Category Archives: Island

Winnipeg Cabinet’s Ledaig 10 year 46.3%

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This is my third encounter with Ledaig from Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull however earlier tasting were with more mature avatars:

I had no idea the Ledaig 10 year would be part of our Cabinet Peat session… and had already on my Winnipeg trip enjoyed a dram (or two) after persuading my sister’s partner to pick up a bottle during our Liquor Mart jaunt.

My reason for suggesting it remains – it is an affordable, eminently drinkable peaty dram. It may not be the most sophisticated, complex or nuanced whisky out there but it is well made and good value for money. One you can simply kick back and enjoy with friends.

So what did I find with the Cabinet lads?

Ledaig 10

Ledaig 10 year 46.3%

  • Nose – Wet dog fur, curd, faint leather, fresh-cut watermelon rind, grass, sweeter as it opens without loosing its briney salty quality
  • Palate – Exceedingly… nay almost dangerously drinkable, warm, peaty, chewy leather strap, not as sweet as I remembered the more mature Ledaig’s as being, yet oh so easy to keep sipping…
  • Finish – A bit astringent, dry, phenol, smoke, some peppercorns and dry sweet spices

Overall pronounced to be akin to a rather good entry level Islay. Though  technically it is from the Highland Island sub-region… but who is quibbling…

What do the distillery folks have to say?

  • Nose – Sweet briny smokiness with distinct island character and playful notes that hint at mild antiseptic, creosote, wax polish, mint chocolate and floral seaside aromas. Soft peat, gentle smoke.
  • Palate – Tantalisingly sweet, medicinal flavours infused with enticing sparks of spicy pepper and dried fruit with rich peaty smoke and a velvety vanilla and malty creaminess.
  • Finish – A wondrous union of sublimely spicy white pepper, the vibrant sweetness of liquorice and a kick of cloves with a exquisite lingering saltiness.

More importantly, what did the lads over at The Cabinet have to say when they first sampled it?

Next was the Ledaig 10 year old, which won “Best Islands Single Malt”.  Being an Islands malt it is very different, and thus perhaps not to everyone’s personal taste, but as far as the distiller’s craft within the style goes, this hits the mark.

In fact it compares favourably to the standard bearers such as Laphroaig (I know, obviously an Islay, not an “Islands”, but the flavour profile is very similar). If you enjoy the smoky nose and the salt tang with a touch of creosote on the palate, then consider the Ledaig as an alternative to Laphroaig. Let us be clear, we love Laphroaig, but sometimes you may just want to have something different on hand.

Surprise your whisky drinking guests. Take one small sideways step out of your comfort zone. Live a little. The Ledaig scored 6.7, also a good Three Drams.

Also sampled at the Winnipeg’s Cabinet ‘peat’ evening:

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Whisky Ladies Scottish Tour – Juras Turas-Mara 42%

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After the Glenkinchie Lowland whisky, we next planned to explore a whisky from the Highlands… However Bombay traffic being what it is, our Clynelish had a delayed arrival so we logically moved on to a Highland sub-region – the Islands.

To describe Island whiskies as diverse is a bit of an understatement. Just think – there are some 800 islands scattered around Scotland of which six produce whiskies. The islands of Arran, Mull (Tobermory/Ledaig), Jura, Skye (Talisker), Lewis (Abhain Dearg) and Orkney (Scapa and Highland Park) are home to an equally diverse range of styles.

The Island pick of the night was the Isle of Jura‘s ‘Turas Mara‘ which means ‘Long Journey’ and was launched for travel retail.

Jura Turas Mara

And what did our Whisky Ladies find?

Jura Turas-Mara 42%

  • Nose – Maple, very sweet spice, brown sugar, resin, mint liquor, Christmasy as it opened, vanilla, bubblegum, marshmallow, apple sauce or an apple tart
  • Palate – At first it seemed just light and easy to drink, absolutely no burn, smooth, a bit woodsy, cinnamon sweet spice, raisins, then as we sipped more began to recognize that it has substance, slightly chewy, some deeper elements as it continued to evolve
  • Finish – Some wood, star anise and mint
  • Water – Some thought NOOOOO! Others found it brought out a caramel quality to the sweetness

One by one, those who’d not been terribly impressed by other Jura offerings, confessed they rather liked the Turas-Mara. There was a silky richness and deceptive depth.

When we learned the malt is a mix of Jura whisky matured in Bourbon barrels, Bordeaux wine, Ruby port and Amorrosso sherry casks, we understood why it is a  departure from the standard Jura style. And we approve!

Here’s what the folks over at Jura have to say about their Turas Mara:

  • Nose – Vanilla, coconut and sweet toffee
  • Taste – A sweet and rich whisky with hints of honey, vanilla, succulent black cherries, fleshy grape pulp and juicy raisins

Did we agree? Sure about the nose but not so sure about the succulent, fleshy, juicy elements…

The Whisky Ladies of Mumbai’s Scottish Regional Tour continues…

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Whisky Ladies explore Scottish regions

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The whisky map of Scotland tends to be divided into ‘regions’.

Traditionally there were four regions: Highlands, Lowlands, Islay and Campbeltown. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) then added a 5th region of Speyside – given its prodigious production this seems more than merited!

You may also often hear of an ‘Islands’ sub-region encompassing island distilleries excluding Islay…. Whereas the SWA considers these to be part of the Highlands.

Confused yet?

Glenkinchie, Clynelish, Jura, Cardhu, Ardbeg

When our Whisky Ladies decided to go on a Scottish whisky regional tour, we had to skip Campbeltown as weren’t able to source whiskies from Glen Scotia, Glengyle, and Springbank, however we did our able best to appropriately cover the other regions… including that sneaky little not quite sure if it could be considered a region… Islands!

Whisky Ladies Regional Tour sampled:

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Winnipeg’s The Cabinet “Peat” evening

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Some folks know that I originally hail from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada though long ago adopted Mumbai, Maharashtra, India as home.

During my June 2016 trip back to the ‘Peg, I had several whisky treats – not the least of which was a most enjoyable evening spent with the lads from “The Cabinet” – a venerable whisky tasting group based in Winnipeg.

During an earlier trip several years ago I had the distinct pleasure of joining a Cabinet session and was introduced to their constitution, traditions and lore. Since then these merry men (and yes they are ALL men!) have further evolved during their 9 odd years of gathering.

They update a chalk board that lists what currently resides inside “The Cabinet“,  which is unlocked precisely at the given hour and the session is called to order.

The Cabinet Whisky ListAs guest, I had the pick of the open bottles to whet our whistle before the real evening commenced. Purely as it is increasingly rare to come across a bottle, my eye spotted the Rosebank 21 year… What can I say? I’m a sucker for indulging in  discontinued distillery samples when the opportunity arises!

Post my selection, we had a decidedly peaty tour with the room scented with peaty smoke. Our host shared insights from his most recent Scottish whisky tour and even managed to acquire ‘peat pellets’ from Manitoba, wondering why oh why isn’t there a good peaty single malt made in Manitoba?

The Winnipeg “The Cabinet” evening featured:

The lads at The Cabinet maintain a most amusing blog and already have their post on the evening published! It is, quite simply, a ‘must read!’ and can be found here: “Peat”

Thank you again gentlemen and I look forward to our continued tasting adventures!

Whisky Cabinet

Fabled Winnipeg Whisky cabinet

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Unchartered Territory – Talisker 57° North 57%

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Whisky sampling convention tends to lean towards starting a tasting evening with the softer, gentler whiskies and closing with the powerful peat monsters and higher strength or more mature whiskies. We’ve certainly played around with a few approaches and tend to more or less follow such an approach with more focus on a progression in flavour profile from more delicate and light whiskies to more forceful and robust whiskies rather than strictly age or strength.

For our May session, our host decided to go completely against such notions to explore ‘Unchartered Territory‘ with the boldest and strongest dram first, then ease up on the strength and profile as the evening progressed.

As usual, we sampled blind then revealed… and where did we begin?

Talisker 57' North

Talisker 57° North 57%

  • Nose – Peat, ocean spray, vanilla, sardines on saltines, dry hay, sweet barley, hint of sweet port wine
  • Palate – Almost overwhelming, strong, spicy, dry kopra, turmeric bitter dry on the palate, chilly spice, pungent, sukha mirchi, a bit oily
  • Finish – Warm burn, dry
  • Water – Demands a few drops, really works wot water once let it settled down brings out cinnamon or more dry kopra…  brings out a few more elements

Our reaction was “I’m awake now!!”

Overall found it quite challenging, a surprise, definitely not a whisky to be taken lightly. No warm fuzzy familiar dram here.

That said, the reveal was a surprise. It has been some time since we gave Talisker a chance and a change to try one at 57%.

The Talisker folks launched this whisky to celebrate Talisker being 57’ degree for latitude and attitude with strength made by the sea. In keeping with many recent releases, it has no age statement. Described on the bottle as a

“pure expression of Talisker from American Oak refill casks… Sweet to start, it explodes with smoke and volcanic pepper. Stunning with strong blue cheese such as Stilton.”

Here’s what others have to say about the Talisker 57° North:

What other whiskies did we sample in our ‘Unchartered Territory‘ evening?

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Unchartered Territory – Talisker 57′ North, Laphroaig PX, Inchgower 13 year

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As the mercury rises in Mumbai and we impatiently wait for monsoon to make its appearance, our merry malt gang made its way over to a members home for an evening of whisky sampling.

The ‘non-theme’ of the evening proved to be ‘Unchartered Territory’. Each of the whiskies our host had never sampled. He also tried a reverse approach of starting with the strongest in alcohol strength progressing to the least powerful. Furthermore everything we tried for dinner were all new experiments. As usual, all tastings were blind before the dramatic reveal!

May's trio - Talisker, Laphroaig, Inchgower

May’s trio – Talisker, Laphroaig, Inchgower

What whiskies did we sample?

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Gourmet affair – Westin and whisky combine!

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Once and awhile, I have the pleasure of joining special evenings… this was one such night!

TheWestin partnered with Nick Ord from Diageo‘s TheSingleton to host a private pairing of whisky and fine cuisine. It was very clear the chef and team spent considerable time and effort experimenting to find just the right combination (and perhaps imbibing along the way too!).

We were greeted by the poolside with a glass of Singleton, served as we wished. It was a hot muggy dark evening but the company was refreshing, the breeze delightful and the experience worth braving Bombay’s traffic to join!

Warning – my camera photos simply do not do justice… even still, you are liable to become rather envious of those lucky enough to be part of the evening.

With that caveat in mind, read on…

2016-05-22 Westin Whiskies Cards

Glenkinchie 12 year

  • Whisky – Aromatic, vanilla, cut flowers and creamy
  • Salad – Green and white asparagus, burrata with a quinoa chip
  • Pairing – An excellent starting combination, complimented well, whetted the appetite for more to come…

2016-05-14 Westin Asperagus

2016-05-22 Glenkinchie 10 year

Caol Ila 12 year

  • Whisky – Subdued, citrus fruitiness, a fresh and appetising nose, almond oil and after a while a pot pourri
  • Appetiser – Stuffed Kashmiri morels, mushroom puree
  • Pairing – Outstanding! Simply superb! Each on their own excellent but combined was easily one of the best pairings I’ve sampled so far. There was simply something about how the feta stuffed morel merged with the Caol Ila to bring out even more in each. Like taking something already fabulous and bring out something even more spectacular. It was that good.

2016-05-14 Westin Morel

2016-05-22 Caol Ila

Talisker 10 year

  • Whisky – Powerful peat-smoke with just a hint of the sea-water salt of fresh oysters, with a citrus sweetness
  • Option 1 – Panseared scallops, air dried prosciutto, cauliflower and truffle puree
  • Option 2 – Corn fed chicken smoked in clay oven, spiced yogurt, raw mango and pineapple chutney
  • Option 3 – Variation of the chicken dish with smoked paneer instead
  • Pairing – Folks raved about the scallops, spoke well of the chicken and my vegetarian fare was well balanced with the Talisker. Pleasant, worked well but not out of this world like the morel and Caol Ila.

Here Nick Ord from Singleton interjected that we should savour the Talisker 10 as stocks are running low – what is here today may be gone tomorrow.

2016-05-14 Westin Paneer

2016-05-22 Talisker 10 year

Lagavulin 16 year

  • Whisky – Intensely flavoured, peak smoke and a rich, deep sweetness
  • Option 1 – Australian lamb loin with madeira sauce, milanese risotto, truffle
  • Option 2 – Indian lamb shank with a signature ‘tear’ sauce and biryani
  • Options 3 – For vegetarians, broccoli on a mustard infused mash
  • Pairing – Though by all accounts the Australian lamb was excellent, however as a pairing it simply didn’t hit the high notes. In the case of the vegetarian version, the dish brought out spice in the Lagavulin instead of complimenting.  However, by contrast, the Indian lamb biryani was apparently spot on! It was yet another reminder, to not be afraid of bringing more desi flavours into the foreground with whiskies – particularly those with a bit more oomph!

2016-05-14 Westin Lamb

2016-05-22 Lagavulin 16

Singleton by Glen Ord 12 year

  • Whisky – Toasted nut, rich fruit and aromas
  • Desert – Delightful assortment of mignardises from fresh raspberry to a melting almond ganache to a crunchy ball bursting with flavours and more…
  • Pairing – Pure joy! After dutifully sampling a nibble of one with the Singleton, I gleefully abandoned all pretence of sticking to one whisky alone. A small bite of pure sin would tell me which whisky might work best… Fantastic way to close the evening!

2016-05-14 Westin Mignardises

2016-05-22 Singleton

While these single malts are all ‘standards’ – even familiar friends – it is always a pleasure to revisit… particularly with such carefully planned pairings.

TheWestin Mumbai team clearly put a lot of effort into playing around with possible options. Bravo to the organisers, TheWestin team and Nick!

2016-05-14 Westin Whiskies

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Ballantine’s 17 year Scapa 40%

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Ballantine’s Signature Distillery Collection 17 year are blends… that were designed to show off their component whiskies.

First up in our sampling was the Scapa from the Orkney Islands in the north Highlands, not far from the Highland Park distillery. Of the four Ballantine’s whiskies featured in the Signature Distillery Collection, Scapa has distillery produced single malts – initially a 14 year which was then replaced in 2008 with a 16 year avatar.

While not stated on the label, the gents over at Malt Madness share that Scapa is matured exclusively in bourbon casks. The whisky is unpeated though the water supply is known to be quite peaty, hence is piped for over a kilometre in large iron pipes to keep its more delicate quality.

20151224_Ballantine's Scapa

Ballantine’s Scapa 17 year 40%

What we found:

  • Nose – Piquant, lightly floral, almonds, hint of sea salt, light honey, some hay (sez the country gal whereas the city slicker couldn’t identify), as it aired slipped into a candy sweet with a drizzle of honey suckle
  • Taste – Woody, earthier version of the nose, following the hay back to its roots
  • Finish – Slight bite but general continuity of the nose and palate
  • Comments – “Sweetness & light, rainbows & butterflies” “A demure romp in a meadow”
  • Occasion – The kind of whisky you have when you want something light in the background but not requiring any focused attention.

Quite drinkable, linear nose, flavour and finish however all aligned and overall pleasant.

I will be honest, I expected something with a bit more of a maritime feel… When you think Orkney Islands, you think of sea spray from a wild remote corner. I recalled an earlier sampling of the Scapa 16 year it had more of that element… plus a distinctive heathery honey.

While I supposed we could morph the hay quality with the perfume notes into something in spitting distance of ‘heather’ and it certainly had the honey, we didn’t find the fruity quality the Ballantine’s folks describe or what I remembered from sampling its single malt cousin.

Here’s what the chaps over at Master of Malt have to say about this one:

  • Nose: The nose is fruity and floral with icing sugar scattered on top.
  • Palate: The palate develops orange zestiness with fleshy stone fruit flavours, notably peach.
  • Finish: The finish is creamy and smooth with hint of nectarine and Seville orange segments.
  • Overall: Another excellent seventeen year old Ballantine’s intriguingly displaying a stronger Scapa character.

Would I say it represents a ‘Scapa’ style or its contribution to Ballantine’s? Hmm…. It is easy to see why most of this whisky goes into a blend. It has a restrained quality that would play well with other profiles.

As for this expression? Does it stand on its own as a credible blend? It was ‘nice’ and definitely drinkable. However would I run out and buy a full bottle? Nope… just not my kinda whisky.

Related posts:

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Jura Superstition 43%

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Again from our archives, thought I would pull out tasting notes for a whisky from Island of Jura – one of Scotland’s more inaccessible distilleries.

Jura Superstition NAS 43%

  • Colour – Bright gold prompting speculation that it must be either sherry cask or have colour added
  • Nose – Sweet bourbon, bananas, toffee, cherry
  • Palate – Again sweet, jackfruit, leathery, a little harsh with some spice notes, a bit woody
  • Finish – Warm, straight… All thought it must young

The speculations proved correct! We understand the colour is adjusted with caramel and the whisky is a mix of young and aged (apparently up to 21 years) from ex bourbon casks.

Not bad however when bluntly asked “Would you want to stock this?” The honest answer was… probably not… even though it is a rarity in being an eminently affordable whisky.

Don’t get me wrong – it is an affable, slightly brash young whisky and not bad if you calibrate your expectations according.

2014-02-20-Ardbeg,GlenGarioch,Jura

What the Jura folks have to say about Jura Superstition:

Lightly peated with hints of smoke

For all of you taste gurus out there, you may pick out hints of honey and pine, as the balance of peated and unpeated spirits is matured to perfection in ex-Bourbon casks. The finest young and aged (up to 21 years) whiskies go into this mysterious bottle, so there’s a different flavour to explore with every drop.

What others say:

As you can see from the photo, we also sampled the Glen Garioch 1797 Founders Reserve and Ardbeg Corryvreckon the same evening. Alas our poor Jura was out-powered by the others.

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Top 10 whisk(e)ys… sort of…

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Anyone heard this before: “Oh, you drink whisky? Which is your favourite?”

I have a tough time. My whisky preferences are often tied to mood, company, and… let’s face it… accessibility!

Let’s also be honest… folks that drink blends are a loyal lot. They have a ready answer to the ‘favourite’ question.

Those of us tending towards single malts are rather promiscuous… always looking out for something ‘new’ to try. We’d rather end up with a disaster than miss a possible gem.

However when Whisky Girl from the Netherlands gave a challenge to share a Whisk(e)y Top 10, I had to rise to the occasion!

Whisky Lady in India's current favourites

Whisky Lady in India’s current favourites

Here goes! From my Whiskies by Country list with random reasons for their pick (by country/region order):

  1. Sullivans Cove – French Oak Cask – Only Tasmanian whisky sampled so far and makes me really wanna try more
  2. Kornog bottled for The Auld Alliance – Why I’ve begged my gal pal on a biz trip to Paris to pretty please bring me back ANYTHING from Kornog or Glann Ar Mor
  3. When in a ‘desi’ (Indian) mood – Paul John’s cask strength Peated
  4. Hakushu 18 year – No surprise this old favourite from Japan made the cut!
  5. Perhaps because I sampled it recently, but the ‘Yoichi’ 10 year has character…
  6. Springbank from Campbeltown shows promise with Hazelburn 12 year
  7. Love the chocolaty coffee yumminess of Glenmorangie’s Signet
  8. Caol Ila 1997, bottled 2009 (Gordon & MacPhail) simply notches up what I enjoy most about Caol Ila
  9. My current ‘everyday dram’ is Kilchoman Coull Point
  10. The American craft whiskey that made me go ‘Oh yes!’ Westland Cask No 395 54.6%

The most remarkable “I can stop now” single malt is Lochside 1981… Completely out of my reach, but I have to mention it… it is simply that good.

And one that is completely unfair to include – blend of two discontinued distilleries (Hanyu & Kawasaki) plus impossible to buy – Ichiro’s Malt Houou-uhi (Phoenix) 46.5%.

See how hard it is? I couldn’t even restrict myself to 10!

Come on… share your top 10 (or 12)!! You know you want to!

Slainthe!

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