Category Archives: Wine Cask

Rye Night – Cascadia Rye (Portugues Port Barrels) 43.5%

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Alas I again had to miss our session as was off gallvanting around Germany, however our resident guest whisky writer Nikkhil is back again to share our group’s impressions.

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Pour 2: Cascadia Rye Whiskey Port Barrel Finish | 43.5%

  • Appearance: A distinct pinkish amber hue
  • N​ose: Very jammy, over ripe fruit, orange oil, coco. A distinct note of gulkand (a sweet preserve of rose petals). Turmeric here as well. Strangely some sulphur notes. Mushrooms? A member even picked up mango pickle!
  • Palate: Mildly spicy. Dry coriander seeds, white pepper, vanilla. The jammy fruity nose was a lot subdued on the palate.The turmeric continues as well as the paan notes. Delicious actually.
  • ​Finish: ​Long with lingering notes of menthol/mint and warm spices.
  • With water it opens up beautifully. The soft fruits are back. Aniseed, rose, light tobacco along with that sulphury note created an interesting and a very unique flavor palate. The spices, though restrained keep the balance in check.
​After 20min rest: Meaty notes, bubblegum and weirdly Lifebuoy soap! 
Official notes:
 
  • Aging: This Rye Whiskey was first matured in new American Oak barrels, then double barrel finished in French oak casks previously used for maturing rich, 20 year old Port in Portugal. The casks were transferred to the distillery’s No.I vault, the Isle of Whidbey’s oldest maturation warehouse. Located at sea level on the shores of Port Clinton, the spirit was left to mature under nature’s care. The straight Rye developed into one of the most incredible whiskies we have produced. With an aroma rich in port, cocoa, dark cherries, toffee, chocolate and mature oak on the palate, the concentration of flavors is inimitable.
  • Nose:  Rich and full, yet mild.  Lingers in the mind.
  • Tasting Notes:  Rich, delicately spicy and very smooth.

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The original’s rye night contained:

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The Arran Port Finish 50%

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Funny how sometimes chance encounters lead to wonderful discoveries. I happened to meet a Scot who keeps criss-crossing between India, UK and other ports of call.

He ever so kindly offered (or did I weedle an offer?) to pick up something on his next trip to Edinburgh. He asked if there was anything specific I had in mind and rather than rattle of a series of well known options, suggested he take a peak at the list of whiskies tasted til date and surprise me!

That he did indeed… with my first Arran whisky from Lochranza in the Highlands.

This particularly bottle joined a special NAS evening with our original tasting group, sampled blind before the great reveal..

The Arran Port Finish 50%

  • Nose – Starts with tight dry berries, then rounds out into a bouquet of fruits, shifting from berries to summer orchard fruits then slipping into tangy citrus orange, finally settling into stewed fruits like plums with a drizzle of dark molasses, even a hint of toasted hazelnut, gives the impression of body just on the nose
  • Palate – After such a sweet nose, such an unexpected SPICE! With dried red sour plums or gooseberry. A nice oily element too.
  • Finish – Bitter spice finish, stays surprisingly long
  • Water – Adds a little something – much spicier in a good way that brings out a nice cinnamon spice

As we speculated what this whisky could be, we realized it didn’t neatly fit into standard categories. The colour had hints of ruby to the extent that one wondered if it was “suspect”…

With the reveal there was quite a bit of surprise – it was remarkably smooth for 50%, the port cask finish helped explained many of the different elements – including the colour which has nothing beyond the cask involved!

We even had a member quite familiar with Arran in our midst who hadn’t connected the style of the Port Finish with the standard age statement Arran’s or their peaty Machir Moor.

Here’s what else the Arran team have to say about this whisky:

After initially maturing in traditional oak casks for approximately 8 years, the Arran Single Malt in this bottling was finished in the highest quality Port wine casks from an artisan producer of this iconic Portuguese fortified wine. Our Master Distiller, James MacTaggart, has carefully monitored this period of secondary maturation to ensure the perfect balance is struck between the Port casks and the intrinsic sweet-fruity character of The Arran Malt. The end result is a Single Malt full of charm, complexity and quality and an extremely popular part of our range.

  • Colour: Deep Bronze
  • Nose: Vanilla spice and ripe citrus running into dried fruits and nuttiness. With a splash of water more depth of mandarin citrus with fudge and honeyed notes
  • Palate: Layered fruits and spice combine, with cinnamon baked apple wrestling with raisin and plum pudding. The dram opens out to reveal warming barley and a hint of sweet pear
  • Finish: A classic Single Malt with punch that dances on the palate. The trademark Arran barley-sweetness shines through the layers of complexity

What else did we try in our NAS evening?

Pssst – In Mumbai, you can get Arran 14, 18 & Machir Moor in India through The Vault.

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Who knew Alsace produces whisky? AWA Pinot Noire 42%

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Next up in our risky whisky evening was another offering from France – this time the Authentique Whisky Alsacien (AWA) Pinot Noire.

The whisky lady who brought this unusual offering shared how she discovered this whisky nestled amidst all the wine in France. As in AWA was the ONLY whisky to be found amongst a LOT of wine! Apparently there are other varieties of AWA – linked to different wines like Reisling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and this Pinot Noire. Plus someone clearly has a sense of humour with AWA’s “The Dog’s Bullocks” whisky!

So… what did we find?

AWA (Authentique Whisky Alsacien) Pinot Noire 42%

  • Nose – Dark purple grapes, fruity almost reminds one of a sloe gin, fresh figs, flower like wild rose or hibiscus, then took on a deeper quality with malty treacle
  • Palate – Initial hit of raw grain for some, flowers like a bouquet bursting in ones mouth for others, bit of a sharp zing, sits on top
  • Finish – Grapey wine-like finish

There is a playful quality to this whisky. Sophisticated? Nope. Just fruity fun! Perhaps it was our imagination but we certainly found the wine influence which made it quite a departure from your standard ex-bourbon / ex-sherry cask fare.

Overall this surprise from a Whisky Lady’s trip to France received a ‘thumbs up’ just for being… rather.. well like-able!

When we contrasted tasting this whisky in our standard Glencairn glass vs Norlan, we found in the Norlan it flattened the nose to brown sugar however brought much more out in the palate – much spicier with cloves, quite a delicious piquant quality.

The verdict? Comes across more like “whisky” in the Norlan than the Glenairn glass. So all depends on how you like your tipple.

You won’t find much about AWA however… try as I might no luck finding any official tasting notes! If anyone does – let me know!

What else did we sample that “risky whisky” evening?

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Italian whisky? Puni Alba Marsala + Islay 43% – Oh My!

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The Whisky Ladies of Mumbai are well on the path of exploring European whiskies… having tried drams from Finland (Teerenpeli), Denmark (Danica), France (Kornog), Germany (Slyrs), Sweden (Mackmyra & Spirit of Hven)… all unique and different from standard Scottish fare.

Whereas our original tasting group, with five years of monthly merry malt sampling complete, have only scratched the surface when it comes to whiskies from Europe. In 2013 The Belgian Owl and Dutch All Rye made less than stellar appearances and in 2014, the Czech Hammer Head received a rather firm ‘thumbs down’.

We were due a tryst with European whiskies. Yet after the disappointing drams, anything offered had to 1st pass the ‘taste test’.

When given an ‘assignment’ to find something ‘different’ by our host for his January 2017 session, my 1st thought was Europe and the 2nd thought was that it simply had to be tried before buying – no leaving the experiment to chance!

Which is where my August 2016 trip to Singapore came in handy with an opportunity to ‘speed date’ a trio of Puni whiskies at – where else – La Maison du Whisky.

Even I wasn’t sure before trying. Italian whisky? Really?! When there is such marvellous Italian wine, it begs the question… whisky?

Our original group sampled this completely blind – having no clue what they were trying…

Puni Alba 3 year Batch #2 (2015) 43%

puni-alba

  • Nose – How unique – we needed to ‘tease’ out the different elements. At once sweet and sour, mild antiseptic, hint of tropical fruits, some nutmeg, coconut? There was something truly completely different about this one… sweet, dry yet teasingly
  • Palate – Wow! Starts off so smooth then there is a remarkable dry chilly that sneaks up from behind and ‘whoosh!’ envelops completely. One found cooked drumsticks, another lots of tannins, yet another found chocolate
  • Finish – An, unbelievably long finish and so surprising, it extends from the dry chilly to a long drawn out light cigar like finish
  • Water – Needed? No. Nice? Yes and remarkably did not dent the fabulous finish, simply enabled the mild peat quality to surface more

What a different whisky with its ability to have a deceptively soft ‘front’ then delicious spice that sneaks up from ‘behind’. Without a doubt, it had the most remarkable long finish of all whiskies sampled that evening.

As we speculated, it was very clear this was not Scottish and quite untraditional in its approach. The dry sweetness, soft smooth front then spice from behind, the shy peat that slowly unfurled, the exceptionally long finish… This was a whisky that didn’t neatly fit into clear categories.

Our host pulled out the bottle. Italy?

Putting it mildly, we were collectively ‘maha’ (greatly) impressed. From the design of the bottle to the quality of its contents.

Let us be very clear, Puni is out to change any pre-conceived notions that Italians aren’t up to the challenge of producing whisky! The Puni distillery began operations in 2012 and is located in the Italian alps, taking its name from the nearby Puni river. They use locally grown rye, pot stills and began with three core expressions:

  • Nova – American & European white oak casks
  • Alba – Marsala wine and Islay casks
  • Nero – Pinot nero casks

Here is what they have to say about their Alba:

ALBA – the Italian word for dawn, as well as the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland – is matured for three years in the finest Marsala casks from Sicilly and finished in handselected casks from the Isle of Islay. ALBA is a harmonious combination of the rich & fruity flavours of Italy and the distinctive smoky character of the Scottish island.

Flavour : dark fruit | peat | cloves

The interplay between maturation in Marsala casks and ex-Islay peated whisky casks shows such experimentation can bring about quite wonderful results!

Puni Italian Trio

Other whiskies sampled our East to West evening included:

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Kavalan Concertmaster Port Cask Finish 40%

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It is no secret that I quite like some Japanese whiskies.

But what about Taiwan? For years there were rumblings about Taiwan also doing something special.

So you can imagine that when I had a work trip to Taipei years ago, I was terribly excited about the opportunity to snag something interesting.

It proved slightly tricky. Why?

  • Limited time
  • Limited communication
  • Limited options

I did find a couple of stores with a decent selection of whiskies from everywhere BUT Taiwan. I could only find Concertmaster plus small samples of other Kavalan expressions – naturally at a wallet-pinching ‘full-retail’ price! I grabbed the samples and risked catching Kavalan’s Soloist or other expressions at the duty-free.

As luck would have it, after a few re-directions, I did find ONE little Taiwan whisky section with a rather bare range of Kavalan at the airport! Nope – no Soloist only Concertmaster that day.

For those not aware, the Soloist range is the one garnering the special attention – including the Soloist expression Vinho Barrique recently receiving the 2015 World Whiskies ‘Best Single Malt’ Award! However Concertmaster also has a goodly number of awards to its credit too.

Concertmaster (Whisky Lady)

Concertmaster (Whisky Lady)

So what about the Kavalan Concertmaster?

It is one of Kavalan’s entry-level single malt which is aged in American oak then finished in three port casks (Portuguese ruby, tawny and vintage) – hence the ‘concert’ of finishes.

And what did I find?

Kavalan Concertmaster Port Cask Finish 40%

  • Colour – Burnished gold with a ruby glow
  • Nose – Tropical fruits, coconut, honey sweet, tincture or a slightly medicinal quality when freshly opened that wafted away after time…
  • Taste – Sweet almost overly fruity sweet, berry sweet, some dry coconut, then an undertone of bitterness, a little kopra
  • Finish – Short and dry is the initial impression… pause and then noted a subtle remnant of coconut and port for a bit… just a bit

Now… here is where I must admit… when I first tried it, it was a disappointment. Especially after the excitement and effort… and certainly not for its price range.

I’ve tried it a few times since and my overall conclusion is that while it is enjoyable and certainly worth trying at least once, it doesn’t seem quite balanced to my palate.

Rather than a symphony of tastes, it is like the sweet violin strings are a little too discordantly brash without enough other instruments to bring depth and richness. This is like an unbalanced quartet masquerading as a symphony.

Concertmaster (Whisky Lady)

Concertmaster Port Cask Finish (Whisky Lady)

I honestly would have wondered what all the fuss was about with Kavalan had I not sampled from the Soloist range – much more interesting!

So while I do not regret buying a bottle, it isn’t one that I will run out to acquire again! For the money, there are other many more options to explore.

Here’s what others are saying:

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