Okay, this is the last whisky from the St John’s tasting that I did last week …

Compass Box makes great whisky, but they are not a distillery, they are a ‘whiskymaker’ – essentially they are a blending house (think J. Walker or Famous Grouse).  Their whiskymaker is named John Glaser and despite creating great Scotch is an American with a history in the wine industry.

Now to the ‘whisky infusion’  that is Orangerie …

In the glass, it is a well-balanced drink.  It smells of orange (almost like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange), with some hints of spice.  In the mouth, it is more of a whisky.  There are hints of orange but you can clearly taste the blend of malts and grain whisky.  More importantly, it is not too sweet.

It is made with Highland single malt and grain whisky from Fife.  This is infused with hand-zested peel of Navalino oranges, Indonesia cassia bark and Sri Lankan cloves.  This is truly something different.  In many ways, this is Christmas in a bottle!

All Blanton’s Bourbon is single barrel, meaning that the whisky in your bottle has always been together from distillation. It went into one new oak barrel, was aged, and is now in your bottle … but in this type, it has been cut back to 40% abv. They claim to be the first single barrel bourbon and from their website, it seems that most of their bourbon is made for the international market.

For a bourbon, this is a lightweight. It has a very light nose, but all of the normal bourbon aromas are there – raisins, vanilla, and honey. Same for the taste, from what I expect from a bourbon, this is really a lightweight. You can find the normal sweetness, but just not as strong as I like in my bourbon. It does have a nice cinnamon-apple finish, which may be the best part of this drink.

Having had another Blanton’s Bourbon, I was expecting more from this one. For me, it was disappointing. On the other hand, it was mild & smooth, with no real reason to dislike it.

(Tasted at St John’s last week.)

This is another whisky that I tasted last weekend at St Johns …

This is a classic heavy Islay malt.  It is deep and rounded in the glass, with a range of aromas … chocolate, dried fruit, honey, and touches of oil & leather.  More than anything, it reminds me of those chocolate covered dried fruits.

The balance of bourbon and sherry casks is evident immediately upon tasting.  It is sweet and chewy but with a definite hint of saltiness.  Letting it linger, some smoky and roasted flavors come out with the drink.  Finally, it has a good finish – sweet and dry.

At the tasting, this one was a big hit because it packs such a punch of flavor and its alcohol content.  At 54.2% abv (cask strength), this is a big, heavy beast!

The Ardbeg distillery has had a rough history, being shut down a couple of times since the 1980s, with the last time being 1996.  Today, they are one of the top Islay producers and many of their bottlings are quite sought after … especially those before 1977 (when their malting floor was closed).

Bruichladdich has become one of the best distilleries in Scotland.  This particular whisky is a special release celebrating reopening of the distillery in 2001 (after being closed since 1994).  It was also a special run because the barley used for this release was peated at 10ppm versus their usual 3-5ppm.  Finally, there are only 24,000 bottles of this special release available … so get them while you see them!

First, normally I don’t make a note of the color of a whisky unless something is special, which this one is (and not just because you cannot see through the aqua bottle).  This is a very pale whisky … but then it is only 7 years old!

The nose is very light but you can clearly pick out two main smells: peat & barley.  Upon hitting your tongue, this is a very soft whisky … slightly sweet with a touch of brine.  Yet, the surprise with this one comes when you swallow and put down your glass!  It sneaks up on you with a surprisingly strong finish of peat and smoke. Read more »

This is another of the whiskies from the St John’s tasting on 20 Feb 09 …

The Isle of Jura Distillery is the only one on the small island, along with one pub, one shop, and a once-a-week visting bank.  The distillery employs about 20 people or about a tenth of the island population (compared to over 5000 deer).

Superstition is their undated single malt whisky … but, it seems from the descriptions of it, that it is actually some type of vatted whisky.  In reality, that does not really matter because it is taste that matters.

The aroma coming out of the glass is one of lapsang souchong (one of my favorite black teas) with a touch of sweetness.  This is a smoky and spicy drink, but it is balanced with touches of honey, almonds, and oak – a flavour that becomes bigger towards the finish.  Like its nearby neighbors from Islay, this has a long and interesting finish.

While this is not my favorite island whisky, it is an interesting midpoint between the strong Islay styles and the more general Highland style.

Okay, I am going to have to admit my bias at the beginning.  One of my favorite single malts is the discontinued Balvenie 10y Founder’s Reserve and I dislike the other 12y, the DoubleWood.  So, the fact that the 12y Signature is a replacement for one of my trusty old drams, is not a good start …

On the other hand, this picks up nearly where the 10y left off.  In the tradition that the Balvenie Distillery has created recently, its nose is very complex!  While being mainly rich and malty, it has touches of vanilla, dried fruit, and sherry.  Again, like all Balvenies, it is full-bodied.  One can get lost in the interplay of honey, christmas spices, vanilla, oak, and sherry … just give it some time to open-up and everyone can find something that they enjoy in this whisky.  It is rare that a Balvenie lets down on the finish and this one is a classic – long, warm, with a good touch of oak.

If I can no longer have the 10y, this is a very good replacement … so good, that given a few years, I may even forget about the 10y!

As with the best Balvenies, this one is a well-constructed glass … perfectly balanced, complicated, and very tasty!

(First tasted at St John’s on 20 Feb 09)

This whisky is a very unique blend – Black Bottle is a blend of Islay malts, displaying many of the characteristics of the seven Islay distilleries.  Yet, unlike many of the malts that go into it, this is a very reasonably priced whisky (generally found at around £15).

The nose on this whisky is fairly light (fresh & fruity, almost floral), but has the characteristics of any Islay malt (smoke & peat) also present.

This is a very easy drinking whisky.  It is not overpowering, is slightly sweet, and moves towards being smokey at the end.  The most recent bottle that I tasted (on 20 Feb 09 at the tasting I held at St John’s) was less peaty than I remember (but the last time, I may have been drinking the 10y version), but in some ways it makes it an easier to approach dram.

More than anything else, this is whisky is a great value for money drink, especially if you are a fan of Islay malts.

Another version (the 10y blend), is also available.  It differs from the original blend because it only contains malts from Islay and is both smokier and peatier than its little brother.

For more whisky related information, go here.

If anything in a bottle can remind me of being back on the Matheny farm, Bernheim Original is it.  Immediately, the smell of a dry country barn hits you – dry straw, fresh corn, a touch of wood, and old leather.   The primary taste is one of crisp wholewheat biscuits with a touch of spice.  While not as sweet as many bourbons (or as strong, only being 45% abv^), it is undeniably sweet and leaves a great finish of vanilla and grain.  This is really a great glass of whisky and is quite unique drink, having not been distilled since Prohibition. Read more »

In 2000, the first whisky was distilled in Wales for over a 100 years. This whisky was first released in 2004 and Penderyn Welsh Whisky has all ready won several awards. It has a wonderful nose of toffee and fresh leather but is well balanced with long finishing notes of raisin and vanilla. (Originally written on 20 Feb 2007)

This whisky is generally bottled at 46% ABV and can vary a bit from batch to batch. Personally, I have never had a bad bottle of it but from some other reports (and the various scores in the Whisky Bible), they do exist, but don’t let that stop you from picking up a bottle of this. Even with the variations between bottles that I have experienced, it has never let me down … plus, how many times can you say you have had welsh whisky?

A wonderful small batch bourbon with a powerful sweet nose (think honey and burnt sugar), followed by a hit of oak & toffee, and trailing out into a long, slightly oily finish (to cut the oil, drink it on the rocks). If you want to find out if you like top-shelf bourbon, give this one a try, because it is an appetizing and easy to drink bourbon. (originally written on 27 Jan 07)