Tuesday 28 January 2014

2002 Glendronach Single Cask - KWM Exclusive

2002 Glendronach Single Cask - Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon - 11 Years old - Cask 708 - Bottle 326/602 - 55.4% abv.

I'm quite certain I haven't actually had a Glendronach offering yet so I am doing the first one in style. Bottled exclusively for Kensington Wine Market, this Glendronach single cask was aged for 11 years in a Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon.  

I've been learning lately that I am a big fan of stuff aged in PX casks. This Glendronach is proving to agree with that learning. 

Colour: deep amber lit by a setting sun (seriously)

Nose: Sticky raisin bread pudding all the way. Icing sugar. Really nice and very rich. There is fruit coming though there… dark cherries, maybe? Water opens this a bit and intensifies some of the fruit. Very soft aroma but lots of body to this nose.

Palate: soft given the alcohol on this one! Sweet and rich with lots of body. Sticky toffee pudding followed by a layer of sweet coffee. Not dry like typical oloroso aged examples can be - more mouth watering, actually. This is a sherry bomb without the bomb.  Adding a bit of water leaves this sweet and delicious and seems to bring out a further layer of delicate spices which work around the other flavours and the icing sugar. 

Finish: This finishes smoothly and relaxes into the throat and down the chest cavity with a gentle warmth. Where some cask strength whiskies aged exclusively in sherry casks can give a big blast of spice and heat this winds down into luxurious warmth. As it finishes, it really encourages me to come back and nose it some more.

When would I drink this? When you want a full-flavoured desert. This is good stuff!

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Glenfarclas 12 Year Old Review

Glenfarclas 12 Years Old - 43% abv.

We'll all like the super rare and sexy drams but, let's face it, core expressions are often fantastic and are inexpensive enough to allow the typical whisky lover to enjoy them as "daily drinkers."

Glenfarclas, as discussed in the past, is a fantastic independant and family owned distillery famous for scotch whisky aged in ex-sherry casks. Here we're talking about the 12 year old which is not what Glenfarclas is famous for - let's face it, we know them for their older expressions.  Let's shine a light on this one...

Colour: mid-to-dark amber

Nose: sweet with orange tones - orange marmalade, mayb? Nice, clean sherry notes that I recognize as typical for aging in oloroso sherry casks. Not heavy... fresher and with orange zest. Some molasses in there and I get some light coffee notes.

Palate: sweet and with classic Glenfarclas flavours but brighter and fresher rather than the super-matured notes 'farclas is probably famous for. Dark honey and orange zest with some juicy grape that leads to spices and a drying on the toungue. Side note - drying on the toungue also seems typical of aging in oloroso sherry casks. Its interesting that this does not cause a furry feeling on the roof of the mouth and toungue that I noticed in some other oloroso-aged whiskies recently. I suspect that feeling comes from sulfur contamination which Glenfarclas seems to have totally avoided in all its expressions.  Good stuff! This is clean and bright. Some butterscotch tones come through as you let it open as well.

Finish: medium. Drying. Doesn't seem to stretch quite as far into the chest as the more mature ones do. Not a negative thing, just saying!

Overall, this a very good daily dram if you are looking for a sherry aged profile. Clean and wel made.

Sunday 5 January 2014

Longrow Rundlets and Kilderkins Review

Longrow Rundlets and Kilderkins - 11 Years Old - 51.7% abv.

I always like picking up special bottlings when I can. Often times they have interesting stories and quite unique flavours. Springbank is a distillery that I enjoy in all of its forms (un-peated Hazelburn, lightly peated Springbank, and heavily peated Longrow) and I was excited to see when they put out this special Longrow.

Longrow Rundlets and Kilderkins is aged for 11 years in small casks referred to as rundlets and kilderkins. These are small (I believe) 60 and 80 litre casks. Typical casks would be in the range of 250 litres but could be much larger. The theory with the small casks is that putting whisky in smaller casks means more of the whisky is contact with wood therefore increasing the interaction between the spirit and the wood. Technically, this should mean that this 11 year old should taste as matured as a whisky done for much longer in traditional casks. I didn't bother to get the exact dimensions of the barrels to calculate the theoretical equivalent age of this 11 year old Longrow - disappointing, I know!

Interesting fact, though, is that aging in typical casks means losing approximately 0.7% alcohol and 0.8% water every year. According to the very funny Randal Watson from Springbank, these rundlets and kilderkins were losing between 7% and 8% total volume compared to the typical 1.5%! This was a labour of love of whisky rather than a money maker for sure! Oh, by the way, this is a limited run of 9,000 bottles.
click photo to enlarge - note, the photo was taken on a nice fall day and not on the -25 degree day the note was written on!

Colour: rich copper (colour is natural, by the way).

Nose: I think I get something like strawberries and orange marmalade. There is also a nice dose of smoke in there too. I am thinking the coopers made these small casks from oloroso sherry casks. There is a bit of a nutty aroma in there too which find typical of wine-cask aged peated malts. I get some dark, sticky dried dates in there too.

Palate: This has a thick mouthfeel that I find typical of Longrow products and is very pleasing. Sweet and smokey. Yum! Rich, dark orange marmalade, smoke and salt wave around in there.

I feel like I should add a touch of water to open this up a bit… the water opens it up into more fruit and smoke for sure. The mouthfeel stays which is great of this non-chillfiltered whisky. This really has those rich oloroso sherry-aged notes of orange and dried fruits and a nice layer of spices in there. A little chocolate is in there too.

FInish: The finish lasts a long time on this and goes right down to the belly. Great for this cold day outside!

Comments: Some might ask "does this taste older than 11 years?" Honestly, its hard to say, but my opinion is 'yes." I Think the colour would suggest a lot of interaction with the casks at least. The alcohol is 51.7% and it is quite easy-drinking neat and it has the thick texture. The development of the flavour profile suggests a lot of concentration has gone on too. 

Whatever the equivalent age, this is a really tasty peated dram with nice, rich flavours.

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Bruichladdich Octomore 4.2 Comus Review

Bruichladdich Octomore 4.2 Comus - 61% abv.

Happy New Year!

I'll cut to the chase. I was having troubles deciding what to drink to celebrate New Year's Day  2014. Usually I'd want something a little special and, since its been cold and rather humid and snowy lately, something warming. First world problems… I know.  So, it finally struck me - Octomore Comus.

People might think Octomore isn't elegant enough or sophisticated enough for this type of occasion but they'd be dead wrong. Here's why: this Octomore is ACE'd in Chateau Yquem sauternes casks which is the most delicate and celebrated sweet/desert wine in the world. Before I tasted this the first time, I thought the super heavy peat - 167 ppm phenols - would really beat up the delicate wine. I was totally wrong.


Click photo to enlarge

Colour: Pure gold. Certainly darker than Octomore 4.1 which is really a pale straw.

Nose: Its incredible how not-smokey this is on the nose. I really get wet heather and super ripe fruit with smoke floating through there. I also get sweet white grapes with lemon. The sauternes wine is actually dominating the Octomore peat. Crazy!

Palate: Wow! That is big and thick! The sweet plump grapes on arrival are incredible and the spirit feels so viscous on the tongue. It leads into a big wallop of Islay flavours and smoke. In the big hit the flavours are all mixed though. The texture is incredible. Another sip, then… yeah, we really get nice sauternes character - plump overripe white grapes and soft fruits - and then whoosh into intense, ashy smoke mixed with salt and fruit.  As the palate adjusts, its incredible how the intensity comes down and this becomes a finer, more delicate dram with maybe peach and soft pears showing up.  It really is juicy.

Finish: the finish is warming with the cheeks flushing and extending into the chest. Interestingly, the flavour doesn't linger quite as long as the unfinished 4.1. 

Comments: Its incredible how much the most delicate wine in the world has altered the mighty Octomore spirit. This is exactly why I'm a fan of Octomore and what Bruichladdich have done with it. It can be straight super heavily peaked whisky that is so complex and delicious or be ACE'd in different barrels to make such fine flavours that one would never expect. No matter what, though, it is always a huge experience.

For sure, there is nothing else in the world like this.