Whisky Review: Auchentoshan 1976 (Aged 28 Years)

Photo Courtesy of CSN Wine and Spirits

The Auchentoshan Distillery is somewhat of an anomaly amongst Scottish Distillers. It is the only Scottish Distillery that triple distills their entire core range of whiskies. Triple distillation is common amongst Irish Distillers but extremely uncommon for a distillery producing Scottish single malts. The result of the triple distillation is a more laid back easy-going whisky which is perhaps more floral, but also perhaps less robust in character than traditional single malts. This easy-going style perhaps makes the Auchentoshan Distillery a perfect example of a Lowland Scottish Whisky and a very approachable malt for novice whisky drinkers.

The 28-year-old, Auchentoshan 1976, I am reviewing on the other hand is not necessarily a whisky for novices. The long time spent aging in an oak hogshead cask and the high bottling strength (47.5%) is sure to have produced a whisky with a stronger character and a little more intimidating flavour profile than a typical Auchentoshan Whisky.

The whisky is a Single Cask bottling, distilled in 1976, which is available at CSN Wine and Spirits in Calgary, Alberta. The store purchased the entire cask of 156 bottles and has approximately 20 bottles left in stock.  I was given a sample to review here on my blog by the Store Manager, J.P. Sandhu, who had spent some time with me on a lazy Friday afternoon allowing me to sample some of the great selections of rum and single malt whisky which were available in his store.

Here is a snippet of my review:

“…The initial entry into the mouth brings forward a lovely light chewy peat with rich floral smokiness. I guess I would call this a whisky lover’s whisky, because when you have cracked open the flavours from under the peat and smoke you are rewarded brilliantly…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Auchentoshan 1976 (Aged 28 Years)

At the end of the review I have a couple of suggested pairing which I believe work very well with this whisky. Please enjoy the review.

Review: Connoisseurs Choice – Rosebank 1991 Single Malt Whisky

The Connoisseurs Choice is a series of malt whiskies from various Scottish distilleries many of which are no longer producing whisky.  Boasting over 40 different single malts available from the Scottish regions The sheer variety of styles and flavours of whisky available from Gordon and Macphail’s Connoisseurs range is staggering.

The Rosebank Distillery once produced a lazy laid back style of lowland whisky which was triple distilled for extra smoothness.  The Distillery was closed in 1993 despite being widely recognized as one of the premier distilleries in the lowland region.   Only through independent bottlers such as Gordon and Macphail can we still taste the whisky which was once produced at Rosebank.

Here is a snippet from my review:

“…This is a clean tasting and gentle experience. My palate is tickled with a nice mixture of  warm vanilla, oak spice disguised as citrus, light smoke, and a mildly sweet and punky butterscotch.  The smoke brings forth a light combination of dried raisins and currants…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Connoisseurs Choice – Rosebank 1991

Whisky Review: The Macallan Sherry Oak (12 Year)

Photo Courtesy of J.Wheelock

The Macallan is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery, located near Easter Elchies House, at Craigellachie in the Speyside region of Scotland.

I was given a bottle of The Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak and the 10 Year Old Fine Oak by J. Wheelock, the Brand Ambassador West for The Macallan, Highland Park, and The Famous Grouse. Mr. Wheelock ask me to do a comparative tasting of the two styles of oak as part of my series of reviews of The Macallan Single Malt Scotches. For those who do not know, The Macallan Sherry Oak whiskies are aged exclusively in oak barrels seasoned with sherry from Jerez, Spain.  The Fine Oak Series is a relatively new series of whiskies which uses American Sherry and American Whiskey barrels in addition to the Spanish Sherry casks.

Photo Courtesy J. Wheelock)

Both bottles presented to me were 750ml bottles, each bottled at 40% alcohol by volume. I shared my review of  The Macallan Fine Oak 10 Year Single Malt Whiskey earlier and you may click on the link to read it for comparison.

And here is an excerpt  from my review of of The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 Year Old Single Malt Whisky:

“….When I poured the Macallan Sherry Oak into my glencairn glass the immediate nose was complex and tainted with sherry aroma.  I sensed a firm woodiness in the air which had an exotic ‘fruit-like’ flair. Treacle and sherry smoke slowly drifted out of the glass with the firm imprint of wild berries and tart cherries….”

You may read the full review here:

Whisky Review: The Macallan Fine Oak (10 Year)

Craigellachie Bridge near the Macallan Distillery (Photo Courtesy of J. Wheelock)

The Macallan is a single malt Scotch whisky, produced at The Macallan Distillery near Easter Elchies House, at Craigellachie in the Speyside region of Scotland.  Originally, The Macallan whiskies were (primarily)  matured in oak seasoned with sherry brought to the distillery from Jerez, Spain. Beginning in 2004, The Macallan introduced a new product, the Fine Oak Series, with whisky matured in seasoned American oak casks, (sherry as well as bourbon), as well as sherry casks from Spain. The Fine Oak Series is quite a departure for The Macallan, and the new whisky has brought rave reviews from some quarters (Jim Murray for example awarded it “Best New Scotch Brand” when it was launched), and dramatic criticism from others who considered the American barrels inferior (a puzzling criticism it seems to me).

Photo Courtesy of J. Wheelock and The Macallan Distillery

I was given a bottle each of The Macallan 10 Year Old Fine Oak and The Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak by J. Wheelock, the Brand Ambassador West for The Macallan, Highland Park, and The Famous Grouse. Mr. Wheelock asked me to do a comparative tasting of the two styles of oak as part of my series of reviews of The Macallan Single Malt Whisky. Both bottles presented to me were 750ml bottles, each bottled for the Canadian market at 40% alcohol by volume.  I thought I would begin my analysis with a review of The Macallan 10 Year Old Fine Oak Series:

Here is an excerpt from the review:

“…When I pour the Macallan Fine Oak into my glass, the first aroma is that of a nice oak spiced  butterscotch with a dollop of treacle. The treacle is not overdone such that this would smell caramelized or burnt, rather it is a steady accent on the butterscotch and spice thickening them, but also preventing too much sweetness to form…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Glenmorangie Nectar D’or Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Glenmorangie was amongst the first Scotch distilleries (1960s) to use ex bourbon barrels to age their whisky rather than Spanish oak (IE: sherry casks). This helped to change the taste profile of their Scottish whisky in a significant manner, and today ex bourbon barrels are use extensively alongside ex sherry casks in many Scottish distilleries. In 1996, Glenmorangie introduced their wood finish range which began the experimentation with a range of new wood finishes like port wood casks and wine barriques. These wood finished products are now used by many distilleries and once again Glenmorangie can claim credit for helping to extend  the range of the taste profile of Scottish whisky.

The Nectar D’or is a mature Glenmorangie (at least ten years old) that is aged in ex bourbon casks and then finished or ‘extra matured’ in Sauternes wine barriques.  The use of the Sauternes wine casks  gives the Nectar D’or a touch of grape sweetness.  This sweeter  ‘white wine or grape’ character is evident in the tasting and review notes that follow.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…When the Nectar D’or is poured into the glass I immediately recognize a light aroma of soft white wine rising into the air beside the more familiar Scotch whisky aroma.  I smell oak spices with trails of vanilla and honey accented by that light white wine scent.  The aroma is very complex, and it includes sharper citrus scents of lemon and fresh orange .  I find this extremely inviting….”

You may read the full review here:

Whisky Review: Cooper’s Choice – Mortlach 1979

Cooper’s Choice – Mortlach 1979

I have a thing for well aged whisky. I love the spirits which have been aged 15 … 20 even 25 years. I also have a soft spot for a bargain. So when I spied a 25 year old Scotch for only $125 bucks, I was like a hungry fish spying a shiny new lure. In spite of my firm resolution to only buy what I sample first, I was hooked! I did not even put up much of a fight.

The Cooper’s Choice seems to be a relatively new third party bottler who have stepped into my market place bringing in Scotch whisky from distillers who typically do not bottle their own products.   In this case the Mortlach Distillery in Dufftown,   a Speyside distillery.

(I know what you are thinking and No! This is not the home of Duff Beer,  The Simpson’s and the Mortlach Distillery are not related.)

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The nose prepared me for the onslaught from the bottle.  My palate was filled with a triumvirate of heavy smoke, heavy oak, and 92 proof alcohol.  It pretty much knocked my taste buds back and crippled them to the other nuances.  It was not until I rested my palate, and added an ice-cube that I was able to taste the other nuances of the dram…..”

You may read the full review here:

Review: The Cooper’s Choice – Mortlach 1979

Whisky Review: Bruichladdich Black Art

Bruichladdich Black Art
1989 Single Malt Scotch Whisky (19 Years Old)

Bruichladdich (Pronunciation = Brook Laddie) distillery was built in 1881 on Hebridean Isle, in what is now known as the Islay region of Scotland.  It was one of many distilleries, which despite it long history and tradition of whisky making, was closed in 1994 due to industry consolidation.  The distillery no longer produced whisky, but the existing stocks left inside continued to age.  The good news is that on 19th December, 2000, the distillery was purchased by a small band of investors.  It was  renovated and reopened, and on May 21, 2001 the distillery once again began to distill whisky.

This small band of investors has proceeded to turn the Scottish whisky world upside down.  They love to blend and bottle their whisky in small artisan production runs using a multitude of unique finishing casks.  Borrowing ideas from their own past experiences, they are bringing to market a variety of  one of a kind whiskies, the like of which the Scottish Whisky World has never seen before.

The Bruichladdich 1989 Black Art is just such a bottling.  Master Blender, Jim McEwan,  used 1989 Vintage whisky stocks and a secret combination of wine finishing casks to create this unusual Vintage Single Malt Whisky.  Although I have tried to find out which types of wine casks were used to finish this whisky, my research was to no avail. Apparently, Mr McEwan didn’t allow anybody to see.   All we know is what is written on the bottle, which is where I will start the review (click on the link below to read the full review):

Review: Bruichladdich Black Art

As per my usual style, I have added an original cocktail I call The Warlock.

Whisky Review: Murray McDavid – Isle Of Jura 1991 Single Malt Scotch

Murray McDavid – Isle Of Jura 1991
16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

The 1991, Isle of Jura, 16 Year Old single malt Scotch whisky was distilled at the Isle of Jura distillery in 1991 and set down to age in bourbon casks. At some point in the history of this malt, several casks (perhaps seven or eight) were purchased by the private bottler Murray McDavid. These casks were chosen for their special character, and in 2007 they were blended and bottled in a Limited Release Bottling numbering only 1500 bottles.   Three of these bottles have found a way into my possession, and I am pleased to review the contents of one of them and share the results of this hard labour with you.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…Honey and caramel drift out of the glass with a gentle sweetness that is inviting.  As the glass sits, deeper scents of ripe fruit and spicy oak follow with a very small whisper of salty smoke trailing in the breeze.  A touch of water opens the ripe fruit to reveal apricots and peaches is a spicy sweet syrup….”

You may read the full review and the cocktail I have chosen for this splendid whisky here:

Review: Murray McDavid – Isle Of Jura 1991
16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Review: McClelland’s Lowland Single Malt Scotch

I have come to my final review of the series of McClelland’s Single Malt Whiskies.  McClelland’s Lowland Single Malt whisky is the least typical of the four main expressions of this brand. In fact, it was difficult for me, in a blind taste test, to associate this whisky with any particular region, or should I say style, of Scottish whisky. In the end, I correctly named this a Lowland whisky in a blind taste test, more as a matter of default, than by ascertaining distinct lowland characteristics from the dram. The whisky is produced by Morrison Bowmore Distillers. It is distilled from a distillery in the Lowland region of Scotland, and selected to represent the character and essence of the Lowland whisky region.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…This whisky is somewhat of a yellow/golden colour in the glass.   When I swirl the glass I noticed only a light oil and very skinny legs on the sides of the glass.  The aroma from the glass was unexpectedly harsh. I would describe it as acrid and pungent.  I also received charred woody aromas and darkly caramelized sugars….”

You may read the full review Here:

As well I have an excellent cocktail suggestion from forrest, The Lowland Holiday Scotch Sour.  Enjoy the review

Whisky Review: McClelland’s Speyside Single Malt

Today I am returning to my review series on McClelland’s Single Malt Whiskies.  This week I am tackling the McClelland’s Speyside Single malt.

The Brand is owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers and this whisky in their McClelland’s  line up is distilled in the region for which it is named, Speyside.

I found the McClelland’s Single Malt Speyside to be an accurate expression of a typical Speyside whisky.  It has a typical Speyside character with a spicy yet floral palate very typical of Speyside whiskies I have tried in the past.

Here is an excerpt from the review:

“The whisky is somewhat of a medium orange/gold colour in the glass.   When I swirl the glass I notice only a light oil and very skinny legs on the sides of the glass.  I receive distinct floral notes combined with honey and oak spices.  A vague anise licorice and a hint of cocoa lie behind the floral tone, and if the glass is left to sit, the aroma of oak tannin becomes stronger in the glass…”

You may read the entire review here:

Review: McClelland’s Speyside Single Malt

As well I also provided a couple of recipes for cocktails including a Rum Howler original,
The Crushed Polly.  Please enjoy the review!