Whisky of the Week

Tullibardine 1993 Vintage Whisky

On 03/30/2014

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.

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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.

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The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/16/2014

In Irish Whiskey

What a name for a whiskey, The Wild Geese Irish single malt whiskey. There must be a story behind this. I went to investigate. The name Wild Geese in the Irish context has a long history.

The Catholic King James and the Protestant King William of Orange fought the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland.

William won the battle, and Patrick Sarsfield’s army was defeated. Following the Treaty of Limerick, William gave Sarsfield’s army a choice. Those that chose to live under English rule filed one way; others like Sarsfield and his followers turned the other way to board French ships to take them to France.

They took the name The Wild Geese in the hope and belief that this would be a temporary exile in Europe. The parting, however, proved permanent. Stripped of their authority and property, many of them found life in Ireland intolerable.

These soldiers served in various continental European armies in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. However, they never forgot their homeland and dreamt of one day returning to Ireland.

I choose the Irish Wild Geese Irish single malt whiskey especially for today as it is nearly Saint Patrick’s Day – the Patron Saint of Ireland. And with the history of this whiskey, a fitting choice for Whisky of the Week. I received this bottle as a gift from a friend visiting us from Bangalore, India.

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The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey Review

The sturdy square bottle, it is packaged in a bright orange box. It certainly stands out among other whiskies boxed in neutral colours.

COUNTRY: Ireland

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Light gold.

NOSE: Layers of oak and wood. Also a bit of fresh fruit and spice.

PALATE: Toasted oak, spice, pepper and some floral notes. A bit of a mossy green note. It is not a sweet whiskey. It is full-bodied and smooth, easy-going whiskey. The spice is well-balanced with a hint of vanilla. There is a bit of citrus and more oak. It is a complex whiskey.

FINISH: The Wild Geese Irish whiskey has a long smooth finish that becomes sweeter with some floral notes and butter toffee.

RATING: EXCELLENT.

This whiskey has won many prizes, and I can understand why. It is nicely balanced, and I had a second glass. Interesting to note that you need to add water carefully to this Irish release. Adding water does not enhance or release extra flavours.

The whiskey tasted watered down when I added my usual splash of water. Only when I limited the water in the second glass, did the green and oaky notes came to the front.

As this is a spicy whiskey, there will be quite a few really good food pairings that will match nicely with this Irish release. A gold creamy Irish cheddar should make an excellent pairing. Also, on a winter’s day, a sweet potato gratin with caramelized onions should match the spicy nature and warm up a cold day.

I paired the Wild Geese with some Irish Dubliner cheese, and it made for a great pairing. The whiskey enhanced the cheese’s buttery nature, making it creamier and smoothed out the pepper notes. The Dubliner cheese enhanced the smooth and rich whiskey and lengthened an already amazing finish.

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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.

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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.

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Wemyss Malts Gooseberry Marmalade Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/03/2014

In Single Malt whisky

Today I try the Wemyss Malts Gooseberry Marmalade single malt Scotch whisky. A Single Cask release from the Dalmore distillery bottled by Wemyss Malts. Wemyss Malts is an independent bottler of malt whiskies from Scotland.

The Wemyss Malt offices are in Edinburgh, but the Wemyss Estate is in Fife, Scotland.The Wemyss family whisky connection dates back to the beginning of the 19 th century. The first distillery on Wemyss land was built when John Haig constructed his distillery on Wemyss land.

The family has a longstanding passion for malt whisky. Even today, barley from the Wemyss Estate is prized by many of the leading distillers.

John Haig’s Cameron Bridge distillery, famous for the first distillery to produce grain whisky using the column still method, is located just a few miles from the castle. Wemyss Malts has a range of both blended malts and Single Cask releases. The blended malts include The Hive, Spice King and Peat Chimney.

Wemyss Malts also has specially selected Single Cask whisky releases, all of which chosen under the expert guidance of Charlie Maclean. The team choose each cask to represent the best characteristics of its regional origin. The strict selection process limits the number of casks in this range.

After the nosing panel has selected the casks, they then delve into the flavour profile of the casks. This ensures that the name given to each whisky reflects the unique aromas and flavours found within the bottle. All of the Wemyss Single Cask offerings are not chill-filtered and free of artificial colouring.

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Wemyss Gooseberry Marmalade Whisky Review

I managed to get my hands on a Wemyss Malts Gooseberry Marmalade single cask release. The whisky is from the Dalmore distillery on the northern shores of the Firth of Cromarty, deep in the spectacular Scottish Highlands. It was distilled in 1997, bottled in 2013. Only 372 bottles of this edition were released.

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Virgin olive oil.

NOSE: The Gooseberry Marmalade nose brings sweet notes reminiscent of fruits of the forest. It has a beautiful warm, enticing nose, tempting you to try the whisky.

PALATE: Rich with oak, spice, liquorice sweetness and tart gooseberry with hints of bitter marmalade. The Gooseberry Marmalade is a sweet, medium-bodied whisky.

FINISH: The Wemyss Malts Gooseberry Marmalade whisky finish brings wood with more citrus, and it is a medium-length finish. A special bottle of whisky for a special occasion. Something to savour and enjoy. If you can get your hands on a bottle, it is undoubtedly worth it.

RATING: EXCELLENT

I have tried various Wemyss releases including, the Wemyss Brandy Casket, Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange, and the Wemyss Velvet Fig Blended Whisky. And I see that a few of the blended malts are now available in SA, and I have written about Wemyss The Hive as well.

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Teerenpeli Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 02/19/2014

In Single Malt whisky

Today I look at a world whisky from Finland; the Teerenpeli single malt whisky. Whisky is not usually associated with Finland. It is a country associated with cold, dark snowy nights, vodka and a close proximity to the Russian bear and centuries of Russian aggression. Vodka definitely, but not whisky.

Teerenpeli started as a restaurant with a microbrewery in 1995 in the city of Lahti in Finland. And what is the next step when you make great food and great beer? You open a distillery. The Teerenpeli distillery began operating in 2002.

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Teerenpeli Single Malt is distilled with Finnish malted barley and with fresh groundwater from the Salpausselkä ridge. The distillery has the traditional pot-still set up. One of the reviews mentioned that Teerenpeli whisky had used Highland Park as the inspiration for their small pots’ shape.

When I found this whisky last year at The Whisky Exchange in London, I had to buy it. It is the perfect addition to my whisky collection, and it was from a country that I had no idea could make whisky.

Teerenpeli Whisky Review

This 8 yo single malt whisky is bottled from a selection of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.

COUNTRY: Finland

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Rich gold

NOSE: Notes of floral and light citrus with a hint of oak. It is a smooth, delicate whisky.

PALATE: Barley and oak, florals with fruits and vanilla. The Teerenpeli is a lovely medium-bodied whisky with an oily finish. The florals and some caramel and spice continue in the finish. It has a wonderful body for such a young whisky, and it is clean and light.

RATING: EXCELLENT

It is a distillery to keep an eye on in future. When I found the Teerenpeli whisky, I did not worry too much about the taste or rating. I just wanted to add a whisky from Finland to my collection.

However, I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. It is still a relatively young whisky compared to some of the other bottles in my collection, only 8 years old. But what a good 8 years it has been!

Pairing this sweet clean whisky should be done carefully as not to overwhelm the whisky. A fruit-infused 60% chocolate would probably work nicely with this Teerenpeli whisky. What else would you pair this sweet light whisky with?

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