Category: Single Malt whisky Page 21 of 43

Single Malt whisky

Whisky of the Week review and tasting notes for Single Malt Whisky. A collection of all the interesting releases I have tried. Not only Scotch but from around the world.

Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/17/2018

In Single Malt whisky

A couple of months ago a beautiful press drop arrived. It was the Glenmorangie Spios whisky, the 10^th release from the Glenmorangie Private Collection series.

While doing research on the Private Collection and the Spios whisky, I realized that I have another bottle from the series, one of the first Private Collection releases to come out. It is the Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX single malt Scotch whisky.

Background and history of the Glenmorangie were covered in the Glenmorangie 18 yo whisky and the Glenmorangie Lasanta posts, and you can read all about it in these posts.

With its Private Collection series, in particular, Glenmorangie can explore the possibilities present in whisky production. The Glenmorangie Director of Distilling, Dr Bill Lumsden, travels across the world to find and experiment with different casks, grains, and flavours.

Also Read: Balvenie Portwood whisky

Released in 2009, Sonnalta translates to “Liberal” in Gaelic. This name honours the generous amount of time that the whisky spent in Pedro Ximénez (PX) casks. This gives the Sonnalta PX a significant sherry influence.

The Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX single malt spent 10 years maturing in American white oak casks and was then transferred into Spanish ex-Pedro Ximénez casks for its final two years of extra-maturation. Pedro Ximénez Sherry is traditionally known for its very sweet taste with notes of candied fig and dates.

The Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX whisky is a limited release and not available any more.

Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX Whisky Review

REGION: Highland

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Dark gold with red hints

NOSE: You can’t mistake the sherry influence on the nose. The sweetness of sun-dried raisins, hints of oak, vanilla, fruits and spices. Rich and complex, it promises much.

PALATE: The sweetness continues on the palate, but it is nicely balanced with hints of pepper and vanilla spice, red berry fruit with green floral notes, nutty creaminess and toffee. Hints of malty goodness and dark chocolate. Adding water softens the spice and make the Sonnalta very drinkable. It has a medium body and mouthfeel.

FINISH: Long and lingering with sweet notes

RATING: VERY GOOD

The Sonnalta is a lovely dram. Delicious and easy drinking, but I was hoping for a bit more. After 2 years in PX casks, I was expecting more of the sherry richness to come through. A great release, but comparing it to a few other PX releases, such as the Three Ships PX Cask, it lacked the last bit of sherry boldness and depth.

I have paired the Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX with some Wensleydale cheese over here, and it was delicious! It made for a wonderful whisky cheese pairing.

Also Read: The Glenlivet Alpha Whisky

Aberlour A’bunadh Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/10/2018

In Single Malt whisky

Where the Lour River meets the Spey, sits a small distillery, with a big name. As the son of a local tenant farmer, James Flemming knew the Speyside region well. When he founded the Aberlour Distillery in 1879, he chose a location that provided a steady supply of pure spring water that flowed over the pink granite of Ben Rinnes.

James remained involved with the distillery until his death in 1895. He is buried opposite the distillery in the Aberlour Village Cemetery.

The Aberlour distillery changed hands a few times, and currently, Pernod Ricard owns it together with Glenlivet distillery. They also produce the Ballantine’s blended whisky and Chivas Regal brands.

The distillery is known for their sherried expressions and mainly makes use of sherry casks with a few bourbon barrels mixed in. Aberlour distillery produces a variety of ages, including a 10 year old, 12 year old, 15 year old, and an 18 year old whisky. However, today I am tasting their cask strength release, the Aberlour A’bunadh Batch #53 single malt Scotch whisky.

Also Read: The Macallan 12 yo whisky

The Aberlour A’bunadh has no age statement. Meaning ‘the original’ in Gaelic, A’bunadh is made to honour Aberlour’s founder, James Fleming. It is drawn exclusively from Spanish Oloroso Sherry butts, and the Aberlour A’bunadh is bottled without chill-filtration or additional colours.

I tasted the Aberlour A’bunadh whisky for the first time about a year ago at the Whisky Live event in Pretoria, and it blew my mind – literally. It is bottled at an impressive 59.7% ABV and packs a big punch. With the last bits of winter floating about, it is the perfect whisky to review.

Aberlour A’bunadh Batch #53 WhiskyReview

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 59.7%

COLOUR: Golden mahogany

NOSE: Let this Aberlour A’bunadh breath for a bit. There are notes of overripe cherries and red fruit, sherry, vanilla, cinnamon and oak. Sugary sweetness nicely balanced with spicy notes with hints of sweet dessert wine at the end.

PALATE: Not for the faint-hearted. The first sip brings toasted oak spices, bitter chocolate and orange peel, but slowly more sherry fruity sweetness develops. Hints of dark sugar, cherries and cinnamon. You know you are drinking a high ABV dram. The alcohol is not overwhelming but does bring quite a bit of warmth. Adding a nice splash of water brings more of the sweetness to the front.

FINISH: Long and warming with some sweetness following the spicy notes.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The perfect Scotch whisky for winter. Sitting next to a roaring fire, a delicious dram in your glass warming you up from the inside. The Aberlour A’bunadh Batch #53 single malt is big, bold, and a sherry monster with a few rough edges. I would love to taste various batches together to see the variety that can come from this distillery.

Also Read: Glenfarclas 12yo older expression whisky

Kavalan Concertmaster Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/27/2018

In Single Malt whisky

World whisky time again and today I look at the Kavalan Concertmaster Port cask finish single malt whisky. Kavalan whisky is no stranger to the blog. I love their releases, and the Solist Ex-Bourbon Cask whisky will probably make my ’Best 10 whiskies to drink before you die’ list.

Kavalan has adopted a musical theme for naming its whisky. The range includes the King Car Conductor, the Podium and the Solist whisky series.

The Kavalan Concertmaster single malt whisky comes from Taiwan where the subtropical climate speeds up the maturation a bit more, compared to Scotland or Ireland. The Kavalan whisky series has no age statements due to this.

The Concertmaster whisky is first aged in American oak and then finished in several different varieties of Port barrels, including Ruby port, Tawny port and Vintage port from Portugal.

But this begs the question: What is Port and what is the difference between the Ruby, Tawny and Vintage port?

Also Read: Maraska ABC Whisky

What is Port?

Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine or aperitif. It also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.

Ruby port is the least expensive and most extensively produced type of port. Ruby port is younger, has spent less time in the cask and has retained more of its natural colour, and sweet, fruity characteristics from the grapes.

Tawny ports are wines usually made from red grapes that are aged in wooden barrels exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation. Tawny port has aged longer in the cask, sometimes as long as 20 years. As it matures, more of its colour fades to a brownish, tawny colour. Also, the flavours are less sweet, and it has a deeper, more complex characteristics.

Vintage port is a port that is made of blended grapes, usually from various vineyards, which are all from the same vintage year. These ports typically spend about 6 months in oak and then go unfiltered into a bottle for further ageing for at least another 20 years or more!

Kavalan Concertmaster Whisky Review

ABV: 40%

COLOUR: Rich gold with hints of red.

NOSE: It’s best feature. It is rich, sweet, complex with ripe cherries, liquorice, berry sweetness, dark chocolate and condensed milk. It promises much.

PALATE: Medium body with very little of the sweetness promised by the nose. Spicy oak, pepper, citrus, malt, with only faint hints of fruity sweetness. Water softens the spices.

FINISH: Pepper spice and dry oak

RATING: VERY GOOD

This Concertmaster Port cask finish single malt is my least favourite of all the Kavalan whiskies I have tried. I found the spiciness overwhelming. John, however, loved it. He loved the peppery bite and finished my glass too. Most weeks, our individual views on a whisky are relatively similar. This week it was not. Don’t get me wrong; this is not a bad whisky at all.

But for my palate that like sweet things, this was just to peppery. If you love peppery, spicy whisky, then this is perfect for you. If you prefer sweeter drams, instead try the Solist range that I found sweeter and softer. The Kavalan Concertmaster retails for around R1100 in SA and is readily available.

Also Read: Koval Single Barrel Bourbon

The Balvenie 14 year old Golden Cask Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/20/2018

In Single Malt whisky

Can you believe it; I have not tried one single Balvenie whisky this whole year! What a shame and something that needs rectification immediately! And with the coolish weather we are having, I think a whisky aged in Rum casks is perfect. So I took down the Balvenie Golden Cask 14 year old single malt Scotch whisky.

The Balvenie is a distillery I love. I have tasted plenty of the Balvenie releases including the Balvenie Triple Cask 16 yo, the Balvenie Peated Cask and the Balvenie Portwood 1993 whisky release. You can read about the history of Balvenie in some of my previous posts.

Also Read: Tomintoul 16 yo Whisky

But today is all about the Golden Cask. This Balvenie Golden Cask Scotch whisky was initially bottled for the travel retail market.

The whisky was first matured in traditional oak casks and then finished in casks that formerly held golden Caribbean rum. It’s crafted by Balvenie’s David Stewart. It has been discontinued and I can’t find it available anymore.

The Balvenie Golden Cask 14 year old Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 47.5%

COLOUR: Light wheat gold

NOSE: Heaps of fruits, florals with butterscotch and fudge and vanilla. Fields of summer flowers with hints of cinnamon spice and hints of chocolate coated fruits and oak.

PALATE: The fruity sweetness promised on the nose is not so pronounced, and there are more spicy notes on the palate. The Golden Cask is refined and luxurious. It is fresh and light with pineapple, tropical fruit. Complex and delicious, water brings sweetness to the front and makes the whisky delicious and drinkable.

FINISH: Long and lingering with some sweetness and cinnamon coming through at the end.

RATING: EXCELLENT

A lovely release. I will be sad when we finish this bottle of Balvenie whisky; especially as it can’t be replaced. The balance between the fruity notes, the spices and the tropical hints is delicious and luxurious.

I have paired this Golden Cask single malt release with some Lindt Papaya chocolate for New Year. The fruity chocolate enhanced the tropical fruit notes of the Golden Cask whisky and the whisky smoothed out the creamy sweet notes of the chocolate. It made for a wonderfully rich and decadent fruit combination.

I am glad that I at least have the Caribbean Cask to make me dream of tropical islands. A side by side comparison between the Golden Cask and the Caribbean Cask deserved its own blog post.

Also Read: New Zealand Whisky Company whisky

Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/13/2018

In Single Malt whisky

Today I try the Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask single malt Scotch whisky, a whisky discovery with a bit of a story. A year or three ago, while visiting a whisky show, there was a man in a kilt. Not strange at a whisky show, there are usually quite a few men in kilts.

My favourite Mr Whisky – Pierre Meintjies always wears his kilt to whisky shows. However, this was an African man in a kilt. Not a sight you see very often.

Especially not in Pretoria, where this particular whisky show was being held. I just had to meet this gentleman and wandered over. His name is Mickey Baloyi. As I was to find out, Mickey is affectionately known in the liquor industry as ‘the African Scot’.

He worked extensively for whisky brands in South Africa and learnt his craft from master blenders in Scotland. Mickey is also a Keeper of the Quaich.

Also Read: Sullivans Cove Bourbon Cask Whisky

Mickey was standing with a bottle of whisky that I, at that stage, have not seen before – A Glenbrynth. I had to taste it and got the opportunity to taste a few releases from this company. Not much information is available on Glenbrynth, but other releases include:

Blended malt
12 year old blended malt
18 year old single malt
21 year old single malt
28 year old single malt
30 year old blended Scotch
40 year old blended malt.

The 21 year old single malt and the 30 year old blended whisky impressed me. The Glenbrynth whisky is distilled and matured in Speyside and the Highlands regions from unnamed distilleries. The final product is blended and bottled in Bellshill, Glasgow, Scotland.

The Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask is a limited edition single malt Scotch whisky that was double cask matured – first in traditional American ex-bourbon oak casks and then in first-fill American ex-bourbon oak casks.

Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask Whisky Review

REGION: Scotland

ABV: 43%

COLOUR:Gold with hints of sunset orange

NOSE: The nose on the Bourbon Cask finish is delicate and light with hints of malt, stewed fruit sweetness, caramel and something that reminds me of sherry sweetness, rather than a bourbon sweetness. I was hoping for a bit of the traditional bourbon spices of vanilla and toasted oak, but it was not there.

PALATE: The sweetness from the nose does not translate to the palate. On the palate, it is spicy with cinnamon and pepper and some alcohol heat. There are notes of wet wood and old flowers.

Not the most complex dram. After adding water, the heat and spices are softened a bit, but the Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask tastes watered down. There seems to be a hint of milk chocolate that brightens things up a bit.

FINISH: Pepper and caramel sweetness.

RATING: GOOD

After tasting the older releases from this brand, I was expecting something a ~~bit~~ LOT more complex and rewarding. The Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask is a bit one-sided and lacks depth and complexity. The older releases, however, are excellent.

For some reason, this Bourbon Cask falls short of my expectation, and it might be part of my collection for a rather long time.

This release is available for around R45o in South Africa so definitely in the affordable range. Based on some research Glenbrynth is available in quite a few Southern African countries as well.

The prices are quite reasonable. The Glenbrynth 21 year old whisky retails for around R2 900, the 30 year old for around R 4 000 and the Glenbrynth 40 year old whisky for about R7 000.

Have you tried this release? Or any other in the Glenbrynth series?

Also Read: Glenfiddich Fire and Cane Whisky