Sunday 14 June 2015

Glendronach 15 Year Old Revival Review

Glendronach 15 Year Old Revival - 46% abv.

I'd say that it occurs often that I am in a liquor store and someone comes in looking for the Macallan 18 Year Old. There is a certain easy-drinking, night-cappy and rich profile about that whisky that people seem to go for. I like that kind of thing at the right time as well. Macallan 18 is hard to come by or ridiculously expensive if you do find it. I'd say this Glendronach 15 year old aged in Oloroso Sherry casks is a phenomenal substitute and may even better that other whisky for a fraction of the cost. And its non-chill filtered with no colouring added and bottled at 46% alcohol which make it more of a "craft" presentation.

Colour: Rich brown with amber highlights.

Nose: Juicy raisins covered in chocolate. Dates. Dark-caramelized sugar. Sweet sherry with a bit of a punch to it. Some sort of citrus rind. Pepper.

Colour: rich sherry notes. Raisins, chocolate, bitter chocolate, white pepper. Right away, it takes me to that classic Macallan 18 year profile that seems so sought after. Its easy to drink but has lots of rich flavour. There may be a little liquorice in there or aniseed as well. A few drops of water spread this out really nicely without killing the lovely mouthfeel.

Finish: good persistence and it makes its way right down to your belly.

When would I drink this? This is a fantastic after-dinner dram and can double as a nice night cap. Feel free to bring this out with confidence as a gift for your boss or father-in-law or save it to share with them and look like you know what you are doing. 

Thursday 4 June 2015

Tomatin Cask Strength Batch 1 Review

Tomatin Cask Strength Limited Edition - 57.5 % abv. - Batch 1

Tomatin have finally done it. They've done a big cask strength release. I always wondered how this type of thing would turn out at Tomatin. Would they go for a total sherry bomb or something more balanced but powerful? Of course they did a bunch of the right things up front - no chill-filtering, no colour. This one is aged in a mixture of oloroso sherry butts and bourbon barrels.

Here goes...

Colour: full gold.

Nose: sweet and bold. Add a little water and I get a scent of apples cooking down in a pan with butter and brown sugar.

Palate: sweet and rich! Big! Like coffee with loads of brown sugar and some cream in it. Leads to spices and chocolate. Nice balance neat for such high strength. A little water brings out marzipan and and orange and orange peel along with the brown sugar sauce. There's still those spices too and some ginger at the back of the palate. Balance here is fantastic. Many cask strength editions are really huge in one direction - those are great too - but this one is more of a balanced one. Part sherry bomb and part full strength bourbon barrel edition. 

I suggest people play with this a bit. Start at full strength, add some water, taste, let it sit, add some water, etc. 

Finish: mid-long persistence making its way down into the chest. It leaves behind some spice and vanilla notes. 

This is another super solid product from Tomatin. I am impressed, and the price is reasonable too! A big, balanced malt with power and refinement. When would I drink this? In the evening on those days where you come home and nobody loves you, your wife doesn't understand you, your bank manager doesn't understand you, and the world is against you.

Monday 1 June 2015

Inchmurrin 18 Year Old Review

Inchmurrin 18 Year Old - 46% abv.

Here's another distillery bottling you don't hear about much: Inchmurrin. There is no Inchmurrin distillery any more that I am aware of - the modern Inchmurrin that is easily identified by its very modern packaging is actually a product of a column still at the Loch Lomond Distillery. For those who don't know, the Loch Lomond Group which includes Andrew Grey (formerly of Bruichladdich) owns Loch Lomond, Glen Scotia, and this Inchmurrin.

The good news is that, with Andrew Grey involved, he has brought with him from Bruichladdich the same philosophy of bottling un-chillfiltered, colouring-free whisky at 46% alcohol.  Everything they released for the past couple years from the Loch Lomond Group was aged 100% in American Oak and unpeated, however, I hear a brand revamp is coming in 2015 and that we'll likely get some sherry or wine cask finishes and some variety in the bottlings. 

Anyway, here is a note for the Inchmurrin 18. Its worth checking out, especially as a lighter summer dram. 
click photo to enlarge

Colour: 14 carat gold.

Nose: Pretty soft and a bit perfumed with scents of sweet cereal and lemon. A little of that cream soda note comes through too, which seems common for products of the Loch Lomond Distillery (in my experience).

Palate: soft and sweet. Honey cream and lemon peel.  A little salt mid palate. I want to say that I get a touch of mango or pineapple here. Add some water and things become a little less tangy and tart and a little more creamy. Good stuff. When you mash it all together in your brain, which makes sense here because it isn't a super layered and progressive palate, I think lemon meringue whisky is an appropriate description.

Finish: medium persistence with some sparkly lemon pop bubbles at the back of the palate. Finish is shorter, like to the the back of the throat.

This is more of a summer whisky to me. But one for the evening in the summer... softer and a little more mellow with some subtle development.  Good stuff! Don't look past this one just because you don't know it.