Category: Single Malt whisky Page 28 of 44

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.

Glendronach 13 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 10/24/2016

In Single Malt whisky

A small little whisky shop in Hydepark, Johannesburg, has become the Johannesburg whisky community’s central point. Since they opened their doors in 2012, WhiskyBrother has brought an incredible whisky variety to Johannesburg. Their whisky tastings are also legendary!

Every year around this time, WhiskyBrother brings out an exclusive release, which is no different this year. Some of the WhiskyBrother’s earlier releases include the Arran WB Private Cask and the 15 yo Glenlivet. All exceptionally delicious!

This year, they had the opportunity to select a Glendronach cask, and after much tasting and choosing, Marc and Neil chose the Glendronach 13 year old single cask Scotch whisky.

Glendronach has consistently been one of the WhiskyBrother shop’s top-selling whiskies, so it made for a natural fit. The GlenDronach 13 yo single cask whisky is matured in a second fill Pedro Ximenez sherry puncheon.

The Glendronach distillery is a Highland whisky distillery located near Forgue in Scotland, owned by the BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd.

James Allardes founded the distillery in 1826 and it was only the second distillery to apply for a license to legally produce whisky under the Excise Act of 1823.

The distillery was bought and sold a few times, and the sherry characteristics changed. Subsequent owners each brought their own cask and wood philosophy. In 2008, when the BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd bought the distillery, they returned to the original GlenDronach character. The new owners relaunched the old core range of 12 year old, 15 year old and 18 year old, along with several single cask bottlings.<

So once again, the Glendonach is proudly known as the Sherry Cask Connoisseurs. Back to their original roots of heavily sherried drams. All new Glendronach releases are unpeated.

Also Read: Glenglassaugh Evolution Whisky

Glendronach 13 year old Whisky Review

This bottle was distilled in March 2003, and bottled in April 2016; the cask yielded 519 bottles. Each bottle is individually numbered and bottled at cask strength.

REGION: Highlands

ABV: 54.1%

COLOUR: A light amber-gold colour with hints of yellow sunshine.

NOSE: Rich and complex, heavy with brandy-soaked raisins, rich Christmas pudding, toffee, cherries and candied fruits. After a bit of time, some spice and woody notes come through.

PALATE: A very surprising palate! The toffee and Christmas pudding sweetness I was expecting was not there. Instead, the warming spices came through. Cinnamon, pepper and nutmeg intertwined with oak and cherries.

I expected a typical sherry PX Cask taste, but this Glendronach is anything but regular. Adding water softens the cask strength and makes the whisky smoother.

FINISH: An unusual finish that ends in notes of pepper, cinnamon and citrus fruit. Long and lingering.

RATING: EXCELLENT

It is an unusual release. I can understand why the WhiskyBrother team chose this particular cask. If you are expecting the more traditional Glendronach sherry taste, this whisky is not it. This Glendronach 13 year old is big and bold.

Warming spices with cherries. If you are looking for something out of the ordinary, something interesting for someone interesting, this is the bottle you want.

Best of all, you don’t have to be in Johannesburg to get your hands on this release. You can order it online from WhiskyBrother right here. This Glendronach 13 yowhisky is going to be perfect for winter. The spicy character will probably also pair well with food.

I poured a bit of the Glendronach 12 year old straight after, to compare. Interesting how one more year in a cask can make such a difference. From the fruity sweet 12 year old whisky to the spicy, rich 13 year old. All in the space of an extra 12 months.

Well Done WhiskyBrother Team! I have also captured the tasting notes for the Glendronach 16 yo release and the Glendronach 12 yo .

Also Read: Craigellachie 13 yo Whisky

Sullivans Cove Double Cask Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 10/03/2016

In Single Malt whisky

Today I try a new world whisky, the Sullivans Cove Double Cask single malt whisky. New world whiskies are always a treat. I enjoy exploring all the different world whiskies, sometimes more than the Scottish ones.

With Scottish whiskies, you know what you can expect; a peaty Islay, a smoky Highland or a sweeter Speyside. But with world whiskies, the lines are much less defined.

Opening up a dram from the ‘new whisky world’ is very much like opening a lucky packet. You are not sure what you are going to get. Something delicious or “what were they thinking?”.

It is always a fun exploration. Sometimes the bottle shape is more interesting than the inside (like the bottle in the shape of the African continent – Wild Reeds Whiskey from Schoonspruit Distillery), you never know.

I have tried the Sullivan’s Cove Bourbon Cask and loved it, and I am hoping the Double Cask release will also live up to my high expectations. Interestingly enough, there are an estimated 18 licensed whisky distillers in Australia, with the most significant concentration of them around the island of Tasmania.

It might have something to do with the amazing air and water quality. You can read all about the clean air and water of Tasmania in the other blog post.

The Sullivans Cove Double Cask was aged in American oak bourbon casks and French Port oak casks before being bottled.

Also Read: Oban 14 yo whisky

Sullivans Cove Double Cask Whisky Review

COUNTRY: Australia

ABV: 40%

COLOUR: Rich Gold

NOSE: Initially, I get hints of grape sweetness and tropical fruits. Malt and toffee apple mix with hints of oak and cinnamon. I find a nose to be quite subtle and fresh. It might be my imagination, but there are faint hints of the typical bourbon vanilla when you add a few drops of water.

PALATE:It starts spicy and then slowly, woody notes come through. There are hints of honey and butterscotch mixed with freshly baked oats cookies and fruit jam. Bits of vanilla and cinnamon float around. Water improves the smoothness and makes it more rounded. Water also brings out more of the ‘bourbon-y’ vanilla sweetness.

FINISH: It builds very slowly from a gentle beginning through to a medium finish. The Double Cask ends in spicy cinnamon and bitter lemon notes.

Rating: VERY GOOD

The Sullivans Cove is an easy-drinking whisky and something that Australia can be very proud of. We had to add water carefully as the dram has a 40% ABV. Generally, whisky in South Africa is bottled at 43%, and I never realised how big a difference the extra bit sometimes make.

Add just a few drops of water to allow the vanilla to come out. Add too much, diluted this whisky, and it became quite watery and thin.

Also Read: Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey

Three Ships 10 year old 2005 Vintage Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/26/2016

In Single Malt whisky

This weekend was Heritage Day and I am sipping on a proudly South African whisky; the Three Ships 10 year old 2005 Vintage single malt whisky. A public holiday in South Africa celebrated on the 24^th of September.

On this day, all the people of our beautiful country are encouraged to celebrate their different cultures and traditions. Before 1995, Kwa-Zulu Natal observed 24 September as King Shaka Day.

Shaka was a Zulu King who played an important role in uniting Zulu clans into a cohesive nation. However, when the Public Holidays Bill was presented to the new democratic Parliament of South Africa in 1994, it did not have 24 September included on the list of proposed public holidays.

As a result of this exclusion, the Inkatha Freedom Party, a South African political party with a large Zulu membership, objected to the bill. Parliament and the IFP reached a compromise and Heritage Day was established.

Heritage Day was informally renamed as National Braai Day in 2007. It is in recognition of the South African culinary tradition of holding informal backyard barbecues or braais.

Heritage Day recognises and celebrates the cultural wealth of our nation. What better way to celebrate this amazing nation than with a proudly South African whisky – the Three Ships 10 year old 2005 Vintage single malt whisky.

The James Sedgwick Distillery in Wellington was the first whisky distillery in South Africa to produce Single Malt. Their first Three Ships 10 year old single malt was released in 2003 and 3 times after that in 2010, 2011 and 2012. This year marks the first release of the single malt as a vintage.

Three Ships and Andy Watts

Up to the middle of 2016, Andy Watts was the Master Distiller at JSD. He handed the baton over to Jeff Green, but not before leaving behind a magnitude of experimental cask finishes, single malts and blend expressions.

The Three Ships PX Cask Finish was the first of these cask finishes to be released at the end of 2015. The James Sedgwick Distillery followed this with the Three Ships Pinotage Cask Finish whisky, and during 2018, they released the Three Ships 8 yo Oloroso Cask Finish whisky. I can’t wait to see what James Sedgwick Distillery has planned for us during 2019. (updated info 2019)

But for now, let’s focus on the new Three Ships 10 year old 2005 Vintage whisky. It was created using heavily peated barley and aged for 10 years in older American Oak casks.

I invited a Twitter friend to join us for this tasting as well. He tasted this dram for the first time on Friday afternoon. The Three Ships 10 year old price here in South Africa is around R560 per bottle.

Also Read:Three Ships 6 yo That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Three Ships 10 year old 2005 Vintage Whisky Review

COUNTRY: South Africa

ABV: 44.6%.

COLOUR: Beautiful gold with faint hints of green.

NOSE: There are elements of malt, fruitiness, spices and fresh fruit and in the background hints of honey and butterscotch. After the Three Ships 10 yo has breathed a bit, notes of grain come through. Once you add water, peat and smoke are released, and the earthy character of this proudly South African dram comes through.

PALATE: There are notes of oak and spice with hints of peat. Tiaan picked up bits of dark chocolate. The Three Ships 10 yo has a wonderful body and is a nice big mouthful. Even without water, this is wonderfully smooth. The addition of water transforms the whisky and releases all the peaty earthy notes. But the peat is velvety rich and not overwhelming. Perfect for someone who wants to expand their whisky tasting experience.

FINISH: Without the addition of water this Three Ships 10 yo 2005 Vintage whisky has a wonderfully long complex, quite a bold, finish. The addition of water mellows the finish but helps more of the sweet toffee notes appear.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The Three Ships 10 yo is bigger, bolder and peatier than the previous 10 yo release. Moving towards an Islay style of whisky. It is a dram worth defining a legacy by. Well done Andy. In the end, Tiaan said it best!
Eritage Day Three Ships 10 yo single malt whisky
I finished this bottle some time ago but did not want to put it into the recycling bin. So it stood, all empty, in my whisky room. Good thing that I kept it because I had the opportunity to make a whisky bottle lamp and this was the perfect bottle to do it with. See how I did it in the post on whisky bottle lamp.

Also Read: Top 5 Single Malts

Balblair 2000 Vintage Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/12/2016

In Single Malt whisky

A month or so ago, I got invited to join a few fellow tweeters for a Balblair whisky Twitter tasting. The range we tried included the Balblair 90, Balblair 03 and the one I liked the most, the Balblair 1999 Vintage whisky. The Balblair 1999 whisky was a real “sit down and think of life” dram.

Rich, fruity sweet, full-bodied. Delicious! It made me realize that, although I have made quite a dent in my own bottle of Balblair whisky and photographed it extensively, I have never captured the tasting notes or written about it. It is the Balblair 2000 Vintage single malt Scotch whisky release, so hopefully it follows in the 1999’s footsteps.

John Ross founded the first Balblair distillery in 1790. After his death, the distillery passed down to his son and in 1872 the distillery was rebuilt on a site higher up on the hills. The Balblair distillery lies in Edderton in the Northern Scottish Highlands, surrounded by mountains, from where the Allt Dearg – Balblair’s water source – springs.

Balblair was forced to close during World War I and did not reopen until 1949. In 1948 Keith-based lawyer, Robert ‘Bertie’ Cumming, bought it. Cumming ran the distillery until his retirement in 1970.

In 1996, Allied Domecq sold the distillery to its current owners, Inver House Distillers. Old Pulteney, anCnoc and Speyburn single malts, as well as Hankey Bannister and Catto’s blended whisky, are part of their portfolio.

The bottle is beautiful and stands out among the other more standard bottle shapes. According to some research, the design is inspired by the nearly Pictish stone Clach Biorach. The raised edging design on the bottle is gorgeous! It makes for an unusual photo opportunity as you can see above.

The Balblair 2000 Vintage single malt Scotch whisky was aged in first fill American oak casks.

Balblair 2000 Vintage Whisky

REGION: Highland

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: This is a very light whisky in colour. It has hints of golden-yellow and green.

NOSE: There are hints of fresh-cut flowers, malt, sweet tropical fruit with bits of spiciness floating about. Once you let the whisky breathe, more of the sweet notes come through.

PALATE: The flavour development on the Balblair 2000 is both interesting and complex. It starts with oak and then slowly transforming into sweetness with some coffee. It transforms into a fruity sweet note with bits of cinnamon spice. On the second sip, I get loads of oak spice, hints of bitter citrus and floating in the background, candied raisins.

The addition of water certainly makes the whisky a lot more easy drinking, but it does seem to take away some of the fresh-cut flowers from the nose as well as some of the citrus notes from the palette.

FINISH: The Balblair 2000 Scotch whisky has a medium length finish and end in notes of fruity sweetness and dried wood.

RATING: EXCELLENT

I finished the first tasting glass without adding water and had to get a second glass for reference purposes. It is better without water. Water takes away the complexity.

From what I can see, both the Balblair 2000 and 1999 vintages are sold out. But you can still get your hands on the Balblair 03 and 1990 release. Both smashing drams!

This 2000 Vintage has made it onto my Top 5 Single Malt whiskies under R500 list. During 2019 Balblair revamped their Vintage ranges and started releasing age statements starting with the Balblair 12 yo and going up to a 25 yo whisky. The range also includes a Balblair 17 yo whisky that is only available in Travel Retail.

Also Read: Also Read: Belgian Owl Passion Whisky

Kornog Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/22/2016

In Single Malt whisky

Today I look at something from France, the Kornog single malt whisky. On the windswept Northern coast of French Brittany, the old farm that houses the Glann ar Mor distillery has sustained life and faced the sea elements since around 1668.

Closer to Plymouth than to Paris, this small distillery makes peated and unpeated whisky. Follow the road from Paris, through Le Mans, Rennes and Saint-Brieuc until it ends by the coast.

Here you will find the small little distillery established by the Celtic Whisky Compangnie in 1999. Their first unpeated single malt was released in 2008 under the Glann ar Mor label. Glann ar Mor translates from “ by the sea” in the Breton language.

Kornog whisky is the peated expression of the distillery. It is peated at about 35 – 40 ppm of phenol. Kornog translates to “West Wind” in Breton. Compared to the Scottish distilleries, Glann ar Mor is a small distillery with only 2 stills. Maturation takes place in Ex-Sauternes casks and ex-bourbon barrels.

The ambition of Glann ar Mor is to offer the world an authentic whisky in the Celtic tradition with a Breton heart. I have the limited release Kornog Taouarc’h Pevared 10SC expression. The peated whisky was aged in ex-Sauternes casks.

Also Read: Ardbeg Wee Beastie Whisky

Kornog Single Malt Whisky Review

Kornog single malt whisky is bottled without artificial colouring or chill-filtration.

COUNTRY: France

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: A light wheat colour.

NOSE: Notes of Peat, light smoke, seaweed and salt. Faint hints of fruity sweetness mixed with oak.

PALATE: Peat, TCP, medicinal notes with soft smoke, oak, seaweed, light peppery taste. The fruity sweetness from the nose is very faint on the palate and only released when water is added. The peat is not overwhelming but nicely balanced with the pepper spice and oak. The Kornog is a medium-bodied whisky and not very complex.

FINISH: The finish is medium length and surprisingly sweet. The caramel sweetness comes through in the end and balances the peppery notes.

RATING: VERY GOOD

When I first tried the Kornog Taouarc’h Pevared in 2013, I was not fond of it at all. I found it rough and the medicinal notes to harsh. I think over time, my palate matured as I tried more and more peaty whiskies. Re-tasting this whisky now, I can better appreciate the peaty smoke, and I don’t mind a second glass.

It is also an excellent whisky to pair with mature cheddar cheese such as the Wyke mature Cheddar or a Etorki cheese. Another whisky from France worth trying is the Armorik whisky.

Also Read: Glen Grant 12 yo whisky