Tag: Islay Whisky Page 9 of 10

Whisky of the Week review and tasting notes for whisky from the Islay whisky region in Scotland.

Despite the small size of the island and the limited amount of distilleries, the Hebridean island of Islay is considered as one of the most distinct regions. Because of this, Islay has become a centre of “whisky tourism”. The whiskies from Islay are known for their powerful smoky, peaty character.

Currently there are nine Islay distilleries. They incude Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Kilchoman, Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Port Charlotte. The famous Port Ellen distillery closed its doors in 1983. Bruichladdich is the only distillery on the island that merely produces unpeated single malt whisky.

Ardbeg Supernova 2009 Islay Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/16/2015

In Single Malt whisky

John’s birthday falls on a Friday and to celebrate; I scheduled one of the peatiest whiskies in our collection as our Whisky of the Week. This week we try the Ardbeg Supernova 2009 Islay single malt Scotch whisky. It was released as one of the peatiest Ardbeg’s ever at over 100ppm.

It is from one of John’s favourite distilleries. Ardbeg lies lonely, in a small bay off the south coast of Islay. It was once a place of smugglers and illegal distillation. The illicit distillers took advantage of the isolated place and incomparable conditions for whisky production.

Related Article: Octomore Scottish Barley whisky

It was not until 1815 that a legal distillery was established by John McDougall. Ardbeg sits near the ‘Kildalton’ distilleries, Laphroaig and Lagavulin.

With all the hype around this Ardbeg Supernova 2009 whisky release, it sold out very quickly. I managed to buy this bottle on one of the Whisky Auctions and had it shipped to South Africa. Subsequently, Ardbeg brought out the Ardbeg Supernova 2010 release.

The LVMH group owns the Ardbeg distillery. I have tried various Ardbeg releases. You can read my review of the Ardbeg Uigeadail here.

Ardbeg Supernova 2009 Islay Whisky Review

REGION: Islay

ABV: 58.9%

COLOUR: A light golden wheat colour. It is a very oily whisky.

NOSE: Classic Ardbeg with peat, iodine and TCP. The peat is not overwhelming, but rather smooth and well balanced with some floral notes. There are hints of vanilla sweetness.

PALATE: Thick and creamy with peat, saltines and notes of spices. There are notes of bitter orange with some honeyed sweetness that is smoothed out after adding some water. Even though the ABV of the Ardbeg Supernova 2009 is 58.9%, there is no alcohol bite. Just smooth sweet peat and sweetness, perfectly balanced to create a fantastic drinking experience.

FINISH: Builds slowly to end in peaty, spicy notes. There are medicinal notes with hints of smoke and bitter orange again.

RATING: DIVINE

What more can I say? When Ardbeg gets it right, it’s spectacular. The Ardbeg Supernova 2009 Islay single malt whisky is utterly brilliant. Probably one of my favourite Ardbeg releases to date. Rich, complex and expertly balanced. It is just perfect. No more words are needed. What is your favourite Ardbeg?

Also read: Rum vs Whiskey

Laphroaig An Cuan Mor Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 12/15/2014

In Single Malt whisky

Today I look at something peaty, the Laphroaig An Cuan Mor Islay single malt Scotch whisky. Laphroaig is a whisky distillery on the beautiful Islay. It is named for the piece of land at Loch Laphroaig’s head on the south coast of Islay. Islay’s history is a timeline of people who can be traced back to the earliest recorded communities.

The granite hills behind Laphroaig are scattered with the Neolithic standing stones that the ancients used to predict the seasons. Laphroaig even has its own Laphroaig menhir behind the distillery. The Laphroaig distillery was established in 1815 by Donald and Alexander Johnston.

Laphroaig’s distinctive flavour comes from its proximity to the coast and its peat’s high moss content. The Laphroaig distillery and brand is owned and operated by Beam Suntory, the American subsidiary of Japan’s Suntory Holdings.

The Laphroaig An Cuan Mor whisky is the final release in a series of three travel retail exclusives. It follows on from the Laphroaig QA Cask and Laphroaig PX Cask. An Cuan Mor means ‘The Big Ocean’ in Gaelic. This Laphroaig An Cuan Mor single malt is double matured, first in first-fill-only ex-American white oak bourbon barrels, then in European oak casks.

Related Article: Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition Whisky

Laphroaig An Cuan Mor Whisky Review

REGION: Islay

ABV: 48%

COLOUR: A dark, almost smoked, amber colour. It is a thick oily whisky with long fingers in the glass.

NOSE: Brilliantly Islay. The salt, the sea, the iodine, and peat smells pour from the glass. Classic Laphroaig on the nose. There are notes of leather that also comes through. Hints of honey sweetness with bits of spice and rich fruits make this Laphroaig An Cuan Mor whisky special.

PALATE: Without water, the palate has notes of spice on the tongue, but the peat is mild with sweet hints. Some medicinal tones in the background. Adding water makes it surprisingly sweet in addition to the classic peat. The Laphroaig An Cuan Mor Scotch has faint orange notes with iodine and fruit. A rich, smooth whisky.

FINISH: Bold and quite lingering. It warms the soul as few whiskies do. The An Cuan Mor ends with notes of oak, spice and honey.

RATING: EXCELLENT

It is a wonderfully complex whisky that even non-peat heads can appreciate. The peaty Islay style is front and centre in this Laphroaig An Cuan Mor, but it is not overwhelming. It allows the other aromas and notes to come out gently.

I have also tried someLaphroaig and Stilton Cheese before, and it is a fantastic combination.

Update: These Laphroaig releases are not limited to travel retail any more and are now widely available in trade. You can even get it here in SA.

Also Read: Penderyn Whisky

Compass Box The Peat Monster Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 12/08/2014

In Blended Malt Whisky

The Peat Monster whisky is part of the Signature Range from the Compass Box Whisky Co. Compass Box is a specialist, small batch Scotch whisky maker. American ex-pat John Glaser started Compass Box Whisky Company in 2000.

His vision has been to create one of Scotland’s finest and most exciting whisky companies, re-establishing the industry’s standards for quality and style.Compass Box does not distil any of the whiskies used in its blends.

The company’s whisky makers select distillates from several existing Scotch whisky distilleries, including malts from Ardmore, Caol Ila, Clynelish, Dailuaine, Glen Elgin, Laphroaig and Teaninich.

They also make use of grain whiskies from Cameronbridge and Cambus. The selected whiskies are then blended, and the resulting blend is matured further. According to Compass Box, blending these various whiskies and then ageing them in selected woods allows for a more complex, multi-layered whisky.

This Peat Monster malt Scotch contains whisky from a few distilleries. Some were from the village of Port Askaig in Islay, with a few south coast Islay whisky too, vatted with Ardmore. It was matured in a mix of first-fill and refill American oak casks.

None of the Compass Box bottlings is chill-filtered, nor is any colouring added and are all married exclusively in American oak.

Related Article: Laphroaig An Cuan Mor whisky

Compass Box The Peat Monster Whisky Review

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Compass Box The Peat Monster has a light golden colour, and it seems to be a thick oily whisky in the glass.

NOSE: The peat hits you on first nosing the whisky. It has the classic Islay notes of sea and salt. It seems softer than the other Islay whiskies such as the Ardbeg on the nose. But the notes iodine and medicinal TCP lingers in the background as expected. It has faint hints of fruit lingering in the nose that comes through.

PALATE: On the palate, without the addition of water, the peat comes through straight away. With the addition of water, there are medicinal notes intertwined with hints of sweetness and fruit. The Compass Box Peat Monster is a medium-bodied whisky.

FINISH: Medium and ends in notes of peat and bits of orange and kumquat.

RATING: VERY GOOD.

It is not a very complex whisky. Compared to some of the distilleries that go into this, the Compass Box Peat Monster is more toned down and refined. The name of the whisky creates a certain expectation and sadly this does not quite life up to it. It is drinkable peaty whisky, however, it is by no means a Monster.

This dram also made it onto my favourite peated whisky list. You can read this article all the other peated drams that also made it onto the list.

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Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/29/2014

In Single Malt whisky

My whisky this week is Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Edition 01 single malt Scotch whisky. The Bruichladdich distillery lies on a peninsula not far from Bowmore on the isle of Islay. The distillery produces mainly single malt Scotch whisky.

It is one of eight working distilleries on the island. The Harvey brothers, William, John and Robert, built Bruichladdich in 1881 on the shore of Loch Indaal.

At the time, the distillery was an advanced design, unlike Islay’s older distilleries, which had grown from old farm buildings. It was built from stone from the seashore and had a very efficient layout.

The uniquely tall and narrow-necked stills were chosen to produce a very pure and original spirit. This spirit style was seen as the opposite of the styles produced by the older distilleries. Bruichladdich changed owners various times, and the new owners mothballed the distillery in 1994.

Much of the equipment still in use on Bruichladdich is still the original Victorian equipment. The process is gravity fed, and no computers are used in production, apart from in the offices and to run a series of webcams.

A group of private investors bought the distillery in 2000. With some clever marketing and an excellent wood policy, they set out to make Bruichladdich a name to remember. Rémy Cointreau bought it in 2012.

Malt whisky produced at Bruichladdich distillery sells under three different brand names; Bruichladdich (unpeated), Port Charlotte (heavily peated) and Octomore (super-heavily peated). Octomore whisky is considered to be ‘the most heavily peated single malt whisky in the world’.

The Bruichladdich Classic Laddie is the foundation of the distillery’s core range. It has the classic flavours of Bruichladdich, distilled from unpeated barley. The distillers are calling this ‘the essential Bruichladdich’.

Related Article: Bunnahabhain 12 yo whisky

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Whisky Review

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie single malt has no age statement. It is non-chill-filtered and colour free.

REGION: Islay

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: A light gold. It is a fairly thick whisky with slow fingers developing on the inside of the glass.

NOSE: Cereals, oak and vanilla. There are notes of fresh fruits and hints of florals. The Bruichladdich Laddie Classic does not have an overly complex nose.

PALATE: More fresh fruit, especially green apple mixed with notes of vanilla sweetness, barley and oak. There are hints of citrus and spice and more fresh-cut flowers.

FINISH: Medium length with notes of citrus, fruit and last hints of vanilla. It is a smooth whisky, but not very complex. However, the lack of complexity does make it a very easy drinking whisky.

RATING: VERY GOOD

The Classic Laddie Scotch is a lovely drinkable whisky to have around. Best of all, it is affordable. It brightens up the whisky room with its turquoise colour and stands out between the ‘normal’ whisky bottles.

But I think it might be lonely and it needs the rest of its family to join it in our collection. So – 2 more names added to my whisky wish list. Have you tried this Bruichladdich Laddie Classic?

Also Read: Black Bottle Old Release Blended Whisky

Laphroaig Whisky and Stilton Cheese Pairing

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 12/29/2013

In Whisky & Cheese

Whisky and Stilton cheese pairing is something that I see coming past my social media feed regularly, and I decided to try it. So this past weekend, John bought a wedge of Blue Stilton cheese, his favourite cheese, from Checkers, who have a wide variety of unique cheeses.

I paired it with a Laphroaig 10 year old Cask Strength< and tweeted about it. I received such a positive response to the tweet that I decided to write a post about this fantastic whisky and cheese pairing. Traditionally people eat Stilton at Christmas, pared with pears and a glass of port.

I found some research recommendations that peaty whisky works very well paired with either Roquefort cheese or Blue Stilton. Stilton cheese is an English cheese produced in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire and made according to a code that goes back to 1730.

The renowned Blue cheese is known for its pungent smell and taste. Both Blue and White Stilton cheeses are granted protected status, meaning that only cheeses produced in these three counties can carry the name Stilton.

As a result, the town bearing its name can not make Stilton! It takes 78 litres of milk to make 8 kg of Stilton cheese, and the blue veins running through the cheese are its most distinctive feature.

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Laphroaig Whisky and Cheese Pairing

The Laphroaig 10 year old single malt whisky is a pretty unique whisky in my collection. The ABV is an impressive 55.7%. A big whisky in the best Laphroaig tradition. Bold peat flavour, followed by smoke, iodine and seaweed. The Laphroaig single malt Scotch matched the Blue Stilton brilliantly.

In terms of the whisky and Stilton cheese pairing, the strong taste of the Stilton complements the smoke and peat of the Laphroaig. In addition, it brings out the creamy, buttery flavour of the cheese in a remarkable way.

I give this Laphroaig 10 yo whisky and Stilton cheese pairing a RATING: DIVINE. I was interested to understand why this whisky and cheese pairing works so well. Research indicates that when the main volatile molecules of the two foods are the same, they should work well together.

There is also an element of balance between the astringency of the two foods that make them fit. It is probably why these two work so well together. A perfect pairing. The best I have ever tried.
I have done a side by side comparison between the Laphroaig 10 year old and the Quarter cask whisky to see how they differ.

Other delicious whisky cheese pairings to try: