Tag: Rating: Good Page 3 of 7

Whisky of the Week review and tasting notes for whisky I rated Good. When the whisky is drinkable but forgettable. One of us sometimes doesn’t finish the glass. The bottle might be in my collection for a long long time. See more HERE.

Signature Rare Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 07/08/2019

In Blended whisky

My hubby travels a lot. He goes all over the world, but quite frequently into Africa. About two years ago, he was flying back from Mozambique and dropped me a message from Maputo Airport.It was a photo of a Signature Rare Aged whisky.

I have never seen or heard about this brand in South Africa, so the bottle was relegated to the back of the cupboard. But I kept on noticing it. It has a unique shape, and this week I decided, we can just as well taste it.

Also Read: Royal Challenge Whisky

I started doing some research on the Signature Rare Aged whisky. I found that it was a blend of Islay, Highland and Indian whisky. Master Blender Caroline Martin put this blend together. It is part of United Spirits Ltd in India and is owned by Diageo.

Launched in 1994 and is known for its iconic octagonal green-coloured bottles. The Signature Premier grain whisky is also available.

I am not sure how this bottle landed in Maputo Airport, and I have not seen it again. But it is part of Diageo, so it might not be all bad…

Signature Rare Aged Whisky Review

COUNTRY: India

ABV: 42.8%

COLOUR: Golden

NOSE: Very subtle with notes of sweetness, fruit, oak, and caramel. Green notes, menthol with a faint acid bitterness.

PALATE: The Signature whisky has a few alcohol notes when tasting it for the first time. There are notes of oak, vanilla, caramel, and molasses sweetness. I am battling to get the Highland and Islay notes in this release. Hints of green grass and juniper. Water softens the alcohol notes but also tones down all the other notes.

FINISH: Short ending in sweet caramel

RATING: GOOD

Not the most complex dram. It is a bit one dimensional and inoffensive. Indeed not the worst whisky I have tried, but rather subtle and a bit unsophisticated. Looking back at drams I did not enjoy at all; the Signature is slightly better than the Galloway Single Grain and the Schoonspruit 2010 Single Barrel whiskey.

I think it will work nicely in tall drink cocktails as an alcohol base from which to build on. Have you tried this release? Your thoughts?

Also Read: Paul John Nirvana Whisky

Kamiki Blended Malt Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 03/04/2019

In Blended Malt Whisky

Time for a world whisky again and this week I look at the Kamiki blended malt whisky. I tasted this interesting expression last year at Bottega Cafe in Parkhurst, where Savi has an fantastic variety of whisky.

Kamiki is a blended malt whisky that combines Japanese malt whiskies with specially selected malt whisky from around the world. After blending, the Kamiki whisky is cut with Japanese spring water and then finished in casks made from Japanese cedar wood.

Also Read: Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky

Japanse Cedar or Yoshino Sugi trees are indigenous to Japan and grow at the base of Mount Miwa. These trees are well known as a particularly aromatic type of wood.

The brand website states that Kamiki is the first whisky ever to enjoy a cedar cask finish. According to the experts, the aromatic wood is difficult to handle but imparts immense depth to the final liquid.

Kamiki translates as ‘God’s breath’ and is named after the winds that descend from Mount Miwa in Nara. Kamiki blended malt whisky was bottled at cask strength and is non-chill-filtered and has no age statement.

Kamiki Blended Malt Whisky Review

ABV:48.5%

COLOUR: Rich Gold with hints of red

NOSE: Fruity sweetness and caramel with red berries with lashings of dry wood. Faint spicy hints with smoke. Not a very complex nose and there is a bit of alcohol burn.

PALATE: Tobacco and white pepper with caramel sweetness and raw wood. It is like standing in a carpenters workshop while they are sanding, and the wood dust burns your eyes and throat. The first bit of wood is warming, but then it quickly becomes overwhelming. Light fruity notes with cinnamon.

Many people commented that the Kamiki has some peaty notes, but neither John nor I picked up any peat. It needs a bit of water to tone down the alcohol burn. Water brings more fruity sweetness to the forefront. However, the whisky is a bit one dimensional with not a lot of depth.

FINISH: Medium length and end in notes of pepper and wood.

RATING: GOOD

I was expecting a bit more from this blended malt. The spice and woody notes quickly become overbearing and drown out any of the other, more subtle notes. My personal view; the cedar wood makes for a clever marketing angle.

However, the impact of the cedar wood finish drowns out of anything else. I also suspect that there are a few rather young malts in the blend, as some of the alcohol has distinct raw notes.

The Kamiki whisky retails for around R800 in SA and is only available in a 500ml bottle. You can find out more about Savi’s Bottega Whisky Club and see what other interesting releases he has.

Also Read: Milk & Honey Classic Whisky

Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/13/2018

In Single Malt whisky

Today I try the Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask single malt Scotch whisky, a whisky discovery with a bit of a story. A year or three ago, while visiting a whisky show, there was a man in a kilt. Not strange at a whisky show, there are usually quite a few men in kilts.

My favourite Mr Whisky – Pierre Meintjies always wears his kilt to whisky shows. However, this was an African man in a kilt. Not a sight you see very often.

Especially not in Pretoria, where this particular whisky show was being held. I just had to meet this gentleman and wandered over. His name is Mickey Baloyi. As I was to find out, Mickey is affectionately known in the liquor industry as ‘the African Scot’.

He worked extensively for whisky brands in South Africa and learnt his craft from master blenders in Scotland. Mickey is also a Keeper of the Quaich.

Also Read: Sullivans Cove Bourbon Cask Whisky

Mickey was standing with a bottle of whisky that I, at that stage, have not seen before – A Glenbrynth. I had to taste it and got the opportunity to taste a few releases from this company. Not much information is available on Glenbrynth, but other releases include:

Blended malt
12 year old blended malt
18 year old single malt
21 year old single malt
28 year old single malt
30 year old blended Scotch
40 year old blended malt.

The 21 year old single malt and the 30 year old blended whisky impressed me. The Glenbrynth whisky is distilled and matured in Speyside and the Highlands regions from unnamed distilleries. The final product is blended and bottled in Bellshill, Glasgow, Scotland.

The Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask is a limited edition single malt Scotch whisky that was double cask matured – first in traditional American ex-bourbon oak casks and then in first-fill American ex-bourbon oak casks.

Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask Whisky Review

REGION: Scotland

ABV: 43%

COLOUR:Gold with hints of sunset orange

NOSE: The nose on the Bourbon Cask finish is delicate and light with hints of malt, stewed fruit sweetness, caramel and something that reminds me of sherry sweetness, rather than a bourbon sweetness. I was hoping for a bit of the traditional bourbon spices of vanilla and toasted oak, but it was not there.

PALATE: The sweetness from the nose does not translate to the palate. On the palate, it is spicy with cinnamon and pepper and some alcohol heat. There are notes of wet wood and old flowers. Not the most complex dram. After adding water, the heat and spices are softened a bit, but the Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask tastes watered down. There seems to be a hint of milk chocolate that brightens things up a bit.

FINISH: Pepper and caramel sweetness.

RATING: GOOD

After tasting the older releases from this brand, I was expecting something a ~~bit~~ LOT more complex and rewarding. The Glenbrynth Bourbon Cask is a bit one-sided and lacks depth and complexity. The older releases, however, are excellent.

For some reason, this Bourbon Cask falls short of my expectation, and it might be part of my collection for a rather long time.

This release is available for around R45o in South Africa so definitely in the affordable range. Based on some research Glenbrynth is available in quite a few Southern African countries as well.

The prices are quite reasonable. The Glenbrynth 21 yo whisky retails for around R2 900, the 30 yo for around R 4 000 and the Glenbrynth 40 yo whisky for about R7 000.

Have you tried this release? Or any other in the Glenbrynth series?

Also Read: Glenfiddich Fire and Cane Whisky

Glenfiddich Project XX Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 06/11/2018

In Single Malt whisky

During the beginning of 2018, I tasted the Glenfiddich IPA Cask whisky and wrote my own tasting notes about it. This release was the first in Glenfiddich’s Experimental Series and I loved it. The second release in this series is the Glenfiddich Project XX single malt Scotch whisky and many people had opinions about this release.

Slaughter House Whiskey

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 06/04/2018

In Bourbon whiskey

I love to explore the artwork on bottles. Many of the wine producers have re-invented their old fashioned, standard labels into works of art to stand out in a crowded market place. Especially in the last couple of years, there has been an explosion of striking and fun labels.

Whisky is slowly changing too, from the more traditional labels to fun and colourful labelling. Leading this change is the beautiful labels on the Douglas Laing Remarkable Malt releases including Timorous Beastie and Scallywag whisky and the beautiful labels coming out of Japan. Filled with flowers and soft colours, they stand out in between the dark traditional whisky labelling.

A few weeks ago, I found a bottle of whiskey from the USA with a colourful and striking label (and name). The Slaughter House American whiskey is a newish entrant to the SA whisky market, and I added a bottle to my collection. After reading a bit more about the Splinter Group (owner of Slaughter House), I noticed a wine connection.

A casual conversation between the Wilkinson family and renowned winemaker, Dave Phinney sparked an idea to mellow whiskey in seasoned wine barrels. Dave Phinney, the founder of Orin Swift Cellars in Napa Valley, California, is a very well known name in the USA’s wine and spirit industry. And so The Splinter Group started.

The Slaughter House label shows a butchers meat cleaver with a white backdrop. This image invokes a murderous intention similar to an old school slasher movie. Slaughter House American whiskey was released in 2015 and followed its first product, Straight Edge bourbon.

Also Read: Koval Bourbon

Slaughter House American Whiskey Review

The Slaughter House mash bill comprises 85% corn, 8% wheat, 6% rye and 1% malted barley. The whiskey spends 9 years in American oak before being finished in Orin Swift Cellars’ Papillon barrels (French oak barrels). It gives it a distinct Bordeaux barrel finish.

COUNTRY: USA

ABV: 44%

COLOUR: Dark copper

NOSE: Vanilla, cinnamon and honey with hints of oak. The nose is rich and sweet and inviting and promises a sweet experience.

PALATE: The intense sweetness and vanilla do not translate into the palate. There are notes of hot pepper spices, stone fruit and oak with hints of honey. In the background, crumbs of buttered toast with marmalade. Medium body with lots of lemon pepper.

FINISH: Black lemon pepper with hints of sweetness.

RATING: GOOD

The nose was lovely and promised vanilla and sweetness, but left me with lemon black pepper overwhelming everything else in the end. It was so spicy that I did not finish my glass. I read quite a few reviews on this and was expecting a lot more. I don’t know if I have a defective bottle, but this bottle might be in my collection for quite a while.

Looking at my previous notes, I found another American whiskey that I have tried, the McCarthy’s single malt whiskey from Oregon. See my thoughts on this young release.

The range also includes Whip Saw rye whiskey and Partner Sweet Vermouth. Slaughter House American whiskey was awarded a Gold Medal and Best in Class at the 2015 Whiskies of the World competition.

Also Read: Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon