The Speyside 12 years 40%

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Last up in our wander down memory lane was The Speyside 12 year… from… gee.. the Speyside region. Yeah… I know… original name, eh?

Photo: Master of Malt

Photo: Master of Malt

We sampled it blind and here’s what we found…

The Speyside 12 year 40%

  • Colour – A lovely warm burnished gold
  • Nose – Overripe bannannas, tulips, bitter chocolate
  • Taste – Smooth, round, easily rolling around on the tongue… bringing the feeling of a warm, lovely evening, curling up in a cosy romantic blanket in front of a crackling fire. Some debate on the hint of peat however overall quite mellow.
  • Finish – Lingered, mellowing further like a perfect gentleman
  • Add water – Was that a hint of lavender that emerged?
  • Overall – Very approachable

Our contributor confessed he’d had it in his cupboard for years but hadn’t been inspired to try – largely as the packaging isn’t exactly inviting.

We didn’t find the hazelnuts mentioned on the bottle but would agree with the vanilla and toffee in the finish.

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By the end of the evening we described our whiskies as follows:

  • Balvenie Triple Cask – The guy who tries to be 1st in class, lovely to meet, some possibilities but…
  • Wasmund’s – The bad boy you just wanna go a little wild with and can’t resist!
  • The Speyside – The guy you can count on, a companion. In short – the marrying type!

For me? My preference was the bad boy in the middle!

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Wasmund’s Single Malt 48%

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During our first encounter with Wasmund’s we decided it is “The bad boy you just wanna go a little wild with and can’t resist!”

Now that I have your attention, shall we delve further into what we found? We first sampled this whisky back in 2013 – completely blind so had no idea what we were in for! We then revisited it in January 2016.

Photo: Copper Fox

Photo: Copper Fox

Wasmund’s Single Malt 48%

  • Colour – A rich almost burgundy hue and we speculated sherry cask… but… ?
  • Nose – Paan! Burnt wood, tarka, bit of citrus, strong, bold with some peatiness, almost medicinal. Pine forest, burnt tires, sweet old wood, leather.
  • Palate – Has an ‘in your face’ strength, some resin, almost like over-cooked sweet n sour sauce – very full bodied. Spice, wood, smoke, chocolate and coffee.
  • Finish – Has some fire yet mellows into sweetness, like a melon, long tail, lasting smoke.
  • Water – Adding water opened it up, bringing out a fruity chewiness, some spice of chillies, cardamom and cloves. Yum!
  • Overall – We found it a complex whisky with attitude – perfect for winter nights in Delhi or on the ski slopes. Not one to be messed around with! In a verrrry good way.

All were surprised with the unveiling. What is most remarkable is that Wasmund’s is matured for only 12 months yet has such character – strong and interesting!

So… what’s this Wasmund’s all about?

Coming from Copper Fox distillers near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, this whisky is pot-stilled in small batches, one barrel at a time 100% using hand malted, Virginia barley. It is proud to be “the only distillery in the world to use apple and cherrywood smoke to flavor the malted barley.”

Clearly we were off with the sherry cask… instead it is aged in ex bourbon barrels with apple and oak chips. Quite a unique result.

Here’s what the folks over at Copper Fox have to say:

“Rich amber copper color, intriguing aromas and flavors of suede, olive tapenade, honey, dried fruit chutney and clay with a silky, dry-yet-fruity, medium-full body, and long, spicy, orange marmalade on rye toast and root beer float-like finish. Distinctively flavorful and a great choice for artisan cocktails or sipping.”

Bottom line… were we impressed? Yes we were.

Other whiskies sampled with Wasmund’s included:

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Balvenie Triple Cask 12 years 40%

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From the whisky archives (Oct 2013) came an amusing evening which concluded the Balvenie Triple Cask was…

The guy who tries to be 1st in class, lovely to meet, some possibilities but…

So why did we think Balvenie Triple Cask was the smart kid in the class?

Read on…

Photo: The Whisky Exchange

Photo: The Whisky Exchange

Balvenie Triple Cask 12 year 40%

  • Colour – A rich golden hue, clearly not light straw but also not deep either
  • Nose – We found wiffs of currents, raisins, vanilla, orange, cinnamon even a bit of butterscotch. All pronounced to be very ‘christmasy’ in character and quite promising
  • Palate – Not as complex and nuanced as the notes would suggest. We found it lightly peated, with a peach sweetness.
  • Finish – Remained largely in the mouth, not complex, but still rather nice.

Most speculated it must be a younger speyside, around 40%, still a bit “green” yet didn’t detract from being quite a nice sipping whisky.

While most considered it too mild to add water, we gamely put in a few drops to see the results – only diluted the taste, shifting to a bit of harness yet still sweet. Our vote? Neat is best with this one!

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Back in 2013, it was a new offering for the duty-free market – boasting (as the name suggests) maturation in three different casks: first-fill bourbon, refill bourbon and sherry.

Here’s what the folks over at Balvenie have to say:

Elegantly sweet and spicy, with a mellow taste of dried fruits, vanilla and cinnamon

Also sampled the same evening:

  • Wasmund’s – The bad boy you just wanna go a little wild with and can’t resist!
  • The Speyside – The guy you can count on, a companion. In short – the marrying type!

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Three whiskies, three very different guys… Balvenie Triple Cask 12, Wasmund’s and The Speyside 12

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One of the all time most popular posts on my other blog, Everyday Asia, was a whisky tasting night from October 2013. I don’t quite know why it is the case but folks keep coming back to it over and over and over…

What did we sample?

We blind tasted three whiskies featuring Balvenie’s Triple Cask 12 year, Wasmund’s and The Speyside 12 year.

It may, in part, be due to how we described the whiskies at the end of the evening. With January providing an opportunity to revisit that ‘bad boy’ Wasmund’s, I revived our experience with a wee bit more about the whiskies we sampled:

  • Balvenie Triple Cask – The guy who tries to be 1st in class, lovely to meet, some possibilities but…
  • Wasmund’s – The bad boy you just wanna go a little wild with and can’t resist!
  • The Speyside – The guy you can count on, a companion. In short – the marrying type!

Curious what others have to say too!

2013-10-17-OakLeague

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Bring on the Bruichladdich Rocks!

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Bruichladdich just keeps experimenting and we delight in exploring their various offerings as and when we can catch hold!

More recently, I sampled:

However it was actually several years ago that our original tasting group first picked up a Bruichladdich. Before I was consistent in taking notes, we tried the Laddie 10 year and another at a session I missed. One session I did join from August 2013 featured the rather unique NAS express ‘Bruichladdich Rocks.’ As usual, we sampled blind then revealed the whisky.

Bruichladdich Rocks (www.bruichladdich.com)

Bruichladdich Rocks (www.bruichladdich.com)

Bruichladdich Rocks 46%

  • Colour – Burnished gold
  • Nose – Bold fresh nose with rubber and a hint of flowery sweetness
  • Taste – Not a hint of peat… just delightful rich winey fruity spicy chewy yumminess
  • Finish – Even better, the finish didn’t dash off instantly leaving instead a gentle warmth

We understand that the name comes from the ancient rocks through which the water apparently crashes. Some have also suggested the whisky is ‘designed’ to be sipped ‘on the rocks’.

Bruichladdich Rocks is a vatted malt, bringing together various vintages then finished for another nine months in a French Mourvèdre-Syrah  wine cask. Certainly worth sampling and nice to try this distillery’s less accessible offering.

It is definitely a whisky I wouldn’t mind revisiting properly rather than merely through notes from our tasting archives! Alas, like many Bruichladdich experiments – what is here today is gone tomorrow and the likelihood of catching this again is rather low.

Just to make you even more envious of the opportunity we had to sample ‘Rocks’, here is what the folks over at Bruichladdich have to say:

  • Character – Light, bright and full of joy! A fresh, vibrant spirit brimming with the unique flavours of the Hebrides.
  • Nose – An exhilarating fresh and vibrant bouquet, opening with soft red grapes, redcurrant jelly, pomegranate and red apple all encased in an envelope of syrup, sweet malted barley and brown sugar vanilla.
  • Palate – It jumps out of the glass anxious to please. The wine flavours wait patiently while the malt and oak display their charms. Then they emerge – red cherry, strawberry and spiciness. Really creamy yet retaining a coastal crispness.
  • Finish – A malt on a mission! Snappy and sweet, zipping along on the crest of a wave migrating from Islay to France but always returning to the homeland.
  • Mood – Gregarious. eager, enthusiastic, tireless. Designed as an aperitif malt, or as here on Islay, to be enjoyed instead of tea. Takes water well.

Here are what others have to say:

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Classic Bunnahabhain 18 year 46.3%

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I recently ‘treated’ a friend who is a huge Bunnahabhain fan to the spectacular 26 year Signatory’s cask strength single cask avatar.

Did he enjoy? Yes! But was it what he looks for in a Bunnahabhain? Not really. He prefers the nearly no peat Islay character of a typical Bunnahabhain.

So in his honour, I’ve brushed off from the archives tasting notes from a session originally held in August 2013.

Bunnahabhain 18 (TheWhiskyExchange.com)

Bunnahabhain 18 year (TheWhiskyExchange.com)

Bunnahabhain 18 year 46.3%

  • Colour – Gorgeous! A deep rich colour
  • Nose – Nuanced nose with hints of plum and honey. We were so engrossed in our conversation that we inadvertently gave the Bunnahabhain extra air to be delighted when this enabled it to open up even further to reveal apricot and an oaky woodiness without a whiff of peat.
  • Taste – Utterly smooth, creamy. We savoured its warm richness, appreciating its different layers of flavour and a hint of spice.
  • Finish – A lingering finish that brought back plum and rather happy smiles.

This un-chill filtered non-peated Islay offering was the evening favourite!

Here is what the folks over at Bunnahabhain have to say about this whisky:

A nose and a taste of this tells more than a book ever could. The beautiful golden spirit’s aroma releasing honeyed nuts and a slightly sea-induced salty tang. Rich toffee and leathery oak notes can be sensed upon further reading, while the palate tells of mellow sherried nuts and shavings of the finest natural oak wood. ts story ends very happily, with dry notes interspersed with mixed spices fading magnificently into a light salt and sherry finale.

Here’s what others have to say:

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Glenlivet quartet – 12, 15, 18 and 21 year

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After recently revisiting the Glenlivet 21 year, I decided to pull out another post from the archives in which we sampled back-to-back blind four selections in rapid succession before they were revealed.

Intrigued, our sampling began…

  1. Light in colour. Dismissed immediately as forgettable – nothing remarkable on the nose, palate or finish. A complete ‘light weight’ to be served at a party with drinkers who do not know any better.
  2. Richer gold in colour. The nose had dried fruits like prune or apricot, sweetness maintained on the palate with a hint of spice. No whiff of peat however had a fresh forest dampness. Reasonable finish that stayed. An oddly ‘manufactured’ quality. Some promise if only could sample a cask strength version.
  3. Even deeper colour. Much sweeter than the 2nd option – notes of raisins and figs, more towards ‘brown sugar’. Smooth fruitiness on the palate. Lingering finish. Ditto on the sense of being vaguely ‘manufactured’, yet clearly preferred.
  4. Also strong amber colour. Nose not as sweet, more in the dried fruit range. Palate decidedly ‘dry’, edging to kokum with a chewy rubber-like quality, hints of clove-like spice, certainly greater complexity than the earlier samples. Lasting warm finish – chocolaty with a dash of cinnamon-spice. A few drops of water enhanced.

Glenlivet 12, 15, 18 + 21 year (Photo: Carissa Hickling)

The unveiling revealed a deliberate change to not follow an order directly correlated to age:

  • Glenlivet 12 year – All perplexed that such a sad offering garners such popularity. The marvels of marketing?
  • Glenlivet 18 year – While quite decent, terribly weak compared with other much more interesting 18 years like the old Highland Park, Hakushu, etc.
  • Glenlivet 15 year – Tried again with a dash of water revealed a slightly more complex and spicy palate closer to the 18 year. Confirmed as the favourite.
  • Glenlivet 21 year – Certainly not worthy of a 21 year price tag. Sorry folks!

The evening was salvaged by closing with the remarkable Edradour 12 year Caledonia and post dinner, a fabulous rum from Guyana – El Dorado 15 year.

Whisky Lady – February 2016

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What could be more fun than a February full of whisky tasting adventures?

Carissa Hickling's avatarEveryday Asia

After 25 whiskies in January, you can imagine this month I needed a little ‘catch-up’ time.  Whisky Lady featured posts on both whiskies sampled in February plus the balance notes from January.

Even better, February was filled with three (yes 1, 2… 3) whisky clubs tasting sessions. Anyone who thinks there are no folks passionate about single malts in Mumbai is clearly misinformed!

Glenlivet, Glengoyne, Balblair

1st up was a rather interesting ‘Adult’ whisky & cigar evening with:

  • Glengoyne 21 year 43% – Sigh… we suspect a spoilt cork as something was off
  • Glenlivet 21 year 43% – What you expect from a Glenlivet 21
  • Balblair 38 year 44% – OMG! I’ve gone to heaven!
  • Oh and that Laphroaig 21 peaking around the corner on the left… yeah we had that too!

It was memorable also as ALL corks disintegrated – check out Crumbling cork capers!

2016-02-19 Oak League1

Next with our original club was a special Signatory session. Each…

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Whisky Ladies – Anything better than whisky and chocolate?

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Our Whisky Ladies in Mumbai’s February session had a bonus – chocolates specifically designed to pair with whiskies. One set of pralines were meant to pair best with a mild and soft, delicate whisky. The other set were meant to pair with smokey or sherry cask matured whiskies. Each lady also shared a little insight into the bottle she brought….

“When Neuhaus meets Single Malt Whiskies“

Delicate – Hibiki Harmony NAS 43%

A few of us initially sampled this delightful whisky as a soothing balm after a romp through seven Paul John whiskies – yes in addition to the quintet reviewed, there were two bonus samples direct from the master distiller! Our contributing whisky lady shared how she loves the delicate nuanced balance Harmony achieves with its three component whiskies – Yamasaki, Hakushu and Chita.

What did we discover with Harmony?

  • Whisky – The nose was indeed delicate, nuanced, flowery, honey sweet. The palate was soft, very well constructed. In short, an exceedingly civilised dram to kick-off our evening!
  • Chocolate – Paired with pralines having caramel ganache, caramelised hazelnuts or toasted almonds or a smooth, rich creamy single origin Javanese cocao milk chocolate

Peaty – Lagavulin 16 year 43%

Our contributor confessed this was her ‘go to’ dram during her London student days. For many this was a familiar friend. The kind of peaty ‘curl up by the fireside’ quality you turn to for comfort. For a few, it was a first introduction to this classic Islay dram.

What did we find with the Lagavulin?

  • Nose – Peat, split pea with ham soup, forrest, moss, then sweet honey, vanilla, warm toasted sugared almonds, finally a curl of cinnamon spice
  • Palate – Spicy, smokey, ‘tarka’, a buttery quality, keeps getting sweeter, rich, powerful
  • Finish – Long and dry, moss, smoke, vanilla
  • Quote – “I feel like I just took a drag from a cigarette!”

For chocolate, we paired similar to the sherry bomb…

Sherry – Abelour A’bunadh batch 46 (2013) 60.4%

Our whisky lady picked up this particular gem in the US at a speciality whisky store. She shared she wanted something distinctive to bring back to India and was directed to this gorgeous cask strength sherry bomb. She opened it prior to our session, fell in love and with great difficulty was able to keep it reserved for our tasting pleasure.

So…. how was this A’bunadh with chocolate?

  • Whisky – Gorgeous sherry notes of plums, figs, raisins, burnt sugar. Cherry berry sherry bomb on the palate full of rich flavours, well rounded and robust. The finish closed with long drawn out rummy raisins.
  • Chocolate – Paired with pralines having more of a deeper, bitter or more intense single origin chocolate from Peru, or ones containing speculooos or puffed rice to add texture and balance the smokey peat or christmas sweet of sherry

Some may recall we sampled batch 35 at a Whisky Ladies ‘Cask Strength Diwali‘ and for comparison, it was pulled out revealing juicier fruits.

Without a doubt, pairing whiskies with chocolate was a smashing success!

2016-02-27 Whisky + Chocolate

Other Whisky Ladies of Mumbai evenings:

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Whisky cork crumbling capers!

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A funny thing happened during a recent whisky and cigars evening, featuring only ‘adult’ whiskies.

All four bottles were older than 21 years. Most were stored for several years before our sampling.

All were closed. And yet as each was opened, the same challenge occurred…

The cork cracked and crumbled.

Every single one? Yup that’s all four whiskies!

Then last night, I pulled my trusty old open bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail. Attempted to pull out the cork and…? Was rewarded with disintegrated cork bits!

Earlier during our Whisky ladies cask strength tasting, we went to open the Abelour A’bunadh. And the cork? You guessed it! Crumbled completely with the top cracking clean apart!

Until these experiences, in all my years of whisky tasting, it only happened with a Glenfarclas 105 that sat open in my whisky cabinet far too long!

Is this a new dirty secret of the whisky industry?

Or is Mumbai particularly harsh on cork?

Or are we storing whisky ‘wrong’… leading to such issues?

Crumbling Cork Capers

Proper, crumbled, cracked vs healthy cork

Lew Bryson in Whisky Advocate complains:

Even if the cork’s not tainted, I’ve encountered a disturbing number of crumbling corks lately, some in new bottles. Pull off the plastic wrap, twist the cork topper, and kluhbup…you’ve got the topper and about a centimeter of crumbling cork in your hand, and the rest of it is still in the neck (if you’re lucky and it’s not crumbled into the whiskey).

Do I have the definitive answer on why this seems to increasingly be an issue? No.

However it does indeed happen with whiskies stored upright for several years. And yes – upright is exactly how you should store your whisky 99% of the time!

Is there a solution? Hmm…

There are at least suggestions…

  1. Regularly ‘turn’ your whisky (as in weekly) to lightly wet the cork (Whisky Informative)
  2. If you are less rigorous and didn’t keep turning your whisky, for a week before you plan to open the bottle, store it on its side so that it moistens the cork, reducing the risk of it cracking or crumbling (anonymous expert!)

Any other suggestions or insights?

Surely I am not alone in encountering cork crumbling consequences from long storage of whiskies….

Oh and PS?

If your cork DOES crumble, it is time to immediately consume or decant after straining. Trust me, bits of cork in whisky is a recipe to ruin a good dram.

Others grumbling about cork issues:

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