Category: Single Malt whisky Page 32 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.

Schoonspruit 2010 Single Barrel Whiskey

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 10/05/2015

In Single Malt whisky

WordPress has a feature where it shows you what search terms lead people to your blog. The one thing that astounds me is that the most search term is Wild Reeds whiskey and Schoonspruit whiskey. These are not well-known whisky in South Africa. The Wild Reeds bourbon cask is also my most read article on the blog.

It might have a lot to do with the bottle shape. Looking at the blog stats, I noticed that we have not tasted the Schoonspruit 2010 single barrel whiskey release yet. And what better time to taste this South African whisky, while on holiday in the beautiful Karoo.

And to see if this ‘premium’ release can compete with South Africa’s award-winning Three Ships whisky made down in Wellington. Ernst Henning established the Schoonspruit whiskey distillery in Ventersdorp, South Africa in 1992.

Distilling with water from the original Schoonspruit gives the whiskey its distinct character. They also own the Totpak Company and is known in the USA as Portashot.

They not only make whiskey but distil, pack and store a variety of other alcoholic beverages. According to the website, “…the Schoonspruit 2010 Single Barrel whiskey is a premium class whiskey in which each bottle comes from an individual ageing barrel. The finest whiskey in the world comes from a single barrel.” Totpak and Schoonspruit Distillers are an independent family business and proudly Africa.”

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Schoonspruit 2010 Single Barrel Whiskey Review

The Schoonspruit 2010 is pot stilled and aged for 3 years.

COUNTRY: South Africa

ABV: 43%.

COLOUR: A light wheat colour.

NOSE: Notes of methylated spirits, hints of oak and refined white sugar sweetness mixed with paint stripper. Best nosed very carefully. The strong raw alcohol smell can easily overwhelm you. Or better yet, let it stand for a good 35 minutes for the worst of the rawness and turpentine to evaporate.

PALATE: Surprisingly, the Schoonspruit 2010 whiskey tastes (a bit) better than it smells. On the palate, it still has many raw and un-aged notes. It has hints of oak and sweetness. I would, however, hesitate to light a cigar while drinking this. Adding water makes this Schoonspruit flat and dull. Rather like cheap petrol.

FINISH: Long and lingering – unfortunately. Long lingering methylated spirit notes are not fun. Lingering notes of Yuck also comes to mind.

RATING: ORDINARY

If you want to spite your father in law, this is the dram to buy. It also works as a firelighter or fuel for a lawnmower.

Is it competition for any of the Three Ships whiskies? O hell no! It is not even in the same competition. The Three Ships 10 yo single malt is an excellent whisky! Fortunately, I also packed some of my Three Ship 10 yo whisky for our Karoo visit and could wash away the raw spirit taste with some real whisky.

Related Article: Three Ships PX cask finish whisky

Glenlivet 12 year old Single Malt Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/07/2015

In Single Malt whisky

I grew up with a dad who enjoyed whisky. His favourite drams were Dimple and Chivas Regal. This shaped the way I enjoyed whisky and early on, I gravitated to blended whisky too. One day, a friend poured me a Glenlivet 12 year old single malt Scotch whisky and it blew me away.

The smooth complex flavours just knocked my socks off. I still hold the Glenlivet 12 year old close to my heart.

The Glenlivet distillery is a Speyside distillery in Moray, Scotland. The distillery draws water from Josie’s Well and other springs a short distance from the distillery. George Smith was the first distiller to legally distil whisky in the Speyside region.

He took the brave step of applying for a license following the Excise Act of 1823, much to the unhappiness of his neighbours. He established The Glenlivet on a farm distillery called Upper Drummin in 1824. Glenlivet became so synonymous with quality that more and more distillers started using the name.

To help keep the brand, George Smith’s son, John Gordon Smith, applied for sole rights to the name. In 1884, this was granted. The distillery is owned by Chivas Brothers, themselves a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. The Glenlivet is the world’s second best-selling single malt and it is one of the top sellers in the US.

The Glenlivet 12 year old Scotch is matured in a mixture of American and European Oak. Much to my horror, I noted that The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve will replace The Glenlivet 12 year old in mature malt markets, including the UK from 2015.

Related Article: Glenfiddich 12 yo Whisky

Glenlivet 12 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Light golden wheat

NOSE: Sweet with tropical fruits, vanilla and cereals. There are hints of spice and grassy notes floating in the background. The nose is light and fresh.

PALATE: Without water, there are lots of fruits, cinnamon and nutmeg that mix with the oak and barley notes. It is not as sweet as you would expect after the promises of the sweet nose.

Adding a few drops of water smooths the spices and more apple, honey and summer fruit appear. Water allows the Glenlivet 12 year old to show its’ full complexity. Regardless, it is rich and creamy and delicious.

FINISH: Medium length and end in lots of fresh fruit, nuts and hints of lemon.

RATING: EXCELLENT

Certainly, a perfectly fruity dram to usher in Spring with. We have also tried both the Glenlivet 18 year oldand the Glenlivet 15 year old bottled by Signatory for Whisky Brother shop and rated both these expressions as Excellent.

As part of my comparative series, I have done a comparison between the Glenfiddich 12 year old and the Glenlivet 12 year old single malt whisky to see who they compare when you have them side by side. In South Africa, the Glenlivet 12 year old single malt retails for around R 500 and in India for about ₹ 5,656.

I am sure the Founders Reserve is not a bad whisky, but it is not my beloved 12 year old. I will have to stockpile an extra bottle just to make sure I don’t run out too soon.

Food pairings

The Glenlivet 12 year old will pair wonderfully with cheese. I have tried it with a goats cheese flavoured with Italian herbs and it was a creamy dream. It will also work very well with salmon sashimi and delicate seafood such as seared scallops or prawns. Even some smoked duck will bring out amazing things in this Speyside release.

Related Article: Tamnavulin Double Cask Whisky

The Singleton Tailfire Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/11/2015

In Single Malt whisky

A while ago, a friend mentioned that her favourite dram is a Singleton. For some unknown reason, neither John nor me have ever tried whisky from the Dufftown Distillery. So, when Singleton released their new The Singleton Tailfire single malt Scotch whisky expression, it was a great opportunity to try this brand.

The Dufftown distillery is located in the small Speyside town of the same name. The Dufftown distillery was not originally built as a malt whisky distillery. Wine merchant Peter Mackenzie and friends converted it from an old Mill to a Distillery in 1895 /6.

Related Article: Whisky and Gouda Cheese

Today it is owned by Diageo. The majority of the malt whisky produced at the Dufftown Distillery is used for blended whiskies – particularly Bell’s and Johnnie Walker. Singleton Tailfire is one of two NAS single malt Scotch whiskies released in 2015 as part of the Singleton of Dufftown range. The other being Singleton Sunray.

Singleton Tailfire is aged in a combination of European and American oak casks. The names draw inspiration from the brand’s logo of a leaping salmon – Sunray and Tailfire are artificial fly used in salmon fishing.

Other releases in the Singleton range include a Singleton 12 year old as well as a 15 year old single malt whisky.

The Singleton Tailfire Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: It is a dark bronze colour with hints of red glistening in the glass.

NOSE: Sweet and spicy with caramel, candied fruit, cherries and marzipan. There are notes of vanilla and fruity Christmas cake.

PALATE: Without water, the palate is spicy and has a bit of a pepper spice bite. There are hints of chocolate cherries as well. Water smooths out the Singleton Tailfire. It lessens the spicy bite and brings forth notes of vanilla oak and wood. The bold fruitiness promised by the nose has softened. Malt and fruits of the forest notes flirt around the background.

FINISH: Big and bold with lots of spice, wood, cherries and bitter lemon. This is a very drinkable dram.

RATING: VERY GOOD

The Singleton Tailfire whisky does not cause a tailspin, however, it is a good whisky for someone trying out whisky for the first time. Another good point is that it is also affordable.

The Singleton website suggests you pair this Tailfire with a panacotta with red fruits, Brie and dark cocoa chocolate. With all the spicy notes in this whisky, I am guessing it will also pair well with cheese. Something I will test in future.

I have also tried the Singleton 15 year old whisky. See my thoughts on this interesting Dufftown release.

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Bunnahabhain 12 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/03/2015

In Single Malt whisky

This release is one of my favourites, the Bunnahabhain 12 year old single malt Scotch whisky. The Bunnahabhain distillery on Islay sits on the North-East of the island, with the Caol Ila distillery as its only neighbour.

The name Bunnahabhain is Gaelic for ‘Mouth of the River’ and refers to the Margadale river, which supplies the distillery’s water.

The brothers Greenless and William Robertson founded Bunnahabhain in 1881. The distillery closed and reopened a few times during the twentieth century, and eventually, production was limited to only a few weeks annually under the Edrington Group.

During 2003 the Edrington Group sold Bunnahabhain (both distillery & brand) to Burn Stewart Distillers for £10 million. Black Bottle blended whisky was included in the deal. Bunnahabhain has the largest production capacity of all distilleries on Islay. Launched in the summer of 2010, the new Bunnahabhain 12 year old whisky has an increase in ABV to 46.3%.

The Bunnahabhain is no chill-filtration and has no added colouring. It is presented in a new darker smoked glass bottle that replaced the traditional emerald-green of the older 12 year old bottling.

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Bunnahabhain 12 year old Whisky Review

REGION: Islay

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Light golden amber glow in the glass. It is a medium oily whisky.

NOSE: Sweet with notes of rich, fruity sultanas and toffee. There are notes of oak and malt with hints of spice. This Bunnahabhain 12 year old has a big bold nose, promising much. When adding a bit of water, the nose changes to more grain and wooden notes.

PALATE: Rich and full-bodied. The Bunnahabhain has a nice mouthfeel with smooth notes of sherry sweetness, herbal nuttiness and salty chewiness. There are notes of warming oak spice, vanilla, candied fruit and little hints of smoke. The taste delivers what the nose promised. A wonderful dram!

FINISH: Comforting and rounded with a long tail. It ends in notes of sweetness and malt.

RATING: EXCELLENT

Delicious, satisfying and perfectly balanced. It is one of my personal favourites, which I always go back to. The occasion does not matter; a glass of Bunnahabhain always puts a smile on my face. Don’t you want a glass too?

For my New Years Eve celebration, I paired the Bunnahabhain 12 year old Scotch with a bar of espresso chocolate. With its notes of Sherry, malt and a bit of smoke, The Bunnahabhain paired perfectly with this coffee chocolate. It was probably one of our favourite pairings of the evening.

I also love the Bunnahabhain 18 year old whisky. It is a bottle that does not last long in my house.

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Reisetbauer 12 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 07/27/2015

In Single Malt whisky

I am always on the lookout for whisky from interesting countries to compliment my collection. When I got the opportunity to add a Reisetbauer 12 year old single malt whisky from Austria, I grabbed it. The Reisetbauer family farm, Kirchdorfergut, is in the Hausruckviertel district of Upper Austria.

The Reisetbauer distillery produces not only brandy and whisky but also Eaux de Vie and gin. Because of its favourable soils and a climate with wide fluctuations in temperature, it is one of the best Austrian regions for growing fruit. Hans Reisetbauer makes very good use of this soil and produces most of his own fruits.

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He also planted four hectares of summer brewing barley. Harvested for the first time in July 1995, the barley was taken to a nearby malting floor to be carefully malted. The fermented mash is twice distilled in copper pot stills. It is aged in casks that were previously used for ageing Chardonnay and Trockenbeerenauslese.

It certainly makes an interesting change from the more traditional sherry, port or bourbon casks being used. According to the experts, the residual sweetness of the wines enhances the taste of whisky malt aroma, enriching the dram’s unique chocolate notes.

Reisetbauer 12 year old Whisky Review

COUNTRY: Austria

ABV: 48%.

COLOUR: It has a rich red mahogany colour that is described by some as a “golden orange”.

NOSE: Brings oak and spice. There are hints of fermented grapes and boiled sweets with a slight chemical trace. It took us a while to identify the chemical notes, but in the end, we agreed that it was most reminiscent of mothballs. There are a few citrus notes on the nose.

PALATE: Before water, the Reisetbauer 12 year old is quite harsh. There are some sharp notes on the palate that fight over who will deliver the first onset of flavour. Adding some (lots) water softens the palate and brings a few more floral note to the forefront.

Also a bit of pickled ginger. Unfortunately, these are not the sweet floral notes we expected but reminded us more about the decaying flowers you find at the end of summer.

FINISH: Quite short (thank goodness) and ended in some spicy notes.

RATING: ORDINARY

From the research I did, I was expecting quite a lot from this limited release. It made me think of the South African Wild Reeds whisky, but without the methylated spirits smell. Lucky for me, there are quite a few other distilleries in Austria, so I will keep on looking out for another Austrian distillery.

Have you tried an Austrian whisky that you can recommend?

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