Category Archives: Whisky Type

Gordon and Macphail’s Caol Ila 33 year 52.8%

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At Whisky Live Singapore 2018, there were a few choice Gordon & MacPhail whiskies available in the VIP section. It provided a great opportunity to sample fine whiskies – particularly aged drams one could ordinarily not afford.

We spotted this when we first perused what was available and knew we must try it. We were fortunate there were still a few drops left!

Caol Ila 33 year (1984/ 3 July 2018) Cask 181062 52.8% 216 bottles

  • Nose – Smoke and fire and yet with beautiful balance, nutty, salted toffee, smoked meats, light herbal sweet grass, and tobacco
  • Palate – Buttery, apricot plum, pastry, remarkably well-balanced peat, vanilla
  • Finish – Long and smoky

It is such a treat to try something aged and beautifully peated. While it was only a small snifter, it was more than enough to know we were lucky to have such an opportunity.

And what would this set you back? While the 33-year was not on sale, the 34-year-old was retailing for SGD 1,100. Yikes!

Other whiskies sampled at the Gordon & MacPhail booth, Whisky Live 2018:

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Gordon and Macphail’s Glenlivet 14 year 56.5%

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At Whisky Live 2018 in Singapore, the Gordon & MacPhail booth is a great opportunity to sample fine whiskies.

This time, I sampled both in the main section and in the VIP room which featured whiskies like this one – bottled exclusively for La Maison du Whisky.  

Glenlivet “The Chronicles” 14 year (2003 / 20 June 2018) 56.5%

  • Nose – Greeted with lovely fruits – particularly apples and apricots, honey with a sweet light citrus
  • Palate – Spicy, very fruity and eminently drinkable
  • Finish – A slight spice, cream then sweet, like sucking on a delicious hard candy

Keep in mind this was a mere ‘teaser’ at Whisky Live Singapore so not a proper taste, however I was left with the impression of a lovely, most approachable whisky.

And what do we know? The Glenlivet was matured in refill bourbon barrels and bottled by Gordon & Macphail for La Maison du Whisky as part of their Connoisseurs Choice cask strength line.

And what would this set you back? At La Maison du Whisky in Singapore – SGD 299.

What do the folks at La Maison du Whisky have to say about this whisky?

Among the favorite single malts of Gordon & MacPhail, the most famous Scottish independent bottler, undeniably figure Glenlivet. What’s more natural when you know that this venerable house is based in Elgin, the capital of Speyside. Very representative, this version invites us to discover a complex aromatic and gustatory palette within which fruits, flowers, spices and aromatic plants intertwine to unveil the landscapes of the region where it was born.

  • Profile: concentrated, the first nose is marked by candied fruits (lemon), peppermint, acacia honey and vanilla.
  • At aeration, it becomes floral (hyacinth) and grass (straw). Powerful, the attack on the palate is extremely fruity (pineapple, pear).
  • The mid-palate is spicy and finely wooded.
  • Affirmed, the finish is marked by notes of royal jelly, lavender honey and violet candy.

Other whiskies sampled at the Gordon & MacPhail booth, Whisky Live 2018:

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Gordon and MacPhail’s Miltonduff 10 year 43%

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At Whisky Live 2018 in Singapore, the Gordon & MacPhail booth is a great opportunity to sample fine whiskies and then pic the select one that might just make it home to Mumbai.

This colourful case flags that the Miltonduff is part of Gordon & Macphail’s new Discovery range – intended to explore the distinctive styles of sherry, peat and bourbon. In this case – it is a sherry cask.

My first brush with Miltonduff was part of the Ballentine’s 17 year old special box set featuring different component distilleries. This was followed by a Single Cask 21 year old.

So it was a pleasure to have a chance to try a different avatar in a teasing fleeting taste…

Miltonduff 10 year (2018) 43%

  • Nose – A delightful dry sherry
  • Palate – Stewed raisins and fruit cake
  • Finish – A lovely citrus orange finish

I wish I’d had more time and opportunity to enjoy… However that wee nip was enough to know I would welcome an opportunity to try it again in a proper setting…

And what would this set you back? At La Maison du Whisky in Singapore, SGD 150.

What do the folks at Gordon & Macphail have to say about this whisky?

  • Aroma – Chocolate and sticky orange marmalade transforms into juicy plump stewed raisins and sweet baked apple, freshly cut grass notes delicately balance the rich sherry influences.
  • Taste – Sweet and spicy: comforting butter candies weave with roasted hazelnut followed closely by orange zest, cinnamon, and mouth-warming pepper maturing into plum and fig jam. 
  • Finish – Long with highlights of chocolate and stewed fruit finishing with lingering winter spices.

Gordon & MacPhail at Whisky Live 2018

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The Nector of the Daily Drams – Deanston 19 year 51%

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After an appetizer of four whiskies from The Nector of the Daily Drams at La Maison du Whisky, I topped it off with trying their Deanston at Whisky Live.

Here is what I thought in my very brief teasing tasting at the VIP room….

Deanston 19 year (1999/2018) 51%

  • Nose – Sourdough, fruits and cream
  • Palate – Some spice, dried fruits and other elements like toast and light coffee, malty with some creamy vanilla custard too
  • Finish – There but… subtle, toffee

Overall it had that lovely malty quality one expects from Deanston.

You can currently track this dram down online from Master of Malt for GBP 145.

And here is the quartet we tried earlier from The Nector of the Daily Drams:

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The Nector of the Daily Drams – Ben Nevis 21 year 48.7%

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Our evening at La Maison du Whisky in Singapore continued with a whisky from Ben Nevis… here is what we thought…

Ben Nevis 21 year (19967/2017) 48.7%

  • Nose – Lots of fruits, vanilla, caramel, sweets, then a distinctive sourdough bread or biscuits, a bit milky too
  • Palate – Very rounded on the palate, fruit forward with melons and grapefruit yet balanced
  • Finish – Subtle close, very much in keeping with the palate
  • Water – Yes please! Works quite well with water

After the delightful Highland Park and peaty Springbank, this Ben Nevis didn’t quite hit the mark.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a more than a decent dram. However it all comes down to preferred styles of whiskies. For my companion, this simply wasn’t his tipple. And that is perfectly fine.

Truth be told Ben Nevis isn’t my “go to” style either… however I appreciate shaking things up and contrasting every once and a while.

If this is the kind of whisky that appeals to you, then you may still be able to snag a bottle via Master of Malt for $184.

Here are other whiskies we tried bottled by The Nector of the Daily Drams:

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The Nector of the Daily Drams – Highland Park 24 year 50%

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At La Maison du Whisky in Singapore, we explored a quartet of whiskies bottled by The Nector of the Daily Drams.

While my companion started with a peaty Springbank, I went straight for a 24 year old Highland Park.

Highland Park 24 year (1992/2016) 50%

  • Nose – Started with caramel, then quite fruity from oranges to apricots to apples, sweet vanilla, then shifted into herbal, then more mineral and earthy qualities, almost a bit musty
  • Palate – The fruit came from the nose came though – with a shift between apple and pear side then citrus… There is also a touch of salt too. One of the best qualities on the palate was the subtle light hint of smoke
  • Finish – Long light spice

While the Springbank was sheer indulgence, the Highland Park was much more subtle and gentle. Certainly one I enjoyed immensely.

Just in case you were curious, as of November 2018, this bottle is still available at Master of Malt for nearly $400 – yikes!

Here are a few more whiskies tried from The Nector of the Daily Drams:

Curious about other Highland Park tasting experiences? Check out:

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The Nector of the Daily Drams – Springbank 23 year 50.6%

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At La Maison du Whisky in Singapore, we settled down to explore whiskies from The Nector of the Daily Drams.

My companion has more of a peat bent so began with a peaty Springbank.

Springbank 23 year (1994/2017) 50.6%

  • Nose – A bit salty, almost a brine peat and sweet, then some lemon custard, minerals or an earthy element
  • Palate – Nice and rounded on the palate with a solid old school campfire peat, light tobacco with some stewed fruits subtly in the background
  • Finish – Really rather good – long and strong with a delicious light chocolate and almost herbal quality at the end

If you enjoy the peatier Campbeltown style, this one is certainly for you! It has a deceptive complexity that grows on you the more you sip… and yet it is also eminently approachable.

While it is from the “Springbank” distillery, in terms of style, it is what we today know as “Longrow” or the peat line from the Campbeltown distillery.

You won’t find this at a liquor store near you… instead it was last seen on Whisky Auctioneer with the winning bidder parting with £425. Gulp!

We tried it as part of a special evening with Mario of The Nector of the Daily Drams along with:

Curious to try other peaty whiskies from this distillery?

And Springbank’s unpeated avatars:

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Whisky Live 2018 – Edradour Ballechin

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Edradour has been known as the smallest traditional distillery, up in Pitlochry, Perthshire part of the Highlands region.

Currently owned by Pernod Ricard, the Edradour distillery produces a range of different single malts under both the Edradour (unpeated) and Ballechin (peated) brands with a dizzying array of wine cask finished experiments as well!

And what did we try at Whisky Live Singapore in the VIP room? Two distinctly different drams…

Edradour Ballechin 8 year (2009) 46%

  • Nose – Had a lovely nutty quality – veering towards hazelnut and almond – with a clear influence of both the sherry dried fruits and a puff of smoke
  • Palate – Beautifully balanced between peat and sherry sweet, fruity, smooth and a light chilli spice, honey
  • Finish – Sweet sherry fruits and spice – delicious!

The gent who encouraged us to try was a merry Scottish fellow but completely mixed up the contents and context!

It is a marriage of Edradour’s un-peated ex-Sherry cask # 69 and the peated Ballechin ex-bourbon casks # 279, 280 and 281.

It was rather good and I was exceedingly surprised to discover how affordable it was in the UK at GBP 50… alas in Singapore it is a pricy SGD 198 (ie more than double at GBP 115).

Edradour Vintage 10 year (2008/2018) FF Sherry Cask No 8, Bottle 515 57.9% (LMdW)

  • Nose – Juicy berries, red fruits, clear robust sherry
  • Palate – Follows through on the palate with the nose, light sweet spice, black raspberries, dry
  • Finish – Full finish, with dry sweet spices of cinnamon bark and clove

No doubt this was some quality sherry and the bottle noted it was a first fill sherry cask.

If you are curious, in Singapore, this bottle goes for SGD 258 and was specially selected for La Maison du Whisky.

What about other Edradour’s sampled by our Mumbai based tasting clubs over the years?

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BenRiach 12 year (2005/2018) Sherry Cask No 5052 59.3%

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When planning my sherry unusual evening, I wanted there to be variety – hence Irish, Indian and Islay – yet also knew we needed at least one “proper” classic sherry dram.

Enter the BenRiach single cask, single malt bottled for World of Whisky, Heathrow Airport. Now lest you think this was standard travel retail fare, this cask was launched for World Whisky Day in May 2018 for a slightly pricey £120.

Matured in Olorosso Sherry, non-chill filtered with natural colour, we managed to nab bottle 292 of a mere 597… and discovered it was worth every single pound!

BenRiach 12 year (14 Oct 2005/2018) Cask No 5052 59.3% 

  • Nose – Milk caramel sweets, slight citrus hint, heavy toffee, rum raisins, chocolate eclairs…  started to shift into chocolate liquor, dark fruits, nuts… after quite some time there was almost a hint of blue cheese
  • Palate – Gorgeous! Simply a class act. Dark plums, black cherries, rich and simply outstanding. Lovely cinnamon, raisins, complex, so well balanced, every sip a reward.
  • Finish – Huge long flavour. Everything we loved about the palate simply carried through… for an incredibly long time… superb!

There was no doubt this was an exceptional single malt.

Not one of us were tempted to put even a single drop of water. Each sip we enjoyed more… and it kept evolving. By the 3rd we discovered cayenne, by the 4th chocolate, by the 5th the dark fruits again came to the fore… and the next dripping in honey… you get the picture!

This was one worthy whisky that invited you to slow down, take your time, savour each sip and be rewarded with the most marvellously long finish.

A brilliant reminder of what a quality sherry dram can and should be!

BenRiach tasting notes with the bottle:

  • Colour – Amber
  • Nose – Honeycomb, chocolate, honey covered dates
  • Taste – Rich dark chocolate and herbs, honey coated almonds and figs

Here are the whiskies explored in our Sherry Unusual evening:

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Sherry Unusual – Hyde, Paul John, Kilchoman, BenRiach

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Sherry’s effect on whisky can be a marvel. And I wanted to do something a bit different for our Bombay Malt & Cigar gents to push the boundaries beyond the known sherry drams like Aberlour, GlenDronach, Glenrothes, etc.

Normally we dive straight into whiskies, knowing what we are trying. However I wanted to have a bit of fun with a surprise…. So kept my fellow tasters “blind.”

Next, I introduced a “reference” pour.

I said nothing about it – merely to smell (not sip) with a request between each whisky to go back to the “reference” to recalibrate senses and compare.

It didn’t take long til they realized the “reference” wasn’t whisky at all but instead a sherry… with speculation it may be a “cream” or sweetened avatar rather than a dry fino or amontillado.

I later revealed that it was a Kingsgate Canadian sherry from KittlingRidge Ontario, Canada  described on the bottle as:

“A premium medium dry sherry, barrel aged in oak for extra smoothness.”

However this Kingsgate is now known as Apera with an explanation that it is medium dry Oloroso sherry “style” dessert wine. This 2013 nod from to EU regulations recognizes that a “true” Sherry can only come from the Spanish triangle.

Which tells you this funny little bottle, inherited from a friend who was leaving India, has been around for a few years…

As for what we tried? Not quite your usual fare…

Here is the progression we explored with our Sherry Unusual evening with whiskies from Ireland, India and Islay…. plus an extra special single cask:

Hyde #6 President’s Reserve 8 year single grain + 18 year single malt 46%

From Ireland, picked as an appetizer, the bottle stated it was finished in Sherry. What made it unusual is that it is a new brand, released to help promote the Hyde name before their Hibernia distillery in Cork is fully producing.

Paul John 7 Year (2009) Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish 57.4%

This was the biggest surprise – none imaged it could be from India! We were mighty impressed with what the folks from Paul John produced with four years in ex Bourbon then 3 years in ex Sherry casks. It also opened up beautifully with a bit of water.

BenRiach 12 year (2005/2018) Oloroso Sherry Cask No 5052 59.3%

A true class act. Selected just to be sure we had at least ONE proper single malt in our evening. Gorgeous and astounding how at 59.2%, not a drop of water was desired.

Kilchoman Loch Gorm (2010/2016) Sherry 46%

A pure peat monster tempered with 100% sherry from Islay. Not everyone’s tipple but certainly demonstrated how peat and sweet can combine!

Just click on the whisky links to find out even more about what we discovered!

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