Tag Archives: Whisky Warehouse No 8

The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Allt á Bhainne, Benrinnes, Craigellachie, Dundalk Dew

Posted on by
Reply

For a whisky explorer, small 20 ml bottles are a perfect way to try! Enter the Whisky Warehouse No 8 quartet – a mix of different drams that made its way from Nuremberg to Winnipeg… and then waited for more than a year for just the right evening in October 2024!

We decided to try the drams in the following order…. Some were “Yes please”, some were “Not for me”. Overall it was good fun to split between the three of us!

  • Ireland – Dundalk Dew 9 year (2009) Single Grain  58,7 %
  • Speyside –  Craigellachie 12 year (2007) 50 %
  • Speyside – Allt á Bhainne 11 year (2008) 61,5%
  • Speyside – Benrinnes 23 year (1997) 1st Fill Barrique Chateau Lafite 55.9%

We naturally started with the Irish grain, anticipating it would be a nice way to ease into our tasting set.

Dundalk Dew 9 year (June 2009 – Sep 2018) Single Grain, Bourbon Barrel Cask No W8118  58,7 %. 126 Bottles

  • Nose – Curious… it began a bit musty, then florals, some cereals, honey, opening further into cream and vanilla
  • Palate – Had a strength of character with no harshness, surprisingly balanced, uncomplicated yet imminently sippable, some bitter tart crisp apples
  • Finish – Not much but then not much was expected either

For a young grain, it was quite remarkable. There was a fresh summery quality – a nice warm weather dram where the appealing aromas follow through with a pleasant palate.

Rather a nice way to begin our evening!

We carried on with the Craigellachie – opting for a touch of sherry at a lower ABV over the Allt á Bhainne at 61.5%!

Craigellachie 12 year (Oct 2007 – Dec 2019) Olorosso Sherry Hogshead Cask No W8 900680 50,5%. 279 Bottles

  • Nose – Sour mash, apple sauce, toffee, over-ripe peaches, eases into red striped caramel hard candy
  • Palate – Bland… a bit blah actually with just generic fruit
  • Finish – Limited

Without water, it wasn’t much. The sour mash and over-ripe fruit aromas were almost overwhelming. However with water? It was a different dram entirely!

  • Nose – Is that toast and butter? Slathered in marmalade
  • Palate – Smooth honeyed sweetness
  • Finish – Lingers

As we contemplated our glasses, it was hard to think this was the same whisky! The more time in the glass, the warmer and more enjoyable it became.

Next up was another Speyside – this time from Allt á Bhainne – I believe the first I’ve tried from their distillery. Interestingly, it has a Canadian connect –  founded in 1975 by Seagrams, passing to Pernard Ricard, assigned to its Chivas Regal division, largely used in blends with a period of even mothballed for a couple of years before being re-activated in 2005.

Allt á Bhainne 11 year (Aug 2008 – Jan 2020) Garrison Bourbon Cask No W8 120815 61,5%. 72 bottles

  • Nose – Ah! Now we are talking! We were greeted by orchard fruits – crisp green apples and pears, then it shifted into chocolate and fruit – think a high-end orange peel and dark chocolate. Yum! The more it opened, the more enticing it became – strawberry and cream
  • Palate – Quite a bit of spice – not so surprising at 61.5%! Warm
  • Finish – Sweet spices of cloves and cinnamon
  • Water – Do try. Whilst it dampens the nose, it does wonders for the palate. Whilst it still has a prickle of spice, it is now more like Christmas pudding with a warm whisky sauce than hot spice!

This one really grew on us… I wasn’t sure what to expect but this dram had promise.

Last up we went to an older Benrinnes. Now I must admit, I’ve had some mixed experiences with this distillery.

Benrinnes 23 year (Oct 1997 – July 2021) 1st Fill Barrique Chateau Lafite Cask No W8 5721 55.9%. 84 Bottles.

  • Nose – Woah? Is that peat? Yup! A clean dry wood smoke – unmistakable and completely unexpected. Think apple wood chips smoldering. Also hay bales, roasted hazelnut.
  • Palate – Start well then changes, catching one at the back of the throat, unbalanced
  • Finish – More smoke
  • Water – Like the others – water is recommended. It makes it a bit more approachable

I was prepared for a great or disappointing experience. However, I was not prepared for peat. Which is a good reminder to keep an open mind and be ready to be surprised!

What about prior explorations from Whisky Warehouse No. 8? Over the last couple of years, we’ve sampled a few – with the Glencadam 8 being exceptional! Here is a short summary:

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

The Warehouse Dram Braon Peat Batch 8, 56.5%

Posted on by
Reply

Germany has many independent bottlers and one that caught our fancy during the COVID period was Whisky Warehouse No 8 for their well put together sample boxes. In one of these, we were introduced to Braon Peat – which is their Scottish peat expression from an undisclosed distillery.

Their Braon Peat Batch 7 was a complete hit! So I was requested to “pretty please” bring a bottle from Germany to London for a special evening in October 2023. I was naturally happy to oblige, picking up their Batch 8 expression.

So what did we think?

Braon Peat (27 Sept 2021) Refill Sherry Cask, Batch 8, 56.5%  

  • Nose – Warm campfire, smoked ham, toasted scones, a sweet and sour apple sauce, sweetmeats, herbal
  • Palate – A luscious sweet peat, well rounded, great balance and mouthfeel, with just a hint of spice, some fatty oily nuts
  • Finish – Lingering smoke and spice, truly lasts and lasts
  • Water – Not needed but opens it up, accentuating the nutty element

It was instantly identified as Caol Ila. And overall is quite a satisfying peat dram – delicious. Even better, for a solid performer, it doesn’t break the bank account.

Official Tasting notes from an earlier batch:

  • Nose : Warm smoke with some dry dust, oily-fleshy with sweet molasses notes, machine hall, slightly herbal like dried oregano.
  • Flavor : The peat notes are in the foreground, the whiskey comes across as a bit meaty, yet surprisingly herbal at the same time, as if the meat had been preserved in mallow leaves beforehand. Although you look in vain for fruity notes, the whiskey has a slightly sweet taste.
    With dilution, some malty crispness is revealed and the peat notes are less meaty.
  • Finish : Oily, intensely peaty with some black pepper and long lasting.

Would we agree? Most certainly!

I purchased this bottle in April 2022 for Eur 60 – actually two bottles for Eur 120! One bottle made it to London in October 2023 and the other to India.

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Mixed Malts

Posted on by
Reply

As we were exploring the last Whisky Warehouse No 8 regions quartet, we were already thinking ahead to what next? Well here it is! Three sets were ordered to make their way to London, Paris and Nuremberg…. So what did we chose?

New Whisky Warehouse No 8 set:

  • Ireland – Dundalk Dew 9 year (2009) Single Grain  58,7 %
  • Speyside – Allt á Bhainne 11 year (2008) 61,5%
  • Speyside –  Craigellachie 12 year (2006) 50,5 %
  • Speyside – Benrinnes 23 year (1997) 1st Fill Barrique Chateau Lafite 55.9%

Then the next challenge came – when to schedule a virtual tasting? A year passed and another.. so this lovely little set instead made its way from Europe to Canada for a quiet evening of exploration.

What about prior explorations from Whisky Warehouse No. 8? Over the last couple of years, we have been on a roll!

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Braon Peat 57.5%

Posted on by
Reply

Last in our Whisky Warehouse No. 8 quartet was a contrast between Braon Peat and Inchfad! I’d hoped to try Braon Peat but alas after ordering was informed it was no longer available – sigh… so the Inchfad 14 year was sent instead. Whereas with the Miltonduff substitution – clearly the PX Sherry 14 year trumped the ex-Bourbon 11 year, it was the opposite here – Braon Peat had the Inchfad beat!

So…. what did my tasting companions think of their dram?

Braon Peat Batch 7 (15 April 2019) 57.5%

  • Nose – First whiff was smoked bacon, apples, sweet beef jerky then back to apples and pears
  • Palate – An explosion – very sweet, peat, “full meal deal!”, meaty with a great mouthfeel
  • Finish – Smoke and spice and everything nice with a long finish

In short, they loved it! They particularly enjoyed how it was sweet peat, perfectly in balance.

What do the folks at Whisky Warehouse No 8 have to say about their Braon Peat?

The latest batch of Braon Peat lives up to its name ‘peat drop’ because ‘peat as peat can’ applies here! There aren’t many whiskies that showcase their peaty side with o much impact in the glass. This is mitigated with a little thinning, but then it’s not that much fun anymore. You’re really looking forward to the coming winter time with horiztonal sleet showers and cold feet. These will be the moments when you want the Braon Peat in your hip flask.

  • Odour: Warm smoke with some dry dust, oily-fleshy with sweet molasses notes, machine hall, slightly herbal like dried oregano.
  • Taste: The peat notes are in the foreground, the whiskey comes across as a bit meaty, while at the same time surprisingly herbal, as if the meat had been previously marinated in mallow leaves. Although one searches in vain for fruity notes, the whiskey has a slightly sweet taste. With dilution, some malty crispness is revealed and the peat notes are less meaty.
  • Finish: Oily, intensely peaty with some black pepper and long lasting.

As for the Inchfad? It was more or less what we found when tasting with an earlier set.

What more did we have in our WW8 Regions set?

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Miltonduff 11 year vs 14 years

Posted on by
Reply

A year ago I ordered two “Regions” sets from Whisky Warehouse No 8 with the intention to enjoy together at some point… then we decided to include another friend and I went to order a 3rd set… alas not all of the original whiskies were the same! We both had the Speyside region represented by Miltonduff however they couldn’t be more contrasting!

My friends sampled the Miltonduff 11 years (8 Feb 1995 – 30 Oct 2015) Bourbon Hogshead 59.5% 363 Bottles…

Whereas the new set included the Miltonduff 14 year (Jun 2007 – July 2021) WW8 76 1st Fill Px Sherry Octave 50.4% (76 bottles).

Gotta admit, I think I hit the jackpot on this one – the PX Sherry was fabulous whereas my friends were not quite so enthusiastic about their ex-Bourbon Hogshead. What did I find?

  • Colour – Dark amber
  • Nose – Stewed apples with cinnamon and brown sugar, ginger and toffee, roofsa (rose), sweetly sour.. incredibly inviting
  • Palate – Wow! What an intense burst of flavours! All you would expect from a great sherry matured whisky – full-bodied, dark fruits and berries, chocolate, salty toffee… ginger marmalade… all swirling around in an indulgent smooth dram
  • Finish – And what a finish! Fabulous… simply fabulous…

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It had that satisfying “proper” classic whisky quality. This is the kind of dram you’d love to curl up with on a quiet evening after coming in from the cold.

What did my friends find with theirs?

Miltonduff 11 years (8 Feb 1995 – 30 Oct 2015) Bourbon Hogshead 59.5% 363 Bottles

  • Nose – Vegetal, wood varnish, seaside, yeast, raw sourdough, a hint of smoke
  • Palate – A bit spicy, malty, doughy,
  • Finish – Also a bit spicy

My friends found the aromas a bit underwhelming however enjoyed the palate more. As I read the Tasting Notes from WW8, they didn’t disagree.

Miltonduff 11 years (8 Feb 1995 – 30 Oct 2015) Bourbon Hogshead 59.5%

With this whiskey you probably look at the label and rub your eyes in amazement. Because from a Bourbon barrel maturation one normally expects a much leaner, less voluminous whiskey than this Miltonduff, which is not stingy with its charms. In a blind tasting, it would probably have passed as a wine-barrel-aged whiskey due to its fruity notes and the pastry / biscuit relationship.
  • Odor: Ripe fruity, almost creamy and a bit nutty, freshly baked sponge cake that still looks a bit doughy, grainy, and vanilla-like, there is even a trace of smoke in the background.
  • Taste: Again fruity and doughy biscuit, grainy. But now there are also spicy notes such as orange pepper, a little cardamom and a hint of sweet licorice, wood aromas from ripening are still cautious. With dilution, more nutty aromas appear again.
  • Aftertaste: It is mainly the spicy notes that come to the fore in the aftertaste and now there is also a maltiness that was previously hidden.

What else did we have in our WW8 Regions set:

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Port Dundas 10 year 47.9%

Posted on by
Reply

Port Dundas distillery closed in 2011, demolished by its owners Diageo two hundred years after its operations began. The folks at Whisky Warehouse No 8 selected this discontinued grain as the Lowland whisky for its regions set. And what a chance to taste something that will not be repeated!

So… what did we think?

Port Dundas 10 year (26 Oct 2009 – 31 Oct 2019) Refill Sherry Hogshead 47.9% (288 bottles)

  • Colour – Dark amber
  • Nose – Moss, seaweed, wet leaves, petrol… then began to shift into Port, prunes, cherry syrup, herbal with a medicinal edge…. then after the 1st sip delightful vanilla cream, rum raisins
  • Palate – Oh my! What a contrast! It reminded us of a dark single rum such as Criterion or Hampden…. super smooth, heavy and rich, molasses and wood elements… all of this in the 1st sip! As we went in for the 2nd sip, we
  • Finish – Consistent with the palate… rummy and long
  • Water – We didn’t add but instead took a nice swig of cold water between sips… brought out more of the dark fruits and berries, tempering the rum quality slightly

Wow! This was quite an interesting one! It was hard to believe it was a ‘mere’ grain, however, we’ve learned to not underestimate the liquid magic that makes a blend.

We found it had such a distinctive character with a huge difference between nose and palate. And whilst we knew it was a refill sherry cask, the intense rum flavours from just 10 years in a refill sherry hogshead was remarkable.

What more did we have in ourWW8 Regions set?

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Deanston 10 year 57.3%

Posted on by
Reply

It was a full year ago that I picked up this Whisky Warehouse No 8 Regions set. My virtual tasting companies from London and Paris suggested we start with the Highland Deanston – which turned out to be a capital idea!

So what did we think?

Deanston 10 year (Sep 2009 – Oct 2019) WW8 108 Bourbon Barrel 57.3%

  • Nose – Mmmmm…. apple pastry – like a sweet cinnamon baked apple crisp topped with brown sugar and oats, mellowed into apple sauce then shifted into something a bit more tart – reminded us more of crabapple or guava….
  • Palate – Equally yummy! More of that delicoius pastry, some toffee, super smooth with lovely body and depth, nice spice
  • Finish – Quite a decent finish – lingers with a bit of that light spice
  • Water – Didn’t even occur to us – surprising given this was our 1st dram of the evening at 57.3%!

What we concluded is that was a perfect start to our evening of tasting. We couldn’t imagine this was cask strength! Smooth and sweet, this whisky was an absolute delight. 

I couldn’t find any official tasting notes for this one.. however, it looks like it is still available – remarkable!

What more did we have in our WW8 Regions set:

What about prior explorations from Whisky Warehouse No. 8?

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Regions

Posted on by
Reply

So how many Scottish regions are there? Six (Campbeltown, Highland, Island, Islay, Lowland, Speyside), five (dropping the unofficial Island) or in the case of The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 there are four regions represented in their tasting set:

I picked up two sets of the initial quartet in early February 2021 – one for me and one for my tasting companions in Paris. Our tasting session kept getting postponed and our London friend also wanted to join, so in October 2021 a third set was acquired with two substitutions: Miltonduff 14 instead of 11 year and Inchfad 14 year (02/2005 – 04/2019) 55.5% for the Braon Peat. It still took until February 2022 – yes one year later! – to finally sit down and taste together.

It was such a terrific experience that we enthusiastically ordered another set from Whisky Warehouse No. 8! So don’t be surprised if the list of tastings from this German independent bottler grows longer. In the meantime, here are a few more we’ve tasted so far….

We’ll openly admit we also really like the wooden box with its 2 cl bottles that can tightly seal and hence travel well. They have become my preferred way to carry samples across borders. Whilst a 3 cl bottle is preferable if sharing with another, for one person we truly find 2 cl more than enough to get a good feel for a whisky’s character.

With Whisky Festivals still curtailed or limited, being able to explore this way has been terrific fun – all thanks to an introduction at The Village whisky fest in Nurnberg back in 2020.

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

PS – Photo reproduced from Whisky Warehouse No. 8 website

The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Inchfad (Loch Lomond) 14 year 55.5%

Posted on by
Reply

Loch Lomond goes by many names… From Loch Lomond to Inchmurrin to Inchmoan to Croftnegea – including Inchfad like this one. We speculated that this is all a marketing ploy – different brand names for slightly different expressions to tease the curious to select. Do we fall for it? Of course!

However above all, what matters is what we discover when explore… so for the last in our The Warehouse Collection quartet, we dove into this cask strength Loch Lomond dram!

Inchfad (Loch Lomond) 14 year (Feb 2005 – April 2019) Bourbon Hogshead Cask W8 438 55.5%, 300 Bottles

  • Nose – Oh my! Is that Pringles BBQ chips? However a curious thing happened, we went from hello peat to huh? Was there peat? Porridge, wet leaves, a bit metallic
  • Palate – Light peat was back, a bit spicy, coppery, a herbal medicinal quality
  • Finish – Limited
  • Water – To be honest, don’t think we even tried!

Our first thought was – better than the Glenturret (this was before the revisit) – has some “oomph!” and character, however… was it something that really stood out for us? Not really.

However like all the whiskies we sampled that evening, we set it aside and revisited. Interesting! After some time there was fruit, a dash of ginger, a bit of honey spice. It certainly improved after some time to open up… becoming an enjoyable drinking dram.

Curious about other Loch Lomond experiences?

What else did I try in the Whisky Warehouse No. 8 “Last Chance” set?

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Bunnahabhain 14 year 56.7%

Posted on by
Reply

Long back, a very talented multi instrumental, multi country music buddy encouraged “Bunna” explorations as his kind of Islay – not really peaty but having substance and character to spare. Over the years, I’ve had mixed experiences – some excellent, some so so and some that didn’t quite do it for me.

Bunnahabhain 14 year (24 Oct 2002 / 31 Oct 2016) Bourbon Hogshead No. 3048, 56.7% 307 Bottles

  • Nose – Initially greeted us with quite a distinctive coconut oil… which settled down into salt water taffy, candied guava, fresh bread, orange comfy or cointreau, even a bit of coffee candy, swirling about with a hint of smoke too – more like an echo or subtle embers than a live burn…overall leaving an impression of fruity
  • Palate – Silky smooth… some salted caramel, spicy desert, herbal, buttery… with a wee bit of even peanut butter, richly rolling around nicely on the tongue
  • Finish – Lovely and long, delicious
  • Water – No need… truly

I have to confess that this is without a doubt the best Bunnahabhain I’ve had in a long time. Even better as it sits in the glass, opening up more and more. While a different character, there was an element of the lightly salted ‘buttery’ quality that made us think of the insanely delicious Aveux Gourmands.

As for the folks at Whisky Warehouse No. 8? I’ve taken the liberty to ‘google translate’ my way through Julia’s terrific tasting notes:
Whiskeys from Bunnahabhain are always good for a surprise and this single barrel is no exception. Anyone who wants to deduce the taste from the nose impressions of this bottling will be amazed at how different the whiskey ultimately behaves on the palate. At least one can rely on the well-known attributes of most Bunnahabhain bottlings: hardly any wood, a little salt and a good balance of all aromas.
  • Nose: Soft and fully ripe fruit notes such as cherries, star fruit and lychees. Underneath there is a layer of salty peat that has a slightly medicinal effect, but also a damp campfire that was already burning the day before.
  • Taste: Spicy like in a hay barn, herbal notes like dried thyme and thistles, slightly nutty and almond-like, the fruit notes linger in the background, but they now appear much fresher and crisper. The peat and smoke notes also remain surprisingly restrained.
  • Finish: It is especially the herbal notes that stay on the palate for a long time and become dry towards the end. Very late, a pinch of fleur de sel tickles the taste buds.

What about other Bunnahabhain explorations?

My “Last Chance” set also contained:

If you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on: