I have been looking through my whisky cupboard, trying to find something new to drink, a dram standing around too long that needs some attention. Something interesting for me to write about. I am a huge Wemyss Malts fan, so let’s explore the Peat Chimney blended malt whisky today.
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Wemyss Malts is a family-owned business based in Edinburgh. They market three blended malts, namely Spice King, Peat Chimney and The Hive. Alongside the blended malts is a regularly-changing range of vintage single cask expressions. These bottling each bear the name of the distillery from which the whisky was sourced, along with a descriptor of the whisky.
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.
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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!
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I have had a long love affair with Wemyss Malt releases. Since the first time I tasted Wemyss Malts in Dullstroom, I have been in love. The collection of Wemyss whisky in Wild About Whisky is extensive. They have an incredible range of Wemyss single cask releases available, and when we visited, I tasted my way through quite a few of them.
April and the time around Easter is an indulgent chocolate month. Chocolate bunnies, eggs, even chocolate chickens can be found in most of the shops. Echocolate everywhere. I keep on finding lost (hidden) chocolate eggs in strange places. I am not complaining.
With all the chocolate around, it is nearly a requirement to eat chocolate. I realised that with all the chocolate around the house, I have not blogged about my favourite chocolate whisky – The Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange single malt Scotch whisky.
I tasted Wemyss Malts for the first time at Wild About Whisky in Dullstroom and was smitten. Since then, my Wemyss Malt collection has grown substantially. I picked up this 2013 release on one of my trips out of the country. Wemyss Malts single casks are not available in SA (yet).
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This past year some of the blends such as The Hive have become available in selected shops. I have however managed to get my hands on a few releases and have written a few times about Wemyss Malts. My favourite is the Wemyss Malt Brandy Casket.
Wemyss Dark Chocolate Orange is a single malt Glenlivet bottling. Distilled in 1977 and bottled in 2013, this 36 yo was aged in Hogshead and was one of only 149 bottles. As with all their single cask releases, the Wemyss tasting panel names the bottle based on the whisky’s individual taste and aroma.
After 36 years of the Angels taking their share, only 149 bottles were released. I wonder how many of the 149 bottles remain?
Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange Whisky Review
ABV: 46%
COLOUR: Dark gold
NOSE: Orange marmalade, oak and cocoa powder.
PALATE: Fresh orange slices dusted with cocoa powder. Faint hints of cloves and mint. In the background, there is more citrus and malty richness. You can feel the 46% alcohol on your palate, and it needs a bit of water to smooth the sharp edges.
Water releases a little more sweetness in the Dark Chocolate Orange. It is a medium-bodied whisky with plenty of spice.
FINISH: The finish end in notes of citrus and spice.
RATING: VERY GOOD
This whisky is perfectly named. It is the whisky equivalent of dark chocolate covered orange slices. That is what I love about Wemyss Malts – how perfectly they name their releases. However, as much as I love chocolate and this whisky, it is not the most complex of whiskies.
After more than 35 years in a cask at Glenlivet, I was hoping for something with a bit more depth and a few more nuances.
Still, the Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange is the great dram to enjoy in April – don’t you agree? I have tried various Wemyss releases including the Wemyss Malts Sweet Mint Infusion, Wemyss Gooseberry Marmalade and the Wemyss Velvet Fig blended whisky.
And I see that a few of the blended malts are now available in South Africa and I have tasted Wemyss The Hive and loved it.
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Two years ago, while travelling through Dullstroom, we tried some whisky from an, up to that point, unknown but intriguing-sounding bottler. Right there and then, I fell in love with Wemyss Malts.
It is unfortunately not (yet) available in South Africa. While travelling overseas, I managed to get hold of my first bottle, the Wemyss Dark Chocolate Orange single cask whisky.Now, when possible, I add more Wemyss Malts releases to my collection. I have tried the Sweet Mint Infusion and the Gooseberry Marmalade
While following the World Whisky Awards on Twitter earlier this year, I saw that the Wemyss Malts Velvet Fig blended malt Scotch whisky won in the category ‘Best Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 2015’. I had to get my hands on a bottle.
It was, however, a limited release of just 6 000 bottles, so it was quite a struggle to obtain a bottle. But, with the kind help of the ladies at Wemyss Malts, I managed to track down one of the last bottles of Wemyss Malts Velvet Fig whisky and it arrived safe and sound in South Africa during May.
Velvet Fig is made from a selection of single malts, all of which have aged entirely in Ex-Oloroso Sherry casks. This no age statement whisky is not chill-filtered and bottled at 46%. Like the rest of the Wemyss Malts Blended Malts, Velvet Fig is named after the whisky’s natural flavours and aromas. It was with great excitement that I opened this bottle.
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Wemyss Malts Velvet Fig Blended Malt Whisky Review
ABV: 46%
COLOUR: It is quite a dark coloured whisky. The rich mahogany coloured Wemyss Malts Velvet Fig makes long tears in the glass.
NOSE: Notes of sherry, fruit, Christmas pudding stuffed with lots of sultanas and dates, green apples and yes, Fig. Lots of sweet fig preserve. There are notes of fresh-cut flowers and hints of cinnamon and nutmeg in the background.
PALATE: Spicier than I expected. Without water, the spicy notes dominate with cinnamon and juicy sweet figs. It is not as sweet as the nose leads me to believe. After adding a bit of water, the spices smoothed out, and more of the fig and fruity notes take over. There still is not as much sweetness as I anticipated.
FINISH: This rich and full-bodied Velvet Fig has a long finish and end in notes of fruit and spice.
RATING: EXCELLENT
It is a surprising complex whisky. I am so glad we managed to get a bottle for our collection. Now to hunt down our next bottle from this innovative company.
I have tried various other Wemyss releases, including the Wemyss Brandy Casket, as well as the Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange. Looking around, I see that a few of the blended malts are now available in SA.
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