Review 223: Yamazaki 12 Year

Review 223

10/9/2014

Yamazaki 12 Year: 43% abv

Background: See Yamazaki, the flagship product of Japanese powerhouse distiller, Suntory. Suntory happens to be the Japanese company that owns just about everything, including your dog. Suntory also happens to produce Hakushu and Hibiki, but we’re not talking about that today. Today, we talk about the 12 Year Japanese Single Malt from Yamazaki. What makes Japanese Single Malt different from Scottish Single Malt? Where it comes from, effectively. Does that influence taste? Absolutely, it does. Welcome, then, to the pinnacle of fashionable contemporary whiskies that probably could run a Toyota Prius. You notice how I’m not writing about the barrel it was aged in, or the colorant, or any of that jazz? That’s because Suntory didn’t tell me any of that. So I had to talk about Toyotas…

Straight

Nose:  So what does Japanese whisky smell like? Well, as a Single Malt, it certainly contains a strong presence of malt, candy sweetness, and dominant vanilla as well. The fruitiness is prevalent in the nose, with honeydew melon, cherry, orange, and banana. There is also subtle pear and green apple notes contributing to nose, with hints of tartness and mild sweetness, mixed with drier flavors as well. There is a bit of oak, and even a suggestion of coconut on the nose as well. Dig a little deeper into the whisky, and you’ll find a little bit of saltiness present as well, although slight and very recessive. This nose also has a tinge of earthiness to it, not terribly noticeable, and frankly hard to describe, but at a minimum present.

Arrival: The arrival starts off with a good amount of spiciness, maltiness, and saltiness. There is a mild sweetness in the arrival, with some allspice. There is some oakiness to the whisky in the arrival. There is some sugar water sweetness as well.

Body: The body contains a significant amount of oakiness, fruitiness, and maltiness. There is a bit of banana, oak, and earthiness. There is mild amounts of orange and sugar sweetness in the body as well.

Finish: The maltiness kind of dominates the whisky in the finish. There is some saltiness, smokiness, and earthiness in the finish, which is fairly definitive. There is some black pepper to be found in the finish, with slight notes of tea leaves and tobacco.      

With Water

Nose: There is slightly more vanilla on the nose. The citrus is much more noticeable on the nose as well. There is some notes of cinnamon and apples. There is a suggestion of molasses on the nose as well.

Arrival: The arrival, after adding water, tends to show off a little bit of sugar, malt and fruit sweetness. In general, the heat in the whisky is not as dominant in the arrival, and a little bit more of the character is available to evaluate.

Body: There is a little bit of earthiness in the body, with oak, spicy heat, and the malt tends to be still very noticeable in the whisky.

Finish: In a weird fashion, there is more heat in the finish now than there was prior to the whisky without water. There isn’t as much flavor in the finish as there was before, but cinnamon heat and a little bit of alcohol burn are still present. There is still a light tobacco that shows up in the finish.

Final Comments: Well if you like Toyotas, you may also find this to be an appealing whisky. Despite this being the first serious contender in world markets for Japanese Single Malts, it doesn’t seem to be representing its comrades very well. It is not a BAD whisky from the strictest definition. It is, however, hugely underwhelming. You might hold credence in that all the rave about World Whiskies is for a reason, but KCM isn’t here to tell you about widely accepted opinions. We’re here to show you that in general, this whisky lacks in complexity, balance and quality, and doesn’t save itself with stark uniqueness either. This doesn’t mean good Japanese whiskies don’t exist. It means that if you’re planning on spending $65 on Single Malt, spend your money elsewhere.

Why you’d buy it: For better fuel economy.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You feel that value per dollar is an important metric, and you’re willing to wait for Japan to send over its serious contenders before you jump on the bandwagon.  

Score: 7.25/10

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 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

KCM Spirit Reviews Podcast #2

Check out the second KCM Spirit Reviews Podcast at:

https://soundcloud.com/kcm-spirit-reviews/kcm-spirit-reviews-podcast-2-3

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 171: Balvenie 12 Year DoubleWood

Review 171

7/31/13

Balvenie 12 Year DoubleWood: 43% abv

Background: Balvenie, as we have talked about before, is a Speyside single malt owned by Grant and Sons, the same group that owns Glenfiddich. We talked about the fact that Glenfiddich 12 Year and Balvenie 12 Year aren’t very similar in taste due to the commanding difference in sherry influence between the two. To add on more details about the distillery itself, not only does Grant and Sons own Balvenie as a company, but William Grant actually founded Balvenie in 1892. Balvenie as a distillery has gotten to be quite large, at a capacity of 5.6M liters a year. Balvenie has a lot of their own original bottlings, with a healthy core range to choose from. Last year, we reviewed the Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask whisky, an exclusive US edition single malt. Besides this and the DoubleWood, they have a 10 Year, a 15 Year Single Barrel, a 12 Year Single Barrel, a 17 Year DoubleWood, a 17 Year Peated cask, a 21 Year Port Wood cask, and several older whiskies. The 12 Year, which is aged in both American Bourbon casks and European sherry casks, is distinctively like Aberlour 12 Year, but they are by no means the same. This leads us to our review section. We will now tell you about tasty smelly stuff:

Straight

Nose:  The nose on this whisky starts off with a dense blend of different flavors, including some subtle notes of Oloroso sherry, subtle tartness, nice raisony richness, and moderate malt character. This definitely has a contrast of notes on display. The Oloroso does bring out some slight nuttiness, and there is a surprising harshness that makes nosing this single malt somewhat challenging. There is a sense of bitterness that comes through in this, with harsh grain notes and a thick oak flavor. There is even a small hint of botanicals and floral notes that tickle the nose when you start to get further into the experience. As far as fruits go, there is a sweet orange citrus flavor that helps add character. Overall, this is a pretty satisfactory introduction to this Balvenie.

Arrival: The arrival definitely starts off grainy with a slight hint of sweetness. The grain is thick and creamy malt, and it reminds me a lot of anCnoc in that sense. There is a combination of vanilla and honey that get into the beginning here, with a subtlety of white wine coming through. Even still, the arrival is very woody and holds back on any sense of sherry. There is a slight harshness in the arrival, with a little bit of cinnamon leading into the body. There is also an earthy, herbal character coming through.

Body: The body finally introduces the sherry, and although it does not come across as over-dominant, there is certainly a sense that the whisky has the raison-esque quality of an Oloroso, with some minimal nuttiness creeping into the taste buds as well. There is still some vanilla and malt coming through. At this point, you will taste an earthy, rooty taste in the whisky. There is definitely a small amount of the citrus from the nose sneaking into the body, which helps keep it prominent and fresh. The body in this whisky actually lasts for a little bit. 

           

Finish: The finish powers in with some dominant black pepper bitterness, strong burn and residual graininess. The graininess feels strained and flavorless here, not like the fresh flavor you get in the arrival. There is a fleeting notion of vanilla and sherry that dwindles away much faster than the bitterer aftertaste that lingers onward. It certainly contains an earthy, almost chicory flavor to it. The herbal tastes from the body carry over into the finish, and it makes for a good blend of sweet sherry and almost oily, modestly salty character to contrast.

With Water

Nose: After giving the whisky some time to merry with a few splashes of water, the initial nosing reveals a honey-sweet, malty, sherry-dominant aroma. There is still some harshness in the nose, but it isn’t terribly overpowering. Some of the other flavors get a little bit washed out at this point.  

Arrival: Although a bit lighter, the arrival is more sweet now and generally less intimidating. The sherry is replaced with a more agave-like flavor, and the complexity goes away quite a bit.

Body: The orange flavor still sits strong here, along with some hints of honey and sherry. There is a strong presence of sweetness, but the bitterness that we knew before comes back after just a little while. Although it’s hard to be sure, it almost feels as if this happens quicker after adding water. The body is rather dumbed down after adding water.

           

Finish: There is a nice sweetness that comes through now, which helps to balance out the heavy earthy, bitter notes that came through before. Although the presence is a bit watered down, it does help balance the differences out quite a bit. To some degree, there is a slight burnt wood quality that resonates at the end, in an unpleasant way. It is almost ashy without a great flavor.

Final Comments: This is a pretty solid offering by Balvenie, although there are a few things about it that aren’t my favorite. As a casual sipper, it really is a fantastic whisky, but as soon as I get any deeper into it, the flavor becomes a little bit unfavorable at the end. The complexity isn’t horribly impressive, but it isn’t disappointing either. Balvenie definitely runs a higher price than other offerings in its class, and after this review, the 12 Year DoubleWood doesn’t convince me that it is worth the premium, although I would much rather drink this than Glenlivet 12 Year.

 

Why you’d buy it: You like the mixture of sherry and bourbon cask influences and enjoy the pronounced flavors.

Why you wouldn’t: You are afraid of a little harshness in a whisky, and don’t want to spend your money on a rougher 12 Year.

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 167: anCnoc 12 Year

Review 167

6/18/13

anCnoc 12 Year: 43% abv

Background: Let’s get this straightened out: anCnoc (meaning “the hill” in Gaelic) is pronounced a-nock. The namesake of anCnoc has not been around for that long, but the whisky itself has been around for quite some time. That’s because anCnoc whisky is formerly known as Knockdhu Scotch, which comes from the Knockdhu Distillery, in Knock, Scotland (Knock on wood…). In 1994, the distillery stopped calling its whisky Knockdhu, because the distillery was being confused with Knockando Distillery. In 1894, the distillery was founded. They currently have about 1.7M liters of capacity, and from an outsider’s perspective, they are gaining presence. The 12 Year is one of two regular main stays in the reasonable price range, with the 16 Year being its right-hand man.  So reasonable is this whisky, it sits alongside the Glenfiddich 12, Glenlivet 12, and Macallan 10 price range. So does it warrant you moving away from these classics to potentially adopt a new staple into the liquor cabinet?

Straight

Nose: You might get some green fruits of the nose of this whisky. The two we thought of immediately were white wine and pears. You will definitely find a malty character to the aroma, complimented by a natural wheat flavor in the background. The vanilla character associated with this Scotch is pretty dominant, and ultimately you do not suspect the influence of peat or sherry in this whisky. It would be safe to say that there is not much influence outside of bourbon casks. There is, however, a very subtle salt note that comes through in the back of the nose. Even to an extent, there is some agave coming through as well. After further analysis, there is a noticeable piece of ginger aroma within the AnCnoc.

Arrival: Well, if you like malt, you won’t be disappointed here. This is an absolutely fantastic blast of malt flavor right in the front; this is a pure, creamy and malty flavor, which feels like the perfect flavor extraction from the distillation process. I might venture a guess that this would actually make for decent white whisky. There is a sense of dried fruit, oak, and vanilla that come through. There is a tart flavor that comes through as well. There is a mysterious spiciness that will be evoked in the arrival as the single malt opens up.

Body: There is still some good maltiness in the body, but there is an addition of wheat, vanilla, cream, and even some saltiness. The evolution is quite smooth, but also noticeable. It is an oxymoron of dynamic and subtle at the same time. It is ultimately incredibly smooth. There is a sense of pear in the body as well. There is a sense of slight tartness in the body, which carries over from the arrival.

           

Finish: You would never guess it, but you guessed it. This finish is super malty, with some earthy, floral notes involved too. The vanilla is dominant, along with some residual tartness, subtle wood flavor, and a long lasting creaminess that almost reminds you of ice cream. Right from the body into the finish, you will find a Laffy Taffy banana flavor that jumps in, which is a weird descriptor, but truly hits the nail on the head. As an accent note, there is a very negligible, almost invisible note of smokiness that comes through in the finish.

With Water

Nose: The nose, although quite similar, brings forward some of the more dominant flavors of the Scotch. There is a sense of lemon that starts coming through, accompanied by a candy sweetness. There is more floral harshness in the nose with a significant vegetal quality, but it still retains the sweetness from before.

Arrival: The arrival is pretty similar to before, with the thought that maybe there is a slight increase in woodiness.

Body: There is a small amount of spiciness into the body that wasn’t as prominent as before. This isn’t necessarily a black pepper spice, but something more hot and flavorful, without breaching the realm of red pepper potency.

           

Finish: The finish comes across as a little less prominent than before, without much flavor change. It is a softer ending, but not too much shorter. The vegetal earthiness that comes through in the finish is a little more dominant now than before water.  

Final Comments: Yes. This will replace Macallan 10, it will replace Glenfiddich 12, and it will DEFINITELY replace Glenlivet 12. Take the price out of the equation for a second. The quality of this whisky is great, no matter what the age or the price is. It tastes fresh, but the creamy, pure malt flavor feels like exactly what good distillation should be. The complexity of this whisky isn’t groundbreaking, but that doesn’t mean it is dull. The whisky takes a contradictory path of smooth, mellow character met with deep, engaging flavor. We truly enjoyed this single malt a lot, and to be honest, it is almost TOO easy to drink. For the price, it is a must try. We would advise you to review the flavors, to understand what you’re buying, because unlike Glenfiddich or Glenlivet, this is not as much about dark, rich fruit flavor, but rather crisp, fresh, but slightly dried fruit flavors with a super blast of maltiness. If you like a dram of Glen Grant 10, this should definitely be on your list.

 

Why you’d buy it: It is good.

Why you wouldn’t: I don’t know.

Score: 8.75/10