Category: Whisky of the Week Page 48 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.

Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 12/04/2017

In Single Malt whisky

The Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition 1990 single malt Scotch whisky – another release from the Diageo stable that I have had for AGES, but never adequately written about.

Representing the Highlands in the Diageo Classic Malts Collection Dalwhinnie, together with Oban, Glenkinchie, Lagavulin and Talisker complete the collection of the six original malts launched and marketed jointly by United distillers in 1988.

Where the Great North Road and the Highland Railway meet, the Dalwhinnie distillery was first called Strathspey. The name changed to Dalwhinnie after it was sold to a Mar A Blyth. Dalwhinnie translates to “The Meeting Place”. It is one of the highest distilleries in Scotland sitting at around 350 m above sea level.

The town with the same name has recorded some of the coldest winter temperatures and has an average annual temperature of 6.6 C. Rather cold compared to Centurion’s average winter temperature of around 17 C.

Dalwhinnie has the benefit of the clear spring water from Lochan-Doire-Uaine and an abundant supply peat from the surrounding bogs. The distillery releases a Dalwhinnie 15 year old, The Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition and a Dalwhinnie Winters Gold Scotch whisky.

Some friends joined us for this tasting, and it was exciting to share this Distillers Edition 1990 single malt with Roelia and Jan from Social Savage.

Also Read: Ballechin 10 yo Whisky

Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition Whisky

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Dark amber gold

NOSE: Dried fruit, sherry and cherries with hints of winter spice. Warming and inviting, there are faint hints of Christmas pudding and vanilla.

PALATE: Rich, creamy and complex. Notes of sherry, fruitcake and fruit mingle with nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon with hints of allspice. Hints of honey sweetness balanced with little bits of black pepper.

Adding water brings more of the winter spice to the front. The Distillers Edition whisky is a fantastic, smooth, sophisticated release. As John would say ” This properly puts a smile on my face.”

FINISH: Long and lingering alternating between the sweet vanilla and the spicy pepper with hints of sweetness. Warming.

RATING: DIVINE

A perfectly balanced whisky. The sweetness is wonderfully matched with the spiciness. The layers of tastes just keep on building. In the end, all of us agreed. This Distiller’s Edition was an amazing dram. Sadly you can’t find this release anymore. Master of Malt lists it as “discontinued”. If you see a bottle on auction, it is worth grabbing.

I loved the Dalwhinnie 15 yo Scotch whisky, but this is on a different level. In the past, I have tried the Dalwhinnie 1990 Distillers Edition with some Lindt hand-made dark chocolate and vanilla pieces. It made for a superb whisky chocolate pairing combination. I love the various Diageo Distillers Editions; we recently opened a bottle of Glenkinchie 1986 Distillers Edition, and it was amazing!

I started the year with a Divine when I tasted the Three Ships Pinotage Cask, and just before I end the year, this Divine whisky pops up. Now to see which of these two will be our “Whisky of the Year” for 2017. But that will come later. Now to sit back and enjoy more of this delicious release.

Also Read: Dimple Pinch 15 yo Whisky

Glenmorangie The Lasanta Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 11/27/2017

In Single Malt whisky

This is one of the bottles that started my whisky collection before I even realized I was collecting whisky. I tasted the Glenmorangie Lasanta single malt Scotch whisky at my favourite restaurant and loved it. John brought a bottle home soon after to remind us of a great evening.

The Glenmorangie distillery was established in 1843, by brothers William and John Mathesen. This distillery is well known to be one of the first distilleries to experiment successfully with wood finishes. Glenmorangie Lasanta together with Quinta Ruban and Nectar D’Or make up the Glenmorangie ‘Cask Finish’ series.

These expressions start from a similar maturation background – 10 years in white oak ex-Bourbon casks. What makes them different is the additional 2 years spend in “finishing” casks. Glenmorangie Nectar D’or is finished in Ex-Sauternes Casks while the Quinta Ruban uses ex-Port barrels.

Glenmorangie Lasanta single malt spends the final 2 years in ex Olorosso and PX (Pedro Ximenez) sherry casks. According to Glenmorangie, the word ‘Lasanta’ means “warmth and passion” in Gaelic.

I have an older bottling still bottled at 46%. The ABV of newer bottlings is 43%. Glenmorangie, like Ardbeg, is owned by luxury giant LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy). It is an affordable release retailing at around R600. I see that the Glenmorangie Lasanta retails for approximately £40 at Master of Malt.

Also Read: The Macallan 12 yo whisky

Glenmorangie The Lasanta Whisky

REGION: Highlands

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Warm gold

NOSE: Sherry, dried apricots, apples and peaches, warming oaky spiciness with hints of vanilla, cinnamon and honey sweetness.

PALATE: Warming and spicy with notes of sherry sweetness, pepper, raisins, dried lemon slices in dark chocolate and a caramels sweetness. Without water, the Glenmorangie Lasanta has a bit of alcohol heat that is tempered when a few drops of water is added. Water makes this release very easy drinking.

FINISH: Medium length with lemon and warming black pepper balanced with hints of caramel.

RATING: VERY GOOD

It is a lovely easy-drinking dram that is perfect for winter. It warms you from the inside out. The only problem of drinking it today, here in the Southern Hemisphere, is it is a scorching hot summers day.

I should have scheduled this dram for winter when it is cooler. Regardless, I have finished the last little bit of the bottle and will undoubtedly restock.

An article I found on Food24 suggests that the Glenmorangie Lasanta pairs perfectly with biltong tartlets. It also works well with cured meats and food that resembled Spanish dishes. Now I have to buy another bottle to try these food pairing ideas.

I have also tried the Glenmorangie Spios, a whisky aged in casks that previously held American rye whiskey as well as the Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX.

Also Read: Glenfiddich 15 yo Solera Reserve whisky

Clan Denny Islay Edition Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 11/20/2017

In Blended Malt Whisky

In my ongoing search for affordable and delicious bends, I have tasted some rather “interesting” drams, I have tried some excellent blends. And I had tried a few where I look at the bottle and wonder if the person who bottled this, tasted it before it was bottled. This year have been slower than usual in my search for affordable blends.

I have found some stunning blends in the mid-range pricing level. Blends like the Rock Oyster whisky and the Timorous Beastie that retail for around R 750 – R1000 range. But very few in the affordable range around R500.

Looking at Douglas Laing who is responsible for Rock Oyster, Big Peat and Timorous Beastie, I noticed their Clan Denny range. I have also seen it regularly popping up on the Whisky Brother shop top seller report as well as in Norman Goodfellows. There is a Clan Denny Speyside and an Islay Edition. They retail for around R400, and I got myself a bottle of the Clan Denny Islay blended malt Scotch whisky.

Douglas Laing is an independent bottler and blender. Established in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, they specialize in creating the finest blended Scotches and vatted malts as well as releasing special bottling of Single Cask Single malts and Single Grain Scotch Whiskies.

Clan Denny Islay is a vatted malt blend of 7 Islay malts. According to the bottlers, the distilleries include Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila plus a further two that can’t be named. But it should not be too difficult to figure out who the two might be. Clan Denny whisky is matured in ex-bourbon casks and non-chill-filtered.

Clan Denny Islay Whisky Review

REGION: Islay

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Pale gold with hints of green

NOSE: Peat, iodine, ash, salt and medicinal notes. Hints of vanilla and green grass drifting past with oaky spiciness. Faint hints of apricot sweetness.

PALATE: Initially, it’s quite spicy with sharp traces of iodine, salt and peat. It then changes beautifully with some hints of smoke, black pepper, vanilla and honey sweetness. Faint hints of dark chocolate and oak.

The flavour development is quite remarkable. It’s a got character and grace in spades. The addition of water adds smoothness and creates a creamy consistency. It’s a great blend!

FINISH: The finish builds beautifully and richly. It’s a fantastic finish and leaves a long lingering warmth in your stomach. Some citrus peel and marzipan and lemon pepper at the end but it lingers and lingers.

RATING: EXCELLENT

A remarkable achievement for the price point. Rich and creamy and simply delicious. It has a great balance between peat and sweet. At this price point; it is just perfect. This bottle of whisky, you can easily give as a gift. There is a Clan Denny Speyside release too. I will add it to my collection soon.

Also Read: Belgian Owl Passion Whisky

Michel Couvreur Peaty Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 11/13/2017

In Blended whisky

It was the clean, classic label design that made me buy the bottle of Michel Couvreur whisky more than anything. A cream label with a beautiful cursive font and a red wax seal. The label is attached over two sides of the square bottle to ensure the corner of the bottle is presented on the shelf.

This feature made it stand out in between other square and round bottles, and I noticed it immediately. I have never heard the name or seen anything on this release before.

The label also stated “ Product of Europe”, which fitted into my world whisky collection perfectly. So the bottle came home with me and I can’t believe I have never written adequately about it. Michel Couvreur is a finishing house and not a distillery.

Also Read: Benriach The Twelve Whisky

Michel Couvreur is originally from Belgium. He arrived in Burgundy in the 1950s to make and market wine. He took frequent trips to England and Scotland where he sold his wine but fell in love with Scotland for the fabulous fishing and hunting.

During the 1960s he moved to Scotland where he became involved in the production process of whisky. The whisky industry was changing and new ones were replacing the old methods. Couvreur returned to France in the 70s, and he dug his own cellar in the hillsides of Bouze-les-Beaune. He imported whisky from Scotland and then matured it in his underground cellar in rare sherry casks.

This Michel Couvreur Special Vatting peaty malt whisky is a blend of 3 distinct mellow single malts distilled in Scotland and “raised” up with oak sherry cask in the cellar.

Michel Couvreur Special Vatting Peated Whisky Review

I have bottle No. 000926

ABV: 45%

COLOUR: Dark golden mahogany

NOSE: Soft peat balanced with sherry and fruit, a marzipan sweetness, faint hints of ash and salt.

PALATE: Peat balanced with ripe red summer fruits, hints of iodine, citrus, sherry, oak with a slight pepper bite. Mild cinnamon and tobacco in the background. Water softens the peat a bit and makes the Michel Couvreur more complex.

FINISH: Medium length with notes of peat, citrus and pepper.

RATING: VERY GOOD

An interesting expression. The peat is not overwhelming and nicely balanced with the softer sweeter notes. I have paired this Michel Couvreur Special Vatting peaty malt with some Shropshire Blue in the past, and it is a great whisky to pair with strongly flavoured cheeses.

Also Read: Armorik Millesime 2002 whisky

Floki Icelandic Young Malt

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 10/16/2017

In Single Malt whisky

John went climbing in Iceland two years ago. Not a country that was on my bucket list, until we started researching it for his climb. He came back with unforgettable memories and made us all jealous with photos of the fantastic scenery and stories about trolls and sheep. It was also a country that allowed us to add to our world whisky collection.

John had great stories about the exciting food such as -Hákarl (putrescent shark meat, which has been preserved) and hot spring rye bread (dark bread that is baked in special wooden casks that are placed close to hot springs and then left for more than 24 hours).

In Reykjavik, he tried rye bread ice cream from Cafe Loki. I managed to find the Icelandic rye bread recipe online and have baked it a few times, and it is delicious.

Also Read: Mackmyra First Edition whisky

On the way back, in Duty-Free, he picked up a bottle of Floki Icelandic Young Malt “whisky”. Made by Eimvert, a family-run distillery founded in 2009. They make gin, Icelandic Brevvivin and Floki Icelandic Young Malt.

Production on the Floki whisky started 2013, and the first single malt whisky will only be available in limited bottling from November 2017. Floki is named after one of Iceland’s first explorers, Hrafna-Flóki (Flóki of the ravens). The barley produces on Iceland is slow-growing and has a low sugar content.

Eimverk distillery uses up to 50% more barley per batch to compensate for this. At Eimvert, they use only native Icelandic ingredients.

This Young Malt is about a year old, and there is even Sheep Dung Smoked Reserve Young Malt. The bottle is 50cl, and the label is a beautiful Norse inspired design in black and white.

Floki Icelandic Young Malt Review

COUNTRY: Iceland

ABV: 47%

COLOUR: Warm Gold

NOSE: Raw alcohol, but as this is only 1 year old, this is to be expected. When the alcohol has evaporated a bit, hints of warm oak spices, overripe fruit sweetness and bits of vanilla come through on this Floki Icelandic Young Malt.

PALATE: Alcohol! The first sip is quite harsh until it has stood for a whole, but after the alcohol burn, you can taste the beginnings of something delicious. There are hints of oak, malt, vanilla, cinnamon and white pepper.

A honey and fruity sweetness balance it out. Water softens out the harsh alcohol burn and brings more of the sweetness to the forefront.

FINISH: Rather short and spicy.

RATING: GOOD

I don’t think this is a bad start for a spirit that is only a year old. The Floki Young Malt has the right elements to turn into a rather drinkable dram given some time. There is a yummy richness in the background that probably need some more time.

I would love to taste what comes out of the distillery this November when the spirit is a bit older. It will never be the most complex whisky, but I suspect it might turn out rather exciting and drinkable.

Another young malt that I have tasted and written about is the Helden Hickory wood whisky from South Africa. Tasting these releases is fun as it shows the start of the distillery character without to much wood influence.

Also Read: Slyrs Whisky