Review 216: Ardbeg Ardbog

Review 216

7/1/14

Ardbeg Ardbog: 52.1% abv

Background: Here’s another Ardbeg for the peat lovers out there. Very lovingly named Ardbog, this whisky is another statement from the Islay powerhouse that introduces a different style into the mix. Oddly enough, although you won’t see it on the front of the bottle, the back of the bottle drops a hint that this whisky is 10 years of age. Maybe the expensive tag on this bottle doesn’t sound 10 Year-like? Another unique thing about this whisky that sets it apart is that all of those ten years are spent in ex-Manzanilla sherry casks. Although we have tried a lot of sherried whiskies, Manzanilla is a sweeter, less frequently used variant that has yet to find its way in one of our reviews. A theme of the Ardbog is to emphasize the historical relevance of peat, which explains the surplus of fossils and random artifacts presented on the packaging. Apparently, if you drank Ardbeg during that History final, you might not have failed. In any case, Ardbeg has been active in releasing limited edition variants and now we have to find out if it’s worth your limited budget.

Straight

Nose: Although the nose is initially pretty overbearing, there are some interesting notes that come out without water. There is a grilling smoke smell that emanates from the glass, with savory, meaty flavors present up front. This includes campfire wood and sweet maple. This whisky is in essence completely reminiscent of a family camping trip up north. There is some sweet apple on the nose, with brown sugar and candied bacon also adding sweetness. The sherry presents itself on the nose with a molasses-like, concentrated Cognac and rum smell. There is a tinge of spice in the nose, but it is very subtle. There is also a light cigar aroma in the whisky. Ultimately, the nose is very dense and rewarding, but it can be challenging to extract flavors with the high alcohol.   

Arrival: The arrival is spicy, syrupy, and doesn’t hold back on the peat. There is a really concentrated peat and ash flavor, complimented by the subtle sweetness of the Manzanilla sherry. The spice is close to clove and black pepper. There is some black tea flavor that comes through as well, but it is hard to pick up too much due to the high concentration of alcohol. There is some molasses in the arrival.

Body: The body carries the peaty, ashy flavor from before, but also takes on some salty, briny character in the whisky which is very enjoyable. Salt water is present, but there are also a high level of tannins as well.

Finish: The finish is fantastically peaty, with a strong, dry tobacco and ash finish. There is a grainy character as well, but it is very limited. There is certainly alcohol heat present, and drives a quick finish. The sweetness is not substantial through the finish.

With Water

Nose: The nose certainly doesn’t become tame with a few drops of water. It is very lively still, but reveals some desired complexity in maltiness, light cinnamon and brown sugar, sea salt and

Arrival: The arrival is more pleasant after adding water. Clove, nutmeg and cinnamon become pretty dominant in the arrival, with tea leaves and dried nuts also present.

Body: There is a lot more spice in the body after adding water. The wood is very dominant, and there is dry vegetal notes that take place in the whisky. The peat is very strong in the body, and it tends to be a bit more aggressive after adding water, where the alcohol isn’t just covering the smokey character.

Finish:  The finish still remains relatively bitter, taking on the tobacco, tea leaves, slight sherry and woody notes to it. The whisky is slightly leathery, and the vegetal notes from the body carry into the finish. The finish offers up some complexity in tarry, medicinal notes. Some of the phenolic character is very strongly present in the finish, and dwells.

Final Comments: Admittedly, this is a very tough one for KCM. This whisky has challenging aspects to it, and it presents itself as a very dense whisky, but I can’t seem to avoid the fact that this is lacking in some complexity. When I compare this to Uigeadail, it doesn’t really compare, in all honesty. It is a good whisky, and I really enjoy drinking it. In fact, it grew on me. I was initially pretty disappointed with it, admittedly, but it still lacks in some spark. I don’t believe a fan of sherried peated Scotches would really frown on this bottle, but I just fail to want to pick this over the standard offering. That being said, it wouldn’t hurt somebody to try this whisky, and if you’re a fan of Ardbeg, this isn’t far outside the range of accessible whiskies.

Why you’d buy it: You like the monster peat, high proof stuff, and Laphroaig isn’t your style.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: Ardbeg Uigeadail

Score:  8.5/10

Review 210: Old Pulteney 17 Year

Review 210

4/13/14

Old Pulteney 17 Year: 46% abv

Background: We’re back to Old Pulteney. We released a podcast with Old Pulteney whiskies as a big cameo. The 12 Year has been the KCM quality per dollar pick for quite a long time; and by a long time, we reviewed that whisky back in November of 2012. But what about a more premium, older Old Pulteney? Is that same quality from the 12 Year present in older expressions? It’s in the name, after all. The answer to that question can be found by looking at the 17 Year, which is a single malt at 46% and un-chill filtered. Some fun facts about Old Pulteney: They are limited to one wash still and one spirit still, contributing to a very limited production of one million liters per year. Also, if you take a look at Old Pulteney’s stills, they are very uniquely shaped, which might contribute to the very unique flavor that their whiskies have. Now it’s time to put this more expensive whisky to the test.

Straight

Nose: Well this doesn’t disappoint the maritime coastal theme that Old Pulteney totes about in their advertisements. The nose is instantly salty, with a fresh smell of seawater. It is so prevalent in this whisky, I can’t think of anything else like this. There is a rich maltiness that couples very nicely with a tropical fruitiness. The tropical fruit notes include tangerine, mango, and melon. There is also a slight vanilla note, which tends to take a back seat to the salt blast. The oakiness from the cask is hard to depict in the nose, but there are subtle layers of spices that come through evenly. There is also hints of floral notes that surface occasionally. The balance in the nose is extremely enjoyable, allowing for a full exploration of the flavors present.

Arrival: The arrival starts off with the tropical fruit notes and maltiness. There is a nice presence of oakiness, along with a load of spiciness. The arrival is probably the thinnest part of the whisky, still having plenty of complexity. It is a little lighter, and hides some of the salty character of the whisky.

Body: This is where the salt really kicks into the whisky. Along with a very dominant note of sea salt, orange marmalade and tropical fruit notes invade the senses here. This is such a bombastic body in the whisky. There is some nice caramel, vanilla, and beefy spices that come forward in the body. There is also some sugarcane that shows up.

Finish: The finish really drags out the saltiness, along with a nice fading of malt and tangy fruit notes. There is a very vegetal aftertaste to this whisky, with a slight hint of leather and sawdust  as well. There is plenty of cloves and allspice, with dashes of ginger and nutmeg that also play into the finish. There is definitely reminiscence to a chai tea when you get further into the finish.

With Water

Nose: The nose has become much more floral, with more hints of vanilla and caramel coming through up front. The whisky starts to smell slightly more alcoholic now, with the tropical fruits and saltiness still being dominant notes. There is also a slight instance of baking soda in the nose now, coupled with an older note of leather polish. There is a strange note of over-ripened apples and even a bit of perfume to the nose.

Arrival: The arrival becomes more spicy and the tropical aspect of the fruit flavors is more exaggerated. There is a more candied lemon flavor in the arrival now, with some spicy oak moving into the body. The maltiness also comes out much more now than it did before.

Body: The fruit flavor is huge here in the body now, bringing out a very tangy, tart, delicious blend of tangerines, orange, and lemon. It is a truly amazing experience. It doesn’t become so tart as to mask the coastal notes of this whisky, but the flavors do pop in a beautiful fashion.

Finish:  The finish surprisingly takes an intensely bitter, oaky turn after some water is exposed. It is by no means unpleasant, but it does present a different edge to the Scotch. The tropical fruits are still present, along with some other sweet and salty flavors, but the wood really plays into the whisky now. The spiciness is still a strong component. There is even hints of tobacco in the finish now.

Final Comments: So this is a salty, coastal Highland malt that distinguishes itself from a lot of its competitors. The 12 Year Old Pulteney made us interested in the distillery, the 17 Year made us fall in love. It is an intense one and it isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you want to get more adventurous, this is an all-time KCM favorite. This whisky wins points for complexity, balance, and uniqueness, and with just a bit of water the blasts of flavor just get better. I would go so far as to say if I had to drink one whisky for the rest of my life, at this point this would be the one. We highly recommend you give this a try if you get the chance.

 

Why you’d buy it: Because at this very moment, we’re telling you to.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You don’t want to try something with the intensity that this whisky has.

Score:  9.75/10

Review 190: Compass Box Spice Tree

Review 190

12/9/13

Compass Box Spice Tree: 46% abv

Background: Getting more intense in the Compass Box range is the first 46% whisky offering. Spice Tree is another blended malt, and there is an obvious foreshadowing present in the name of this bottle that might hint you off to what it tastes like. Spice Tree is made up of 60% North Highland malt, 20% Highland malt, and 20% Speyside Malt, interestingly the same proportions as with Oak Cross. To add to the list of similarities, Spice Tree also uses American and French oak casks, but this time 80% of the aging takes place in the French oak. So, from a strictly theoretical standpoint, this could be a very similar whisky to Oak Cross. The fun part about it is we won’t know until we try it, which we’re going to do now!

Straight

Nose: Right out of the glass, you can tell this is a much different whisky than the Oak Cross. From a fresh start, this whisky smells more composed and refined than the Oak Cross, with a thicker nose demonstrating more maturity and complexity. There is a slight hint of savory red wine, with a rich malt and vanilla combination complimenting the aroma. It is spicy, with some white pepper and cloves gently introducing themselves from the glass. The oak in this whisky smells fresh and mellow, instead of harsh and sappy. There is crisp, fresh apple in the nose, which compliments the sweetness of the vanilla and malt. There is also some sweet molasses and caramel in the nose, which starts to become more noticeable and pleasant as the whisky opens up. The nose on this whisky is so much more composed than in Oak Cross, it feels like a different blender altogether.  

Arrival: With a bounty of sweet apple and malt in the arrival, this whisky quickly tells you it isn’t messing around. Sweet caramel and molasses, sugarcane, and a hint of brilliant spice. The oak in the arrival is pleasant and noticeable, but not rough or undrinkable. Left with enough time, a bit of spiciness will start to emerge on the palate, but becomes way more noticeable in the body. There is a bit of smokiness and leftover

Body: The body fulfills the prophecy that the label has foretold. There is some definite clove, allspice, and pepper in the body. It still holds on to the glorious maltiness, along with a certain amount of fruit. The balance of flavors in the body is remarkable. It might just be trying to compare Oak Cross to this that makes this seem like such a great whisky, but it truly is well balanced. There is a bit of mint and cinnamon that start to develop as well.

Finish: The finish of this whisky can only be described as succulent. Succulent apple, strawberry, and huge, full-flavored malty goodness make this finish worth basking in. The finish of this whisky steals the show without a doubt. The medley of balanced spice notes in the finish is still apparent, but it fades away as the sweeter notes replace them.  Given time though, this balance will change. This does have a striking semblance to Clynelish. There is also a slightly cool, refreshing experience to the whisky as well.

With Water

Nose: After adding water, the nose becomes slightly more fruity, with a bit of juicy ripe fruit coming across. The barley smell is softer and greener now, and there is a definite vegetal quality to the aroma that was not present before. There is some lavender and perfume-like smells that are starting to develop as well, getting almost floral in quality.

Arrival: With water, the fresh malt of the whisky, and savory, almost grape/wine like succulence of the flavor returns to the whisky. It is strikingly similar to before in taste, but there is a slightly better balance of flavors.

Body: The body has an almost Irish Whiskey character to it after adding water. There is an interesting mineral-like taste to it, with a nice earthiness and a healthy spice. The oak in the body is in healthy proportion.

Finish:  There is definitely a grainy, vegetal character to this whisky after adding water. The finish brings forth more earthy tones, while still keeping the fruit and spiciness dominant. The balance is enjoyable, although it is clear after a few swigs that the “Spice Tree” is still fighting for dominance. There is some spearmint present in the finish as well.

Final Comments: When the bottle was first opened, this whisky started off fairly succulent. Given enough time, the aforementioned spice will begin to flood the taste buds. It isn’t unpleasant at any point, though, and it tends to work for this whisky. The fullness of flavor is certainly present, and the oakiness to the finish is enjoyable. Adding water just enhances the balance and flavor contribution. It is sad to say, but Spice Tree just makes Oak Cross look WRONG. They are not similar in style, but they do have some commonalities that beg the question of why Oak Cross is so unpleasant. This is such a great whisky as it stands, and stands strong against solid bottlings like Clynelish 14 Year. This is truly demonstrates that Compass Box is capable of some great stuff.

 

Why you’d buy it: You like an intense, full whisky with some bite to it.

Why you wouldn’t: You didn’t bother reading this review and tried Oak Cross.

Score: 8.5/10

Review 189: Compass Box Oak Cross

Review 189

12/8/13

Compass Box Oak Cross: 43% abv

Background: Oak Cross is the first whisky in the range of Compass Box selection that is offered as a blended malt. Oak Cross is made up of 60% northern Highland single malt, 20% Highland single malt, and 20% Speyside Single Malt. It is aged for 60% of its life in first fill American Oak casks, and 40% of its life in new French Oak casks. It is still considered a relatively young whisky, we assume, but that shouldn’t be a terribly incriminating feature, considering how young Compass Box is as a company. It is also bottled slightly higher than Asyla, which gives it another plus. 

Straight

Nose: The nose for this whisky starts off with a slight maltiness, but quickly reveals some peculiar qualities. The nose does have a substantial saltiness to it, along with an odd note of baking soda. It is creamy, and has some vanilla overtones, with dried fruits and sawdust present. There is slight grapefruit citrus and pear, with a fresh medley of grain flavor. Overall, the baking soda seems to be an over-dominant flavor in the aroma, which creates an edgy, harsh nose. The nose is not terribly complex, nor is it thick or concentrated. That being said, the brininess to the nose can be enjoyable at times, and presents a very sea-salt like layer to the nose that is highly reminiscent of Old Pulteney 12 Year.

Arrival:  The arrival starts off with a quick introduction of maltiness, followed by saltiness and a hoppy/floral bitterness. The arrival is not hugely complex, with the same softness as the Asyla. It just packs a saltier punch. There is a sense of oakiness in the arrival, which tastes primarily American.

Body: There is an odd prominence of citrus and acidity in the body, which seems to disrupt the event of drinking this whisky. This seems fairly similar to Jura’s 10 year old whisky. As the whisky creeps into the body, a fluoride-like flavor develops. There is mild spiciness that starts to develop in the body, but it doesn’t take a dominant role until the finish.

Finish: The baking soda is back in full effect in the finish. There is a prominence of saltiness, tartness, and malt that pulls from the rest of the whisky. There is a clash of pepper and clove in the finish, along with vanilla and spicy oak. It feels like the French Oak is taking over at this point and really asserting its dominance. There is some hops-like bitterness in the finish as well.

With Water

Nose: Water does not seem to curb the salty, baking soda aromas from this whisky. In fact, it might even enhance them. There is a slight shoe polish type smell to this. In general don’t let somebody smell this before they try it, or they may never try it.

Arrival: The maltiness in the arrival opens up a lot more after adding water, and as the whisky hits the back of the tongue, a much more open flavor of fresh fruit and floral notes appears. It is a pleasant surprise in stark contrast to the baking soda. There is a substantial amount of apple in the arrival now as well.

Body: With a little bit of clove, gingerbread, and other dry spices, the mouthfeel in the body has become very dry. The body has eliminated some saltiness, which is good considering the extreme lack of balance that would have presented to the whisky.

Finish: Like the body, the mouthfeel in the finish is now incredibly dry, and the maltiness to the finish has been replaced by more spices, assumingly from the French Oak cask. It appears that the addition of water say made the finish of this whisky slightly intolerable, to be frankly honest. There is more hotness than there is flavor. 

Final Comments: This is not the most positive review. Let’s be clear though, KCM doesn’t have a grudge against salty whiskies. Old Pulteney is one of my favorite distilleries, personally. The problem here is that the flavors are not terribly complementary, and the employment of fresh casks seems to be adding a harshness to the whisky that just isn’t doing it any favors. This isn’t a terribly whisky either, though. The spirit itself tastes good, and there doesn’t appear to be any burn associated with impure alcohol. The flavor of baking soda, however, just isn’t adding to the blend. Disappointing, we’d like to see a better lower end offering out of Compass Box, but we’ll just have to keep looking.

 

Why you’d buy it: You want to feel sea-worthy.

Why you wouldn’t: Old Pulteney 12 Year is perfection in comparison for a similar price.

Score: 6.75/10

Review 162: Glendronach 12 Year

Review 162

5/25/13

Glendronach 12 Year: 43% abv

Background: Well this is an exciting review to do for us. If you’re from Michigan, this is not something you can normally grab a hold of, and that goes for us too. It is also not common to find that many cheap, sherried whiskies of relatively good quality. To add to that, Glendronach Distillery, a Highland Malt producer, has recently just been reopened. The distillery was mothballed (mothballing is temporarily ceasing production, despite still having capability to produce) in 1996, and was reopened in 2001. What makes that so exciting is that we are seeing resurgence in their whisky’s popularity, and that extra life might keep their good quality whiskies on the market. You can’t actually get Glendronach in Michigan, but we made the trek to find it. The 12 Year standard offering by Glendronach is aged in exclusively sherry casks, being a mixture of PX casks and Oloroso casks. The Pedro Ximinez (PX) grape makes for a very rich, syrupy, sweet sherry, while the Oloroso is more nutty, tart, and balanced. You can tell that this is a dark whisky from the look of it, and that’s not coloring. Sherry casks add a lot of red color to Scotch. It should also be noted that as well as being 43% abv, the label will tell you that this single malt is non-chill filtered and natural color. Those are both pluses. Let us see how this turns out.

Straight

Nose:  You might expect what I’m about to say, but it is no surprise that you get a blast of malted barley and sherry right in the beginning of this whisky. There is a large prominence of stewed apple flavor in the nose. The sherry flavor can be broken down to the smell of brandy, the fortified part of the wine coming through. There is a sense of new make spirit here, so there should be no surprise that this is a young spirit, at only 12 years. Since sherry casks can tend to be larger, they also leave the freshness of the spirit in tact fairly well at older ages. This is still prominent among this 12 Year, almost to a fault. It isn’t quite mature enough from the nose. You do get some clove and cinnamon spiciness in the nose, followed by a small residual chocolate, fudgy richness finishing off the aroma. There is some smoothness contribution from vanilla in the nose, which only compliments the raison-like quality to the sherry nose. It also gives a hint of confectionary quality.

Arrival: The sweetness in the arrival is immediate and fairly consistent. It is certainly what you would expect from the sherry. But my lord is it a pleasant taste. There is a little bit of spicy tang that come in the arrival. The apple fruitiness, along with some cinnamon and custard, make a pleasant flavor contribution to the arrival. In contrast, there is still some hints of rough, young spirit that can be pulled through the arrival, in particular. This is not enough to turn one off, but it certainly is noticeable. There is also a suggestion of vanilla and chocolate that come through at the end of the arrival, and lead into the body.

Body:  When you get into the body, the Oloroso taste takes over, with some definite citrus tartness to compliment the rich raison texture at the forefront. This balance is a pleasant contrast, and amplifies the fresh, vegetal quality of the malted barley flavors. There is a fond nuttiness that can be picked from the body, and it complimented by a dry, floral flavor. The body has no shortage of personality, but there is a salty, briny flavor that can, depending on the swallow, become almost overbearing on the palate and ruin the finish.

           

Finish: The finish is dominated mostly by hot, spicy flavor with some peppery notes and some small acidity. There is a significant nuttiness that you’ll find right in the finish, and it is also noticeably dry and somewhat leathery. As noted before, there is a salty quality to the whisky that only comes out when agitated the right way. It can be a little bit overwhelming to the finish and mask the sweet, beautiful sherry notes. There is a note of the apple coming through again in the finish, with a minor earthiness that compliments the sweetness.

With Water

Nose: After adding some water, we start to see a maturity in the flavor, with the sherry backing off and being less of a stage hog. The nose becomes more balanced with spiciness, vegetal notes and much more grain character to it. There is more of a heather honey smell coming through, which balances nicely with the compressed spiciness. It smells more refined, less adolescent, and truly complex. Don’t be mistaken, though. There is still plenty of sherry involved. Another interesting evolution of this nose is the prominence of oaky wood character coming through.

Arrival: The arrival doesn’t hit you like a train this time. The sherry and spice creep up from afar, and then come in strong once you realize they’re on their way. There is a unique blend of caramel, fruitiness, spice and cereal grain coming through on the arrival. This is truly what a good arrival should be like. This is much livelier than without water, and it lasts.

Body: The body seems to be quite similar to before, with the addition of just a bit more tartness, almost akin to sour green apples now, and with some pear-like flavor contribution involved. The body doesn’t remain to be a very significant part of this malt, but it is still very much a player. The changes, although tangible, are small and don’t really highlight the potential of Glendronach.

           

Finish: This finish is also better with just a bit of water. It seems to reside longer, makes for a more engaging experience. The pear flavor dominates here, and the malt and grain character doesn’t shy away at this point. This is a memorable finis, and it really is worth savoring. The water also starts to amplify the confectionary notes more. It starts to make sense with some of the floral, modestly bitter notes that creep in at the end, how this is truly more complex than when you first start drinking it.

Final Comments:  At first, you might describe this as a classic sherried Scotch. Certainly it is just that from some perspective. You might say this competes almost exclusively from price and flavor to Macallan 12 Year. It is hard to compare the two from quality, because they’re both pretty respectable whiskies, although it can be noted that Macallan 12 TASTES a little older than Glendronach 12. That being said, Macallan 12 does age in bourbon barrels as well, and subsequently doesn’t give you as much of the sherry complexity that you get from the ‘dronach. The addition of water balances and amplifies the complexity of the whisky, and it is very much suggested. We tend to like it a little bit more this way, but in either case it is good. I think that is what makes this bottling of Glendronach shine. That being said, I don’t think this whisky has reached its maturity, and would truly benefit from more time in the casks. Surely enough, that bottle of Glendronach does exist; Glendronach 15 Year Revival is a statement to Glendronach’s “revival” from mothballing, and we have a bottle sitting dormant for a review in the future.

Why you’d buy it: You like sherried Scotch and don’t want to support stupid marketing by Macallan, plus this is a good, complex bottling of Scotch

Why you wouldn’t: You like stupid marketing and want an Oakley-designed flask…idiot.

Score: 8.5/10