Tag Archives: Sherry

Blair Athol 20yo 1993/2013 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, First Fill Sherry Butt, DL REF 9908, 477 bottles)

The Glenglassaugh I reviewed recently was a first on these pages, but so is this Blair Athol. Blair Athol puts more than 90% of its new make into Bourbon Barrels and/or Hogsheads, and most of those are used for the Bells Blended Whisky. Less than 10% of the new make winds up in Sherry Casks and eventually most of those are used for the 16yo Flora and Fauna expression. Official expressions of Blair Athol are scarce. A long time ago there were a 8yo and a 12yo, and more recently a version of Blair Athol found its way into the Rare Malts series (a 27yo with distillate from 1975), and in the Managers Choice series (a 13yo with distillate from 1995).

When visiting the stand of Douglas Laing last year at the London Whisky Show, Chris Birthday Boy Leggat, gave me a sample of this and told me he was very curious what I would think of it, so let’s have a look…

Blair Athol 20yo 1993/2013 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, Sherry Butt, DL REF 9908, 477 bottles)Color: Golden nectar with the slightest red hue.

Nose: Malty and full. Dusty and sweet. Sweet wine. Hints of cookie dough and warm apple pie. Hard to detect the fruitiness through the dough and the pie (and the apparent sweetness). Funky (in a Bootsy Collins kind of way) with the occasional whiff of fresh air. Aroma’s here are from the low-end of the spectrum, heavy and sweet, as opposed to acidic and fresh citrus fruits. With some breathing the oak finally emerges.

Taste: Sweet with pie again, but lots more wood than the nose suggested. The wood gives it character and hardly any bitterness. Very creamy, more like clotted cream than plain vanilla. There is however a little strange hint of acidity that affects the balance a bit, this acidity continues into the finish. It is strong enough to get in between of the sweetness and the cookie dough and cream. If you ask me more a kind of acidity from the wood, than the Sherry. With extensive breathing more wood emerges, just as in the nose, as does the smallest hint of fresh cola. The balance picks up with breathing, so don’t be too quick drinking this. Salty lips.

I’m guessing from a Fino Sherry Butt (or maybe even Manzanilla, which also seems a bit salty). Blair Athol isn’t one of those distilleries with a huge following and almost never is truly great. This one is as good as Blair Athol can be. Nice.

Points: 85

Tamdhu 6yo 2004/2011 (52.9%, The Ultimate, Sherry Butt #5439, 680 bottles)

Just before Christmas I reviewed a young Tamdhu bottled by The Ultimate (Van Wees, The Netherlands). That one was only 8 years old and I dared to mention in that review that at 8yo that Whisky was maybe bottled to late, since a lot of wood was present in that bottling. Luckily the wood gave the Whisky a lot of character, but I hoped it would have been a wee bit sweeter. Now look here. I’ve got an even younger Tamdhu bottled by The Ultimate. This time I’ll have a look at a 6yo Tamdhu from 2004 (the second of the six, bottled in 2011), and have a look how the two compare. How was your Christmas, by the way?

Tamdhu 6yo 2004/2011 (52.9%, The Ultimate, Sherry Butt #5439, 680 bottles)Color: Pale gold.

Nose: Definitely a less full on nose. Less powerful, dryer and somewhat more floral than cask #347. Again nice woody notes, but less prominent. Still a lot of pencil shavings though. This one needs a little breather. I just opened the bottle. Good balance and again a very likeable smell. Appealing. Somewhat cleaner this one is (thanks Yoda). When smelling these two H2H, is think this younger example is even more complex, since the 8yo is all wood.

Taste: Sweet and creamy and delayed pepper, but overall a weaker body than the 8yo. Now you all are going to think that I’ve lost it, but this 6yo Tamdhu is more complex than the 8yo I reviewed before Christmas. On the taste lots of nice aromas have lined up and come through one after the other instead of all at once. Black and white powder, vanilla pudding, elegant wood, licorice, and some yellow fruits even. What a treat. The finish isn’t longer, but has some more aroma’s and this one is heavy on cask toast and a little bit of sulphur, but again not dominant, so adding to the character. A nanosecond of sweet on the entry, than quickly into wood and then the workings of layers when the Whisky is swallowed. These young Tamdhu’s are hidden treasures!

The whole is more toned down compared to cask #347, but this one has some more going for it. It is a bit sweeter (as I hoped), but the sweetness is a bit funky, so I’m glad is isn’t sweeter than it is. The Whisky is only 6yo, but still it seems to be more complex than it’s older sister. I like the finish better too, although it has some sulphur, but that gives it even more character. As I said, more going on in this one. Time will tell what extra air will do for this Tamdhu. For the time being, a well urned:

Points: 88

Tamdhu 8yo 2005/2013 (59.6%, The Ultimate, Sherry Butt #347, 724 bottles)

The people who choose the casks really aren’t crazy. They obviously taste a lot, as they have released already some 500+ different bottlings, and many more probably have been rejected. Looking at the history of The Ultimate, most bottlings up untill 2005 were bottled at 43% ABV, and after that at 46% ABV. Sometimes however, a cask strength Whisky is released. Sometimes as a ‘Rare Reserve’ release, sometimes because a Whisky just doesn’t respond well to water and sometimes, being the Whisky lovers they are, they leave a Whisky be. It’s already good and it would be a shame to reduce it, let’s just bottle it.

In the recent past this was true for a lot of Islay Whiskies, like Bowmore, Laphroaig and some others, but more recently, a couple of bottlings of “other” Whiskies have surfaced at cask strength, which for me fall in the category of being a stunner in their own right, let’s not fiddle with it. One of those are the sherried Longmorn’s (17yo) of which, up untill now, six casks have been released, two of those I already reviewed: cask #72315 (the first) and cask #72319 (the third). It turns out there is another series that flew under my radar for a while: very young sherried Tamdhu’s. There are six of those as well. Five from 2004 (6yo, 7yo and 8yo) and one from 2005 (another 8yo), that was released last. Let’s review the latter one: the 2005, 8yo, from cask #347.

Tamdhu 8yo 20052013 (59.6%, The Ultimate, Sherry Butt #347, 724 bottles)Color: Pale gold.

Nose: Very full, buttery and spicy. lots of wood aroma’s, sawdust, pencil shavings with a little bit of cask toast, and quite alcoholic. What a stunning nose for such a young Whisky. Wild vanilla in peppered pudding. Musty and some deep licorice from the Sherry and toasted wood. Maybe not the most complex nose, but hey, it isn’t even ten years old, but it is very appealing. I can’t stop smelling this. The sweetish, toffee and butter notes leave the glass and the wood remains. The spicy and peppery wood is omnipresent in this bottling, so if this would have been bottled some years later, it probably “wood” have been too much. Now the wood gives a lot of character to the nose, without dominating. Good call.

Taste: Nice full body full on wood and caramel, toffee. Pepper and spice. Butter and salt. It’s in utter balance since the nose and the taste are a complete match. The taste itself is a bit unbalanced (huh?) because the wood gives off some sour oak which makes the body a bit less sweet than expected and this type of Whisky does need some sugars in the mix. Because of the same reasons, the finish isn’t as long as expected, nor does it leave a specific taste in your mouth (but it does leave a little bit of woody bitterness and butter). It should have been more cloying. All the wood that can be smelled and tasted predicted a lot of dryness even though some sweetness is present. Maybe this should have been bottled even sooner? Who would imagine that! Quite hot at nearly 60% ABV.

So it’s lacking some sugars, there is a lot of wood, so isn’t it any good? On the contrary. What remains is a very good young Tamdhu, that isn’t super complex, but does have a lot of character and I most definitely like this very much. I’m lucky to have stumbled on this, and could still buy it. Recommended!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Points: 87

Undisclosed Distillery 7yo 2005/2012 (51.6%, Kintra, 3rd Confidential Cask, Sherry Butt #900161, 143 bottles)

Still sad Master Quill’s Bowmore Week is over? Don’t worry there will be more weeks and there will be more Bowmores. Not worth crying over spilled Whisky, so no better way than getting right up that horse and moving on. From my stash I picked this “Confidential Cask” bottled by Erik Molenaar a.k.a. Kintra. This is already his third Confidential Cask, a Single Malt Whisky by an undisclosed distillery a.k.a. a “Bastard Malt”. Erik is bound by agreement not to disclose the distillery nor talk about it, so I haven’t bothered asking him. There are rumours though this could be a Glenmorangie since in this series the map on the label points out where the distillery lies or where it’s water source is, and looking at this map, Glenmorangie seems to be the distillery (or Balblair for that matter), still Glenmorangie is geographically more correct. So forget about Bowmore for the time being and let’s have a look at this mystery malt.

Undisclosed Distillery 7yo 2005/2012 (51.6%, Kintra, 3rd Confidential Cask, Sherry Butt #900161, 143 bottles)Color: Gold, with a slight pinkish hue.

Nose: Malty, with toffee. Cookie dough, yoghurt and vanilla ice-cream. Slightly woody and a hint of “sourness”. Flinty, like fireworks, again, only a hint. Very much, young yet creamy. Old rainwater and dust, and the Sherry gave off some pleasant funkiness to the Whisky.

Taste: A bit hot, woody sourness, hints of red fruit and raisins and quite some wood after only seven years. Especially when it had some time to breathe the wood plays a great role, without being dominant. On the palate this Whisky seems a little bit disjointed and the finish is all about wood and a strange kind of sourness (like stale beer). Throughout the whole experience a little bit of bitterness from the wood is present. On another level there is some sweet creaminess to it and on yet another level, there is the fruit from the Sherry.

As said before, this is rumoured to be Glenmorangie (or even Balblair). Especially if its Glenmorangie, I can understand why Erik chose to bottle it, because indie Glenmorangies are very rare. Even if you don’t have to possibility to print the distillery on the label, people who want to know will somehow find out, or think so, will take an interest. We don’t know what this is. All we know is that this is a young whisky, that doesn’t seem to be finished yet. On the palate the flavors haven’t “married” yet. Definitely not my favorite Kintra bottling.

Points: 77

Bowmore Week – Day 6: Bowmore 16yo 1997/2013 (53.2%, OB, Hand Filled at the Distillery, Sherry Cask #1215)

Bowmore WeekRecently I was invited to attend a master class or presentation (depends how you look at it) for The Devil’s Casks. The Devil’s Casks were already sold out at the time, so the focus was shifted more to the 23yo matured wholly in Port. I was a bit sceptical at first, since finishing in port usually makes for a harsh Whisky. This one was fully matured in Port, still it was good. I’m guessing the usual Port Pipes that are being used, hold vintage Red Port, but I think maybe these pipes were used to mature Colheita’s or Tawny Port, because the Whisky was very smooth and far from being harsh.

I only had a few sample bottles with me, so I had to make some choices. I didn’t bring the 23yo Port-Bowmore, but I did bring me a sample of this hand filled 1997 Sherry-Bowmore. This sample was used in the presentation to show (off) Bowmore matured in Oloroso Sherry Butt. Hmmm, I thought The Devil’s Casks were to show (off) Sherried-Bowmore. Strange Islay-er-landers!

Bowmore 16yo 1997/2013 (53.2%, OB, Hand Filled at the Distillery, Sherry Cask #1215)Color: Copper brown.

Nose: Nice dusty and dry, thick Oloroso Sherry. Meaty and full. Plenty of everything. What a fabulous Butt this must have been. Haagsche Hopjes (a Dutch coffee bon-bon). Dark chocolate (but not the extremely bitter kind from Equador). Tar and extremely nice and mellow woody notes. I wish it had some more steam locomotive essence to it, then it would have been perfect. Hints of sour wood and saw-dust. The more it breathes, the less meaty and the dryer it gets.

Taste: Yeah, forget about The Devil’s Casks (for a now) and have a look at this! Full, sweet Sherry with a little woody bite. Burned wood from a bonfire, lots of sweet tar and only a small hint of ashes. Maybe not even very complex, but a nice heavy Sherry Whisky. No sulphur and no other funny business going on here. Even the bitterness is nice in this one. Let it breathe for a while.

Since The Devil’s Casks are fetching something in the range of 300 Euro’s and this does about the same at auctions, it would be a no brainer for me which one to take. I’ve heard Bowmore had another Sherry cask that could be hand filled and that one is said to be even better!!! (Cask #23). I should go over and fill “me” own bottle of Bowmore!

Points: 92

Thanks to Gordon for bringing this to The Hague, but also Rachel for putting it in his suitcase 😉

Bowmore Week – Day 4: Bowmore 10yo “The Devils Cask” (56.9%, OB, Small Batch Release, First Fill Sherry Casks, 6.000 bottles, 2013)

Bowmore WeekThis year the little brother of the four sisters Tempest was born. Both the Tempest’s and the Devil’s Casks are small batch releases, and hopefully are with us to stay. Each batch of the tempest counts at least 12.000 bottles and of this first Devil’s Casks only a measly 6.000 bottles were made.

The story behind this release can be read on the Bowmore website: Legend has it that the devil once visited the church in Bowmore. Now if you’ve ever seen it,you’ll know that the church is circular, built that way (so it’s said) so there would be no corner in which the devil could hide. The local congregation spotted the devil and chased him down through the village, into the gates of Bowmore Distillery. Here, the warehousemen were filling casks and loading them aboard the paddle steamer, The Maid of Islay. Gates and doors locked tight shut, every inch of the distillery was searched, but to no avail. As legend goes, the devil escaped in a cask of Bowmore bound for the mainland.

Bowmore The Devil's CasksColor: Copper brown.

Nose: Dusty dull Sherry nose. Lots of tar and some wood. Deep underlying fruits. Cherries and blackberries. Fresh air, steam, coal and tar. This just goes to show how well Bowmore does with the right sherry casks. Again slightly perfumy and floral, without the FWP. FWP is something that suits the profile of Bowmore and is part of it’s identity. The problem Bowmore had in the past is that it had way too much FWP. Today it is brought back to an amount where it add to the spirit. I love the cola, tar and toast that goes with this young Bowmore, since this is something only encountered in old stuff from the 60’s and 70’s (and before). Loving this, because a lot of the nose shows hints of stuff that could be found only in old Whiskies.

Taste: Tarry and woody, with some bitterness. Darkest chocolate, ashes and pretty sweet actually. It somehow has a dry top layer, with wood and ashes, tar and chocolate, but it’s not completely dry, since underneath there lies this bed of sweetness. Well balanced stuff. Again tar, ashes and coal. Great profile. I like that.

Well, this for sure became a cult Whisky overnight. The 6000 bottles sold out in something like three minutes. Lots of people bought cases of this. Rachel Barrie strrrrrrikes again 🙂 Let’s hope there will be a batch 2 and if so, it will be just as good albeit slightly different probably. Would I pay a silly 350 Euro’s for it as can be seen on Ebay, nope, I wouldn’t because for that kind of money there still are some old bottles of Bowmore to be had, that are equally great as this one is…

Bowmore is now definitly something to look out for (again)!

Points: 89

Amrut Intermediate Sherry (57.1%, OB)

Amrut (अमृत) means something in between elixir of life and nectar of the gods. Amrut Single Malt Whisky is made by Amrut Distilleries which was founded in 1948, but just as with Paul John, it took them some time (untill 2004) to release their first Single Malt Whisky, with that, they were the first indian distillery to do so. In 2004 Amrut released its first Single Malt Whisky in Glasgow Scotland, (in the lion’s den you might say). Today and that isn’t even a decade later, Amrut already released a lot of different Single Malt Whiskies. Peated and non-peated, matured in Bourbon, Sherry, Brandy, Cognac, Port and all sorts of different casks. Amrut have even released in one bottle, Whisky matured in India and in Europe, or using malts from different continents. Lots of thinking out-of-the-box.

Amrut Intermediate SherryColor: Full ocher gold.

Nose: Sweet, buttery and creamy at first. Hints of malt and yoghurt. Even smaller hints of licorice and tar. Big bold fruity Whisky. Extremely likeable nose. I’m guessing this particular Sherry cask did some good work. But there is more, it also has a flowery element mixed in with the vanilla. Quite sweet and has a little smoky bite. Nice and complex, well balanced nose. Sometimes vegetal and smells of a little piece of lit cedar (to light a cigar with). Pencil shavings. The floral part gives of whiffs of floral soap, which adds to the complexity without making the Whisky soapy. The nose gives away the Indian origin.

Taste: Sweet, sherried, fruity and has a bite given by the high ABV, but I still won’t water this down, far too nice already. Fruity and cookie dough. The sweetness dissipates and gets more drying towards the oak. Sherried and toffee. Cask toast. Good long fruity finish, with a slight hint of bitter wood, which fits perfectly to the initial sweetness this Whisky has. A little bit less balanced, so it could have been even better than it already is!

Again a perfect example of the level the Indians got to. The Paul John Edited is already a great Whisky, and shows how a relative newcomer can make good Whisky. So I’m guessing the still is a lot of room for improvement there. Amrut is at it for a longer time, but as a Single Malt Whisky producer not even 10 years. Amrut are showing with this Sherried Intermediate that they already are giving a lot of Scottish Whiskies a run for their money. I consider this one is a must buy, I already secured myself a bottle. Great Whisky. I’m expecting great things from this distillery (as well as from John Paul). Way to go India!

Points: 87

Thanks Ashok Chokalingham for the sample, unfortunately I only had one sample bottle with me…

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

Longmorn 17yo 1996/2013 (57.2%, The Ultimate, Sherry Butt #72319, 600 bottles)

I’m pretty amazed this Sherry Butt #72319 is still available. Here in the low countries there is a lot of discussion about these Sherry Butts released by Dutch indie bottlers The Ultimate (Van Wees). This Sherry Butt Sherry Butt #72319 is the third one in a row and earlier I already reviewed Sherry Butt #72315, which was the first one of the series. The second one was Sherry Butt #72318.

As I said, lots of discussion, since all casks are good, didn’t cost a lot and have some differences. So nice whisky to compare to each other. I still have some Sherry Butt #72315 left, so I can compare it to this Sherry Butt #72319. Word in the grapevine is that the first one (Sherry Butt #72315) is the “worst” of the three, all are very clear about that. Some consider Sherry Butt #72318 to be the best and some Sherry Butt #72319.

By the way I hosted a Cadenhead’s tasting recently and after the tasting, I passed a glass with Sherry Butt #72315 around, without telling people what it was, and it sure got a lot of thumbs up. So maybe some prejudice going around? Earlier I scored Sherry Butt #72315, 88 points, so let’s have a look at this “better one”…

Longmorn 17yo 1996/2013 (57.2%, The Ultimate, Sherry Butt #72319, 600 bottles)Color: Copper Brown (less red/orange in color than Sherry Butt #72315)

Nose: Sherry and polished wood, smallest hint of creamy acetone, soap and some mint. Definitely less raw and dirty than Sherry Butt #72315. Extremely balanced and “soft”. It does have its power, but it’s more laid back. Woody raisins are in here too, but here they show themselves quite late in the mix and more toned down and in balance with sour wood, (milk) chocolate and honey. Very thick.

Taste: Great! The first encounter in the mouth is very nice. Sherry with more than a hint of licorice and sweetness. After that the wood, albeit in a mild way, shows itself. Also some toasted cask and a wee bit of paint. These were some very good Sherry Butt’s. The finish itself seems to me to be a bit less balanced, it seems to be a bit disjointed. Probably the wood gives the finish an acidic (and ashy) touch that somehow doesn’t seem to be a perfect fit. A sourness and taste akin to oranges, (the flesh and the juice), not the oily bits out of the skin. On the plus for a lot of tasters: this one has no sulphur in the finish.

If I had to sum things up, I would say that Sherry Butt #72315 is more of a true Sherry nose, more raw and honest. Maybe also less complex. Sherry Butt #72319 is more elegant and more complex, wint small hints of all sorts of things. Both are worth the same amount of points, but are different, but is I had to pick only one I would say Sherry Butt #72315 would be my choice, since it compensates it slightly simpler profile and it’s rawness with a better finish. But I have the luxury of tasting these two head to head, which makes it a lot easier to pick up on small differences, without that possibility, both are an equally good choice (as if one still has a choice).

I don’t know Sherry Butt #72318, but the two I’ve been comparing here are definitely worth having both. They maybe examples of the same kind of Whisky (heavy Sherry), but both show enough difference to show you a bit more of the possibilities within this profile. Both demand a different mood of the taster, meaning you!  Well, now I’m very interested in Sherry Butt #72318. I hope Erik (a.k.a. Master Quills apprentice), opens his bottle soon 😉

Points: 88

Glenlossie 27yo 1984/2012 (57.9%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection for Waldhaus am See, Sherry Butt #2532, 504 bottles)

Recently my Whisky club went on a trip to Switzerland (again), and this time on our journeys we visited Waldhaus am See, almost running over some white rabbits who live in the parking lot these days. The plan was to stop only for half an hour or so, to have a look at the famous (and large) Whisky bar, because we had plans to visit another place too. We entered the hotel and left more than half a day later. Spending some time in the bar, having lunch and having a look at Claudio’s private collection and the Hotel Whisky shop. We left with quite some bottles. We also had a look at the world’s second largest wine-collection. Wow! Never a dull day.

Glenlossie 27yo 1984/2012 (57.9%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection for Waldhaus am See, Cask #2532, 504 bottles)Color: Copper

Nose: Very musty right off the bat, but quickly settling. After a while it gets more winey. and dusty. Some hints of fireworks (toasted cask), but also hints of cardboard, and morning breath. Creamy with hints of smoke (toasted cask?) and fresh wood. Cream, vanilla and wine are the main markers of this nose, but also some after eight. Mint with chocolate. When completely settled it get even perfumy. Absolutely interesting whisky. Lots happening in this one.

Taste: Again winey, with lots of toasted cask. Charcoal and prickly smoke (yes in the taste!). Very appetizing stuff. Sweet and charcoal with some hidden vanilla. Very tasty and although this has a pretty high ABV, for me this is easily drinkable. Orange skins, some acidity and slightly bitter, again from the toasted cask.

Waldhaus am See has a tradition of bottling a lot of Whisky for their hotel, and a lot of those bottling sell out very quickly, even big Butts like this one. Nice Glenlossie this is.

Points: 86

Thanks go out to Michael for taking care of us for so long. Excellent! Thanx also to The Genietschap for letting me have a sample of this bottle to be able to write this review. Thanx guys!