Category: Whisky of the Week Page 5 of 75

Whisky of the Week

A blog about whisky and the whisky tasting notes.

Bain’s 15 year old Whisky

On 12/12/2022

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.

Dunville’s PX Cask 12 year old Irish Whiskey

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 12/05/2022

In Irish Whiskey

An Irish whiskey for me to try today. Dunville Irish whiskey is relatively new to South Africa, and I have not yet tasted anything from this Northern Ireland-based distillery. I received three different Danville samples from Truman & Orange, and I loved the packaging on this Dunville’s PX Cask 12 year old single malt Irish whiskey, so I decided to try it first.

The Dunville Company initially began as a tea and spirits merchant company based in Belfast, founded by John Dumville. He soon ditched the tea portion and became successful as an Irish whiskey blender, and in 1869 built his own distillery, the Royal Irish Distilleries. The distillery occupied an impressive four-storey red-brick building and was amongst the most modern in Ireland.

Prohibition in the USA caused Dunville to lose access to its most important market. And when the last heir and chairman of Dunville, Robert Lambart Dunville, died in 1931, the company was liquidated.

Also Read: Teeling Small Batch Whiskey

In 2013, almost 80 years after the last Dunville’s spirits was distilled, the Echlinville distillery revived the Dunville’s brand and began distilling it at their farm distillery in the Ards Peninsula. Before they began distilling their own, they purchased spirits elsewhere and finished them in their own warehouse.

Dunville’s core range features the Dunville’s PX 12 year old single malt, Dunville’s Three Crowns Vintage blend and Dunville’s Three Crowns Peated – one of only a small handful of peated Irish whiskeys.

The Dunville’s PX 12 year old whiskey from Dunville’s Very Rare range has been matured exclusively in Pedro Ximénez casks.

Dunville’s PX Cask 12 year old Whiskey Review

COUNTRY: Ireland

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Reddish gold

NOSE: Fresh-cut grass and pine needles with elegant pepper and bits of oak. Sultanas and sherry notes with a creamy undertone. Lovely and inviting.

PALATE: Baking spice and oak with dry fruit sweetness. Vanilla and hints of Christmas cake mixed with baked Granny Smith apples, lemon peel and black pepper. Medium body with a bit of alcohol heat.

The sherry comes through soft and elegant, and not overwhelming. It is lovely without water. Water softens the alcohol heat but also brings more pepper and pectin spice to the front.

FINISH: Medium length with drying oak and soft sherry and pepper notes.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The Dunville’s PX cask 12 year old single malt is smooth and delicious, and very drinkable. Complex enough to entice without losing the accessibility of Irish whiskey.

The Dunville’s range is brought to South Africa by Truman & Orange, a premium drinks company seeking to bring greater choice to the South African spirits landscape. They also have Highland Park, Sexton whisky and The Naked Range in their portfolio.

The Dunville’s whiskey range is available at WhiskyShop and Whiskybrother&Co and also online at Cutlerdrinks.

Sample disclosure: I received this whisky from the Truman & Orange team. The review and tasting notes are my own honest, fair and independent thoughts about the whiskey.

GlenDronach Peated Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 11/07/2022

In Single Malt whisky

I have tried at least one GlenDronach each year for the last three years, and in 2022 I want to continue this streak. So this year, I chose a peated release from this typical sherry forward distillery; the GlenDronach Peated single malt Scotch whisky.

I love the GlenDronach 18 year old and rated it, Divine. It is a perfect example of all that is delicious in sherry forward whisky from Speyside. The GlenDronach 21 year old is good, but not as nice as the 18 year old. Other releases in the core range include the 12 year old and the GlenDronach 15 year old.

James Allardice founded the GlenDronach Distillery Company in Forgue, near Huntly. The distillery was damaged in a fire in 1837, and five years later, Allardice went bankrupt. It was bought and rebuilt, and various well-known companies owned the distillery during the following 120 years.

Also Read: Black Bottle Whisky

During the 60s, it passed on to William Teacher & Sons, and they expanded the production. In 1996 it was mothballed, and through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the distillery ended up with French Pernod Ricard in 2005. They sold it to the BenRiach Distilling Co. in 2008. In 2016, the distillery changed hands again, this time going to the US distiller Brown-Forman.

GlenDronach introduced the Peated edition in 2015. It is made using lightly peated barley. First matured in ex-bourbon casks and then finished in Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The GlenDronach Peated is not chill-filtered and is a NAS release. The spirit is peated to around 25ppm. Similar to Paul John Bold and Talisker Skye.

GlenDronach Peated Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Dark amber

NOSE: Soft peat, toasted wood, oak spices and fruity sweetness. I was hoping for some of the sherry and fruity red notes to come through, but the fruit notes are more baked apple and orange flavours. Bits of raisins, vanilla and cinnamon.

PALATE: Soft, elegant peat with woody notes. Bits of honey sweetness, roasted pear, nuts and cinnamon. Chewy and bold but still drinkable. Oak spices and pepper. Water softens the peat a bit and brings more malt to the front. Medium body but not as complex and smooth as the 18 yo. Again I was looking for the sherry notes, but it is negligible.

FINISH: Medium length with notes of smoky wood, oak spices and honey.

RATING: VERY GOOD

I was hoping that more of the delicious red Oloroso sherry notes would come through, but the fruit profile was more ripe green than red fruit. The peat is not the fishy, medicinal Islay peat, but a more heather and dried earth kind of peat.

I love the GlenDronach 12 year old and was hoping it would be a bit more of a sherry bomb integrated with peaty notes, similar to the Laphroaig PX cask, but the Peated is not that.

Not quite sherried enough and not quite the right peat. A Jack of all trades but a master of none comes to mind. It is a lovely release but doesn’t quite tick the sherry or peat boxes. I will stick to the unpeated releases from this distillery and pour me a glass of the Glendronach 12 year old.

The GlenDronach Peated single malt Scotch retail for around R 1 000 in South Africa and I have seen some recently at Bottega Whiskey.

Also Read: Dunville’s Three Crowns Peated Whiskey

Helden Hickory Wood Spirit

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 10/24/2022

In Single Malt whisky

On the 24th of September, South Africa celebrates Heritage Day. I was invited to the Whisky Shop’s Heritage Day celebrations and got the opportunity to try some proudly South African whisky. Except for Bain’s whisky, there was also Boplaas with their whisky and brandy, as well as the Helden Distillery with the Helden Hickory Wood single malt spirit.

I know that WhiskyBrother& Co have bottled a Young Single Malt from Helden distillery. And if the WhiskyBrother &Co team liked it enough to bottle something from here, I had to explore more of this Free States distillery.

The Helden Distillery is a South African whisky distillery situated in Parys in the Vredefort Dome. The Vredefort Dome is a UNESCO World Heritage area, the world’s largest meteor impact site. Helden is the Dutch word for “hero”.

Also Read: Benriach The Smoky Twelve Whisky

The Lead Distiller, Pieter van Helden was first exposed to the concept of distillation while at school. He went on to obtain a PhD in Chemistry. Pieter gradually matured from producing hobby-level fruit brandies (locally known as mampoer) to focusing on the art of whisky.

With a passion for Africa and innovation, the Helden Distillery was founded in 2018. They share premises with their brewing partner, the well-known The Dog & Fig Brewery. The focus is on combining sustainable African malted grains with innovative African wood maturation for their single malt and single grain spirits.

The Helden Hickory Wood spirit is a small batch single malt spirit is made from specially roasted South African malts and then distilled in a pot and column still. It is matured in toasted Hickory wood using AccelerAge technology.

With this technology, the Helden team seeks to “accelerate” ageing and bring products to market. At the same time, their traditional whisky matures in cask.

Helden Hickory Wood Single Malt Spirit Review

The Helden Hickory Wood is about 5 months old. It is not chill-filtered and is a natural colour. Only 174 bottles were produced. I have bottle 20/174.

COUNTRY: South Africa

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Light Gold

NOSE: Caramel with ripe red grapes. A fruity sweetness with pepper and a floral note.

PALATE: Dry leather and wood with malt and fruity sweetness. Hints of nutmeg and cardamom mixed with cream and traces of toasted nuts. After standing for a few minutes, I get notes of fragrant tea roses. A medium body. A few drops of water makes it smooth and drinkable.

FINISH: Short finish with lemon pepper and wood. Floral notes with bits of rose and nutmeg.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The Helden Hickory Wood single malt spirit is too young to be called a whisky, but it drinks smoother than a 3 yo dram. Interesting and different. This young malt explores and expands the boundaries of what whisky can be. It moves away from the older way of thinking about whisky and looks at embracing new taste experiences. A distillery worth celebrating.

When you combine passion, technology and innovation, you get something individual. And if you like unique wood finishes, the Helden range should get a place in your collection.

The Helden Hickory Wood spirit retail for around R 450 is available online from the distillery, WhiskyShop and WhiskyBrother &Co. If you visit Parys, it is worth booking a private Helden whisky tasting experience. That way, you can experience the whole range of whiskies and learn about the production process and brand.

More from the Helden Range

The Helden whisky range consists of the Innovate Range, Limited and Premium, and the Summer collection. The Innovate range includes Cherrywood, Hickory wood finish, and New Make spirits.

An African Bonfire whisky will be part of the Premium collection. This will be a sorghum malt-based whisky that is matured using indigenous African Camel Thorn wood. I have tasted a bit of this, and it is delicious. It is going to be perfect for a bushveld braai.

Sample disclosure: I received this whisky from the Helden Distillery team. The review and tasting notes are my own honest, fair and independent thoughts about the whisky.

Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Finish Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 10/17/2022

In Blended whisky

On my recent trip to Mauritius, I found an interesting bottle of Johnnie Walker whisky in the supermarket. I had not seen the Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Finish blended Scotch whisky before and bought a bottle to try.

On the island, we had some time to explore this bottle properly. We love the Black Label whisky and always have a bottle around. So it made sense to spend a bit of time with this bottle.

The Sherry Finish is a limited edition Johnnie Walker Black Label initially released as a Taiwan exclusive. It is now available in more countries. According to the brand, this release combines the familiar notes of the Black Label whisky with dried plum and fig with aromatic vanilla.

Also Read: The Singleton Tailfire Whisky

Like the standard Black Label, the Sherry Finish is a blend that includes whisky from Cardhu in Speyside, Cameronbridge and Glenkinchie in the Lowlands and Clynelish from the Scottish Highlands. It was aged for 12 years and then finished in barrels seasoned with sherry from Jerez.

I have not seen it in South Africa, and I can’t remember what we paid for it in Mauritius. It was not too expensive, though; I see it retails for around R 650 worldwide.

Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Finish Whisky Review

ABV: 40%

COLOUR: Reddish gold

NOSE: It has the distinctive Black Label peat and smoky nose with an extra layer of sweetness. Red fruits, dried cherries and hints of sherry. Bits of spice and vanilla, with hints of dry wood.

PALATE: Peat and faint sherry sweetness with black pepper, red berries and caramel. Drying tannins and oak underlay the red fruits with hints of chocolate. On the palate, it is delicate and soft with none of the standard Black Label bolder notes. As the ABV was only 40%, we did not add water.

FINISH: A drying, peaty finish with bitter citrus and black pepper. Medium length.

RATING: VERY GOOD

I was expecting a bit more of the sherry richness to shine through. The sherry notes are subdued and somewhat out of balance with the peat and spices. The sherry finish adds a unique red fruit note but also tannins and drying oak.

Not bad, but if I have to choose between the Sherry Finish or the standard Black Label, I will take the standard Black Label whisky. I have to add that we quickly finished our bottle during our holiday. It will be a great dram for Johnnie Walker aficionados.

The serving suggestion for the Sherry Finish whisky is either on the rocks or in a tall glass filled with ice, topped up with a blackcurrant mixer and garnished with a sprig of mint or a slice of citrus. According to Johnnie Walker, it also pairs well with dark fruits, nuts and chocolate after a meal.

Also Read: Johnnie Walker Select Casks Rye Finish Whisky