Category: Whisky of the Week Page 41 of 77

Whisky of the Week

Whisky of the Week review and tasting notes for whisky, bourbon and whiskey from all around the world. Single malts, blends, blended malts, rye and grain whiskey tasted and reviewed.

Glen Moray Port Cask Finish Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/25/2019

In Single Malt whisky

Now and again there are twitter tastings hosted by Steve from Whisky Wire. Most of them are for releases that are not available in South Africa. However, it is a wonderful opportunity to see what interesting whisky is available and what I need to look out for when we travel.

One of the twitter tastings was for Glen Moray. Graham Coull, the Master Distiller, has been releasing different casks editions, and some of them sounded so innovative and remarkable.

I had to get my hands on releases from this distillery. When we were in France last year, I managed to get hold of the Glen Moray Port cask finish single malt Scotch whisky.

Then I saw that Liquor City was bringing in some of the Glen Moray Cask releases and I rushed out and managed to get my hands on a few. I grabbed the Peated cask and the Chardonnay cask as well as the South African release Port cask. The Port cask from France was bottled at 40% and the SA Port cask at 43% ABV.

With winter starting soon, what better dram to open first than the Glen Moray Port cask. It is part of the Glen Moray Classic collection. A balance between innovation and heritage, challenging the boundaries of flavour by employing traditional techniques at the core of the brand.

Glen Moray has been making whisky in the heart of Speyside since 1897. Their water source is the River Lossie and the brand is owned by La Martiniquaise from France. Cutty Sark and Label 5 whisky is also part of their portfolio.

Also Read: New Zealand Whisky Company whisky

Glen Moray Port Cask Finish Whisky Review

The Glen Moray Port Cask Finish is a NAS release was finished for 8 months in port pipes from Porto Cruz. It retails for around R280 at Liquor City.

ABV: 43%

REGION: Speyside

COLOUR: Gold with mahogany tints

NOSE: Red fruits, cherries, condensed milk with light oak. Plums and sweetness.

PALATE: Oak, plum and ripe red cherry sweetness with hints of cinnamon sugar, dark chocolate shavings and raisins. It has a medium body and a bit of alcohol heat. A few drops of water soothes the heat and releases more sweetness.

FINISH: Warming with port, toasty oak and pepper notes.

RATING: EXCELLENT

I am guessing that this is a relatively young release. It has a few rough edges, but nothing that a few drops of water don’t sort out. Not the most complex of drams, but easy drinking and, at the price point, I can’t fault it. The finish is the best bit, it warms your body up from the inside. Delicious!

This is a BIG bang for your buck whisky. It retails for less than R300 at Liquor City. For a cask finish single malt, the Glen Moray Port Cask Finish is worth it. If you have been wondering about needing this in your life? Yes, you do.

A glass of this single malt whisky is going to make cold winter nights bare-able. It is affordable (for all the many electricity load shedding evenings), and you don’t need a fridge, just a few drops of water and it will warm you up nicely. Now to decide which bottle I need to open next.

Also Read: Benromach 10 yo whisky

Private Barrel Co Glenlossie 15 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/18/2019

In Single Malt whisky

I am still working through the mini bottles of whisky I had in the cupboard. Today I am looking at the Checkers Private Barrel Co Glenlossie 15 year old Scotch whisky.

Diageo owns this beautiful Speyside distillery and near to quite a few distilleries, including BenRiach, Glen Moray, Linkwood and Longmorn. It is known for its splendid roof and beautiful onion-shaped stills.

John Duff, the former manager at Glendronach, built the distillery in 1876. The distillery changed hands a few times during the years and ended up with Diageo through mergers. It takes its name from the valley of the River Lossie, which is less than a mile away.

The Glenlossie distillery is unique as it shares the building with another distillery, Mannochmore Distillery which was built in 1971. The water used in Glenlossie is drawn from the local Bardon Burn.

Also Read: Glenfarclas 12 yo Whisky

The primary volume of spirit from Glenlossie ends up in Diageo blends, including the Haig blended whisky. The Glenlossie warehouses also serve as the storage vault for more than 200,000 casks of whisky originating from many different Diageo distilleries.

You will rarely see a single malt bottling from Glenlossie. That is the reason why Checkers chose this distillery. It is an unknown distillery in SA and not something you find everywhere.

One of the few releases is the Diageo’s Flora and Fauna series where it was bottled as a 10 yo. Independent bottlings are sometimes released, and Glenlossie has featured in Signature Vintage, and Douglas Laing releases.

Checkers Private Barrel Co Glenlossie 15 year old Whisky Review

The Private Barrel Co Glenlossie 15 year old single malt whisky has been aged in bourbon casks.

REGION: Speyside

COLOUR: Rich gold

NOSE: Green notes with tropical fruit sweetness. Hints of grass and freshly baked bread. Soft spices in the background.

PALATE: Pineapple sweetness and honey balanced with vanilla and soft pink pepper. Hints of smoke and green grass mixed with bits of oak. Water releases more fruity notes and pear comes forward but softens the other notes. Soft and sophisticated.

FINISH: Medium length with hints of pepper, vanilla and fruit.

RATING: VERY GOOD

An interesting dram that brings a new dimension to the table. It is not overly complex or bold, but memorably different. Easy drinking for a late Sunday afternoon pre-dinner drink. Just add a few drops of water to release more fruitiness. This is one of those distilleries that you don’t get to try on a regular day.

I love that Checkers finds these out of the way releases. They allow us to explore new distilleries this way, which is exciting!

I have written a lot more on the Private Barrel Co releases both their “odd bin” releases where they only give the bottling a number such as the Private Barrel Co No 41 and their named releases such as the Glen Grant 17 year old or the James Sedgwick 6 year old whisky.

Also Read: McCarthy’s whiskey

Glen Grant 12 year old Non Chill Filtered Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 02/11/2019

In Single Malt whisky

One of my favourite events of the year is the annual Whisky and Spirit live festival in Sandton. Not only do I get to taste a variety of whisky, but I get to meet up with many whisky friends. And over the years, traditions have formed.

Every year, my friend Bernard G comes up to present at the Glen Grant stand, and we get to spend a bit of time together. For me, it is an opportunity to taste some of the delicious Glen Grant releases and to catch up on what has been happening.

The morning after the first Whisky Live evening, we always meet up to share a massive slice of chocolate cake and coffee.

I already knew and love the standard Glen Grant 12 yo as well as the Major’s Reserve. But during 2018, Bernard managed to get his hands on the Glen Grant 12 yo non chill filtered (NCF) single malt Scotch whisky release, which is (sadly) only available in travel retail.

He brought this and the standard release to our yearly coffee and cake session, and we sat down, right there in the middle of the Sandton coffee shop to taste the difference.

I was not expecting a big difference. Yes, the ABV is a bit higher, but it is the standard Glen Grant 12 year old whisky, just the non-chill-filtered version. How big can the difference be?

It was HUGE. I could not imagine that this is the same dram. The sad part, it is only available in selected travel retailers. So when John travelled, he had strict instructions to buy nothing else but the non-chill-filtered edition.

Also Read: Cragganmore 12 yo whisky

What is chill filtering?

According to Wikipedia chill filtering is a method in whisky-making for removing residue. In chill-filtering, whisky is cooled to between -10° and 4° Celsius and passed through a fine adsorption filter.

Chill filtering prevents the whisky from becoming hazy when in the bottle, when served, when chilled, or when water or ice is added. It also prevents sedimentation from occurring in the bottles.

More reading indicates that many people say that chill filtering has no impact on the whisky and many more who say that it does. Various brands have gone the non-chill-filtered route. These include Bunnahabhain, Ardbeg and Compass Box.

However, it isn’t easy to properly test the difference between a non chill filtered and a chill filtered release as there are not many available in the market. That is until John brought back my bottle of Glen Grant 12 year old non chill filtered whisky.

Glen Grant 12 year old Non Chill Filtered Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 48%

COLOUR: Bright gold

NOSE: Fruity sweetness, ripe cherries, oak with hints of vanilla sweetness and cinnamon

PALATE: Big, bold and oily with heaps of pineapples, banana, tropical fruit, woody spices, honey, vanilla, and hints of butterscotch and cinnamon. You don’t even have to add water, it drinks so smooth. Water releases a few more sweet notes and softens the boldness.

FINISH: Fruits and nuts spices vanilla

RATING: DIVINE

My first Divine rated whisky for 2019. What a beautiful full rounded and balanced release. It is amazing how big the difference in taste is between the chill and non chill filtered. Later in the year, I will do a side by side blind taste comparison and write about it.

I am not sure if it will hold for other releases, but in this Glen Grant 12 year old whisky, the non chill filtering has a significant difference in taste.

John is under strict instructions to pick up another one when he travels again. I am happy that this is a 1L bottle because it is going to be hard not to finish it before the end of the year. The best part of this dram, it pairs perfectly with rich chocolate cake. What more can you ask for?

Also Read: Rum vs Whiskey

Private Barrel Co No 108 Whiskey

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 02/04/2019

In Irish Whiskey

During December, Segan, a whisky friend tagged me on a post on Instagram. He tried a new Checkers Private Barrel Co release and loved it. He described it as ‘… the best tasting Irish whiskey for the sub R300 range that I’ve had this year and has a nose like a hummingbird cake.”

Well; this interesting whiskey I needed to try. The whisky he was referring to was the Checkers Private Barrel Co No 108 Irish whiskey release.

This blog is no stranger to the Checkers Private Barrel Co releases. Both their named and unnamed releases. During 2018 they released the James Sedgwick Distillery 6 yo Fino Cask Finish which was terrific. I have also tasted the Glen Grant 17 yo and the Glenlossie 15 yo whisky from their series.

But the real of the Private Barrel Co releases lies in their unnamed releases. Both Private Barrel Co No. 41 and Private Barrel Co no 68 whisky is excellent and very affordable. By not revealing the Distillery name, Private Barrel Co is able to sell the whisky at a fraction of the cost. The bottles do, however, have an age statement and full tasting notes.

The Private Barrel Co No 108 Irish whiskey is a 3 year old, aged in American Oak. It retails for R280 at Checkers, and I found a few at the Checkers store at the Mall of Africa.

Private Barrel Co No 108 3 year old Irish Whiskey Review

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Gold

NOSE: Oak, fruity sweetness with hints of spice, honey and orange blossoms. The nose is delicate and fragrant and opens up more when you add a few drops of water.

PALATE: Smooth and sweet with notes of fruit, vanilla, oak and caramel. Freshly baked pancakes with cinnamon sugar mixed with nutmeg. Faint hints of milk chocolate and cereal. A bit of alcohol heat that smooths out with a few drops of water. The Private Barrel Co No 108 is smooth and creamy and very easy drinking.

FINISH: Medium length with notes of oak and nutmeg.

RATING: EXCELLENT

I think Checkers has done it again. A great tasting whiskey at a reasonable price. I was a bit scared that the young age would be visible on the taste profile with a few rough edges. However, the Private Barrel Co team knows how to choose the best barrels.

Grab it if you see it, you will not be disappointed. Only 7 200 bottles were released, and I am sure there are not too many left. Thank you for the recommendation Segan. A very delicious dram!

Also Read: How to make a whisky bottle lamp

Three Ships Oloroso Cask 8 yo Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 01/21/2019

In Single Malt whisky

It is the start of a new year. I start the new year by opening a new bottle of whisky. A bottle of whisky from one of my favourite distilleries. I have been saving this bottle for a special occasion, and this is a perfect time. The Three Ships Oloroso Cask 8 yo single malt whisky was released during September 2018.

It is the third release in the Three Ships Masters Collection Series. First was the Three Ships 10 yo PX Cask Finish released during 2015. This was followed by the Three Ships Pinotage Cask Finish, which was my Whisky of the Year 2017.

And on the 19^th of September, Andy Watts released the much-awaited Three Ships 8 yo Oloroso Cask during an online event. The first 151 bottles sold within 15 minutes, that’s 10 bottles a minute, and at the end of the day, only a few bottles remained unsold.

Andy Watts chose this sherry cask from his secret cellar, which holds some exceptional casks. Here in the cool darkness, behind closed doors, he painstakingly nurtured this peated single malt. First, the whisky matured for 5 years in American Oak casks and then for another 3 years in Oloroso sherry casks.

Oloroso means ‘scented’ in Spanish and adds a nutty note to the whisky. The Oloroso Cask finish is the youngest of the Master’s Collection releases. Only 1 440 bottles released. I have bottle 980 of 1 440.

The Three Ships 8 yo Oloroso Cask Finish is not chill-filtered, natural colour with an impressive ABV of 51.8%.

Also Read: Auchentoshan Heartwood whisky

Three Ships Oloroso Cask 8 yo Whisky Review

COUNTRY: South Africa

ABV: 51.7%

COLOUR: Toasted amber

NOSE: Rich and sweet. Notes of oak and fruit come through first. Red fruits, berries and plums, followed by bits of dark chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon.

PALATE: Mellow peat with faint smoky oak balanced by hints of fruit and dark chocolate. The addition of a few drops of water softens the alcohol heat. The water brings forward a pepper spice heat next to the peat and adds a hazelnut note.

FINISH: A strong point. It builds beautifully to a deep lingering, chest filling crescendo. Peaty pepper with hints of dark chocolate

RATING: EXCELLENT

A fantastic range of whisky out of this beautiful distillery in Wellington. Fino Cask finish, PX cask finish, Pinotage cask and now Oloroso cask finish. All of them world-class! The depths that the Wellington distillery is capable of is a true testament to the wonderful skill and mastery of their Master Distiller.

I think the Three Ships 8 yo Oloroso cask with its peppery notes will work very well with a robust, creamy cheese and will be exploring this during the year.

I am not sure how many bottles of this remains in retail. If you spot a last lost bottle in a shop, then grab it. It is something Proudly South African you have to taste.

Also Read: Paul John Oloroso Select Cask Whisky