Tag Archives: Cinnamon

A World of Discovery, Arran, Autumn

Arran Sassacaia Cask – Limited Edition Bottling

Islands region – 55%ABV – $90 | £43

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed and Arran (and G-d knows, I’ve reviewed quite a few Arran whiskies).  I’ve had a bottle of this Arran Sassacaia on my  shelf for a while and have been slowly, but surely, chipping away at it.

The first time I tried it was when I was in Scotland doing the JSMWS whisky tour with Jason Johnstone-Yellin and our two guests Meg & Mike.  Mike was the one that turned Jason onto the stuff and it was he, Mike, that turned me onto the stuff during a stop at the Craigellachie Hotel just outside of Elgin.

We put this Sassacaia cask whisky up against another distiller’s Sassacaia cask whisky and this Arran one blew the other one out of the water.  There was no real comparison.  This Arran is big and fresh and vibrant.  The other?  Not so much.  While I will not name the other whisky, I will tell you it was *not* the new Glenmorangie Artien – that whisky wasn’t even released when we did this side-by-side.

Here are the details on the Arran Sassacaia  Cask:

On the nose –  Like bathing your nose in a tub full of deep/dark tropical fruits (think passion fruit, persimmon, over-ripe cantaloupe and then a good bit of cherry which I know is not really tropical…).

A bit of a malty backbone.

Juicy juice grape juice (if there were a not so sugary version of it).

Some notes of rubber birthday ballons too.  That’s said in a very positive way.

It’s like a party in my nose.

A very vibrant smelling whisky.

On the mouth – Thick, deep and honied mouthfeel.

Noticeable notes of, you guessed, Sassicaia wine – cherries, cedar wood and even a bit of chocolate in there.

Cinnamon spice which quickly becomes drying.

A couple of sips later reveals an interesting hint (a tiny hint) of swimming pools on hot summer days.

Finish – Drying, long and filled with cherries and chewing tobacco.

In sum – Not a very Arran, Arran if you ask me.  Nice, well balanced and overall a very satisfying whisky.  However, I did not detect much of the Arran character that made me fall in love with their whiskies.  Not a complaint… it just makes me think about what percentage influence wood *really* has on whisky and what makes that percentage change from cask to cask.  This aside, when should you enjoy this one?  Well, I’d try to do it soon.  These bottles are hard to find!!

Big thanks goes out to Mike A for suggesting the whisky – big thanks goes out to Merwin’s for selling me their last bottle!

High West, Summertime

High West Whiskey – Bourye vs Son of Bourye

Park City, Utah – Both bottled at 46%ABV (or 92 proof)

“Oh, how cruel!!  Oh, the humanity!  Yossi is pitting father against son!  How could he do it?  Does he have no heart?!  Isn’t he, himself, a father?!”

Sheesh!

Like I’m the first to have even put a father vs son (or vice versa) in a story before.  Have you never heard of the binding of Issac?  Abraham was totally going to knife his kid!

Then there’s the misunderstanding between fathers and sons. Let’s think of Cat Stevens “Father and Son“…

Or even, the story from Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle” – talk about a tear jerker!

What about Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker?!

Nah, what I’m offering up is not as intense as the aforementioned daddy-issue, issues.  Today we have a couple of very interesting bourbon/rye blends from High West.  First up:

High West Bourye – 46% ABV – $55

Details on this whiskey from the High West folks:

“Bourye’s unique blend features three whiskies: a 10-year-old bourbon with a mash bill of 75 percent corn, 20 percent rye and 5 percent barley malt; a 12-year-old straight rye whiskey that’s 95 percent rye and five percent barley malt; and finally a 16-year-old straight rye with 53 percent rye, 37 percent corn and 10 percent malt. “

On the nose –  Much softer than previous High West Whiskeys I’ve tried but that lovely pickley-dill (piccadilly palare?) quality is wafting about.

Fresh cut grass and shots of wheatgrass.

Fennel seeds (again, like other High West).  Charred oak is obvious.

There is a corn-like quality here though, sweet creamed corn.

On the mouth – VERY much a bourbon.

The sweetness is here and the spice is slight.  Soft in the mouth, not very aggressive.

The second sip reverses the preceding sentence.

Pumpkin spices: Cinnamon, cardamom (slight), nutmeg, allspice (what the heck is allspice anyway?).

A very present and attention demanding whiskey.

Finish – Shortish with lingering vanilla and wood.

High West Bourye – 46% ABV – $42

Details on this whiskey from the High West folks:

“Not chill filtered, not carbon treated. Whiskey #1: 5yr Old Bourbon- 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% barley malt, Whiskey #2: 3yr Old Rye – 95% rye, 5% barley malt. The ratios of whiskies are top secret! However, no bourbon today has more rye in the final product!”

On the nose –  Quite a different animal as compared his pop – peppermint and floral air fresheners.

Much more “clean” smelling than Mr. Bourye Senior.

Laminated cardboard candy boxes (that once held candy).

Cut greens yet not like grass – sweet spouts perhaps.

Pencil shavings and wood char.

On the mouth – If Bourye is taking the low road, Son of Bourye is taking the high road.  Not sure how to put this into words but this is light and airy compared to Bourye.

Very grassy which is not something I often get in American whiskeys.  Vegetal and garden like but not garden variety.  Focusing on greens, sweet greens.

The rye in present here, seemingly more so, in comparison with the Bourye, with some added citrus and spice.

Quite fresh and almost palate cleansing (yet full of flavor).  This is a kooky lil’ guy!  Me likey!

Finish – It’s all about subtlety here.  If you pay attention, the finish is long with a slight sweetness.  Spice & citrus all along the edges.

In sum – This is a tough one.  If you like the more fierce bourbons with a high-rye, slightly spicy type quality, then Bourye is for you.  I quite enjoyed the off-the-beaten-pathedness of the Son of Bourye.  It’s a wholly new experience — one that has won my heart.  Son of Bourye had me at Hello.

**As a note: these older whiskeys from High West have not been distilled at their location. Rather, they have purchased this whiskey and, as you can see, are making some amazing blends from that stock. The good news for you is two fold: 1) They have a good deal of this older, purchased stock and 2) High West is also now a true distillery and has been for a few years so we should be seeing some younger stuff come from them very shortly!!**

Special thanks goes out to David Perkins and Erik Fitchett for the samples!!

Autumn, Kininvie, Need To Bundle Up

Kininvie Hazelwood Reserve 17yo bottled at 52.5%

Speyside region – 52.5%ABV – £650

Who in the who is Kininvie?!  If you’re an American, chances are, this is a very valid question.

Kininvie is a distillery owned by William Grant & Sons (same folks that own The Balvenie, Glenfiddich, Hudson Real American Whiskey, Tullamore Dew, Grant’s blend and a few other whiskies & spirits companies).  Kininvie is one of the key components in the Monkey Shoulder vatted malt, I mean, blended malt whisky.

It’s pretty rare that the Kininvie distillery releases a single malt.  In fact, I think there have only been about 3 or 4 bottlings to date (Mr. Sammy Simmons, if you see this post, feel free to correct me here…).  So, when they do release a single malt, being the rare birds that they are, you can imagine that they’d command a high price like the one given here (£650!!)

A big thanks goes out to Marshall N and a few others at the LASC for getting me this sample!  These guys are always treating me to some fine stuff and they need to be thanked.  So, consider yourselves thanked (and expect some more thanks down the road).

Matured in first fill sherry (type of sherry is unknown to me) casks – let’s taste this one…

On the nose — Here we have all things one might associate with autumn – roasted nuts right off the county fair nut kiosk.

Carrot cake less the cream cheese frosting.

Dried fruits (apricot, sugar dried dates) and brazil nuts (N.V.T.S., NVTS!).

French vanilla latte with a cinnamon dusting on the frothy head.

Very drying nose – some woody influence here as well.

On the mouth — Intensely drying entry that makes the mouth water to counteract the dry.

Fresh cocoa beans.  Spicy, woody and now even more spice.

A touch of orange peel and also a lot of what I got on the nose.

Creme brule, burnt sugary top and all.

Finish — A touch of clove, vanilla a sugared carrots

In sum —  Insanely lucky to have had a chance to taste this stuff.  All of the scents and flavors did a good job of playing to the yearly Fall-Fever I get (most people get Spring-Fever, I get Fall-Fever…).  The one detractor I found in it was the dry attack right from the get-go which affected the mouthfeel.  This aside, the smells and flavors were so, so nice.  Good luck finding a bottle!  I’ve found a source with The Whisky Exchange: they’re both rare & expensive (£650!!)

In the end, this made me really want some Balvenie 21 Portwood (one of my faves) so, I poured a bit, relaxed and discovered that life can be good.

Cold Winter, Kilchoman, Need To Bundle Up

Kilchoman Spring 2011 Release – Very mature for its age.

Islay region – 46%ABV – $41 – $60 (another crazy spread in US prices.  And believe it or not, some places sell for more!) | £39

Kilchoman is a very young distillery on Islay in Scotland (young, like only 5 years old, young).  Surely they fall within the peaty style of the island.  With regards to Islay whiskies, only Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain have non-peated whiskies as part of their standard range and as flagship whiskies.

With regards to Kilchoman, from the moment of their inception, Islay whisky-philes have been watching this little farm distillery with a keen eye.  Since their inaugural release, their first REAL whisky (aged at 3 years and 1 day), people have had nothing but good things to say about their products.  The list of people with good reviews is seemingly endless.

As of a later last year, Kilchoman stopped doing their various releases (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and have launched a 2006 vintage – basically a five year old whisky.  To my knowledge, there has been only one indy bottling of Kilchoman and that was put out by the Whisky Exchange.  I have had two of their OB single cask bottlings and really enjoyed them (I still had a tiny bit left from my Binny’s Exclusive bottling).

This is my first run-in with a non-single cask Kilchoman.

On the nose –  Only four years old, eh??  Bright and fresh with some smoke and peat and interestingly enough light notes of juniper (charred as it were).

OK, now some of those younger spirity notes creep through – pear drops, fresh apple too.

Some apple bread joins in on the fun as do some brine/coastal notes but it’s not very intense on that front.

Cinnamon over bread pudding.

Paraffin wax and a brininess as well.

On the mouth – Big, mouth coating, oily, smoky, lemons, limes.

There’s nothing young about this.  One could confuse this for a single cask 10yo Ardbeg.

Cooked apples, baked pears, old and heavily used rubbers/wellies.

Lots and lots going on here.

Finish – A lasting fizziness on the tip of my tongue.  Citrus notes remain.

In sum – This is a fine, fine whisky.  While I think I enjoyed the full throttle experience of 60%+ ABV on the two single cask Kilchomans (or would it be Kilchomen at that point?) a bit more, Kilchoman is showing some great promise.  If their whiskies are this good at only 4 years of age, I can’t wait to see what happened when they release a 10yo!  This is a winter warmer-upper.

Special thanks goes out to the good folks over at Impex Beverages for the sample!

A World of Discovery, Cold Winter, GlenDronach, Let's celebrate!

A couple of groovy GlenDronach Single Cask whiskies to keep you warm this winter…

‘Tis the season to be FREEZING YOUR A$$ OFF!

Good G-d, y’all, it’s cold here in Connecticut.  We’re talking 15°F (-9°C for the rest of the world).

You may remember that we have, here on the blog, a place for you to go and find the perfect whisky to suit your mood or the season we happen to be in (you can click the image below to get a larger view of it).

We hope that that link will help you to pair whisky with your life.  Like pairing a nice heavy bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with a dish of Pasta Fra Diavolo, we feel it’s important to pair whisky with what’s going on in your life.

Did your daughter just graduate from college?  I’d suggest some Glenmorangie 18yo or Lagavulin 21yo (if you can find a bottle).

Perhaps someone rear-ended you on the way home from work – I’d say pour some Port Charlotte PC7 or some George T. Stagg bourbon.

Or maybe, like today, it’s just damn cold out and you feel you need to warm up/bundle up – There’s always some Ardbeg Alligator or Glenfarclas 25yo.

Failing the Ardbeg and Glenfarclas, I might suggest the following two chilly weather, super sherried, warmers:

1992 GlenDronach – 19yo, Cask #161 – 59.2% ABV – £??

On the nose –  Wow, this is a HUGE nose (we’re talking about the whisky not my big Jew nose)!  Massive notes of apricot jam, a bit of wood smoke, pool water, clean church pews, a toasty baguette and salted and tinned nutty notes.

Really massive. Can not impress that upon you enough.

Deep, sweet berries  (raspberry and lingonberry) boiled with sugar and pectin – making berry preserves/jam!

Some dried fruit in here but not as much as expected (not a bad thing – this is a great nose).

On the mouth – Like high octane sherry upfront.  Chocolate – like drinking Cocoa Pebbles cereal.

Molasses and buckwheat honey (if you mixed the two).  You’d never know that this is almost 60% Alcohol (120 proof).

Lebkuchen, more lebkuchen (perfect for this time of year) and Jaffa cakes.

Tons of nutmeg and ginger and spice (ginger snap cookies?).

Finish – Very, very long – spicy, chocolatey and with some more apricots – like warmed apricot and walnuts really.

In sum – Can I just say… ummm… wow.  One of the best sherried single cask whiskies I’ve had this year (if not *the* best).  It’s like drinking a wood paneled study and an over stuffed leather chair (I imagine Oxford or Yale professors marveling over this one while discussing quantum mechanics).  A contemplative dram and winter-warmer-upper for sure.

You may want to scour the whisky auction houses or eBay for this one as it seems to be all sold out – the beauty and difficulty of single cask whiskies.

1991 GlenDronach – 19yo, Cask #2406 – 55.4% ABV – £88 (£73 ex-VAT tax)

On the nose –  A bit of an alcoholic nose (you can sense that the ABV is pretty high on this one).

Balsamic vinegar doused shoe leather – if you’re able to imagine such a combination…  Sweet and a tad herbal but the sweetness overtakes with notes of spiced dates and fig jam and a few dashes of white pepper.

Some citrus in here as well with hints of key lime but mostly a marmalade note (again, spiced).

With water the nose warms up quite a bit.  That vinegar I got is gone and the peppery quality is boosted and there is an addition of milk chocolate here now.

Coming back again after a few sips and there is clearly some Sioux City Sarsaparilla Soda notes wafting about.

On the mouth – This is a hot one that’s got a good deal of sweetness on the front but the heat is a bit much to get past to dissect.  Let’s add a squirt or two of water…

Worlds of difference!  A multitude of steeped hot teas and some licorice notes (licorice tea?).  Nice chewiness to the fluid.

More chocolate and some red fruits (almost a bit winey).  Fresh tobacco down the center of the tongue with a nice drying effect as we near the finish line…

Finish – Long and spicy on the sides of the tongue with the tobacco as a nice lasting note.

In sum – I’m not sure if this is a 1st fill or 2nd fill sherry butt.  Based on the color, I’d say it as 2nd fill or just not an overly active cask.  However, the quality of the spirit shines through here and I enjoyed the spiciness to this whisky.  It’s not my favorite GlenDronach but one that I could find myself reaching for when I’m looking for a bit of an invigorating malt.  Perfect as a morning pick me up or one to warm up before you head out to shovel the winter’s snow fall.