Category Archives: Whisky from Master Quills Travels

Michel Couvreur Special Vatting (45%, 3 Distinct Single Malt Barrels aged over 10 years, L005)

Michel Couvreur CaveMichel still had his house in Bouze-les-Beaune and returned there in 1978. Behind the house he dug out a new cellar in the hillside, making it a center for importing good Sherry casks from spain (to the south of where he was), and Whisky (from the north). One of his cellars is pretty humid, with natural water running down the walls, I’m not even mentioning here what grows on the walls! The first cellar that lies between the house and the rest of the underground complex is drier and is where all the casks are stored (see picture above). Visiting there some time ago, I saw some nice casks of Sherried 1981 Brora (which I got to taste) and a 1969 and some seventies Springbank. If Michel thought the Whisky had matured enough, he transferred the Whisky to large glass bottles and stored them in dark passageways. On August 17, 2013 Michel left for the big distillery in the sky at the age of 85 years.

Michel Couvreur Special VattingColor: Murky orange brown.

Nose: Beautiful full Sherried nose, like the best of them all: old Macallan. Creamy and fruity. Vanilla and Ice-cream. All the best from Sherry but without its harshness, and without its sulphur. Full and elegant Sherry aroma, but very light. It doesn’t leap out of the glass at you. Mocha and soft and squishy wet wood. Fruity candy again. Licorice and a green and leafy note. Honey and young creamy Edam cheese.

Taste: Initially sweet Sherry, but eventually drier than expected. Quite some heavy Sherry aroma. A bit like one of the best A’bunadh’s with some water. Given some time the sweetness develops into a honeyed sweetness. Although Michel is never connected to much with Oloroso, it does have a lot of traits from Oloroso casked Whisky, like A’bunadh. Sweet and dry at the same time. Quite some oak hides behind the Sherry. The oak comes through and is easily recognizable by the bitterness it gives off, making the Sherry-ness transparent. A sort of hoppy bitterness with ashes. Funky! (But not funky Sherry). Tastewise a bit unbalanced.

This one I would have liked to try at an ever higher strength. For me this example smells better than it actually tastes. It has a kind of bitterness that lasts into the finish, I’m not so keen about. Lovely nose though. A good Whisky but I liked the previous example a little better.

Points: 82

Michel Couvreur Malt Whisky (43%, Distilled and aged over 12 years in Scotland, L002)

Michel CouvreurMichel Couvreur was born in Belgium. He came to Burgundy in 1951 to market wine, but also to make wine. He did that untill 1978. Through all of his life, Michel had a passion for production methods, and not only for Wines. Michel travelled to England and Scotland for the Wine trade and there came in contact with Whisky. He moved first to England in 1956 (in the same year he acquired the cellars of Molet) and subsequently moved to Scotland in 1964. In 1971 he left again and moved his Wine trade to Canada (untill 1978). In Scotland (in 1986 at Edradour) he studied the production methods for Whisky, amongst others, focussing on different kinds of Barley and forging a love for Sherry casks that once held Pedro Ximénez and Palomino Fino. Michel claimed that 90% of the quality of the end-product comes from the cask used, and a mere 10% by the distillate itself. Here we’ll try an example of one of Michels Whiskies. Sourced from Scotland, peated, reduced with imported water from Scotland, and matured in good Sherry Casks.

Michel Couvreur Malt WhiskyColor: Copper orange glow. Unfiltered.

Nose: Malty and Sherried. Sweet and fruity. Small hints of cask toast and oak. (this also comes from the peated barley). Definite vanilla. A very quiet malt. Dusty and powdery, again a bit sweetish with fruity Sherry. Candied and very likeable. Fresh fruity and no sulphur. Tawny Port. Smelling this it almost seems like modern Sherry cask are somehow fake (a part is “treated”, so in fact they are).

Taste: Sweet fruity and Sherried. Vanilla and the sweetness is replaced with a prickly infused smoke and subsequently, a slightly acidic fruity note replaces that. All the time a slightly oaky backbone is omnipresent as some sort of background noise. In the finish this noise turns into a slight bitter edge combined with nice blackcurrant candy. This is peated, but probably not a lot, since this is no way a world domination by Dr. Peat. Good balance between the smoky prickly part and the sweet Sherry.

Don’t be fooled by the peat mentioned on the label. Although present, it acts more like a vessel for delivering some prickly smoke than a peaty flavour itself. This is a bottling that is about (good) Sherry casks. Take your time and learn. This may not be the worlds most complex malt, but all the way, you know this was well made.  These bottlings came out in small batches. The bottle I tasted had L005 on the label and looks ever so slightly different from the one pictured above. This is a speciality and worth picking up. Highly drinkable and very nice. Should still be available and affordable.

Points: 83

Highland Park “Dark Origins” (46.8%, OB, 2014)

Not too long ago I reviewed a recent 18yo and quite liked it. I always loved Highland Park, but with issuing so much single cask releases I also noticed a drop in quality for the standard range, especially the 12yo and the 18yo. At one point in time I even scored one batch of 18yo a sad 78 points. Luckily the 18yo I reviewed last was again a lot better so I hope Highland Park is keeping up the good work.

This time I have the Dark Origins in my glass that was released just last year. Like so many others these days it is a NAS offering. Somehow by the looks and the (marketing) statements made with this bottle it looks like an addition to the standard range. Not like Tomatin have done with the Legacy, to place it before the 12yo, and making it quite inexpensive. No, Highland Park let us know that this offering has twice the amount of first fill Sherry cask used in this as compared to the 12yo. A statement that can only be described as behind-the-desk-conjured-fog as we don’t know how many first fill casks go into the 12yo, nor do we know the aged of this Dark Origins. So lets forget about that quickly and have a sip, shall we? By the way This Dark origins is way more expensive than Tomatin’s NAS offering.

Highland Park Dark OriginsColor: Full gold

Nose: Malty and quite funky at first. A hint of smoke and soap, and yes Sherry is in here too. Chocolate and roasted vanilla. Sea spray, buttered toast and a breath of fresh air. Extremely likeable nose.

Taste: Chocolate and prickly oak. Toasted cask and some residual sweetness from red fruit hard candy. Quite smoky and there even is an earthy note, not very different from peat. The nose was quite good but here in the taste department it is all a little bit simpler, yet very well made and quite tasty. Slight acidic off note in the finish, mixed with a soapy texture.

Well this simply is too good to be only young Whisky, but then again, Highland Park always used to be one of the best. It’s a high-class distillate, and very well may be this good when young. Still, I believe there is some older stuff in here. By the way, give it time to breathe. Dark and rich it will be then.

Points: 85

Bowmore 12yo 2000/2012 (46%, The Whisky Mercenary, 42 bottles)

What time is it? It’s Jürgen time! Those of you who regularly read my reviews will have come across Jürgen quite a few times by now. Click here for a round-up of all Whisky Mercenary bottlings I reviewed up untill now. Today we’ll have a look at one of the first Whiskies Jürgen picked, maybe even thé first. Alas, this will be a review for your reading pleasure only, since only 42 bottles of this were made in 2012 (and by now most of the were consumed). Jürgen got some help from fellow Belgian independent Whiskybottler The Maltman. Usually this means that a cask was shared, and looking at the releases of The Maltman we can find another quite small release of only 65 bottles (done with Whiskysite.nl). That one is bottled at cask strength at 57.1% ABV. Now we have a total of about a 100 bottles, so probably even more bottles were filled from that particular cask by yet another party.

Bowmore 12yo The Whisky MercenaryColor: Light gold, vibrant.

Nose: Sweet peat with hints of smoke. Very appetizing. Refreshing citrus. Clay and toffee. Malty. Green and black tea. Cold fresh (and untreated) almonds and dried meat (not salty nor spicy). Light rubbery peat and subtly smoked. Toast and sweet malt again. Slightly burnt cable of an electrical appliance. Tiny hint of sawdust. Very nice nose, especially when inhaled vigorously. Chalk. Fresh, friendly and fruity.

Taste: Malty and smoky. Earwax with its typical bitterness. Late sweet attack with ashes. Cold black tea. Lemonade fruitiness. Licorice root. Waxy again. Paper and half-dry leaves in the forest including the odd crushed beetle. Tastes reduced, a bit too thin, with nothing left which made the nose and the plethora of tastes when the Whisky enters your mouth so great. BUMMER!

Although 46% ABV is not a bad strength, this seems to me like a perfect example of a Whisky that should have remained at cask strength. The nose shows lots of potential as do the entry into the mouth (excellent!) and the start of the body (niiiice!). Quickly, the body becomes a tad simple and thin. Especially the finish shows the fault of reduction in this one. It really needed some oomph. Very nice Whisky. Reminds me of old Islay Whiskies that are usually around 25yo, (Caol Ila). I didn’t care for the reduction though. Stellar stuff that has been ruined by the second half and the weak finish.

Points: 84

Tomatin Cù Bòcan (46%, OB, Virgin Oak, Bourbon and Sherry casks, 2013)

In 2013 the people of Tomatin Distillery started with something new (for them). They released a lightly peated dram that has aged in three different types of casks. Virgin oak and the usual suspects of Sherry and Bourbon casks. They invented a new brand called Cù Bòcan rather than calling it an official Tomatin Cù Bòcan although everyone views it as such. After this Cù Bòcan which is placed in the standard range, two more versions were released as Limited Editions. A Sherry version (6.000 bottles) and a vintage 1989 (1.080 bottles). Cù Bòcan is a legendary hell-hound that stalked the people of Tomatin (the town) for centuries. So it is a Whisky with a story, but don’t expect a Whisky with a hellish amount of peat. Compared to Shorty, Ardbeg’s dog, Cù Bòcan must be the size of a Chihuahua (from hell).

Tomatin Cù BocànColor: Light gold, with a hint of pink.

Nose: Extremely malty. Coffee and new oak. Tiny note of smoke, and I’m still waiting for a little bit of peat. Vanilla and again some smoke. Vegetal and buttery. Ice-cream with ferns and a drop of sweat. Good balance though, everything seems to be in the right place. A bit late in the mix come the fruits, yellow and tropical. Yes Tomatin all right. Reminds me also of the Tomatin Legacy. I’m working at it, but no peat. Still a likeable nose nevertheless.

Taste: Young and estery. Sweet and vanilla ice-cream. Fresh virgin oak bitterness. A prickly sensation like smoke, burnt wood and the contents of an ashtray. In no way bad or overpowering though. Like the nose all in good balance.

This Cù Bòcan is in good balance, well made yet very young tasting. A true stereotypical NAS Whisky. In the end I didn’t get the peat, but enough smoky notes. Tomatin Legacy is also a NAS offering and uses the same casks minus the Sherry casks. In some markets the Legacy costs half of this Cù Bòcan. Cù Bòcan is nice stuff but is too close to Tomatin’s Legacy offering to justify the price tag.

Points: 83

Jameson “Select Reserve” (40%, OB, Small Batch)

In the Irish Whiskey Week I reviewed the surprisingly wonderful Jameson 18yo. I also stated that up ’til then I never came across a nice Jameson, that scored over 80 points. Thus the 18yo was a surprise and comes highly recommended.

Jameson Select ReserveLet’s give Jameson another shot, although this “Select Reserve” is another NAS Jameson and not very expensive to boot. I feel my old prejudice itching again. I shall not scratch, since I have found that there are quite a few very nice Irish Whiskies around, but I have to say upfront, that I don’t have very high hopes for this one. I hope I’m wrong.

Color: Gold

Nose: Sweet, light and powdery. Small hints of vanilla, cream and toffee. Sort of a Irish Latte Macchiato if you ask me. Probably excellent for an Irish Latte! Slightly fruity and cleanly alcoholic. No sign of wood but there is some forest floor shrubbery present. Smells very young. Not a lot happening in fact, but also nothing wrong (with the nose, nothing wrong with the nose).

Taste: Very light indeed. Grainy, alcoholic and maybe a bit too sweet. Vanilla, toffee and caramel, with hints of honey and luckily the sweetness quickly leaves the stage. Some bitterness and strangely enough, some cardboard, sawdust and grenadine. Here it is grenadine, but Jameson always have a nice fruity edge. Again very simple and it has a pretty short finish. Passes by quickly, but doesn’t leave a bad impression.

When the normal Jameson is considered a Whiskey for Irish Coffee, I most definitely would put this in something too. Irish latte anyone? Yes, this may be a mediocre Whiskey, but this is still a lot better than a lot of other distillates, so it’s not for nothing, we have a 100 point scale. As an (Irish) Whisk(e)y you can do a lot better.

Points: 70

Glenlivet 21yo (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, Licenced Bottling, 2009, JI/JFEF)

After all those official bottlings on these pages, here is a sort of semi-official Glenlivet (without the “the”). This is a nice 21yo Glenlivet, bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in 2009. Please check out the codes printed on the glass, since these licensed bottlings are bottled quite often, and bottling years are interesting since there always is some batch variation. The code on this bottle is JI/JFEF, where JI stands for 2009. More recent bottles have even a bottling date printed on them, so now it’s even easier to know which version you have.

Glenlivet 21yo G&M, 2009Color: Lively orange gold

Nose: Yeasty, waxy, dusty and smells like old Whisky, which is nice. Very fruity. Toned down sugared fruits, mostly yellow, apricots for certain, with a touch of very ripe and sweet tangerine skins (the soft ones oozing with juice). Creamy vanilla and very likeable, not a lot of wood after 21 years. I have never smelled a Glenlivet from Glenlivet themselves, unless it was an old bottling, but this one is from late eighties distillate. (I did the math). I like it very much, although you can smell that this has been reduced, which usually is not so good. Light. Still, the liveliness and fruitiness and the smell of years long gone, makes this an excellent Whisky. Wait a minute, what about how it tastes?

Taste: Waxy and fruity, yes! A little bit of sweet vanilla ice cream with fresh papaya sauce over it. This time around there is most definitely some wood, and maybe some toast or smoke. In this case that’s a good thing because otherwise it just would be too light through reduction. The lightness is also noticeable by the rather short finish, which has a bitter edge from oak.

I don’t know why exactly, because it has been watered down to much and usually I don’t care a lot for woody bitterness in the finish, but for me this one works! I like it, I have one, and if that one would be empty, I would go for another one. This makes me happy, and I’m going to drink the whole sample. Nice! It is twenty-one years old, and considering the price it costs, this seems to me to be a must have. Alas these licensed bottlings from Gordon & MacPhail are getting rather rare these days, with the last version bottled in 2012. Go and find one.

Points: 87

 

Benromach 10yo “100 Proof” (57%, OB, 2014)

Benromach logoNot long after the revamped 10yo, Benromach released this 10yo 100 proof. As I mentioned before, with the new cleaned up look, the range as well was sort of “cleaned up”. There won’t be another Origins. Origins batch five (Golden Promise Barley) will be the last one. Also the Traditional has been replaced by the new 5yo. The first fill Bourbon Cask Strength bottlings are thus replaced by this 100 Proof, that by the look of it, isn’t only from first fill Bourbon casks anymore. What did survive the clean up are the Organic, the Peat Smoke and last but not least, the Wood Finishes. All are now vintages, including the year of distillation (and bottling). The two new wood finishes that were released in 2014 are the 2005 Hermitage and the 2006 Château Cissac. I really liked the Cask Strength version mentioned above, so let’s see if this new 100 Proof is an improvement…

Benromach 10yo 100 ProofColor: Copper gold

Nose: Sherried, vanilla, smoked almonds and plain wood smoke. Quite closed at first. Clay and toffee. New built house. Cement. Vanilla pudding. Interesting stuff. Wood, paper and burning off dry autumn leaves. Similar to the “normal” 10yo, with some notes enhanced. Especially the smoke and clay. Although the smoke is not very hefty like in some Islay Whiskies, it is absolutely delicious in this one. Pencil shavings. Modern, clean, open, light and spacious (architecturally speaking). So not simple and no lack of complexity. By the way the Whisky doesn’t smell like it is a 100 proof.

Taste: Smoke and malt. Smoky bitterness you also taste in smoked foods. Clay and late short sweetness. The Whisky isn’t sweet throughout. Wood, but not oak, more like plywood and an old cigar box in which you just started to saw. Italian laurel licorice. The more air this gets the more this Whisky seems to be built around wood notes and smoke. It could do with some more sweet and fruity Sherry notes. (Not the funkiness, Sherry sometimes gives).

This is good quality Whisky, well made and well designed. Everything has its place and everything is easily discernible and fits together like a nice interior. But, and there is a but, it is a new house, although a very beautiful house with a nice and new interiors, it lacks the feel of its occupants, nothing is used yet, nothing has seen some life. It’s to soon to develop a heart, to have its own character. It will get there, the people behind Benromach will see to that, I’m sure about that. So summa sumarum, a nice cask strength version, but the regular 43% ABV version is just as nice.

Points: 85

Benromach 10yo (43%, OB, 2014)

Benromach logoEarlier, well, more than two years ago I reviewed a very nice old-looking 18yo Benromach that was bottled around 2003. As we all know, Benromach today is owned by Gordon & MacPhail. Th Distillery was bought in 1993 from United Distillers, which became Diageo in 2002. Benromach itself is a big success. A lot of it is sold around the world with sales figures soaring. Two new warehouses were built to double the storage capacity, and because of the success an extra distiller was hired. Benromach is unique in bottling almost everything as a Single Malt. In 2014 the range got cleaned up (f.i. no more Origins, and the Traditional has been replaced by the 5yo, yes an age statement ladies and gentlemen!) and revamped. This 10yo is the revamped version. The new 100 proof version is replacing the Cask Strength version. This however is a bit of a shame since I believe the Cask Strength versions were exclusively from First Fill Bourbon Casks and I don’t believe the 100 proof to be like that. So get one of those while you can (I did)! This 10yo was made with 80% Bourbon casks, 20% Sherry casks and was finished for a year in Oloroso Sherry casks.

Benromach 10yoColor: Light gold, apricot.

Nose: Malty, sweetish and a hint of smoke. Yes a nice combination and very appetizing. Some peat and clay. White pepper and a hint of pencil shavings. Altogether very modern smelling. Nothing like the old days, but very nice nevertheless. Vegetal and some sort of salty and smoky vanilla. Sugared yellow fruits and the inside of a sweet red apple, but always mixed with some smoke Dried pineapple, dried apricots with a nice hint of oak and biscuits. Excellent nose.

Taste: Sweet and malty with some peaty and smoky bitterness, but in no way overpowering. Vanilla and custard with matching sugary sweetness balanced with a hint of some nice oaky bitterness. Cardboard and crushed beetle. Yellow fruit syrup. Passion fruit and maracuja. Definitely some peat. Smoked mackerel. The finish is lasting, clean peat and a slightly bitter oak. Very well made, ABV seems just about right.

Intriguing stuff this is, and it may not be for novices, lots of other versions of Benromach around for that. This one is very well made and definitely should have your attention. I tasted a lot of G&M versions of Benromach and they never disappoint, nor did the older expressions when I come to think of it. I will most certainly have a go at other Benromachs on these pages soon. Especially the 100 proof should be interesting now. Good value for money and highly recommended. Don’t let the quality slip guys!

Points: 85

Spey Tenné (46%, OB, Selected Edition, Tawny Port Cask Finish, 18.000 bottles)

The Speyside distillery was officially founded in 1976 by George Christie. Distillation was in George’s blood since he used to be a… submarine captain, who probably missed the sound of trickling liquids. Building of the distillery commenced already in 1962 and was finished in 1987. Lots of the building was done by George himself, so it took him a while. We have to wait a further three years for the first distillation. (December 1990), The spirit has to age for at least three years to be called a Whisky, so in 1993 the first Whisky was released under the name “Drumguish”, from the name of the place the distillery was built. In 1999 the first Single Malt was released under the “Speyside” name, an 8yo. In 2012 the distillery which already changed hands a few times was sold to one of its clients. Harvey’s of Edinburgh. Harvey’s again changed the name of their Single Malt, calling it simply “Spey”. In 2014 the new range was released, starting with this Tenné, but also a 12yo and a 18yo were released.

Spey TennéColor: Salmon, like a modern rosé wine from the south of France.

Nose: Extremely malty. It’s like holding the grain in your hand. This smell makes up most of the beginning of the nose. Given some time the Port starts to “work”. Initially a more glue like sensation which turns into an overly fruity and acidic distilled Port that is used to fortify Port. With even some more breathing, a hint of sweetness and wine gums come to the fore, combined with some rural or farmy notes. After that it tones down and gets more powdery with even a tiny hint of gunpowder. Stale beer in the finish but also some vanilla. Wine finishes can be pretty funky.

Taste: Pretty sweet, bitter oak and again malty. It comes in layers and in that particular order. First a very friendly sweet candy like aroma, when that moves over, the roof of your mouth gets a bitter sap attack which evolves into a slightly toasted and oaky taste, mixed with sandalwood, (the Port probably did that), and licorice. Intertwined is the taste of malts. On top, a slightly acidic and fruity note, but that’s it actually, not a lot more is happening. The ABV of 46% gives it some strength and some hotness for the finish.

This expression is said to be a minimum of 8 years old. It is an extremely malty and pretty simple Whisky. For me, the Port finish didn’t bring a lot of complexity to the mix. Just giving it a shift in profile. Malty and simple, not bad, but also nothing to get overly exited about. Anonymous at best, except for the bottle itself. Looks very luxurious with its beautiful tartan ribbon.

Having said all that, it’s a lovely distillery and I hope they will get better with every release.

Points: 73