Tag: caol ila

Whisky 2020 – 40-44

Tasting with social distancing and isolation is a bit difficult. Things have certainly slowed down. Thankfully some whisky bars have been sending samples.

40 – SMWS 63.49 (Glentauchers) In the dark of the abyss

Nose is intensely vanilla, with delightful citrus rind. Some caramelised figs and hazelnuts, toasted marshmallow and musk.

Palate is very sherried. Very woody and a slight sulfur note. Dry cooking spices, vanilla cream, dried apricots and dates.

Finish rubber, wood char, toasted nuts, brown sugar and praline

****

41 – Four Roses Single Barrel – Warehouse KE Barrel 64.3E

Nose vanilla cream, cracked pepper, cardamom, crushed ants, raspberry and raspberry leaf, pink marshmallow and orange zest. A lovely backbone of shoe polish and spice.

Palate vanilla cream, buttery, nutty, some slight rubbery notes, mashed strawberries, Christmas biscuits.

Finish melted butter for days and fresh wood shavings.

****

42 – Benrinnes 1995/2019 23yo by Drunken Master & The Elysian Hogshead #9080, 48.5%

Nose of lemon, malt, honey and wax. That real “old whisky” waxy smell with slight tropical fruits.

Palate sweet like kiwi fruit and dusty mangos. Hay and boot polish. Finally some lovely liquorice and pepperiness.

As the palate fades a bolt of vanilla cream and aniseed that lingers

****^

43 – Glen Elgin 1995/2019 23yo by Drunken Master & The Elysian, Hogshead #3271, 51%

Tropical fruits like pineapple and mango, whipped cream and chewy meringue. Getting a slight medicinal sense?!

Great palate weight. A strange mix of floral, roses, chocolate bullets and black cats. Feels like an old whisky

Finish leather bound books, cream and potpourri

***

44 – Caol Ila 2006/2019 12yo by Drunken Master & The Elysian, Hogshead #311572, 57%

Medicinal honey. Aspirin! Salty and mineral. Pink lady apples and fairy floss.

Palate is autumn leaves, seaweed and forgotten oyster shells. Caramel and cream.

Finish is sea spray, autumn leaves and cream.

(As an aside we had a piece of white chocolate at the end and wow! Islay and white chocolate… who knew! Try it!)

****

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Whisky 2020 – 31-36 – Signatory Tasting

31 – Cameronbridge 1984 35YO by Signatory cask 19300

Nose of caramel, leather, intense white stone fruit, crushed ants, grilled pineapple, bones, cola

Palate it tastes big for 49.6% butter cream, bourbon cream sticky buns, horlicks, milky coffee

Finish green pineapple and rose hips

****

32 – Linkwood 1996 22YO by Signatory casks 8731+8732

Nose pepper on steak, honey, stone fruit, green pears, kiwi fruit skin

Palate cooling and cold, but feels narrow and one dimensional, stewed pears, steel and honey

Finish mead and fennel seed

***

33 – Deanston 2008 11YO by Signatory cask 900072

Nose firecrackers, dried apricots – the nose is for me beautiful and promised so much.

Palate is sulfur, pop corn, soy sauce, honey and stone fruit but the sulphur tired cask notes overwhelm… it’s faulty to me and I love over done sherry.

Finish salt and heather and more sulfur.

*

34 – Bunnahabhain 2007 12YO by Signatory cask 586

Nose is pineapple upside down cake, steel, chocolate

Palate: honey, strawberry jam, sulfur

Finish green grass and melted butter

**^

35 – Clynelish 1995 23YO by Signatory cask 11242

Nose is pretty simple; malt, steely, honey, grape stems

Palate dusty, honey, soy, rocks and sand. With water old tired sherry is revealed and it is not pleasant.

Finish soy and old sherry cask

**^

36 – Caol Ila 2007 11YO by Signatory casks 322307+322308

Nose banana leaf, glue, salt, honey yoyo biscuits

Palate stones, sea, medicine cabinet, driftwood

Finish medicinal and the sou’wester of a brusque dockmen

***

Whisky 2020 – 13-18 – North Star Tasting

13 – North Star Inchgower 11yo, Bourbon Hogshead, 52.5%
Interesting nose of honey, mandarin and menthol. Cold salted butter and Some steely notes.

Palate is consistent with the nose and shows loads of honey and dry spice, salty melted butter on toast. It’s quite hot.

Finish is surprisingly ashy, salty and woody.

***^

14 – North Star Girvan 26yo, Bourbon Barrel, 53.5%
Nose is bounty bars, marshmallow and woody which leads to pine resin, apricot brandy

Palate is initially light, loads of cream and vanilla hits and leads into saltiness and stone fruit.

Finish salty whipped cream, green plants, and some coconut cream

***^

15 – North Star English Whisky Co 11yo, Burgundy Barrel, 49.8%
Very sherry like nose woody, lpg, funky and tannic, honey, heather and medicinal, quite meaty. It promises a lot.

Palate is confused with intense green capsicum, some pepper. Late there is some old tired wine casks, tannin and some positive minerality.

Finish is rubbery

*^

16 – North Star Blended Grain 36yo, Bourbon barrel 52.5%
Nose is crushed ants, butter, and quite bourbon like with notes of vanillin and pancakes. Some lemon balm and cherry strudel adds some real intrigue.

The palate is all toffee and stewed fruits. Some varnish, melted butter and brown sugar. Interesting fatty nuttiness like Brazil nuts.

Finish is great fruit sweetness, salty and clear… and super juicy.

****^

17 – North Star Glenrothes 11yo for ralfy.com 10th Anniversary, Oloroso Butt, 51.4%
Nose is typically sherried Glenrothes that salty boiling caramel thing I really like. Then some prunes and muscat grapes, honey, maraschino cherries.

Palate is super honey, prunes with great minerality. Later there is cold sweet ice tea and apricot jam.

Finish is simple and a bit surprising with river stones and ash.

****

18 – North Star Caol Ila 9yo, PX Sherry Finish, 51.8%
I found the nose quite exciting with pine, tar and Cheetos and some fruitiness from prunes.

Palate is bushfire with some nice seaside elements like crushed prawn shells and seaweed. Some fruit with prunes again and then with water a wonderful cinnamon sugar donut.

The finish maritime and boot polish.

***^

Whisky 2019 – 102-107, Blackadder and Firkin Tasting

102 – Blackadder Raw Cask Aultmore 2006 11yo, 57.6% Cask #307142

Nose starts tropical with strong dried pineapple and mango skin, sweet honey, raw pastry, salted lemons

Palate of milky sweet tea. It’s malty with tropical and stone fruit. A hint of flinty minerality.

Finish is a simple salty butter.

****

103 – Firkin Whisky Co Firkin 49 Tullibardine 2011 8yo Oloroso Amontillado Casks, 48.9%

The nose was nutty, clear stone fruit, lemon sip, milk chocolate.

Palate had a lovely iced coffee note. Followed by heather, flinty, Brazil nuts and a touch a salty citrus.

Finish of cold salted butter, kopiko (coffee) lollies.

***

104 – Firkin Whisky Co Firkin Ten Royal Brackla 2008 10yo Madeira Cask, 48.9%

Nose: Rose heads, peach ice tea, my mum’s Madeira cake (yes I’m serious)

Palate: great mouthfeel, light tropical, nutty,

Finish: long finish, liquorice, flourless orange cake

****

105 – Blackadder Raw Cask The Old Man Of Hoy 2005 12yo 2018 Batch 1 Single Orcadian Malt, 60.7%

Nose was rubbery and chocolate which makes me think HP. Has very good seaweed and maritime elements.

On the palate it is heavy, honey and charcoal dominant. Pleasant sweet rubbery notes.

The finish becomes flinty and minerally and heavy with wet stones.

****

106 – Firkin Whisky Co Firkin Islay Caol Ila 2012 7yo Marsala Cask, 48.9%

Nose super maritime, gluey, dark chocolate, sweet lemons, corn chips

Palate has a gorgeous mouth feel, really flinty, stones and campfire

Finish of band-aids, dusty, toasted almonds and campfire

****

107 – Blackadder Raw Cask Smoking Islay Blended Malt 2019, 60.2%

Nose of glue and honey, chlorine,

Palate smokey, autumn leaves, pool water

Finish glue, salt and sea water, burnt leaves

**

Whisky 2017 – 184-188

184 – Cadenhead Single Cask Mortlach 30 Years 1987 48.2%
Cream, cassia bark, honey dew melon, fresh cut grass. Hint of leather, cream, liquorice, apricots, star anise, straw, rock melon skin, baked apple with cream.

185 – Oak Barrel Ben Nevis 1997 for Sydney Whisky Fair
Honey, aspirin, boot polish, short bread, black beans. Honey, orange zest, boot polish, golden syrup, granita biscuits, leather, some pouch tobacco, tinned peaches.

186 – Limburg Dramclub Blended 2016 Club Bottling 6
Rose petals, metal, cocoa, apricots, tobacco, caramel, toast with butter, honey, old apples. Tea, rubber, clover, salt, band-aids, honey, peanuts, stewed apricots.

187 – Maltman Port Charlotte 13 Years 2002 Cask 238 bottled for Shinanoya
Caramel, funk, steel, menthol, lemon butter, egg custard, plasticine, mint. Green grass, ash, coal, fruit cup, brown sticks and leaf matter, grapes.

188 – Cadenhead Caol Ila 33 Years 50.2% 1983
Bananas, green apples, malty, glue, plastic and ash, ice-cream, apple snow, cream, slightly medicinal. Cream, fruit, sage, parsley, sea salt, slight hammy note, stewed apples.

Whisky 2017 – 24-26

24 – The Whisky Agency Caol Ila 2007 8 Years Bourbon Hogshead
Preserved lemons, dried pineapple, seaweed, lemonade, crushed prawn shells. Tobacco, salt, iodine, tropical fruit sugars, dark cocoa.

25 – SMWS 30.91 Deliciously dark and sweet (18 Glenrothes)
Toffee apples, caramel sauce, apple cider, whitepepper, tropical fruit. Caramel sauce on icecream, angry busted up wood, rancid butter, tannins.

26 – Lark Private Cask Port LD1180 for Whisky & Alement bottle 10 of 24
Toasted grains, banana paddle pops, raspberry leaf tea, stewed rhubarb, black beans, chocolate drops. Rhubarb danishes, crushed ants, good English breakfast tea, sarsaparilla, cardamom, melted butter.

And Whisky 2016 is go

And we are away. Bit of a break over January but we will be breaking 150 for the year again.

1 – The Old Malt Cask Benrinnes 15
Sultana Danish, pear juice, toffee, butterscotch, maple syrup on pancakes with sour cream. Dried mango, pepper, fruit cake, pound cake.

  
2 – The Old Malt Cask Craigellachie 14
Sultanas, brown sugar & butter, wood polish, green bananas. Huge palate, Xmas pudding, custard, salt, slight bitter, slightly woody, slightly sulphury, brown butter and dried stone fruit.

3 – The Coopers Choice Ben Nevis 1996
Eggy cake batter, my Nan’s apricot jam, slight milk chocolate. Apricots, floral, cake mix, vanilla sugar, chocolate milk shake, Sacher torte.

  

4 – G&M Connoisseur’s Choice Caol Ila 2001
Band-aids, peanuts, autumn leaves, mulch, cured sausage cooked on a fire. Fire place, liquid smoke, jersey creams and a walk down the avenue in late autumn.

Whisky 2015 – 3-6

Fun night out at my usual Whisky haunt, Whisky and Alement in Melbourne. It was a hot and humid night and I’d gone out for Malaysian with the lads… Not sure my palate was making sense.

3 – Tyrconnell Irish Single Malt Whiskey
Banana rock-melon, tomato water, malt. Cream, salt and water, toasted grains.

4 – Connoisseurs Choice Caol Ila 2001
Slightly medicinal and creamy. Peanuts, slight peat, paprika, cucumber and bacon bits – a real caramel and vanilla finish. Peanuts always peanuts with Coal Ila.

5 – Benriach 12 Year Arumaticus Fumosus Dark Rum Casks
Pine, meringue, cream and caramel. Chargrilled meat, rubber, pepper, salty

6 – Benriach 2005 Virgin American Oak
Dusty maple syrup, crushed ants, caramel and butter. Funky butter, vanilla, Polish wedding sausage, salt.

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