Three tips for whisky tasting order…

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Carissa Hickling

For those new to Whisky Lady in India, many of the notes come from tasting sessions of a small private whisky group based in Mumbai.

For those not familiar with the approach our whisky tasting club takes… here’s a snapshot:

Meet once a month, same time, same day and week of the month
Rotate hosts with the host responsible for ‘curating’ the evening
Taste blind!

Which means only one person (i.e. the whisky contributor/host) knows what is being served. That puts him / her firmly in the ‘driver’s seat’ as far as whisky selection and tasting order.

Over the years, we’ve tended to apply three simple guidelines. They may seem obvious but can also produce surprises too.

Hello peat! (The Whisky Exchange)

Peat

Naturally we pay attention to peat levels – it is hard to appreciate an exquisite delicate grain whisky after a peat monster!

However usually, the host also has not tried the whisky before our session so relies on the distiller or bottler tasting notes or others reviews – sometimes the descriptions are a bit misleading.

When 60% seemed like high 40s%! (Whisky Lady)

Strength

We may pay attention to alcohol strength – you don’t want to whallop your guests with a bold cask strength whisky at 60+% then follow with a wimpy 40% strength. However when all the whiskies are in the 45 – 55 % range, this is less of a factor.

We’ve also been surprised by some incredibly smooth cask strength whiskies that are highly deceptive in their alcohol level – one time we guessed at most 48% and it turned to be 63.1%!

Whisky age trivia (Scotchfest 2015)

Age

Another way to order whiskies for tasting is by age. Generally, young whiskies with an interesting new make spirit have some character but are still developing whereas there are certain levels of nuance and complexity that really only comes with maturity.

If the young upstart comes after a grand old dame, you may miss appreciating some of what the youngster has to offer. However equally, we’ve had a 25 year old be completely outclassed by a young No Age Statement (NAS) whisky.

So… while these are tips that generally work, half the fun is discovering how in the world of whisky, there are exceptions to every rule!

Additionally, it isn’t one factor alone but a combination that helps make the tasting order decision.

Most important is simply to go on a journey of discovery and explore what works for you!

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Ledaig 18 year 46.3%

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Carissa Hickling

Our June 2015 monsoon tasting trio featured whiskies from Ireland, USA and Scotland:

Tullamore D.E.W. Phoenix 55%
Westland cask no 395 54.6%
Ledaig 18 year 46.3% – this one!

The Scottish contribution may have been last but was definitely not the least!

Ledaig 18 year (Whisky Lady)

Ledaig 18 year 46.3%

Nose – Opening up a box of biscuits, the dive deep into the forest with wet moss, dripping in humidity, whiff of smoked bacon that became increasingly prominent, some fruit cake or Christmas pudding, fresh sawed lumber, sea salt, cod liver oil, musty
Taste – A meaty peaty, chewy body… As our host shared, as a vegetarian, the whisky simply doesn’t fall into a vegetarian profile so she had no real reference point! Tumeric, smokey tobacco, smooth and oddly mild, oily
Finish – Sweet, salty but significant. Some thought it had a salty bitter quality.

Ledaig is a whisky line from the Tobermory distillery – the only whisky distillery on the Isle of Mull. While it hearkens its origins to 1798, it has a checkered history with a revolving door of owners, times when the doors shut then re-opened and is currently owned by Burn Stewart Distillers who also own Deanston and Bunnahabhain distilleries.

The Tobermory distillery produces whiskies in various avatars:

The peated single malt Ledaig expressions
Some whiskies – both single malts and blends – under the Tobermory brand
And can be found in blends like Scottish Leader and Black Bottle

We previously sampled the Ledaig 1997 (bottled in 2013 i.e. 16 yr) – this had some elements in common yet the 18-year-old was distinctively more ‘meaty’.

Ledaig 18 label (Whisky Lady)

Official tasting notes:

A wonderfully smoky island single malt Scotch whisky which balances sweet and floral aromas with the richness and warmth of sea salt and smoke.

This 18 Year Old Ledaig represents the rebirth of the style of malt whisky that would have originally been produced at the distillery.

This sought after peated Hebridean style Single Malt Scotch Whisky balances rich and fruity, sherried smokiness with seaweed and light creosote that allows for a long and quite pungent finish with more smoke and a hint of liquorice and sea spray. Unchill-filtered @ 46.3% ABV.

Each whisky in our June tasting session was completely different from the others. For some, the winner of the day the American Westland – showing what quality, care and creativity can accomplish! For others, it was the Ledaig.

Monsoon trio – Tullamore DEW Phoenix, Westland Cask No 395, Ledaig 18 year (Whisky Lady)

Compass Box – The Peat Monster 46%

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Carissa Hickling

A recent visit to La Maison du Whisky in Singapore provided a chance to try two new Compass Box offerings. Which prompted a desire to revisit our Compass Box trilogy evening…

Tasting Notes from 21 August 2014

Following our standard approach, we tried ‘blind’ different whiskies before unveiling a theme night of three remarkable blends from Compass Box: Great King Street Artist’s Blend, Spice Tree and The Peat Monster.

The Peat Monster 46%

Colour – Again back to a lighter wheatish shade à la Great King Street Artist’s Blend
Nose – Instant Wow! Peat, rubber, a little blue cheese …. After the first powerful notes faded, revisiting was like the waft on opening a closed closet in the rains – that peculiar queer monsoon mold odour!
Palate – Peat and ash with mellow spice, not so much smoky as just a well-rounded complex peat, surprisingly smooth for such a forceful dram
Finish – Oh baby! A peaty ash, sweet and not harsh at all…. 5 mins after sipping, it still remained romancing ones taste buds…
Add water? Oops! We missed trying that… somehow it was just one we enjoyed ‘as is’ without the temptation to try a few drops of pani

Our blind verdict? Yummy yummy! Well worth revisiting during those moments where you need something to just envelope in rich peaty warmth!

The unveiling – Don’t let the name dissuade you! Yes The Peat Monster is peaty but it is also exceptionally balanced.

As Compass Box describes it

“combines extremely smoky malt whisky from Islay with medium-peated Highland whiskies to create a balanced and approachable monster, but a monster nonetheless. Enjoy!”

And yes… enjoy it we did!

Comment of the night

“The Peat monster had a queer smell but was certainly not monstrous enough to scare any of us.”

The unveiling was a visual treat. Compass Box takes creative design of the bottles as seriously as the blending. For several, the evening favourite was Spice Tree, however all are well worth trying!

Now… I’ve had my eye on The General but that price tag in Singapore is definitely a deterrent…

Other Compass Box treats sampled:

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Ardbeg Uigeadail 54.2%

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Carissa Hickling

When Jim Murray was influencing us to guess an Islay when sampling blind the Amrut Peated, the closest I could think was perhaps an Ardbeg expression.

So when I found myself a few days later in slightly peaty mood, decided to go for a ‘real’ Ardbeg.

Of the Ardbeg stable, the Uigeadail has become a ‘classic’. A bottle of it also just happens to find its home in my cabinet… So why not revisit?

Ardbeg Uigeadail (Whisky Lady)

Ardbeg Uigeadail NAS 54.2%

What did I find?

Colour – Light gold
Nose – Hello peat! With a dash of espresso, then a delightful curl of maple syrup, underneath a whiff of iodine, then liquorice
Taste – Peaty dancing around a camp fire! A bit of tar, like chewing the end of a cigar, an odd almost flat cola flavour, raisins…
Finish – Smoky, dry, rubber… then elements of dried apricot
Water – Cranks up the spice… then mellows out with the peaty smoke enveloping, chased by sherry sweetness. Doesn’t harm but doesn’t really enhance.
Ice – I threw in a mini cube (gasp!) Not something I’m inclined to try with most whiskies – however we have now entered into the post Holi ‘warm’ season so decided to risk. And? Let’s just say it doesn’t do wonders for the nose however it brightened and lightened up the whisky. Can’t say it works for me. Maybe I’m just too stuck on the ‘no ice’ adage.

What was my conclusion after the revisit?

Well.. I can understand why Uigeadail has its fan club. It is also priced reasonably. What it pulls off best is bringing a chewy peatiness without clobbering you over the head with it.

Personally, I prefer it best neat and it has been nice to have around for those times when the peaty mood strikes!