Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 Review

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 Rockside Farm - 50% abv.

Well it took it forever to come to Alberta - like 16 months after its actual release - but I finally got a bottle of Bruichladdich Islay Barely 2007 here in Calgary. I'm sad it took so long but it was worth the wait. This is probably the best vintage Islay Barely released so far (2004 and 2006 preceded this one).  I've reviewed the 2006 previously as well which stood out to me for its floral and creamy character.

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Before I get going, I'd like to commend Bruichladdich for helping lead the way on something here. This bottle is probably the first distillery bottling (other than Octomore releases) I've seen with an actual age statement under 10 years old. This one categorically states "6 Aged Years." Thank you for this! I will happily drink young whisky but I like to know what I am drinking rather than have it hidden from me as so many do.

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Nose: sweet floral scents are the first thing on the nose - like some flowers are just after a summer rain. You smell that sweet pollen. This is unpeated yet I get a hint of smoke or char in there and that will almost certainly be due to this being filled into first-fill bourbon casks which are charred on the inside and can release a bit of smokey, BBQ effect into the whisky's profile. Altogether pleasant nose!

Palate: Softer than previous releases. Honey. Lemon. Salt. That very light char from the nose is here too.  Fresh yet quite mellow. Coastal. Delicious. This has a nice richness to it while staying vibrant. Moves from sweet honey on the way in to a nice salty tang mid-palate to a lemon zest a the back of the palate. There is also a bit of a perfumed quality to this that reminds me a bit of the Laddie Twenty Two. That's a good thing... family resemblance.

Finish: Finishes with some warmth at the back palate and in the throat and makes to below the Adam's apple. The persistence is long as usual for Bruichladdich and if you chew a bit after swallowing, the light tinge of smokey char shows up - again, quite light.

A pleasant dram! When would I drink this? Any time, really. Works well as a mid-day drink or apperitif but I've found it has enough richness to make sense on some evenings too. Truly honest whisky! Age isn't everything, but I really wonder what this would be like at 10 or 15 years old! I also wonder if we'll ever see some Islay Barley releases with some cask exploration... sherry or wine or something?

I will be visiting Bruichladdich in a few months and cannot wait. This Islay Barley makes me wish I was there already!

Tomatin 12 Year Old French Oak Review

Tomatin 12 Year Old French Oak - 46% abv.

Tomatin's graced North America with a special edition 12 year old whisky that was aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then decanted into some French Oak casks for a finish. I jumped on a bottle of this the first day it showed up in my local store for two reasons: I trust Tomatin and French Oak aging is pretty rare.

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Colour: Gold with a touch of copper

Nose:  Soft and a sweet with bitter chocolate and orange. Some nice sugars in there too. Water opens the nose and makes the chocolate more milky. 

Palate: lovely velvety texture with a sweet arrival that moves to a more herbal and a bit drier feeling at the back of the palate. Good balance - not to sweet, not to savoury, not to bitter. i get semi-sweet chocolate. I get orange. I get orange peel. I get some mint on the tail end. There might be a bit of banana in there. Its lighter in style like a bourbon cask aged whisky but there is nice richness and other flavours there from the french oak. 

Adding water to this is a good idea - it kind of spreads it out. I get golden yellow sugar. I get chocolate. I get orange (like navel oranges). I get more mint at the back of the palate. The slight bitter note goes away as well. Very nice stuff! Easy drinking. I like it.

Finish: good medium persistence and makes it down the throat past the Adam's apple with a minty fresh feeling. 

When would I drink this? It can be had any time, really. I tend to like it in these fall/winter days where I happen to crave something a little lighter but with enough richness to suit the colder weather.

Another solid Tomatin! Not expensive either... I'd imagine this making a good gift for folks on a budget.

Tomatin 18 Year Old Review

Tomatin 18 Year Old - 46% abv.

Well here is review number 50. A round number that I thought deserved a special whisky for review. I've chose something from one of my favourite distilleries, Tomatin, for this one. I drink good whiskies all the time but every once in a while you come across those ones that are just of a special quality. When I come across bottles of intrinsic quality like this, I like the idea of getting a second to put away for later just in case the future batches are different or the distillery stops making the product. I think Tomatin 18 Year Old finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks fits in this category.

For the record, the Tomatin 18 is aged in bourbon barrels for 15 years and then decanted into Oloroso Sherry casks for 3 additional years. Tomatin used to take some 15 year old and bottle it (previously reviewed Tomatin 15) but they've stopped that now to preserve the stock to make the 18 year old.  The 18 is non-chill filtered with no colouring added and is bottled at 46% alcohol.

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Colour: Full gold with a hint of amber.

Nose: Orange peel, banana, toffee, brown sugar, a hint of mint. Soft and full on the nose.

Palate: mellow and sweet on entry. Leads with oaky caramels and orange peel and leads into a hint of mint. Lots of flavour but still soft. No heat on the palate - just mellow warmth. Another sip brings a little banana, a touch of chocolate, some more orange, a hint of vanilla extract and brown sugar and some mint again on the back of the palate. The layers of desert-like flavours play off the layers of citrus notes and feed into the soft and fresh mint so well... its sweet but never too sweet and so well balanced. A lovely layered development with a mellowness and consistency that seems to only truly happen with age. 

Finish: finishes so nicely with flavours lingering and the liquid coating your insides all the way down to your belly with a soft warmth.

When would I drink this? This is the kind of whisky to share with your boss or father-in-law with confidence that they will leave thinking you know what you are doing. Unfortunately for those guys, I'm not sure that I'd want to share this with anyone. Yes its one of those ones. For sure an evening dram by the dying embers of a fire. Truly a whisky of high intrinsic quality from a distillery that always seems to produce fantastic product.

A tip: I like to let this whisky open up with time rather than adding any water to it. Water doesn't kill it or anything, but it is so mellow already I prefer not to add it in mine. So that doesn't mean that you sit there in stare at it for an hour but it does mean you should leave it a few minutes after pouring and then savour it slowly. It is very good to start and does open up.

Kilchoman Port Cask Matured Review

Kilchoman Port Cask Matured - 55% abv.

So I was excited to get one of the more rare malts this year - Kilchoman Port Cask Matured. You don't come across heavily peated whisky matured in port casks very often. I'm a fan of Kilchoman and what they are trying to do (even though I wish they'd release an unpeated whisky some day!). I've tried versions of all of their expressions and reviewed one here. Other than the review here, the one that's impressed me most from Kilchoman is their 100% Islay Release.

This is very different and jumps out at me right away. By the way, Kilchoman states on the label that the whisky used here is all matured over 3 years. I like that. They could have gone with no age statement but chose to be straight about it instead.

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Colour: The label says mahogony with hints of ruby and I'd say thats not far off. This whisky really does have a red/pink colour to it. I love whisky with natural colour.

Nose: soft and fruity nose with a roasted chest nuts, ash, and a note that reminds of fresh figs (not dried ones). 

Palate: its sweet and rich with a solid hit of peat followed by ashy smoke. Surprisingly soft given that it is 3 years old and 55% alcohol! There is thick fruit there with dark maple syrup or maybe some molasses. No sharp edges on this. Some nice spices come in through the development. I think the fruits include some sweet field berries, fresh figs, and strawberry. There's a quick layer of chocolate in there to.

There is excellent balance in this. The fruit and peat play off each other and neither dominates. Add some water and you see this more and more. Very different and delicious!

Finish: long persistence with a steady ashy note. Gentle and warm - not hot. Makes its ways slowly down the throat to just-below the Adam's apple. I still am feeling its warmth and taste several minutes after the last taste.  

Comments: There are few whiskies I put in this category, but this honestly reminds me of the cask strength Port Charlotte PC releases - think PC7 or PC9, that sort of thing. This is quite as complex as those but is rich and good and warming. Stellar stuff for a cold day for sure! Don't be fooled by the low age on this and go and get one because stores have been selling out fast.  I've now decided that port casks and peated whisky go very well together!

When would I drink this? This will make a great night cap especially on a cold or stormy night.  Blinder! I don't say this lightly... I would drink this when I need "a pretty heavy whisky."

Curious... will Kilchoman ever put out that ten year old? Lets hope they think about it next year since I think their 10th anniversary is then.

Bruichladdich The Laddie Ten Review

Bruichladdich 10 Year Old - The Laddie Ten - 46%abv.

Well I had just a dram left of my last bottle of The Laddie Ten.  Today I saw some incredible news - Mark Reynier, the man who was responsible for putting together the revival of Bruichladdich tweeted today that he has bought a new distillery.  We get more details Monday, but I thought a review of what is probably Mark's crown jewel to date is warranted.

This one was put together by Jim McEwan and contains 90% american oak casks and 10% PX Sherry Casks.

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Colour: gold with copper highlights

Nose: salty sweetness with some charcoal and menthol. Fruits and florals come through. Lovely stuff.  Some vanilla in there. Two drops of water releases the genie and puts off some more fruity notes.

Palate: lovely.  Great texture, sweet and complex.  Its fruity but bold.  There's some salt there and a taste of charcoal (probably coming from the use of first-fill american oak casks). Honey, vanilla, lemon, some sweet raisin, a little mint.  This is very tasty stuff.  So well put together. A couple of drops of water seems to bring out a little more vanilla extract.  

Finish: The finish is soft but warm and makes its way into the upper part of the chest.  The persistence is long.

So this is fantastic whisky. Its fresh enough to be an apperitif but rich enough to be drunk in the evening. Its hard to come by these days, but if you see it, grab it. When would I drink this? Any time really.

Congratulations Mark Reynier. Best of luck with the new venture. This whisky warms my heart and hearing that you are back does too.

Benriach 12 Year Old Sherry Wood Review

Benriach - 12 Year Old - Matured in Sherry Wood - 46% abv.

Benriach is a distillery that is celebrated by many and has been making non-chill filtered, colouring free whisky. Its honestly a style I have trouble figuring out though. I've a few different of their products and I never feel like there is a family resemblance there and they don't really sing to me for some reason. I always feel like they are good quality products, but just not my style. I think one can depend on them, but I think you also need to like the style.

Colour: Copper.

Nose: a fairly creamy nose of grape, currents, and maybe even cherry. Brown sugar and jam. Almost reminds me of maple syrup on a waffle with a dollop of jam.  As it opens, you get banana on the nose as well.  Interesting that if you add some water and wait a while, this gets a sort of coca-cola smell to it.

Palate: bright and fruity on the palate and a sweet then little into dryness and a bit of bitterness (not unpleasant). Banana, stewed cherry and cranberry in sugar lead into some spices. Juicy is a way to describe this one. And its clean.  I would say that this one is better without water... just personal opinion.

Finish: drying with medium persistence and finishing into the upper chest.

This is a whisky matured in some combination of wood including sherry woods. Given the drying quality, my guess is that one of the woods used is Oloroso sherry casks. Its good stuff but I usually look to sherry-aged whiskies to be richer and mellower while this is more bright and crisp.  When would I drink this? I would say this is one of the few sherried drams that makes more sense as an aperitif than a night cap.  

Talisker 57 Degrees North Review

Talisker 57 Degrees North - 57% abv.

Talisker makes classic and richly flavoured whisky and that's why I love them very much. This time, I'm discussing the 57 Degrees North release - it has no age statement but is bottled at a big 57% alcohol (not cask strength).

click photo to enlarge - Thanks to Olivia Girard for the lovely painting!

Colour: 18 karat gold with copper highlights

Nose: White and milk chocolate with white pepper and peat.

Palate: This is great stuff. Comes on sweet and powerful with coffee and chocolate leading into a bit of salt and then a big hit of smokey white pepper. Lovely texture and layered development.  I get black pepper at the back of the palate along with some warmth working its way along the roof of my mouth back to the back of my neck and shoulders.  Some hints of honey sweetness and vanilla or maybe creme anglaise in there. Really, really good.

Adding some water to this (just 4 drops or so) brings out a richer, creamier desert-like quality... think along the lines of a custard or something.  I suggest the water.

Finish: Pretty well to the adam's apple and of long persistence.

This is classic Talisker and will satisfy that Talisker craving if you ever have it just like the Talisker 10 Year Old. This is no-age-statement but when the flavour comes out like this, who cares about age? Its big, its Talisker thru and thru but with the volume knob turned up to 10. When would I drink this? Best time is probably that chilly, rainy night. Would do good for you on that chilly gloomy afternoon too! Sometimes only Talisker will do, and this will do it.

Rich and delicious. Blinder!