Category Archives: Let’s celebrate!

Glenglassaugh 26yr Whisky – 46%ABV

Highland Region – 50%ABV – 750ml (or 700ml outside of the US) – $260 | £150 | €180

After a few days of tasting “spirit drinks”, it’s nice to get onto some actual whisky.  Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed the past three spirits I tasted but, to me, whisky is where it’s at.

Older Glenglassaugh whiskies are, well, old of course, but also very rare and therefore very expensive.  What we have here today, however, is a fairly old Glenglassaugh at a price that’s… not too bad (given the age and rarity of it).  Believe me, I understand $260 | £150 | €180 is A LOT of money for many people (myself included).

Let’s put the money out of our minds for a second and perhaps focus on the whisky itself.  As opposed to their 40yr (that review is forthcoming) and their 30yr expression, this whisky is NOT cask strength.  However, it’s still bottled at the fairly strong ABV of 46%.  Still acceptable, if you ask me (if it were 40%, I may have shuttered a bit but hey, that’s me).

This 26yr old whisky was distilled only 2 years before Glenglassaugh was mothballed back in 1986.  For more history on Glenglassaugh and it’s grand reopening back in 2008, you’ll find links at the bottom of this post to an interview I did with the distillery’s Managing Director, Stuart Nickerson.

Without any further ado, my review:

On the nose Smells juicy and fruity (think sugared lemonwheels).

Brown paper lunch bags.

Oaky new humidor scent.

The more I nose it, the more prickly on the nose hairs it becomes.

Vanilla and caramels.

More oak but, not over oaked – extremely inviting.

Smoke deep in the background?  Could it be?

On the mouth Oak and butterscotch.

Buttered cinnamon crumpets (my favorite breakfast treat!).

Such an wonderful balance, very well integrated.

Warmed nuts at a baseball game (on another type of  blog, this statement would mean something quite different).

The mouth feel is pleasant.  Not big and chewy like I prefer but nowhere near like holding water in the mouth.

Finish Short and nutty with that brown paper bag note I detected in the nose emerging from the palate’s belfry.

In sumAnother celebratory whisky from Glenglassaugh.  Perfect for when the air starts to cool as summer rolls into autumn.  The bottle is both sexy and regal (and can be reused as a decanter).

For Jason of Guid Scotch Drink’s notes, click here.

I recently had the honor and good opportunity to interview Stuart Nickerson (Managing Director of the newly re-opened Glenglassaugh distillery).  If you’ve not yet had a chance to read it, you may want to do so right now. Part 1 & Part 2

The Balvenie 15yr Single Barrel – my favorite Balvenie in their standard line

Speyside – 47.8%ABV – 750ml – $60-65 | £42 | €51

Balvenie week, Day #5.  The final day in this series (though surely not my final Balvenie!).  A big thanks once again to Sam Simmons (aka Dr. Whisky) for the videos and samples!

The Balvenie 15yr Single Barrel was my first Balvenie ever and currently, my favorite.  I remember the day I bought the bottle as if it were yesterday…

Looking at the storekeepers stock, I had a choice of The Balvenie 12yr DoubleWood for $36 or the 15yr for about $49 (it’s now a good $60-65 bottle of the 15yr these days).  I went into the store with the good intention of buying the DoubleWood but when I saw that I could get 3 more years worth of whisky for only $13, I jumped for it.  It’s sort of silly now that I think about…  I now feel that, for the most part, age doesn’t mean anything.  Taste does.

So, how does this stuff taste?  Well, there are two answers to that question:

A) It tastes damn good (as you’ll see in my notes below)

B) Because this is a single barrel expression, there’s a good chance that every bottle you buy could have come from a different barrel and the fluid could be more than 15yrs old (remember, an age statement with whisk(e)y is a minimum age statement), resulting in a slightly different tasting whisky each time.  This is one of the things I love the most about this Balvenie series – you get something new every time.  It’s like getting the honeymoon period of a romantic relationship in a bottle!  Cool stuff.

On to the video…  At long last (well, not that long.  It’s only been a week), we arrive at the final video of the series.  Today we are featuring Mr. David Stewart.  Yes, the David Stewart.  The man who designs and meticulously selects all of the whiskies for The Balvenie range.  David, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed and for explaining why the Balvenie 15yr is also your favorite Balvenie:

And now my review of The Balvenie 15yr Single Barrel:

On the nose The higher ABV for this one is dead on.  Good on you, David!

Big bright fruits peaches (in white wine) & cantaloupe.

Marzipan – sharp almond notes.

Thai yellow curry & lightly buttered couscous (even getting some lime leaf here).

And floating on top of it all, those classic Balvenie honeyed notes.

On the mouth Pure honey and citrus.

Hints of water cured ginger.

A slight brininess to this.

Great mouth feel – thick and sweet but not overly so.

The sweetness is pushed aside and now there a nice tapioca pudding quality to this.

Finish There’s a fizziness throughout my entire mouth and lingering citrus and honey notes.

A delicious nuttiness returns (reminiscent of the marzipan note from before though, less sharp).

In sum There’s something so elegant about The Balvenie.  While this is nice enough as an everyday drinker, I can picture myself saving it for a special evening – a nice Shabbat (the Sabbath) dram!  Wait a sec, Shabbat starts tonight!  Also, its my oldest daughter’s 4th birthday.  I think I’ll celebrate both occasions with a little Balvenie 15yr.

L’chayim!

The Balvenie 12yr Signature – Batch 2

Speyside – 43%ABV – 750ml – $3655 (pretty big spread!) | £32 | €39

Balvenie week, day #3.

Today’s Balvenie is an interesting one.  Quite different from the others I’ve had.  When I first got into The Balvenie I reached for the 15yr Single Barrel (still my favorite Balvenie to date) then the 12yr DoubleWood, the 21yr PortWood then the 17yr Madeira Cask.

When I got my first bottle of the 12yr Signature, to be quite honest, I just did not appreciate it as I should have.  I was expecting something similar to their 12yr DoubleWood and it’s a very different whisky (if’n you ask me).  Now that I am able to sit down and actually review the stuff, I’ve got to say that I think my mind is changed on it.

Before we go to that, however, please sit back and enjoy the 3rd video in my exclusive Balvenie Employee’s favorites series.  Today I am featuring Stephen Archibald:

So, here are my official thoughts on this whisky:

On the nose Bright nose with scents that stick to your nose as if they had little bits of velcro on them:

Unripened apricots.

Banana peels and then some pears (again, unripened).

Vanilla and flan.

Lightly buttered cream of wheat (love it!).

Some fried pineapple too.

Appetizing, yes? Yes.

On the mouth Was hoping for a little more oomph on the palate here (maybe a higher ABV would have helped here?).

Not as upfront as I wound have expected after the nose.

However, it’s quite delicious.

A 2nd sip (with multiples chews) reveals hints of fresh brewed teas – actually, more like sun brewed tea.

Plastic shopping bags.

Mustard seed.

Then great orange blossom honey, nice.

Finish It’s all vanilla, honey and nuts.  Something I realized after the 3rd or 4th sip I was there’s a big, strong oak backbone.

In sum The balance with this whisky is very strong.  A solid whisky.  This is, to me, a nice aperitif type whisky.  Light and fruity – gets me hungry for dinner.  Enjoy in good company.

I’m not sure how long this deal will last but, Shopper’s Vineyard has this for only $36.99 a bottle.

Glenmorangie Signet – Wonderfully different yet so quintessentially Glenmo!

Glenmorangie Signet

Highlands region – 46%ABV – 750ml bottle – $150200 | £110 | €134

Hi, my name is Joshua and I loves me some Glenmorangie.  But, let’s back up a little bit, shall we?

Growing up I was a fat kid.  Yeah, that’s me with the man-boy boobs and the feathered cow-lick on the left there.  We’re looking at 1984 – 1985 or so.  I was 11 or 12.  This is the summer I started getting into the Dead Kennedys and got hooked on The Goonies (can’t you just picture me doing the truffle-shuffle?) and Back to the Future.

Why do I bring this up and what does it have to do with Glenmorangie?

Well, it was the summer of 1985 where I ate ‘G-d knows how many peaches’ in one sitting after watching the Cool Hand Luke 50 egg scene just to see how many I could eat (I never did vomit, by the way).  We had 10 peaches and yes, I ate them all (shit, look at that picture of me!).  You see, I love peaches & nectarines.  Always have.  I actually prefer nectarine (they’re like peaches that got a Brazilian wax).

“Dear Joshua, what does this have to do with Glenmorangie?”  Well, I’ll tell you.  Ardbeg is known for peat & lemons.  The Balvenie has their “honeyed” notes.  And, Glenmorangie is known for it’s, among other notes, peach notes.  It’s all coming together now, right?  Love for peaches, love for Glenmorangie… see??

Ok, its a stretch.  I needed a chance to show fat Josh (yeah, right) so, there you go.  Let’s review this.

On the nose Aero milk chocolate bars.

Wonderful scents of paraffin wax.

Whiffs of recently extinguished candles.

Notes of ripe lush oranges and freshly brewed coffee.

Stewed figs and prune juice.

Underneath all of this lies the juicy peach notes (seeeeee!) that I always search for when having a Glenmorangie.

Finally, some great blasts of pipe smoke (how did I not detect this right off).

On the mouth Oh, G-d damn.  Brilliant and warming notes of melting chocolate chips with bits of cookie attached.

Whole milk and steamy lattes.

Fine dry wine.

Like some Clarets I’ve had – soft but tannic.

The mouth feel is right up my alley, lush.

Walnut shells and cherry skins.

Finish Zucchini bread and/or carrot cake with walnuts minus the cream cheese frosting.

There’s a drying nuttiness that pops up about 45 seconds after the swallow.

Yes, this is a nice, long finish!!

In sum I’ve had many-many a Glenmorangie in my whisky tasting life.  Of all the whiskies I’ve had, I’ve had more expressions of Glenmorangie than any other brand of whisk(e)y.  This expression was as much un-like a Glenmorangie as it was like the quintessential Glenmorangie.  Brilliantly different yet so dead on.  Beyond this, it’s unlike any other whisky I’ve ever had.  A bit of a conundrum but, that’s a good thing.  Kudos/Bravo Glenmorangie and Dr. Bill Lumsden!  If you have the money, this is most likely one of the nicest every day drinkers for you to have.  It’s that good.

Glenglassaugh 30yr 55.1% – a true celebratory malt

Speyside region – 55.1%ABV – 70cl Decanter (yes folks, a decanter.) – £390 | €469

I’ll be upfront here.  Many folks out there will not have the chance to try this stuff.  It’s rare and it’s very expensive.  Before you start calling me a Daddy Warbucks I will tell you that I reviewed this dram from a sample.  A big, *BIG* thank you goes out to Alan for the sample!  Cheers He’bro!

Why am I so excited about a bottle I could never afford?  Well, because A) some of you good people out there can swing the squids for a bottle and B) Glenglassaugh is a newly re-opened distillery and if this whisky is any indication as to what we’ll see coming out of their stills & casks, well…  let’s say we should all be excited.

On to the whisky!

On the nose Light & fruity nose filled with a mist of lemons (better yet, Etrog) and white pepper.

A hints of lovely oak to it.  Sweet flowers and Sharpies (black markers).

Honey salted butter (unmelted butter – a fresh stick).

Black licorice.

Sugar cubes and almond oil.

On the mouth Fruity – Apples and berries.

Loads of toffee and burnt tea leaves.

Rose water (oh, I love this!).

This is getting hotter by the second — cayenne and jalepeno notes pop in right as it heats up – brilliant.

Black grapes and cherry skins.

The mouthfeel went from oily and chewy but we go quickly over to thin and hot.

Finish Prickly pears both in taste and feel “prickly” tongue and cheeks.

In sumI am thankful to have had a chance to taste this stuff.  I was only 6 years old when this was distilled.  That aside, there’s a reason this is an award winning whisky.  Powerful and truly enjoyable Scotch whisky!  Another dram to break out for the most special of life cycle events such as the birth of a child, marriage, bar/bat mitzvah (for my heebs out there), Christening (because I’m an equal opportunity whisky lover), etc…

Last month I had the good opportunity to interview Stuart Nickerson (Managing Director of the newly re-opened Glenglassaugh distillery).  If you’ve not yet had a chance to read it, you may want to do so right now.  Part 1 & Part 2