Very late putting up this post; it's been a tough month but it looks as if the worst of it is probably behind me now. Fortunately, I am managing to put it up before the May tasting... considering I just finished talking to Max about our June purchasing I feel like summer is halfway gone already and we're not even really into May yet.
Our April scotch club broke tradition and took place on Saturday the 16th; many liked this better than Friday evening but we do imbibe on the grace of our hosts, and we thank Max and Pat once again for their generously taking up these duties. A hearty welcome to Bill, an old hand at scotch but new to the club (and apologies to Kim). Cheers out to Kevin on his 10th and possibly final tasting; Joe on his tenth and probably not final; and to me and Max for tasting our 50th whisky with the club.
Attending: Me, Max, Derek, Allard, IanM, Kevin, Joe, Jesse, Stevens, Pat, Nick, Bill
Ardmore Traditional Cask (Speyside, no age statement)
My first sampling from Ardmore, it is getting more and more difficult for us to find distilleries we haven't gone through yet. It claims itself to be a peated Speyside whisky, which are rare enough (even if we had one last month), and is aged in a smaller "traditional" cask like the Laphroiag 1/4-cask.
Nose: Balanced, with rich vanilla, some fruitiness and a hint of caramel.
Palate: A little grape, a little caramel, a little peat. Good balance and complexity, but not great.
Finish: Gets a little woody and bitter, but good overall.
Overall: Wasn't expecting much, and that's exactly what I got. Like dating a girl that you don't really see anything bad about, but you keep hoping you're going to dinner with her cuter and more interesting friends. 8/10.
Macallan 18 (Speyside)
Goodness, two Speysides in one tasting?! You'd think that Max and I fell asleep at the wheel while planning this one, but the price of MacAllan 18 in Illinois was too good to pass up. This is considered one of the classic - if not the archetypal - Speyside whiskies. For good reason, as we discovered.
Nose: Big grape notes, vanilla wood without the raw oak. Smooth, subtle and wondrous; possibly the best nose I've ever encountered.
Palate: Smooth as silk, maybe smoother. Full of subtle vanilla, cream, oak... wow. Wow.
Finish: Rich and fruity, rising wood flavour. Best oak I've ever encountered in whisky. Fantastic complexity and balance.
Overall: It's easy to see why this whisky is held in such high esteem. If I could have a gas mask pump this aroma at my nose 24/7, I'd die happy. Hell, I'd live happy, too. 9.5/10.
Kilchoman KWM Exclusive (Islay, no age statement)
Another offering from the farm distillery of Kilchoman, a little different from the one we had in January. This is a cask strength version, straight out of a single barrel bought by our friends at the Kensington Wine Market in Calgary and being sold in this exclusive offering. We knew this was going to be a little young and raw, but I don't think we quite realized how strong "cask strength" was going to be for a roughly 3-year-old whisky...
Nose: Peat smoke, pure and simple. Smouldering. Wow. Smooth for the age and alcohol content.
Palate: Very simple. Honey up front followed by HUGE peat. Not complex; decent balance and quite beautiful but completely uncompromising.
Finish: A little raw, but not so bad for a 3- or 4-year-old. Nice lingering sweetness and more big peat flavour.
Overall: Like a good-looking girl that benches 250: beautiful and strong, but not for the faint of heart. 9/10 if you LOVE peat; 8/10 if you don't.
Showing posts with label Kilchoman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kilchoman. Show all posts
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
January 2011 Tasting: Islay Night
Now, regular attendees might argue that we've had Islay nights before, and even that Max and I heavily bias our procurement that way. They wouldn't be entirely wrong, but I will point out that our last tasting didn't have any Islay at all. Perhaps our January 14th effort was partly to catch up on that, and we tackled 3 whiskies from different Islay distilleries. It proved very popular, and we had a solid 14 people out. Stevens distinguished himself by doing his second round of 3 in about 3 minutes; and the Bakish boys for doing their last two in just over twice that. Max distinguished himself by having one of the fastest checkouts from Trudeau Airport ever, and arriving to scotch club within about 20 minutes of his flight from Pearson touching down.
Big cheers to Max & Pat for hosting, and again to Max for procurement. I remembered to congratulate Allard on Scotch Club #10, but didn't realize until I did the tally for this post that it was also #10 for Derek as well, sorry buddy! Also thanks to Erin for the great baking once again.
Attending: Me, Max, Mark, Allard, Derek, Dara, Kevin, Norm, IanM, Joe, Jesse, Pat, Stevens, Nick
Kilchoman Summer 2010
Islay's newest distillery, or at least the first new distillery opened in some 124 years. They are a farm-based operation that grows their own barley and does their own floor maltings, and seem to really pride themselves on their traditional techniques. Only the fourth release from the distillery, we weren't really sure what to expect from such a young and untested whisky. It turned out to be the second-favourite of the night, more or less square in the middle between the others.
Nose: Good phenol over fruit, solid smoke, and maybe a little bourbon.
Palate: Smooth arrival. Fruity up front and prominent cereal notes and then some big phenol comes to the fore.
Finish: A little raw and young, but great phenol and lingering wood are quite pleasant.
Overall: Good whisky, but not great. Still a little raw and not very high on the complexity charts. Then again, this whisky is only 3 years old and I'm more than a little intrigued to see what will be coming out of those casks over the coming years. 8.5/10
Bunnahabhain 18
Known as Islay's mildest distillery, they use lightly peated fires to roast their barley and very pure spring water for a spirit with far less smoky, phenolic character than the rest of the island's distillery. We thought it would be a good idea to use this to break up what might be overwhelming levels of peat for some, and I was eager to sample one of those rare Islay distilleries I haven't tried yet!
Nose: Sherried fruit, creamy notes. Tiny hint of smoke under all that.
Palate: Smooth, almost watery arrival. Sweet and juicy, with fruit and spice before rising oakiness and a hint of peat smoke.
Finish: Several cord of wood seem to packed into that wee dram, with a hint of smoke underneath all that lumber. A little raw for its age, to be sure...
Overall: Far from a fantastic dram, and certainly no bargain. Very Speyside-like in character, but a rather mediocre one. 8/10 at best.
Port Charlotte 8
Having done the 6-year old, and the 7-year old twice, everyone in the room apart from Nick was really looking forward to this one, and it was narrowly the favourite of the night. A perennial scotch club favourite, we've been lucky enough to chart the development of the original 2001 distillation through 3 years of aging. Have to say I'm really looking forward to whenever the next distillation hits the market and to watching this spirit over the coming years and even decades...
Nose: Sharp, the bourbon really jumps out. Big peat and some unexpected (but not unwelcome) vanilla.
Palate: Arrival is a little sharp like the nose. The roasted malt sugar background soothes it just as the peat and phenol go for a romp. Great balance.
Finish: A lot more oak than previous editions. Great juicy sweetness giving way to lingering phenolic smoke. Long as all hell, complex, and extremely satisfying.
Overall: Most of us found that the 6 was better than the 7, and those better than the 8. Not that this isn't a great whisky, but they've set some rather unreasonable expectations for me with previous bottlings. 9/10.
Big cheers to Max & Pat for hosting, and again to Max for procurement. I remembered to congratulate Allard on Scotch Club #10, but didn't realize until I did the tally for this post that it was also #10 for Derek as well, sorry buddy! Also thanks to Erin for the great baking once again.
Attending: Me, Max, Mark, Allard, Derek, Dara, Kevin, Norm, IanM, Joe, Jesse, Pat, Stevens, Nick
Kilchoman Summer 2010
Islay's newest distillery, or at least the first new distillery opened in some 124 years. They are a farm-based operation that grows their own barley and does their own floor maltings, and seem to really pride themselves on their traditional techniques. Only the fourth release from the distillery, we weren't really sure what to expect from such a young and untested whisky. It turned out to be the second-favourite of the night, more or less square in the middle between the others.
Nose: Good phenol over fruit, solid smoke, and maybe a little bourbon.
Palate: Smooth arrival. Fruity up front and prominent cereal notes and then some big phenol comes to the fore.
Finish: A little raw and young, but great phenol and lingering wood are quite pleasant.
Overall: Good whisky, but not great. Still a little raw and not very high on the complexity charts. Then again, this whisky is only 3 years old and I'm more than a little intrigued to see what will be coming out of those casks over the coming years. 8.5/10
Bunnahabhain 18
Known as Islay's mildest distillery, they use lightly peated fires to roast their barley and very pure spring water for a spirit with far less smoky, phenolic character than the rest of the island's distillery. We thought it would be a good idea to use this to break up what might be overwhelming levels of peat for some, and I was eager to sample one of those rare Islay distilleries I haven't tried yet!
Nose: Sherried fruit, creamy notes. Tiny hint of smoke under all that.
Palate: Smooth, almost watery arrival. Sweet and juicy, with fruit and spice before rising oakiness and a hint of peat smoke.
Finish: Several cord of wood seem to packed into that wee dram, with a hint of smoke underneath all that lumber. A little raw for its age, to be sure...
Overall: Far from a fantastic dram, and certainly no bargain. Very Speyside-like in character, but a rather mediocre one. 8/10 at best.
Port Charlotte 8
Having done the 6-year old, and the 7-year old twice, everyone in the room apart from Nick was really looking forward to this one, and it was narrowly the favourite of the night. A perennial scotch club favourite, we've been lucky enough to chart the development of the original 2001 distillation through 3 years of aging. Have to say I'm really looking forward to whenever the next distillation hits the market and to watching this spirit over the coming years and even decades...
Nose: Sharp, the bourbon really jumps out. Big peat and some unexpected (but not unwelcome) vanilla.
Palate: Arrival is a little sharp like the nose. The roasted malt sugar background soothes it just as the peat and phenol go for a romp. Great balance.
Finish: A lot more oak than previous editions. Great juicy sweetness giving way to lingering phenolic smoke. Long as all hell, complex, and extremely satisfying.
Overall: Most of us found that the 6 was better than the 7, and those better than the 8. Not that this isn't a great whisky, but they've set some rather unreasonable expectations for me with previous bottlings. 9/10.
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