich, then takes a massive detour, while remaining just as enjoyable.

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #166: Elements of Islay AR 4 Ardbeg (#101drams)

First tasting notes from our visit to Campbelltoun Loch are thanks to the Elements of Islay series - specifically Ardbeg Release #4.

Having tried a few of Elements' full strength, NAS, small batch releases (sometimes from single casks, sometimes not), I was keen to try one of their Ardbeg expressions - so much so, that I put one on my #101drams challenge. So here we go...


Elements of Islay AR4 (58.1% ABV, NAS Islay, Scotland, no longer available)
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Colour: Vibrant coppery gold.
Nose: Subtle peat smoke and some raspberry notes. Fruity sweetness, but not overpowering.
Palate: Still subtle smoke. Campfire smoke mostly - mossy, earthy, grassy smoke. Some sweet shortbread notes towards the end.
Finish: Long, smooth and campfire-smoky.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. A nice dram but there are no real standout characteristics.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #165: Johnnie Walker "The Royal Route" (#101drams)

The third, final, and most expensive release in Johnnie Walker's at-times controversial "Explorers' Club Collection" - "The Royal Route"* released after "Spice Road" and "The Gold Route", was unleashed on travel retail markets around the world in October 2013.

In my #101drams - a charitable challenge, I mentioned that I hoped to tick this one off after a May 2013 trip. Well, it took a little longer than that, but after countless trips I finally saw it for tasting at a duty-free shop in Japan's Narita Airport, in January 2015...


Johnnie Walker Explorer's Club Collection "The Royal Route" (40% ABV, NAS, Scotland, $159USD)
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Colour: Light gold.

Nose: Butterscotch and caramel. Some pineapple.

Palate: Grainy at first, with more pineapple (pineapple cakes more than fresh pineapple). Sweet toffee and caramel.

Finish: Short, sweet and smooth.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 88/100. A fine and fitting end to the collection, though unlikely to challenge a die-hard Single Malt fan.

Cheers,
Martin.

* Could have sworn I saw this called the "Royal Silk Route" prior to its release, so perhaps it had a name before being released. Either way, it's officially called "The Royal Route".

Tasted #164: Teeling Whiskey Single Grain Irish Whiskey

Way back over 100 tastes ago, we discussed Teeling's Small Batch Irish Whiskey, and really enjoyed the value for money it provided, as well as its points of difference (46% ABV, non chill-filtered, Rum cask-aged, Irish) in a market increasingly filled with 40% ABV chill-filtered Scotch whiskies.

Fast forward to 2015 and the chaps at Teeling Whiskey Company (who are rapidly increasing their presence in Australia) kindly sent me a sample of the newly Australian-released Teeling Whiskey Single Grain Irish Whiskey (as well as a spiffy Teeling tweed cap, and another sample which I'll keep hush hush for now, but will be hitting Australian shelves later this year...).

Continuing with the unique cask aging, Teeling have completely aged this whiskey in Californian Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks. Having tried many a wine cask aged whisk(e)y before, and generally enjoyed their unique nature, I was very keen to try this, especially since hearing it won the "World's Best Grain" at the World Whiskies Awards last year.

The whole Teeling range is only available at Dan Murphy's in Australia (no word on Hong Kong availability yet), and this particular bottle sells for a very reasonable $59.95.

Teeling Whiskey Single Grain Irish Whiskey (46% ABV, NAS, Dublin Ireland, $59.95)
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Colour: Vibrant coppery gold.

Nose: Rich, with citrus and blueberry notes up front, and some confectionary sweetness following. Very enjoyable - one of those whiskies you hope doesn't then let you down with a thin, anaemic palate...

Palate: ....and it doesn't! Big and rich at first, with lots of spice and some berry notes carrying through. It quickly becomes very drying (a feature we've found with almost all red wine cask-aged whiskies we've tried), with some residual sweetness at the end. More-ish.

Finish: Drying and tannic, and enjoyable, with subtle hints of spice, but far too short.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. Another winner from Teeling. Grain whisky may not yet be in the mainstream (though David Beckham is doing his best to change that), but I think this Teeling Single Grain will have a good chance of putting it there (and I'd happily drink it over Haig Club!)

Bar Review #14: Campbelltoun Loch (Tokyo, Japan)

A few weeks ago we posted up the first bar review from our recent Japan trip, namely Zoetrope in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and talked about their incredible and well-priced range of Japanese whisky.

Well, what Zoetrope is to Japanese whisky, Campbelltoun Loch is to Scottish whisky.

Also located in Tokyo, Campbelltoun Loch re-defined my image of a "small bar". We all know Sydney has some great "small" bars, but they're palaces, mansions even, compared to Campbelltoun Loch. I'd almost bet there are a lot of Sydney bars with stockrooms larger Campbelltoun Loch. 

See for yourself (my back was against the front door taking this picture):

But size is hardly an indicator of a quality bar, and Campbelltoun Loch have done their best to fill every single inch of the bar with quality whisky - the overwhelming majority of it Scottish, with a good mixture of both Original and Independent bottlings.

While there may only be room for 8 patrons, the staff (that'd be Nakamura Nobuyuki, the sole guy behind the bar in the photo above), clearly passionate about Scotch whisky, makes sure everyone feels welcome, regardless of which of their 300+ open bottles they choose to dram from.

The atmosphere was jovial but refined, with subtle jazz tunes filling the room and a mostly older (but very friendly) crowd. A brief look at the shelf confirms that whilst Nakamura may have been running Campbelltoun Loch for "only" 16 years, his collection of whisky goes well beyond that...

As with a lot of the Japanese whisky bars we visited, there's no menu and with such a variety (and my not terribly good eyesight), it was hard to see everything that was on offer. Prices were reasonable, with a dram of Balvenie 15yo Single Barrel (the new Sherry one) selling for about $90HKD/$15AUD, and as with almost all the bars we visited, half-drams were available (have I made it clear yet that Japan really is whisky lovers heaven? Because It is...)

There's a reasonable amount of world whiskies, including a single Sullivans Cove (from Australia) and Teeling 21 (from Ireland), but Scotch is clearly the focus.

Campbelltoun Loch can be a little tricky to find (though the address details and photo below should help), but it's absolutely worth the trouble. Whisky fans could do worse than a few drams at the Park Hotel's SMWS Society bar (review up soon), followed by a few nightcaps here. Or vice versa.

Campbelltoun Loch, Tokyo
Address: 1-6-8 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku
Nearest station: Yurakucho or Hibiya (exit A4)

Cheers.

Martin.

St Paddy's Day at CCWC - Jameson Masterclass

It's been awhile since my last post, the Christmas / New Year holiday and work having taken over. Nevertheless, a few exciting posts coming up and also some reflection from my recent travel (more on that soon).

Continuing from the last Jameson tasting at CCWC (Campbell Corner Whiskey Co-Operative) at The Wild Rover in May last year and also ahead of the St Pat's day celebration, it would be fitting to re-visit the iconic Irish whiskey that is Jameson with Pernod Ricard's Jameson Brand Ambassador Lexie O'Toole at The Wild Rover.

This being my first Jameson masterclass and having had limited encounters with Irish whiskies in the past,  I did look forward to the tasting. This iconic Irish whiskey, founded by John Jameson (a Scottish lad) in 1780 at the Middleton distillery differentiates itself from American and Scotch whiskies through its use of both malted and unmalted barley and through its triple-distilled production process. The result, a remarkably pleasant, creamy and spice laden (as derived from the unmalted barley) whiskey -- as presented through the six Jameson whiskies on the night:

• Jameson Select Reserve (Small Batch)
• Jameson Gold Reserve
• Powers Gold Label
• Redbreast 12yo Single Pot STill
• Green Spot Single Pot Still
• Jameson 18YO

So here we go...

Jameson Select Reserve Small Batch (40% ABV, NAS, Cork, Ireland, $69.99AUD)
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A mixture between the Irish pot still and a small batch of grain, deducing a sweet, rich expression from the distillation
Colour: Light copper
Nose: Smooth, sweet date and vanilla notes.
Palate: Light, spices, vanilla, nutty and where did that dark orange chocolate come from. Did I mention oily also
Finish: Medium, sweet and gentle spices
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. It's smooth, creamy and sweet -- reminds me of a bourbon.

Powers Gold Label (43% ABV, NAS, Cork, Ireland, $79.99AUD)
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Just released late last year, this whiskey is notably sitted between the Select and Gold reserve
Colour: Rich and golden copper
Nose: Sweet date, honey, vanilla, tobacco?
Palate: Loads of spices, heavy on the caramel
Finish: Long prolonged spices
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100

Jameson Gold Reserve (40% ABV, NAS, Cork, Ireland, $84.99AUD)
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They say this whiskey receives its sweetness from the wood, American Oak and its mixture of different potstills
Colour: Dark copper
Nose: honey and vanilla notes 
Palate: Sweet vanilla, cinnamon, iodine (where did this come from)
Finish: Longer than the Select Reserve and sweet lingering finish.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100 (the same as what Martin scored) 

Redbreast 12yo (40% ABV, 12yo, Cork, Ireland, $99.99AUD)
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A traditional style single pot still whiskey, aged for 12 years and heavily influenced by the sherry cask
Colour: Light, golden, did someone say red hue?
Nose: honey and vanilla notes (seems to be a common denominator)
Palate: Light, raisin, hint of sherry, dried fruits (apricot?)
Finish: Short and sweet.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.

Green Spot Single Pot Still (40% ABV, NAS, Cork, Ireland, $99.99AUD)
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Aged mostly in second fill Bourbon barrels, with some aged in ex-Sherry barrels.
Colour: Light copper
Nose: Clove, cinnamon
Palate: Apple, cinnamon (now that's a combination), sweet date
Finish: Short with a sweet date finish
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100 (never got those salmon notes)

Jameson 18 YO (40% ABV, NAS, Cork, Ireland, $135AUD)
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Distilled a couple of times before being sent away in Oloroso casks
Colour: Golden
Nose: Honey, vanilla, orange
Palate: Dried fruit, sweet date, spices, iodine, hint of sherry
Finish: Medium and sweet
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100

Well, what can I say, my first Jameson masterclass and it was rather enjoyable. The tasting notes tend to be quite consistent between expressions though I did love the Select reserve slightly more than the other expressions. I wasn't sure if all the hints of iodine were from the naturally salty oloroso sherry, the sherry style casks used to mature many of the expressions.

The masterclass was fun and enjoyable and with Lexie, having spent some time in Belgium as an ambassador, also shared few interesting insights between these Irish whiskey expressions and the more classic trappist ;)

Whatever you do, wherever you are, Happy St. Paddy's Day!!

Cheers,
Hendy

Tasted #159 - #163: Ichiro's Malt Cards Series (Hanyu) Ace of Diamonds, Yamazaki Mizunara 2014, Miyagikyo 1987, Hanyu from the last year of production...and more!

A few weeks ago we posted a review of the fantastic Zoetrope bar in Tokyo, Japan, as part of a trip Steph and I recently took to Japan. As with every bar we visited, we tasted some amazing, rare, unusual (and generally, insanely cheap) whiskies.

Here are the five we tasted at Zoetrope (who conveniently are happy to serve most drams by the half-dram), including not just any Ichiro's Malt "Cards" bottling, but an Ace! Sadly (but unsurprisingly) they'd run out of their Colour Joker stocks...

Ichiro's Malt (Hanyu) "Cards" series Ace of Diamonds (56.4% ABV, 21yo, Bottle #407 of 527, Cask 9023, Hanyu, Japan, no longer available)

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Distilled in 1986, bottled in 2008. Two casks: Hogshead & Cream Sherry Butt
Colour: Dark red-copper.
Nose: Rich, Sherried, sweet, raspberries, some almond.
Palate: Leather, oak, spice, big spice. A little sweetness - bubblegum, wine gums, and some apricots.
Finish: Drying and tannic. After a fantastic nose and palate, the finish lets it down slightly...but only slightly.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Despite the slight disappointment on the finish, still a fantastic whisky.

Nikka Single Cask Malt Whisky (Miyagikyo) 1987 (62% ABV, 17yo, Bottle #4, Cask #89698, Sendai, Japan, no longer available)
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Distilled in November 1987, bottled in August 2005.
Colour: Intensely dark
Nose: Plums and port.
Palate: Lots of juicy plum notes. Lets you know it's packing 62% ABV, but that's not to say it's harsh. Hot yes, but not harsh. Water really brings out sweet toffee notes.
Finish: Drying, tannic, medium length. Lots of oak. Water lengthens the finish (unsurprising given the ABV).
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Better with a few drops of water.

Yamazaki Mizunara 2014 (48% ABV, NAS, 1 of 1,600 bottles, Yamazaki, Japan, ¥25,000)

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Colour: Bright orange
Nose: Spiced, chilli, vanilla and coconut. Lots of coconut (a feature of all Mizunara-matured whiskies we nosed during the trip).
Palate: Spicy, possibly one of the spiciest whiskies I've tried. Peppers and chilli.
Finish: Cayenne pepper, turning into pure coconut. Very long.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. I probably wouldn't drop the asking price on a bottle (though even if I wanted to, I'm sure all 1,600 are now spoken for, but an enjoyable and very unusual whisky nonetheless).

Ichiro's Malt (Chichibu) Zoetrope Banzai 8th anniversary bottling (62% ABV, 4yo, bottle #25 of 79, cask #609, Chichibu, Japan, not for sale)

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Distilled Nov in 2009, bottled in June 2014 to celebrate the bar's 8th anniversary.
Colour: Orange sunset
Nose: Play dough (it's clearly young) but very smooth. Pineapple too.
Palate: Meaty. Some plastic, crayons. But rich tropical fruits too. Very, very good.
Finish: The only disappointing part. Medium length, tannic and slightly sour.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Bloody good whisky, let down only slightly by a finish that reminds you that this is still very young, and has some less than favourable notes that haven't quite left it yet.

Ichiro's Malt (Hanyu) Shot Bar Zoetrope 3rd anniversary bottling (60.7% ABV, 9yo, bottle #158 of 263, cask #9800, Chichibu, Japan, not for sale)

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Distilled in 2000, the last year of Hanyu's production. Partially matured in a rum cask and bottled in 2009 to celebrate Zoetrope's 3rd anniversary (how many bars can say they have two whiskies bottled specifically for them? Zoetrope actually have 3...)
Colour: Orange sunset
Nose: Bacon. Bacon. Some more bacon, and then, for a change, bacon. So much bacon. A few drops of water brought about some smoke too. Smoky bacon. Yes please!
Palate: Intense bacon-ness. Water brings about even more bacon, but also adds smoked BBQ flavours and dried fruits - apples and sultanas.
Finish: Long and hot. Some smoke, quite a bit of vanilla sweetness.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Not my favourite of the night, but still a fantastic whisky (especially if you like bacon. Mmm, bacon...)

If you ever get the chance, visit this bar.

Cheers,

Martin.

This week in whisk(e)y #17

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

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


Ardbeg Day 2015 announced

If you only read one of these news bits, read this one. Ardbeg Day 2015 has been announced, to be held on 30th May 2015. Mark the date in your calendar, and if you lve in Sydney (and probably Melbourne), then you'll most definitely want to keep the date completely free.

Why? Because Ardbeg Day is usually one of, if not the best whisky event of the year in Australia (no word yet on if there'll be a Hong Kong one in 2015, but we hope so).

2013 was fantastic. 2014 possibly even better. Do you want to be the person who misses out on 2015?

(Trust me, you don't.)

Details will be posted here when available:
http://www.ardbeg.com/ardbeg/ardbeg-day-2015



New World Whisky Distillery Tours and Tastings
You may know New World Whisky Distillery from their Starward Australian single malt whisky, their brilliant single cask and one-off bottlings, or from our private tour back in Dec 2013. Either way, they're an incredibly exciting young (though now well-established) distillery doing some incredibly exciting things (ginger beer cask-finished whisky anyone), who don't seem to be slowing down the pace any time soon.

Since our tour, they've added a bar, and a series of formal tours/tastings, which can be found on their events page. While they've just run a whole bunch of tours throughout early Feb, they have an open day coming up on 28th February which is sure to be a cracker.

Do yourself a favour if you haven't, and get into this exciting distillery (literally, if you're in Melbourne and are free this coming Saturday).



The Glenrothes to release Vintage 1968 Exceptional Cask in Australia
It wasn't that long ago that we attended the Hong Kong launch of the 1969 Exceptional Cask, and now the 1968 vintage has been announced in Australia (previously only being available at Singapore duty free).

For those who like the geekier details:

"The Glenrothes Extraordinary Single Cask 1968 has been bottled from the contents of Cask #13507 – a second-fill hogshead cask, filled on 19th November 1968. It has yielded just 145 bottles at a natural strength of 41.9% ABV. The hallmarks of The Glenrothes are quality and purity, evident in the beautifully-balanced, elegant and well-mannered single malt with peerless texture, perfectly expressed by this single cask bottling. This expression is unchill filtered and, like all Glenrothes’ bottlings, of completely natural colour."

The Glenrothes Extraordinary Single Cask 1968 #13507 will be available in Australia from March 2015. Prices will start at "$10,000AUD and upwards" per bottle.



Highland Park "Odin" has arrived
Back in November we attended the Hong Kong launch of the Highland Park "Freya", and the next in the series has now been announced - none other than "Odin", joining "Freya", "Thor" and "Loki" to complete the Valhalla collection.

Odin weighs in at 55.8% ABV and, judging from the comments online, has been very well received.

No word on a HK release just yet, but we'll be sure to look into it and update this post with any details.



anCnoc 1975 Vintage released
Another new anCnoc release - this time a very well-aged 1975 release, bottled in 2014 (making it 38 or 39 years old in my books, depending on distillation/bottling dates).

To quote the press release:

"On February 1st 2015 anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky will unveil its latest creation – anCnoc 1975 Vintage. Bottled late in 2014 this is the oldest expression ever released from Knockdhu Distillery and promises to be the ultimate treat for anCnoc fans and the most discerning whisky drinkers around the world.

The whisky comes from only three American oak and Spanish oak ex-sherry casks laid down in 1975. The release consists of 1590 bottles. The whisky comes in its most natural form, it has not been chill-filtered or coloured and is presented at the cask strength of 44.2% ABV.

The recommended retail price is £300. anCnoc 1975 Vintage will be available in several key markets around the world including the UK, USA, Russia and Canada.

In-keeping with anCnoc's ethos of 'Modern Tradition', the 1975 Vintage is presented in a simple, striking bottle and encased in an elegant black tube.

anCnoc Assistant Brand Manager Stephanie Bridge sheds light on where the new Vintage fits within anCnoc's recent string of acclaimed releases.

“The last 12 months have been a very ambitious and a very successful time for anCnoc. We unveiled the limited Peaty Collection to a global audience and launched two travel retail expressions as well as our popular 18 Year Old. The 1975 has been anticipated for a number of years, it’s distinctively anCnoc, a fantastic whisky and a superb addition to any whisky collection.""

Visit the world with LABEL 5 fans
In another example of whisky companies seeking to engage their audience in new and exciting ways (e.g. The Glenlivet's The Guardian's Chapter and Maker's Mark's ongoing excellent Ambassador program) LABEL 5 (which we tried back in November) recently asked their fans to film a 5 second video of their city, for inclusion in a "round the world" compilation produced by LABEL 5.

The compilation has now been completed, and can be found at: http://youtu.be/TNXhGn9QXZg


Cheers, 
- Martin.

Tasted #158: Blackadder "Raw Cask" Linkwood 1991 22yo

On the same day I tried the Old Pulteney 21 at Liquors Hasegawa in Tokyo, I also spotted this 22yo Linkwood which was too tempting not to try...

One thing I love about the "Raw Cask" series from Blackadder is the little bits of char (known in the Twitterverse as "chat", I believe) that floats around the bottle. There's no doubt that these come straight from the cask...

Blackadder "Raw Cask" 1991 Linkwood (58% ABV, 22yo, Speyside, Scotland, bottle 190 of 254)
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Colour: Light pale straw.

Nose: Earthy, herbal smoke, but at the same time sweet, boiled lollies.

Palate: Lots of caramel. Thick, rich, like a creme brûlée with cinnamon on top, condensed into a hard-boiled lolly.

Finish: Long and lingering, without any "heat", but with notes of burnt caramel.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. While I love my sherried whiskies, I also really appreciate a great ex-Bourbon cask whisky, and this definitely fits the bill. One of those who like their whiskies on the sweeter side, for sure.

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #157: Old Pulteney 21 (#101drams)

There's a wonderful, magical place in the maze that is Tokyo station, called Liquors Hasegawa, the whisky shop of your dreams.

Actually there are two, and a "Sake Hasegawa", but one of them is more wonderful and magical than the others, for you see, not only do they have an absolutely incredible amount of whisky crammed into a tiny, tiny store, they also offer very cheap 10mL tastings (and not just of the regular stuff - plenty of rarer single cask whiskies too, like BlackAdder Raw Cask bottlings - notes up soon).

The excellent Nonjatta explains how the rules work, but basically, anything with a small red and white sticker (see below) has a price. You pay that price (rarely more than a few Aussie dollars or $20HKD) and you taste 10mL of that whisky (or other spirit). Simple.

When I started the #101drams Charitable Challenge I knew that I'd have to be creative about finding different ways to try all 101 whiskies, but I didn't expect to tick one off at a small liquor shop in a subway station. But then again, this was Japan...

The first whisky I tried was Old Pulteney 21, which was on the #101drams list along with the 17 (tasted here) and 40yo (unsurprisingly, one I've yet to taste). For ¥150, it was pretty hard not to....

Old Pulteney 21 (46% ABV, 21yo, Wick Scotland, $200AUD / $2,168HKD)

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Colour: Light straw.

Nose: Sweet, and very smooth and composed. Strawberries mixed with salty sea air.

Palate: Smoke, hints of spice and lots of orange peel.

Finish: Long, smokey with plenty of sea salt. Some citrus (orange) notes at the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. Enjoyable and quite "sessionable" (though perhaps not given its pricepoint...)

Cheers,

Martin.

Bar Review #13: Zoetrope (Tokyo, Japan)

Moving onto the first (of many) bar reviews from our recent Japan Trip - kicking off with Zoetrope in Shinjuku, Tokyo....

There are many brilliant whisky bars in Japan, but Zoetrope (a Tokyo institution for 9 years) was firmly at the top of my list when planning our Japan trip (actually, it's been there for a few years, since I first read about it on Nonjatta).

Zoetrope (technically "Shot Bar Zoetrope*"), like many Tokyo bars is hidden in a nondescript city building, up a few floors, accessed by a slow and dinky lift. Now while the term "shot bar" might recall images of a dingy tourist bar in Hong Kong's LKF, or a seedy Kings Cross bar (before the lockout laws turned into a sleepy wasteland post-2am), nothing could be farther from the truth. All over Japan, it seems, "shot bar" just refers to a bar with a collection of spirits (in many cases, especially here, bloody fine ones).

We arrived at opening time, first patrons, and promptly took a seat in front of the bar, right in front of this, which set the tone for the night nicely....

Yes - Ichiro's Malt "Cards" bottles, that aren't empty, and don't cost an arm and a leg for a dram!

A very quick history lesson for those unfamiliar with these bottles. Ichiro Akuto's grandfather Isouji Akuto founded the Hanyu Distillery, north-west of Tokyo, which ceased production in 2000. Ichiro inherited the remaining stock, and like the enterprising chap he was, bottled a lot of it as a series of "Cards" - some vattings, some single casks. Despite selling for pretty reasonable sums at the time of release (many were under $85AUD / $550HKD), they quickly gained a cult following and rapidly shot up in price. One of the final bottlings (the elusive "Colour Joker") now sells for around $2,000AUD / $12,300HKD anywhere you're lucky enough to find it. I actually did spot a bottle on a shelf in Osaka, but sadly the shop clearly knew its value...

Suffice to say that any remaining bottles are incredibly rare, sought-after, and usually cost a pretty penny. We've been in bars with Ichiro's Malt bottles available, but usually one or two, and usually for far more than I'm willing to pay for a dram of whisky (and I'm willing to pay a lot for certain whiskies...).

So seeing 8+ available, generally for under ¥3000 ($30AUD / $185HKD) for a dram, with many closer to ¥2000, was a very welcome sight! The fact that the bar also did half-drams for anything over ¥1600 was an added bonus (they did previously have a Colour Joker available for ¥2800/dram, but unsurprisingly had sold out).

Zoetrope isn't a large bar, with only 6 seats at the bar and 3 tables, but it's not the smallest whisky bar we visited (more on that in a future post), and they make the most of every available inch by cramming it full of whisky. A ¥600 cover charge applies to all guests (as we found was the case with most Japanese bars), but this is more than made up for considering the prices:

Japanese whisky is definitely the focus, and if you're not into interesting or weird/wonderful Japanese whiskies, you can nurse a Nikka from the Barrel for a measly ¥600, or try one of their well thought-out tasting sets. For the enthusiast though, we recommend browsing the list, picking out 1 or 2 (or 5) that you thought you'd never get to try, and ordering half-drams. You can't go wrong...

..well, maybe with the section of the menu labelled "we don't recommend the products below", which included gems such as "Royal Crystal" (¥400), Single Malt Isawa 1983 (¥800) and "Mushu Cask Strength" (¥1800). We didn't venture into this territory, but I have tried a 1984 Isawa previously and it was drinkable (just not hugely enjoyable).

Owner Atsushi Horigami speaks English (though in general we found that if you learn just a few Japanese words, it makes your trip that much more enjoyable) and is also a massive film buff, so don't be surprised to see some vintage movies, or even animation being belted out on the project at the back of the room:

You know a bar is popular and well-loved (usually) when they have their own bottling (such a bottling also being one of my #101drams whiskies). Zoetrope doesn't have one. They have three. A Chichibu single cask, a Hanyu single cask, and an Akashu two-cask vatting. The first two for ¥1500, the latter for ¥1000 (and they were all very enjoyable).

Zoetrope is a Japanese whisky institution, and with good reason. The selection is fantastic, the bar itself inviting, and the prices excellent. With the popularity of Japanese whisky soaring though, we recommend going sooner rather than later. Atsushi relayed to us the story of a recent limited bottling he tried to get his hands on from the department store Isetan. Despite being there at opening time (on the morning the whisky went on sale), he simply wasn't quick enough to run down to the liquor department, and by the time he got there, it was all gone... (no doubt to appear on an auction site at 5 times the value later that night).

That's the Japanese whisky scene for you...

Tasting notes up shortly (edit: here).

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #153 - #156: Two single cask Yamazakis and two Yamazaki 12 component whiskies

As mentioned the other day, our visit to the Suntory Hakushu distillery last month uncovered an amazing find in the form of the distillery bar, with some seriously cheap whiskies for tasting (see the article or photo below for examples).

Of course, being TimeforWhisky.com, we weren't going to taste all those whiskies and not write about them, were we? No, no we weren't. We already covered the first four (Hakushu and Chita) whiskies tasted a few days ago, so now it's onto the Yamazaki whiskies we tried during the same visit...

Yamazaki 1986 Single Cask (51% ABV, cask 6B0168, NAS, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Dark, rich copper.
Nose: Molasses, cask strength rum!
Palate: Furniture polish, leather, slightly sour, but not to the point of spoiling the experience.
Finish: Incredibly short, sour and oaky.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.

Yamazaki 1995 Single Cask (62% ABV, cask 5P70008 NAS, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Pale straw.
Nose: Sweet. with honey-like, ex-bourbon sweetness.
Palate: Mouth-filling and rich. Slightly hot. Lamingtons and cake icing.
Finish: Short, sweet and hot.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.


Yamazaki "Sherry Cask" component whisky for Yamazaki 12 (50% ABV, 12yo, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Dark copper.
Nose: Very sweet - at a guess I'd say ex-PX. Plums and berries.
Palate: Cherry-like. Much dryer than the nose suggests. Hints of port, big bold shiraz, and dark rich red berries.
Finish: Short and drying, with lots of oak influence.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. Not bad but not something I'd choose to drink every day.


Yamazaki "Mizunara Cask" component whisky for Yamazaki 12 (50% ABV, 12yo, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Yellow golden
Nose: Coconut and paprika. Lots of pepper and spice.
Palate: Banana toast (but not like a young whisky or new make) sprinkled with coconut.
Finish: Medium length, drying and "dusty. Hints of spice at the very end.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. 

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #149 - #152: Hakushu 18, New Make, "smoky" component and Chita New Make

As mentioned the other day, our visit to the Suntory Hakushu distillery last month uncovered an amazing find in the form of the distillery bar, with some seriously cheap whiskies for tasting (see the article or photo below for examples), many of which aren't available to purchase, or likely taste anywhere else in the world (except perhaps the Yamazaki distillery).

Of course, being TimeforWhisky.com, we weren't going to taste all those whiskies and not write about them, were we? No, no we weren't....so here are the Hakushu and Chita whiskies (and spirits) we tasted:

Hakushu 18 (43% ABV, 18yo, Japan, $250AUD / $2,400HKD)
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Colour: Deep orange copper
Nose: Earthy, hints of pine needles. The slightest hint of smoke.
Palate: Spicy earthiness, moss, some sesame.
Finish: Long, smooth and enjoyable. Moss, oak, and sesame crackers.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100.

Hakushu new make spirit (70% ABV, unaged, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Deep, dark copper...ha no, I kid. Clear as water, obviously.
Nose: Grassy earthiness, with some kitchen cleaning products (but in a good way...?)
Palate: Earthy bubblegum.
Finish: Hot, as expected, and medium length. The alcohol esters are there, but they don't ruin the finish.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. As far as new makes go, not a bad one. And quite different to the usual banana / strong bubble gum notes you get on a lot of others.

"Smoky" component malt for Hakushu 12 (50% ABV, 12yo, Japan, not available for purchase)

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Colour: Pale straw
Nose: Campfire smokiness, obvious peat, with an earthy undertone.
Palate: Fresh woodfired bread, shortbread biscuits, and a lot of peat smoke.
Finish: Medium and peaty to the end.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.


Chita New Make Grain Distillate (58% ABV, unaged, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Clear as day
Nose: Windex, spirytus. Not a lot of complexity.
Palate: Surprisingly light - very few discernible qualities. Some bananas, some pineapple. Quite hot.
Finish: Short and plain, with no real stand-out characteristics.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 80/100. Nowhere near as complex or enjoyable as the Hibiki NMS.

Cheers,

Martin.