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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.

McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt Whiskey

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 04/18/2014

In Single Malt whisky

I found a McCarthy’s single malt whiskey from the USA here in South Africa. The USA is one of our favourite countries to travel around. About a quarter of the items on our buckets list relate to North America. So testing something from an area I still want to visit is awesome.

Top places we still want to visit include Denali, visiting Yellow Stone and hiking the Appalachian Trail.

America is traditionally known for its bourbon and Tennessee type whiskeys. But as smaller distilleries and single malt continue to rise in productivity and popularity, a few American craft whiskies are beginning to distinguish themselves.

I was fortunate to get hold of a bottle of McCarthy’s single malt from my favourite whisky shop, WhiskyBrother. McCarthy’s is a single malt whiskey produced at the Clear Creek Distillery near Portland, in Oregon. Not only does Clear Creek Distillery make single malts, but distil brandy and liqueurs as well.

McCarthy’s single malt is made from 100% malted barley imported from Scotland. It is heavily peated in the Islay tradition and draws comparisons to prominent Islay whiskies such as Lagavulin.

The whiskey is pot-distilled and aged in ex-sherry casks for 3 years in the foothills of Mount Hood, Oregon. McCarthy’s is partly aged in barrels made from air-dried Oregon oak.

My bottle is from batch number w10-01, bottled in November 2010 and has a 42.5% AVB. I am excited to try this American McCarthy’s single malt whiskey, especially a peated one with an Islay likeness.

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McCarthy’s Single Malt Whiskey Review

COUNTRY: USA

ABV: 42.5%

COLOUR: Pale golden with a hint of green.

NOSE: It has a very delicate nose, with wood, light BBQ smoke and flowers coming through. Quite young still.

PALATE: Tasting it brought oak, BBQ smoke and light medicinal peat. It is not as peaty as I expected it to be. Some sweet notes in the background with a hint of milk chocolate.

FINISH: A sharp pepper finish with some bitterness and isn’t very long.

RATING: GOOD

McCarthy’s Oregon single malt whiskey is smooth, and taking into account that it is only 3 years old, a decent whisky for this young age. Not the most complex of drams, but certainly interesting. The peat is not overwhelming, and even someone who has not tried peat before can enjoy it.

I will be looking out for more of this distillery as it holds a lot of promise. Hopefully, we can add visiting this distillery to our bucket list. Another American whiskey that I have tried is the Slaughter House American Whiskey. See my thoughts on this release here.

Also Read: Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon

Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 04/13/2014

In Single Malt whisky

In the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park, Penderyn distils the first whisky in Wales for over a century. My blog post today looks at the Penderyn Welsh single malt whisky release.

The Brecon Beacons National Park spans 519 square miles. It has some of the most spectacular, pristine and diverse landscapes in Europe. The Beacons themselves are a mountain range of outstanding natural beauty.

They are home to Pen-y-Fan, the highest old red sandstone summit in Britain. The distillery is situated in the village of Penderyn, from which the whisky takes its name. Some consider Penderyn to be the smallest distillery in the world. There is some evidence that the Welsh practised distillation as early as the fourth century.

Economic and political events shut down the distilling industry in 1894. However, Penderyn became the first whisky to be manufactured in Wales for over a century when the new distillery was launched in 2000.

Sales of the new whisky started in 2004. It remains the only whisky currently produced in the country. Penderyn Aur Cymru Welsh whisky is different from English or Irish whisky.

The complete process from wash to new make is done in a single Faraday still. Also, Penderyn buys their wash from a regional beer brewer instead of preparing it themselves. For the first maturation, they use hand-selected bourbon barrels.

The distillery finishes the various Penderyn Welsh whisky expressions in different casks which include Madeira, Port Wood and Sherry casks. My bottle has been finished in Madeira casks and was released in December 09. Penderyn is not chill-filtered.

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Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky Review

REGION: Wales

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Beautiful golden colour. It is nice and oily and makes beautiful fingers in the glass.

NOSE: The nosing brings honey, dried fruit and raisins. Some of the Madeira notes are also quite pronounced. It has a complex, layered nose that promises greatness.

PALATE: The Penderyn Welsh whisky has a smooth, rich mouth-feel. The palate brings spice and sweetness of burnt caramel and fresh fruit. A bit of oak and some notes of barley. Every sip allows more flavours to come through. It is a medium-bodied whisky. There are notes of citrus and oak, and it is a wonderfully complex whisky.

FINISH:Drops of quickly but then comes back. There is honey sweetness with a few vanilla notes. It ends with bits of spice and fresh fruit. A nicely balanced whisky to enjoy anytime.

RATING: EXCELLENT

I would love to add more of these whiskies from Wales to my collection, especially if I can get my hands on the peated expression. A worthy addition to any whisky collection.

Also Read: Singleton 15 yo whisky

The Balvenie Single Barrel 15 yo Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 04/06/2014

In Single Malt whisky

Today I look at a Balvenie Limited Edition, the Balvenie Single Barrel 15 year old single malt Scotch whisky. William Grant was born in December 1839 in Dufftown. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker, after which he worked as a clerk.

Tullibardine 1993 Vintage Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/30/2014

In Single Malt whisky

A new distillery for me, I am trying the Tullibardine 1993 Vintage single malt Scotch whisky. The history of Tullibardine as a site for brewing and distilling is one of the longest in Scotland. The site on which Tullibardine stand was once home to a brewery.

It is claimed that King James IV purchased beer at this brewery to celebrate his coronation at Scone Palace in 1488.In 1503 the brewery received the first Royal Charter issued by James IV. It was awarded to recognize the excellent beer produced.

Tullibardine then disappears off the pages of history. In 1947 architect William Delmé-Evans rediscovered the disused brewery.

He began converting the remaining buildings into a distillery. The first spirit was distilled in 1949 at the newly named Tullibardine Distillery. Named for Tullibardine Moor, the distillery draws its water from the Danny Burn.

It lies to the southwest of Blackford, in the Scottish Highlands. The area is renowned for the purity of its water. The water that reaches the distillery has taken 15 years to reach the Danny Burn through the underlying rocks.

The distillery was mothballed in 1995 by the then-owner Whyte & Mackay. Production resumed in 2003 when it was sold to Tullibardine Distillery Ltd. In November 2011, the distillery was sold to the French firm Picard Vins & Spiritueux.

With such a complicated history, punctuated by stops and starts, I looked forward to assessing this expression. The Tullibardine 1993 Vintage Edition single malt whisky is a collectors limited edition expression. It is one of several limited-edition expressions released around the same time.

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Tullibardine 1993 Vintage Whisky Review

Distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2006.

COLOUR: Pale golden colour

ABV: 43%

NOSE: The first nosing impression is sweetness with a sherry undertone. Honeycomb, spice and floral come to mind. There is a bit of wood in the background. Fresh fruit dominates the nose after adding a drop of water.

PALATE: On the palate, the whisky is very spicy. Ginger, cinnamon and black pepper flood the mouth. There is also some oak between the spice with hints of caramel and cereals. The Tullibardine is a medium-bodied whisky and relatively smooth but has a few edges. It is not a complex whisky, and the spice seems to overwhelm it.

FINISH: The finish is long and lingering with a slow build to a medium body finish. It is not a spectacular end, but some condensed milk and oak come through. This whisky left us a little pondering quite a bit. It reaches for greatness but seems to fall short in a few places.

RATING: VERY GOOD.

The Tullibardine 1993 Vintage Edition single malt Scotch comes across as a little one-dimensional, possibly too spicy. All in all, it is not a bad bottle to have in my collection. My desktop research found that Tullibardine released many limited edition expressions around this time.

With the boldness of the spices coming through, this whisky will probably pair well with food. A creamy mussel soup or a roasted rack of lamb should balance the spiciness out. I have tried the Tullibardine Sauternes Cask as well and enjoyed it more. See my thought on this post.

Related Article:Whisky and Gouda with Cumin Pairing

The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/16/2014

In Irish Whiskey

What a name for a whiskey, The Wild Geese Irish single malt whiskey. There must be a story behind this. I went to investigate. The name Wild Geese in the Irish context has a long history.

The Catholic King James and the Protestant King William of Orange fought the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland.

William won the battle, and Patrick Sarsfield’s army was defeated. Following the Treaty of Limerick, William gave Sarsfield’s army a choice. Those that chose to live under English rule filed one way; others like Sarsfield and his followers turned the other way to board French ships to take them to France.

They took the name The Wild Geese in the hope and belief that this would be a temporary exile in Europe. The parting, however, proved permanent. Stripped of their authority and property, many of them found life in Ireland intolerable.

These soldiers served in various continental European armies in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. However, they never forgot their homeland and dreamt of one day returning to Ireland.

I choose the Irish Wild Geese Irish single malt whiskey especially for today as it is nearly Saint Patrick’s Day – the Patron Saint of Ireland. And with the history of this whiskey, a fitting choice for Whisky of the Week. I received this bottle as a gift from a friend visiting us from Bangalore, India.

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The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey Review

The sturdy square bottle, it is packaged in a bright orange box. It certainly stands out among other whiskies boxed in neutral colours.

COUNTRY: Ireland

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Light gold.

NOSE: Layers of oak and wood. Also a bit of fresh fruit and spice.

PALATE: Toasted oak, spice, pepper and some floral notes. A bit of a mossy green note. It is not a sweet whiskey. It is full-bodied and smooth, easy-going whiskey. The spice is well-balanced with a hint of vanilla. There is a bit of citrus and more oak. It is a complex whiskey.

FINISH: The Wild Geese Irish whiskey has a long smooth finish that becomes sweeter with some floral notes and butter toffee.

RATING: EXCELLENT.

This whiskey has won many prizes, and I can understand why. It is nicely balanced, and I had a second glass. Interesting to note that you need to add water carefully to this Irish release. Adding water does not enhance or release extra flavours.

The whiskey tasted watered down when I added my usual splash of water. Only when I limited the water in the second glass, did the green and oaky notes came to the front.

As this is a spicy whiskey, there will be quite a few really good food pairings that will match nicely with this Irish release. A gold creamy Irish cheddar should make an excellent pairing. Also, on a winter’s day, a sweet potato gratin with caramelized onions should match the spicy nature and warm up a cold day.

I paired the Wild Geese with some Irish Dubliner cheese, and it made for a great pairing. The whiskey enhanced the cheese’s buttery nature, making it creamier and smoothed out the pepper notes. The Dubliner cheese enhanced the smooth and rich whiskey and lengthened an already amazing finish.

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