Category: Single Malt whisky Page 40 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.

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.

Related Article: WL Weller Wheated Bourbon

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.

Related Article: Bushmills 16 yo Whiskey

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.

Grant became a bookkeeper at Mortlach distillery 1866; he moved up the ranks and learned the distilling trade. After about twenty years, he left his job at the Mortlach distillery.

He bought a field near Balvenie Castle. Grant drew up plans for his distillery, and the foundation stone was laid in the autumn of 1886. He remained active in the company until his death in 1923 at the age of 83.

Balvenie lies in the Convals in Dufftown. The single malt distillery lies just below the Glenfiddich distillery, sharing its water source, the Robbie Dhu springs. Despite sharing the water, Balvenie is hugely different in character from Glenfiddich. The Balvenie is the only single malt Scotch whisky distillery that still grows and malts its own barley.

The floor maltings at Balvenie also supply neighbouring Glenfiddich. Balvenie has been continually under the ownership of William Grant & Sons, proprietors. William Grant & Sons also own Speyside distilleries Glenfiddich and Kininvie.

The Balvenie Single Barrel is a 15 year old single malt that is drawn from a single traditional oak whisky cask of a single distillation. Each Balvenie Single Barrel 15 year old whisky is part of a limited edition of no more than 350 hand-numbered bottles – so each bottle is unique and unrepeatable.

Related Article: Loch Lomond 12 yo whisky

The Balvenie Single Barrel 15 year old Whisky Review

I have bottle 159 from cask number 13529 bottled on 30 April 2008. The in-cask date was 6 October 1989.

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 47.5%

COLOUR: Very light golden. It has a nice oily texture in the glass, leaving beautiful fingers.

NOSE: On nosing the Balvenie Single Barrel, there are notes of fresh fruit, oak, honey and mild spice. The Balvenie Single Barrel has a freshness to the nose with some grassy notes. It is a medium-bodied whisky.

PALATE: On the palate, it brings lots of fresh fruit, honey, vanilla with hints of oak and ginger spice. It has a slightly floral character with lots of oak peeking through. This 15 yo is not a very complex whisky, but it’s very drinkable.

FINISH: I found the finish relatively short. I love expressions from Balvenie, and maybe I am used to longer, more sophisticated finish. It ends with some pepper and honey sweetness notes. There are elements of fresh fruit, as well.

RATING: VERY GOOD

I have several expressions, and maybe I expected a bit more from this Balvenie Single Barrel 15 year old Scotch whisky. That is the problem when you have a distillery regularly spoiling us with stunning releases!

While this expression may not have been as smooth and rounded as some of its peers, it nevertheless is very drinkable. This whisky is an interesting expression and worth tasting if you get the chance.

I have also tried the Balvenie Roasted Malt as well as the Balvenie Doublewood whisky.

Balvenie & food pairing

Looking around for interesting food pairings, the conclusions seem to be that this Balvenie will pair best with meat. I found suggestions of pairing Balvenie Single Barrel with serrano ham as well as smoked short rib.

Perhaps I should try this Single Barrel with apricots stuffed with goat’s cheese and wrapped in bacon from one of my favourite food blogs, Drizzle and Dip. I think the richness of the goat’s cheese with the apricots and bacon would work well with the sweetness and spice in the whisky.

Also Read: How to pair whisky and cheese

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.

Related Article: Highland Queen whisky

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 Arran Sherry Cask Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/09/2014

In Single Malt whisky

Today I look at the Arran Sherry Cask single cask Scotch whisky. The Arran distillery is situated to the east of the village of Lochranza, on the isle of Arran, Scotland.

At its peak, there were over 50 distilleries located on the isle. Founded in 1993, the distillery is the only one left on the island.During its construction, a pair of Golden Eagles built their nest in the crags above the distillery. Golden Eagles are a protected species.

Construction of the distillery was temporarily halted to allow the eagles to hatch their chicks. On a warm summer’s day, you may see the eagles gliding high on the thermal currents.

Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde. With an area of 432 square kilometres, it is the seventh-largest Scottish island. Production of whisky started in 1995. It has been claimed that the water used for The Arran Malt is the purest in all of Scotland.

The water has reputedly been cleansed by granite and softened by peat as it slowly meanders from the mountaintops into nearby Loch na Davie. The Arran Malt distillery also benefits from a warm microclimate.

The atmosphere of sea breezes and clear mountain air, with the warm flow of the Gulf Stream, is ideal for the maturation of single malts. The Arran Island is sometimes called “Scotland in miniature”, as it is divided into “Highland” and “Lowland” areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.

I have Arran Sherry Cask whisky bottle 186 of 285 from Cask 109. The single malt whisky was distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2006. This bottle is a Limited Edition matured in a Sherry cask.

Related Article: Jura Origin 10yo Whisky

The Arran Sherry Cask Whisky Review

REGION: Islands

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Dark golden amber with a hint of red.

NOSE: On nosing, the sherry sweetness is very noticeable. Dried fruit and wood also come through, with hints of butterscotch in the background. It’s not a very oily whisky, but it does leave nice streaks on the inside of a glass.

PALATE: On the palate, the expected sweetness does not come through. Instead, raisins, dried fruit, wood and some spice emerge. Underneath, there is a bit of butterscotch. The Arran has a medium body.

FINISH: Lingering. The whisky ends on notes of pepper, burnt caramel, ginger and aniseed. It becomes a bit sweeter again on the finish. The relative youth of the spirit seems to come through. The flavour is there, but they have not combined as well as they could. It might be that with longer ageing, things will improve.

RATING: GOOD

Compared to some of the other young whiskies in my collection, one feels something is missing. It is by no means a bad whisky – it is just a bit disjointed.

The Arran has a range of expressions, some of them quite collectable. I look forward to adding some more expressions to my collection in the future. I have also tasted the Arran Napoleon Cognac cask release, and enjoyed it a lot more.

Also Read: Glen Grant Major’s Reserve Whisky