Tag Archives: Cask Strength

Ladies Choice – Paul John Single Cask #1844 60.5%

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Next up in our Ladies Choice evening was India’s Paul John Single Cask #1844, bottled at full cask strength of 60.5%.

Fellow Canadian Paula McGlynn returns as our guest whisky reviewer…

Guest Post by Paula McGlynn

Guest Post by Paula McGlynn

Based in Mumbai, Paula is an actress – including a Marathi film –  film-maker with her partner (Gulbadan Talkies), producer of the Bharatiya Digital Party‘s irreverent web series “Casting Couch” and script writer.

She’s the kind of lass that will track down a new whisky experiment  from Canada or the US, take an hour off from shooting in Goa to zip over to Paul John to collect a coveted bottle of Peated or pop into WhiskyLive when in South Africa… just because… whisky!

Here is what Paula has to say about the Paul John Single Cask #1844 60.1%…

The whisky ladies and I have come to associate Paul John whiskies with a distinct character, from the Peated Select Cask (my favourite), to the Bold and Edited expressions available in India. Paul John has quickly become a great staple whisky to keep stocked in the liquor cabinet if you want to impress your friends with high quality Indian whisky.

However, on the first try of Cask #1844 most of us were bowled over by the distinct caramel sweetness and had trouble finding complexity underneath. Partly because of the high alcohol level (60.5%), we all had a similar struggle finding new notes on the tongue. However, a generous helping of water helped bring out a few more notes.

  • Photo: Paula McGlynn

    Photo: Paula McGlynn

    Nose – Very sweet nose, vanilla, caramel, deep fried banana (a favourite element in Paul John whiskies for me)

  • Palate – Very dry, sweet, caramel
  • Finish – Smooth and then disappears, star anise
  • 5 drops of water – Added spice to the nose, rounder sweetness and a creamy feel added to palate
  • 10 drops of water – Added the slightest hint of coconut, some of us were getting some pear on the palate
  • Later – Star anise on the nose too

Overall: Nondescript sweetness, pleasing and non offensive if water is added to counteract the alcoholic dryness. However I personally found the 1st batch of the Select Peated to be my favourite PJ of all time, and wished #1844 could have lived up to my expectations.

I think this particular cask contained the pure sweetness that is a favourite component of Paul John malt blends. Although not very complex, the flavour notes presented are unique to the fruity Goan feel of Paul John whisky and it was interesting to have them in a cask strength dram.

This particular cask is available through a Danish distributor – Juul’s – who have this to say about the expression:

  • Color: Flower honey.
  • Aroma: Roasted oak, milk chocolate, pepper, apricot yogurt. The fragrance opens with the addition of a few drops of water, and is shades of orange peel, toasted muesli and peppermint.
  • Taste: At full cask strength, with an intense caramel taste explosion. The taste is drier than the aroma suggests with notes of burnt sugar, mint, malt and apricot.

What else did we sample in our “Ladies Choice” evening for the BMC gentlemen?

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Balmenach 26 year (1988/2015) 51.1%

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The last in our quest for great cask strength whiskies for around 100 pounds was from a distillery one rarely sees sitting on shelves.

We closed with Balmenach from the InverHouse stable… A distillery I now know better for their Caorunn gin than whisky!

Long have rumours run that there are plans to start producing official distillery bottles. I considered this session’s offering a sneak peak into what may come to more of us… in due course… hopefully…

balmenach-26

Balmenach 26 year (09.11.1988/07.09.2015) 51.1%

Hogshead Cask No 3242, 192 bottles, from Signatory

Here is what we found:

  • Nose – Smoky bacon, wet dish rag, high phenols, lots of pine tree, sweet leather, subtle, sun dried, sweet dry spices, more the hint of potential peat not smoke like vanilla scented candles
  • Palate – Lots of body, hazelwood, sweet, dusty, dry yet entirely pleasant, more of the cinnamon, nutmeg sweet spices, fruits and cream
  • Finish – Relatively short finish yet zero burn, a delicious spice
  • Water – Not required but also accommodated

This whisky was easy to enjoy, moved in one-way yet without a doubt the most interesting of the evening. In many ways, it was quite classic in character.

Like the other cask strength whiskies sampled, we set it aside for some time. In our revisit found oily bacon, less spice but overall quite nice and worked well with the cigars.

Overall, for most the Balmenach was the ‘winner’ of the quest and we would certainly want to explore more…

Billy Abbott’s tasting notes on TWE rang true:

  • Nose: Fruit salad to start – orange segments, apples, pears and tinned peaches. Sharper and weightier notes build, with oily touches joined by cut grass, vanilla toffee and raisin-studded shortbread biscuits. Softly floral waxiness sits underneath, combining singed candle wicks with heather and honeysuckle.
  • Palate: The buttery biscuits of the nose leap to the fore, with whipped cream and warming woody spice – cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Stewed apple peeks out from behind the spice, and charred staves and earthy dunnage notes sit beneath. Water unlocks fresh fruit and sweet cream.
  • Finish: Spicy to start, softening through apple pies and poached pears before liquorice and anise revive the heat.
  • Comment: Layers of fruit and spice with even more fruit revealed if you add a drop of water. Old-fashioned fruity whisky at its best.

What else did we sample in our trio?

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Longmorn 24 year (1990/2015) 53.7%

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Next up in our quest for a fabulous cask strength whisky around 100 pounds was Longmorn…

Now once upon a time the Longmorn 15 then 16 year was easily found on duty-free shelves, however it has become increasingly scarce… For quite some time now, a fellow Mumbai whisky lady has a standing request for any traveling folks to pick her up a bottle… in vain.

Needless to say, I was looking forward to a fine specimen. To graduate to 24 years and cask strength? This was anticipated with bated breath…

longmorn-24-year

Longmorn 24 year (24.09.1990/04.08.2015) 53.8%, Hogshead 216 bottles  (TWE The Single Malts of Scotland)

Here is what we found:

  • Nose – Sugar, spice and all things nice! Caramel, cardamon, toffee, yet also had fresh citrus zest, a sense of being oily, woodsy, sweet yet complex
  • Palate – Tasted like it smells… that oily quality was quite welcome, rose and orange peel
  • Finish – Dry wood, burn
  • Water – Kills the nose, to the extent it took on a wet bread quality, and the palate became curiously flat

Here we found a cask strength whisky that was optimal at cask strength. Water simply didn’t do it any favours – quite the opposite for us.

If the Linkwood was summer, the Longmorn was autumn… the discord between aroma and palate found in the Linkwood was in complete accord here, singing the same note in harmony.

Again we set it aside to see if it further evolved. The glasses with water were disappointing. The pure cask strength retained the earlier elements adding a sweet drizzle of dark honey.

What else did we sample in our trio?

PS – My friend and I eventually tracked down the “elusive” Longmorn 16 year – persistence pays off!

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Linkwood 24 year (1991/2015) 53.8%

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Our quest for great cask strength whiskies around 100 pounds began with a Linkwood…

Interestingly, our last session also featured a Linkwood – a rather delightful 25 year old from Gordon & Macphail. So hopes were high!

linkwood-24

Linkwood 24 year (16.061991/04.08.2015) 53.8%

Cask No 586497, 268 Bottles, Hogshead  (TWE The Single Malts of Scotland)

Here is what we found:

  • Nose – Quite summery, grass, vanilla, flowers, sweet, light, hay, light toast. As it opened further a little spice, honey, sweet tree sap. Post our initial sips, took on more wormwood, resin and the sweetness subsided
  • Palate – Great kick, a blaze of unexpected spice, big mouthful
  • Finish – An elongated burn
  • Water – With a few drops, spice and more burn… added more and started to open up

In short, this one needed water. A very generous dollop not a mere drop or two… bringing closer to 46% seemed a more balanced level.

I couldn’t help but wish we had the the Gordon & Macphail 25 year bottling to compare. At 43%, that Linkwood was truly superb. Fabulous value for a quite lovely whisky.

Whereas this one, at cask strength, had terrific promise on the nose but no follow through on the palate. It wasn’t that the whisky was ‘wrong’ it simply wasn’t really ‘right’ either.

We gave it even more time and returned after sampling the other whiskies… once again a lovely aroma yet just didn’t deliver on the taste. One even remarked this was a ‘heartburn’ whisky?!

Our quest was clearly off to a shaky start…

What else did we sample in our trio?

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Cask strength quality? Linkwood 24, Longmorn 24 and Balmenach 26

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Thanks to mad travel schedules, the Bombay Malt & Cigar club held our session early November… this time on a quest for cask strength quality below 100 pounds. All were from the prodigious Speyside region yet none were distillery bottles – two were from The Whisky Exchange with their Single Malts of Scotland series and the last from Signatory.

linkwood-balmenach-longmorn

Here are the bottles sampled in our quest:

As for whether we were successful in our quest? Jut click the links above to read about our experience…

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Kavalan Solist Bourbon Cask (2010) 58.6%

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Of all the whiskies we planned to sample, the one I was looking forward to the most was the Kavalan Solist.

Having recently tried the astounding intense burst of flavours of the cask strength Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask No S1001200358, the bar was set very high. Even recalibrating expectations for a bourbon rather than sherry cask, I was primed and ready for a treat!

Kavalan Solist Bourbon

Kavalan Solist Ex-Bourbon Cask No B101124001A (Bottle 102 of 230) 58.6%

  • Nose: Much brighter, almost floral with sweet honey, citrus fruits and a bit of banana thrown in for good measure… one could even suggest banana bread… as it continued to open up
  • Palate: For some it was a bit rougher than preferred for others quite smooth, largely on the sweeter side without spice or smoke, some slightly nutty elements
  • Finish: Slight spice and back to sweetness…

Now cask strength whiskies are not for everyone… however this Kavalan still clearly has the Taiwan climate advantage of more concentrated aromas and flavours in just a few years.

Just for those wanting to partially de-code Kavalan’s cask  no B101124001A

  • B = Ex-Bourbon cask
  • 10 = Put into a cask in 2010

Was it a stunner like its Sherry Cask cousin? Honestly no.

But what I must say is that by releasing so many single casks, Kavalan is really showing the world the range and variation found between casks.

Other Kavalan tasting experiences:

What else did we sample?

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Kilchoman Sherry Single Cask 60.6%

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Last in our Kilchoman peat explorations was the Kilchoman Sherry Single Cask matured completely in a sherry butt and bottled at cask strength.

Kilchoman Machir Bay, Sanaig, Sherry Cask

Kilchoman Machir Bay, Sanaig, Sherry Cask

  • Colour: Deep copper
  • Nose: Again such a contrast from the previous whiskies! Initial punch of blue stilton cheese, curd, then a hint of peat, some spice, buttery leather… as it opened a tight ball of citrus gradually opened
  • Taste: Spice, strength, boot leather, sits on the tongue
  • Finish: Waves of beautiful sherry peat
  • Water: Hmm… kicked up the spice even more when that was already a powerful element
Speculation: All thought it must be cask strength however none could imagine over 60%.
Reveal: This time, the Kilchoman was matured 100% in Oloroso Sherry butts. A powerful whisky and part of a special La Maison du Whisky “Trilogy” series. We sampled the:
Cask # 199/2010. Distilled 8 April 2010 & Bottled 31 August 2015. Bottle #204 of 642.

For those tuning in now, our Kilchoman evening featured:

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Aberlour 16 year (1995/2011) Cask No 2303 57.2%

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I will admit to having a weakness for a sherry bomb or two. While not my ‘everyday dram’, when in the mood for something robust and very berry good, nothing beats it.

Aberlour‘s A’bunadh is a particularly good example of a full cask strength sherry bomb that remains in the affordable category.

No surprise then that this 1st fill sherry cask Aberlour was a hit!

Last in our special “filled by hand” distillery trio, it was quite the whisky.

Hand filled Abelour 16 year

Hand filled Abelour 16 year

Aberlour 16 year (10 June 1995 / 6 Sept 2011) Cask No 2303 (1st fill sherry), Bottle No 180, 57.2%

Here is what we found:

  • Nose – Gorgeous sherry! Figs, plums, juicy dark fruit, nuts, christmas cake, chocolate, dates, orange peel, vanilla
  • Palate – Woodsy dry edge, bit bitter, light balsa then softened to settle into a balanced sweet, bursting with raisins
  • Finish – Rich plums
  • Water – Not necessary but doesn’t hurt. The little extra spice adds something, rounds it out further and opens up to reveal ginger

Overall – a very palatable, rich, sherry bomb that goes down beautifully well.

While thoroughly enjoyable, when it came time to chose my preferred dram to accompany my panatela cigar, I will admit reaching for the Glenmorangie as the Aberlour was fabulous to sample but almost too much ‘Christmas’ for the March heat in Mumbai.

Also part of our remarkable Cask Strength hand-filled whiskies evening:

Other Abelour’s sampled previously:

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Glenfiddich 15 year Batch 15 (2012) 55%

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After the remarkable Glenmorangie, next up in our exceptional evening of hand-filled cask strength whiskies was this Glenfiddich 15 year.

Glenfiddich is one of the classic single malts… a standard most have encountered and consumed at some point. Our host is particularly partial to the 15 year, hence this was his choice when selecting a whisky to hand fill at their distillery in Dufftown.

Glenfiddich 15 year

Glenfiddich 15 year (19 April 2012) Batch No 15, Bottle No 11/15, 55%

Here is what we found:

  • Nose – Honey, light fruit, black pepper, a little spice, wood, musty, floral, dash of vanilla
  • Palate – Plum, cherry sour, spice, warm, wood, sawdust, light sherry
  • Finish – Tart sour cherry that sweetens out
  • Water – Absolutely add it! Takes the acidity out and smoothes it.

This cask strength whisky is known as the “Distillery Edition” and we anticipated it to be “more” with greater complexity and character than the standard 15 year. It has been a long time since I had a Glenfiddich 15 year, so couldn’t add much to the debate on how they differ… however indeed felt privileged to sample a dram straight from the distillery.

The Glenfiddich tastings notes for this whisky:

  • Colour – Rich and golden
  • Nose – A complex aroma with sweet, fruity notes and delicate vanilla oakness. Addition of a little water releases a beautiful combination of heathery spiciness and rich fruit cake.
  • Taste – Silky smooth and warming when tasted at full strength. With the addition of water it produces intriguing layers of spice, sherry oak, marzipan, dark chocolate and ginger.
  • Finish – Long lasting with a lingering vanilla sweetness.

Also part of our cask strength hand-filled whisky evening:

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A very different Glenmorangie 10 year (1995/2006) Cask No 13038 59.3%

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Known as the ‘Speakeasy’ bottle, this particular Glenmorangie 10 year can only be purchased at the distillery in the ‘Speakeasy’ room which revives the alleged early practice of the workers setting aside casks of the finest malt for their own consumption, hidden from the prying eyes of the ‘Guagers’.

In this case, our host hand-filled this bottle nearly a decade ago at the distillery!

Let me repeat that… yes our host waited nearly 10 years to open this special cask strength Glenmorangie.

They say patience is a virtue. And no way could I ever have been so virtuous to hold on for ten years…

Lucky us, we merely had to enjoy… and enjoy we did!

Speakeasy Glenmorangie 10 year

Speakeasy Glenmorangie 10 year

Glenmorangie 10 year (1995 / 9 Nov 2006) Cask No 13038, Bottle No 45, 59.3%

Here is what we found:

  • Nose – Sherry! Citrus, honey, light cereals, vanilla, fresh yet toasted, a dash of perfume, more and more cinnamon. As it opened further out peeked banana cream and much more!
  • Palate – A gorgeous kick of character, lovely cinnamon, puff of smoke, a little oak, sawdust, kept shifting between sweet and spice and all things nice
  • Finish – Initially faint yet as the whisky opened further became a light sprightly spice then as it further evolved a long spicy cinnamon
  • Water – Not recommended. Dampened the complexity without bringing any significant advantage. Best had neat – all it needs is a little time to soften and settle into a very approachable yet sophisticated character.

What was particularly fabulous about this Glenmorangie is the shifts in character. It was like a book that slowly flipped to a new page, revealing something more as the evening unfolded.

While it started with a kick, it mellowed out completely, nice, smooth and well-rounded. The finish was another interesting element… at first light it grew into a very long beautiful finish.

It was my choice of the evening.

Glenmorangie Speakeasy

Another whisky afficianado shared:

On the 8th May, 2007 I bottled my own at the Glenmorangie Distillery. The cask No. 13038 which was filled in 1995. My bottle No. was 157 and and strength was 59.3%. 

I decided to keep it for a special occasion which was this week-end 30/9/12. Without doubt the best whiskey I have ever tasted and hope some day I can bottle another one.

Next up:

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