Review 221: GlenDronach 18 Year Allardice

Review 221

9/16/14

GlenDronach 18 Year Allardice: 46% abv

Background: Here we are, back at GlenDronach distillery in the Highlands of Scotland. After the 12 and 15 Year core offerings is the 18 Year Allardice. The 18 Year is non-chill filtered, natural color, and bottled at a perfectly respectable 46% abv. It is aged in exclusively Oloroso Sherry butts. GlenDronach then, is giving you another option in the world of sherry malts, which seems to be growing in accessibility. The challenge is, can producers like GlenDronach keep up with the demand for sherry whiskies without the ability to obtain good sherry casks due to the reduction in demand for sherry.

Straight

Nose:  In comes the sherry storm, with a torrent of deep, rich fruit aroma that overwhelms the senses. Red grape, raison and vanilla are big players in the nose right off the bat. Small spurts of malt smell become noticeable, but are really dominated by the other flavors. Dried fruits and cranberry are detectable in the nose, with the sense of old oak and floral notes of garden flowers. As the whisky starts to open up, more complexity of sweet honey, apples, and even slight amounts of caramel are present. The nose is definitely rich, but the initial alcohol intensity in the nose tempers down to a less brutish, complex blend of rich sherry malt flavors.

Arrival: As expected, sweet, syrupy arrival takes on the malt. The arrival doesn’t tend to last a long time, with some spiciness, malt, and sweet grapes noticeable. Sweet, candy like (maybe even bubblegum) sweetness is also ever present in the arrival, which makes for a bizarre transition into the intense palate of the whisky. There is an ample amount of vanilla in the arrival. In general, this arrival seems like it lacks the complexity expected, and could be described as sort of flat.

Body: Similar to the 15 Year, the 18 does have a nice, spicy body. The finish is fairly long and enjoyable. A quick dash of heat, with red wine and grapes makes the body more unique. There is something savory about the body, and despite its relative intensity, the fruit flavors are not as pronounced as we’d like.

Finish: Conclude with that semi-savory, scrumptious malty finish. Bitter, burnt oak will become noticeable as you sip on this whisky more. You’ll find a hot, almost thin grapy flavor that comes into the finish, almost in an artificial nature. There is more oak complexity, some slight pine-like flavors coming out in the finish, and just a tinge of cough medicine like flavor. You could argue there is a bit of saltiness in the finish as well, but it doesn’t at all define the whisky.

With Water

Nose: The nose is demonstrating much more floral and somewhat maltier. The sherry has subsided substantially, but some of the complexities are also not as prominent as before.

Arrival: The arrival shows off more complex, well rounded fruitiness, with apple and pear present. There is some soft spices and vegetal notes present. There is a dry woody flavor in the arrival that translates into the body.

Body: After adding water, a much more noticeable, succulent fruitiness is coming forward in the whisky. It isn’t hard to spot the tannins and grape sour flavor coming out of the body, plus allspice and nutmeg, but there is a strained emptiness halfway through the body.

Finish: There are much more manageable spices in this whisky now, with heavy tannins and bittersweet green tea notes. Unripened, tart fruit notes are easily found in the finish, which is sort of unique, but in some ways it actually detracts from the overall flavor of the whisky. There is still soft maltiness and some confectionary notes here. The finish ends up shorter and somewhat less pronounced than before, but does offer up more complexity with better flavors.

Final Comments: This is one interesting whisky. It seems to be battling to get the right things across, but never quite succeeds in doing it. I’m not sure exactly what holds this whisky back, but it just doesn’t have the complexity and balance it needs to be a true winner. The price doesn’t help the equation either. It is evident that there should be better flavors with better quality going on. It doesn’t make this bad by any means, but it does miss on a couple of key components. It seems as if better casks would make this a better whisky, but chances are that won’t be happening. There is something that makes this whisky really suffer, but I’m not sure what it is.

Why you’d buy it: You’re a patron of Glendronach

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You can get their Single Cask whiskies for less, and with better quality and a higher  proof.

Score: 8.25/10

Review 214: Glen Garioch 12 Year

Review 214

6/2/14

Glen Garioch 12 Year: 48% abv

Background: Welcome to KCM Review 214. This review is evidently different, because it is an offsite review of something I found in Montreal, Canada. Subsequently, I have no intentions of bringing the bottle back, so I figured I’d squeeze out a quick review before heading back. You might notice from the picture I’m drinking this out of a tumbler, so the aromas might not be as comprehensive as I’d like, but I’ll make due. Now onto the spirit. This is a Highland Single Malt Scotch, Glen Garioch 12 Year, bottled at an impressive 48%, non chill-filtered, and aged in a mixture of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Glen Garioch only has a few standard offerings, with this being one of them. So is it worth your time, and at such a beefy proof?

Straight

Nose: So of course, I’m nosing this out of an improper glass, so bear with me. Despite the tumbler, there is a huge aroma of sherry, barley grain, sweet malt, tons of vanilla, and some caramel as well. The sherry is complimented by a sweet honey flavor, but is contrasted by some slight vegetal and floral flavors as well. There is a prominent oakiness to the whisky which becomes distinguishable as the flavors open up. There is also a bit of apple fruitiness, giving a nice caramel apple smell.

Arrival: The arrival starts off with a blend of nice maltiness, a beautiful caramel apple sweetness, coupled by nice sherry and vanilla sweetness. There is some citrus and pear in the arrival as well, giving a healthy blast of fruit flavors that really drag out the arrival quite intensely. The sherry is light, and is closer to a heather honey flavor than a raison flavor. There is actually a bit of cocoa as well in the arrival, which comes and goes quickly.

Body: The body shows off some powdered malt flavor, with a delicate graininess and the same fruitiness that is found in the arrival. The sherry really comes forward in the body, and there is some nice oak flavor as well.

Finish: The finish leaves you with a nice, crisp apple flavor, followed by long lasting malt and slight citrus overtones. The caramel sticks around quite a bit, but is overshadowed by some very strong vegetal notes. These are similar notes to what we saw in the Founder’s Reserve, but they seem less aggressive in the 12 Year version. Again, like the FR, the 12 Year ends dry and grainy, but has as very prominent aftertaste. There is even a bit of fresh pine in the finish as well.

With Water

Nose: With this whisky, don’t be afraid to add a little bit of water. It really can take it, and it doesn’t back down the flavor much at all. The nose is still really beefy (not literally, of course) with a large collage of spices and vegetal flavors up front, backing off from the sweeter notes. There is still a pleasant, almost confectionary type of smell to the whisky, with cookie dough and flour as aroma.

Arrival: The arrival now shows off some brilliant spice notes, with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger all playing into the whisky. The sweetness is still prevalent, complemented by succulent berries and a beautiful array of sweet fruits.

Body: The body retains the graininess from before, but balances it out with a more refreshing, less dry palate. There is also berry sweetness in the body now, with slightly less complexity than before. This is still really pleasant, however.

Finish:  The finish is now nicely blended with oak flavors, sweet fruits, vanilla, caramel, and a lasting spiciness that was not present before. The finish has a gentle, subtle linger to it, which coats the mouth and only begs for a second round. Truly, this is a tantalizing Scotch from beginning to end.

Final Comments:  Okay, so I like it. Is it because I’m in Montreal? Not likely. Glen Garioch proved to us that they could produce a Scotch which was complex at a young age, and that they didn’t need to follow the regular rules of presentation (40%, 43%, 46%). I like Glen Garioch for their ambition, and their quality of spirit. Does this take a step up from the Founder’s Reserve? Yes, it does. This is a complex, enjoyable, and affordable whisky which should be sold everywhere, so far as I’m concerned. It could be more complex, and it could be more original, but it does so much where it is, and for the price this is a new personal favorite.

 

Why you’d buy it: You can find it, and you want to support a brilliant distillery by enjoying their brilliant product

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You live in Michigan and can’t find it.

Score:  9.25/10

Review 211: Bowmore 12 Year

Review 211

4/24/14

Bowmore 12 Year: 40% abv

Background: Welcome back to Islay for another Single Malt Scotch review. KCM tends to stray away from the 40% bottlings, but Bowmore is a distillery we haven’t yet visited, so here’s our due diligence. Bowmore is actually the oldest licensed distillery on Islay, and produces a significant amount of malted barley in house, which is presently an uncommon occurrence. Bowmore also ages a good portion of their whiskies in house. This being said, the Bowmore brand sits in the middle of the peat spectrum, and lacks in the craft presentation that many of their competitors have. Bowmore has a lot of potential for improvement from the get go, but where do they stand in current quality?

Straight

Nose: There is a lot of interesting notes in this whisky. This whisky has an interesting leathery note right off the nose. There is a slight peatiness which compliments the leather notes, along with subtle notes of malt. There is a bit of wood smoke that suggests itself to the senses, but not too . Floral lavender smell is also present along with some perfume-like notes. There are some fruit notes, including over ripened bananas and cherries. You  also find some coastal, salty notes in the whisky, characteristic of the Islay malts. KCM also found this close to the smell of Worcestershire sauce. This is very original in smell, although presumably unappealing to some.

Arrival: The arrival starts off mild, with some burnt sugar, sherry, malt and salty flavors. There is a slightly medicinal character in the arrival, with some oak charcoal flavor as well.

Body: The body has a strong cool mintiness. This mint is very much like mouthwash you might buy at CVS. There is still some malt flavor in the whisky as well. In addition, dark flavors of maple and molasses are both present in this whisky. There is a grainy character in the body, somewhat pushing outside of the barley malt traditional.

Finish: The finish sustains the mint and oak flavors, with a bit of malt and sea salt. There is plenty of mineral notes, and a vegetal, peaty note to the finish as well. There is a leathery, wood char note as well. Although the finish is unique in flavor, there is no dynamics to the whisky. The finish ends on a slightly flat note.

Final Comments: Bowmore is an example of a good whisky with tons of potential. We really enjoyed the unique flavor profile that Bowmore has to offer, and it sits in stark contrast to many of the other Islay Scotches we experience. That being said, the low proof and the presentation of the whisky detracts from the overall quality and complexity. At the end of the day, this does not stay competitive for a lot of reasons. Bowmore also edges on the pricier end for what they give you. Ultimately, this is worth trying, but maybe more of a bar dram than a bottle to own.

 

Why you’d buy it: You want an Islay with a different style.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You don’t buy things with minimum credentials.

Score:  8.0/10

Review 213: Highland Park Signatory 18 Year 1991/2010

Review 213

4/18/14

Highland Park Signatory 18 Year 1991/2010: 46% abv

Background: We’re back at independent bottlings with a 18 year old Highland Park. Highland Park, as a reminder, is an island distillery and holds the title of the most northern distillery in Scotland. They have a pretty loyal fan base, and tend to produce a wide variety of whiskies. This one sat in a sherry butt for 18 long years. Sherry butts are 500 liter vessels, and they tend to be less common than hogsheads. This Signatory bottling still has good presentation, having 46% abv, natural color, and no chill filtration.

Straight

Nose: The nose starts off with a good mixture of citrus and grain, with malt being a predominant aroma up front. There is a noticeable peat to the Scotch, with a considerable spiciness in the nose as well. The spice includes nutmeg and gingerbread. There is some vanilla and custard in the nose, with a smooth lemon and orange involved as well. There is some white grape acidity and other light fruits as well. There is some old leather and sawdust aroma, with the addition of light cocoa.

Arrival: The arrival starts off with soft, creamy grain notes, and some definitive citrus notes. The arrival has the smoothness of sweet grain, but doesn’t provide terribly complex flavors.

Body: The body really carries out the citrus, with slight amounts of malt. There is a little bit of agave, with some cinnamon and nutmeg in the body. There is a lot of lemon, lime, and orange in the body.

Finish: The finish introduces some tobacco and peat into it, retaining the malt and citrus notes from the rest of the whisky. There is some custard and spices in the finish as well, which add to the smoky, peaty flavor. There is an introduction of grapefruit in the finish as well. There is a salty coastal character in the finish.

With Water

Nose: The nose seems to be essentially the same after adding water. One difference between this and before water is a subtle raison smell that comes through.

Arrival: The arrival is more complex and citrusy than before water.

Body: There is a little more peat flavor in the body, with intense citrus and coastal notes coming to the front much more aggressively.

Finish:  There is some custard and vanilla in the finish, with a large peaty flavor and orange citrus flavors dominating. The finish is still salty and coastal.

Final Comments: This whisky is an interesting one for sure, but it doesn’t deliver on all fronts. Surprisingly, it is worth saying that the cask quality of this particular whisky might be a little under par in comparison to many others we’ve had in the past, especially for an 18 year old Scotch. Although the whisky does exert some mature flavors, and a relatively decent complexity, it doesn’t seem to be competitive with other bottlings from Highland Park or Signatory. That’s not to say this is a bad whisky. It is still an affordable alternative with an interesting personality, and it is not hard to sip and enjoy. 

 

Why you’d buy it: You’re a fan of Highland Park and want to see more dimensions of their whisky.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: Your expectation for a sherried whisky is in the realm of Glendronach

Score:  8.5/10

Review 202: Glendronach 15 Year Revival

Review 202

1/25/14

Glendronach 15 Year Revival: 46% abv

Background: This whisky just recently made it into Michigan. At a good price and a good presentation, KCM is more than excited to have this whisky in Michigan. Earlier last year, we reviewed Glendronach 12 Year (Review # 162, 5/25/13), and found it to be a decent alternative at a reasonable price. The 12 Year, as a reminder, is aged with PX and Oloroso sherry casks. The 15 Year, at 46%, is aged in Oloroso sherry casks exclusively. As a result, this is one of the darkest looking whiskies we’ve ever reviewed, but it is natural color. This whisky is rather pricy, so the question is: does this compete well with the other sherry Scotches we can buy on the shelf today, like Aberlour, Balvenie, and Macallan?  Let’s find out.

Straight

Nose: This whisky starts off with an unsurprising portion of sherry prominence and a healthy portion of raison smell, which is rich and flavorful right off of the bat. Contributing to the sweetness is a rich smell of vanilla and caramel, with a dry cocoa in the back. There is some woodiness in it, close to oak and catalpa. To add contrast, some floral aromas add overtones of bitterness to the nose. There is a little bit of rich cherry and apple flavor in the nose, with a subtlety of malt and wheat graininess helping contributing to the aroma. There is some sweet marmalade that accentuates the sweetness of the nose. There is a mild saltiness in the whisky, but it certainly doesn’t present itself as overly dominant. An additional spiciness of clove and cinnamon are noticeable. Finally, a small hint of earthiness is present in smell.            

Arrival: The arrival starts off with a really syrupy mouthfeel, a thick sherry taste, with a hot spiciness. There are rich fruits of apple and raisons, along with hot cinnamon and clove. There is a big presence of maple and molasses on the arrival. There is also a confectionary sweetness in the arrival, almost like cookie dough.

Body: The body is where the spiciness kicks into overdrive. There is a note of apple and sweet sherry, with tart huckleberry adding to the thickness. There is a lot of earthiness and greenness in the body. There is a taste of Angostura Bitters in the body.

Finish: The finish provides a blast of sherry after it resides from the body. There is a large amount of spiciness in the finish, with cinnamon, gingerbread and clove most prevalent. There is a very malty presence here in the finish. A fresh mintiness is noticeable as the whisky fades down. There is a surprising vegetal quality in the finish. The barrel really comes out in this whisky.

With Water

Nose: There is a lot more oakiness in the whisky from before. The spiciness is getting a lot bigger here than before, with clove being the distinguishing smell. A slightly more vegetal note is coming through, with a little bit of burning tobacco on the nose as well. In addition, there is a note of brown sugar available.

Arrival: The arrival is much more grain forward than before, with the maltiness being more forward than before. The spice is in perfect play with the sweetness, with the sherry being in perfect proportion.

Body: The body lends itself to a good blend of grain, spiciness, and sherry. This has a lot going on, and is in perfect distribution.

Finish: The finish is a perfect blend of different flavors, dialing in the medley of spiciness, grain, sherry and saltiness. This whole thing has become much more balanced. The dry spiciness is what tends to last through the finish the most.

Final Comments: This is absolutely what it should be. This is a beautiful blend of spiciness, maltiness, and the fantastic sherry flavor that contribute to a perfect balance. When you first see this spirit, you might be wary that this will be overly sweet and syrupy up front, but it is absolutely not that at all. This is one of the finest examples of sherried Scotch we have yet to try (there are still plenty to be tried, mind you). The complexity is there, and with just a little bit of water, it was hard for us to even focus on tasting notes. My recommendation is if you get a chance to try this Scotch, don’t hesitate. It is worth the money, and we will be trying to make this last.

 

Why you’d buy it: You don’t like the color green.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You don’t like sherried Scotch, and therefore you’re probably a bad person.

Score: 9.75 /10

Review 186: Aberlour 16 Year

Review 186

11/23/13

Aberlour 16 Year: 43% abv

Background: Back in Review 126, we reviewed Aberlour 12 Year. Both Aberlour 12 Year and Aberlour 16 Year are “double casked”, which means they are aged in two separate barrels. They’re both bottled at 43%, they both move from a bourbon to a sherry cask, so this is a pretty good comparison of what 4 extra years of maturation will add to a whisky. Two batches were separately aged in sherry and bourbon casks for 16 years each, and then blended appropriately to get the right flavor. When we reviewed the 12 Year, we said it lacked the complexity to compete with some of the other Scotches we’ve tried. The big question now is, did the extra time help to add to the complexity of this big branded Scotch.

Straight

Nose: The nose starts off with rich notes of chocolate and caramel. There is a definite presence of raison sherry and rich fruits. The fruit flavors include strawberries, raspberries, and cranberry. There is an odd hint of banana present as well. All of these fruit flavors mix well with an aroma of yogurt. There is a suggestion of Murphy’s Oil that hides in the back of the nose, but does not dominate. There is a little bit of malt grain flavor, but being a malt addict, there could be much more. There is a miniscule herbal note of parsley.  

Arrival:  There is a nice creamy, malt flavor that comes through in the arrival, which is nice and refreshing. There is a bit of caramel syrup flavor that compliments the malt flavor. The arrival is pretty woody, with a bit of oak and interestingly maple as well. There are some fruit notes, with some berries and apples at the forefront. From the arrival into the body, there is a strawberry jam flavor.

Body: There is a definitive woodiness that starts to build up in the body. This should be expected from the 16 Year old. A pleasant orange peel is also present in the body. Again, apple is present here. The sherry comes through here with a creamy yogurt covered raison flavor. A noticeable amount molasses and agave are present in the body as well. The body also takes on a confectionary sweetness.

           

Finish: The finish has a variety of complex flavors, including banana, salted caramels, and malt. There is a lot of malt flavor in the finish. There is a good amount of candy strawberry flavor in the finish, with some marmalade as well. The fruity flavors are still lasting through the finish. There are also some sweet cinnamon and pepper notes that sit in the background as well. The confectionary notes in the body carry through to the finish, and a sweet cookie-like flavor.

With Water

Nose: The nose has more hints of maple and fall spices. There is definitely more cinnamon and nutmeg after water is added. The nose is a little more dry and astringent, with some lemon zest in the nose. The orange peel is dominant as well. The maltiness is a little more noticeable as well. There is also some vanilla on there as well.

Arrival: The malt is more dominant now than before, with prominent citrus notes. There is a black cherry tartness, coupled with some vanilla.

Body: The fruitiness is a little bit less dominant in the body now. The orange peel as now become more akin to an orange juice flavor, and the overall experience is more creamy than before. There is now actually a big almond flavor that wasn’t present without water. There is a little bit more saltiness in the body now as well.

Finish: There is more cherry in the finish now, adding to the tartness. There is still thick, confectionary sweetness. The finish is now slightly grassy, and somewhat medicinal as well.

Final Comments:  This is a major step up in quality and complexity from the 12 Year, as we see it. The difference between the two is substantial. The question should then arise to the astute reader as to whether or not the price difference in these similarly styled whiskies is worth the upgrade. In our minds, it seems like the difference is noticeable, but for the novice drinker, it might not be worth the price jump. In either case, this is a very solid whisky for a casual, sweeter sipper. And while Balvenie differentiates their range with different casks and styles, Aberlour keeps the sherry/bourbon theme throughout their brand. This makes Aberlour a great source for consistent sherry-style Scotch in different age groups.

 

Why you’d buy it: A great sherry-style Scotch at a reasonable price

Why you wouldn’t: Glendronach is starting to expand its presence in the US.

Score: 9.0/10

Review 172: Captain Morgan Sherry Cask Finish

Review 172

8/11/13

Captain Morgan L.E. Sherry Cask: 35% abv

Background: And here we are, revisiting Captain Morgan. It might seem like a huge jump in quality from our regular reviews, but it is always nice to review the basics. Captain Morgan is currently owned by Diageo, and was brought to market in 1944. Probably the most well-known rum in the states, Captain Morgan rum is actually named after Sir Henry Morgan, a Welsh privateer. Captain Morgan actually started being produced by Seagram Company, but was bought by Diageo in 2001. There has been rum produced in both Jamaica and Puerto Rico, but the stuff you’re probably used to slamming down came from Puerto Rico most likely. Captain Morgan is distilled spirit from Molasses and spends some short time in oak barrels to give it some life. What makes this unique is that it spends some time in a sherry barrel. So is that good or bad? Well, pre-emptively, we can tell you rum is sweet, and so is sherry, so it could either blend well, or be sickeningly like drinking sugar. And not to be overly critical, but you would think that if Captain Morgan was going to make a limited edition bottling, they would kick up the abv to more than a pathetic 35%. We did buy this, however, because it makes for a good experiment. So here it goes: Where has all the rum gone?

Straight

Nose:  The nose starts off with a nice, custardy fruitiness, vanilla and sweetness up front. The smell of vanilla is pretty overbearing up front. There are some hints of cinnamon you’ll catch up front. There is also a slight waxiness that comes through on the nose. This is an odd first in the KCM tasting notes history, but it’s fairly direct. There is some anise present in the nose, as well as some slight ginger and subtle lime. There is a definite strawberry/blueberry note present in the nose, with some orange sherbet and modest melon flavors as well. There is some confectionary flavor to it as well. 

Arrival: There is some definite honey flavor that comes out initially in the arrival, with a smooth sweetness throughout. There is some gentle, soft fruitiness akin to fuji apples and sweet berries, followed by a definite creaminess. There is a definite sugariness that comes through in the arrival. It is definitely sweet, but weirdly enough, it is a light sweetness, not much like the rich, overburdening flavor that you would expect out of a fortified wine.

Body: The body comes up with succulent black cherry flavors, some sweet berries and left over orange and cream flavors, along with subtle hints of vanilla and honey, without every getting too far into the sherry territory. This was probably not a nutty sherry cask, and it probably had minimal exposure, because the raison and nutty characteristics we become so fond of simply are not present. It is still sugary, lots of molasses present. This is very much similar to the arrival, and in this sense, you get what you get. It isn’t a very dynamic rum. What becomes unique about the body is a slight presence of anise and spice.  

           

Finish: The finish, which doesn’t hold much of a presence in the grand scheme of things, holds the most spiciness, but retains the sweet notes of before. The anise and some cinnamon comes through the most here, but the finish is fairly abrupt. It doesn’t last very long and besides the slight sensation of alcohol, you have forgotten what you drank. You might feel like you just brushed your teeth with the refreshing, almost fluoride-like flavor that hangs in the back of your mouth.

With Water

Nose: The nose, after adding just a slight drop of water, is even bigger in the fruity, vanilla, floral, and slight anise spicy notes. It is such a potent, but not off-putting nose, you would honestly want this as your car scent mirror tag. Other than the prominence of the nose, it doesn’t feel like much changed here.

Arrival: Although most of the notes have remained present here, and we aren’t noticing any new ones come out, it seems like there is a slightly better balance now in this one than before.

Body: The body is very much the same as the arrival, with a better balance, not much else is going on.

           

Finish: The finish is very similar, although it seems a little more dry and astringent than before.

Final Comments: Not bad…pretty clean and fairly interesting. It is unique and without water, it is pretty easy to drink, and it does everything you might want out of a rum. We are not huge fans of Captain Morgan, but what they’ve accomplished here, at $20, is pretty damn impressive, for lack of better terms. There is not a lot of dynamics to the rum, but we enjoyed it for a good sipper. This is also a good rum to experiment with, since it is so unique.

 

Why you’d buy it: You’d like to try something different, or you just want something good to mix with.

Why you wouldn’t: You are REALLY looking for something of high quality in the rum world.

Score: 8.25/10

Review 168: Dalmore 12 Year

Review 168

6/30/13

Dalmore 12 Year: 40% abv

Background: Dalmore is the pinnacle of marketing class. The bottle design is elegant and sexy, there is a metallic-looking stag on the front, and it takes a minimalistic labeling scheme. With all of this, it is tough to walk through your single malt section of the liquor store and not let it catch your eye. Dalmore distillery is a Highland distillery in Alness, Scotland. The company is owned by Whyte and Mackay. The distillery was established in 1839 by a trader who was pretty into the whole opium trading thing, as I’ve heard. In 1886, the distillery was bought by the MacKenzie family, of which one of their predecessors allegedly saved King Alexander III from a rampaging stag. This resulted in the MacKenzie bloke to be able to bear the emblem of the 12-point stag. That brings us back to the bottle, which has used this as a means of marketing shenanigans. This bottling is the 12 year, which doesn’t tell us that it isn’t chill filtered, or that it is naturally colored, and it does get bottled at only 40%. That being said, none of that guarantees us that this is a poorly made Scotch. That’s why we’re here to tell you exactly what to expect before buying a bottle. Before we dive into this, we can tell you a bit about how this is aged. Dalmore tells us this whisky sits for 9 years in bourbon casks, and then is divided (carefully, they say). One half of the whisky sits for another 3 years in bourbon barrels, and the other half sits in “30 year old Matusalem oloroso sherry casks”. What does this mean? Not a whole lot.

Straight

Nose: So right out of the gate, this nose gives off some hints of harsh alcohol, implying maybe not the best quality of spirit. Dig further, you’ll get a signature oloroso nuttiness and sherry combo coming out nicely. There is a sense of wet grass and burnt wood in the nose, with some stale malt flavor coming in the background. It doesn’t start as a fresh nose, quite honestly. It isn’t very crisp or refreshing, but more heavy and compacted. That being said, there are some nice dark apple flavors coming out of the nose, with small hints of butter and honey. The nuttiness seems to dominant the nose at the end of the day, but it reminds me of a toasted almond that got burnt. I have to confess, this is a relatively confused nose.

Arrival: The arrival starts off butter and butterscotch, almost like you are grabbing some popcorn. There is a pale maltiness that lurks in the shadows, and a bland sense of fruitiness comes through. It feels pretty worn and unimpressive. After a couple of sips, the best guess for a flavor is dried cranberries and grapes. There is still some burnt wood flavors coming through as well. The arrival is pretty flat.

Body: Into the body, you will get some more of the nuttiness coming out in the whisky, which is good. The overall sherry idea is somehow loss in the flavor. There is a sense of marzipan in the body, with again a reoccurrence of dried fruit flavors. There is slight vanilla notes involved. The maltiness in the whisky is uninspired and flat, and does not pop in the flavorful, fresh manner that we saw in the anCnoc.

           

Finish: There are terribly dominant notes of popcorn kernels, sherry, and chocolate in here. There is hardly much to talk about, minus a slight residual hint of tobacco. There is still a nuttiness from the beginning of the flavor, with some vanilla and more burnt flavors. It is really a short and simple finish that doesn’t excite us a whole lot.

With Water

Nose: Water seems to just exacerbate the rough spirit smell that starts at the beginning. There is still the burnt sensation that is apparent in the beginning of the whisky. That ashy smell seems to over dominate the nose again. Not worth continuing with more notes on the nose.

Arrival: Finally, there is some salvation. You may have thought this review was going to be 100% negative, but alas, in tasting the whisky after adding a teaspoon of water, it seems like the maltiness has jumped forward much more, along with making the fruitiness more lively. There is actually some caramel coming through, with some light spiciness and a sort of peanut butter cookie flavor. This isn’t a perfect arrival, but it is certainly MUCH better with some water.

Body: The body carries over some of the burnt flavors still, but in addition there is a sense of confectionary notes as well which help to balance out the ashy character. There is some apple character and some cinnamon sugar flavor coming through as well.

           

Finish: Those peanut butter cookies are interestingly lasting through the finish, with a sense of chocolate and cinnamon as well. There is some tobacco notes in here, but there is still some nuttiness, apple and cranberry flavor, and gingerbread. This is a much better surprise than the initial flavor content. There is also a citrus, orange flavor coming through at the end.

Final Comments: There is a terribly disappointing quality issue here. When we talk about “flatness”, we are not talking about carbonation, but rather a lack of dynamics and assertive flavors in the whisky. This is a flat whisky, and the flavor doesn’t pop out in the arrival, or in the body, or in the finish. Without water, there is not much flavor to be had at all, and we were disappointed by how much we didn’t enjoy unassertive notes. The saving grace to this whisky is that with a bit of water, there is some more complexities and flavors to overcome the shortcomings slightly. That doesn’t make this whisky “fantastic” by any stretch of the imagination, but it does provide some hope that it could be drinkable. Also, don’t think this means we’re dismissing Dalmore. I hear there are some great independent bottlings of Dalmore.

 

Why you’d buy it: You want a nice centerpiece for your table, and that bottle just really hits your “I want this as my centerpiece” buttons.

Why you wouldn’t: You don’t want to spend $50 on disappointment.

Score: 6.5/10

Review 158: J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale Matured in Sherry Casks

Review 158

5/3/13

J.W. Lee’s Harvest Ale Matured in Sherry Casks: 11.5% abv

Background: J.W. Lee’s is an independent brewery owned by a family in Manchester. That is a pretty interesting point, because we haven’t reviewed a lot of authentic U.K. beers. They were founded in 1828, and now are on their sixth generation of family ownership. They also own a number of hotels as well.  This brewery tends to show off cask-aged ales, so that seems to be the focus. These guys produce quite a few beers, but as it tends to be in the European brewers, their beers tend to be very low percentage. This one, on the other hand, is not low at all, being at 11.5%. This is a Harvest Ale. This is actually considered a barleywine, which will explain why some of the flavors of malt come out more. This particular special release is aged in sherry barrels, which by itself is not very well seen in brewing today. We were very excited to see what this did to a beer.

Nose: Starting off as a fairly neat nose, one can relate the slight fruitiness of this beer to a Belgian style, but the uniqueness takes over from here. There are some notes of subtle raison, nuttiness, and slight malt. There are sweet notes of caramel and honey which front the nose, charging forward with ornaments of molasses following behind. If I had to guess, I would say this was aged in an Oloroso sherry barrel, although the size is hard to approximate. It adds a sort of obscure wine-like character to the beer. Not only does this beer look like apple cider, but you do get some notes of apple cider as well. The nuttiness, as the beer starts to open up, resembles toasted nuts; maybe not almonds per say, but none the less a toasted smell. We even started to sense some notes of dried oak, albeit not an aggressive smell, and a unique bit of plum as well, with even a hint of dark cherry.  

Arrival: The arrival, after smelling this beer for a few minutes, will knock you down. It has a sweet sherry and nuttiness at the beginning. There is some honey and maltiness in the arrival, but it is a pretty tightly packed, solid flavor. The arrival will start sweet at a slightly chilled temperature, and the sherry sweetness spills over into the body quite well. You will catch those apple cider notes in the arrival here as well. There is definitely some raison quality to this arrival. This might appear to be overly sweet when the beer reaches room temperature.

Body: To completely contradict the arrival, you will find interesting notes of peat and tobacco dominate the palate. It is not at all like the arrival, and leaves you a little astonished at what you just tasted. There are some burnt paper qualities to it. There is still some sweet raison to it, rich flavors of honey and the smoke becomes pretty powerful. This will calm down after the beer warms up though. The smoke flavors get pushed back to the finish as the beer transitions in temperature.

Finish: There is a little more peat in the finish than in the body, but you still get some prominent malt notes, along with the strong flavor of burnt tobacco. There is a strong amount of nuttiness to the beer, with the residual feelings of Oloroso and raisons. After the beer warms up to room temperature, the tobacco is right in the finish and kills the complexity.

Final Comments: This is probably one of the most complex beers we’ve ever had, with a dynamic influence from the temperature change. This has a great diversity, and the nose will tease you into thinking this would be simple and sweet, but it isn’t. This beer does model the sweetness of sherry, but takes on some prominent notes of other flavors as well, making this one of the most education beers we’ve ever had to drink.

Why you’d buy it: You don’t mind spending money, and want to try something completely different.

Why you wouldn’t: You are bitter and hateful and frown upon everything happy and good.

Score: 9.75/10