My final dram for 2017. A beautiful peated Heartwood. Tim, you’ve excelled yourself!
225 – Heartwood Darkest before Dawn Cask LD559 Olorosso Sherry *
Brown sugar, yoghurt, cream, boozy stone fruits, dried figs, cream, tomato paste, peanut brittle. Toffee apples, dark caramel, bitter chocolate, brown sugar, pouch tobacco, strawberries and cream, fresh and dried fig, chewy and massive, beef broth, salt, gravy granules.
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.
For World Whisky Day, Tim from Heartwood presented to a small group at Bad Frankie. Very interesting tasting, even Tim seemed impressed with some of the bottles Seb opened.
101 – Heartwood The Beagle 2
Juicy and vanilla, caramel, marshmallow, pancakes with maple syrup. Chocolate, rubber, ice coffee, sarsaparilla, Terry’s chocolate orange.
102 – Heartwood The Revelation (Lark)
Pancakes with boozy raisins, pine resin, pepper corns, mint. Cola, pepper, rancid butter, stewed apricots, white pepper, melted butter.
103 – Heartwood We are Brothers LD218/219
Marshmallow, tomato water, gooseberry jam, quince jelly, sponge cake, . Strawberry shortcake, milk chocolate, vanilla cream, white pepper, cardamom, violets, quince jelly.
104 – Heartwood @#$%^&* (2nd fill sherry cask) td0124
Vanilla, cloves, hand cream, pine resin, chocolate, apricot nectar, pound cake. Sponge cake, mint, raisins, mint slice biscuits, stewed stone fruit.
105 – Adams 6 Months Slosh Port Cask
Caramel, cloves, cucumber, butter, wood chips, baked potato, strawberry jam. Sarsaparilla, Coke, salt, cucumber, red apple skins and tea tannins.
2015.155 – Heartwood Convict Resurrection 14
Chocolate fudge brownie, toasted walnuts, Sacher torte, . Buttered popcorn, cherries, Black Forest cake, lemon zest.
2016.150 – Heartwood 2 of 3
Marshmallow, apple snow, wood resin, gooseberry jam, Pavlova with loads cream, apricot with pepper, pound cake. Firecrackers, popcorn with butter, red apple toffees.
64 – Redlands newmake
Apples, rock melon, lemon zest, pepper, juniper, cucumber. Roses, apple skin, aniseed, green strawberries.
65 – Adams Distillery 12 weeks old young make
Menthol cigarettes, mint leaves, musk lollies, brown sugar. Prunes, proper smoked bacon, coal, pepper, salt, Japanese black sugar candy.
66 – Belgrove oat whisky
Dust, stones, barnyard, perfume, musk, menthol. Glue, boot polish, brown sugar, butter almonds, pickled onions (but not in a bad way).
67 – Heartwood 3 of 3
Caramel, musk, brown sugar, lemons, prunes, chocolates, stewed apple, ice coffee, old butter. Heavy, kangaroo poo, leather, beef stock, dusty, soy sauce, coffee grounds, tomato paste.
68 – Heartwood We are twisted cousins (Lark)
Prunes, raisins, pastry, strawberry and mango, pine needles, pastis. Menthol, dust, raisins, eucalyptus, slightly medicinal.
69 – Heartwood Beagle 4
Soy sauce, raisins, creme patisserie, stewed apples, beef stock. Raisins, prune, musk, salt, soy sauce, marshmallow, tomato salad.
70 – Heartwood Calm before the storm
Deep malt, soy, deep sweet Asian beef cheeks, huge chocolate, glue, turps, burnt pineapple. Glacé lemon, beef consume, leather, soy sauce, bitter dark chocolate, pine needles.
71 – Arran Madeira Cask
Gas, apricots, a malted chocolate, some sulfur and rubber, acetone, ants trapped in strawberry jam, marshmallow. Brandy snaps, some vanilla, roasted peanuts, old strawberries, zatar, mellows over time – the slightly bitter finish doesn’t help.
72 – G&M Glenturret 2002
Butter, cherries, licorice, toffee, fairy floss. Bit weak, grapes, toffee apples, slight cloves.
179 Whiskies done this year. Here are my top 5 in no particular order.
89 – Spencer Collings & Co The Founders Release
Brown sugar, dark toffee, honey comb, sarsaparilla, marshmallow, vanilla. Honey, toffee, caramel, dark malt cake. Stunning heavy whisky.
102 – Ben Nevis The Whisky Agency 2013 1995 18 Years
Old leather, cake mix, almonds, green herbs, hazelnuts, as it opens up more and more cake mix – it is stunning. Slow to start but this amazingly long cake mix thing which lasts and lasts, apricot jam in a cake.
109 – Springbank 12 1990s bottling
Christmas cake, dusty and fruity, brandy, brown sugar, salty butter, rose hips, egg white, apricot . Huge butter, caramel and rubber, coffee, apricot delight, passion fruit. Brilliant.
136 – The Whisky Agency Ben Nevis 17 Years 1996 for The Mash Tun
Sweat (in a good way), caramel, salt, marmalade, creme brûlée, honey ice cream, baked potatoes. Tropical fruit, ice coffee, salt, butter in coffee, egg custard. Wonderful.
150 – 2 of 3 Heartwood
Chocolate mousse, cocoa, stewed apple, toasted malt, rose petals, flat coke, egg custard, pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream. Toasted malt, roasted corn, sarsaparilla, brown butter, raspberry soda, milk coffee. Wonderful.
I made it to 150 for the year and what a cracker 150 was, Heartwood’s 2 of 3. Simply an amazing dram.
147 – Kilchoman The Trilogy Bourbon Single Cask 260/2010
Honey, roasted chicken and pork, potato chips, medicinal herbs, apple snow, leather and plasticine, sea weed and sea spray, stone fruit. Campfire, brown sticks and earth, caramel, green herbs, salt, lingering smoke
148 – SMWS 3.265 (Bowmore) Islay meets Provence
Caramel, sea salt, lemon zest, tobacco smoke, rosemary. Intense fruit, charcoal meat, lemonade, raspberries and dry herbs.
149 – Signatory Bunnahabhain 1997 Heavily Peated Cask 5516
Toffee apples, lemonade (again), hand cream, potato crisps, seaweed. Smoke, coffee, cocoa, grilled mackerel, preserved lemon.
150 – 2 of 3 Heartwood
Chocolate mousse, cocoa, stewed apple, toasted malt, rose petals, flat coke, egg custard, pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream. Toasted malt, roasted corn, sarsaparilla, brown butter, raspberry soda, milk coffee. Wonderful.
151 – Kilchoman The Trilogy Sherry Single Cask 199/2010
Honey, salt, fruit straps, caramels. Seaweed, medicinal herbs, flinty, coal, Xmas fruit, caramel, sea water.
43 – Heartwood Release the Beast (Lark)
Marshmallow, sugar cane, cloves, sarsaparilla, flat Coke, strawberry jam. Woody, cloves, so thick and heavy, cinnamon, mint leaves (lolly), yoghurt, cream and brown sugar, quince paste, banana bread.
44 – Lark Port Cask 2015 Barrel 479
Apricot jam, bitter chocolate, buttered popcorn, hazel nuts, pine resin, glue. Apricot jam, brown sugar, cloves, toasted almond, flat coke, sticky date pudding with cream, marshmallow, golden syrup.
Some cask strength Australian whisky here.
21 – Heartwood DREGS #1
Pine resin, retsina, Sherry soaked sultanas, buttery pastries, rose petals. Syrupy, amazing floaty caramel, whipped cream, dry cake spices, dried green herbs, marzipan, rose water.
22 – Heartwood Spiritual Journey
Wood polish, maple syrup, sultanas, ham, cola, cloves. Tobacco, cured meats, maple syrup, warm cola, loads of sultans.
23 – Black Gate 520s
Leather, wood, crushed ants, smells really like Australian bush kangaroo poo and eucalyptus (but in a good way). Bitter chocolate, cloves, loads of vanilla and a super creamy finish with a hint of red gum smoked ham.
They also had this bottle of Corio Whisky at Bad Frankie, but it wasn’t for sale! Out of the bottle it had a lovely Xmas pudding nose.
I’ll probably have a few more drams this year but these have been my favourites for 2015.
49 – SMWS 124.4 (Miyagikyo) Full of Secret Pleasures
Muscat, port, Sherry fino, rubber, dry warmth, oil soaked rags, spices cloves and anise, maple. German spice biscuits, a rubber fire, cocoa, liquorice, toasted bran, so much going on. Jeezus!
70 – Heartwood Beagle 3
Pine resin, the sweet end of turps, marijuana, chocolate, crushed ants, tomato vine. Tobacco, leather, pepper, beef jerky, super powerful vanilla – it’s really chewy and salty. With time pina colada on the nose and beautiful rich thick caramel. Wow! Really impressed. One of the best for 2015.
121 – Ichiro’s Malt 2015 Tokyo International Bar Show Cask 2360
Wow just wow – favourite for the year!! Banana, ice cream, malty bread with butter, tomato paste, fruit tingles, slight vino cotto, CHICOS. Yeast, brown bread, vanilla, banana bread, prunes, plums, grapes.
143 – Whisky Base Ben Nevis
So much honey, aspirin, maple syrup, butter on crumpets. Melted salted butter, cloves and vanilla cream – it’s such a beautifully structured whisky nothing is offensive or is aggressive, pipe tobacco, tiny bit of pineapple and mango.
164 – Cadenhead Glenrothes-Glenlivet 24
Sulphur, gas, maple syrup, wood, chicos, brown tea and hay. Salt, wood, rubber, maple, dried strawberries or maybe strawberry jam, brown sugar, rum, brandy butter, caramel, chocolate and LPG. So damn complex.
154 – Mackey Triple Distilled Port Cask
Yeasty, toffee, banana bread, some cloves and other spice, cola, some slight plastic smell and rose petals, some maple. The palate is pretty disappointing and weak with that sort of nose it tastes like it has been cut with water some spices and cream.
155 – Heartwood Convict Resurrection 14
Really nutty on the nose, burnt butter, roses, crisps. Nutty, beef stock and chicken crisps, stewed apples and cream. It works!
156 – Heartwood The Good Convict Port Cask
Huge maple syrup, butter on pancakes, gentle dried fruits. Red apple, cola, cloves and cream, tannic dry finish with loads of dry ginger.
grey whisky 