Tag: Speyside Whisky Page 12 of 14

Speyside is a “protected region” for Scotch Whisky distilling under UK Government legislation.According to Visit Scotland, this region includes the area between the Highlands to the west, Aberdeenshire in the east and extending north to the Cairngorms National Park. Speyside single malt whisky is single malt Scotch whiskies, distilled in Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland.

Glenfarclas 17 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 02/02/2015

In Single Malt whisky

My first introduction to Glenfarclas was in 2013 in Dullstroom at Wild about Whisky. Since then, my collection has extended slightly and includes various 12 year old releases and a 21 year old and a 25 year old whisky. But today, I am very excited to try the Glenfarclas 17 year old single malt whisky.

From the research that I have done, this release is the favourite Glenfarclas of many whisky bloggers. The Glenfarclas Distillery is located in the heart of Speyside.

The distillery sits in the moors of Banffshire, just a mile from the River Spey. The Grant Family purchased the distillery in 1865, and it has remained under the control of the Grant Family for six generations.

Glenfarclas is one of only a few distilleries remaining in Scotland, which is independently family owned and managed. Glenfarclas, translated from the Gaelic as “Glen of the green grassland”, nestles at the foot of the Ben Rinnes mountain. The distillery is renowned for being a full-bodied whisky with lots of sherry cask influence.

I have written about the new Glenfarclas 12 year old release. The Glenfarclas 17 year old release is an unseated whisky aged in ex-Sherry casks. It was bottled in limited quantities, mainly for the North American, Japanese and travel retail markets.

Related Article: Kininvie 17 yo whisky

Glenfarclas 17 year old Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 43 %

COLOUR: A golden copper colour. It is a very oily whisky with languid fingers in the glass.

NOSE: Sweet sherry, rich brandy-soaked fruit cake and Christmas pudding. There are notes of butterscotch, vanilla and glazed cherries. Hints of oak and cereals drift past. Water seems to dampen the nose a bit but releases a few floral notes.

PALATE: Without water, the Glenfarclas 17 year old has a creamy smooth palate with mild spice and notes of oak and cereals. Adding water makes the spice and oak more pronounced and allow more floral notes to come through. Rich and smooth.

FINISH: This is where the Glenfarclas 17 year old falls down a bit. The finish is medium length and end in notes of tobacco and bitter orange intertwined with some sweet sherry notes.

RATING: EXCELLENT

I expected this oily whisky to have a longer finish. My biggest issue with this great whisky is that the finish is too short. I wanted it to go on a lot longer. Nevertheless, I had a second glass. I can’t wait to taste more from this family distillery.

Also Read: Glengoyne 17 yo whisky

Glenlivet 15 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 01/08/2015

In Single Malt whisky

At the beginning of this year, I got the chance to taste something extraordinary. WhiskyBrother, the iconic speciality whisky store in Hyde Park, sent me a sample of their new, personally selected WhiskyBrother Glenlivet 15 year old single malt Scotch whisky.

I could not wait to try this little gem. I decided to have a special early tasting just for this. Marc Pendlebury, the founder of the WhiskyBrother store, chose this Glenlivet 15 yo whisky on behalf of the store. It is a Glenlivet 1998 single malt whisky release, and it was bottled exclusively for WhiskyBrother.

Earlier in 2014, Marc travelled to Scotland. He spent some time with the independent bottler, Signatory. The benefit of an independent bottler is the huge selection and variety of whisky that they can offer.

It is often a misconception that independent bottlers produce whisky. Independent bottlers buy casks from distilleries and bottle it under their own label. They are also not restricted to a core range, style or age.

Out of the several whiskies that Marc tasted at Signatory, he brought three samples back to South Africa for final selection. The winning cask was chosen solely on the whisky Marc thought was best. He didn’t concern himself with which distillery it came from or how old it was

Related Article: Whisky Ratings

Glenlivet 15 year old Whisky Review

The selected 15 yo Glenlivet cask was distilled on the 28^th of August 1998 and bottled on the 24^th of March 2014. The Whiskybrother Signatory Glenlivet 15 year old whisky is individually numbered and presented in a beautiful bottle. It was matured in a 500-litre butt, which previously contained Oloroso sherry. The Glenlivet is not chill-filtered and naturally coloured.

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 54.8%

COLOUR: What an amazingly dark whisky. It has a dark copper, nearly amber colour. It is a very oily whisky making long slow fingers on the side of the glass.

NOSE: You can not miss the sherry notes on the nose. There are notes of raisins and sherry soaked plums and cherries. Closing your eyes, you get Christmas pudding sweetness and hints of vanilla mixed with the oak. When you add a few drops of water, you get more hints of toffee and caramel.

PALATE: It is surprisingly spicy on the palate. The nose suggested fruit sweetness, but the palate delivered spice and oak. There are hints of ginger, cinnamon and cloves before the sherry sweetness comes through.

FINISH: This smooth whisky has a medium length finish that ends in leather and citrus marmalade notes.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The Glenlivet 15 year old is exclusively available at WhiskyBrother, and there is a limited number. If you live in Johannesburg, make a plan to head over to WhiskyBrother. Marc, please keep us a bottle of this special WhiskyBrother Glenlivet before they all disappear.

WhiskyBrother regularly releases their own special bottlings. Lately, some of these special releases have even won prizes, so it is worth keeping an eye on the shop to see what else they have.

Also read: Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX whisky

The Balvenie Roasted Malt 14 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 12/22/2014

In Single Malt whisky

One of my favourite distilleries is Balvenie. I have quite a few of their releases and have published tasting notes on the Balvenie Doublewood 12 yo and the Balvenie Single Barrel whisky in the past. Today I look at something somewhat different, the Balvenie Roasted Malt 14 year old single malt Scotch whisky.

Balvenie lies in the Convals in Dufftown in the Speyside region of Scotland. William Grant built the distillery in 1892 just below the Glenfiddich distillery.

It shares its water source, the Robbie Dhu springs, with its well-known neighbour. Despite having the same owner, The Balvenie is hugely different in character from Glenfiddich.

Over the last few years, Balvenie has become the ninth bestselling single malt, and demand is growing. William Grant & Sons still own the distiller. In the summer of 1992, as part of an experimental process, a batch of barley was germinated over 24 hours before being kiln-dried, heated in a roasting drum at a temperature of 200C.

The normal germination period is usually around five days. This batch was then mixed with traditional malted barley before the mashing stage. The barley was roasted to between 1600 and 1800 European Brewing Colour (EBC) units.

Regular malted barley only reaches around 30 units. This dark roasted malted barley is more commonly used in the production of stout beer. Balvenie subsequently made a single batch of just 34 casks from this toasted barley.

When it was finally bottled in 2006, this became the first single malt Scotch whisky to use such a heavy roasting procedure. It was named the Balvenie Roasted Malt whisky.

Related Article: The Macallan 10 yo Whisky

The Balvenie Roasted Malt 14 year old Whisky Review

This limited edition Balvenie Roasted Malt 14 year old whisky is not chill-filtered.

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 47.1%

COLOUR: Dark amber, almost copper colour. It is a thick oily whisky in the glass.

NOSE: On opening the Balvenie Roasted Malt, sweetness and caramel come through. On the nose, there are rich notes of cocoa, honey and vanilla. After adding a few drops of water, the nose has some additional floral and fruity notes. There are little hints of toasted oak and oak spices.

PALATE: The Roasted Malt is a very gentle dram. On the palate, there are notes of caramel and roasted nuts. There are hints of oak and spices intermingling with vanilla. It is a medium-bodied whisky. It starts slowly and builds up to notes of sweet spice and oak.

FINISH: Medium length finish. It ends in notes of nuts and orange marmalade.

RATING: EXCELLENT

It is a wonderful addition to my growing Balvenie collection. The taste is unique and inviting, and I will be sorry to finish this bottle. I paired this Roasted Malt 14 year old with the Anthon Berg Chili & Honey Almond fair trade Dark Chocolate. It made for a delicious pairing.

Also Read: Glenlivet 18 yo whisky

Benromach 10 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 11/17/2014

In Single Malt whisky

A while ago, my brother brought me a bottle of Benromach 10 year old whisky from one of his trips abroad. Benromach is a Speyside distillery situated near Forres in Morayshire.

It was founded by Duncan McCallum and F.W. Brickman in 1898. The Benromach name originates from the Gaelic words for ‘shaggy mountain’. Benromach is fed with spring water from the Chapelton Springs in the Romach Hills beside Forres.

Together with Aberlour, Dufftown and Balblair, Benromach was one of the many Speyside distilleries designed by the renowned architect Charles Doig.

The distillery was mothballed in 1983. Before the middle 1960s, Speyside distilleries malted their own barley. They would top up their fires with cuts of local peat when coal was running low. These segments were enough to convey a touch of smoke to some of the early Speyside whiskies.

But with the arrival of new processes in the 1960s, this subtle Speyside smokiness disappeared. That is until 1993, when Gordon and Macphail reopened the distillery.

They started to produce whiskies in the classic pre-1960’s lightly smoked Speyside character. Benromach is the smallest working distillery in Speyside. The distillery prides itself on using absolutely no computers or even pressure gauges. The team manage the entire process by how the developing spirit sounds, smells and feels.

They only make use of first-fill sherry and bourbon casks. The Benromach 10 year old single malt Scotch whisky was released in 2009. It was the first aged statement bottling since Gordon and Macphail took over the distillery.

Sales have grown noticeably since the reopening. The company now exports Benromach to 42 countries across the world.

Related Article: Laphroaig 10 yo whisky

Benromach 10 year old Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 43%.

COLOUR: A rich deep golden colour. It is a thick oily whisky with long fingers on the side of the glass.

NOSE: First impressions on nosing it brings spice and a bit of oak. It is not a very complex nose. After the addition of some water, the oak, cereals and barley come through with hints of sweetness and marzipan. There are slight hints of smoke in the background intermingling with more spicy hints. Adding water to this Benromach 10 yo really opens up the nose.

PALATE: This is a medium body whisky and moderately delicate. The main notes on tasting are wood and spice. There are notes of barley, hints of green herbs with tiny sparks of sweetness. Faintly you can sense more traces of the smoke in the background.

FINISH: Long and ends in notes of spice and wood. It is not a very complex whisky and has a few rough edges.

RATING: VERY GOOD

It is a relatively spicy whisky that should pair well with dark chocolate. I will have to try it again, but for now, it will not be one of my favourites. What did you think of the Benromach 10 year old whisky?

In 2013 Gordon and Macphail announced an expansion to meet growing demand. It included the recruitment of a third distiller and the building of more warehouses. At the World Whisky Awards 2014, Benromach 10 years old won Gold in the “Best Speyside Single Malt – 12 Years and Under” category.

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Tomintoul 16 year old Single Malt Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 10/20/2014

In Single Malt whisky

This week I am trying a Tomintoul 16 year old single malt whisky. Tomintoul meaning “Hillock of the Barn” is a village in the Speyside region of Scotland. It is a relatively young distillery, built in 1964, close to the village of the same name. Tomintoul village itself is one of Scotland’s highest, at an altitude of 345m.

The 4th Duke of Gordon established the village in 1776 already. It’s one of Scotland’s driest areas, as the Cairngorm Mountains intercept much of the rain. Drawing its water from the Ballantruan Spring, the Tomintoul distillery sits in rugged mountain terrain.

The Cairngorm National Park area surrounding Tomintoul is of astounding natural beauty. There is an array of flora and fauna specific to the region. Many of Scotland’s most endangered species are protected in the wilderness around Tomintoul. These include the golden eagle, mountain hare, wild cat, black grouse, red squirrel and otter.

Many pheasants live around the distillery, and they will come to visit for a free dinner when the grain trucks arrive. According to the Tomintoul Distillery, there is one particular pheasant, whom they have named Vincent, that has become a bit of a distillery mascot and can be fed by hand.

The distillery is owned by the independent company Angus Dundee Distillers, which bought it from the Whyte & Mackay group in 2000. The Tomintoul 16 year old Scotch whisky is known as ‘The Gentle Dram’. It has won various awards at the World Spirits Competitions.

Related Article: Balvenie Triple Cask 16 yo Whisky

Tomintoul 16 year old Single Malt Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: Dark amber, copper colour in the glass. It is a heavy, oily whisky that leaves slow fingers down the insides of the glass.

NOSE: A rich and heavy nose emerges from the glass. The first impression is sherry and brandied fruit. There are notes of candied apples and oak with hints of fresh-cut grass. Without the addition of water, this Tomintoul is very smooth. Adding a bit of water releases notes of oak and sweetness.

PALATE: The palate has notes of fruit and spice with hints of bitter chocolate. There are bits of cream in the background with an nutty oiliness.

FINISH: This 16 year old has a long finish. It builds slowly and ends in notes of sweet nuts and spices. It is a very oily whisky that leaves a rich oily feel to the palate. This whisky puts a smile on your face. It is delightfully smooth and gentle.

RATING: EXCELLENT.

The Whisky Bible rates this Tomintoul Distillery release 94.5 out of 100, and I can understand why. It is delicious. A special dram to have in my collection. I am going to be sad when this bottle is empty. It is a subtle and smooth whisky and very drinkable. The 16 year old single malt certainly lives up to the moniker of a “Gentle Dram”.

Also Read: The Glenlivet Alpha Whisky