Here I am, once again, closing out the year with a bottle of Bain’s whisky. I ended 2022 on the Bain’s 15 yo whisky, my all time favourite, and this year, the last bottle I am opening is the Bains 15 yo Sonically Matured single grain whisky.
Tag: Heineken Beverages Page 1 of 8
Heineken Beverages bought the Distell Group in 2023. Their brands include:
Klipdrift Brandy
Richelieu Brandy
Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky
Black Bottle blended whisky
Bunnahabhain Islay single malt Scotch whisky
Deanston single malt Scotch whisky
Harrier whisky
Knights whisky
Ledaig single malt Scotch whisky
Scottish Leader whisky
Three Ships whisky
Tobermory single malt Scotch whisky
Hunters Cider
Savanna cider
Amarula Gold
The first time I tasted the Bain’s 15 year old whisky was about five years ago at The Only Whisky Show when Andy Watts had some in a beautiful decanter hidden underneath the table at his Three Ships stand.
It was love at first taste. I knew that this was what, for me, perfect whisky tasted like. Unfortunately, it took a year or so before it was released as a distillery bottling.
The Bain’s 15 year old whisky is the first in the Founder’s Collection series and pays tribute to Andrew Geddes Bain, who built the Bain’s Kloof Pass. More editions in the Founders collection include the Bain’s 18 year old PX Cask, Oloroso Cask, and Fino casks. The Bain’s range has also expanded with a 10 yo Shiraz cask and even a 21 year old Double Cask.
Also Read: Scottish Leader Original Whisky
Initially, only 2 000 bottles of the Bain’s 15 yo whisky was released in June 2018 for the Mandela Centenary celebrations and the special guests attending the Barack Obama speech and gala dinner.
Fortunately, the distillery released more bottles in travel retail and the James Sedgwick distillery shop. It retails for about R1000. I have also seen this bottle in duty free in Mauritius.
Bain’s is a 100% South African yellow corn single grain whisky. The Bain’s 15 yo started life similar to the standard Bain’s whisky with an initial maturation of 3 years in first fill bourbon casks before being re-casked for a further 2-3 years in a second set of first fill bourbon casks. Then for an additional 10 years of maturing in both 3rd and 4th fill bourbon cask before bottling.
Bain’s 15 year old Whisky Review
COUNTRY: South Africa
ABV: 52.5%
COLOUR: Golden amber
NOSE: Rich vanilla and tropical fruit. Banana and sweet pineapple with hints of toasted nuts, muscovado sugar and wood. A floral hints in the background with soft black pepper. Rich, inviting, and just perfect.
PALATE: Heaven in a glass. Tropical fruit salad sprinkled with vanilla sugar and freshly baked French palmiers. Creamy and sweet with hints of cinnamon, pepper and caramelised banana. Bits of toasted wood, dried fruit and marmalade in the background.
It needs no water and is perfectly drinkable, just like it is. More creamy vanilla and pepper come to the front if you want to add a few drops of water. Medium body and perfect for summer.
FINISH: Long and lingering with tropical sweetness, cinnamon and white pepper.
RATING: DIVINE
If I can take only one whisky with me to a desert island, it will be the Bains 15 year old whisky. It perfectly balances sweetness and spices but is light and ideal for island sunshine. The Bain’s have the perfect level of spicy vanilla sweetness balanced with wood and tropical fruit to keep me happy for a long, long time. A true masterpiece!
I have also tasted the Bain’s 15 year old Sonically Matured whisky and have captured my tasting notes for this release as well.
We went away on holiday, and I took some whisky with us. I have been loving the Bain’s 15 yo and was keen to try the Bain’s Shiraz Cask finish 10 yo single grain whisky.
We explored Mauritius, and the warm, tropical island was a great place to take a grain whisky to. The Bain’s Shiraz cask finish whisky is a new limited edition launched in 2020. It is available in travel retail and at the James Sedgwick distillery shop.
Like the standard Bain’s whisky, the Shiraz cask is a grain whisky double matured in ex-bourbon casks for about five years. Following its initial double maturation, this whisky was finished in ex-Shiraz American oak casks for five years.
A Shiraz finish is rarely selected as a whisky finish; however, it is not the first time that the James Sedgwick distillery has experimented with this type of cask. A couple of years ago, a Three Ships Shiraz cask finish whisky was released as part of their Masters Collection.
Looking online, I also found a High West Double Syrah Finish and the Mythology Syrah Finish whiskey. However, this is one of the only grain whisky releases aged in Shiraz, and that makes this genuinely unique.
Shiraz is a red wine cultivar with a distinct smoky flavour. In some parts of the world, it is referred to as Syrah. Shiraz wines generally have smoky, peppery, spicy and ripe plum and berry flavour.
The Bain’s Shiraz Cask Finish is a single grain whisky bottled at cask strength, non-chill-filtered and natural in colour.
I wrote down my tasting notes for this whisky on the beautiful island during our holiday and just captured them here to remind us of our fabulous trip.
Also Read: Bain’s 15 yo Sonically Matured whisky
Bain’s Shiraz Cask 10 yo Whisky Review
I have bottle 4368 of 4650.
COUNTRY: South Africa
ABV: 63.5%
COLOUR: Golden red
NOSE: As I opened the bottle, the red wine nearly overpowers everything else. After the glass stood for a few minutes, the more traditional Bains tropical fruit and sweetness came through. Hints of oak, vanilla and red fruits with pepper.
PALATE: The first sip has loads of drying red wine and tannins. Big and bold and a bit overwhelming. The alcohol doesn’t burn, but you know you are drinking a high ABV dram.
After standing for a little while, the red wine notes wafted off and left ripe red fruits, spicy toffee, pineapples and vanilla. Hints of rum and raisin ice cream with a woody undertone. Water softens the alcohol but brings more red wine to the front.
FINISH: Long and lingering with notes of spice and tropical sweetness.
RATING: EXCELLENT
Smooth and delicious but not an easy drinking whisky. Well balanced and complex, this grain whisky is uniquely different. It is unlike anything I have tasted before.
Drinking the standard Bain’s whisky is like sitting around a dinner table with an old friend. You don’t have to dress up or fuss; you can kick back and talk about frivolous things the whole evening.
Sipping the Shiraz Cask is like sitting down for an hour with Albert Einstein. You dress formally, listen more than speak, and come away dazed but overwhelmed. The Shiraz Cask is a whisky to savour and appreciate.
It is not for the faint of heart or for a newbie. Let it breathe for 5 to 6 minutes before trying it. Andy Watts, the Master Distiller, has again shown his brilliance and his amazing skill. The whisky retail for R975, and I have bought mine online from the James Sedgwick shop.
Also Read: Three Ships 10 yo Whisky
During June 2020, I tasted the Ledaig 10 year old whisky, and today I tried the unpeated Tobermory 10 year old single malt Scotch whisky. The Tobermory is the unpeated release from the distillery.
The Tobermory distillery is situated on the island of Mull. John Sinclair founded the distillery in 1798 as Ledaig distillery, and is the only distillery on Mull.
The distillery is currently owned by Burn Stewart Distillers, a subsidiary of Distell Group Limited of South Africa. Tobermory spirit is used in the Scottish Leader and Black Bottle blended whisky. The peated release is named after the former name, Ledaig.
The water comes from a private loch near the Mishnish lochs. The water has some peaty phenols that give Tobermory a slightly phenolic character.
Also Read: Slyrs Whisky
The malted barley is shipped in from the Port Ellen maltings, and Tobermory has only a little storage space, so the casks are stored at Deanston Distillery near Doune.
The Tobermory core range includes a 12 year old and an 18 year old release as well as the Sinclair series, the first of which is the Rioja Cask Finish. There is also various independent bottlings and even a gin available.
The Tobermory single malt is distilled from unpeated malted barley and matured in oak casks for at least ten years. It is non-chill-filtered and without artificial colouring.
Tobermory 10 year old Whisky Review
REGION: Island whisky
ABV: 46.3%
COLOUR: Light gold
NOSE: Green notes and fresh flowers. Hints of black pepper, cereal, winter spice and light oak. Not a lot of fruit or sweetness. Bits of mint.
PALATE: Malt, drying oak, black pepper and light herbal notes. Bits of ginger and cinnamon with hints of lemon peel. Medium-bodied. Not a lot of sweetness. Faint honey notes in the background. Water brings more pepper to the front and makes the soft honey notes disappear. Rather one dimensional.
FINISH: Black pepper, lemon peel and oak. Drying and spicy.
RATING: GOOD
The Tobermory 10 year old Scotch whisky reminds me of the Glenglassaugh Evolution. Both have similar drying oak and pepper notes. It is a bit too spicy for my sweet palate. I prefer whisky with more sweetness and fruity notes. Sadly, there was no fruity sweetness or complexity in the Tobermory.
Comparing it to the Ledaig, I liked the Ledaig a lot more. The Ledaig 10 year old was all peat and green with sweet hints. More complex and drinkable when compared to the Tobermory.
Also Read: Hammerhead 1989 Whisky
The other day I reread the blog post I wrote at the end of 2017 , where I was lamenting that there is only the standard Bain’s single grain whisky available. Even though Distell had older whisky available in casks, they were reluctant to release more liquid as the brand was still relatively small.
Fast forward four years, and today I have added the Bain’s Symphony 7 year old single grain whisky release to my collection. It is wonderful to see this small grain whisky brand going from strength to strength and finding its feet, in SA but also on the world stage.
The Bain’s Symphony is the 8th bottle of Bain’s release in my collection. They first released the Bain’s 15 yo whisky, and it is probably one of the best drams I have ever tasted. This was followed by the 18 yo series with a Fino Cask, Oloroso and a PX cask. Earlier in 2021, a Shiraz Cask finish landed and then a 21 yo Double Wood whisky.
Also Read: Bunnahabhain Eirigh Na Greine Whisky
And then, out of the blue, they dropped the Bain’s Symphony 7 year old whisky. It is a limited release, produced at the James Sedgwick Distillery in Wellington, Western Cape. The standard Bain’s is a NAS release that spends about 6 years in bourbon casks; the Symphony is aged for 7 years in bourbon casks before being aged for 3 months in a “sonic cellar” at the distillery.
The Bain’s brand team played South African artist Tellaman’s music into the barrels, which caused the maturing whisky inside to move and constantly interact with the wood. I will not think too deeply about the physics behind this, and John did frown a bit and mumbled something about Brownian motion. We both agree, South African music makes everything better, and in the end, the ultimate test is taste.
Tellaman is a South African singer, songwriter and record producer. Tellaman was born and grew up in Durban, South Africa. He is a self-taught musician whose interest in music was sparked by his mother, who had him singing at home, at church and in a youth choir.
JSD released a total of 6,000 bottles. The standard Bain’s is bottled at 43%, the Bain’s Symphony single grain whisky is bottled at a respectable 48.6% ABV.
Bain’s Symphony 7 year old Whisky Review
I have bottle 4 886 / 6 000
COUNTRY: South Africa
ABV: 48.6%
COLOUR: Sunrise gold
NOSE: Rich and bold with tropical fruit, banana, toasted wood, grain sweetness and vanilla. Thick and oily with bits of toffee and freshly baked Hawaiian sweet rolls.
PALATE: Bit of alcohol heat, but it is warming and not overwhelming. The oily spirit coast your mouth with condensed milk, nutmeg, and toasted grains. Hints of vanilla and dark chocolate balances with tropical fruit, banana and freshly milled black pepper. Water makes it even more drinkable and sweet. But it is perfect without water. Just delicious.
FINISH: Toasted oaky goodness with grain sweetness and bits of vanilla. A long and smooth finish.
RATING: DIVINE
It has the classical Bain’s notes of toasted oak, vanilla and banana, but all the notes are elevated. It is basically a Bain’s on steroids! The extra time in the barrel and the higher ABV makes a massive difference between the Bain’s and the Symphony. The Symphony is more complex, with bolder flavours and texture. It is perfect! Just perfect!
I was hesitant to give the Bain’s Symphony whisky a Divine rating. We are always conscious of the fact that we might rate South African whisky more positive because it is a proudly local product and not purely on the merit of the liquid.
I did however look at the level of my bottle about two weeks after buying it and it was nearly empty. That was enough to convince me, it is divine and not a skewed rating based on my love for JSD.
And at a retail price of R360, it is worth drinking over and over. (About $25 or £ 18.50) The bad part is that there are only 6000 bottles available. This is only the second Divine rating for this year (the first was the Port Askaig 8 yo) and taking the retail price into account, this will easily rate as my nicest dram for 2021.
Now to stock up on a few more bottles. And then to have the maturity and patience to let a bottle or 2 lie unopened until next year so that I can enjoy the beauty all over again. I was very happy to also pick up some James Sedgwick branded Glencairn style glasses to sip my proudly SA whisky from.
A Bain’s 15 yo Sonically Matured whisky has also been released and I have captured my tasting notes for this release as well.