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 201: Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon

Review 201

1/19/14

Blanton’s Single Barrel: 46.5% abv

Background: Blanton’s is a bourbon that is distilled at Buffalo Trace distillery. It is owned by Sazerac Company and was launched in 1984. With the very popular Kentucky Derby rooted in the traditions of many distilleries, a nifty horse figurine is placed on every bottle of Blanton’s, with 8 different figurines available (each representing a letter of BLANTONS). Collect them all (or don’t)! This is a high rye bourbon, made from mash bill #2. It is advertised as the first single barrel bourbon bottled, which really offers very little relevance to what this tastes like or if it’s worth your time…so we’ll focus on that.

Straight

Nose: This bourbon starts off with a blend of elegant, sweet, creamy flavors. A medley of berries and cherries, cream and vanilla are huge right off the bat. There is almost a sense of cheesecake in here. A nice smooth custard flavor is noticeable. A subtle oak layers in the nose, with rye coming out more as the whiskey opens up. Along with the rye, more apple and vinegar are showing up in the whiskey as well. The apple is a lot like stewed apples with cinnamon. To contrast the big sweet notes, floral notes are also present in the whisky. There is some brown sugar and cinnamon contributing more to the whisky.

Arrival: The arrival is spicy and rye-forward. There is honey on the arrival with a bit of clove adding to the spicy zing. There are notes of brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg present. There is a definite oak, with some grain. The mouth-feel starts syrupy.

Body: The body is much busier than the arrival, with leather, rye, and wood tannins up front. There is a cherry syrup flavor, followed by apples and cinnamon. There is a lot of spice in the body too.

Finish: The finish is spicy and well rounded, with plenty of rye, oak, and fruit. There is clove, cinnamon, ginger, mint and pepper present in the finish, with some cherry sweetness to close out the rye-driven spice. The finish also contains a bit of the leather character from before. There is a little earthy char flavor in the finish.

With Water

Nose: After adding water, there is much more leather and grain flavor coming through. Along with a slight increase in vanilla smell, a small amount of acetone can be detected in the aroma.

Arrival: The arrival dulls out a lot, containing just a bit of additional spiciness.

Body: The addition of water really kills this whiskey in the body. There is not much to speak of. The whiskey even starts to taste a little young after adding water, getting back to the new-make taste.

Finish: The finish is a little more well-rounded than before, with a slightly noticeable malt flavor becoming evident. A little bit of that new make carries through into the finish, with a residual spiciness but less presence.

Final Comments: Blanton’s fits into a very specific niche. Although Blanton’s isn’t the end all, be all, it is a really solid offering. If you are looking for an easy to drink Bourbon that isn’t as sweet as some of the alternatives, then this is a great alternative. It doesn’t have the complexity to skyrocket it into our top ranks, but it does offer something in balance that can be hard to find in bourbons.

 

Why you’d buy it: You want a nice sipping whisky.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You are looking for something to sit down and think about.

Score: 8.5/10

Review 200: Port Charlotte PC7

Review 200

1/18/14

Port Charlotte PC7: 61% abv

Background: Port Charlotte is the “branch” of Bruichladdich that focuses on the heavily peated Scotch of their range. Don’t be confused; Port Charlotte is still distilled at Bruichladdich. It just differentiates their heavily peated products from the rest of them. Even more confusing is the existence of Octomore, another peated Bruichladdich made with extremely high levels of peat smoking, which is normally measured in PPMs (parts per million) of phenol content in the barley grain. But enough about that; more on this specimen. In Review 180, we talked about PC6 and the PC series. This is the next in line, being aged in traditional oak casks for 7 years. It is bottled at a monster 61%. This is bottle 23,717 out of 24,000. Let’s give this whisky a good look. 

Straight

Nose: This whisky starts off with a greatly earthy, grassy peat smoke. The smell of fresh cut grass, wood smoke, and mossiness is prominent in the aroma, with a hint of sawdust. There is a large amount of savory flavor and vanilla, with a huge spiciness to it. An almost sweet and tangy meat sauce smell is present here. A notable floral rose note is also noticeable. To add to the complexity, a slightly powdery cocoa smell layers into the aroma. There is a coastal, saltiness involved with a bit of nuttiness and sweet, fresh maltiness.

Arrival: The whisky, as expected starts off with a hot, spicy arrival. It is surprisingly smooth at first, with a peat and spice coming in later. There is a very salty, seaweed-like flavored feel in there. Because of the high alcohol content, there is not a lot that can be observed here before flavor is lost and taking over by the hot alcohol influence. The arrival also has a significantly bready flavor to it.

Body: The body contains a lot of malt, peat, caramel and oakiness to it. There is some chocolatey flavor in here, with some nuttiness so far. The saltiness becomes very big here, in a pleasant way. There is a lot of crispness in the body as well. Tea and tobacco are noticeable in the body.

Finish: The finish has a significant amount of malt and peat to it, while continuing the coastal, salty theme. There is a bitter, herbal taste present in the finish. Tea tree oil and tobacco are present in the finish, with some spices as well, including peppercorn. There is a little yeast that carries over from the arrival.

With Water

Nose: There is a lot of woodiness after adding water, including dry pine wood. There is some vanilla and honey present. The grain flavor is starting to open up in the aroma now. The alcohol has broken loose in the aroma now, making the smell burn much more than before.

Arrival: There is more sweetness in the arrival than before, with some dry, bitter wood. A lot of honey and vanilla is present. The wood is huge in the arrival.

Body: The body presented a lot more malt and nuttiness. The saltiness and tobacco is still big in the body. There is some tannic flavor in the body, with some oak flavor as well. Astringent citrus is present in the body much more now.

Finish: The finish has become very phenolic and medicinal. It is malty and nutty, but ends on a dry, coastal note that is complex and lasting. There is a strong, minty flavor in the finish. It has a fresh, cooling sensation as the whisky dissipates. The peat and phenol last an incredibly long time in the finish. An interesting presence of corn is also present in the finish.

Final Comments: Port Charlotte PC7 is not an outstanding peated Scotch. It is young and brash, displaying angry fists like a drunken sailor might. It lacks the finesse and complexity we’ve seen with other malts, and for that reason it doesn’t jump forward as exceptional. That being said, what it lacks in complexity and tactfulness, it makes up for in pure, unadulterated bravado and presence. It is truly a big malt and a high strength. It is salty and briny, peaty and savory, and is not afraid to strut its stuff. We’ve enjoyed the many glasses of PC7 we’ve had, even if it isn’t what you’d consider “worth the money”. This is where you might cue the montage with sappy music, I suppose. In any case, it should be interesting to see where the Port Charlotte range evolves and how long it will live.

 

Why you’d buy it: You like the big bold peaty stuff and don’t care about the details

Why you wouldn’t: Something like Caol Ila or Lagavulin has just the right amount of finesse

Score: 8.75/10

Review 199: Bruichladdich 12 Year 2nd Edition

Review 199    

1/12/13

Bruichladdich 12 Year 2^nd Edition: 46% abv

Background: Well, so long as we are doing Bruichladdich, we might as well move on to the next standard offering from them. First, a little more on Bruichladdich. Pronounced Brook-laddie, the name is Gaelic for “raised beach”. Bruichladdich sits on the west side of Islay, and is one of the less publicized malts of the island. You will come to expect that with Bruichladdich, you will see craft presentation. The 12 Year is no exception, with explicit writing on the bottle telling you that it is 46%, non-chill filtered, and natural color. That’s a great sign. Bruichladdich’s 12 Year old whisky is lightly peated, aged in Bourbon oak casks, and made by Master Distiller Jim McEwan. This whisky is sort of an anomaly to me, but we’ll get to that later in the review. Now, some notes!

Straight

Nose: The nose starts off in a very odd way. Despite being a bourbon barrel-aged whisky, there is something remarkably “sherried” smelling to this. Starting off with a rich smell of caramel, vanilla bean, chocolate, raisons, honey, and sweet malt, you would be convinced that this was a Sherry monster. The whisky is also distinctively floral in its aroma. The amount of fruitiness in here is incredible, with a succulent, rich aroma of berries and other juicy delights. There is a slightly acidic Champagne flavor that also coats the top of the glass. There is some smoky oak char and light peat to be enjoyed in this whisky. Sporadically, a little bit of campfire marshmellows is noticeable, sort of like a burnt sugar smell.

Arrival: The arrival is definitely thick, chocolately, and sweet. There was a front of acidity in the arrival, that transformed into a wave of sweetness. There is a very juicy, beautiful mixture of cherries, strawberries, and raspberries in the arrival. The arrival is definitely succulent.

Body: The body has the mysteriously raison-esque Sherry character to it. There is a lot of chocolate and caramel that add to a rich, thick body. The mouth-feel here is just incredible and thick. The body becomes quite acidic and salty as it leads into the finish.

Finish: The finish closes off with a mixture of tart fruits, dry maltiness, and coastal saltiness. It really closes the whisky reminding you that you’re dealing with a unique Islay. It has tart cranberry, fresh maltiness, cinnamon and pepper that help add to the complexity, not to mention slight traces of pecan. You will find most of the peatiness here as well. The salt becomes quite strong here in the finish. A bit of oak is also noticeable here. As the finish concludes, a grainy graham cracker flavor closes the whole event.

With Water

Nose: And to add to our craziness, the sherry flavor we’ve been accounting for all over comes out dominantly after adding water. Vanilla bean becomes more prevalent. It is also interesting how there is more of a raw grain flavor than before.

Arrival: The arrival has settled down substantially, with less attacking flavor. It seems that there is less complexity as well though. The sherry is still very dominant.

Body: There is a more confectionary, sugary flavor that comes through in the body. There is some tartness, but it is mostly sweetness and fruitiness.

Finish: The finish has brought out the darker flavors of chocolate and caramel, with an added subtle coffee to it. The finish has a bit less coastal flavor to it, with a good amount malt and more vegetal flavor, similar to the ten year. This still has a big, juicy fruitiness to it.

Final Comments: Back to the anomaly that I referenced earlier today. I just cannot believe that this whisky is not sherried! We have had a number of experiences with sherry barrel aged whiskies, and if I was blindfolded, I would have said it was one. None-the-less, this is a fantastic, balanced whisky, and Bruichladdich proves itself again. In general, this takes the other end of the spectrum from the 10 year, offering up succulent, delicious fruit notes to couple the Islay coastal style. This is just such an enjoyable whisky to sit down and sip on, we can’t help but swoon over it.

 

Why you’d buy it: It will put you in your happy place.

Why you wouldn’t: It doesn’t have that Islay peat style to it.

Score: 9.5/10

Review 198: Bruichladdich The Laddie Ten

Review 198    

1/11/13

Bruichladdich The Laddie 10 Year: 46% abv

Background: This is a pretty exciting occasion for KCM. This will be our first Bruichladdich review, which is exciting for a reason. Bruichladdich, around since 1881, is an Islay distillery that chose not to take the path of Laphroaig or Ardbeg, and is classically non-traditional in their style. Bruichladdich is truly a craft distillery, producing a large number of variants of whiskies, with a limited number of mainstays. Most Bruichladdich’s are unique bottlings that last a short amount of time. This however, is a newer release in an effort to solidify Bruichladdich’s core range of offerings. With a unique, blue pastel color adorning the bottle and canister, this one is hard to miss. Along with that, it is bottled at 46%, is natural color, and un-chill filtered. You’ll find that most Bruichladdich’s are found in this form. This is also aged in Bourbon oak casks, and is NOT peated. That would be considered unusual for a lot of Islay distilleries. So let us find out what this bad boy is like!

Straight

Nose: The nose is strong and vibrant, displaying notes of oak, molasses, vanilla and caramel. The oak is fresh and intense, and coupled with a young, bold maltiness, makes this malt very compelling on the nose. In addition to the oak, a bit of cedar is also noticeable. There is an expected saltiness that really floods the aroma as the whisky starts to open up, and in addition is a very earthy, vegetal smell. There is a red apple note that complements some of the sweet notes in the whisky, with a slight instance of kiwi and green grapes. Despite the explicit mention of not peat in this malt, there is definitely a smoky, earthy peat-like aroma that emanates from this whisky. A little bit of cinnamon flavor in the nose adds to the spiciness. There is a little bit of honey that also becomes prevalent.

Arrival: There is sweetness and maltiness in the arrival, with a slight zest of peat and spiciness. This is a very balanced whisky, bringing out a wide range of flavors. There is a little bit of sugarcane, candy sweetness, and rum-like flavor leading into the body. Vanilla is also prevalent here.

Body: The body contains a good blend of maltiness, spiciness and peat flavor. There is some distinctive seaweed and pepper that can be tasted in the body. There is rum-like sweetness and honey in the  body.

Finish: The finish has some sweetness, maltiness, and oak to it. There is a fantastic blend of molasses, caramel, malt and vanilla that contributes to the complexity in the finish. Along with this, prepare to find some yeasty, wheat-like flavor as well. There is a raw, peaty flavor in the finish. The finish does contain a little bit of apple to it. There is a lot of saltiness that also contributes to a beautiful sense of balance. There is a very vegetal flavor that comes into the finish.

With Water

Nose: There is a lot more maltiness, vanilla, and creaminess to it. This is starting to smell like a sugar cookie, in all honesty. There is more of an alcohol-like smell, with clove spice coming through that was not as obvious as before.

Arrival: The arrival is more sweet after adding water. The oak intensity has subsided, with a slightly pine-wood bitterness.

Body: There is more peat smoke in the body than there was before. There is a balanced blend of spicy complexity in the body, although the body is still a little shallow.

Finish: There is more spiciness in the finish, akin to allspice. There is also a bit more mintiness in the finish as well. There is also a tart, different cranberry flavor in the finish now.

Final Comments: For a first flagship ten year old, this whisky kicks ass! One of the most interesting aspects of this whisky is seeing how a non-peated whisky can be influenced by peat in the environment and peat exposure to the water. So distinctively can you find the salty, peaty atmosphere in this whisky, it is hard not to imagine yourself on the shores of Islay. This whisky is the definition of balance, complexity, and overall uniqueness. And if you don’t like the salty, intense complexity of this whisky, just add a little bit of water and let it sweeten up. This might not be a beginner’s whisky, but if you like a more vegetal, earthy, coastal whisky, this should be a staple in your cabinet.

 

Why you’d buy it: You just should.

Why you wouldn’t: Probably something to do with communism I imagine.

Score: 9.5/10

Review 197: Founders Sweet Repute

Review 197

1/6/14

Founders Sweet Repute: 12.6% abv

Background: We should all be familiar with Founders at this point, being one of the more prolific breweries in Michigan. Founders has had major success with their Backstage Series, which is a series of experimental beers which have been bottled in 750 mL bottles for public consumption. This is a great way to promote new beers and experimental styles. The last review we did of an experimental beer was Bolt Cutter, Founders’ 15^th Anniversary Barleywine. This time around, we are reviewing Sweet Repute, a wheatwine aged in ex-bourbon ex-maple syrup barrels. That sentence alone should raise your eyebrows. Needless to say, the combination sounds like a recipe for syrupy sweet disaster. There is only one way to find out!

Nose: The nose starts off with a strong presence of wheat, oak, and bourbon. That does a pretty good job of describing this beer. This definitely has some notes of fruitiness, with sweet orange citrus, melon, and tropical fruits right off the bat. There is a subtlety of raisons that comes across, with an even more compelling sense of dry vermouth. The nose is rather tangy. There was noticeable pineapple, with some hoppy bitterness as well. Honey adds some sweetness to the nose. As the beer warms up, the yeasty, bready character becomes more dominant. Overall, the nose is dominantly sweet and fruity, with a definite callout to its grassroots.

Arrival: The arrival is a great introduction into this beer, with a mixture of flavors which play as montage to the aforementioned nose. There is a large number of different sensations, including the bready, wheat-like character, along with a complex fruitiness as well. The arrival shows off a unique taste of lemon-lime soda, with a crisp refreshing mouth-feel.

Body: The body has a thicker mouth-feel, with a sense of honey and fruits dominating the body. The bourbon oak really comes through here. There is a lot of honey and sweetness in the body, in a very sugary, syrupy texture. There is a substantial amount of malt in the body as well.

Finish: The finish concludes with multiple complexities. There is a dry hoppiness that dominates, with a sweet bourbon and honey in the finish. There is a little bit maple in the finish, but it really doesn’t shine through, which we feel is a good thing. Instead, there is slightly more molasses to be found in the finish. There is a good amount of fruitiness in the finish, but it does not over-dominate the beer. There is also a strange taste of bubble gum noticeable from the body into the finish.

Final Comments:  Sweet Repute dances a line of sweetness and complexity, offering a ton of full, thick flavors, but never providing an over-dominance of sweet flavors. Between the wheat malt, the maple/bourbon barrels, and the high proof, it seemed inevitable that this would be overbearingly sweet. Instead, it mixes thick, sweet flavors with a balanced, interesting hoppiness and dryness. Don’t get us wrong, this is no IPA. It just handles itself in a very composed manner. KCM thoroughly enjoyed this beer, even though the maple got lost in the cluster of flavors for most of the event. It is also worth mentioning that although this and New Holland Pilgrim’s Dole (R #7) are distinctively different, you would not lose much by going with New Holland’s wheatwine.

Why you’d buy it: You like limited release beers of a sweeter style and high proof.

Why you wouldn’t: You can’t find it, and it is more expensive than Pilgrim’s Dole.

Score: 9.25/10