Review 209: Bunnahabhain 12 Year

Review 209

4/12/14

Bunnahabhain 12 Year: 46.3% abv

Background: The KCM crew has covered most of the distilleries on Islay, but we’ve left out a few. Doing our full due diligence, a personal favorite on the list is Bunnahabhain. The name is a little bit more intimidating looking than it is to say, as is the case with many Scotch distilleries. Bunnahabhain was founded in 1881, and reflects a much milder expression of Islay than Laphroaig and Ardbeg do. The 12 year Bunnahabhain competes on the same level as a Bruichladdich 12 Year would, at a reasonable price. Very recently, Bunnahabhain switched from a 40% abv to a 46.3% abv expression, also explicitly stating that the whisky is non-chill filtered. This makes the reasonably priced 12 Year old whisky an appealing offering.

Straight

Nose: Although Bunnahabhain doesn’t give you many details regarding this whisky, you get the instant gratification of malt and sherry on the nose. There is a definite feeling of coastal saltiness and seaweed that starts off. Sweet fruits and oak spices lay over the top of the nose, but in general the nose is actually light and lacking in complexity. The spiciness is rather light and hard to depict, but the sherry comes through very clearly.

Arrival: Right on the arrival, the hypothesis is confirmed. There is a very strong instance of sweet, succulent sherry notes. It is a beautiful, enjoyable arrival, giving you the clean, wonderful malt taste that you’d expect out of something like anCnoc. There is definite caramel in the arrival, which raisons and slight spices. At the end of the arrival, a little bit of seaweed and salt comes into play.

Body: The body takes over from here, grabbing the reigns and giving you the spicy side of this whisky. The sherry is no less prevalent here, nor is the barley presence. The caramel is very big in the body.

Finish: The finish retains the big notes from before, primarily maltiness and sherry. That being said, it also introduces a slightly smoky campfire bitterness, almost indistinguishable, as well as giving the intense spiciness you’d hope for. There is some vegetal aftertaste in the finish, with a brilliant earthy flavor coating the tongue. There is still tons of caramel, in addition to a sharp saltiness and alcohol heat. There is a slightly leathery character to the finish as well.

With Water

Nose: The nose after adding water picks up some soft vegetal tones, dials down the sherry notes, and pushes forward the salty essence of the whisky. This Bunnahabhain becomes slightly more floral after adding water. There is some sweet cherry juice layering on top of the nose.

Arrival: The arrival becomes more balanced. The salt and spice notes are beautifully laid out now. There is a much more characterful graininess in the arrival now, representing a less fresh malt flavor, and a more mature oaky flavor. The spiciness in the arrival is really good at grabbing your attention, with a good white pepper and allspice flavor that tends to set this apart from other sweeter malts.

Body: The body brings forth some pleasant oaky notes after adding water. The vegetal notes are much more prevalent in the body now, with a more vanilla-driven oak flavor pushing into the finish. Grenadine becoming noticeable on the palate, and clove spiciness is present in the body now.

Finish:  The finish is becoming more reminiscent of a bourbon-aged whisky than a sherry-aged whisky, with some rich fruit notes reminding us that there is still something retained from before. The finish isn’t terribly long, but it does provide some complexity and a good balance of different flavors. There is some vanilla bean and fresh grain flavor that is coming through as well.

Final Comments: This might not be what you’d categorize as your traditional Islay malt, as it is lacking some of those key features (ungodly amounts of peat flavor). That being said, it is still an enjoyable Scotch and a good price. This whisky does a good job of representing a completely different side of Islay without losing some of the Islay essence. No, it doesn’t burn off your eyebrows with huge peat, but it is presented at 46%, natural color, and it is non-chill filtered, not to mention just tasting damn good. The complexity won’t knock your socks off by any stretch of the imagination, but after a few drops of water, the balance is worth appreciating. Can we tell you that this is a sherried whisky? After trying the Bruichladdich 12 Year 2^nd Edition, no we can’t. But it sure tastes like it, and we’d by this over a Macallan 12 any day.

 

Why you’d buy it: A good value-per-dollar Islay with a different attitude that won’t break your bank.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You are a peat purist and believe every bottle of whisky that leaves Islay should be filled with peat moss.

Score:  8.5/10

Review 180: Port Charlotte PC6

Review 180

10/06/13

Port Charlotte PC6: 61.6% abv

Background: Cuairt beatha – the walk of life – I think this bottle is implying that the walk of life includes heavily peated Scotch. I highly support that sentiment. This whisky is of course a single malt Scotch from our good friends at Bruichladdich distillery. Being part of their heavily peated series, it goes under the title of Port Charlotte. Jim McEwan joined the Bruichladdich team in 2001 and started a series of peated heavyweights, called the PC series. PC6 has had exposure to ex-bourbon casks and a Madeira finishing cask as well. The bottle being drunk here is bottle 17,265 out of 18,000. It is 6 years old, as the name (PC6) suggests, and I’m really excited to try it.  

Straight

Nose:  Mmm. The smokey, intense, fragrant smell of peat never fails to excite me. This one is intense in vanilla, an interesting fruitiness, and a smell very reminiscent of pancake syrup. There is also an odd savory note that expresses itself on the top of the glass after some time in the glass. It reminds me slightly of a raw New York strip right before it’s slapped on the grill, which sounds like something you might not want to smell in a whisky, I realize. Don’t worry; it so subtle, you probably wouldn’t even notice. There is an assortment of berry fruitiness that is coming through prominently. This isn’t a dry smelling peat smoke, like you get out of Kilchoman. It is a thick, honey-sweet smoke that doesn’t overwhelm the senses, unless you’ve never smelled a peated Scotch that is. Baked apples with caramel are sort of a secondary notion in the nose. There is an earthy, herbal sense to it that sits in the background of some of the more dominant smells. Toasted nuts and fried bread are noticeable…fried bread, syrup, toasted nuts, and earthiness. Well, this whisky is obviously a funnel cake that’s been dropped on the ground (just a joke). The nose doesn’t display a challenging complexity, but it does have a diversity of flavors.

Arrival: The arrival starts off mellow enough, before quickly becoming excessively hot. If you’re looking for flavor without having added water to this whisky, look quickly. This will numb your tongue before you blink. The peat is assertive up front, but with a sweet, syrupy arrival parallel in prominence. It seems as if the Madeira is pretty dominantly asserting itself up front. Along with some honey, there is a slight citrus bite and some notes of fruits, but they don’t hold a candle to the intense battle the peat and Madeira are having up front. There is an earthy, slightly tobacco-like flavor in the arrival.

Body: The body banishes the initial sweetness, letting an earthy, grassy, and peat-like flavor to dominate. In the body, there is a really intense, but odd sort of quinine flavor that becomes apparent quickly and then dissipates. The body is probably the least eventful part of the whisky.

           

Finish: The finish is lasting, with the peaty, tobacco, and herbal flavors dragging through until the bitter end (ha ha). There is some slight peppercorn, with mild suggestions of sweetness showing dwindling signs of existence. There is orange rind present in the finish, for certain, and some mint and fluoride flavor as well. There is almost a piney, woody intensity in the finish that seems slightly like gin, without the extreme flavor. The finish is very diverse and interesting, without a doubt

With Water

Nose: With a little bit of water, notes of citrus start developing. The syrup-like sweetness has backed off a bit and to some extent, so has the peat. Maltiness is more prevalent, and some intense woodiness and ash smell has developed. There is still a level of sweetness present in the form of soft fruit notes.

Arrival: The arrival has lost some intensity, allowing the drinker to actually take some time and reflect on the taste (a nice feature). It is still peaty, in a zesty fashion, but has a basic element of marmalade sweetness to it. It is extremely earthy on the arrival now.

Body: The body actually takes a less intense and dry approach this time around, with some interesting lemon candy flavor coming through, with slightly floral elements complimenting it. It is better-rounded with water. There is vanilla present as well.

           

Finish: The finish is very much a reflection of how the body transformed after adding water. The balance changes, with the peppery dry/hot mouth feel still existing, but not completely destroying the taste buds. Much of the same flavors are present, with the smoky peat seeming to even out into a pleasant blanket of thick flavor on the tongue. That being said, the finish has become less complex and less eventful. At 61%, I would have guessed it to be a little more forgiving on the complexity side, but just playing with the water to whisky ratio could fix that.

Final Comments: PC6 is an expensive dram, to be sure, especially at the young age of 6 years old. I can’t say it isn’t an experience, and the  Madeira cask finish is very well done in this case. Bruichladdich has produced a ton of fantastic malts, before and after McEwan. This particular malt isn’t a mind-blowing combination of complexity and uniqueness, but I believe it is does pretty well. The nose is inviting and different, and I think for a whisky this young, Bruichladdich does a good job of using the vibrant youth of the grain to make an exciting, yet enjoyable and tolerable malt. The million dollar question, or at least $125 question, is whether or not this is worth the buy. It is hard to say whether or not $125 is justifiable. It seems overpriced for value, but at 61%, at least they aren’t shorting you material. I guess I would say, if you enjoy peated whisky and are running out of “new” alternatives, the PC series won’t treat you wrong, but maybe the Peat Project, their newly released Scotch, will do just the same thing for you.

 

Why you’d buy it: You like the adventurous expressions by Bruichladdich and “want to catch them all”

Why you wouldn’t: It is hard to run across this bottle anymore, and you’ve tasted Peat Project

Score: 8.5/10

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

Review 155: Glenlivet Nadurra 16 Year

Review 155

4/7/13

Glenlivet Nadurra 16 Yr: 59.7% abv

Background: Glenlivet is a Speyside malt, as you may already know. If you know any single malt Scotch, you probably think of one of two distilleries: Glenfiddich and Glenlivet. Although Glenfiddich holds the crown for being the bestselling single malt in the World, Glenlivet is more popular in America, being the #1 selling malt whisky in the US. So, with a volume of about 5.9 million liters being produced per year, there is quite a lot of Glenlivet going around. We aren’t huge fans of the 12 year, which lacks a great balance and appears far too fruity for its own good. So why would we review a Glenlivet then? Nadurra, a non-chill filtered, 16 year version of Glenlivet at cask strength, which is aged in French Oak casks, takes Glenlivet to a different level in terms of quality and notability.

Straight

Nose: The nose starts off the with classic Glenlivet notes, including some champagne and green grape notes, along with a cooked apple smell, which contributes a crisp, refreshing aroma to the whisky. If you dig deep enough, you can get the soft, ripe smell of a banana in the nose as well. It is a very malty nose, with wood and grain notes making for a dry, sweet smell coming through. The wood notes include some maple and oak tones, with vanilla influences from the wood coming out as well. There is a subtle citrus note that cuts through, but it doesn’t over-dominate the aromas. Along with the sweet notes, you get some allspice and nutmeg smells coming through.

Arrival: Naturally, in a whisky at this proof, there will be an intense spiciness that presents itself. There is some cinnamon intensity, with vegetal, bitter notes starting off the cadence of this whisky. There is a small amount of honeydew and vanilla that adds to the sweetness in the arrival, which is relatively masked by the burn of the alcohol.

Body:  There are some tropical fruits coming through in the body with pineapple notes. There is a large contribution of maltiness to the body. The cinnamon presence from the arrival continues through to the body, and lingers onward. There is also a dominant vegetal characteristic to it that seems to provide a grassy character to the whisky.

           

Finish: The finish holds some bold malty flavors, with some grapefruit citrus notes coming through. There is some green grape that come through as well. There is vanilla bean flavor that resides in the finish, with some cinnamon notes and fresh mint as well. The vegetal quality of the body lingers through to the finish and does not at all diminish.   

With Water

Nose: With a little bit of water, I would venture to guess you’d find this closer to its distant cousin, bourbon. The nose brings out some soft melon notes, akin to cantaloupe, with a contrasting grapefruit smell. Along with this, it is more creamy and soft. It becomes more vegetal as well.

Arrival: The arrival, after some water, will be much more pleasant than you last remembered it. There is a malty creaminess to it, almost like a vanilla malted shake.

Body: The spiciness is less prominent than before, with a good balance coming about as a result. There is still a big vanilla character involved, which seems to dominate the flavors on the palate in the body. Nothing more really happens in the body at this point, and it isn’t until the finish that big flavor changes happens.

           

Finish: The finish, after adding water, becomes more sugary and sweet, retaining the big malty character from before, and holding onto some of the grape character that came from the arrival. There is some orange rind that we noticed later on in the finish, and some grain bite as well. There is also an odd pumpkin spice note that starts to develop as you focus more on the departure of the flavors. There is still some smooth banana flavor that comes in.

Final Comments:  This is quite a hot whisky out of the gate. You might not expect this out of a Speyside, or even a Glenlivet for that matter. Fortunately, despite its hotness, it has quite a bit of engaging material to offer up to your palate. After water, there is more balance and complexity, but be weary. With too much water, the body will lose some of its rich complexity that you’ll find at the natural presentation. The real problem with this bottling of Glenlivet is that it shows that Glenlivet can make a super-high quality whisky, and people should expect that from them. For this reason, KCM encourages NOT to buy Glenlivet 12 Year, or Glenlivet 18 Year, but if you’re going to buy Glenlivet, this one is the way to go.

Why you’d buy it: Because you enjoy intense cask strength whiskies and want to see how French Oak plays into the taste profile

Why you wouldn’t: It is far too intense or intimidating

Score: 9.25/10

Review 154: Ardbeg Uigeadail

  

Review 154

4/5/13

Ardbeg Uigeadail: 54.2% abv

Background: Ardbeg is another Islay Scotch distillery. They are on the southern coast of Islay, and claim to produce the peatiest whisky on Islay, which is a pretty bold claim with all of the heavy hitters out there. The distillery is currently owned by Hennessy, and is one of the fastest growing Islay distilleries at this time. Ardbeg whiskies can be considered extremely fashionable, albeit this is for a good reason. Ardbeg has distilled whisky since 1798, but didn’t start producing commercially until 1815. Ardbeg’s flagship product is the 10 year, but they don’t bottle this like Glenfiddich would. Ardbeg 10 Yr is bottled at 46% abv and is non-chill filtered, so you can tell this stuff is good. Uigeadail, on a different note, is a unique bottling of Ardbeg, aged in sherry casks. In 2009, Jim Murray made Uigeadail the World Whisky of the Year. So this stuff is pretty good. But we don’t trust it from others. Let’s find out for ourselves.

Straight

Nose: The nose here is a complex and dry, and there is some really interesting things happening here. You get the peat and sherry notes pretty instantly, with a very oily, slightly waxy aroma to it. There is a classic briny character to the nose, and even has some gasoline-type smell to it. Keep digging, and you’ll find cashews, rose, cranberry, wood polish, and slight oak. The contrast of these notes is pretty extreme, and this wouldn’t be a beginner’s nose, but it certainly is a revolutionary nose.   

Arrival: This is a brutal start. Not in a bad way, but it is intense. The taste starts hot and spicy, with big cinnamon tastes. The oak tastes come through quickly, with some vanilla and thick oak notes, also cranberry and subtle apple sweetness.

Body: The body comes in with big peat, with the spice notes holding through. There is minor citrus notes, but is overtaken by ginger and dry spice. There is even some apple and molasses sweetness coming through in the body. Finally, you can find some smoked wood notes lingering in the body as well.

           

Finish: The finish is dynamic and smokey, with a big oily mouthfeel. There are still cinnamon and sherry notes from the body. The initial cranberry presence is back from the arrival, and the briny presence is prevalent as well. There is even some minty and gingerbread notes, with the molasses sticking around and black pepper as a residual flavor.

With Water

Nose: After water, the nose is much more balanced. This is an incredible balance, with some honey notes breaking through, the peat starts to blend in, and there is olive oil notes coming through as well. The nose is very pleasant now, and there is not as much burn.

Arrival: The arrival becomes nuttier after water, less spicy, and slightly peaty. The vanilla notes are big. Even after a substantial amount of water, there is no loss of flavor.

Body: After water, the body remains pretty well the same, but there are some berry-like bitterness to it, and also angostura bitters.

           

Finish: The finish, like the body, remains fairly consistent, with a little less spiciness. The finish is still very woody, and adds brininess to it.

Final Comments: Uigeadail is a statement to the maturation of peated whisky in sherry casks, and how good it really can be. It seems like sherry and peated Scotch doesn’t mix, and they absolutely can. This Ardbeg is powerful and complex, and it shows of a different side to a peated Scotch, where the main focus isn’t necessarily how peaty it can be, not to mention the craft presentation Ardbeg puts on all of their whiskies. There is no reason not to try this one, because in effect, you will learn something about Scotch from trying this whisky. At the price, we think this is absolutely a worthy buy, being one of the better Islay’s we’ve had to date. 

Why you’d buy it: It is extremely well crafted and complex, and from a great distillery

Why you wouldn’t: You’re passionate about not buying good whisky

Score: 9.5/10

Review 152: Compass Box Flaming Heart

Review 152

3/31/13

Compass Box Flaming Heart 4^th Edition: 48.9% abv

Background: Well, to our utter dismay, Compass Box doesn’t have a Wikipedia page yet, so we need to go off of other sources for our “exclusive knowledge”, but let’s start with this. Compass Box is NOT a distillery; in fact, far from it. Compass box is a Scotch whisky blender. All of CB’s whiskies are blended whiskies, most of which are blended malts, but some of which are uniquely blended grain whiskies (you will seldom find a Single Grain Scotch Whisky in these parts). If you’re interested in a blended grain whisky, look up Compass Box’s Hedonism. Compass Box hasn’t been around for too long, with John Glaser having started up the business in 2000. In fact, it was not too long ago that we saw first signs of Compass Box crop up in Michigan, and boy were we excited. What’s not to like about what CB is doing? They’re bottling at higher proofs with more natural “non chill-filtered” presentation and natural color. This particular limited edition bottling takes the craft aspect to an almost Bruichladdich level. It is a whisky made up of single malts from Islay and the Highlands, so a mixture of smokey richness and sweet-bodied fruits should be expected. This one is aged in new French oak casks, which are frankly not used enough in Scotch maturation. This particular Flaming Heart was bottled in August of 2012 and only 9,147 bottles were produced. As I mentioned before this is a natural presentation and is bottled at 48.9%, which is over-proofed.

Straight

Nose: Well, as you would expect from a malt blend containing peated Scotch, there is some peat on the nose, but don’t mistake this as having the same presence as a Laphroaig. Instead, the peat couples nicely with notes of subtle smoky campfire, nuttiness, agave and sea salt. The fresh French oak brings out the vanilla oak notes, while dry fruits and a subtle malt note underpins the whole ensemble.  

Arrival: The arrival will be an exciting moment for you, and surely you’ll be rewarded by the wait. The nuttiness in the nose prevails in the arrival with some almond hinting through, but truly the peat takes the attention. This isn’t a tobacco-like, dry peat taste like Kilchoman gives you. It is indeed smoky and spicy, with a hot, cayenne-like presentation up front and a mild counterbalance of sweetness.

Body: The body contains notes of peat, creamy vanilla, and some tropical, but mellow fruit types. It took us a while to pin down exactly what we were experiencing, but other sources have sited guava as a potential note.

           

Finish: There is a gentle peat note, vanilla, sweet apple, and sea salt coming through. The whole experience isn’t brutalized by the proof of the alcohol, but it is worth seeing how much change there is with some water.  

With Water

Nose: With water, the nose brings out some more harsh intensity in the smoke and alcohol, with the vanilla coming through and an added sweetness akin to rock candy.

Arrival: The arrival reflects the aforementioned sweetness, being significantly sweeter than before, but also brings out some drier notes and a big vanilla presence. 

Body: The body is again sweet, with a balance of sweet and smoky notes like before.

           

Finish: The peat in the finish, after a few teaspoons of water, is subtler, while fruit and spice notes climb through. There is red grape, spices, more oak, prominent agave, and some subtle grain notes which start to get added.

Final Comments: This is definitely an enjoyable and challenging whisky, and to be honest, we might not have done it justice in this review, but for us, this is a learning experience. This malt blend represents a highly crafted spirit with a nice contrast of peat smoke and sweetness/spiciness. The peat isn’t too commanding, but it still has that quality of a good Islay Scotch. I don’t know if this competes on a full scale with the likes of Caol Ila, but it is not trying to be a Caol Ila either. We hope to see more distilleries bottling at higher proofs like this, and we hope to review more Compass Box in the future.

Why you’d buy it: It is a great blended malt Scotch and you like that it is limited edition

Why you wouldn’t: You can’t get it in your area.

Score: 9.25/10

Review 145: Laphroaig Signatory 16 Yr 1995/2011 Cask Strength

Review 145

2/23/13

Laphroaig 1995/2011 16 Yr Signatory Cask Strength: 59.5% abv

Background: Signatory has a range of whiskies called the Cask Strength series, and bless them for it. This particular bottling is a Laphroaig, and if you remember Laphroaig, you remember that they’re an Islay distillery and they don’t hold back when it comes to peating their whisky. This particular bottling is no exception, but don’t be afraid by the big numbers or big smokiness. This is a gentle giant, and as far as quality whiskies go, this is among the upper echelon. 

Nose: Campfire, big peat, barbeque, wood smoke, sweet malt, slight salt, subtle white wine, seaweed, phenol, intense, slightly fruity, berries

            A/W: More subtle, fruity, apple, honey, peat starts to calm down

Arrival: Warm, gentle peat, hot spice, ginger and cinnamon, vanilla

            A/W: Sweet, slight smoke, honey

Body: Peaty, fruity, hot cinnamon, caramel, apple, berries, smokey zing

            A/W: Slight peat, honey, slightly fudgy, oily

Finish: Fruity, peat, savory meat flavor, caramel, vanilla, malt, spice, subtle salt, slight sweet sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg

A/W: Peat, honey, well balanced spice, smoke, barbeque, barley, spice, hot cinnamon, slightly bready, yeast, slight fudge notes, hints of tobacco

Final Comments: This is one of the most refined tasting peated Scotches we’ve ever had. It has great balance and complexity, and this only gets better with some water, which comes as no surprise. What is a surprise is how well it holds up without the water. It isn’t harsh; it simply comes through smooth and “clean”, with a peat finish to contradict its smoothness. You might not realize for a second you’re drinking a Laphroaig, but it is a fantastic craft whisky. We’ve tried peated whiskies by Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Kilchoman, Smokehead, Port Charlotte, Caol Ila and many others, but this might be the best one we’ve ever had.

Why you’d buy it: You have the money, and you aren’t afraid to buy an independent bottling of a fantastic peated Scotch.

Why you wouldn’t: You can’t afford it. That’s really the only reason you shouldn’t.

Score: 9.5/10

Review 144: Edradour 10 Yr

Review 144

2/23/13

Edradour 10 Yr: 43% abv

Background: Edradour makes their mark by calling themselves the smallest distillery in Scotland. That sounds like a silly little marketing thing until you hear the facts. Currently two people work at the distillery, and three people founded it. They produce 95K liters a year, and if they were any smaller they would be considered a portable distillery with implicit capacity for illegal distillation. If that isn’t enough for you, they produce only 12 casks a week. This makes Edradour quite a tiny little operation. Edradour is placed in Perthshire, and is a Highland distillery. I bet you’re curious about how this one turns out.

Nose: New make spirit, mellow spice, honey, caramel, barley, agave, slightly harsh

            A/W: Not much different

Arrival: Sweet, honey and caramel, candied almonds, slight bitterness, big vanilla

            A/W: Big almond, nutty

Body: dark, rich, sweet, almonds, honey, vanilla, sugar

            A/W: Almond, sweet caramel

Finish: Nutty, dry, slight sherry, powdered sugar, honey, grain, barley, rye, dry spice, hot cinnamon, maple

A/W: Powdered sugar, more almond, sherry backs off

Final Comments: So you might have guessed, but this is pretty much like mixing Amaretto and Highland Scotch together. Is that a good or bad thing? It is up to you, but there is a certain lack of balance and the huge nutty quality to the Scotch seems to steal some of the complexity from the spirit. After adding water, we noticed that there was a huge jump in the presence of the almond character, and suggest staying away from the addition of water. This still has some interesting characteristics to it, but it certainly isn’t the highlight of the Scotch world.

Why you’d buy it: You like Amaretto and you like Scotch

Why you wouldn’t: You’re afraid of having an allergic reaction to almonds

Score: 8.25/10

Review 143: Glen Grant 10 Yr

Review 143

2/23/13

Glen Grant 10 Yr: 40% abv

Background: Glen Grant is one of those distilleries I tend to overlook, but don’t be fooled. This Speyside whisky distillery is one of the biggest in Scotland. It is the third biggest whisky producer in Scotland, below Glenfiddich and Macallan, and just barely above Glenlivet. This gets to be a very scary statistic to publish, partially because there are two metrics “Produced whisky”, and “sold whisky”. In any case, Glen Grant is big. They have capacity to produce a measly 5.9 million liters a year. That being said, we are looking at their bottom statement, the 10 year. This whisky sits at around $40 a bottle, so it is very reasonably priced.

Nose: Light, fresh grain, vanilla, vegetable oil, malt, wheat, subtle spice, minimal heat

            A/W: Not much different

Arrival: Sweet, malty arrival, honey

            A/W: Honey and vanilla

Body: Sweet malt, vanilla, wheat, nutty

            A/W: Slightly vegetal, caramel

Finish: Dry, malt, straw, wheat, vanilla, lemon, citrus, cinnamon, subtle pepper, hot, spice, honey

A/W: Pear, nutty, vanilla, slightly vegetal, agave

Final Comments: This whisky should be competing as a Speyside with the likes of Macallan 10, Glenfiddich 12, Glenlivet 12, and so on. To be honest, I don’t think it does. Although it is a good whisky, it doesn’t have the fruity nature of Glenlivet 12, it doesn’t have the sherried nature of Macallan, and it doesn’t have the combined balance of Glenfiddich. If KCM were going to compare this to anything, we would compare this to Glengoyne 10 . This is a simple, straight forward, whisky, without the influence of sherry or peat to weigh it down. Its light and grainy, with a dry sweetness to it.

Why you’d buy it: You want a simple, gentle starter whisky for an affordable price

Why you wouldn’t: You want to go for something a little more advanced like Glengoyne

Score: 7.75/10

Review 139: Dailuaine 15 Year Signatory 1997/2012

Review 139

 2/10/13

Dailuaine 15 Year Signatory 1997/2012: 46% abv

Background: Dailuaine (pronounced dale-you-an) is a distillery in Scotland which you may not have heard of, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t big. In fact, Dailuaine has quite a history and background. Dailuaine was founded by a gentleman by the Name of William Mackenzie in 1852, but as of 1865, he died, leaving his wife widowed. His wife leased the distillery to the man by the name of James Fleming, who wasn’t a nobody. James Fleming is actually the founder of Aberlour Distillery. Dailuaine was the first distillery to adopt a pagoda style building for the malt house, and in 1884 had the largest production capacity of any distillery in Scotland. Fast forward, and now Dailuaine has 6 stills, and has around 3.3 million liters of capacity per year. Dailuaine is a Speyside whisky, and is currently owned by Diageo. This means much of their production will go into blends. That being said, independent bottlers like Signatory with snatch up the opportunity at buying a barrel of this whisky should it fit the bill. And this one does. This is part of Signatory’s Non-Chill Filtered collection, and comes in at 46%, with natural colorant. This is the advantage of buying a craft presentation independent bottling. This one is even more special because it was bottled exclusively for Tiffany’s Wine and Spirit Shoppe in Kalamazoo, MI. We here at KCM live in Kalamazoo, so we knew we had to try it. And boy were we NOT disappointed.

Nose: Fresh grain, wheat and malt, slightly grassy, subtle smoke and peat, sweet honey, sweet melon, crisp mild spice, clove, mild vanilla, light, refreshing

            A/W: Grain forward, citrus, apple

Arrival: Spicy, smooth, creamy, vanilla, mild tobacco, fruit

            A/W: mellowed out, vanilla, malt, grainy

Body: Hot spice, bittersweet, honey, melon

            A/W: vanilla, big fruit, apple, custard

Finish: Orange citrus, smoke, light peat, lemon, cinnamon, cloves, kiwi, hot mouthfeel

A/W: Slightly nutty, big orange flavor, still spicy, slight mint freshness, mild seaweed saltiness, earthy, medium length

Final Comments: This is a great expression of a Speyside malt, with a wide variety of flavors but a fruity, light body and a nice spiciness to it. It isn’t as intense as you might find in a Clynelish, but the mild peat flavor to it adds an interesting sort of “zest” to the finish, comparable to a Highland Park 12, but not as defined (and without the sherry influence). It is well balanced and complex, but doesn’t delve outside of what you’d expect from the Speyside character. At 46%, it also takes on water pretty well, and you should not be afraid to experiment with this.

Why you’d buy it: You enjoy a fruity, somewhat spicy malt and want to delve outside of the world of Glenlivet, or you just want to experience slight peat without feeling like you are chewing on burnt wood. Also you love Tiffany’s.

Why you wouldn’t: You are scared of change, or you made a New Year’s resolution to not drink good whisky.

Score: 9.25/10