Tag: LVMH Page 3 of 6

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris, France. They own various perfumes, cosmetics and fashion lines and also the following distilleries and whisky brands:
Ardbeg Distillery
Glenmorangie Distillery
Hennessy cognac
Belvedere Vodka

Great whisky gifts under R1000

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 12/05/2018

In Lifestyle

The second in my series on my Top whisky gift guide and I titled it ‘ Great Whisky gifts under R1000 to make you smile’. I am moving to a more accessible group, looking at whisky between R500 and R1000. In this category, you are spoilt for choice.

There are some fantastic releases in this price class that will not break the bank but will make for a very appreciated gift for the whisky lover in your life. Many of these releases come with gift packs during this time of the year, so it is a great time to shop.

Again, I am trying to find releases that I have tasted this last period and that have not previously made of my top 5 lists. There are many more. Just search the Excellent category on the blog, and you will find many many delicious drams. But these stood out for me in 2018. All in alphabetical order.

Also Read: Espresso Martini Cocktail

Whisky gifts under R1000

Ardbeg An Oa Whisky

It was with great fanfare that Ardbeg launched an extension to their core range – the Ardbeg An Oa single malt Scotch whisky. The first permanent expression to join the Ardbeg core range since Corryvreckan in 2009. I was rather sceptical. I am not always so crazy about the Ardbeg Day releases. But wow, this release was impressive.

The whisky is named after the Mull of Oa in the south-west of Islay. Maturation of Ardbeg An Oa took place in a combination of casks including PX, spicy charred virgin oak and ex-bourbon.

It has notes of peat, creamy honey, salted liquorice with hints of cough syrup. Bits of ash, sweet vanilla and cinnamon sugar, hints of chocolate and toasted oak. The Ardbeg An Oa has a big mouthfeel, and it’s smooth and velvety on the palate. Water softens the medicinal notes and adds more sweetness.

The Ardbeg An Oa Islay whisky is not the salty, TCP and strong tar pole notes of an Ardbeg Uigeadail, but a softer, more classic version of it. It retails for around R 800 at major retailers and is so worth it!

Blanton’s Gold Edition Bourbon Whiskey

This bourbon was my first Divine rated whiskey for 2018. The bottle is short and round with a unique stopper – easily recognizable. The Blanton’s Gold bourbon whiskey is bottled at a whopping 51.5% ABV, and it is part of the Sazerac Company and distilled in Frankfort, Kentucky at the Buffalo Trace Distillery.

What makes the Blanton’s bottle unique is the very collectable eight different stopper designs. The stoppers feature a figurine of a racehorse and jockey in eight different scenes of a horse race. From standing at the gate to crossing the finish line with a win.

The Blanton’s Gold is rich and creamy bursting with a complex mix of tastes. There are notes of toasted oak, fudge, cinnamon, chocolate-covered oranges, Sichuan pepper, hints of cherries, honey and vanilla.

Big and beautiful. It needs just a few drops to tone down the bit of alcohol burn and release more complexity. Blanton’s Gold Edition bourbon is bold and demands your attention. All of it!

Three Ships Oloroso Cask 8 yo Whisky

I had to add this release to my ‘Whisky gifts under R1000’ list. The only whisky I have not tasted before. But Andy Watts is an absolute master at distilling and blending, and I love everything that comes from the James Sedgwick Distillery.

I am keeping this release for a special occasion and will publish my formal tasting notes probably early 2019. But you can rest assured, the Three Ships Oloroso Cask 8 yo is beautiful. And a gift worth giving.

A specially selected single malt was matured for 5 years in American Oak and then transferred to Oloroso Sherry casks for a further 3 years. It has notes of dried fruit, crunchy nuts, rich chocolate with red berries and cinnamon. I see that there are still a few bottles available at Norman Goodfellows and they retail for R 749.

Powers John’s Lane 12 yo Whiskey

In 1791 James Power, an innkeeper from Dublin, established a small distillery at his public house. The little distillery grew, and grew and ownership remained in the family until 1966.

Powers distillery was one of the first distilleries to install a Coffey still to allow for the production of grain whiskey. Through the ups and downs, the Powers brand continued.

Power John Lane Release returns to the origin of the Powers Irish whiskey and celebrates the style that made Powers so famous. The Powers John’s Lane Release is a combination of 12 year old single pot still whiskey aged in two different types of casks.

The majority is matured in bourbon casks and the remaining spirit in Oloroso sherry casks. First released in 2011, it was an instant hit. It won the ‘Irish Whiskey of the Year’ in the 2012 edition of Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.

The Powers John’s Lane Release has notes of malt, rich autumn fruit dusted with cocoa, dark chocolate with hints of caramel and bits of toasted oak, nutmeg and sherry. Smooth and warming. Water softens the spices and brings more honey notes.

I can understand why Jim Murray gave this a 96.5 in the 2015 Whisky Bible. For a change, I agree with him. It is delicious. The Powers John’s Lane Release retails for around R900.

Wemyss The Hive Whisky

Last but not least, in my ‘Whisky gifts under R1000’ list, I have had a long love affair with Wemyss releases. Since the first time I tasted Wemyss in Dullstroom, I have been in love. Wemyss was not available in SA until about 2 years ago. But all this changed with Wemyss bringing a few of their standard releases into SA.

However, the core of the Wemyss blended malts is the three releases aptly named The Hive, The Spice King and The Peat Chimney. All bottled at 46% ABV.

The Hive was launched in 2011, and the release that is available in SA has no-age-statement (NAS). Wemyss The Hive focuses on sweet honey qualities with a few Speysider style notes at the core of this blend. It is a blend of at least 10 single malts.

Wemyss The Hive has lashings of floral honey sweetness, freshly baked apple pie malt and oak with bits of vanilla, ginger. Adding water makes it easier to drink and releases more of the honeycomb sweetness. Rich and delicious.

Not the most complex dram, but easy drinking and fun. Perfect for summer! Let it stand for a few minutes and add enough water. The Hive also pair wonderfully with fresh French pastry. It retails for around R 650 in SA.

There you have it. A fun selection of five great whiskies that will put a smile on your or your whisky lover partner’s face. Next week I will explore whisky under R1500 with which to spoil someone. Until then, Sláinte!

Also Read: Valentine’s Day Cocktails

Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/17/2018

In Single Malt whisky

A couple of months ago a beautiful press drop arrived. It was the Glenmorangie Spios whisky, the 10^th release from the Glenmorangie Private Collection series. While doing research on the Private Collection and the Spios whisky, I realized that I have another bottle from the series, one of the first Private Collection releases to come out. It is the Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX single malt Scotch whisky.

Glenmorangie Spios Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 05/07/2018

In Single Malt whisky

About two weeks ago, a beautiful press drop arrived at my office. It was an embossed box with golden writing. The box contained a generous sample of the new Glenmorangie Spios Highland single malt Scotch whisky and a Glenmorangie glass. What a treat! Spios is the 9th release in the Glenmorangie’s highly rated Private Edition Series.

Other releases in this series included the Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX, Glenmorangie Milsean and the Glenmorangie Bacalta whisky. The Glenmorangie’s Private Edition range is a special once-off and limited release that comes out every year.

The goal of the Private Edition Series is to showcase a new interpretation on the Glenmorangie flavour profile. Glenmorangie, together with Ardbeg, is part of the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy group.

Spios is Glenmorangie’s first single malt whisky fully matured in American ex-rye whiskey casks. Spios is the Gaelic word for “spice”. Even though this is a NAS release, according to a few hints dropped during the release presentation, it was aged for around 10 years in casks that previously held American rye whiskey.

I have written about rye whisky before in post HERE and HERE. Rye whisky had it’s (first) heyday during the early 20th century when it was served in the USA’s most prestigious salons. Rye whiskeys’ distinctive and spicy notes inspired classic cocktails such as the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan.

Over time, rye whiskey slipped into obscurity, where it would remain until about 10 years ago. A rye whisk revival is bringing more and more rye releases to market as consumers are looking for new flavour profiles.

Glenmorangie’s Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks, Dr Bill Lumsden, chose the American rye casks to complement the distinctive Highland Glenmorangie style.

Also Read: The Balvenie Single Barrel whisky

Glenmorangie Spios Whisky

American rye whiskey is distilled from grain which must be at least 51 per cent rye and is matured in new, charred oak barrels only. The Glenmorangie Spios single malt is not chill-filtered.

REGION: Highlands

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Golden Wheat

NOSE: Freshly baked hot cross buns with honey, fresh fruit salad, meadow flowers and herbs with only the faintest hints of spices.

PALATE: The first sip brings the rye spices. Cinnamon, cloves, black pepper comes through, and then comes toffee sweetness and fresh fruit. There is a hint of toasted marshmallows. The spices are bold, but not overwhelming. It is wonderfully balanced with sweetness and complements the Glenmorangie fruitiness perfectly. The Spios has a medium body and is quite oily in the glass.

FINISH: Long and lingering with hints of spice, sweetness and liquorice.

RATING: EXCELLENT

I think that this was a very successful experiment. The Glenmorangie Spios Scotch whisky is delicious and inviting. Not too sweet and not too spicy. It will be a fantastic warming dram in winter. It is easy-drinking, and it is suggested that you try this Glenmorangie Spios with a bar of chilli-infused dark chocolate. The Glenmorangie Spios is now available in SA and cost around R1 225.

I have tasted and captured my tasting notes for the Glenmorangie 18 yo and the Glenmorangie Lasanta over here.

Sample disclosure: I received this sample from Glenmorangie. Though received as part of a promotional event, the review and tasting notes are my honest, fair and independent thoughts of the whisky.

Also Read: Dalmore Cigar Malt whisky

Ardbeg An Oa Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 02/19/2018

In Single Malt whisky

It was with great fanfare that Ardbeg launched an extension to their core range – Ardbeg An Oa Islay single malt Scotch whisky. The first permanent expression to join the Ardbeg core range since Corryvreckan in 2009.

The rest of the core range include Ardbeg 10 yo and Ardbeg Uigeadail. Ardbeg and Glenmorangie is part of the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) company, and they are a great marketing company.

I was somewhat sceptical about this new release. I have been less impressed lately by the Ardbeg Day releases. Was this another premium-priced release that does not live up to the hype? In the run-up to the release of the An Oa, a rather corny video was released called ” Whisky Whispers”, about a new release coming.

Also Read: Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1994 whisky

The distillery named this release after the Mull of Oa in the south-west of Islay. The Mull offers the Kildaton some protection from the worst the Atlantic storms, and it forms the most southerly point of Islay. Maturation of Ardbeg An Oa takes place in a combination of casks including PX, spicy charred virgin oak and ex-bourbon.

Then this is all married together in Dr. Bill Lumsden’s new French oak ‘gathering vat’. Ardbeg An Oa is non-chill filtered. However, the important question is, what does it taste like?

Ardbeg An Oa Islay Whisky Review

REGION: Islay

ABV: 46.6%

COLOUR: Light Gold

NOSE: Peat, creamy honey, salted liquorice with hints of cough syrup. In the middle sweet vanilla floats about mingling with bits of toasted nuts and pine needles. It’s a fascinating and glorious mix of aromas. It’s complicated, subtle and different all at once. Faint smoke lurks around.

PALATE: Ash, peat, soft honey, sweet vanilla and cinnamon sugar, hints of chocolate and toasted oak. Faint traces of lemon pepper. The An Oa has a big mouthfeel, and it’s smooth and velvety on the palate. Water softens the few rough edges and adds more sweetness. But I finished my first glass without water; it was so good. I had to pour a second glass just to test.

FINISH: Smoothly with a long and lingering finish that hug and comfort you like a favourite jersey. Filled with sweetness and bits of nut.

RATING: DIVINE

The Ardbeg An Oa is not the salty, TCP and strong tar pole notes of an Ardbeg Uigeadail, but a softer, more classic version of it. To me, the Uigeadail is the sea hardened old fisherman with salt in his bones. The An Oa is his daughter that just turned 21.

Sea weathered from living next to the sea, but more feminine and softer and filled with hopes and dreams of things that do not include the ocean and fish. But she will always come back to the fisherman’s cottage, as deep down the sea is still calling.

It is seldom that we finish a bottle. Even bottles that are easily replaceable like the Ardbeg 10 yo take a while for us to finish. This bottle of Ardbeg An Oa is DONE – within four months of buying the bottle. If that does not translate into DIVINE, I don’t know what does!

I asked the question on Instagram Stories – Is this worth the hype, and it seems like most people agree. The Ardbeg An Oa single malt whisky is undoubtedly worth it!

This whisky made it into my Whisky of the Year 2018. See what happened when we blind tested all the Divine rated drams for 2018. I have also done a side by side comparison between the An Oa and the Ardbeg Uigeadail. See which one was my favourite!

During 2020 Ardbeg released a new addition to the core range, the Ardbeg Wee Beastie 5 yo whisky.

Also Read : Highland Park 1997 Vintage whisky

Glenmorangie The Lasanta Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 11/27/2017

In Single Malt whisky

This is one of the bottles that started my whisky collection before I even realized I was collecting whisky. I tasted the Glenmorangie Lasanta single malt Scotch whisky at my favourite restaurant and loved it. John brought a bottle home soon after to remind us of a great evening.