Category: Blended whisky Page 5 of 14

Scottish Leader Original Whisky

On 10/15/2018

I love tasting whiskies with South African connections, like this Scottish Leader Original blended Scotch whisky. It is even more special when I have had the privilege to meet the Master Distiller and hear all about their vision for a whisky.

And when this Master Distiller is the phenomenal Dr Kirstie Mccallum, it makes the experience even more special.Scottish Leader is owned by Burn Stewart Distillers, part of the Distell Group. Other brands in the Distell portfolio include the Three Ships and Bain’s whisky as well as Bunnahabhain.

The Scottish Leader blend was only created in 1976, so a rather young blend, compared to some of the more established blends around. Regardless of the young status, Scottish Leader is already sold in over 30 countries around the world.

I was fortunate to meet Dr Mccallum during one of her visits to SA, and it was so refreshing to listen to her talk about her vision for the blend. I wrote extensively about Dr Mccallum in this blog post.

Also Read: Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask whisky

At the end of 2014, the Scottish Leader whisky was re-launched with a new look and updated packaging. The old logo of a deer was replaced with a soaring eagle. At the same time, they also released the new Scottish Leader Signature whisky expression to complement the Scottish Leader Original.

The updated blend includes an increased single malt content to create a richer blend with improved body and balance while retaining the existing characteristics of the original blend.

The blending team used the original 40-year-old recipe to ensure the DNA of Scottish Leader is maintained. The blend includes over 40 different grain and single malt whiskies, including some Tobermory.

Scottish Leader Original Whisky Review

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Copper gold

NOSE: Malt, oak, honey-drizzled fruit salad with a soft smokiness in the background. Hints of sherry sweetness, greenery wood spices.

PALATE: Creamed honey sweetness with hints of smoke and fruit. There are bits of orange with a caramel and nut base. The Original is smooth with a great spice/sweetness balance. Not the most complex dram, but easy drinking with a few drops of water.

FINISH: Medium length and ends in notes of sweetness and smoke with hints of oak.

RATING: VERY GOOD

The Scottish Leader Original blended Scotch whisky is smooth and rich. A lovely release. I do prefer the 12 yo and the Signature release to this bottle as they have more complexity, but that is a personal preference. It is a great all-round dram.

It is also very affordable in SA. The retail price is around R 200. It is a versatile whisky that can easily be added to cocktails and work well with food. This is a dram that should be on your ‘To try’ list – if you have not tried it already.

The award-winning Scottish Leader Original pairs beautifully with some Royal Ashton cheese.

Also Read: Bell’s Whisky

Ballantine’s 30 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/03/2018

In Blended whisky

Time and again, this blend impresses me. I have yet to meet a bottle of Ballantine’s that I do not love. The Ballantine’s 17 yo and the Scapa Distillers Edition are divine whiskies. And today I am trying one of the older releases in my collection. The Ballantine’s 30 year old blended Scotch whisky. What a long time that is. A whole lifetime.

Imagine how the world changed from when the spirit first entered into the barrel until it was bottled. With the amazing improvements in technology we see today, this whisky was a youngster before cell phones. Now smartphones have more computing power than the first space ships. A lot has changed in the 30 years.

As with so many well-known blends today, Ballantine’s Scotch whisky can trace its heritage back to 1827, when George Ballantine set up a small grocery store in Edinburgh. He started supplying a range of whiskies to his customers. In 1865 George and his son Archibald opened a larger business in Glasgow.

Also Read: Auchentoshan American Oak Whisky

Here he concentrated on the wine and spirit trade, and he also began to create his own blends. These blends inspired additional demand and his second son George Jnr joined the business. After George Snr’s passing, the sons sold the company to allow for more expansion, and after various owner changes, it ended up in the Pernod Ricard stable.

The Ballantine’s flavour is dependent on malts^[from Miltonduff, Scapa and Glenburgie and blended with many other single malts and single grains. The Ballantine’s 30 year old blended whisky has won a Gold at the International Spirits Challenge, and Jim Murray gave it 94 points.

Ballantine’s 30 year old Whisky Review

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Golden amber

NOSE: The nose explodes with richness and complexity. It has honey, Christmas cake, caramel, toffee dried oak, vanilla and sherry with faint hints of smoke. All wonderfully combined.

PALATE: Rich and full-bodied, it is super smooth. Bits of oak spice swirling around dried fruits and nuts. Dark chocolate and treacle lurk somewhere with suggestions of smoke. Each sip brings out different notes on the palette. The Ballantine’s 30 year old has a beautiful balance between spicy and sweet. Adding water softens the spices a bit, and it is better without water.

FINISH: This is probably the best finish I have had in a long, long time. It never ends! It’s just brilliant going on and on and slowly slipping away like a sunset but leaving a wonderful glow.

RATING: DIVINE

I love Ballantine’s whisky. There is something in the combination of spice and sweetness from the distilleries that Ballantine’s uses that just works on my palate. Over the last couple of years, this has become my favourite blended whisky range.

From the entry-level to this masterpiece, Ballantine’s consistently set an amazingly high bar for the craft of the whisky maker. And this bottle is no exception. Rich, complex and utterly delicious! Probably one of my favourite Ballantine’s bottles ever.

Also Read: Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask whisky

Johnnie Walker Explorers Club Collection The Spice Road Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 07/23/2018

In Blended whisky

During 2014 I tasted the Johnnie Walker Gold Route Explorer’s Club Collection whisky and loved it. John picked it up from Kenyatta airport after a fire damaged a part of the departure terminal. The Johnnie Walker Gold Route was inspired by journeys around the lush Amazon forests of Central America through the snow-capped Andean mountains.

We loved this expression and managed to grab the Johnnie Walker Explorers Club Collection the Spice Road blended Scotch whisky soon after. And do you know; I have tasted it but never wrote about it. So it is high time that I formally look at this Explorer’s Club release.

The Spice Road is the first of the three limited editions in Johnnie Walker’s Explorer’s Club Collection and aims at celebrating the trade routes of old. The other two are the Gold Route and the Royal Route.

During the 1800s and early 1900s, the Walker family and their agents travelled the world in search of adventure. They took their whisky to Asia, the Americas and the Caribbean. Johnnie Walker was enjoyed on the great railways, luxury ocean liners and early transatlantic flights.

Also Read: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel whiskey

Back in London, Alexander Walker established the Travelers’ Room where his agents would come to rest, talk strategy and exchange stories and samples from their travels. These colourful tales of exploration influenced the Johnnie Walker Master Blenders, who created these different styles of whisky to reflect the exotic stories.

The Spice Route whisky was inspired by the ancient spice trading routes into Asia. Reminiscent of the vibrant aromas and spices from the spice markets of the East, brimming with colour and new experiences. I see that the Johnnie Walker Explorers Club Collection the Spice Road is still available in retail for around R 1 600.

Johnnie Walker Explorers Club Collection The Spice Road Review

The Johnnie Walker Spice Road whisky is matured in old oak casks. It has no age statement.

ABV: 40%

COLOUR: Gold with hints of mahogany

NOSE: Spices. There is no mistaking the inspiration of the spice route in this release. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves jump out but slowly make way for more tropical fruit. Hints of tropical forests and malted porridge, drizzled with honey.

PALATE: The spicy notes of the nose translates onto the palate. Waves of cinnamon, allspice is followed by ripe oranges, grapes and bits of smoke. Hints of honey, oak and malt when you add a bit of water. Not the most complex of drams, and without water, the spices can be a bit overwhelming. The Johnnie Walker Spice Road has a medium body.

FINISH: White pepper and oranges with bits of smoke and drying oak.

RATING: VERY GOOD

Not a bad release, however, I think I prefer the Johnnie Walker Gold Route whisky. The sweeter fruitiness of the Gold Route kept in my mind a lot longer.

The spiciness of this release can be somewhat overwhelming, and I prefer a slightly sweeter whisky. This spiciness of this Johnnie Walker Spice Road will probably work well with cheese, so I need to go and experiment a bit.

Also Read: Chivas Royal Salute 21 yo whisky

Johnnie Walker King George V Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 05/28/2018

In Blended whisky

A month or so ago, I saw a very exclusive cocktail that the Maxim Lounge at the Davinci hotel makes. This extraordinary cocktail makes Johnnie Walker King George V blended Scotch whisky the main attraction. It made me realize, I have a bottle of King George V at home, and it is open. I have never written about it, and it is time.

We opened this exclusive Johnnie Walker bottling to celebrate the birth of our daughter. After struggling to have a baby, this bottling seemed a fitting release to open in celebration. John and I have enjoyed a small glass of this whisky every year on her birthday. She turned seven not too long ago, and I better write about this bottle quickly before we finish it.

The Johnnie Walker King George V is presented in a beautifully packaged box. The cap is heavy and engraved and the whole presentation of this bottle is regal and beautiful.

Also Read: Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky

John Walker started his empire in his grocery business with a single small shop in 1820. Just over a century later in 1934, John Walker & Sons was awarded a Royal Warrant by King George V.

By then, Johnnie Walker was already well on its way to becoming the world’s most popular Scotch Whisky. This Johnnie Walker King Georg V celebrates the granting of the Royal Warrant. It is created using whiskies from distilleries operating during George’s 25-year reign (1910 – 1936), some of which, like the famed Port Ellen, no longer exist.

Other distillery stock used in the blend includes Cardhu whisky and Lochnagar. They are blended together to reflect the distinctive Johnnie Walker style of the era. The Johnnie Walker King George V whisky was named Whisky of the Year at the International Whisky Competition 2015.

Johnnie Walker King George V Whisky Review

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Rich gold

NOSE: Rich berry fruit and Christmas pudding with hints of spice and vanilla. Sweetness and caramel are floating about. The nose is complex but subtle at the same time.

PALATE: Winter spice and oak notes mixed with pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bits of honey and toffee, but not as sweet as the nose suggested. The second sip brings some citrus peel to the forefront. Faint hints of vanilla lurk somewhere. The addition of water adds smoothness. It takes some of the spice and citrus peel away and brings out more butterscotch and vanilla notes.

FINISH: Hints of nuts balanced with spices.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The price for a bottle of Johnnie Walker King George V blended whisky is around R8 000 in South Africa. It’s smooth and easy drinking – but maybe I expected more for this price. I think for the price and presentation, I expected a little more. It lacks the uniqueness and depth that I was looking for.

It is not the most complex release. Regardless, this Johnnie Walker King George V whisky will always have a very special place in my heart. It was the bottle I celebrated my only daughter’s birth with. And hopefully, it will last until she turns 18.

Also Read: Johnnie Walker Gold Label whisky

Dewar’s 15 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/05/2018

In Blended whisky

Towards the end of last year, I wrote about a great whisky I tasted at The Only Whisky Show. The Dewar’s 12 year old blended whisky made quite an impression on me. I went straight out to buy a bottle. Delicious and affordable, this excellent blend quickly made it onto my Top 5 Blends for 2017 list.

Fast forward a couple of months. A week or two before the Whisky and Spirit Show in Sandton in November, a very curious package arrived. A small box with an egg inside. Inside the egg was a message I could only get to if I break the eggshell. The message was an invitation to join Dewar’s at their Whisky Live stand to taste more Dewar’s whisky paired with some Scotch Eggs.

The first dram I tasted that evening at the Scotch Egg evening at Whisky Live was the Dewar’s 15 year old blended Scotch whisky. I tried it with Scotch Eggs (it nice), nuts (tasty) and dark chocolate (delicious). I walked straight to the Norman Goodfellows shop at Whisky Live and bought a bottle. It was that good.

Dewar’s 15 year old whisky was created by Dewar’s master blender Stephanie Macleod and introduced in 2010. Initially targeted at the Asian market and travel retail, the Dewar’s 15 yo is now more widely available. The Dewar’s 15 year old is known as “The Monarch”. The inspiration for the blend came from a famous Sir Edwin Landseer oil painting known as “The Monarch of the Glen”.

This famous painting was purchased by John Dewar & Sons in 1919 and is currently owned by the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It is a beautiful Royal Stag, and you can see the painting here.

The Monarch is one of only a few blended whiskies to carry a 15 year age statement. It is created from selected single malts and single grains, across both sherry and bourbon barrel ageing. The blend is then married in select oak casks for an additional period. The Dewar’s brand is part of the Bacardi stable.

Also Read: Dimple Pinch 15 yo Whisky

Dewar’s 15 year old Whisky Review

The Dewar’s 15 year old Scotch whisky has a raised relief design on the glass. The simplistic black and gold labelling add to the premium feel of this dram.

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Bright gold

NOSE: Sherry, fresh fruit salad with apples, melons and pears, honey, fresh flowers, hints of spices and fresh meadow flowers. Rich and quite complex with hints of vanilla and butterscotch grape jam mixed with oak.

PALATE: Rich, sweet nicely balanced with oak spices, orange peel, wood, and vanilla. Enough pepper notes to give a bit of a bite, but well balanced enough not to overwhelm the sweeter notes. Fresh fruit, hot pancake with cinnamon sugar.

You don’t even have to add water. Hints of lemon sorbet and freshly cut wood. Water softens the dram slightly and makes it very easy drinking.

FINISH: A bit short and dry, but pleasant. The Dewar’s 15 year old ends in notes of pepper and fruity sweetness.

RATING: EXCELLENT

This 15 year old reminds me a bit of the Glenfiddich 15 year old whisky . It has that same sweet richness that the Glenfiddich has. However, looking at the price point of this blend, it is real value for money! For a 15 year old whisky! It is so easy drinking and enjoyable. It also has a rich complexity underlying the well-balanced fruit and spicy notes.

I paired this blended whisky with some Swiss Appenzeller cheese over HERE. You can see what I thought about the pairing by following the link. The Dewar’s 15 year old whisky retails for only R 450 in South Africa. It will definitely make it onto my Top 5 blend list for 2018.

Also Read: Singleton 15 yo Whisky