The Balvenie 17yo “Peated Cask” (43%, OB)

Time for another Balvenie, excuse me, “The” Balvenie. Some say it is some kind of middle of the road dram, and yes there may not be a true cask strength version around. Some say you’re foolish for sometimes spending a lot of hard-earned cash on a Whisky that is in no way full of aroma and almost always diluted. Yes sir, we’ll add the water for you and charge you more for it. They might be right but they also might not get it at all, or at least some of the time. Most statements might be true, but that doesn’t mean The Balvenie is a bad Whisky. Far from it. The Balvenie is about delicacies. It is some sort of homeopathic Whisky. Just a tad of wood here, a tad of wood spice there. A splash of Rum wood for that one and let use a spoonful of Sherry wood there. This time we do not get a peated Balvenie, but we get a Balvenie with a pinch of peat, subtle difference. This version was launched in 2010 and replaces the Islay Cask version which was made with ex-Laphroaig casks, and this one is said to be made with casks that once held peated…Balvenie! Wow.

The Balvenie 17yo Peated CaskColor: Sparkling light gold

Nose: Clay, lightly peated and malty. Sweet vanilla and a breath of fresh air. Licorice and more hefty vegetal and meaty notes. Marmite. All aroma’s seem to fit pretty good together. A distinguished gentleman in an excellently cut Savile Row suit. Cheers!

Taste: At 43% it is hardly too light, and it is a warming Whisky. Suits the bad weather outside. A nicely balanced liquid that pours down gently into ones throat. Smoky sweet vanilla, definitely American oak, with notes of peat and tar on top. Not woody at all. Sweet vanilla, but also hard candy sweetness, but not the fruitiness of those sweets mind you. Sugared apricots and honey drops. Cold black tea. Quite a long finish. Lots of staying power. Not really a peated Whisky but a peat flavoured Whisky. Nicely done. Definitely a step up, and sideways (for the variation), from the 15yo Single Barrel and probably my favorite Balvenie with the 21yo Port Wood. Ok, some of the 25yo’s and the thirty are pretty good as well.

This version is bottled at 43% ABV but there is also a higher strength version around. Cask strength, you ask? No, not quite, 48.7% ABV. Batch code on the reviewed bottle: L9097OK.

Points: 88

This one is for Colin and Krzysztof, sorry I couldn’t make it guys.

Noah’s Mill (57.15%, Batch QBC No. 14-28, 750 ml)

Happy New year! Yet again! I’m writing this, since this review of Noah’s Mill is essentially the first review I’m writing this new year 2015. Looking back I didn’t even write a review about a Bourbon in a long while. Bourbon’s have stayed off of these pages for 2,5 years now. So this Noah’s mill is long overdue.

On the label the producer of this Whiskey is Noah’s Mill Distilling Company, but af far as In know, this is not an active distillery, nor a closed one. Noah’s Mill is a brand owned by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) from Bardstown KY, which was founded in 1935. It is owned by the Kulsveen family.

Since this is a recent bottle, no mention whatsoever about the age of this Whiskey, although the label mentions that it’s not young. If memory serves me well I believe that the first batches of Noah’s Mill did have an age statement, or we were told that the Whiskey was 15yo, but that may or not be the case with this newer bottle. It is believed that most of the Whiskies of KBD are made by the Heaven Hill Distillery (half a mile further down the road).

Noah's MillColor: Orange copper gold

Nose: Dry and woody. Vanilla. Dusty vanilla pudding. Custard. Paint. Fresh forest floor plants. Leather (old well-kept saddle). Nutty, dry roasted almonds. Old log cabin offers a different take on oak. Sawdust mixed with a touch of machine oil and hints of cold bacon and toffee. A hint of honey and perfumy too.

Taste: Leather and solvents again, not necessarily a bad thing though. Hot, woody and quite dry, surely not as sweet as I expected, even if this ís 15yo. Vanilla and clean oak. Freshly stripped off paint dust and wood spice. Bitter oak finish, but just to make a statement, and if you are an experienced taster/drinker, you’ll manage with the oaky bitterness and fresh tree sap note it leaves. Cold black tea and cask toast. Fern and half-dried cut grass. Apart from the bitterness in the finish, the body starts with a funky acidity that dissipates into the hot, peppery vanilla and oaky body and finish.

Some might argue that this is too dry, not sweet enough so plainly too old, but I have to say, probably from my Malt Whisky background, that this is pretty nice. May be a bit unusual for a Bourbon, but I like it. maybe not for everyone.

I have a much older bottle of this that I hope to review soon, but untill that time, I believe this Whiskey will show some batch variation.

Points: 83

La Mauny 1749 Rhum Agricole Ambré (40%, Martinique)

Lets try some Rhum Agricole shall we? This is not a very expensive Rhum Ambré, so probably made for cocktails or cola. This Rum is made by La Mauny. The Rum is named “1749” because in that year Ferdinand Poulain, Count de Mauny, from Brittany, France, arrived in Martinique. He married the daughter of a planter who owned a sugar estate located in Rivière Pilote, on the southern part of the island of Martinique. This sugar estate later became the La Mauny domain which besides Sugar produced Tafia, a precursor of rum. As with many sugar plantations, sugar stopped being the main business when sugar was sourced from beets, and of course, sourced closer to home, and the focus shifted towards distilling of the sugarcane juice. In 1923 The domain became the property of the brothers Theodore and Georges Bellonie. Georges distilled and Theodore was selling their product, Rhum Agricole. In 1996 La Mauny got an “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée”(AOC) status, we know from french wines.

La Mauny Rhum Agricole Ambré (40%, Martinique)Color: Gold

Nose: Nice! Vibrant vanilla, spices and wood, but much more, already very complex. Licorice with lots of depth, orange skin. Thick sticky toffee like this is a Demerara Rum. Christmas pudding. With air, the spiciness becomes more vegetal, and you know what that means, yes another layer of complexity. This is an example where a young product takes a lot of wood influence without being woody. But back to the vegetal part it’s like smelling a fern in a pot of soil which is just being watered when you return home after a weekend of leisure. Excellent nose!

Taste: The taste matches the nose, but in a toned down way. Its warming all right, and it has the honey, vanilla and funky toffee. But it all seems reduced a bit, yes its a bit thin and light, there was more happening in the nose. The taste would probably match the nose even more, when it would be higher in ABV. For a moment quite early in its development, it has a peak of bitterness that does dissipate and doesn’t overpower the finish. There are elements that come across as being chemical or even something rotting a bit. What? If this had a fuller aroma on the palate, aided by a higher ABV, this would be a fantastic sipping rum. It’s still a good tasting Rum, but I guess it was eventually made for cocktails. Will have to look at some other Rums by La Mauny. This was just a first impression!

Points: 77

Zacapa Centenario Solera Gran Reserva 23 (40%, Guatemala)

If memory serves me correctly, last year we had a pretty good summer. Alas summer is long gone, and to celebrate it, I had some Rum. At least there was some sunshine in my glass, so to speak.

Zacapa Centenario Solera Gran Reserva 23Zacapa is a very well-known Guatemalan brand, owned by Diageo. The Rum itself is made with the Solera system wherein the Rums are between 6 and 23 years old, hence the number 23 in the name. 23 is not an age statement, and although Rums are not that much regulated yet as Whisky, Diageo was carefull enough not to call this Rum 23yo. The Rum is made with first crush virgin sugar cane honey and was aged in American Whiskey barrels and (PX) Sherry casks.

Color: Dark reddish copper

Nose: Very floral, nice wood with a lot of depth. Some acidic winey and red fruit notes. Very appetizing nose. Vegetal and woody. Gravy. Overall, the rum comes across as fresh and lively and even sophisticated. Luckily no cloying sweetness in the nose. Small hint of wrapping paper and dried meat. Good wood.

Taste: Thinner and not as sweet as I remember it from a while back. Sweetish, with vanilla and some red fruits. Definitely has some PX-sherry influence. Very easy drinking rum, but for my tastes a bit thin and, dare I say it, simple. Some burnt Sugar stays on the tongue, but after that the whole experience is rather quickly gone. Funky acidity stays on too long and doesn’t match with the wood in the finish.

This Rum has no real flaws and it sells quite well. It’s a nice sipping middle of the road Rum.

Points: 80

Matusalem Gran Reserva Solera 15 (40%, Dominican Republic)

Matusalem was founded in 1872 in Cuba by the Spanish Brothers Benjamin and Eduardo Camp. They especially went to cuba to distill Rum. Being Spanish they knew about the Solera-system often used to make Sherry and Brandy, so they incorporated that into the way they wanted to make Rum. In 1912 Benjamin returned to Spain but Eduardo stayed behind to run the company by himself, or did he? The Camp brothers had a partner in Evaristo Alvarez, so it was with him that Eduardo continued the Company. Funny enough in the end Eduardo’s son Claudio Alvarez LeFebre, married Evaristo’s daughter, making it a real family business! Their son Claudio Alvarez Soriano was the next in line to take over the business.

Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 SoleraIn 1959 the Cuban Revolution took place and the family moved their business to the U.S. of A. and the cuban’s turned the facility the family had to leave behind into the production facility of Ron Santiago. As with many families, when a lot of offspring shows up in a business where most of them don’t belong and are in it only for financial gain, they run it into the ground. The great-grandson of Eduardo, Claudio Alvarez Salazar took over the business in 1995 after a settlement with the rest of the family and moved the production to the Dominican Republic.

Color: Dark gold.

Nose: Light and lightly sugary sweet. Floral notes and lightly fruity too. Hint of perfumy wood, jasmine and some vanilla. Acidic red currants and some sugar. Tiny hint of toasted wood.

Taste: Light, very light, with a floral and woody touch. Passes quickly through the mouth in which the woody bitterness and a burnt note are the most obvious. Very thin in texture and actually in taste too. Not all is working well together in the taste here. Short and not the best of finishes.

It’s Obvious the Alvarez family is proud, not of their Spanish heritage, but of their Cuban one. So for a rum that is made in the Dominican Republic, the label states quite proudly that the Rum is from Cuban origin, and for me fits right in into the Cuban style but isn’t the best expression from that style.

Points: 75

Chairman’s Reserve (40%, St. Lucia)

Sydney Fireworks2015 is upon us! Happy new year! This side of the planet that means that the new year starts off rather cold. Therefore this month I will pay some more attention to one of the warmest of distillates; Rum. In my opinion definitely worth checking out outside of your cocktail. Yes sipping rum to get through the cold as opposed to avoiding scurvy. Rum to be enjoyed to the max I say! Got Rum?

The story is that the chairman of St. Lucia Distillers Laurie Bernard wanted a quality rum made with aged rums from continuous and pot stills. In 1999 this rum was born. At first only for the local market but soon internationally. The blend is circa 5 years old has been matured in barrels that previously held American Bourbons and Whiskey from Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and Buffalo Trace. The aforementioned rums are blended and married together then put back into the barrels for six months.

Chairman's ReserveColor: Full gold

Nose: Nice and thick, but quickly more green and leafy. Syrupy smelling and very nice, aromatic. Thick and funky. Pickles from a jar and hard candy powder. I like this very much. If nosed blind I would sometimes call this Jamaican (but not often). The initial fatness and funkiness wears off and changes into something more dry and dusty, yet preserving its initial impression. Small hint of smoke and some mild tangerine skins ánd curiously, the smell of someone preparing a steak. Nice woody touch with dirty smoky honey.

Taste: Nice light and refined taste, with only a sweetish start and then into a more aged and dry rum. Thin yet very appetizing. Cold black tea and lots of honey. When swallowed and when it leaves my mouth it dissipates quickly, leafy a slight oaky bitterness behind. Although very light and thin, I do like it. Very tasty.

Definitely a rum worth sipping. It has a certain character though, that makes is very suitable for cocktails. St. Lucia Distillers themselves recommend it with coconut water.

Points: 81

Longmorn 17yo 1996/2013 (60.8%, The Ultimate, Sherry Butt #105091, 588 bottles)

Another year is almost over so this here is already the last post of 2014. What to review I asked myself? Maybe something incredibly special, something super premium or something outrageously expensive? Nothing like that. In the end I choose this Longmorn. Why? It seems like a good idea, to do none of the above, and I happened to have only one  open bottle left om my lectern that I hadn’t reviewed yet. Tying up loose ends. I hope this last year was a nice one and of course that the next one will be even better! Hope to see you back in the new year!

Dutch outfit Van Wees bottled eight heavy Sherry Longmorn’s distilled in 1996. These bottlings were rather popular, to put it mildly, since all didn’t need a lot of time to sell out. Highly collectible, but also good drinking Whiskies. Earlier, I already reviewed two casks from this series #72315 (the first release) and #72319 (the third release). Both were similar yet different, and both scored 88 points. This third review will focus on Sherry Butt #105091 (the seventh release). The first five were all sister casks #72315, #72318, #72319, #72323 and #72324 distilled on the first of May 1996. After that, three more Butts were bottled: #105092, #105091 and finally #105084. The latter was released during the Pot Still Festival 2014 in the Netherlands, making it the only one to be bottled in 2014, yet still at 17 years of age. Those last three butts were distilled on the 25th of June 1996 and yielded less bottles than the earlier butts but are higher in alcohol. There have been more butts bottled from the 723xx and 1050xx series, but those were bottled by Signatory Vintage for their own brand. Lets see if this will be another 88 points for Longmorn…

Longmorn 17yo 1996/2013 (60.8%, The Ultimate, Sherry Butt #105091, 588 bottles)Color: Copper brown.

Nose: Honey and quite vegetal. Especially the wood and honey make this Whisky not very distant from a very good Bourbon, although both Whiskies couldn’t be more different. Dry wood, old saw dust and dusty altogether. Burnt caramel and lots of sugared red fruits. Deep brooding and syrupy Sherry. Dark stuff from the gas light era. Elegant but more mysterious than the earlier bottlings.

Taste: Hot wood. Lots of wood and a sour note from fruit and Sherry. Coffee and dark chocolate with just the right amount of bitterness. Small hint of a sulphur compound, but the rest of the aroma’s are so powerful, Sulphur doesn’t stand a chance in dominating this Whisky. This Whisky also has a lighter side to it with paper and fern. Dark mahogany furniture with layers and layers of wax put on in its history to form this brittle woody and waxy nose.

Although I own both earlier reviewed Ultimate Longmorn’s, I haven’t opened the bottles. Both reviews were done from 6 cl samples. This bottle however, is one from my own collection I dared to open (curiosity killed the cat). The bottle is luckily still more than half full, but I had a fair chance in trying this without having to analyze it. In comparison, I do believe this #105091 is very drinkable and always leaves a good impression, but this time I won’t be giving another 88 points. The earlier releases, if memory serves me correctly, seemed to be more balanced, less dry and more fruity, than this one does. This time the added paper and fruity acidity do meddle with the balance of this Whisky, still good and I will not have any problem finishing this, but just not as good as the earlier one’s I have tried.

When compared to the Gordon & MacPhail Highland Park that also scored 87 points, the Highland Park has more raisins (dominant), coal and seems to be more accessible. It is less dry and sweeter on the palate. It is similar in quality, not higher in sulphur and actually quite nice. It is seems to me they are made for one another. I will only have to try them now in reversed order…

Points: 87

This one is for Cyril, great to hear you’re doing well!

Longrow 14yo 1990/2005 (56.9%, SMWS, 114.5, “Smoked Sausages and Curry”)

So how was your Christmas? Here at Master Quill we are getting ready for the end of the year. Christmas is hardly over and in a few days’ time we’re seeing off 2014 and welcoming 2015. But we’re not there yet. Lets have a look first at a very nice Longrow. Two firsts on these pages. After two and a half years of writing still hardly any ground covered! Here is the first Longrow, or “Distillery #114” and the first review of a bottling that was released by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS).

Longrow 14yo 1990/2005 '114.5'(56.9%, SMWS, Smoked Sausages and Curry)Color: Full gold.

Nose: Nice fatty, sweet and truly perfect dirty peat, with malt shining through (if you let it breathe for a while). Oranges and animalesk. A breath of fresh air. Sherry, toffee and lots of clay. Does it smell meaty or is the title forcing me to smell it? Smoked sausages? I don’t know. I smell a lot of clay. Just died down bonfire, right before it gets cold. The sweet spiciness might as well be curry, hot (temperature) and mild (in spices, ginger foremost). Very high quality. Coastal with smoke, Sherry and clay. No wood. Wonderful!

Taste: Sweet and smoky, yes bonfire again, a hearth in a stately old house with mohogany furniture (without the wax, that is). Peppery, earthy peat and licorice, bordering on bitter licorice. Fruity, red and black fruits, with fruity sweetness under the hints of ashes and mint. Also sometimes a fruity acidity wanders through the spirit. Chewy smoked toffee and nutty. Highly aromatic, almost thick. Nice thick Sherry and caramel. Sometimes soapy. Nicely peated in the finish. Excellent and warming stuff this! A cracker. The finish is big and ashy, with tiny hints of red fruit sweets. The hard ones.

This bottle was used in the Campbeltown tasting I did with my Whisky club ‘Het Genietschap‘, together with the Kintra Glen Scotia I reviewed earlier. I really liked that one, but this one is much, much better! What a wonderful malt to share with friends. This really is a stunner. Excellent Longrow. For this review I’ve tasted this Malt two times. Once in the morning, before breakfast, and one time late in the evening. The difference is unmistakable. It is remarkable how much more tiny notes, or details, if you prefer, one can pick up in the morning. The score is from the morning session.

Points: 91

Cadenhead Creations 20yo ‘Rich Fruity Sherry’ (46%, Batch No. 1, 2013)

Cadenheads CreationsMerry Christmas everybody! In 2013 Cadenheads released a home-made blend called Cadenhead Creations (Rich Fruity Sherry). This first batch had an age statement of 20yo and was bottled in 2013. The blend was made with two casks of Single Malt and two casks of Single Grains. Samples of those casks are pictured here on the right. From left to right: Mortlach 1992 (cask #7848), Bruichladdich 1993 (cask #1648), Cameronbridge 1989 (cask #22804) and Invergordon 1991 (cask #39006). Since then two more Cadenhead Creations were released. A 21yo (black label, silver stripe, Blended Malt made with Ardbeg, Bowmore and Caol Ila) and a 17yo (white label, yellow stripe, another Blended Whisky made with Ardmore, Auchroisk, Caperdonich, Clynelish and Invergordon).

Cadenhead Creations 20yo 'Rich Fruity Sherry' (46%, Batch No. 1, 2013)Color: Full Gold.

Nose: Although it seems that this is a 50/50 mixture of Single Malt and Single Grain, the nose is more on the grainy side. Malty and waxy, paper and cardboard. Very nice wood. Meaty, nutty and spicy. Deeper down some hints of Sherry, not upfront as the label suggests. Fruity (but not sweet) and lots of character.

Taste: Malty and grainy again. The waxiness is here to, but here it is fruity and accompanied with a little bit of sweetness. Sweet paper and cardboard again. Some short, hot or red peppery attacks. Spicy and slightly bitter wood. Aspartame sweetness. The wood upfront and may be too strong. The wood makes it right across the body of the Whisky into the finish. Along the way the wood picks up a little bit of oaky bitterness, with together with the red peppery attack make the finish.

Rich, yes, rich wood. Fruity, well not so much if you ask me, the wood is way more pronounced. Sherry, well if you expect the dark Sherries from the picture above, that´s not the case here. It doesn’t remind me of Oloroso or PX-Sherry casks at all. This blend is about wood in many guises.

Points: 81 (for character)

Nikka Pure Malt Black ‘Smoky and Mellow’ (43%, OB, 50 cl, 08J12C)

Well yes, why not have a go at another Japanese Whisky. This time a true Pure Malt or Blended Malt. It is not very hard to guess from which distilleries the Whiskies originate that make up this Blended Malt. Yes you’ve guessed it: Yoichi (for the peat) and Miyagikyo (for the fruit). Black is one out of a series of three. The other two are Red (predominantly Miyagikyo, Rounded and Smooth) and White (predominantly Yoichi, Smoky and Peaty). Red is supposed to be blended with Malt Whisky from Scotland, as White is supposed to be blended with peated Whisky from Islay.

Nikka Pure Malt BlackColor: Light orange gold

Nose: Lots of vanilla, smoke from burning of branches with leaves and a lot of moisture. Also some red fruits. Fat peat and custard. Excellent combination. Children’s clay, strong and spicy wood. When given the time to breathe the nose stabilizes. Seems like young Whisky to me.

Taste: Vanilla with a peppery attack, transforming into a Whisky from a Cream Sherry cask. Hard fruity candy. Full, likeable and strong flavor for instant gratification. Actually not very refined. Not bad, but like the Akashi reviewed earlier, the finish is not the strongest point of this Japanese Whisky. Some kind of peppery heat (smoke) stays on the roof of my mouth, but at the same time you have a pretty short finish down my throat. Curious. There is a fruity sugar-water coating that stays behind in the mouth. Needs air to develop.

It seems to me this product is made with a lot of young Whisky from first fill casks. First refills are needed for longer maturation to make a better Whisky. Interesting. As I said before. Whisky not for analyzing and to fuss over. Just sit back and enjoy. It will grow on you. Probably also good Whisky for cocktails!

Points: 82