Tag Archives: Bourbon

Bowmore Small Batch (40%, OB, 30.000 bottles, 2014)

Benefitting from the success of the Tempest (Small Batch) series and especially from the instant hit The Devils Cask (Small Batch) was. Here comes a new Small Batch release from Bowmore. One without an age statement and considering the usage of first fill and second fill casks, this should be very akin to the tempest series. This Small Batch however, is reduced to 40%, has no age statement and costs next to nothing, so what to expect from this new-born release?

I’m still expecting quite a lot since I really like how the newer 12yo’s are turning out to be. The only beef I have with that one is the reduction to 40%, whereas I believe 43% or maybe 46% would have made this already great Whisky into something more stunning. However, the 12yo is very nice and this Small Batch fits nicely besides the 12yo and several other expressions from Bowmore in the group of entry-level Islay malts without overpowering peat. They leave that to Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Lagavulin, although I feel even some of these are churning out more and more, less hefty Whiskies too…

Bowmore Small BatchColor: Light gold

Nose: Fatty, vanilla, citrus fresh. Barley foremost, but also some forest plants like fern and warm earth. Forrest floor again without the wetness or mushroom components, yes a bit dusty. Smoke and hidden (behind the smoke) peat. Vanilla again, with tree sap and soft fresh-cut wood. Also yellow fruits play a big role in this whisky, like dried apricot. Smells nice and all components of the nose fit nicely together. Well crafted again, as I’ve come to expect from Bowmore’s Rachel.

Taste: Sweet, and some prickly smoke. Fresh wood. Did I mention it was sweet? Licorice and again forest plants. Black and white powder (licorice) and sugar-water. Absolutely not complex, but extremely nice to drink, too easy maybe, and well made. Shortish finish, with nothing in particular to mention, just take another sip. Keep in mind when you are buying a bottle of this, you’re probably going to finish it quickly. This one can stay as it is, but like the 12yo, I wouldn’t have minded this being some points higher in alcohol.

Easy, lovely, well made Whisky, not stong in any way and not your typical Islay Whisky too. Dirt cheap, often on sale and lots of quality to boot. Probably sells well so now its time for the new Big Batch series!

Points 84

Thanks go out (yet again) to Laura!

Tomatin 12yo 1997/2009 (57.1%, OB, First Refill Bourbon Barrel #4326, 244 bottles)

Here is another Tomatin, the tenth already if I’m not mistaken, but this time no obscure independent bottling, but an official bottling, yet not from standard range, but a limited release. Some sort of official bootleg so to speak. I hear this particular bottling was distributed in western Europe and Japan. Tomatins from the standard range that are from ex-Bourbon casks are quickly disappearing. The 25yo is no longer with us and who knows what will happen with the 15yo, the only true Bourbon casked Tomatin left.

Here we have a Tomatin that is 12 years old and comes from a refill Bourbon Barrel. You can’t get them more original than this, nor is the cask tampered with in a sense that the barrel is rebuilt as a Hogshead, nor has the distillery character been changed by (part) maturation in ex-Sherry casks or even by a first fill Bourbon Barrel. To sum things up, this is an official bootleg that probably will show a lot of distillery character. A real natural Whisky.

Tomatin 12yo 1997/2009 (57.1%, OB, First Refill Bourbon Barrel #4326, 244 bottles)Color: White wine.

Nose: Spicy wood, sweet and lots of vegetal notes. Alcohol. Vanilla and wood and a little bit of white pepper, but more is going on here. Slightly fruity and tiny hints of licorice and mushrooms. All in all a very clean nose.

Taste: Sweet at first, with again spices and white pepper. Even with this high alcohol content, it seems very smooth and even the finish is half long only. Warming and fatty. In the back of the mouth the alcohol has some acetone notes to it. But above all its zesty and shows signs of lemon. Lemon curd is stated on the back label and that’s what it is. The vanilla pod transforms into creamy ice-cream. Good balance.

Having just opened the bottle it seemed to be very closed and even a little bit unforgiving, but some five months of breathing did the Whisky a lot of good. Again an example of a Whisky that is closed and needs some time to really “wake up”. Just like me I suppose.

This Whisky is actually all about the details, and all details are tiny and restraint. Due to its high alcohol content, no-one will pick this up first, but when it’s tasted after a few other Whiskies, the subtleties are gone. Definitely use this as an aperitif, or when you are planning to have only one dram. If you stick to these “rules” you will be rewarded. I like it.

Points: 86

Bowmore Week – Day 5: Bowmore 14yo 1992/2006 (54.4%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, Bourbon Hogshead, 294 bottles)

Bowmore WeekAfter the new Small Batch Bowmore by Cadenhead’s, here is another 14yo, older, Cadenhead’s bottling but this time from the Authentic Collection. This is an older version distilled in 1992 and bottled in 2006. This is a single cask Whisky, bottled at cask strength as opposed to the newer Small Batch reviewed earlier that was from multiple (two) Bourbon Hogsheads.

Bowmore 14yo 1992-2006 (54.4%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, Bourbon Hogshead, 294 bottles)Color: Light gold.

Nose: Überclean Bowmore. Malty, buttery and spicy. Lots of green leaves, vegetal freshness and licorice (with ashes). Very interesting nose. Again a Bowmore that has a perfumy note. It’s typical even though this isn’t a FWP-whisky, but it ís from the times a lot of Bowmores suffered from this phenomenon. Still this is a fine, rather clean and citrussy nose. Not a lot of smoke and peat come to think of it.

Taste: Sweet, some notes from white wine (very nice), quite spicy, but mostly sweet, or half-sweet as they say. Wood influence a small hints of soap. It almost tastes like a Fino Sherry cask matured whisky. Nice balance between the sweetness and the (white wine) acidity (lemon). Nice and it has good drinkability. I don’t want to scare you away, but even the texture is a bit soapy. Still not a FWP- Whisky though. A little bit hot, but not peppery as other Bowmores.

As said before, this is not a FWP-Whisky but it is from the feared era, and it does have some soapy and perfumy traits. It was on the wrong path but finally didn’t go astray. Hardly peaty nor smoky. There is some peat here, but that is a bit flowery and elegant. A Bowmore on the precipice I would say.

Cleaning my glass, it started foaming a bit 🙂

Points: 86

Thanks go out to Andre Z. who loaned me the bottle.

Bowmore Week – Day 3: Bowmore 10yo “Tempest” (55.3%, OB, Small Batch Release No. 1, First Fill Bourbon Casks, 12.000 bottles, 2009)

Bowmore WeekYes it’s time for peat! After the introduction to Bowmore by Bowmore themselves: The 12yo and the 14yo by indie bottlers Cadenhead, it is now time to pump up the volume! Here we have a 10yo by Bowmore themselves again, but this time with an ABV of 55.3%. This Bowmore Tempest was introduced in 2009 in their small batch range, that by now has seen four releases (one annually) of this Tempest made from First Fill Bourbon Cask that were laid down at the Vaults No.1, you know the warehouse were the waves are beating on the walls! Since there now are four releases of the Tempest, this first batch has become something of a cult Whisky, but not as “culty” as another recent small batch release by Bowmore: ‘The Devil’s Casks’, another 10yo, but this time matured in First Fill Sherry Casks (Oloroso Butts).

Bowmore Tempest Batch 1Color: Gold

Nose: Clean, woody profile. Cigarette smoke. Beautiful integrated cask toast. Quality and powerful stuff. As with the first two Bowmores from this Bowmore Week a slightly perfumy profile without the much feared FWP. But wait, there’s a lot more happening here. Custard, vanilla and crème brûlée (as stated on the back label). A small hint of warm tar and even later ashes. All this take over the initial sharpness of the dry oak and cigarette smoke.

Taste: Very sweet, ice-cream vanilla and again a wee bit of pepper and a great creamy, vanilla, crème brûlée finish. Small hints of (toasted) wood. This has a full and round body. Very nice Tempest indeed. It does fit the profile I “get” from the Cadenheads Small Batch 14yo, I reviewed yesterday though, so I think I understand where the Bourbon Bowmores are going these days. Nice stuff, likeable, easy and not too complex. Fruits, candied fruits. Apricots with vanilla yoghurt. Sour wood and a peppery finish.

This first batch became somewhat of a cult whisky. It’s really good. and therefore the 12.000 bottles are pretty much sold out. To this day four batches of this exist.

This looks like an annual thing. Since this is released in batches I really don’t understand the need for coloring, especially when all batches differ a bit in color, but still I believe all are colored. Bowmore is picking itself up. It surpassed the FWP-problem. Got the wonderful Rachel Barrie, who I believe is doing a great job at Bowmore (and some other distilleries).

Points: 87

Bowmore Week – Day 2: Bowmore 14yo 1998/2013 (46%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, Bourbon Hogsheads, 792 bottles)

Here we are, into day two of Master Quill’s Bowmore Week. This review will be about a Bowmore from Cadenhead’s new Small batch series. Just like with the Original Series (46% ABV) and the Authentic Series (cask strength), the small batches come in at 46% or cask strength. The 46% versions in this new Small Batch Series come in this round dumpy bottle as depicted below, whereas the Cask strength versions come in more square dumpy bottles. Like Glenfarclas used a long time ago. The only difference between the Original and the Authentic Collection and the Small Batch bottling is that the latter is in almost all the cases a bottling of two casks where the former were single cask bottlings. This may be a golden opportunity for Cadenheads to mix two casks that can complement each other, where single cask bottlings will always show the flaws of that one cask. A year prior (2012), Cadenheads have already bottled two Bourbon Hogshead Bowmore’s in the Authentic Collection, which could be nice for comparison.

Cadenhead Bowmore 14yoColor: White Wine

Nose: Butter, cookie dough and flowery peat. A very feminine profile. It’s flowery and perfumy without it being FWP or soapy. Citrussy and very light on peat. Hints of (tarry) wood and salt. Fat light peat and licorice. Quite “simple” on the nose compared to yesterday’s standard 12yo. This one has to breathe a bit and needs a bit of warmth to fully release its aroma’s. The longer it stands the more smoky it gets, kippers. Coastal.

Taste: Very well integrated Bowmore. A sweet and very full body, yet not heavy and quite un-complex. Good sweetness. Hints of mocha and cappuccino. A nice peppery bite and citrus with custard. Lemon sherbet. Nice hints of wood. Extremely drinkable, but also quite simple. The pepper is an added bonus. The finish is not too long though, and the pepper stays with you longer than the finish does.

Where the nose needed a little time to show itself, the taste is immediately up front without a lot of evolution. But when its good from the start who needs evolution? Very nice and simple profile, but as I said before, not very complex, but immediately likeable and extremely drinkable. I do like it.

Points: 85

The Macallan ‘Fine Oak – Whisky Maker’s Selection’ (42.8%, OB, 1 Litre, Circa 2006)

I come from the times when The Macallan may have been the best Sherried Speysiders around. Almost all Macallans were made of Oloroso Sherry cask, well controlled by the distillery. Who doesn’t know the old back label with the famous last words: “FOR REASONS NOT EVEN SCIENCE CAN WHOLLY EXPLAIN, whisky has always matured best on oak casks that have contained sherry.” or the famous last two words on this very back label: “the tumbler” Well I for one was very disappointed tasting the very first Fine Oak range back in the day, having expected something like the quality of the old Macallans. For me the Fine Oaks had to be of the higher ages to get a high rating. Also the pricing has put me off back then. Some time has passed, some ten years, and here is finally another Fine Oak. Let’s give it another chance…

Color: Honey gold.

Nose: Fresh wood and fresh overall. A bit like a nice Fino Sherry. Waxy (ear wax) and slightly soapy. Apricot and bitter orange marmalade. Heather and a lot of toffee. Quite syrupy smelling and promises of a full body. Seems young with some added depth from some older casks.

Taste: A bit thin at first, but highly drinkable. Again some heather and maybe even a little bit of honey. I can’t shed the feeling this actually is a full bodied Highland Park with lots of Fino Sherry. Hidden bitterness surrounded by fruity sweetness and custard. Towards the end of the body and into the finish it gets drier with more wood and it’s bitterness. Even the toasted cask is here in minute amounts.

This reminds me of the old wide neck Highland Park 12yo, with even the same sort of bitterness in the finish. In fact, if I would have tasted this blind I most definitely would have said this was a Highland Park, who knows, same owner 😉

Points: 85

Ardbeg 10yo 1993/2004 (57.3%, Cadenhead, Refill Bourbon Hogshead, 252 bottles)

Wow, unbelievable, this is just my second Ardbeg review on these pages! I have this distillery up there with the greats, so what happened? This is an Ardbeg from 1993 bottled by independent bottlers Cadenhead’s. This is most definitely not the first Cadenhead’s on these pages, no it’s actually already the tenth, so for more information about Cadenhead’s, please have a look at all the other reviews of Cadenhead’s bottlings.

Color: White wine.

Nose: Sweet and mellow peat. Smells older than it actually is. Very nice, refined and balanced. Vegetal. Lemon sherbet. Fatty and smoky. Definitely citrus fruits this one, and some tropical fruits too. Not an in-your-face Islay monster, but with a lot of Islay character. Freshly cut peat. After a wee bit of breathing, some butter emerges, and it picks up a bit in oomph. More oily and smoky, ans even the citrus (lemon) is more dominant. The peat on the other hand recedes even more. Breathing adds something fishy and some vanilla to the mix. Somewhat more sea influence.

Taste: Sweet, sweet and light young peat. The smoke comes later. Nice effect. Hardly any wood. Whereas the nose showed me some light (old) peat, on the palate this Whisky does show its youth. Just as in the nose, very restrained lively and fruity Ardbeg, again not a kick in the head. With some air and time, it even gets a wee bit floral and ashy and slightly more pungent.

The offset and the body are nice and full, or round, if you prefer. The tastes fit together and show a more elegant side of Ardbeg. Towards the finish it does start to break down a bit. I said a bit. For an Ardbeg the finish is rather short and again light at first, but breathing lengthens the finish (and adds a little woody bitterness, finally). Typical Islay, not typical Ardbeg is you ask me. Probably not a very active cask, since there isn’t any wood detectable, nor has it picked up a lot op color.  It reminds me of an Ardbeg Bond Reserve I still have, so I’ll review that shortly (also from Cadenhead’s).

Summa summarum, nice Ardbeg that needs to breathe!

Points: 86

Tormore 14yo 1998/2013 (50%, Gordon & MacPhail, Exclusive for the Whisky Mercenary, First Fill Bourbon Barrel #1586, 277 bottles)

Easily the longest title for any of my blog posts. Finally summer is over, and the urge to drink some Whisky is back with a vengeance. Not that I’m happy about summer being over, especially when the last five years we hardly had a summer over here…

Next up to warm us up is a Gordon & MacPhail bottling of a 1998 Tormore, they bottled for The Whisky Mercenary a.k.a. Jürgen Vromans. Jürgen tries to pick some great casks for his own hobby-brand of Whiskies. Up ’till now Scottish and Irish products have been bottled under his own label. This time he picked a cask from Gordon & MacPhail. Gordon & MacPhail take their own casks to various distilleries and after they are filled, take them to their own warehouses for ageing. Gordon & MacPhail never sell a cask without it being bottled in one of their series.

Color: Light Gold

Nose: Floral, fresh and sweet, easily recognizable for a Tormore from a Bourbon Cask. They’re always a bit metallic, but in a way I like it. Just have a look here. It’s great to see, ehhh, smell the consistency, or distillery character. There are a lot of similarities between the Cadenhead 1984 and this 1998 Tormore. Nice balance between the sweetness of the nose and the wood spice from the cask. Quite perfumy, with a touch of smoke from the toasted cask, and floral (which is not soapy). Under this all some ginger and sugared yellow fruits, like dried apricots, which add to the complexity of the sweetness. This is how Tormore’s are and this is another fine example.

Taste: Less sweet than the nose let on to believe. Nice darkness with ginger, vanilla, paper and wood. The spiciness in combination with the brooding half-sweetness doesn’t let the finish become sour (from the oak). There is a fruitiness to it, and it seems to me to be from the black fruit department, blackberries? A little bit of mocha, toffee and/or unburnt caramel to round the Whisky off. Long nutty finish with a hint of mint. Pretty well-balanced stuff. I like it and I most definitely want it.

Nice Tormore by Gordon & MacPhail and for sure a great pick by Jürgen. A connoisseurs Whisky, otherwise Gordon & MacPhail wouldn’t have Jürgen take this away.  If you like the profile, this is a very nice Tormore, ánd I have to stress that I am a fan of whiskies @ 50% ABV. Excellent! I really love the Cadenhead but this is equally as good.

Points: 86

Tomatin 15yo (43%, OB, Bourbon Casks)

This is my last review of a Whisky from the standard range of Tomatins released by the distiller. The standard range comprises of Legacy, a 12yo, a 15yo, and last but not least, the 18yo. The age statement (or lack of it) not being the only difference. All are different in usage of casks:

  • Legacy – New Oak Casks and Bourbon Casks (82 Points).
  • 12yo – Bourbon & Sherry Casks (83 Points).
  • 15yo – Bourbon Casks (?? Points).
  • 18yo – Refill Bourbon Barrels with an Oloroso Sherry finish (87 Points).

So here we have the 15yo. This one is on paper the younger brother of the now sadly deleted 25yo. Both come from only Bourbon Casks. The new Tomatin is called Legacy, but the 25yo will turn out to be a Legend. But, and I can’t stress this enough, Tomatin 30yo, that’s even better imho!

Tomatin 15yoColor: Light gold.

Nose: Spicy and clean. Sweetish and creamy. Hints of toasted oak and crushed fresh leaves. Nice toned down fruitiness. Cookie dough. It does remind me a bit of the 25yo (and some notes of the fruitiness remind me of the 30yo). Fruity ánd perfumy. Very aromatic example of Tomatin. Good balance.

Taste: Clean and warming, warm wood and caramel. Hints of licorice, vanilla and toasted wood. Very creamy and half sweet. Again very good balance. Dangerously drinkable.

These four whiskies are absolutely family of each other. Brothers and sisters of one another. But just as with people, there is a family resemblance, but most definitely have different characters. It’s not merely an older version of the previous example, no, all are meant to be different through usage of different casks. I guess all of them will have different likers (or dislikers if you don’t like the mean Tomatin profile).

So time to come clean, which one would I buy? Well, according to points the 18yo is the winner. It has a stunning nose and taste to match, but there is always a candidate everybody likes, isn’t there. I scored the 15yo one point lower than the 18yo, but I think the 15yo is a true and honest malt (just look at its color), and is definitely easier to drink than the 18yo. I had problems writing tasting notes, because the glass seemed always empty, how is that for drinkability! So if you are new to whisky or just enjoy a good malt, I would buy the 15yo to start with, if you’re somewhat more seasoned and able to appreciate the added notes of the Oloroso finish , I would recommend the 18yo. Legacy and the 12yo are both alright, and dirt cheap to boot, but not my personal first choice. So for me the 18yo and the 15yo are the ones to buy, and differ strongly enough from each other to get both 🙂

Points: 85

Thanks to Jennifer for sending me this sample.

Arran 16yo (46%, OB, Bourbon & Sherry Casks, 9000 bottles, 2013)

I always have mixed feelings considering Arran. It’s fairly new and I really like new enterprises like this. Mostly nice people with a lot of passion who start a distillery like this. Mice malt and so forth. A whisky I love to like. Just when it comes to tasting, and this sometimes happens, Arran usually does not gel with this taster. A Cask of Arran Single MaltLinkwood is another example. Luckily this also happens the other way around. For most people Teaninich is nothing out of the ordinary, but I really do like my Teaninichs…

This will be my 18th Arran and I hope this is a good one. There were a couple of good ones in the past. It’s not all bad for me, you know. I remember a 1er Cru Bourgogne Cask Finish from 2006, and two different Single Casks from 2004. There are obviously more, but I have to admit, I haven tried a lot of the newer expressions for a while. Time to reacquaint myself with Arran and hopefully find out they got pretty good by now, I really would like that, no I would really love that!

Color: Light gold. Nose: Wow that’s more like it! A nice clean and slightly spicy woody attack. Ginger. New carpets on the floor. After that a full sweetish nose that also is pretty floral. Flowers that is, not perfume. Very elegant. Some acetone, mocha and toffee in the nose, but powdery as well. Not a bad start…

Taste: Sweet and perfectly woody. The sweetness drops off a bit, to show some slight hints of acidity, but the sweetness never relents, it keeps the whole in perfect balance. What a nice short sharp shock of spicy, maybe white peppery attack. And the wood is also very nice. The balance keeps up, but fades a bit in the finish, but who’s complaining! The finish is half long, and the wood aromas turn a bit into cardboard, not a lot, just a bit. Still a pretty good Arran. I love that.

This is a nice Arran, and considering it’s age and the distillate being from the early years, I’m guessing the 16yo, if they keep making it, it will only get better and better. Not being posh, it’s already very good, but I would like to see Arran to be stellar. I would love to like that a lot.

Points: 87

Thanks Richard for the sample!