Hey there, everybody. Just wanted you to know, that I have a new site over at Wordpress! I'll incorporate all my articles from here to the new location!
Hallo Leute! Ich wollte euch nur mitteilen, dass ich eine neue Seite für meinen Blog habe, nämlich Wordpress! Ich werde die Artikel von diesem Blog nach und nach auf meine neue Seite übertragen!
Slàinte,
Lukas
Friday, 26 February 2016
Sunday, 14 February 2016
Book review - "Water of Life" by Wolfgang F. Rothe
 |
| Cover of the book; used with permission; (c) by EOS Verlag |
But before I start, here are the
"specifications" about the book. The title translates literally to
"Water of Life - An introduction in the spiritual aspect of Whiskys".
It can be found on Amazon and some other bookstores as well as directly at the
publishing house "EOS" on www.eos-verlag.de. The ISBN is
978-3-8306-7766-6 and was written by Dr. Dr. Wolfgang F. Rothe. A review I read
the other day on Facebook mentioned that the form factor of the book is very
similar to that of the "Whisky Bible" by Jim Murray. Coincidence? I
don't think so - neither does the other reviewer.
Why is this book so interesting? Well,
I'll try to explain. The author is a roman catholic priest, who likes Whisky at
least as much as I do (or probably even more). I got to know him from "Der
Whiskybotschafter" a German Whisky magazine, where he publishes various
articles about Whisky and Scotland. I find it interesting in what way he
combines his catholic faith with his passion for Whisky. The synthesis he is
able to create is a very organic one, nothing set up or only facades. He is for
sure not that kind of person who "preaches water and drinks
wine" (or in that case Whisky) as you might think.
The author starts the book with something
that might seem trivial, at least for us Whisky enthusiasts, the history of
Whisky. This chapter is followed by two chapters, one about the making of
Whisky and the other one on how to choose a proper Whisky if you are new to the
topic. Father Rothe even suggests that a Whisky expert may skip these chapters,
but I read them anyway ;) He uses a very easy to read and plain language to
explain how Whisky is made. No fancy "Mambo Jambo", and if he has to
use a specific -not common- term he explains it very well. That's great for
everyone who wants to get to know Whisky. If you are looking for in depth
information's you should probably visit a distillery in Scotland and ask them.
These chapters are written for those who want to start exploring the
"aquae vitae".
In the next chapters you will explore how
to taste a Whisky properly. Father Rothe uses the tasting process and the
involved organs (eyes, nose, palate, ...) to combine them with their spiritual
and deeper meaning in life. Of course he uses the theology of the catholic
church, but even if you aren't a Christian or believe in something completely different,
you will find that his words and his line of thoughts are quite
"over-confessional" and appealing. He then reflects on some other
useful attributes you could (or should?) develop for the tasting of Whisky,
like "mindfulness", "maturity" and yes, even "pleasure"!
Also he shows how these attributes can be incorporates into our own life and
how to profit from these.
In the end you will find some prayers - I
would have been surprised if not - and a chapter you might call a warning,
although it's more a good advice on how to have a healthy relationship with alcohol
in general and Whisky in particular. Therefore Father Rothe uses some
references from the bible (I would have been disappointed if not), not against
the consumption of Whisky per se as you might expect but on how to properly and
responsibly enjoy Whisky. Well, they didn't know Whisky back then but they had
wine and other enjoyable things. And, at least according to this little book,
it is absolutely okay (even for a Catholic!) to discover and enjoy the
"Spirituality of Whisky". And that's something I'm going to do now.
Let's see what the BenRiach 12yo Sherry Wood will taste like after that nice
and enjoyable lecture about the "Water of Life"...
Conclusion: This is a very nicely written
boot about the -IMHO- very best Beverage in the world. Do you have to be a
faithful person to like this book? No, you don't. But you should be at least somehow
a spiritual person. If you are a rationalist it could be a little bit hard on
you, but give it a try. It won't hurt!
***German Version***Deutsche Version***
Während ich diese Zeilen schreibe sitze ich in meinem bequemen
Sessel mit einem Glässchen BenRiach 12yo Sherry Wood an meiner Seite. Dies wird
meine erste (Whisky) Buchrezension sein, weitere werden sicher folgen.
Unglücklicherweise ist dieses Buch nur in Deutsch erhältlich, aber jeder der
Deutsch lesen bzw. verstehen kann sollte sich dieses Buch über Whisky holen.
Zu Beginn die allgemeinen Informationen zu dem Buch. Der Titel lautet
"Wasser des Lebens - Einführung in die Spiritualität des Whiskys" und
kann über Amazon, diverse andere Buchhändler und natürlich direkt beim Verlag
"EOS" auf www.eos-verlag.de erworben werden. Die ISBN ist
978-3-8306-7766-6 und der Autor ist Dr. Dr. Wolfgang F. Rothe. Eine andere
Rezession die ich auf Facebook gelesen habe merkte an, dass das Buchformat sehr
an die "Whisky Bibel" von Jim Murray erinnert. Ein Zufall? Ich denke
nicht - aber das tut der Kollege auch nicht.
Was ist nun das interessante an diesem Buch? Hier mein Versuch es
zu erklären. Der Autor ist römisch-katholischer Priester und mag Whisky
mindestens genauso gerne wie ich (oder sogar noch mehr). Ich habe Ihn durch den
"Der Whiskybotschafter" - ein Whisky Magazin - kennen gelernt. Er
schreibt dort regelmäßig Artikel zum Thema Whisky und Schottland. Ich bin
fasziniert davon, wie es Ihm geling seinen katholischen Glauben und seine
Passion für Whisky zu verbinden. Dabei ist die Synthese die Ihm gelingt eine
völlig organische, nichts künstliches oder gar eine Fassade. Er gehört
definitiv nicht zu den Menschen die "Wasser predigen und Wein trinken"
(oder in dem Fall eher Whisky). Auch wenn man das zu Beginn vielleicht
vermutet.
Der Autor beginnt das Buch mit etwas für uns Whiskyenthusiasten
trivialem, nämlich der Geschichte des Whiskys. Im nächsten Kapitel wird die
Herstellung des Whiskys beleuchtet, gefolgt von einem Kapitel über das
"Wie wähle ich einen Whisky aus, wenn ich mich noch nicht wirklich
auskenne?". Hochwürden Rothe empfiehlt zwar dem Whiskykenner diese beiden
Kapitel zu überspringen, aber ich habe sie trotzdem gelesen ;) In diesen
Kapiteln benutzt Er eine sehr einfach gehaltene, direkte Sprache um die
Herstellung des Whiskys zu erklären. Keinen "Mambo Jambo" und wenn Er
einen Fachbegriff verwenden muss erklärt Er ihn auch sehr einfach. Toll für
jeden der mit Whisky gerade erst anfängt. Für tiefgehende Informationen würde
ich empfehlen eine Destilliere in Schottland zu besuchen und dort nachzufragen.
Diese beiden Kapitel sind der perfekte Start für jeden der mit dem "aquae
vitae" noch nichts am Hut hatte.
In den folgenden Kapiteln wird dargelegt, wie man Whisky
verkostet. Hochwürden Rothe kombiniert den Verkostungsprozess und die darin
verwickelten Organe (Augen, Nase, Geschmack, ...) mit der tieferen Bedeutung die
diese für unser Leben -sowohl irdisch als auch spirituell- haben (können).
Selbstverständlich benutzt Er die Ihm bekannte und zur zweiten Natur gewordenen
Theologie der katholischen Kirche, aber selbst Nicht-Christen und sogar Andersgläubige
werden feststellen, dass die Worte und Gedanken durchaus Überkonfessionell und
ansprechend sind. In den weiteren Kapiteln reflektiert Er dann über nützliche
Eigenschaften die man selbst für das Verkosten von Whisky sich aneignen könnte
(oder sollte?). Wie zum Beispiel "Achtsamkeit", "Reife" und
sogar "Genuss"! Auch zeigt Er auf, wie man sich diese Eigenschaften
im eigenen Leben aneignen und davon profitieren kann.
Das vorletzte Kapitel enthält einige Gebete - ich wäre überrascht
gewesen wenn nicht - und das letzte Kapitel ist quasi eine Warnung. Nein, mehr
ein gut gemeinter Rat wie eine gesunde Beziehung zu Alkohol im Allgemeinen und
Whisky im Besonderen. Dazu benutzt der Whisky-Viakr einige Zitate aus der Bibel
(ich wäre enttäuscht gewesen wenn nicht), aber nicht wie man vermuten möchte
gegen den Whisky Konsum als solches sondern wie man Whisky richtig und
verantwortungsvoll genießt. Zwar kannte man in der damaligen Zeit noch keinen
Whisky, aber Wein und andere genussfähige Dinge gab es schon damals. Außerdem
-zumindest laut diesem kleinen Büchelchen- ist es völlig in Ordnung (sogar für
einen Katholiken!) die "Spiritualität des Whiskys" zu entdecken und
zu genießen. Und genau das werde ich jetzt versuchen. Mal schauen was der
12jährige BenRiach Sherry Wood zu bieten hat nach dieser netten und sehr
genussvollen Lektüre über das "Wasser des Lebens"!
Fazit: Ein sehr schön geschriebenes Buch über das -meiner Meinung
nach- beste Getränk der Welt. Muss man ein gläubiger Mensch sein um dieses Buch
zu mögen? Nein, ich denke nicht. Aber ein wenig spirituell (in welcher Form
auch immer) sollte man schon sein. Totale Rationalisten werden sich vielleicht
ein wenig schwer tun, aber ein Versuch schadet sicher nicht.
Slàinte,
Lukas
Lukas
Friday, 29 January 2016
Regarding Glassware
I often get asked questions like „How do
you drink your Whisky? With ice, with coke, with water, ...?“ or „What’s the
best way to drink Whisky?“ Well, here’s my take on this topic.
 |
| "THE" Glencairn glass |
First I wanted to start with a statement
like „There’s no right or wrong way to drink Whisky“ but this blog is about my
favourite beverage and I’m going to tell you MY opinion on this topic. If you
don’t agree with it, that’s fine. I don’t mind having a different opinion than
you.
First off, I have to tell you a very
important difference. You can either drink
Whisky or taste Whisky. That are two
totally different things. Well in fact they’re not, but I’d like to
differentiate between these two words. The word drink means to me, enjoying a dram or two with friends, family or
even alone (maybe with a book). Of course there is sniffing and sipping but the
main purpose is to enjoy the time with others or a good book. Usually I only
drink Whiskys I already tasted before. Oh, by the way, the Whisky can be in
that case neat, mixed with other beverages or in a cocktail (I never mix Whisky
with coke, that's not what a Single Malt is made for).
Tasting means I’d like to get to know the Whisky. This will
require a special (nosing) glass and the Whisky will always be neat. The only
thing I’ll probably add is water. And it’s irrelevant if I already tasted (or
even drank) the Whisky before, I try to taste it as unbiased as possible. While
sitting with friends or reading can take of course some time (or even hours),
the tasting of a single Whisky can take up to half an hour or longer for me.
After pouring a dram (usually around 2cl) in my nosing glass, I tend to cover
it with a so called „watch glass“ to keep the flavour concentrated in the
glass. After inspecting the colour and the behaviour of the Whisky while
slightly swirling it, I start to nose my dram. I’d like to quote Jason S.
Turner here: „Tasting a Whisky is like getting to know a nice lady (or of
course a gentleman). Take your time, be nice. Hello there, how are you?“
 |
| Nosingglass by the SMWS |
 |
| Another nosingglass |
Now let’s see how the Whisky tastes. I’d
like to take a nice sip of my Whisky, let it circle in my mouth for a few
moments and then swallow it (you can spit it out if you like but I don’t).
During the whole process I let my mouth closed and after swallowing the Whisky
I exhale though my nose to see if there are some new flavours present. After
articulating the flavours I just discovered I start sniffing again. And of
course I look at the finish of the Whisky. It can be anything between „I
swallowed it and it was gone“ to „It’s been already 10 minutes since the first
sip and I still can feel it in my mouth/throat“. Also I like to describe the
body of the Whisky with terms like „light“, „smooth“, „intense“, „oily“, and so
on. Remember, there is no right or wrong. If you taste the flavour „Vanilla“
and someone else not, it’s okay. And most important, take your time. It’s not
about how many Whiskys you can taste in „x“ minutes (I recommend to not taste
more than four to six Whiskys at a time – alcohol numbs as previously said your
taste buds). Nota bene: Men and women tend to taste different flavours better
at different times. The best time to taste a Whisky is –allegedly- around nine
o’clock in the morning...
 |
| Another shape |
Let's get to the glassware. I put four
pictures of very common nosing glasses in this article. The most known is
defiantly the „Glencairn Glass“. As you can see, all these glasses meet the
specifications for a good nosing glass I’m going to talk about. When tasting a
Whisky it is important that you use a glass that helps you in a way that it
concentrates the flavours. Therefore the glass should have the biggest diameter
at the point the surface of the Whisky will be when poured around 2cl into the
glass. The surface is maximized and the flavours can emerge easily from the
Whisky. To stop them from just leaving the glass in a hurry the diameter of the
glass should decrease from there to the top. Tumblers or even long drink
glasses are equally bad as glasses which just increase the diameter going from
bottom to top (and typically found packed to a lot of „Whisky Promotion
packages“). The flavours will emerge from the Whisky and you will not be able
to smell anything. The cause for this special form of a nosing glass is –as
said before- to concentrate the flavours. Some of them are very faint and
without this little trick you would never be able to find them. If the glass
has a steady diameter or even broadens the so called „chimney effect“ comes into
play. The flavours leave the glass quite fast, just like the smoke from your
fireplace is sucked into the chimney. I use the watch glass to even further
concentrate the flavours. But for the beginning a normal nosing glass without a
watch glass is perfectly fine.
There you have it. That's the way I taste
Whisky and what glassware I use. I don't have a favourite glass, but usually
when tasting alone I tend to take the glass from the SMWS. With friends or
family I use the Glencairn glass just because I collected throughout the
tastings I attended lots of them. The other both types I got on the TWE Whisky
Show in London and at the Whisky Weekend in Salzburg. Always remember, take
that kind of glass you like your Whisky best – that can even be a tumbler. But
for tasting I highly recommend using the special nosing glasses. If you want to, you can try tasting one of your favourite Whiskys in different shaped glasses
and see how the smell/taste varies from one shape to another. There might even
be differences between the four glasses I showed you here, but I guess they are
marginal. Maybe I'll try that myself and write about it afterwards. That's it
for this topic, if you have any further questions, leave a comment below or on
Facebook or Twitter!
Slàinte,
Lukas
Lukas
Thursday, 7 January 2016
Regarding Points
 |
| Happy New Year everybody! |
It's been some time since my last update
here at the blog. Today I'll explain the "My score" category in my
tasting notes. Many of you might know the system although there are slightly
different ways to interpret the numbers. I'll keep it with the Master himself,
Michael Jackson. In his "Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch" (4th
Ed.; ISBN 0-7624-0731-X) he lays down the different categories regarding the 100
points scoring system. Here's a short overview how he defined it:
·
<59 points: "lacks balance or character,
probably never meant to be bottled as a single"
·
60 - 69 points: "enjoyable but
unexceptional"
·
70 - 79 points: "worth tasting, especially above
75"
·
80 - 89 points: "distinctive and
exceptional"
·
>90 points: "the greats"
He took the scoring system from Robert
Parker who used it to score wine. And Robert Parker again was inspired by the
scoring system from the American school system. Michael Jackson also states
that "A modest score should not dissuade anyone from trying a malt."
I totally agree with him on that statement!
I also agree with him on these categories.
They're approximately the same as we use at tastings with the SMWS-AT. I'm not
sure how Michael Jackson would have thought about this but I'd like to add a
limitation. A Whisky with a score of 100 simply does not exist. Because there
may be always another Whisky in the future which is just a hair better than the
last one...
 |
| Jason S. Turner leading the Bruichladdich Tasting at the Whisky Weekend Salzburg 2015 |
Sometimes you might have seen that I used
five numbers in the scoring. That is for the four main categories
"Nose", "Palate", "Finish" and
"Body/Overall" and the sum of them. I'm going to exclude these
detailed scorings in the future because I think it is not that important. It's
more for me to remember why I liked the Whisky - or didn't. I'll just post the
score to give everybody an idea how good or not so good this particular Whisky
is. In my humble opinion of course. So if somebody doesn't agree with my scoring
- that's absolutely fine! You can leave a comment on that tasting telling me
why you agree or disagree with my scoring! I'm always looking forward to
talking with other Whisky enthusiasts about Whisky! That is also one of the
reasons I like to attend Whisky tastings. Because of the possibility to discuss
Whisky and opinions with other people who love Whisky as much as I do!
 |
| Some Whiskies from Bruichladdich |
It may sound like an excuse but it isn't.
There is no right or wrong while tasting a Whisky. If you want to discuss a
particular Whisky you have to find a common ground in this case the glass.
During some tastings I held I got often asked "What's the perfect
glass?" Well, it's the glass in which you like the Whisky most. If
you are going to do some tasting everybody should use the same glass. Well, not
the same but the same form, you know. I typically use the "Glencairn
Glass" but I'll write another article about the "right"
glassware for tasting.
Slàinte,
Lukas
Lukas
Thursday, 24 December 2015
Whisky Advent Calendar Part 4 (Dec. 21st to 24th)
Okay, I have something to confess: I cheated! In
last week's article I told you I'm going to reveal the last part of my Whisky
Advent Calendar Summary on December 25th because of the whole "To drink or
not to drink (because I have to drive)" story. The article was published
on December 24th and I didn't have to "drink and drive". I tasted the
last Whisky in the evening of December 23rd after I wrapped all my gifts for
Christmas. Then I wrote these lines and prepared everything in the blog to
launch this article on December 24th at noon. Here's my fourth and last part of
the "Whisky Advent Calendar Summary 2015"!
 |
| The last four Whiskies of the Whisky Advent Calendar |
December
21st - Scotch Lowland Single Grain Whisky Port Dundas Distillery
Nice, a Grain Whisky! A Single Malt has to
be made from - as the name suggest - malted barley. A Whisky made from any
other grain is referred to as a "Grain Whisky". Typically Grain
Whisky is used for Blends as this kind of alcohol can be made quite fast an
cheap. It's the "filling stuff" as a Blend made from just Single
Malts would be quite expensive. Therefore Grain Whisky is used. As I wrote it
is quite cheap and the influence on the taste of the finished product is very
manageable. It has to be matured in cask just like the Malt Whisky but usually
the duration is much shorter than the duration of the Malt Whiskies. Another
reason for the many "n.a.s." (no age statement) Whiskies. As the
youngest Whisky dictates the age - and this is mostly a Grain Whisky - the companies
often decide to not tell the age on Blends. Well most of them don't. They are
allowed to do so but it's much easier for widely sold products like the
"Johnny Walter Red Label" or the "Ballentines" to keep the
same taste without the need to look at the ages of the Whiskies used (on the
other hand the Johnny Walker Platinum Label is a 18yo Blend). This particular
Grain Whisky was matured for 24 years which is quite old for a Malt Whisky but
for a Grain Whisky it's quite a "Methuselah". Just some words about
the distillery. The distillery used three Coffey Stilly - as it is typically
for Irish distilleries but also for Grain distilleries - to produce 39m(!)
litres alcohol per annum. Yes that's 39 million litres a year! They produced
Grain Whisky for the blending industry (owned by Diageo). The distillery never
bottled a Whisky under their name just independent bottlings are available but
will become less and less as this distillery was closed in 2010.
My Tastingnotes
Age: 24yo
ABV: 41%
Distillery: Port Dundas
Colour: golden
Nose: Quite fresh and fruity but also some citric notes
from freshly squeezed lemons and freshly cut oak wood.
Body: quite flat
Palate: Manly oak wood but there are some - faint - notes
from toffee and some fresh fruits.
Finish: warming but not very long
My score: 64
This Grain Whisky reminds me of my
experiment I did a year ago. I got a very tiny oak cask from a friend (appr.
one litre) for Christmas last year. I first seasoned it with a Sherry for about
three months. During these three months I decided to go the easy way and bought
some alcohol at my local pharmacy. I diluted it to 62,5% abv and filled the
cask with it after the three months. After five months I took out the
"Whisky" and tasted it. Well, it was quite drinkable but far from
what I would call a Whisk(e)y. The reason I got remembered of this is this
heavy oak wood taste at the palate from this Whisky. Mine had this taste too.
Technically mine was a Grain "Whisky" too because I was too lazy to
distil my own Whisky from malted barley. Now that I'm thinking about, maybe I
buy some beer (which is - aside from the added hops - the basis for distilling
at the Whisky production) and distil it and fill up my cask again! If I do so,
I'm sure writing another article about it!
December
22nd - Scotch Speyside Single Malt Whisky Auchroisk Distillery
From yesterday's Lowland Grain Whisky back
to the Speyside, the Heart of Whisky as there are nearly half of all producing
Whisky distilleries in Scotland. This time it's a 19 year old Whisky from the
Auchroisk distillery. The distillery is located near Mulben, Banffshire. Jupp,
that's the same county as last week's Macduff distillery is located. The last
one is often referred to as a Highland distillery but have a look back on the
article about the Whisky from December 17th if you are interested. There are
only a few bottlings from this distillery owned by Diageo although this
distillery is capable of producing 3.1m litres alcohol per annum. Let's have a
look what this 19 years old Whisky has to offer.
My Tastingnotes
Age: 19yo
ABV: 41%
Distillery: Auchroisk
Colour: gold-yellowish
Nose: Very intense, fruity with some oak wood, there are
even some spices (pepper?) and dried fruits.
Body: intense but smooth
Palate: Lots of vanilla and toffee in the beginning. Later on
there is some oak wood with the faint hints of some spices.
Finish: long and warming
My score: 75
December
23rd - Scotch Highland Single Malt Whisky Glen Garioch Distillery
This distillery is quite old (founded in
1797) and had quite a lot of different owners. The current owner is Suntory - a
Japanese company which also produces Japanese Whisky. The distillery was closed
soon after Suntory bought it but just a few years later it was reopened. There
is not much to say about Glen Garioch, it's a typical Highland distillery with
roughly 1m litres alcohol output per annum. They use two Wash (or Wine) Sills
but only one of the two Spirit Stills for producing. Due to water shortages
around 1968 they had to stop the production but in 1972 they found a new water
source nearby. They release from time to time some special "Vintage"
releases. But aside from these quite special and quite rare releases there are
some other easier available Whiskies from Glen Garioch not only from the
distillery itself but also by independent bottlers. Just head over to the
website of "Potstill" (www.potstill.org) if you're interested in
picking one up!
My Tastingnotes
Age: 21yo
ABV: 43%
Distillery: Glen Garioch
Colour: light golden
Nose: There is lots of honey, apple and lemon. But there
are also some distant hints of spices, maybe ginger and pepper.
Body: mild and smooth
Palate: Smooth, there are some spices, defiantly pepper maybe
ginger, some oak wood and some - very little though - smoked meat.
Finish: long and warming
My score: 74
December
24th - Scotch Islay Single Malt Whisky Bunnahabhain Distillery
Last day of the Whisky Advent Calendar!
What a finish! A 24yo Bunnahabhain as the last Whisky. Let's see, the
distillery is located on Islay, to be specific near Port Askaig but it does not
produces the typically Islay Whisky. But fist the history. Founded in 1881 they
started making Whisky two years later. The town of "Bunnahabhain" was
built for the people working in the distillery. Till 2003 the distillery
belonged to the Highland Distillers but was closed for seven years between 1930
and 1937. In 2003 the distillery was bought by Burn Steward Distillers after
the distillery produced between 1999 and 2003 only from time to time and was
intended for closure. In 2014 the distillery was bought by Distell. The
distillery produces around 2.5m litres alcohol per annum and uses the biggest
Wash Stills in Scotland. There are some bottlings from the distillery itself
(like the 12yo, the 18yo and the 15yo) but there are some independent bottlings
available too. The typically Islay Whisky cannot be found here. If you are in
search for a (heavily) peated Whisky you are in the wrong place. Well kind of. You
may find a peated Whisky from them but their main profile is more oily, nutty
and herbal. Because they use pipes to get their water it can't pick up some
peat on the way to the distillery.
My Tastingnotes
Age: 24yo
ABV: 41%
Distillery: Bunnahabhain
Colour: golden
Nose: Apple and lemon, some toffee and vanilla and even
hints of oak wood.
Body: mild and round
Palate: Fresh, little bit nutty with some toffee but also
herbal and maybe a hint of salt and meat.
Finish: long and warming
My score: 78
Well, that was a finish. There were quite
some interesting Whiskies in the past 24 days. So what's my resume for this
Whisky Advent Calendar? It's a little bit two folded. On one hand I liked the
different Whiskies very much on the other hand I'm a little bit sad, that there
were only two cask strength Whiskies. Most of the Whiskies had 40% to 43% abv
but I can understand that this product was designed to please the
"normal" customer. More than the two cask strength Whiskies would
have been too much for the casual Whisky drinker I guess. Nevertheless they
could have used Whiskies with 43% to 46% abv but I guess this is not the style
of that franchise. Last time I visited the store, most of the Whiskies they had
were bottled with less than 43% abv. Don't get me wrong it's perfectly fine to
do so but I think just a few more percent of alcohol could have improved the
Whiskies. On the other hand the less alcohol the more Whisky. I get that. I
probably buy the Calendar next year again. It's quite convenient for me to get and
not that expensive. Also it's a great gift for the occasionally Whisky drinker
or even for someone who wants to get into Whisky but doesn't know where to
start. 24 Whiskies to choose from for around 70€ is quite a good deal. You just
have to wait for Christmas to come around next year.
That's it for this week. I wish you all a
very Merry Christmas! I will be offline for a few days so enjoy the holidays
maybe with a nice dram of Whisky with some of your loved ones as I will surely
do!
Slàinte,
Lukas
Lukas
Sunday, 20 December 2015
Whisky Advent Calendar Part 3 (Dec. 14th to 20th)
We almost reached Christmas and here is
part three of my Whisky Advent Calendar summary.
 |
| The next 7 Whiskies of the Advent Calendar |
December
14th - Irish Single Malt Whiskey "Brothers in Arms"
This Whiskey is made by Jack and his
brother Stephen Teeling. After last week's „Jacks Choice“ which was created by
Jack alone both brothers contributed to this Whiskey. Last week I suspected
that this Whiskey is not from the Teeling Distillery but I may have been wrong.
Just because the distillery is younger than a Whisk(e)y has to be it doesn’t
mean anything. When BenRiach was bought they bought all the warehouses with the
distillery. They were able to sell Whisky right from the beginning. Despite the
fact that the Teeling Distiller Company just opened their doors this year they
owned the Cooley Disillery which thy sold to Beam Global (Suntory). So the
Whiskey may be from the old warehouses from the Cooley Distillery. Because Jack
and Stephen choose two Whiskeys from 2000 and 1991(!). Technically they do here
the same as I wrote in my first part of this summary („Compass Whisky“ and
„SWA“), if you remember. Now their aid in helping the INSERT DISTILLERY NAME
HERE makes perfect sense. Stephens Whiskey from 2000 is matured in a first fill
Bourbon cask, for Jacks Whiskey a Sherry butt was used! Let’s see what they
created here.
My Tastingnotes
Age: 14yo
ABV: 43%
Distillery: maybe Cooley (or Teeling?)
Colour: dark gold
Nose: Some Lemon and floral notes but also some "New
Make" and some spices.
Body: little bit flat
Palate: There is toffee and oak wood. With time there are
some spices, maybe pepper and ginger?
Finish: long and warming
My score: 63
December
15th - Scotch Speyside Single Malt Whisky Benrinnes Distillery Cask Strength
Cask Strength Whisky number two. This one
is again from the Speyside but this time the distillery is more in the heart of
the Speyside. The last one was quite close to the shore. The distillery was
built frist ain 1826 but was destroyed by a flood only three years later. 1835
the distillery was built again but called „Lyne of Ruthrie“. The distillery
changed it’s name to „Benrinnes“ 1838. Most probably because the distillery is
located at the foot of Mount Ben Rinnes, a 840m „high“ mountain. It was sold a
few times and today the distillery belongs to Diageo. The yearly alcohol output
is around 3.5m litres. They use a slightly peated malt and use – like
Auchentoshan – three distilling stills. In Scotland the typical number is two –
a wash still and a spirit still – that’s the reason I bring it up. I myself
just learned during my research that they use a triple distillation. I thought
only Auchentoshan uses it. Interestingly they use a „standard“ double
distillation too. There are just a few bottlings from the
distillery itself but there are some independent bottles who sell Whisky from
there too.
My Tastingnotes
Age: 14yo
ABV: 54.5%
Distillery: Benrinnes
Colour: golden
Nose: Fruity but also some rotten oak wood and a hint of
"New Make".
+H2O: With water there is less "New Make" and oak
wood but lots of sweetness from toffee emerges!
Body: full, has some edges
Palate: Pepper, very intense, some oak wood.
+H2O: With water it becomes a little bit less intensive but
not flat. Oh, and there is lots of toffee there too.
Finish: long and warming
My score: 62 / 68 (without / with water)
December
16th - Scotch Speyside Peated Blended Malt Whisky
Not much there to tell about this Whisky.
It's a blend, peated and from the Speyside. All used Whiskies are at least 10
years old and they may be from different distilleries. Interestingly this is a
peated Blend which is quite untypically for the Speyside. Two Whisky regions
are known for their unpeated Whiskies, the Lowlands and the Speyside. But of
course there is a exception to every rule. Well, there is no rule that a
Speyside Whisky has to be unpeated as for example BenRiach has some peated
Whiskies. But for these two regions it's quite untypically. Just like a
unpeated Whisky from Islay, they are usually (heavily) peated. And to fortify
my argument with the exception from the "typical usus": "The
Classic Laddie" from Bruichladdich (a distillery on Islay) is unpeated. On
the other hand they have the "Octamore" - the most heavily peated
Whisky worldwide! As I wrote in both preceding articles the SWA doesn't allow
to tell from which distilleries the blend is made. Little strange but it is
what it is. On the other hand I think a distillery should be allowed to tell if
they want to. Let's see what this blended Whisky tastes like!
My Tastingnotes
Age: 10yo
ABV: 41%
Distillery: no information
Colour: bright gold
Nose: There's peat and some iodine. If you wait a little
bit you can nose some toffee.
Body: unfortunately quite flat
Palate: Quite spicy with some meat, peat and salt.
Finish: warming but not for long
My score: 63
December
17th - Scotch Highland Single Malt Whisky Macduff Distillery
The Highlands! Well kind of, the
distillery is located in Banff, Banffshire. And Banff belongs to the Speyside.
Nevertheless the distillery is often put into the Highlands. Whatever. The
distillery belongs to Bacardi and is capable of producing 2.8m litres alcohol
per annum. Single Malts from this distillery are available but if you are
searching for Macduff you will find only independent bottlers. Whiskies from
the distillery itself are labelled as "Glen Deveron".
"Glen" is Gaelic for valley and the Deveron is the river the
distillery is built next to. If you find a "Glen Deveron" it's from
the distillery itself, if it's called "Macduff" it's from a
independent bottler. But the Whisky is also used for various Blends in the
Bacardi company. Let's see if this Whisky is indeed a "typical"
Highland Whisky or more a Speyside Whisky.
My Tastingnotes
Age: 16yo
ABV: 43%
Distillery: Macduff
Colour: light gold-yellowish
Nose: Very floral and fruity. Some oak wood, spices and
peach. Very typical for a Speyside Whisky.
Body: round and smooth
Palate: Very fresh, some spicy and nutty flavours but also
some oak wood. More Speyside than Highlands!
Finish: warming but not that long
My score: 71
December
18th - Scotch Highland Single Malt Whisky Blair Athol Distillery
Till today I knew every distillery used in
this advent calendar - at least by name. The distillery from today's Whisky was
a new name to me. The distillery is located in Pitlochry in the Highlands. This
time it's a Highland distillery for real. It belongs to the Diageo company and
produces around 2m litres alcohol per annum. Very large amounts of this Whisky
is used for the Blend sold under the name "Bell's". This Whisky is
sold mainly in the UK but also South Africa, Spain and Brazil. But there are
only very few Single Malts from this distillery. That may be the reason for me
not knowing this distillery. I had to look it up but the SMWS has this
distillery on their list. Maybe I'll taste one from this distillery in the
future at a tasting from the SMWS. But now let's see how this quite old (19yo!)
Whisky tastes.
My Tastingnotes
Age: 19yo
ABV: 43%
Distillery: Blair Athol
Colour: amber
Nose: There are lemons and pears, very fruity and fresh.
Also there is some sweetness from honey.
Body: smooth and soft
Palate: A little tingling followed by some spices (pepper?)
but also sweetness from toffee.
Finish: long and warming
My score: 73
December
19th - Irish Single Malt Whiskey
Well this Whiskey is a mystery. I couldn't
find hardly any information on this one. Not even on the homepage of the
company I bought the advent calendar. But I found a paragraph about a
"Special Edition" Whiskey from Cooley for the 20 year anniversary of
"vom Fass (Germany?)". Maybe this Whiskey is from the Cooley
distillery. It is 20 years old that is for sure. As there are not many Whiskey
distilleries left in Ireland (the reason for this is still "The noble
Experiment" from the 1920s in the USA) the possibility that this Whiskey
is from Cooley is quite high. So let's see how this Whiskey tastes.
My Tastingnotes
Age: 20yo
ABV: 41%
Distillery: no information, but Irish probably Cooley
Colour: golden
Nose: Sweet, quite simple, some oak wood, some floral notes
and a hint of dried fruits.
Body: soft and well rounded
Palate: Sweet and fruity (cherry?, peach) but there are some
spicy flavours and even some oak wood.
Finish: long and warming
My score: 72
December
20th - Scotch Blended Malt Whisky Two Casks Caol Ila & Tullibardine
In "the good ol' times" this
would have been called "Vatted Malt" (just like the Whisky in
December 16th) but nowadays it's just a Blend. The Caol Ila distillery is
located on Islay and known for their quite heavily peated Whiskies. The
Tullibardine distillery is located more or less in the heart of the Highlands.
Interesting mixture. The first distillery is owned by Diageo and produces
around 6.5m litres alcohol per annum the second one is owned by Picard Vins
& Spiritueux (a French company if you didn't guessed it from the name) and
produces 2.7m litres alcohol per annum. The first one is known widely the
second one isn't. From both distilleries some Single Malts are available but
for the latter one you may have to visit the Potstill in Vienna to get a
bottle. Caol Ila 12 for example is available nearly everywhere. Let's see what
this Blend from Islay and the Highlands is capable of.
My Tastingnotes
Age: n.a.s.
ABV: 41%
Distillery: Coal Ila & Tullibardine
Colour: light amber
Nose: Smoked meat and iodine are very present. But there
are some faint notes from toffee.
Body: soft but otherwise flat
Palate: Smoked meat again but less than before. There is some
sweetness from toffee which is much more present that while nosing the Whisky.
Finish: long and warming
My score: 68
Wow, just four more days (and therefore
Whiskies) left till Christmas! I can't belief how fast the time flows. I'll
post the next four Whiskies on December 25th
because I'll be celebrating - as we do here in Austria - Christmas in the
evening of December 24th! As it is not possible for me to taste the last Whisky
an December 24th as I have to drive after the Christmas dinner and I'm a strict
"If I have to drive I don't drink" person I decided to taste and post
the last part of my summary on December 25th. Well I could taste the Whisky in
the morning of the 24th and after the dinner in the evening I surely can drive
but we will see. In case I post the last summary on Christmas Day I wish you
and all your loved ones a very merry Christmas. Enjoy the holiday season with a
good dram of Whisky!
Slàinte,
Lukas
Lukas
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