First things first..... I know I haven't been blogging for a while now, and I've heard it many a time from my close friends. "What??? You've given up blogging now????" OK OK. For my first blog in months, I've decided to come back to one of the first single malts I've ever tasted. When I first tasted Glenmorangie years ago, all whiskies tasted the same to me..... like battery acid. Now, after a couple of years, and a weekend bachelor party for myself, organized by my best man, I have rediscovered Glenmorangie Original. WOW WOW WOW!!! A truly GREAT Highland malt with tons of character. After a couple years of palate development through experimenting with various whiskies, I realized just how amazing this whiskey really is. It has that certain something about it, very much like Highland Park, where it has a bit of everything going on in such a way that is completely balanced. It's sweet/smokey/floral/spicey all wrapped into a delightful package. Let me take a sip and explain in a little more detail......
Colour: light amber
Nose: Butter Cream/ Cinnamon / Blooming Flowers (yeah I said it and I don't care what you say)
In conclusion, in my eyes, this whisky is definatlely one i will always have in my cabinet.... It is one you'll want to serve to only your best friends, because this is not one to be wasted. At this point, I know what your thinking..."is he ever going to find a whisky he doesn't like?"
The next stop on the malt journey, will be the Glenfiddich 15 year old Solera Reserve. I was prompted to give this review because of my buddy... the soon to be BEST MAN at my wedding. He is actually just getting into single malt whisky, and I thought the range of expressions from Glenfiddich would be the perfect choice for him. I personally believe that Glenfiddich 12 and 15 are the whiskies of choice for new palates. They are not expressions that will over power you, or intimidate the new whisky drinker, but also won't quickly bore you as you find your palate developing. I was glad to hear he had bought a bottle of the 15 year old Solera Reserve for us to sample, due to all he great things I had to say about it.
The Solera reserve is actually a very unique whisky. I don't know of any other distilleries using the Solera vat technique to mature their whisky. Three casks are used in the process...... American Oak / Portuguese Sherry / American Bourbon. They are then "married" in the aforementioned Solera Vats, which is actually a very ancient technique, but one that works extremely well. Let's Taste!!!
40% ABV
Colour: Honey / Amber
Nose: Brown Sugar / Cinnamon / Dried Fruits / a drop of water opens up more sweet fruits
Body: Medium
Palate: Extremely Smooth / Malty / Caramel
Finish: Long / Spicy Heat / Slightly Smokey / Bitterness
One way to attract some readers to your blog, is to talk about this stuff.... ARDBEG!!! Some whisky lovers out there, love Ardbeg so much, that they completely dedicate their entire whisky collection to this one distillery. Over the years, Ardbeg has gained a cult following thanks to their world class whisky ( maybe some clever marketing and a little hype along the way too). Collectors are currently spending thousands upon thousands of dollars at auctions, just to get their hands on rare vintage bottlings. Right now in the whisky world, Ardbeg is about as hip and trendy a whisky distillery can be.... they've become whisky's equivalent to Patron tequila. Full marks to them though, because things weren't always so rosy for this Islay renaissance. The distillery was established way back in 1815, but for most of it's history, Ardbeg produced whisky for use in blends. Production over the years eventually slowed down, and Ardbeg was forced to close it's doors in 1981. That is, until they reopened in 1991 when another well known distillery, Glenmorangie purchased it, believing that there was the possibility of some kind of revival in the cards for the old lady. Full production resumed in 1998, and since then, Ardbeg has been steam rolling in popularity at a pace i'm sure they couldn't have even expected.
Right now, Ardbeg offers many popular bottlings such as "Supernova" / "Blasda" / "Corryvrecken" / "Uigeadal"/ "Rollercoaster" and finally " Ten". This ten year old peated whisky truly is a great one, and it's such a shame, there is such a shortage of Ardbeg when it comes to liquor stores here in Ontario Canada.
Even when you find that ever elusive bottle of "TEN" (the only bottling available in Ontario), it's going to cost you just under $100! I find it hard to believe that one of the largest alcohol buyers in the world ( the liquor control board of Ontario) (LCBO), couldn't do a little better on the price, considering the rest of the world is getting the same whisky (while offering more variety of bottlings) for on average 25% cheaper.
I promised myself I wouldn't rant about the LCBO, so I'll just continue, and give the people what they want..... a review on the ever popular, ever so sexy, Ardbeg 10. By the way, don't be shy.... post some comments on the blog of your Ardbeg 10 tasting as well.
Appearance: Very pale honey colour
Body: Medium - Full bodied / nice oily legs
Nose: Uhhh..... Peat and more peat / Warm smoke / Pepper / Medicinal
I know..... by this point I've already left you malt fanatics up in arms by this one photo. How dare he!! A blend?? He wouldn't!!! He couldn't!!!! GASP!!!! Now don't get your knickers in a bunch. Yes, I'm going to distract myself for a minute to review one of my favorites. Yes I said it..... Even though my heart belongs to the single malts from Speyside, Islay, the Highlands and so on, I feel compelled to review this blended whisky, which I feel gets no love amongst malt heads. Johnnie Walker Black Label, in my opinion, is the very best blended scotch whisky on the market, no matter the price range. The fact that one could easily find one of these bottles at their local liquor store for about $40, doesn't hurt either. For those of you who don't know, Johnnie Walker Black Label is a blended whisky made up of grain whisky and single malt whiskies from across Scotland. In total, about 40 different malts, including Caol Ila from Islay. When it comes to single malts, everyone knows I love my Islay malts, and that for me, is what comes through first when sipping this whisky. However, having said that, Johnnie Walker Black to me, is one of the most balanced whiskies I've tasted. It has the smoke and hints of peat that you'd expect from an Islay malt, but also the sweetness,fruit and smoothness you'd expect from your favorite Speyside. Not every one will have the appreciation for a fine single malt whisky, no matter how hard you try. So in saying that, just pour 'em some really good scotch... pour them Black Label, because you know, deep down, you really like it too. Let me refresh your memory and give you some of my tasting notes.
Appearance: AMBER. Most definitely some caramel added for colour
Ok, so for my first review, I'll be sampling a whisky by the artisan style distillery The Glenrothes. Before I get into the tasting notes though, I'd like to give you a little info on The Glenrothes. The Glenrothes Distillery lies on a tributary of the river Spey in Scotland. Speyside is universally acknowledged as the heartland of
single malt whisky distillation. This distillery is well known within the industry for supplying their malts for blends and independant bottlers. Only 2% of their very best stock gets bottled as their own with their own branding. 2%??? wow,this stuff must be pretty good huh? Their vintage bottlings have become favourites of so many people around the world. These vintage years include 1975/1978/1985/1987/1991. The variation I will be tasting today is the Select Reserve. The Select Reserve is actually a blend from a mixture of their vintage years........ lets taste away!!
bottled at 40%
appearence: light gold/ honey
nose: lemon / orange zest hints of tequilla
palate: evident that we are dealing with a very young whisky. spicy and nutty. more citrus coming through.
finish: dry and quick. not a whole lot going on here!
As a whole, I was pretty dissapointed with the Select Reserve. To be honest with you, I was put off from the get go with the nosing of the whisky. I got stong hints of what seemed to be tequilla...... I have never come across this during the nosing of any whisky. These are the types of whiskies one should go to when trying to build their palate, but sadly, this turned out to be one whisky I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend. Right then, time to give it a mark I suppose!
6.5/10 ...... very dissapointing from the Glenrothes on this one.
Thanks for checking out my review! Until the next dram!
Hello everyone. Welcome to the first blog of many, on my journey of single malt enlightenment. I must admit, I am looking forward to documenting my eveyday tastings and commenting on events in the whisky world. Whether it's single malt from Scotland, Ireland, United States, or right here in Canada, hopefully I can dive into some of your favourite single malts in this enormous world of whisky. I am planning on doing a review on a new whisky each week. As I stated earlier, I dont confess to being an expert on the subject, but am excited by the idea of navigating through it all while documenting my findings. My first tasting i will be documenting, will be a Speyside malt by the artisan style distillery The Glenrothes. I will be once again be trying their signature "Select Reserve". Well once again folks, welcome and i look forward to presenting to you, my findings in the world of whisky. Until next the next dram.......
