Category Archives: Beyond Scotland

Vita Dulcis 6 – Swiss Säntis Malt Himmelberg Edition 43%

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From Beer to Whisky, Säntis Distillery started experimenting in 2002. Säntis Himmelberg is the distillery’s fourth standard bottling. After beer barrel maturation, the malt was matured in a wide variety of wine barrels such as port, sherry and merlot.

So what did I find with the Vita Dulcis 2020 Advent Calendar mini?

Switzerland – Säntis Malt Himmelberg Edition 43%

  • Nose – Its starts off like wine, then pears yet a bit on the sour not sweet side, and something roasted, a bit sharp and smells a bit like you’ve wandered into a brewery
  • Palate – Even on the palate it has a distinctly beer and lemon element, throw into the mix some ginger, spice
  • Finish – Short, dry and lightly spiced with more ginger

Don’t laugh, but I couldn’t get a Radler out of my mind – a refreshing combination of lemonade and beer found in Bavaria. Except this wasn’t really a Radler… and there was something just… well… different. It is hardly like a whisky at all… more and more it reminded me of sipping on a wine shandy or… yup… back to that Radler!

Distillery official tasting notes?

As with all of our whiskeys, the spring water for our Säntis malt “Edition Himmelberg” comes from the Alpstein. Julia Nourney characterizes it as follows: “Light and fruity, which shows its true face on the palate with spicy and woody aromas.” The secret lies in the transfer of the beer barrel into different wine barrels.

Other encounters with Swiss whiskies:

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Vita Dulcis 5 – Israel’s Mik + Honey Classic 46%

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I first encountered Milk and Honey (M&H) with an early pre-launch sample shared with an industry insider friend. To be honest, I don’t recall years later what we thought, however I was interested to try it properly.

Started in 2013, M&H calls their whisky “ultra kosher” and take advantage of the warmer climate of Israel to accelerate the maturation.

In short, I was quite curious to see what I would find in the Vita Dulcis Whiskey International 2020 Advent Calendar sample…

israel – Milk & Honey Classic Single Malt 46%

  • Colour – Light gold
  • Nose – Hit of spice, then honey, there is something almost earthy about the aroma, some oats, a bit yeasty, hint of raisins
  • Palate – Again – back to being a real zinger with another hit of spice that blazes all the way to the back of the throat, a bit bitter and woody
  • Finish – Cloves, nutmeg, maybe a bit of apple cider?

Overall I found this quite direct, uncomplicated, young and a bit brash. While it may not be the most remarkable whisky, I couldn’t help but remember a trip to Israel in 1988 that truly was remarkable. For that alone, it was worth the experience.

What more do we know? It is matured in a combination of bourbon, virgin oak and shaved, toasted and re-charred casks. Beyond that, I wasn’t able to find out much more…

I also didn’t find the distillery official tasting notes, however Billy Abbott from The Whisky Exchange had this to share:

  • NOSE – A big hit of honey and lemon leads to brown-sugar topped porridge. The oaty notes get biscuity, with vanilla and more zesty lemon. Flapjacks develop, with hints of sultana and raisin.
  • PALATE – Layers of honey kick things off: sweet runny honey with a hint of manuka. Dark chocolate sits behind, studded with candied lemon peel. Grainy notes develop: the flapjacks from the nose are joined by oatcakes and vanilla shortbread, all drizzled with honey.
  • FINISH – A burst of barrel char is overtaken by toasted granola, even more honey and bittersweet dark chocolate.
  • COMMENT – An excellent balance of distillery character and cask, with layers of citrus, grain, vanilla and darker notes all covered trademark honey notes.

Would I agree? Hmm… to be honest Billy clearly found more going on than I did in my wee sample. However it is certainly in a similar vein.

And with that, my wee trip around the world continued another day with another dram..

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Vita Dulcis 3 – Hellyer’s Road Original Roaring Forty

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Next up from my Vita Dulcis 2020 International Whisk(e)y Advent Calendar was Hellyers Road from Tasmania.

I remember being blown away by the intensity of flavours and character of the Hellyers Road 12 year when first tried it – some five years ago.

This is the Original “Roaring Forty” expression, named after the 40km/h winds which blow in the rain-clouds. It’s aged in American white oak barrels and was the 1st Hellyers Road sampled at 40%.

What did I think?

Australia – Hellyer’s Road Original Roaring Forty 40%

  • Colour – Bright straw
  • Nose – Distinctly different. Almost rancio, not paint varnish but something a bit paint-like and funky.  Nuts… Some over ripe bananas, almost banana cream pie, tartar
  • Palate – That nuttiness continued on the palate, some dark fruits
  • Finish – A bit of spice

Frankly, it was a bit peculiar… There was none of the intensity or bursting with flavours of the 12 year.

Not sure this one is for me, to be honest…

I came back to revisit just to see if it changed character… Nope!

I couldn’t find any official tasting notes on Hellyers Road website, however the chaps at Master of Malt have this to say?

  • Nose: Creamy lemon and vanilla – a bit like Lemon Meringue Pie. Hints of banana and toffee.
  • Palate: Grassy at first, before juicy notes of pear and plum appear.
  • Finish: Peanut brittle, cedar.

I’ve found it online in Germany for EUR 45.

Over the years, we’ve enjoyed our Ozy whisky explorations which has covered quite a range! Specifically with Hellyer’s Road, we’ve tried

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Vita Dulcis 2 – Teerenpeli Kaski Sherry Cask 43%

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So what next in the  Vita Dulcis 2020 Advent Calendar?

This wasn’t my first time sampling a Teerenpeli Kaski. I remember quite enjoying it however much has changed since I first tried it – namely a new Teerenpeli distillery opened in 2015 next to the Teerenpeli brewery rather than the original distillery in the city centre. They still use pot stills, just now with enhanced capacity to 100,000 litres / year. Not bad!

What matters most… did memory serve me well?

Finland – Teerenpelli Kaski Sherry Cask 43%

  • Colour – Dark gold
  • Nose – Apricot, cinnamon spice, honey sweet, light curl of peat topped with brown sugar
  • Palate – Sherry with peat, has a nice chewy quality, prunes, lots of character and frankly just delicious
  • Finish – Yum!

There is something a bit zesty and cheeky about this whisky. I wouldn’t call it ‘brash’ but it definitely has a perky character. Each sip is more and more enjoyable.

I set it aside to see how it was after some time…. it didn’t disappoint! Except for 2 cl being insufficient!

What have I tried from Teerenpeli?

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Vita Dulcis 1 – India’s Amrut Fusion 50%

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What a way to kick things off! With a dram from my much missed home – India!!

Over the years, I’ve sampled many an Amrut Fusion… however it has been some time since I ‘properly’ sat down with one – particularly the international version that helped catapult Amrut to global attention.

My first taste was in 2010? (I think!) at a spirits exhibition in Mumbai with father and son Neelakanta Rao Jagdale and Rakshit Jagdale. I was impressed by their passion and commitment to bring Indian whisky to the world – by establishing their credibility outside India. At the time, I found the concept of “Fusion” interesting but was personally more drawn to their “Two Continents” – yep that was the 1st edition.

After that, I had a mixed experience with the Fusion version which became available in India – with a very clear caveat that the conditions under which these bottles are stored likely varied considerably.

The most memorable was an evening in 2015 with N R Jagdale and Jim Murray.

I next properly sampled Fusion 50% at Singapore airport and went – huh?! This was NOT the same Fusion available in India. True – the alcohol percentage is different as Amrut must abide by the state regulations on strength for domestically produced alcohol. But it was more than that…

So what did I find with the Vita Dulcis 2020 Advent Calendar mini?

India – Amrut Fusion 50%

  • Nose – Hmm… is that a hint of bacon? Shifts into toffee apples, oatmeal, cream and honey with a light peat chaser
  • Palate – Full warming spice, some oak, tannins, definitely more spice, chocolate
  • Finish – A nice cinnamon spice, slightly bitter
  • Water? Nope! Not a drop…

Well? Thumbs up or down?

This version, this day… its a yes. Particularly the way the cinnamon spice interplayed with the sweet subtle peat.

And Amrut’s official tasting notes?

  • Nose : Heavy, thickly oaked and complex: some curious barley-sugar notes here shrouded in soft smoke. Big, but seductively gentle, too
  • Taste : The delivery, though controlled at first, is massive! Then more like con-fusion as that smoke on the nose turns into warming, full blown peat, but it far from gets its own way as a vague sherry trifle note (curious, seeing how there are no sherry butts involved) – the custard presumably is oaky vanilla – hammers home that barley – fruitiness to make for a bit of a free-for-all; but for extra food measure the flavours develop into a really intense chocolate fudge middle which absolute resonates through the palate
  • Finish : A slight struggle here as the mouthfeel gets a bit puffy here with the dry peat and oak; enough molassed sweetness to see the malt through to a satisfying end, though. Above all the spices, rather than lying down and accepting their fate, rise up and usher this extraordinary whisky to its exit

What about some of my other encounters with Amrut?

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Chorlton – Mackmyra 12 years 50.2%

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I don’t know why, but I struggled to prepare this post… My tasting notes from a virtual tasting evening with our European chapter of the Whisky Ladies of Mumbai were weak. So it took sitting down for a solo tasting to tease out a bit more. If some of the impressions seem contradictory, this would be why!

First off – we are no strangers to Sweden’s Mackmyra distillery offerings. We’ve quite enjoyed a few over the years… and been disappointed too.

And now, without further ado… here is what we discovered!

Mackmyra 12 years 50.2% 278 bottles

  • Nose – Clean and fresh, cherry wood, sweet honey, one dimensional, caraway seed
  • Palate – Cork or wood, juniper?
  • Finish – Bitter cinnamon bark
  • Water – We had a bit of a debate on this – some thought it was nicer with water, and others thought it killed its character
  • Return – We set it aside and returned after some time… it opened up to reveal some lightly floral notes and balsam wood

Well, this was a curious one… certainly not complex or flamboyant. Above all, it needed time to open up.

Did we like it? Let’s say there was a mixed response. In particular, our Swedish lady was… underwhelmed by this Mackmyra.

And yet, when I came back to it a few weeks later, I found there was an inviting ‘freshness’ to its approach – clean, straightforward, and quite pleasant. I found a subtle citrus fruitiness – more grapefruit than orange. With water, I also discovered tasty baked goods – more like lemon curd wickeltorte or poppyseed grapefruit gugelhupf.

It is distinctly different and while it wouldn’t be the 1st dram I would gravitate to relax and unwind, it really hit the spot one evening when I came in from a brisk chilly walk. Clearly, that is the right context for this dram.

What does David have to say?

My first foray into the world of whisky outside of Scotland is a rare chance to try a non-finished single cask from Sweden’s Mackmyra distillery.

The nose is super-clean and foresty (very Scandi!), with rye, caraway, lemon sponge and hints of apricot. The palate continues the theme with gingerbread, spiced cookies, juniper and a zingy orange/grapefruit fruitiness in the finish. Really interesting stuff, and a profile quite unlike any Scotch.

This bourbon barrel was fully matured in an abandoned mine under the Swedish forest.

I purchased this whisky directly from the Chorlton website for £70 plus shipping.

Here is are the other two in this Chorlton trio:

As for other brushes with Mackmyra? There have been many! With nearly all sampled together with our Swedish Whisky Lady:

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Missing Canada…. Shelter Point’s new expressions

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It is hard to believe, but I was last ‘home’ to Canada the summer of 2019 – a rushed trip triggered by needing a new passport pronto then race back to India to apply for both my German work visa and Indian long term visa. I was successful with the passport, also with the German visa but alas not the India visa – which remains elusive and further complicated by our tricky COVID times.

But I digress… While in our neighbourhood Liquor mart, I was thrilled to see that Shelter Point is now available in Manitoba. So naturally what I brought back from Canada was two bottles of Shelter Point‘s core single malt – one for my ‘new’ home in Germany and one for my ‘real’ home in India.

So in November 2020, when I saw online that Shelter Point had yet another really interesting looking limited edition expression, I was determined to not miss out!

A few clicks of a button later, an order was placed.

And what did I buy in anticipation of some very future trip to collect in Canada?

  • Shelter Point “The Collective” 4 year (2020) 46% – A blend of five casks chosen by Shelter Point’s five local staff to reflect the collective spirit and passion of their Shelter Point family. 
  • Shelter Point 7 year Single Cask #5 (2020) 43% – A blend of malted barley, unmalted barley and rye whisky, aged in an ex-bourbon cask, then finished in French oak. 
  • Montfort District Lot 151 Single Grain Whisky (2020) 46% – Montfort 151 is the lot in which the single-grain barley was grown. We’d tried the Montfort DL 141 before so was curious how the 151 contrasts and compares.

I truly have no idea when it will be possible to gather this bounty and bring it back to either Germany or India. However I know these beauties are waiting patiently with family. For now, that is enough… and I hope maybe by next summer?!?

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American Minis – Whistle Pig Rye 50%

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From New York to Texas, we found ourselves closing our American minis evening back on the East coast in Vermont.

WhistlePig Rye is a proud of its pig! Who is joined by a trio made up of two chemical engineers – Emily Harrison (lead distiller) and Meghan Ireland (maturation chemist) –  with Peter Lynch (master blender). Their focus is purely on rye – in all its various permutations and experimentations.

So what did we try? I’m reasonably certain it was this one…

Whistle Pig Straight Rye 50% 

  • Nose – Honey, fruity, bananas, pear, quince, sweet spices like mace, nutmeg, all spice… then orange peel, shifting into something earthier or herbal, even a little leafy?
  • Palate – Dry spice and surprisingly some sea salt, more of that earthy element with roots, a bit medicinal, herbal
  • Finish – Herbal to the point of being peculiar

Frankly it became a bit strange – we started to be reminded of gripe water or les racines de la grande gentiane… that bitter flowering herb that makes its way into Suze, Aperol and Underberg.

Speaking as someone who appreciates what bitter brings to the flavour palate, this dimension didn’t make it ‘off’. By contrast, it was what made this rye distinctive.

So what do we know?

I will admit I’m guessing a bit here as the information on our wee mini was limited. However I think we tried their standard WhistlePig 10 year Straight Rye – originally from Alberta with a 100 percent pure rye mash, further matured in Vermont in new and used bourbon oak barrels.

I flipped back in my tasting book to notes on the cask strength expression the Drinks by the Drams folks had in my other Advent calendar… That one was all sweetness, spice and  stroopwaffles warming over a hot tea. It was clear both are in the same ‘family’ but certainly not exactly the same either!

All in all, it was a good experience and a nice way to finish our American evening in London with folks hailing from Canada, France and India!

Here was our full American quartet:

With more from our 2019 Master of Malt Advent Calendar…

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American Minis – Balcones Single Malt 53%

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From Waco Texas, Balcones was ‘birthed’ as an idea in 2008 and started distilling a year later. They combine blue corn from New Mexico with Texas grown barley and have been putting out a range of whisky expressions from malts to bourbon to rye, with rum thrown into the mix as well.

Balcones Single Malt 53%

  • Nose – Rather than a clear bourbon stamp, we sensed something with – dare I say it? A sherry-like influence. A bit shy initially, as it opened up, we found nuts, raisins, more and more interesting with a decidedly fruity bent
  • Palate – First impression was ‘yummy’, while not complex, it was the kind of dram that grows on you, a nice warm toasty quality, rounding out quite happily with fruit
  • Finish – Didn’t register

Whereas the Hudson’s Baby Bourbon aromas were more interesting than the palate, we found the opposite here. The nose was interesting but the palate was its best feature. A good sipping whisky…

So what do the Balcones folks have to say about their Texas single malt?

  • Nose: ripe, buttered stone fruit, banana and pears; honey and rose water with delicate citrus accents
  • Taste: silky and full on the palate; lightly toasted bread with fresh butter and marmalade
  • Finish: long finish with lingering toast and burnt sugar notes morphing into rich malt and wood flavors with counterbalancing acidity

Here was our full American quartet:

With more from our 2019 Master of Malt Advent Calendar…

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American Minis – TBWC 24 year Bourbon No 1 48%

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Clearly That Boutique-y Whisky Company has featured prominently in our miniature explorations! However this was our first bourbon bottled by them… and a 24 year old one, no less? We were intrigued…

TBWC 24 year Bourbon No 1 48%

  • Nose – Mmmm coconut, lemon, toffee, apples, lots of over ripe fruit, then floral, shifting to sweet grass, then black vanilla being scraped from the pod, sweet leather, rich rum raisin, thick black treacle, molasses morphing into chocolate, then a honey liquor, apricot cream, burnt caramelized baked pineapple, cotton candy
  • Palate – Full of flavour too! Red berries, black berries, cherries… gorgeous! As the nose evolved, elements of it could be found swirling around with a great silky sipping sensation. Simply delicious.
  • Finish – Truthfully I don’t recall – I didn’t note anything for the finish… and think we were just so taken with the aromas then sipping that nothing else registered!

Can I just say – wow! We went from curious to incredibly impressed with the complexity and range we discovered. There was so much character on the nose which followed through on the palate. The more we sipped, the more we enjoyed.

So what do we know? It is their Batch 1, released in December 2018 with 8,376 bottles. In their quirky style, the folks at TBWC have this to say:

Now, now go about your business please – there’s nothing to see here. Don’t you know you’re in a restricted area? No unauthorised personnel allowed.

  • Nose: High notes of dried peel and vanilla, flaming Christmas pudding gives way to pear drops and a light dusting of cocoa powder
  • Taste: Insistent, buttery mouthfeel carrying a lorry load of vanilla, caramel and beurre noisette
  • Finish: Punchy, warm finish with great balance of the flavours

The recommended retail price on TBWC website is £199.95. All I can say is that I’m delighted it made it into our miniatures so we could sample one!

Here was our full American quartet:

With more from our 2019 Master of Malt Advent Calendar…

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