Whisky of the Week

Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish Whisky

On 08/18/2014

The 15^th of August is an interesting day in the history of South Africa. A day that started the beginning of the end. To celebrate that we can live in a different South Africa, we decided to have a South African whisky that embodies the pioneering spirit that our country is known for – the Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish blended whisky.

On that night in August 1985 the then South African President, Mr P.W Botha, delivered his infamous “Rubicon” Speech in Durban. The world hoped that he would use this opportunity to announce radical reforms to the South African apartheid system.

But instead, he disappointed and announced that he will be consolidating the power his party had, but would not give in to pressure to engage with the ANC. After this speech, the Rand traded very low against the dollar and economic sanctions against South Africa followed.

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Four years later, the Groot Krokkedil (Big Crocodile the nickname for PW Botha) was gone. On the 15th of August 1989, FW de Klerk became president of South Africa. Not long after that, things started to change.

Today we can celebrate a country that has come a long way since that fateful day in 1985. And what better way to celebrate than with a whisky that has also come a long way – the Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish. I have written about this amazing Wellington-based distillery before. You can read my blog post on the Three Ships 10 yo single malt here.

Most recently this whisky won Double Gold at the 2014 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Gold at the China Wine and Spirits competition.

Three Ships Bourbon Cask Whisky Review

Released in 2005, this premium whisky is a 100% South African blended whisky. This Three Ships Bourbon cask consists of malt and grain components that are distilled and matured in South Africa. After its first three-year maturation period, the whisky is placed in first-fill American bourbon casks for a further six month period.

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: A rich gold. It is a lovely oily whisky that leaves long fingers on the glass. The appearance of this Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish promises a rich experience.

NOSE: My first impression on nosing this whisky is delicious bourbon sweetness. There are notes of caramel and marshmallow mixed in between the cereal and barley. In the background, there are hints of fruitcake, dried fruit and Christmas pudding. Adding some water helps this whisky open up.

PALATE: Tasting this Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish brings spice and warm sticky toffee pudding. It has a rich and smooth mouthfeel. There are notes of sweetness mixed with Christmas cake, toffee apple and vanilla.

FINISH: The finish is long and lingering with a sweet-spicy ending. Amazingly smooth and rich for such a young whisky. A true testament to the teams’ whisky-making skills. This is the most underrated whisky in the Three Ships stable.

RATING: EXCELLENT

If you live in South Africa and you have not yet tried this amazing whisky – what are you waiting for? Go and get a bottle for yourself and enjoy. Recently this Three Ships whisky won a Gold Medal at the China Wine and Spirit awards 2014.<

I have written about many more of the Three Ship whiskies. Just search the blog and you will find tasting notes on both the Bain’s Single Grain and the Three Ships Masters Collection releases.

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The Glenlivet Alpha Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/13/2014

In Single Malt whisky

I heard that The Glenlivet Distillery was releasing a limited edition whisky with little details. It sounded quite mysterious and interesting. Lucky for me, WhiskyBrother, my favourite whisky shop, had a few bottles of this Glenlivet Alpha single malt Scotch whisky available, and Marc kept one for me.

Only 3,350 bottles were released worldwide. No tasting notes. No cask details. Just trust in The Glenlivet, that they know how to distil great whisky. During the run-up to the release, there were some online teasers and sensory challenges.

Master Distiller Alan Winchester interacted with the online community, fielding questions. He revealed that the limited release has been matured in ‘first-fill Scotch whisky cask. The full tasting notes were only released after the Glenlivet Alpha was launched at the end of June 2013.

The Glenlivet Alpha single malt sold out very quickly. It came presented in a black bottle with minimal labelling, and the only information revealed about its contents is its strength.

It has a 50% ABV. So, after all this secrecy, online challenges and marketing effort, the most important question remains. Is this quite expensive, limited edition Glenlivet Alpha worth it?

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The Glenlivet Alpha Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 50%

COLOUR: Golden yellow

NOSE: Visions of citrus and fruits. There are notes of oranges, pineapple and fruit mince pies blended with chunks of caramel sweetness and little hints of vanilla and spice. I added a drop of three of water and this just created the most amazingly smooth feel to the whisky.

PALATE: The palate brings more citrus and fruit notes. There are hints of coconut and marshmallow. There are tropical notes blended with spice and toffee. It is an amazingly complex whisky that just keeps on giving you different tastes every time you try it. Taking a second sip bring notes of nuts and more sweetness.

FINISH: It has a long and lingering finish. There are notes of spice, more citrus and honey. It has an amazing finish. We just looked at each other and went WOW. This amazing Glenlivet Alpha has the WOW factor. It has wonderfully layered complexity with notes of honey, caramel, marshmallow, spice and fruits. The overall experience was just amazing.

RATING: DIVINE

Without revealing the distillery, we offered it to some of our whisky friends, and they came up with the same comments and conclusion.

It is an amazing whisky. To answer the question, was it worth it? A big definite YES. Drinking this whisky is an amazing experience. Well worth the expensive price point.

Was it Whisky of the Year?

The Glenlivet Alpha is one of 2 whiskies that I shortlisted for my Whisky of the Year 2013. A truly magnificent dram! I paired this whisky with a Woolworths Clemengold Mandarin discs covered in dark chocolate for New Year.

The joint citrus in this whisky chocolate pairing became overwhelming. I then tried it with toasted coconut and dark chocolate and this worked a lot better. Other Glenlivet releases I have tried include the Whiskybrother Glenlivet 15 yo and the Glenlivet 18 year old whisky.

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Sullivans Cove Bourbon Cask Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/11/2014

In Single Malt whisky

A world whisky today, the Sullivans Cove Bourbon Cask single malt whisky. This is not a traditional whisky distilling country, but together with New Zealand, there has been some level of distilling going on for a few years.

The Cove was the initial landing site of what is now the city of Hobart. It was founded on 21 February 1804 by the British, who travelled to the shore via what was then a rocky island named Hunter Island.

Separated from mainland Australia by the 240 km stretch of Bass Strait, Tasmania is a land apart. Being a penal colony, the locals were quite fond of a drink with 16 legal distilleries and countless illegal stills operating by 1824. However, in 1838 Governor John Franklin imposed a total prohibition on distilling which lasted 150 years.

This was only overturned in the early 1990s. Sullivans Cove whisky was established in 1994 at Sullivans Cove in Hobart. Sullivans Cove is one of Tasmania’s most successful and widely distributed whiskies and available in 11 countries. Tasmania has some of the most favourable growing conditions on the planet.

Deep red basalt soils, ample water and a mild climate result in barley that is perfect for malting. Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world and its rainwater is so pure that quantities have been shipped to Australian Olympic athletes competing overseas.

One of the World Meteorological Organization-Global Atmosphere Watch network’s three Baseline Air Pollution stations is in Tasmania.

The air is so clean, it is used as a benchmark against which air pollution is measured around the world. Given the cleanliness of the air, rainwater and therefore freshwater in Tasmania is vastly cleaner than anywhere else in the world.

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Sullivans Cove Bourbon Cask Strength Whisky Review

I have bottle number 186 from 203 from barrel number HH0281. The barrel date is May 2000 and the bottling date is June 2009.

COUNTRY: Australia

ABV: 60%

COLOUR: The whisky is quite dark in the bottle but the colour in the glass is a more light golden-yellow with a hint of green. It is a nice and oily whisky with lovely fingers down the sides of the glass.

NOSE:Immediately brings bourbon sweetness and sticky toffee pudding to mind. The Sullivans Cove Bourbon get more hints of citrus fruits when you add a few drops of water. The nose is rich with hints of oak.

PALATE: On the palate, there are notes of barley, spice and caramel mixed with vanilla sweetness. The Sullivans Cove Bourbon Maturation is a creamy smooth whisky and the 60% ABV surprisingly drinkable. It does not feel like such a high ABV. There are hints of citrus in the background.

FINISH: The finish is long and ends in notes of mild spice and sweetness. In the background, there are hints of leather and tobacco.

RATING: EXCELLENT

Sullivans Cove Bourbon Maturation started amazingly. The nose is rich and complex and the first taste is creamy and smooth. The finish is however what caught me. The old leather and tobacco notes leave a strange after taste that reminded me a bit of the Dalmore Cigar Malt whisky.

However, the nose and palate are amazing and it makes for a worthwhile addition to my world whisky collection. I also have a Sullivans Cove Double Cask whisky in my collection and captured my tasting notes for this dram.

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Wemyss Malts Sweet Mint Infusion Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/04/2014

In Single Malt whisky

Today I try the Wemyss Malts Sweet Mint Infusion single malt Scotch whisky. What a unique name! Wemyss Malts is an independent bottler of malt whiskies from Scotland. They regularly release limited editions of Single Cask Whiskies.

The names they choose for their limited releases are not only exotic and interesting but also reflect the unique aromas and flavours found within the bottle.

Wemyss Malts select their Single Cask releases, under the expert guidance of Charlie Maclean. The Single Cask range is bottled at 46% ABV and labelled according to their region of origin.

I tried my first Wemyss release in Dullstroom, on one of our visits to the quant little whisky bar ‘Wild About Whisky’. After this visit, we added a few bottles to our collection. I choose this Sweet Mint Infusion release to remind me of warm summer days. Something I am longing for during this cold SA winter.

The Wemyss Malts Sweet Mint Infusion is a 1991 distillation from the Aultmore Distillery. Only 354 bottles of this 22-year-old single cask were released.

Built in 1895 by Benrinnes-owner Alexander Edward, the Aultmore distillery sits just north of Keith, in the heart of Speyside. Aultmore, which originates from the Scotch Gaelic for ‘Big burn’, takes its water from the Burn of Auchinderran.

Aultmore closed for several years around the turn of the 20th century and was affected during WW1 due to barley shortages. It has changed ownership various times and is now owned by John Dewar & Sons Ltd, part of Bacardi.

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Wemyss Malts Sweet Mint Infusion Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 46 %

COLOUR: The official colour description is “Pale Straw”.

NOSE: The mint hits you at once when nosing this whisky. Behind the mint is a layer of oak and cereals with hints of fresh-cut flowers. Adding a few drops of water releases more flavour in the nose and some peppermint and fudgy sweetness comes through.

PALATE: On tasting this Wemyss Malts Sweet Mint Infusion, the mint again immediately comes through. It is very different from other whiskies. It has a more herbal taste with green notes of crushed mint, cut grass, eucalyptus and oak.

There are notes of barley and toffee sweetness next, followed by some spices and fresh fruit. It is a smooth and rich whisky that is suitably complex.

FINISH: It has a medium finish. The finish has notes of spice and ginger with some hints of sweetness.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The freshness of the whisky remains. This is like a mint toffee version of a whisky. A wonderfully different whisky. I had a second glass and had visions of a sunny South African summer that is hopefully only 6 weeks away.

I paired this Wemyss dram with some Anthon Berg Mint & Caramel dark chocolate and the pairing made the mint pop.

Other Wemyss Malts releases I have tried include the Wemyss The Hive whisky, Wemyss Gooseberry Marmalade, Wemyss Brandy Casket as well as Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange.

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The English Whisky Co Chapter 6 Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 07/30/2014

In Single Malt whisky

Whisky from England? Today I try The English Whisky Co Chapter 6 single malt whisky made in Norfolk at the St Georges Distillery. Although whisky distilling has been widespread in Scotland, just south of the border in England, whisky production was almost non-existent.

It stopped more than 100 years ago with the closing of the Lea Valley Distillery in 1903. It all changed when James Nelstrop retired. After spending his working life on projects around the globe, he decided to follow his dream upon retiring.

His vision was to make whisky in Norfolk. Together with his son Andrew, he obtained a distilling license in January 2006, and the English Whisky Co was born.

St. Georges Distillery in Roudham, Norfolk was built and the first barrels filled at the end of 2006. The grain for the whisky comes from Fakenham, the yeast comes from Kingston upon Hull, and the water comes from the Breckland. The first whisky came on to the market during 2009 and was three years old.

To indicate a sequence in their release schedule, St. Georges Distillery uses a sequential bottling system. Starting with Chapter 1, the distillery released a range of aged malt spirits and single malt whiskies.

Odd numbers in the range have been made using peated malt. Some exception exists such as Chapter 7 which was aged in Rum Casks. Now England has a place in the history of whisky again. The Saint George Distillery is stepping up and with courage and boldness, producing a magnificent golden liquid that England can be proud of.

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The English Whisky Co. Chapter 6 Whisky Review

I have a bottle from Cask Type ASB, Cask Number 463,464, 465 and 466. Distilled in September 2007 and bottled in March 2011. It is not chill-filtered. The English Whisky Co. Chapter 6 single malt is unpeated. Iain Henderson was the distillery manager.

COUNTRY: England

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: The whisky is a light golden colour.

NOSE: The nose is very delicate. There are notes of barley, fresh fruit sweetness and fresh-cut grass. There are hints of vanilla and almond sweetness.

PALATE: Add water carefully as to not overwhelm this delicate whisky. The palate is an amazing surprise. I was expecting a delicate soft whisky but got a wonderfully robust full-bodied taste. There are notes of oak, barley and some citrus. The English Whisky Co Chapter 6 whisky has hints of fresh apples, vanilla sweetness and some nuts.

FINISH: It is a complex whisky with a long finish. It ends in notes of spice and oak.

RATING: EXCELLENT

A surprising mouthful of taste for a 3 yo whisky. It is probably one of the youngest whiskies in my collection, but this shows that age is not always a predictor of quality. It is a whisky that England can be proud of. I will certainly extend my collection with a few more bottles from this distillery when I get the chance.

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