Northern Lights – Mackmyra Mack 40%

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Yet again we have returned to Sweden, compliments of our Swedish Whisky Lady’s summer trip to the land of her birth. She considered other options then settled on their entry level whisky.

Mackmyra Mack 40%

  • Nose – Oranges, warm peaches in the sunshine, bubble gum, candy floss. Just a fabulous warm and inviting nose, some caramel custard too
  • Palate – Initially came across as a bit flat, like apple juice, but keep sipping and you’ll enjoy the light spice and amiable character, quite satisfying
  • Finish – Light restrained and quite tasty

Overall it reminded us of a summery county fair. Though most of us would have preferred a bit more “oomph!”, perhaps a bit higher than 40%.

Disappointing to learn they use caramel for colouring but it was quite accommodating and easy to drink.

Truth me told – it was the “hit” of the evening and we had to set it aside to keep it from being emptied completely!

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

  • Nose: Vanilla, boiled sweets and soft orchard fruit. Pear drops and spicy caramel. 
  • Palate: Candies peels, vanilla fudge, hint of basil, stewed fruit. 
  • Finish: Sweet oak spices.

It was purchased in Sweden in August 2017 and opened in Mumbai May 2018.

Whisky Ladies Northern Lights:

Curious to try more Nordic whiskies? Check out the European whisky section with a selection of Swedish whiskies:

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Northern Lights – Flóki Young Malt 47%

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Our intrepid Whisky Lady host brought back from her trip to Iceland some remarkable images, memories and yes a malt too! She shared how she considered  the Sheep Dung (smoked with Icelandic sheep poo) but settled on the Young Malt.

As we opened the bottle, she told us tales of her winter adventures in Iceland. With others chiming in with their experiences too. Stories swirled about a remarkable land of exceptional natural landscape, socializing in hot springs, quixotic nightlife, music and more…

Flóki Young Malt 47% 1st Impression

  • Nose – Lots of hay, like being inside a granary, dusty, a bit yeasty, young, a little metallic, quite organic
  • Palate – What a contrast! Cinnamon candy, a bit peculiar- not necessarily in a bad way just something very unfamiliar, a tough whisky with a hint of light leather from tannery, rubber
  • Finish – Back to hay with a bit of spice, had an almost “flat” quality with cedar

At one point we joked that we’d stumbled inside a barnyard! It was quite rustic, unique and definitely different. We began to joke it was like wandering into a set of Game of Thrones.

There was no doubt it would be welcome after hiking in the glaciers! Very apt for Iceland.

Here is what the folks who create Flóki have to say:

100% Icelandic locally grown barley. Named after one of Icelands first explorers, Hrafna-Flóki (Flóki of the ravens).

Carefully distilled using our custom made distillation equipment to extract the full flavor of the barley and then matured in new wood american oak barrels.

Flóki is a complex and unique malt with a blend of characteristics you´d expect in Bourbon, Irish Whisky and Scottish Highland Whiskys.

Not sure I’d call it complex, but it is certainly unique and worth exploring for the novelty!

Whisky Ladies Northern Lights:

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Northern Lights – Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye 40%

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This wasn’t the 1st, 2nd or even my 3rd time sampling this particular whisky.  However it was an exceedingly apt way to kick start our Whisky Ladies evening exploring whiskies with a Northern Lights connect.

As soon as the bottle came out, a fellow Canadian couldn’t help but recall her youthful follies with a quintessential Canadian drink – Rye and Ginger aka ginger ale.

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye 40%

  • Nose – Maple, very sweet, light rye yet accessible, sparkling cider, juicy fruit gum
  • Palate – Ginger, sweet, bit spicy then  back to sweet
  • Finish – Short, sweet, light wood

It made us think of making a terrific Old Fashioned or Manhattan.

Whisky Ladies Northern Lights:

You can read about other tasting adventures with the Northern Harvest Rye here:

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Northern Lights – Crown Royal, Flóki, Mack

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It can be a lot of fun playing around with a whisky theme. With the right combination, you can discover something different even in a familiar dram, or appreciate nuances in a spirit you may otherwise dismiss.

It was one of those kinds of sessions, held together by a distinctly “northern” theme. So while it it was swelteringly hot outdoors, we retreated to the cool ac of indoors and enjoyed our Northern Lights evening of:

While none would be considered outstanding, yet each was unique and as a set, enabled us to appreciate their different dimensions.

Talk turned to affordability… these days in the quest for something special, prices can become daunting. This was a terrific reminder that in the right company, context and frame of mind, there is no need to spend a “bomb” to obtain something quite enjoyable.

Case in point, when we looked up prices discovered:

  • Northern Harvest Rye $32
  • Mack $42
  • Flóki $52

From our perspective, these are all eminently affordable for quite affable drams.

What was even better was the tales of how each made it from their respective locales to Mumbai… details coming over the next few days!

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Powers 12 year 46%

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One fine evening in Mumbai our tasting group settled down to sample a trio… completely blind followed by the reveal. We closed with a dram from Ireland.

Powers 12 year John’s Lane Release 46%

  • Nose – Distinctly different, pot still, chocolate, hazelnut, milky, bit of varnish, oily, green and spic, tumeric, cinnamon, organic. Opened up and took on a forest quality – particularly spruce wood, green apple, some cumin, bay leaf, a bit of floral like rose essence…. After a long time came back and it was pure candy sweet!
  • Palate – Quite tasty and with spice! Pineapple, more of that gulab jaman with rose essence, while it certainly wasn’t completely, was quite sociable with a happy easy style
  • Finish – Butter, spice, not long but nice
  • Water – Absolutely no need

Our speculations?

One immediately identified it as Irish pot still. Talk turned to Bushmill Black, Powers.. we all found it to bhquite

And the reveal?

Guess what? Powers! It was a nice amiable ending to our evening.

Here’s what the folks at Powers have to say:

Powers John’s Lane Release is a Single Pot Still whiskey that celebrates the origin of the Powers Whiskey tradition and provides a glimpse of the whiskey style that made Powers famous. The distillate has been matured for no less than 12 years, mainly in American Oak casks with a small inclusion of Iberian Oak for balance and complexity and then married to create the distinctive honey and spice flavor of Powers.

  • Nose: An abundance of earthy aromas, leather, tobacco with layers of charred wood, dark chocolate and treacle toffee.
  • Taste: Full bodied spice front followed by vanilla, honey and dried apricot.
  • Finish: Lingering honey sweetness on toasted oak.

What else did we sample that evening?

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Blair Athol 12 year 43%

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Blair Athol is a Diageo whisky that previously was found either in blends or independent bottles… our previous brushes with Blair Athol was the robust sherry cask strength Signatory 27 year and the Hunter Laing 16 year.

We sampled it blind….

Blair Athol 12 year 43%

  • Nose – Initially quite organic, sharp old cheese, fresh rain, slight salt behind the spice, cranberry sour not sweet, a bit acetone sharpness, narrow profile, edgy fume, nutmeg… After sipping, spice, yoghurt. Leave for some time and get caramel and fruits, then goes back to spice, then gulkand rose.
  • Palate – Very smooth, silk, sweet, fruity spice, buttery oily, liquorice, so easy and light, nice and enjoyable. Such spice, fruit and something else.
  • Finish – Grapey, coffee
  • Water – Absolutely no need

We found it had no off notes, quite a “happy” whisky. We thought it likely did not have natural coloured likely low alcohol.

And the reveal?

Not one we would have guessed but also only had limited past opportunities to sample whiskies from Blair Athol.

The official tasting notes share:

A rich, sweet malt best drunk with only a drop of water, when it holds its sweetness better.

  • Nose – Muscat grapes and Madeira wine, brimstone in the background, even tar. Dried apricots in the foreground, and treacle toffee.
  • Body – Medium to full bodied, but not cloying.
  • Palate – Rich and mouth-filling, with a good balance.
  • Finish – A curious sweetness is introduced at the end, after the acidity and dryish finish has passed.

What else did we sample that evening?

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Glengoyne Distiller’s Gold 15 year 40%

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One fine evening our original Mumbai tasting group settled down to sample a trio… completely blind followed by the reveal.

We began with a Highland single malt picked up by our host’s father-in-law in Russia.

Glengoyne Distiller’s Gold 15 year 40%

  • Nose – Clear stamp of an ex-Bourbon cask, banana, vanilla, boiled sweets, honey, a bit floral, quite sharp, scented erasers, candied orange, lavender, marigold, like wandering through a garden, bit oily, grapes and wine tannins. After the first sip, the perfume settled down and the spice stepped back too to make way for a more vegetal, honey, caramel, biscuits, something heavier underneath, pumpkin seeds, yeasty
  • Palate – Starts off quite mild, quite thin to the point it almost evaporated, none of the oiliness promised on the nose…. after consideration it had a light to medium body, quite “neutral” in character. Keep sipping and found a light hint of brine, a hint of tobacco or leather, nescafe coffee powder
  • Finish – Began a bit bitter yet a nice bitter, white pepper corn, black raw licorice, mineral, while not long shifted between different elements
  • Water – While it seemed a contradiction given how light we found it, the whisky is quite enjoyable with a bit of water. It rounds it out, particularly if you let it sit for some time. It also then reveals fruits like  green apple.
  • Return – And be rewarded with butterscotch!

What did we think?

There was a familiar quality with a classic approach. We found it quite nice and all shared how it grows on you. Easy to sip and while there were no distinctive qualities that shouted out one particular distillery over another, it was quite pleasant.

For most, the nose was its best quality – enjoying how it would change and evolve. We also found it best to give more time, let it sit – worth the wait.

As we speculated about it, our general conclusion was that it was Scottish, low 40%s, primarily bourbon cask. One suggested it came from “pedigree”.

And the reveal?

What complete surprise! Previous Glengoyne’s had a much heavier sherry influence – it was quite different than what we recalled. We wanted to learn more about the casks used and were surprised to learn it spent six years in a sherry cask? Really? Could it be a 3rd fill…..? The wording on the bottle was a imprecise.

It was originally released only for travel retail, only natural colour.

Official tasting notes for the standard 15 year:

  • Nose: Fresh hay, malt flour, citrus and dried fruit.
  • Mouth Feel: Smooth and clean
  • Initial taste: Clean with a gentle sweetness.
  • Finish: Long with gentle spice and lingering oak.

What else did we sample that evening?

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Trio of Glengoyne, Blair Athol, Powers

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A warm evening in Mumbai brought a trio of drams… Our original group kept with tradition and sampled completely blind, giving us an opportunity to discern and dissect our impressions without the distraction of past experience with any of the distilleries.

Here is what we tried:

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Vault Collection – Spice Tree 46%

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Last in our original club’s “The Vault Collection” trio was a a Compass Box blend. Our guest writer Nikkhil had the following tasting notes to share.

Pour 3​: Compass Box Spice Tree 46% | Non-Chill Filtered & Natural Colour​

  • Color: Pale Gold
  • Nose: Boiled confectionery, a little varnish, lemon citrus. Then very quickly a lot of cloves and nutmeg. Notes of walnuts, apples, orange rind and ginger follow. Almost perfumey.
  • Palate: Gorgeous mouthfeel. Lovely arrival with a bouquet of spices and vanilla. Warm bread pudding. Follows the nose very closely. Oily and waxy. Some old leather, pencil shavings and that ginger from the nose. I did get just a wee hint of smoke. Again, nicely balanced.
  • Finish: Medium with lingering spices. A perfect after dinner dram on a cold night.

The “reveal”…

We couldn’t place this one even though most of us have had it in the past. That’s the beauty of blind tastings. You think you know your whisky but blind tasting is such a leveller. The reveal surprised us. Compass Box Spice Tree. Enough and more has been said about Compass Box and Spice Tree in the past so I will not repeat myself but instead I urge you to pour yourself a dram and enjoy this expression. Sláinte!

Official notes:

Big, sweet aromas of clove, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. The palate is full, round and sweet, with the spice and vanilla complementing the core distillery characters and leaving a long finish.

The Vault Collection trio:

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Vault Collection – Benromach 10 year 43%

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Next up in our original club’s “The Vault Collection” trio was a single malt from the Speyside region. Our guest writer Nikkhil had the following tasting notes to share.

Pour 2: Benromach 10yr 43%

  • Color: Gold
  • Nose: Red fruits, buiscuity and an immediate waft of gentle peat smoke. Lovely! With time honey ham, lightly smoked apples and sweet meats. Something immediately familiar about this one.
  • Palate: Lovely sweet sherry notes with the gentlest lick of peat. I’m a sucker for this style and balance. Nice mouthfeel despite the low abv. That irresistible sweet savoury note of a bacon and honey combo! Lots of complexity for a 10yr old and top class stuff. This is just a breath behind the Kilkerran 12 which is saying a lot. Now only if it were bottled at 46% and naturally presented!
  • With Water and 20 mins rest, lovely notes of coconut, roasted walnuts and gentle spice along with light bonfire smoke.
  • ​Finish: ​Long with smoke that just lingers along with sweet sherry fruits.

Our guessing game to reveal?

This was a class Scottish act and all of us were unanimous on that. There was a tossup between Benriach and Benromach. One member was bang on with Benromach and sure enough it was that. It just proves yet again that if the focus is on quality and if it is followed up with the right decisions in production (local barley, long fermentation times, top quality wood) then it’s very hard not to have a cracking dram on your hands. It is little or no surprise that the distillery is owned by Gordon & Macphail who in my opinion are the finest independent bottlers in Scotland. Keep up the good work!

Official notes:

  • Nose: Rich sherry with fruit & nut chocolate, delicate spice, green apples, malty biscuit and a touch of light peat smoke.
  • Palate: Juicy raspberries and brambles, sherry, creamy malt and a light peat

The Vault Collection trio:

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