Whisky 2017 – 160-161

I got to share some drams at the (Australian only alcohol) Bad Frankie in Fitzroy with the very knowledgeable Tori Suzuki of The Mash Tun in Tokyo and Kelvin and Yao of the Elysian. 

160 – Fleurieu Distillery Rubicon
Anzac biscuits, toast with honey, dates, prunes. Honey, butter, salt, sweet tea – under done.

161 – Heartwood Epiphany at the Lakes 10 Years (Lark Port and Bourbon Cask)
Chicos, prunes, chocolates, French pastries, stewed apricot, dust. Pastries, raisins, chocolate, hazelnuts, marzipan, salted butter. Much simpler than most Heartwood but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Whisky 2017 – 153-159 – Edradour Tasting

153 – Edradour Caledonia 12 years 46%
Honey, lemon, aspirin, sarsaparilla, rhubarb. Dry Xmas spice, old butter funk, bitter herbs, apples, milk chocolate and tobacco.

154 – Edradour The Fairy Flag 15 Years 46%
Lemsip, chlorine, chocolate, honey on toast. Loads of floral honey, German Xmas biscuits, weak nuttiness.

155 – Edradour 10 Year Straight from the cask 58.9%
Caramel banana split, maple syrup, boot polish, raisins, buttered toast, stewed apricots. Sarsaparilla, strawberry jame and cream on scones, honey and butter on crumpets,

156 – Edradour Ballechin 10 46%
Chlorine, honey, autumn leaves, coals. Honey, coal, bones, apple juice, cream, chocolate mousse, fruit cup cordial, smoked jack fruit, mangos.

157 – Edradour Ballechin SFTC Bordeaux Cask 11 Years Cask 384, 55.7%
Honey, heather, melted butter, apple juice, fruit leather, boot polish, slight smoke, hazelnuts. Caramel, honey, rose hip, rubber, tar, digestives, wine tannins that are gentle, sulphur.

158 – Edradour Ballechin SFTC Burgundy Cask 13 Years Cask 12, 53.7%
Honey baked ham, ozone, dirt, chocolate dipped pretzels, black beans. Autumn leaves, stones, earthy, apple snow, dusty, orange and mango juice, textas.

159 – Edradour 17 Years 1999 Cask 812, 822 & 823 Bordeaux Hogshead Finish
Tinned pineapple, chalk, chocolate, cinnamon, berry jam. Pavlova, salt, woody, sugar cane, Coke with lemon slice, wine tannins, sweat milky tea.

Whisky 2017 – 150-151 – Helvetica, Perth

Two special drams to finish my time in Perth. Normally, I am not a fan of red wine casks but wow! 

151 – Ichiro’s Malt ChichibuXHanyu Gasai for Isetan
Dusty apricots, carob, butter and spice cake, ozone, galvanized fence, hand cream, slight lemon zest. Hot malt, tobacco, leather, cream, slightly salt, old whisky, apricot bars, bitter herbs, boiled sweets, ice coffee.

152 – Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu first fill red wine for Isetan*
Massive nose, intense candle wax, buttered toast, boiling butterscotch, chocolate mouse, vintage soap. Manuka honey on buttered crumpets, aspirin, well structured tannins, bitter chocolate, brandy cream on warmed fruit cake, dried pears and peaches, raw cashews, toasted coconut.

Whisky 2017 – 149-150 – Helvetica, Perth

So, I’ve easily hit 150 this year. With all the work travel, I’ve somehow managed this. Helvetia is a nice little whisky bar in Perth with around 400 bottles. Some interesting Ichiro’s bottlings there too. Worth checking out if you are there. These two drams were excellent. I don’t know much about Bellwether except they are from WA and this was a monster at 70%.

149 – Bellwether Cask Strength Port Cask peated 30ppm, bottle 38/38
Leather, honey, tobacco, maple syrup, dates, green olives, scones out of the oven. Honey, butter, toast, dust and bones, tobacco.

150 – Kilchoman Caroni (Rum) Cask by LMDW 2011
Apple juice, dried apricots, leaf matter, heather, salted butter, rocks in an old fire, pound cake, roasted parsnips. Leather, salt, butter, apricot cake, fireplace, green herbs, honey, gun powder.

Whisky 2017 – 142-148 Japanese tasting

Another great tasting at The Elysian. The Yoichi was the stand out for me. Obviously the Speyside wasn’t a part of the tasting but a birthday dram bought for me. 

142 – Mars Malt Le Papillon, 4yo, American White Oak #1558, 58%, 1 of 599 Bottles
Bananas, hazelnuts, kiwi fruit, pound cake, macerated cherries, fruit straps. Oat cakes, butter, salt, lemon zest, banana cake, green gras.

143 – White Oak Akashi 5yo Exclusive for Shinanoya, White Wine Finish #61091, 59%, 1 of 342 Bottles
Rubber, dried pears, soy sauce, slight butter, dusty, red apples. Rubber, peanut brittle, melted butter, toasted grains, salt, roasted onions, white pepper.

144 – Kirin Fuji Sanroku 2016 Limited Edition 18yo Blended Whisky Oloroso Cask Finish, 43%
Cooked apples, ice cream, spiced cloves, reef tanning oil, toasted almonds, butter, crushed ants. Dried peaches and apples, toasted almonds, butter.

145 – Yamazaki Limited Edition 2017, 43%
Pencil shavings, pound cake, muscat grapes, Earl grey tea, red apples. Fruit flan, raw hazelnuts, cream, sandalwood, pepper.

146 – Yoichi Distillery Limited Bottling “Woody & Vanillic”, 55%
Apple snow, leather, pencil shavings, vanilla, boot polish, porridge with maple syrup. Just incredible mouth feel, spice cake, honey, butter, bracken, dried banana, pencil shavings.

147 – Ichiro’s Malt The Peated 2016 Edition, 54.5%, 1 of 6350 Bottles
Banana, chlorine, brown bread, butter, apricot nectar, carob. Hay, grass, salt, ashes goats cheese, toasted peanuts, chocolate, carob.

148 – The Whisky Agency speyside 43 years, 1973
Candle wax, fake clove spice, stewed plums, egg pudding, dried pineapple, mint, cola. Butter, pencil shavings, wax, plums.

Whisky 2017 – 139-141 – Baxters Inn, Sydney

Traveling for work again. Had a chance to finally get to Baxters Inn in Sydney. Some great whisky there but these places like Boiler Maker house in Melbourne and The Gresham in Brisbane only ever are really able to cater to the whisky nerd when it is quiet. I had a good chat to some of the staff before the throngs arrived and saw some of their lovely older bottlings in their whisky room but it’s a busy busy drinking barn – difficult to enjoy a dram. 

How good is old Bowmore! 

139 – Littlemill 1988 Cask 57 25 Years Berry Bros
Shortbread, cream, vanilla, plastic, new make. Fresh apricots in caramel sauce with ice cream, passionfruit vine, hand cream, salt.


140 – Bowmore 17 (1990s bottling)
Honey, fruitcake, salt, hay, barnyard, chocolate milk, band-aids, dusty butter. Honey, salt, raisins, bandaids, green peppercorns, clover, hazelnuts, pencil shavings. 


141 – Glendronach Olorosso Sherry Butt Cask 76, 1992 23 years
Bubblegum, rhubarb, swimming in melted butter, mushrooms, dates, hazelnuts butter, brown sugar. Chocolate, buttter, wood, salt – a little underpowered for a single cask Glendronach. Eventually  butter, crushed ants and flapjacks on the finish. Great nose but a disappointing Glendronach single cask. 

Whisky 2017 – 136-138

136 – 1972 Invergordon Cask #37 selected by Phil & Simon Thompson 43 Years
Raspberry leaf, boot polish, cream, glacé ginger, maple bacon. Cream, toasted grains, Pavlova, kiwi fruits, glacé ginger, sweet milky tea.

137 – 1973 Invergordon Cask #10 for Club Qing 42 Years *
Dry biscuits, cloves, cinnamon, ice cream, apple snow, raspberry lollies. Incredible whisky tea tannins, loads of cream, fresh cracked paper, cardamom icecream, liquorice, macadamias, prunes, sight white peach.

138 – 1988 Bunnahabhain 28 Years by The Whisky Agency and Drunken Master Bar, Sherry Hogshead Cask 475
Cadlewax, hazelnuts, old apples, liquorice, dust, fruitcake. Fennel, dust, salt, stewed fruits, chocolate bullets, raw peanuts.

Whisky 2017 – 130-135 – Balvenie Tasting

Huge tasting on at the Elysian. Alex Moores from Dark Valley brought back some very good hand drawn single cask bottles from Balvenie. Alex and I shared a few other drams afterwards. 

130 – Balvenie 13yo ex-bourbon barrel matured, cask #2022, 61.7%
Ice cream on warm pine apple pudding, red apple skin, choc-banana muffins. Super huge raspberry, choc-banana muffins, loads of vanilla cream, gooseberry, leather, dried apple.

131 – Balvenie 14yo ex-bourbon barrel matured, cask #13330, 53.2%
Fruit tingles, lemon and coconut cake, vanilla cream, strawberry jam. Great mouth feel, short bread, toasted coconut, strawberries, loads of cream, wood shavings, green herbs.

132 – Balvenie 14yo ex-sherry butt matured, cask #2378, 62.7%
Roasted corn cobs, treacle, crushed cloves, roasted almonds, peanut brittle, marshmallow, Earl grey tea cream. Woody, beef jus, rubber, peanut brittle, caramel taken too far, hazelnuts, Musk sticks, mushroom pate, tea tannins.


133 – The Whisky Find and The Mash Tun Craigellachie 1990 Cask 5401
Candle wax, soft gooey French cheese, dried apple, rock melon skin, caramel, fruit sherbet bombs, lemon butter. Bees wax, coconut, rock melon, coffee, strawberries, flowers, nasturtiums, caramels, salt.


134 – The Whisky Agency 2003 13 Years JD for Bistro Inn, The Elysian Whisky Bar and Drunken Master Bar
Butter soaked toast, crushed ants, tomatoes, rhubarb and whipped cream. Butter, cultured butter, cream, formic acid, cinnamon toast, dusty, raw almonds.


135 – The Arran 21st Anniversary Edition – Ex-Olorosso Cask
Cream, metallic apricots, toffee, chocolate, pouch tobacco, peanut brittle, hazelnut paste. Tobacco, apricots, green grass, cream, tinned pineapple, hazelnut butter.

Porridge recipe!

So, I made porridge the other day to help with Melbourne’s cold winter. In a discussion with my girlfriend we were adamant that this porridge was pretty close to my idea of a perfect whisky. I thought it was worth sharing with people; the salted butter and the orange zest really lift it. 

Porridge

1.5 Cups Oats (not the fast kind)

2 Cups Milk

1.3 Cups Water

1 Tbs Honey

Pinch of salt

1 Tbs Double cream

2 Dates finely chopped

Topping for each bowl

2 Dates cut into strips

2 Thin slices of cold salted butter (or more)

1 Tbs Maple syrup (or more)

Orange zest

Method

Put oats, milk, water, honey, salt in a pot. Heat over a low to medium heat. Stir gently during this time. After about 5 minutes the oats should have absorbed the liquid, it should be thick and creamy, and begin to boil. Drop the heat to very low (or off depending on how firm you like your porridge) add the double cream and finely chopped dates and stir vigorously until the dates start breaking down.

 Plate into two deep bowls. To each bowl add the butter onto the surface of the porridge and on top of the butter place the strips of date. Slosh the maple syrup about and grate the orange zest over the top of the bowl.

I hope you enjoy it!