Monthly Archives: December 2021

Whisky Lady – December 2021

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Ohh… December… another year in COVID times with complicated inconvenient travel arrangements. However there is still much to be thankful for as I finally landed home in India after another four months away.

Highlight was a virtual Whisky Tasting put together by the folks at GlenAllachie and Whic.de where we wandered through a quintet of minis… which led to my picking up four!

And just before taking off for India, we raised the French flag with a Bellevoye Trio ?

Before that we cracked open another Maison Benjamin Kuentz creation – Le Guip. Think of Brittany – a cold salty sea spray! It is yet another example this “editeur” of whisky is worth paying attention to…

So there is a new kid on the block in India! I was fortunate during my last trip to Mumbai to check out Kamet – a new Indian single malt. Not bad, not bad at all!

Finally, I also had an opportunity to share my coveted Perry Road Peru Cocktail – Strangers & Sons gin with spiced guava – yum! And crack open the comforting indulgence Arran Gold cream liqueur. Whilst not my usual tipple, it was perfect for the season.

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Seasonal Treat – Arran Gold Cream Liqueur 17%

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Tis the season and all that! If I had been back in Canada this time of year, rich, spiced, liberally spiked egg nog would very likely be encountered at some point.

Thinking of this tempted me to try out the Arran Gold Liqueuer… and I’m so happy I did! This is no Bailey’s Irish cream… it is less cloyingly sweet (a good thing in my books!), full flavoured with a delightful whisky kick. It was just the right indulgence to get into the seasonal mood in Nurnberg

What do the folks at Arran have to say?

Since its launch in 2004, it has become incredibly popular and everyone who has tasted Arran Gold agrees that they would happily ditch their usual bland cream liqueur in favour of this deeply delicious treat. Made with a healthy dose of Arran, this is a cream liqueur where you can really taste the quality. Try it on its own chilled, with ice, in coffee or even as part of a pudding.

Here are the official tasting notes:

  • Nose – Toffee, creamy fudge
  • Palate – Chocolate, cassis, a wee touch of fresh mint
  • Finish – Sweetness, Honey.

I would tend to agree! Nothing to argue or add, just sip and enjoy it for what it is.

I picked up the Arran Gold from Dein Whisky for EUR 17 late 2021.

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Perry Road Peru makes its way to Germany

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Ahhh…. road side carts of fresh pink peru (aka guava), cut with a dash of masala is a fabulous quencher on a hot day. Even better… a gin spiked spicy guava cocktail!

Enter the fine folks at both Strangers & Sons and The Bombay Canteen and you have a winning combination. This bottle was a gift which made its way from India back to Germany… eagerly awaiting just the right opportunity to share… Which finally came late November with a friendly small “Friendsgiving” evening just outside of Nurnberg.

The mix was a complete hit – enjoyed immensely by one and all! And I became rather nostalgic, thinking of wandering down Perry road in Bandra, passing the bungalow featured on the label….

Now finally back home in Mumbai for the December break, I’m eagerly counting down the self-isolation days to be able step outdoors and experience the sights, sounds and smells of home!

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Bellevoye Trio – Red “Grand Cru” 43%

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Last from the French National Flag trio from Bellevoye was “Red” with a Grand Cru finish… We had a promising start with “Blue” and “White” so were curious to see what this would bring.

Bellevoye Red 40% (Grand Cru)

  • Nose – Quite different at first – fresh seaweed and saline – then pears, fresh grass and herbal, very “green” and vegetal…aromatic…  then shifted again into honey, fresh almonds soaked in water, fresh almond oil, a hint of cloves, churan and dry wood, mango leather, bit floral – jasmine, vanilla
  • Palate – More spice than expected, strong mouthfeel, pear, bitter almond, sweet spices like cinnamon and dates, candied ginger
  • Finish – Initially a quick prick of spice then a nice lingering echo – long and lingering with a sweet aftertaste

We found this one quite interesting on the nose – the shifting character making it intriguing… but a bit disappointing on the palate with the first sip. However the more we settled into this one, the more we enjoyed.

I’m not sure what exactly we expected from a “Grand Cru” finish, but this had deeper tones than had anticipated.

This triple malt apparently five to ten years aging in French oak casks then post blend, spent six months in Grand Cru casks.

What all have I tried from Bellevoye?

I bought the tasting set of 200 ml bottles – Red, White & Blue – for EUR 55.

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Bellevoye Trio – White “Sauternes” 40%

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We continued our exploration of French Whiskies with another from Bellevoye. So where does the name Bellevoye come from? In an interview with Spirits Hunters, founder Jean Moueix shares:

The name Bellevoye is a creation that makes a lot of sense to us. With my partner Alexandre Sirech, we both changed our lives radically to take directions, paths that were not planned. Bellevoye, in Old French, means the Belle Voie, the beautiful path. Bellevoye’s philosophy is to try to make people happy by encouraging them to take beautiful new paths in life.

After a promising start with the Bellevoye Blue, we turned to White.,, what did we think?

Bellevoye White 40% (Sauternes)

  • Nose – Started out almost with a sherry like element with dried fruits like figs and dates, then shifted into cereals, honey sweet, pears and pineapple, apple sauce with cinnamon and dash of vanilla bean, buttery brioche 
  • Palate – Super smooth and silky, juicy fruits, salty toffee, buttery, fresh brioche, nice and round, apples and cinnamon
  • Finish – Hint of tobacco leaf, more toffee with a chilli chaser

This was a delight – easy sipper. One thing we found is a contrast between the aromas and the palate. In this case the silky buttery quality was endearing. 

What more do we know?

First the different single malts were aged three to eight years in French oak casks and then post blending spent an additional six months aging in Sauternes barrels from a famous Cru Classé.

What about other Bellevoye triple malts?

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Bellevoye Trio – Blue “French Oak” 40%

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Living in Europe means I’ve sought out new and different European whiskies to try. However I don’t always want to commit to a full bottle! Enter this pretty trio of 200ml whiskies from Bellevoye.

What are they? Single malts? Nope! They are instead a “triple malt” – meaning a blend of single malt whiskies from three different whisky distilleries – possibly from Brittany (Distillery Clauessens de Wambrechies?), Alsace (Maison Ledai – Distillery Hepp) and Cognac (Maison Brunet – better known for Brenne).

I earlier tried their peated “Black” as part of a Whisky Advent calendar so it was a perfect chance with the Blue, White and Red trio to try the balance.

We kicked off our tour of France’s Bellevoye “Flag” trio with the Blue – “fine grain” finish in a French Oak cask.

Bellevoye Blue 40% (French Oak Grain Finish)

  • Nose – Started with a hint of prune from the fresh cork after it popped open! Then in the glass – sweet hay, faintly floral, a dash of black peppercorn, some cherry chocolate with red chilli, followed by pear and charan
  • Palate – Warming on the surface, terribly easy to drink, imagine have this to spike your pani puri!
  • Finish – Certainly lasts in the mouth

Not such a bad start…whilst it isn’t complex, it makes for a nice pre-dinner malt. Simple and pleasant.

On the revisit, the aromas added a lovely vanilla flowers and spice… really quite nice!

What more do we know? The different single malts started their life in French oak casks, maturing for three to eight years followed by nine to twelve months post-blend in French new oak fine grain casks. No peat is used.

Here is a rough translation of their tasting notes:

  • The nose reveals notes of cereals, sweet spices, honey and white flowers.
  • The mouth is round and balanced with aromas of yellow fruit, cooked apple and gingerbread.
  • The finish is long on fresh notes

So what’ll is in the Bellevoye range?

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GlenAllachie Whisky Tasting with Juliette and Richard

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There it was… a slightly dull grey December day in Nurnberg… a busy working week that was happily interrupted by a small commitment – an online tasting with many other Germany based enthusiasts with a breath of “virtual” Scottish air with Richard Beattie, Operation Director and Juliette Buchan of GlenAllachie.

The quintet was all lined up – including one specially bottled for Germany:

  • GlenAllachie 12 year 46%
  • GlenAllachie 15 year 46%
  • GlenAllachie 11 year Madeira Barrique Cask bottled for whic.de 60.7%
  • GlenAllachie 12 year French Virgin Oak 48%
  • GlenAllachie 12 year Marsala Wood Finish 48%

Richard kicked off our evening with two from their core range… deliberately postponing the French Oak until Juliette could join – delayed slightly by COVID travel complications.

So we poured our first glass and our tasting began…

GlenAllachie 12 year 46%

  • Colour – Deep mahogany
  • Nose – Butterscotch, honey raisin, really heavy mocha, nutty – mostly almonds,
  • Palate – Vanilla chocolate, fruits and caramel, heavy with dark chocolate and orange
  • Finish – Carried through
  • Water – Lightened and brightened the dram – brought out some delightful notes and the palate softened into an indulgent chocolate christmasy ginger snap treat

Overall I found the 12 year really quite rich and robust – with an intensity that mellowed slightly with a generous dash of water.

As we tasted, Richard regaled us with tales of Billy Walker taking over the distillery from Pernod Ricard in 2017. His desire to slow things down, approach to “listening” to what the casks say to him before deciding what to do next… often moving the golden liquid around 3 or 4 times to achieve the desired effect.

GlenAllachie 15 year 46%

  • Colour – Also mahogany, just a hint lighter than the 12 year
  • Nose – A lovely light caramel and sweet toffee, subtle spices, ripe raisins, chocolate milk and brownies, fruits – particularly cherries and plums
  • Palate – Much more powerful than anticipated from the aromas. Full bodied and fabulous! Tropical fruits, mocha and orange peel…. Toffifee with butterscotch, noughat and hazelnuts, silky smooth
  • Finish – Gorgeous finish with vanilla oak
  • Water – Narry a temptation to add even one drop!

Much more subtle and elegant than the 12 year. Less fire more warmth… simply a delight on the nose and far too easy to sip.

We set it aside and when I came back to revisit – Wow! This really is a lovely dram… something to slow down and simply enjoy.

After such a class act, our hosts shifted gears significantly and plunged straight into a full cask strength Madeira finish. This was selected by the Whic.de folks after an earlier Madeira cask experience… what did we discover with this one?

GlenAllachie 11 year (2009/2021) Madeira Barrique Cask No. 7654 60.7%, bottled for whic.de 

  • Nose – Curious… and most certainly a significant shift from the 15 year, the Madeira influence was quite clear
  • Palate – Peppery spice, robust with rich wine influence, punchy, heavy and not in the least bit shy
  • Finish Noughat with a hint of fruit
  • Water – For me, an absolute must with this whisky. I found it really opened up the dram, with juicy fruits coming forward

It was described as a hot vacation in a glass – bringing the southern European island character to the fore. Not at all subtle with really strong influence of the Madeira but once you made the adjustment, quite something.

As a sign of the times, distillery tours aren’t possible so the good folks at GlenAllachie put together quite a terrific video which gives a real sense of the team behind the whiskies and their approach.

We continued on with one of GlenAllachie’s “Virgin Oak” expressions – in this case as a nod to Juliette’s French origins, we tasted the French Oak.

GlenAllachie 12 year French Virgin Oak 48%

  • Nose – Fresh cut wood, generous heaps of honey, organ blossoms, peach jam
  • Palate – Juicy, generous honey, butterscotch, hints of mocha and cinnamon with a citrus twist with sweet wood, complex and delicious
  • Finish – Long, with a nice woody bitterness chase by red chilli that added quite a nice element
  • Water – No need

Compared with the standard 12 year, the French Oak was considerably more nuanced, all the more entrancing for its restraint. We found it most enjoyable and the honeyed sweetness kept drawing me back.

Juliette shared this whisky first matured in ex-bourbon casks before spending approx 18 months in “Chinkapin” Quercus Robur hogsheads sourced from the Haute-Garonne region close to the Pyrenees.

Juliette explained the other two – Spanish and American virgin oak casks – were quite representative of the character of the different countries from which the virgin oak barrels were sourced.

Our final dram was one of their wood finish series – with a 12 year (rather than 13) which is available exclusively in Germany.

GlenAllachie 12 year Marsala Wood Finish 48%

  • Nose – Subtle honey, stewed apples, cinnamon and cream
  • Palate – Simply fabulous on the palate, very juicy, bursting with orchard fruits like pears and apples chased by more honey
  • Finish – Light yet lovely and long
  • Water – Again, no need

I will fully admit, I fell for the experience – hook, line and sinker! Ordering immediately a quartet for an indeterminate future date…Who knows when that will be! However I might shift the tasting order a wee bit… Perhaps starting with the elegant French Oak, then play with the Marsala Wood finish followed by the refined 15 year and powerful 12 year.

Overall, it was a terrific distraction and I was most grateful the tasting was held in English so that I could partake!

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Bellevoye Trio – Blue, White, Red

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In our quest to delve deeper into European whiskies, I stumbled across this trio online in Germany. Having tasted the Bellevoye Peat (Black) in December, I was curious to explore further. This trio reflects the national flag with Blue, White, and Red.

Founded in 2013 by Alexandre Sirech (Bordeaux wine group) and Jean Moueix (spirits brands, production of Saint-Estèphe and Pomerol vintages), Les Bienheureux (“the blessed”) is a company formed for playing around with French whiskey, releasing malted blends under their brand “Bellevoye.”

Aleandra shared in an interview with “Toast” his view of French whiskies regional ‘styles’:

In Alsace, producers use Holstein stills, which produce very fruity and refined spirits. In the Nord region, the column still used there produces light, easy-drinking spirits. And in Charente, the onion-shaped pot still produces powerful, full-bodied spirits. Having three different cultures of distillation in regions so geographically close to each other is unique in the world. It’s also an excellent illustration of the cultural nuances of France.

So they set-up out craft a “triple malt”, bringing together single malts from different French distilleries already aged between 5 – 8 years, before blending together in their facilities, then finished in their casks for approximately another nine to 12 months.

Providing further insights in the same Toast interview, Alexandre explains:

We make a triple malt because we’ve noticed that, in the same way as Bordeaux wines blend different grape varieties, when the best spirits from the Nord, Alsace and Charente regions come together, the end result is significantly superior to the sum of its parts. It’s every blender’s dream! All the more so, since we always wanted to create a ‘patriotic’ whisky, like a synthesis of the three styles of French whisky I referred to earlier.

So we selected three from the thirty-five French whiskies we tasted in a blind tasting – one from each of the major whisky-producing regions – so that we could draw on the special features of each. Then, we got down to the heart of what it is we do: the blending. Then we allowed the whisky to mature.

So what did I pick up in the Bellevoye Trio?

We have three contrasting yet complementary expressions:

I bought this tasting set of 200 ml bottles online in Germany for EUR 55 with plans to share samples with tasting companions in Paris. Yes… you read that correctly… my thought was to send a French blend bought in Germany back to France.

Thankfully greater sense prevailed! As this trio happens to be readily available in Paris, my tasting companion did the logical thing and bought another set in France!

So I decided instead to loop in our London whisky afficiando handing over samples when we met up in Berlin. And with that – this trio was tasted by folks in three countries – UK, France and Germany!

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Maison Benjamin Kuentz – Le Guip 55%

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With Maison Benjamin Kuentz whiskies, we were introduced first to their core trio with (D’un) Verre Printanier, Fin de Partie, Aveux Gourmands then during a trip to Paris explored their limited editions of Aux Particulares Vines 1, 4 and 5.

A lovely Euro Whisky Lady picked up a bottle of “Le Guip” which is a single cask limited edition which was crafted to reflect the character of her family home – Brittany. Picture a slightly gruff fisherman with the bracing spray of the sea – loads of saline notes and hint of peat… at least this is the idea…

What did we find?

Le Guip 55%
  • Nose – Sharp and salty, moss and sea spirit, then it slowly started to curl open… with hints of sweet vanilla and toffee – like a toffifee treat
  • Palate – Salty, spicy – mostly peppery, nutty…. as we sipped, started to reveal some toffee cream and fudge, salty sultanas
  • Finish – Long and strong

Quite direct in character with a truly bracing style. We imagined it would really hit the spot – coming in from the wet and cold… pour yourself a dram and instantly warm up! The salty sea breeze quality certainly brought a feel of wind and waves.

While most MBJ whiskies don’t need water, we thought to give it a whirl with this one… and I’m so glad we did!

The initial reaction from our Parisian was “Hmmm” not entirely convinced water helped, with the sense it took the whisky from interesting to… well… normal.

Whereas for me, I loved how it brought out a nice buttery “fat” feel in the mouth, with fruitiness coming to the fore with quince, vanilla and nuts… and yes sea salt! Whilst the aromas were slightly subdued, the way the flavours rounded out on the palate was reward enough! And the finish? A light tobacco leaf twist just added to the appeal. In truth, this was the only hint of peat we found.

A debate ensued – as to how generous the water needed to be to achieve optimal effect! However the verdict was clear – a dash of water transformed this dram from a rough around the edges swarthy seaman into something more like smooth sailing into the sunset!

What more do we know? Alas the online content has been removed as this edition is no longer available. I believe it is about 8 years and from Warenghem distillery – the folks behind the Amorik brand.

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A promising new Indian Single Malt – Kamet 42.8%

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There is no doubt in the whisky world that markets like India are important – both as consumers and producers. So when another Indian single malt enters the stage, it is worth checking it out.

So what is Kamet and who is behind it? Kamet is the latest product from Peak Spirits, co-founded by Ansh Khanna and Ken Frederickson with expertise brought by Surrinder Kumar (master blender, 30 years with Amrut) and Nancy Fraley (whiskey and rum blender based in California).

However such credentials aside, what did we think?

Kamet Single Malt 42.8%

  • Nose – Made us think of a cabernet, fruity, fresh red berries, dusty, light aniseed or caraway… as it opened up further we found milk chocolate and toffee… and with even more time it became sweeter and sweeter, like cotton candy
  • Palate – Started with a nice spice kick, tannins, could clearly sense the wine influence, licorice, nicely balanced… as we continued to sip, we also found creamy toffee, overall good mouthfeel with oils
  • Finish – Light spice, a bit dry and dusty
  • Water – Shifted to coconut oil and tobacco leaf

Initially on the palate, I found it quite “wine forward”… with water there was an interesting shift in character to more of an ex-bourbon influence, muting a bit the tannins from the red wine. For me, that worked better.

Overall a promising start indeed and I kept aside a small sample to bring back for the ladies in Europe to try at some point…

What more do we know? It was matured in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and ex-French wine casks.

Here’s a small excerpt from an interview:

“Ken and I believe that India’s unique conditions and six-row barley — we source ours from the foothills of the Himalayas — make it an exciting place to produce a single malt of great complexity,” says Khanna. Khanna and Frederickson have teamed up with Piccadily Distillery, in Karnal, Haryana, and set themselves a tough benchmark — The Macallan.

In Goa, it can be found for Rs 2,600 – an absolute steal for such quality! However we understand the price is poised to go up soon.

What else did we try that evening?

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