Whisky Advent Calendar Part 1 (Dec. 1st to 6th)

The first six days of December are over and despite having the flu for the second time in a very short period of time I managed to get to part one of my Whisky Advent Calendar summary.

The first 6 Whiskies of the Advent Calendar

December 1st - Irish Single Malt Whiskey 5yo

As I mentioned on Twitter, there is no additional information on this Whiskey except that it is from Ireland and is bottled with 41% abv. There are indeed not to many Irish Whiskey distilleries on the island but to find the one this particular Whiskey is made from is nearly impossible without help with some "reference" Whiskeys from there. At least I am sure it's not Connemara because they peat their Whiskey and this one isn't. It's just a typical Irish Whiskey, nothing fancy.

My Tastingnotes

Age: 5yo

ABV: 41%

 

Distillery: no information, but Irish

Colour: light golden

Nose: fruity and floral notes with some new make, hints of vanilla and lemon paired with some very faint oak notes.

Body: very full

Palate: Toffee and marzipan combined with some oak wood and ginger(?)

Finish: long and warming finish

My points: 68

December 2nd - Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Just as the first Whiskey no additional information is available. From the name we know that this Whiskey must be from the U.S. to be precise from the state Kentucky. It was distilled there and aged for at least one year in Kentucky (as stated in the U.S. law). Of course it has to be made from at least 51% corn. If you take a look at the website of the "Kentucky Distillers Association" you might be surprised how much Distilleries can be found in Kentucky. So again, no chance to find the right one without any help. This is again just a typical Whiskey from that region.

My Tastingnotes

Age: >1yo

ABV: 40%

Distillery: no information, but American

Colour: amber (but probably coloured)

Nose: Banana, some oak wood, fresh

Body: a little bit flat

Palate: Rye, some more oak wood, hints of vanilla and coffee(?)

Finish: quite short

My points: 50

December 3rd - Scotch Speyside Single Malt Whisky Glentauchers Distillery

The first scotch of the season and the first with a heritage. This 6 year old Whisky was made by the Glentauchers Distillery. This distillery - located near Keith - is not known to many. That is because the Whisky produced there is manly for blends made by Pernod Ricard. In 2000 the company presented the first bottling from the distillery itself a 15 year old Single Malt. However there are some bottlings from independent bottlers available (like the 63.33 I tasted from the SMWS-AT). The capacity of the distillery is 4.2m litres alcohol per annum. This is unquestionable a Scottish Whisky by taste. Not as interesting as the 63.33 but not bad either.

My Tastingnotes

Age: 6yo

ABV: 43%

Distillery: Glentauchers

Colour: light amber

Nose: Toffee with some butterscotch and lemons, very floral

Body: smooth and round

Palate: lots of toffee, some spices, maybe some very light oak flavours

Finish: long and warming

My points: 71

December 4th - Scotch Islay Blended Malt Whisky "Cragabus"

Technically the name is a stretch because according to the SWA there are only two categories left for scotch Whisky and they are "Single Malt" and "Blended". Before the change there was another one called "Vatted Malt". As many of you know the difference, here a short overview for those who don't. Single Malt = One Distillery, only Single Malts used for the blending. Vatted Malt = More Distilleries, only Single Malts used for blending. Blended = More Distilleries, Single Malts and Grain Whisky used for blending. The latter two categories were merged by the SWA. According to my research this Whisky is made of Single Malts from the following Islay distilleries: Laphroaig, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Arbeg. And in addition there is some Single Malt from the lost distillery Port Ellen in it too! I guess they try to fit in this blend the "whole Islay" but unfortunately I think this is not possible. Islay is much more than "smoky and intense". By the way "Cragabus" is the name of a small village on Islay.

My Tastingnotes

Age: n.a.s.

ABV: 43%

 

Distillery: Laphroaig, Caol Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Port Ellen

Colour: light golden

Nose: Smoked meat, iodine, charred peat, hints of toffee

Body: full but very simple

Palate: still meat and peat, some salty notes, in the end there may or may not be some toffee

Finish: long and warming

My points: 67

December 5th - Scotch Speyside Blended Malt Whisky "Mac Spey"

Same as the day before technically it's "just" a blend. This Whisky was blended by Stewart Laing - just as the Whisky on Dec. 4th - but this time only using Malts produced by Speyside distilleries like Glen Rothes, Macallan and Balvenie! There may be others used but these three were named in the description. Also they tell us that the Whisky is 10 years old meaning the youngest Whisky used was 10 years old. There may be older Whiskies in it, but according to the SWA a distillery/blender/bottler is not allowed to tell. Just search for "Compass Box" and "SWA" if you want to know what happens if you do it anyway. I'd like the move from Compass Box (and Tomatin!) for more transparency. I just hope the SWA will see the benefits as these two companies (and lot's of others I guess) see them.

My Tastingnotes

Age: 10yo

ABV: 41%

Distillery: various including Glen Rothes, Macallan and Balvenie

Colour: light amber

Nose: fruity, apple and lemons, a slight hint of smoke, a little bit dry

Body: mild but full

Palate: Toffee with some lemons and hints of oak wood in the end

Finish: quite long and warming

My points: 71

December 6th - Scotch Isle of Jura Single Malt Whisky

This time it is no problem that no specific name is given. There is only one distillery on Jura so guess from where the Whisky must be. The distillery was founded in 1810 but the distillery we know today (and is capable of producing 2.2m litres alcohol per annum) was built in the late 1950s and finished in 1963. The distillery might be known for their distinctive bottle which looks a little bit like a cello. The island has just one road, one pub and one distillery. If you visit the distillery you will get a dram of whisky for life in the pub once a month but always remember the words of George Orwell back from 1946 regarding how to reach Jura: "Extremely unget-at-able". According to my research this hasn't changed very much today. You will need to take a boat ride to get to the island (surprise!) and to get there from London you will need to board to planes!

My Tastingnotes

Age: 9yo

ABV: 43%

Distillery: Jura

Colour: light golden

Nose: Bacon and sweet from toffee, some iodine and seaweed, reminds me of the 66.62 from the SMWS

Body: full and complex

Palate: Salt and the sea, some citric notes and hints of sweetness

Finish: very long and warming

My points: 75

That's it for this week. I hope you enjoyed the little endeavour into the realms of Whisk(e)y, the second Part of my summary will go online on December 13th!

Slàinte,
Lukas

Tasting #1: Whisky from the "Wieser-Destillerie" in Lower Austria

Age: 5yo

ABV: 41%

Distillery: Wieser (Wachau, NÖ)

Colour: light gold

Nose: very light, chocolate, marzipan, very slightly hints of wood, citric notes of lemon, with time it developed some keen notes from freshly destilled alcohol

Palate: light notes of fresh wood, sweet, hints of pepper(?)

Finish: warming and oily but short

My points: 72/100 (22/15/20/15)

What's in my cabinet?

Today I'll give you a short peek into my Whisky cabinet as the three planned tastings (Benromach, Glenfarclas & Potstil autumn tasting) although I got tickets (they were sold out) weren't attended by me. You might ask yourself why -well I got the flu two days prior. Very unfortunately but there was nothing I could do. So I'll let you peek into my whisky cabinet. I'm sure many of you have a bigger collection but I like to buy and drink Whisky. I don't buy two bottles - one to drink and one to keep - I just buy one bottle and drink it. If I like it very much I might buy another one (if possible) or two or three but eventually I'll empty every bottle of Whisky I own. So here's my list of Whiskies I own or have owned. Empty bottles are marked with a "+" beforehand. And of course this list is by all means not complete. I'm sure I forgot lot's of Whiskies I owned and of course I'll buy new ones.

·        4.200, 14yo, SMWS, 58,1%

·        66.62, 16yo, SMWS, 56,6%

·        Ben Nevis, Sherrybutt, 18yo, Single Cask Collection, 53,1%

·        BenRiach Heart of Speyside, 20yo, OA, 43%

·        BenRiach Sherry Wood, 12yo, OA, 46%

·        Black Adder Raw Cask 1991 (Glen Spey), 22yo, Black Adder, 51,5%

·        Black Bottle (green bottle), n.a.s., OA, 40%

·        Bruichladdich Octomore 06.1, 5yo, OA, 57%

·        Clydsesdale (Auchentoshan), 21yo, Black Adder, 56,2%

·        Dalmore, Bourbon Hogshead/Sherry Cask Finish, 17yo, Single Cask Collection, 53,5%

·        Dimple (Miniatur), 12yo, OA, 43%

·        Dimple Pinch (Miniatur), 15yo, OA, 43%

·        Glendfiddich, 12yo, OA, 40%

·        Glenfiddich Age of Discovery, Red Wine, 19yo, OA, 40%

·        Glenfiddich Age of Discovery, Madeira Cask, 19yo, OA, 40%

·        Glenlivet French Oak Reserve, 15yo, OA, 40%

·        Glenmorangie Sherry Cask Finish LaSanta, 12yo, OA, 43%

·        Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban, Port Cask, 12yo, OA, 46%

·        Highland Park, 12yo, OA, 40%

·        Kavalan (Miniatur), Port Cask Finish, n.a.s., OA, 40%

·        Kilchoman Port Cask 2014, 3yo, OA, 55%

·        Kilchoman Potstill Edition 2014, PX Finish, 5yo, Potstill, 59,3%

·        + Macallan Fine Oak, 10yo, OA, 40%

·        Nestville, Single Barrel 2009, 5yo, OA, 40%

·        Nestville, Blended Northern Spis Whisky, n.a.s., OA, 40%

·        Nestville, Single Barrel 2008, 6yo, OA, 40%

·        Rogner Rum Fassgelagert, n.a.s., OA, 42%

·        Rogner Rye Whisky No.13, n.a.s., OA, 42,5%

·        Rogner Special Edition No.1 (5 years Whisky Consultants), n.a.s., OA, 62%

·        + Rogner Whisky 3/3, n.a.s., OA, 43%

·        Rogner Whisky No.2, n.a.s., OA, 58%

·        + Tomatin, Bourbon Barrel, 9yo, Single Cask Collection, 55,7%

·        Valt, Single Malt Scotish Vodka, n.a.s., OA, 40%

·        Wieser Whisky, 5yo, OA, 41%

If you have any suggestions which Whisky I could buy or should try just send me a note or comment down here. If you like you can send me also a sample to taste ;) I promise I'll try it and write about it!

That's it for now. I think I'll grab a Glencairn Glass and have a dram or two.

Slàinte,
Lukas

Whisky Advent Calendar from "vomFaß"

Yesterday just before the Laphroaig tasting at "The Highlander" with the Whisky Consultants (maybe stuff for another post) I went to "vomFaß" to get my "Whisky Advent Calendar 2015". I've heard about this last year in mid November but unfortunately all were gone by that time. This year I set a reminder on my phone and called ahead to reserve one.

I know that this is nothing new to many people and I know that there are many different calendars with Whisky out in the wild but I decided to go with this particular Advent Calendar mainly to support a local business (I know that this is an international business but it is operated as a franchise locally). It may not be the most beautiful one in the world (although it is very nicely made and I like the simple design) and there may be better one's but I can remember talking to "The Whisky Dramalista" (@whiskyrepublic on Twitter) in London and he said - as I mentioned earlier on the blog - that Whisky tasting is as much about taste as about history and (personal) stories.

So another reason to try their calendar is a personal story I have with them. I had my very first Whisky tasting there. It was a present from my best friend and buddy Peter. Well sort of a "tasting" because we went there after work and had just half an hour for the tasting. And we had six Whiskies. Should I mention that the rest of our way home was quite funny? But with this tasting my transition from a "Blended Whisky (sometimes even with coke) drinker" to a "Whisky Connoisseur" started.

They tend to have less mainstream and unknown Whiskies. I can remember that I tasted back then (must have been around 2009 or so) a Whisky from "BenNevis" a completely unknown distillery to me at this time. I can't even recall why I liked the Whisky but I do know why I picked it and that I liked it. The reason for picking this particular Whisky back than was that I thought the journey in the book "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" started at the mountain Ben Nevis. Which is of course wrong because it started in Island at the "Sneffels Yocul" as everybody who read the book (I did...) should recall. But at that time I was sure it was the Ben Nevis and looking back I'm happy that I made this mistake.

Interestingly the BenNevis is the only Whisky I recall from that tasting. I didn't make any notes back then... But in 2014 at a tasting from the Whisky Consultants there was a "BenNevis" on the tasting line and I was thrilled to see that Whisky bottled by the Single Cask Collection (an independent bottler from Austria!). It was a 18yo Whisky matured in a sherry butt and I liked it very much. In fact I bought a bottle right away and it is still in my Whisky cabinet.

If your are waiting for a list of the Whiskies you will be disappointed. I won't post the complete list here even that I have it (I won't look at it either because I want to be surprised too). Instead I will twitter every day in the morning (GMT) before going to work the "Whisky of the Day" and in the evening after work a short statement about it. And every Sunday I'll update my blog with some more in depth tasting notes from the Whiskies from the last week. Of course with some pictures and everything.

Slàinte,
Lukas

Falstaff Cocktail- & Spiritsgala 2015

Hello there, today I'm writing about the "Falstaff Cocktail- & Spiritsgala 2015" in Vienna. Beforehand I'd like to apologise because there are no pictures from the venue in this post. This is because of two reasons I'm about to tell you.

First I was not able to leave work early enough (Yes I have a day job, this blog is merely a project in my free time) to be at a decent time at the location of the gala. Which was in the world famous Vienna Hofburg Palace. To be exact the venue was located inside the "Redoutensäle". I'm not sure if these can be visited during a normal tour but if so, take it! The architecture is stunning! But I digress. So guess what, I had to hurry a little bit and forgot to take a spare battery out of my camera bag for my X100T (I figured it would be swamped there - how right I was -, so I decided to take just my camera and my tasting notes book with me) and the battery inside my precious X100T died instantly upon my arrival. My bad, my bad I know.

The second reason was that I was there as a "normal" guest, not as a "press person". Therefore my access to the stage or behind the bars was limited and in front of the bars was literally no space at all. And it was dark as sh**. No problem with my X100T but as you might remember I had no spare battery with me. And my iPhone isn't very low light capable, although you can get great shots out of it. As long as there is enough light of course. I decided to focus on the other task at hand -that is: tasting whiskies and stuff. Well I had one Rum and a few (more or less) interesting whiskies nothing else. After all I'm "That Whisky Guy"...

So I started in the bigger of the "Redutensäle" just to find out there's no Whisky to be found, except from Hermann Rogner. I like his whiskies despite they are made (fully or partly) of rye. I don't really like the taste of rye, but Hermann's doing a great job of adding lot's of other interesting flavours to his whiskies and balancing the rye taste! I had the "Rye - Whisky No.13" which is made from 100% rye and seasoned in ex-brandy casks. Sweet notes from nougat combined with just a hair of smoke can be found as well as some rye (what a surprise)!

After that I started wandering around and found some Whiskies in the smallest of the three rooms, but it was just as crowded as the other two rooms. I had to be patient to get my share of Whisky and heard in that time some funny statements. The best was "This (Kilbeggan 8yo Single Grain) Single Grain Whisky is made of two or sometimes even more different kinds of grain." I guess he just mixed up the two Kilbeggan's they had for tasting, the "8yo Single Grain" which is made from a single - thus ONE - grain and the "21yo Limited Edition" which is a blend of grain and malt Whiskies. I choose the latter one. Quite interesting for a blend, even the finish is longer than you would expect. I found that Whisky quite sweet but combined with the sourness of a golden delicious apple and some spices.

After I had the "Hibiki" (quite flat in the nose but a nice prickling sweet on the palate) and the "Balvenie 15yo" (toffee and some spices on the palate and a muffled sweet in the nose) I spotted the "Johnny Walter Platinum Label". Priced a little bit below the "Highland Park 18yo" I decided to compare the two. I know that this isn't a fair battle but I did it anyway. While the Platinum presents lots of sweet from honey the Highland Park is much more restrained at the nose. As soon as you start drinking them there is much difference! While the Platinum just keeps being sweet the Highland Park is quite round and mild with some interesting spices and apple notes. The Finish on the Platinum is, well let's say, wait, what finish?? But what to expect from a blend? Interestingly both Whiskies are labelled as 18yo, but they are like day and night. I'd prefer the Highland Park, but I'm biased as I like the most northern distillery of Scotland very much. Although I don't like their pricing scheme especially concerning the "Warrior Series"...

After as "26yo Glenfiddich" (apples and toffee, very mild and round) and an "Auchentoshan Three Wood" (ex-Bourbon, Oloroso and PX casks; toffee and iodine at the nose; salt, iodine and just a hint of toffee at the palate) I decided to call it a day. Mainly because I thought it was way to full and the music was quite loud. It was quite difficult to get information from the personal. On one side there were many (too many) people trying to get something to drink and on the other side the music was way too loud. Okay, you might say that this venue is more a social event than a tasting event and you may be right but the music was really loud. But after all it was a nice evening and I could taste some interesting Whiskies!

Slàinte,

Lukas

Whisky Weekend Salzburg 2015

This time I'm going to write about a Whisky venue I just recently visited. Some might think "Wait, didn't he write just about the Whisky Show 2015 in London? Will he write about it again, hoping nobody would notice?" No, I'm not going to write about the Whisky Show in London, I'll write about the Whisky Weekend in Salzburg, Austria which was just a week after the Whisky Show in London.

After having done my first tasting for the Whisky Consultants the Friday evening before - which I really enjoyed although there is room to improve my presenting skills - my first instinct on Saturday morning - despite I haven't drank a sip of Whisky that evening - was "Okay, that's it! I'm not going!" - just like the Grinch when invited to the Christmas party down in the village (One of my absolute favourite scenes of this movie). But then I thought, watching movies in the bed is fine, but I can watch movies on the train to Salzburg (approximately two and a half hours) too. So I packed my stuff (camera, tasting book, iPad, etc.) and hurried to the train station.

Having scouted the program of the event I knew that there would be a Master class from Talisker at 4 p.m. so I called ahead and reserved a spot. Nearly three hours later - to be exact around 3 p.m. - I got to the venue in the so called "Mönchsberg" - literally translated to "Mountain of the monks" - got my badge and was informed that my Master class was delayed because of the Master class before. So instead of one hour at the venue I'll just have two before my Master class would start - which was fine. But then the nice lady asked, if I'm interested in the last spot for the other Master class which is about to start (which had a very unspecific topic on the homepage as I checked beforehand). So I asked for the topic, she replied "Bruichladdich" and I just handed her the fee (which was incredibly low) without any words. A Talisker AND a Bruichladdich Master class in a day? I was glad and happy - as was the Grinch? - that I went to Salzburg.

When I hurried down to the room which was more a cave being that the venue was inside the mountain I was greeted by Jason S. Turner himself - Falstaff International Wine Marketing Manager - how delighted I was! We started off with "The Classic Laddie" followed by the "Islay Barley". These two were followed by another "Islay Barley" namely the "Port Charlotte Islay Barley" and the "Black Art 4.1" While the first three Whiskies were n.a.s. Whiskies, the latter one got distilled 1990(!) and was bottled 2013. So we're talking about an 23 year old Whisky. Interesting fact: I liked all four of them, the last one was maybe a little bit better but not that better. As I always say: "Age doesn't matter (that much)"! I'm happy to taste lots of different Whiskies in various prize categories and ages but nearly 300€ for that Whisky is - IMHO - too much.

But wait there were three other Whiskies to taste. But which Whisky could possible top the Black Art series? If you don't prefer peated Whiskies the answer is possibly "none". But if you do the answer is very easy. Of course the mighty peat bomb "Octomore"! Jason brought the versions 06.1 (167ppm), 07.1 (208ppm) and of course 06.3 (258ppm). What a finish! These three aren't cheap either but they are in a prize range I can relate to.

Of course all of the seven Whiskies were n.c.f. (non chill filtered) and n.c.a. (no colour added). Well not "Of course" because many whisky distilleries add colour (that is E150 - caramel colour, produced by using glucose syrup, sulphuric acid and ammonia) to their finished products so that every batch looks just like the batch before. Nearly every distillery filters their Whisky but it is a difference between "normal filtration" and "chill filtration". But I digress, this is stuff for another post!

The reason I mentioned this is because the second Master class from Talisker presented five of their Whiskies, the "Talisker Skye", "Talisker 10y", "Talisker 57° North", "Talisker Port Ruighe" and the "Talisker Storm". All of them have one thing in common, they were all coloured with E150. The colouring doesn't add any taste, but I like to see the natural colour of the Whisky. One of them was finished in a sherry cask (57° North) another one in a port wine cask (Port Ruighe). The latter one was a bit darker but as you recall all of their Whiskies are coloured... Never the less I enjoyed all of the five Whiskies.

After the second master class I just wondered around the little nice venue as I've done between the two Master classes. I had a very good "Highland Game Stew" - the only difference to the traditional "Irish Game Stew" was - and I quote here: "My man is from Scotland that's why it is a Highland Game Stew"! After a quick chat with Jutta and Thomas from the SMWS Austria (tasted the 4.183 at their booth) I got the chance to taste the World Best Single Malt 2015 at the booth of the Whisky Consultants - the "Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique Single Cask Strength". Unfortunately Michael just opened the last bottle of this Whisky so I couldn't buy it. On the other hand if he hadn't opened it I couldn't have tasted it and therefore I wouldn't have wanted to buy it...  

Slàinte,
Lukas

My first tasting notes... Kind of...

The box and a personal letter

A few weeks ago I stumbled across an article about an ongoing "Battle of the Blends" hosted by Master of Malt and The Whisky Magazine. You could sign up to be a judge in this battle and I decided to give it a shot. Just short after I received an email telling me that I am one of the judges. And just short after that a small package arrived with my two samples and a nice letter describing what to do.

The two samples

Since Master of Malt announced the winner and some tasting notes on October 12th I decided to compare my notes with theirs. I wasn't that bad although there is no such thing as "right" or "wrong" during tasting - you taste what you taste - but I'm always curious what others can taste so that I can learn from them. And sometimes there is a taste I can describe but I can't name it for sure. Therefore it's always interesting what other people taste!

So here are my tasting notes (you can read over here what Jack Mountain tasted):

Blend A (on the left)

Colour: amber

Nose: At first you notice fruity notes of lemon and pineapple combined with hints of fresh wood and some sweetness from sherry. With time subtle notes of apple, pear, honey and some smoke appear.

Palate: You can taste fresh lemongrass combined with some honey and some nuts. Very complex and refreshing. Are there some hints of gummy bears at the end?

Finish: It's long (especially for a blend) and (heart) warming.

Blend "A" and Blend "B" in the nosing glas

Blend B (on the right)

Colour: light amber

Nose: There are some floral notes combined with some smoky lemon notes and just a little bit of sweetness from toffee. Otherwise it's a little bit flat.

Palate: Smoked meat and a hint of toffee are combined with some toasted wood. A faint hint of some sweetness (Tutti Frutti) appears in the end.

Finish: It's as long as Blend A and (heart) warming just like Blend A.

So that were actually my first two tasting notes! Hope you enjoyed them and keep in mind next year there will be another Battle of the Blends. The exact composition of both blends will be published in "The Whisky Magazine" Issue 131 in December!

Slàinte

Lukas