Review #28: Writer Tears - Irish Pot Still Whiskey

This is an independant vatting or private bottling of Irish single malt whiskey most likely from the bushmills distillery and of pure pot still whiskey most likely from the midleton (Jameson) distillery. The Walsh whiskey company who make or vat this whiskey are also responsible for something called the Irishman whiskey which I believe is similar similar stuff but has more single malt in the mix than pot still whiskey whereas this bottle has more pot still than single malt. The Walsh whiskey company have recently opened their own distillery on the grounds of an old Irish manor house/ estate called Royal Oak in Carlow where they will be producing three different types of whiskey from 2 different types of stills. It's all very exciting this Irish whiskey Boom. I hope the Irish government amends the punitive taxes to help the industry.

Price: Quite reasonable, probably the cheapest pot still whiskey available although it's no longer classifiable as Irish pot still whiskey under the recently revised regulations. They now have to call it Irish copper pot still whiskey - it's all a little strange the different classifications of whiskey - it's one of those "you had to be there to understand" situations or basically a historic hangover. From Memory I got this for 65$AU. It's an enjoyable style of whiskey with a point of difference and represents good value for money - 5/6

Packaging / Label: This has a tall narrow bottle which is distinctive, it comes in sensible cardboard packaging. It's bottled at 40% ABV and aged in ex bourbon barrels, and is a vatting of two different styles of Irish whiskey which I suspect they are contractually not allowed to talk about. Chill filtration? Caramel Addition? Age Statement? - 4/6

Availability: I did buy this down the road from my house, it's available from good liquor stores. I have also had this in a few bars before. It's more likely to feature in the more upmarket places and also in whiskey bars. I haven't seen this in duty free other than in Ireland. I'd expect that this will be getting a much wider distribution in the next few years on the strength of deals involved in setting up the new distillery - 4/6

Marketing: The name of this whiskey is quite good as it brings to attention the vast depth of Irish literary work. There's even poetry on the bottle. They're selling the romance of Ireland in a genuine way by highlighting literature which is great - people should read more! The website is not bad however it seems that the focus is very much on the new distillery. There's good info available on the new distillery including a well put together video. There's a bit of info on the history of Irish whiskey. It would be better if they had videos based on their products however I suspect that these will appear in time as they start to make their own produce at their lovely, shiney new distillery.
Check out the link for the website below, also there's a link to a video from the producers on Youtube about the product itself, why isn't this on the website? Or if it is why wasn't it evident? The Youtube video tells me that this whiskey is aged for Ten years and is non chill filtered - why doesn't the label say this? Also the brand ambassador in the video tells me that the color comes from the ageing process? He doesn't say that Caramel isn't added but the color does look pretty natural in the glass - 5/6

http://walshwhiskey.com/

https://youtu.be/UsT1BLsrJ9Q

Appearance: light amber gold, legs forming irregularly on the glass, looks like whiskey to me: 6/6

Nose: Apples, cereal/ grains, sweetness - honey/ fruity - lemon drops, slight hint of caramel and straw which makes me think of fields on a warm summers day (not fields which have had slurry applied - nice fields!). This nose is familiar and makes me think of other Irish whiskeys from Middleton such as Jameson and Powers - 16/20

Taste on entry: lightly spicy on the tip of the tongue I pick up pepper and cloves, and sweet lemons: 15/20

Mouthfeel/body: There's a nice texture to this stuff it feels good!: 9/10

Finish: Dry medium to long, some caramel/ vanilla, wood spice - anise, cloves, more citrus - lemons and I'm also getting leather!: 16/20

I think this whiskey improves with a little time both having been opened in the bottle and also with a little time in the glass before drinking. I also noticed that a drop of water really brings out the lemons on the nose and palate. Good Stuff!

Total score 80/100

Cheers!

Kev.

Review #27: The Balvenie Doublewood 17 Year Old

This is a fancy whiskey which was gifted to our office by some legends who do some work for us. From memory this was received following a particularly busy and successful year at work. The whisky has a fantastic nose and some very interesting flavors - quality stuff which I am very grateful to have had a chance to taste. The bottle was opened recently for a farewell dram for one of the boys in the office who is off chasing a woman across the globe - needless to say it got decimated! Luckily for me I managed to save myself the last dram for this review :-)

Price: At 165$ a pop I'm gonna say I wouldn't be buying this in my current financial state of affairs - it just doesn't offer me enough in terms of ABV, Chill filtration, declaration of colorant added, no I wouldn't buy this for myself, I know I can get lovely whiskey for a great deal cheaper than this. Saying that, it is a very nice whiskey: 3/6

Availability: I can get this in good cocktail bars, whiskey bars, possibly in duty free, online and at the local humongous bottle shop which fortunately for me is a ten minute walk away: 5/6

Packaging & Label: Attractive packaging with a shapely bottle and a deep red/ maroon label. The label tells me that this is single malt scotch whisky aged for a total of 17 years in "Traditional Whisky Oak Barrels" and then finished for some months, potentially up to a year in "European Oak Sherry Casks" and that it is bottled at a marginally above par 43% ABV. There's no mention of chill filtration or added caramel colorant: 4/6

Appearance: It could be due to the influence of the additional aging in the Sherry barrel or maybe they've added just the right amount of colorant to give this a very lovely shade of amber, we'll never know! Legs Shmegs! 6/6

Marketing: This stuff is reasonably well marketed. The website looks good and functions well. There's a distillery tour via a series of youtube videos and there's a fairly inoffensive and bland video specifically for this dram. there's all the usual stuff like tasting notes for the range, info regarding distillery tours and a members group called warehouse 24 for Balvenie enthusiasts. There's heaps of promotion of craft, all very good really just lacking a little spark of character or wit. The links for the website and the youtube video are below if you care to have a look: 5/6

https://www.thebalvenie.com/the-balvenie

https://youtu.be/wPVP--RRo3M

Nose: Very very nice! Vanilla and honey initially with fruit cake mixture coming in with dried fruits, a little spice, some citrus - orange and lemon zest like in a Christmas cake mix before it goes in the oven, Almonds come in after altogether quite lovely! This really puts a smile on my face, I can't imagine that anyone wouldn't like this: 20/20

Taste on Entry: Citrus, dry sherry tones, tannic wood spice - slightly bitter, but with some sweetness in the too, definite malt, very interesting, not entirely pleasing, it's certainly different, something metallic in there, like the taste of iron from your own blood if you've ever had the experience - odd: 16/20

Mouth-feel/Body: Quite good, my initial sip felt very nice but then left me with a little burn surprisingly, and a little dryness: 8/10

Finish: dry, long and varying sherried sweetness initially with tartness coming on the tip of my tongue like lemon sherbet, then some spices come in: 17/20

This for me is a fancy bottle of whiskey which delivers on some fronts but could do better. As I said I wouldn't buy this myself - too expensive without ticking enough boxes for my liking but then again maybe I'm not the target market for this dram. It is very good stuff for sure but currently I would be more inclined to go for a younger bottling or a cask strength version if such a thing existed. This is the sort of thing that I would check out in a whiskey bar if I were treating myself.

Total Score: 84/100

Cheers,
Kev

Review #26: Elijah craig 12 year old "Small Batch"

Here's another gem that I brought back from that wonderful Hawaiian holiday - such happy memories, what a great place! I can't wait to go back there at some point in the future when the little one is not so little. Getting back to the whiskey Elijah Craig 12 year old has sadly been discontinued. It has been replaced by a non age statement bottling of the same name - apparently there's a shortage of aged bourbon. 

Price: Great for what I payed, a little over 30 $US while in Hawaii. It would set me back around 70$ Au here in Melbourne but for this bottle that wouldn't be terrible relative to what I have to pay for everything else here - 5/6

Availability: I can get this down the road (for now), I haven't seen it in duty free, I have seen it in some bars too, minus a point for a sort of discontinuation  - 4/6

Marketing: The Reverend Elijah Craig according to some - well those at heaven hill where this is made - was responsible for inventing Bourbon - this apparently is a dubious claim according to everyone else. I wasn't there so I don't know! The website is very basic and inoffensive and not terribly informative - check out the link below if you're bothered. There are heaps of reviews of this whiskey on youtube but nothing from the producers that I can see - 3/6

http://www.heavenhill.com/brand/16

Label and bottle: The bottle is distinctive in shape with a nice short but wide neck with a lip on it which is nice for pouring. The label is ok fairly straight forward and informative telling me that this is 12 year old, straight bourbon bottled at 47% in small batches which uses a special strain of yeast, Cool! - 6/6


Looks: Dark brown amber, legs forming ok - 6/6

Nose: Molasses, sweet caramel, solvent note, custard, oranges, hay and nuttiness - 16/20

Taste: Big Flavors! Spicy and oaky with orange and caramel sweetness - 16/20

Mouth-feel: Pretty good maybe a little too hot -  9/10

Finish: Long with orange rind, burnt custard maybe creme brulee and spiciness - 16/20


Total score - 81/100

I'm Just finishing off this bottle now as I finish off this review. I've taken my time with both and I have to say this is a really good strong flavored bourbon and I've really enjoyed it! the higher proof really captures more of or just intensifies the flavours and over all experience.

Cheers
Kev.

Review# 25: Johnie Walker "Explorers Club Collection - The Spice Road"

Here's something one of the boys brought into the office to share around - fair play to him. This expression is part of Johnnie Walkers "Explorers Club Collection" which got them into a spot of trouble with a group called "The Explorers Club" who have been promoting scientific exploration and field sciences since 1904 and who actually sound really quite cool! Check out their website via the link:

https://explorers.org/about/about_the_club

So Diageo who own Johnnie Walker and The Explorers club went to court over the unauthorised use of their name on Diageo products and they beat Diageo! However Diageo being the worlds largest drinks company would not give in that easily and they persisted and reached a settlement with The Explorers Club to become a global sponsor of that organisation.

Price: Well I haven't been traveling lately but I can get this stuff online for $140 Au. I don't really think it's amazing value for money, it's not bad stuff but not worth that much in my estimation. I think their trading on a label - 4/6

Packaging and label: Blended whiskey,aged in old oak casks, 40 % ABV, no mention of added colorant or chill filtration, or indeed any indication of what's gone into the blend. The bottle is of the typical Johnie Walker style with corners and angled label oh and no age statement either - 3/6

Marketing: What a marketing coup the court case was, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and doing what they should have done in the first place (had they been decent minded) by sponsoring a very noble organisation. Johnie walkers own website is a bit crap to be honest, it laughably provides a recipe for "Scotch on the rocks" with an option to print the recipe just in case you get confused and aren't sure where to put the ice! this seriously exists see the link below, the points are mostly for making me laugh! - 4/6

https://www.johnniewalker.com/en-kr/our-whisky/explorers-club-collection/the-spice-road/

Availability: Travel retail only supposedly, but this is also available online and I haven't noticed it anywhere else, some people value exclusivity in such matters, I'm not one of them - 2/6 

Appearance: Evenly spaced legs, color is amber gold with a little green hue - 6/6

Nose: I can smell grains a little sweetness, I get something citric nothing too strong, figs, leather a little tobacco and oak - 15/20

Taste on entry: Light and sweet on entry not much happening here for me, smoke coming in a little stronger as I drink a little more - 12/20

Body/ mouthfeel: Feels ok not too thin, smooth which it's supposed to be - 7/10

Finish: I think this is the best feature of this whiskey. I can get some spices I'm thinking of Chinese 5 spice, not picking up any smoke oh wait there it is fairly light I also get tobacco and licorice in there too. The finish is lasting and changing and interesting the smoke fades and leaves you with a nice sweet fruity candy taste - 17/20

Total Score: 70/100

This really just reminds me of a nicer red label which I drink from time to time on flights or at Christmas parties over ice, it's nice and easy drinking but has a good finish - I suppose it needs to justify the price tag somewhere!

Happy Exploring!

Kev!

Review # 24: Glen Moray Chardonnay Cask 10 Yr old scotch whisky

Ahhhh! my first review after a month off (more or less) the booze. I'm almost at the end of my second bottle of  this stuff. I tried to write a review based on my first bottle but that one was a work based bottle enjoyed among colleagues over many a Friday arvo and sometimes it's nice to just enjoy company and relax with a drink rather than getting all introverted and analytical over a dram. This second bottle I picked up for sharing with friends at a whiskey club tasting quite a few months back. Everyone enjoyed it but I have to say I've noticed that this improves over time as the bottle goes down. The fruitiness of the nose really opens up with a little oxidation.

Price: 45 - 50 AU$. This is good value when compared to many other malts available over here - 6/6

Appearance: Amber gold with narrow closely bunched legs forming slowly on the glass - 6/6

Availability: I can get this in supermarkets and most bottleshops over here, not very common in pubs  though I'm sure it's available in good whisky bars. I've never seen this in duty free - 4/6

Marketing: The website is a fairly basic non- flashy affair. The home page tells us that this is light whiskey which I would certainly agree with. It provides some history and insight to the distillery and the coat of arms which appears on the label. It lets us know that the distillery is open for tours and that there are a wide range of bottling's available some of which I'm sure to try in the future as they are available to me and are well priced. There's nothing really interesting to see on the website but nothing stupid either, very average - 3/6

Packaging and label: The label is nice and understated and the bottle is clear glass with lovely curves on it which are reminiscent of a pot still. The label tells me this is a 10 year old Speysider that has been entirely aged in chardonnay wine barrels in traditional low roofed warehouses. There's no mention of caramel colorant addition or chill filtration - 4/6

Nose: Fruity sweet and rich with marzipan, buttery chardonnay, sweet ripe pears/ baked pears, apricot jam, malt creeping in and maybe a little sherbet zing too or acid drops I'm not sure.

Lovely stuff - 17/20

Taste on entry: hmmm, nothing unpleasant but not bursting with flavor either, fruitiness is there but understated - 12/20

Mouth feel and body: Not bad! Feels alright, coats the mouth pleasantly - 8/10

Finish: Medium to long finish, slightly dry with honey and grape sweetness, pepper and ginger too - 14/20

Total score -74/100

This is a whiskey with a good price point and a lovely nose. A decent daily dram but I'll probably take my time coming back to this one again. So many other whiskies to explore. 

Slainte

Caoimhin

Review #23: Redbreast 12 year old single pot still Irish Whiskey

Here's a bottle I picked up a few years back and waited quite a while to open - can't seem to recall if there was any special occasion for opening it. This bottle is one that I picked up while in Ireland and it held a little sentimentality for me as my dad was with me when I bought it. At the time I was looking to bring some nice stuff back to Melbourne with me and had been looking for this in all the local shops near where my sister lives. We found it at the right price in probably the sixth shop. Dad was a great man for shopping around to find the best value. Any way as it happens I've recently finished the bottle and really took my time enjoying it and maybe following my dad's advice from some years ago as I was a little selfish with this one, hiding it away and keeping it for myself to enjoy on quiet moments.

So this whiskey is triple distilled single pot still Irish Whiskey which is or was the quintessential style of Irish Whiskey or one of them anyway depending on what history or story you listen to. It's made in the Middleton distillery in Cork where Jameson comes from and at the moment is also where the majority of Irish whiskey is produced. I believe it is one of the largest distilleries in the world and that it also has the largest pot still in the world too! the whiskey is made in giant pot stills from a mash of malted and unmalted barley and who knows possibly some other secret grains like oats too?!

Price: €60 in ireland and $100 in oz it's consistent. Its a unique style of whiskey and is very good - 5/6

Availability: This sells fast down here, they can't seem to keep it in stock for very long! This stuff is available in good bottle shops, online, in good bars and also in whiskey bars and sometimes in duty free - 4/6

Label/ bottle: Nice looking green glass bottle with an attractive label. No mention of colorant added or not or chill filtration anywhere. 12 years old, 40% ABV, triple distilled. Pot still blurb - 4/6

Marketing: This is a well marketed dram. They sponsor or support "whiskeycast" at the time of writing which is listened to by whisky nuts all over the world. The website is nicely put together and serves to introduce Middleton's range of pot still whiskey. There are some well produced videos going into the history of Irish pot still whiskey and the available brands, tasting notes, historic timelines, reviews and awards and loads of other info too. links are below and are worth checking out - 6/6

http://www.singlepotstill.com/

https://youtu.be/Ei-J8v8k3n8

Looks: Amber gold, thick legs forming evenly spaced, not too close together - 6/6

Nose: Lovely and rich, sweet, almond paste, sherry notes, something sour like cherries on a black forrest gateaux, cereal notes, oak wood, vanilla and caramel. Cereal becomes stronger over time with some spice coming in too. Something oily in there also - 17/20

Taste on entry: Sweetness from the sherry some light spiciness - 15/20

Mouthfeel/ body: lovely velvety creamy, no burn or harshness - 10/10

Finish long honey sweetness with some some spice and some citrus - 17/20

I must point out that these notes are based on the last 2 drams from the bottle which has been open for a good while and thoroughly enjoyed.
    

Total score: 84/100

Cheers,

Kev

Review # 22: Teeling Whiskey Single Grain Irish Whiskey

This lovely bottle was a gift to our office from some good guys we work with. The whiskey is most likely from the Cooley distillery, formerly owned by the Teelings, currently owned by Beam Suntory. The Teelings did some really good stuff for Irish whiskey with Cooley. Not only did they open (or reopen) a fourth Irish distillery in Kilbeggan (the old Lockes distillery), they also produced a wonderful range of really high quality whiskeys which expanded and drew interest to the Irish Whiskey category. Following the sale of Cooley to Beam Teeling Sr. has started a distillery project in Dundalk - converting a closed brewery into a new distillery. His two sons (responsible for this lovely whiskey and a few others too) who were also involved in the business have opened their own distillery in Dublin which is the first operational distillery in the heart of the capital for some time - possibly 40 years. It will be some time I imagine before either of these projects have top notch whiskey from their own production on the market however it appears as though the sons have secured a substantial amount of stock or a decent supply deal with Beam Suntory or possibly with Middleton or Bushmills? Maybe I'll send them an email and see if they're chatty!

Price: This is available for $65 AU over here which for what it is I think is pretty good value for money. Similar bottlings on the market here are limited to Greenore single grain Irish Whiskey which can be picked up for about $100 AU - 6/6

Packaging and Label: It tells me when it was bottled for some reason? The bottle gives a little blurb about the family history. It tells me the whiskey is finished in Wine casks - unspecific details here but I believe from a little research on the web that they are Californian red wine cask (according to the company website). This is bottled at 46% and is a non chill filtered Single Grain Irish whiskey. There's nothing mentioned about natural colour and no age statement - 4/6

Marketing: The website is quite good with a series of videos and tasting notes, info about distillery tours the usual stuff, the website works well. There's a good video on YouTube of Alex Chasko, the head distiller talking about the whiskey making process at the distillery. The first time I tried Teeling whiskey was at Dublin airport where they had a free tasting stand - how good is that! These guys are young, experienced and good! Links for their website and the YouTube video are below, check them out - 6/6

https://teelingwhiskey.com/teeling-whiskeys/single-grain-whiskey/

https://youtu.be/uzaS6DRy7ok

Availability: This stuff is available in lots of good bars in Melbourne anyway, not just whiskey specialists, it is also available in some bottle-shops over here. It can also be bought online - 5/6 

Appearance: Looks natural enough in the glass but a little orange in the bottle - caramel added maybe? Nice gold colour in the glass with a touch of amber, legs form on the glass very quickly, thinner and more far apart then I've noticed before. Looks OK! - 6/6

Nose: Nothing special but not offensive sweet - caramel, something solvent like and some faint grains/ cereal maybe a little sherbet too - 13/20

Taste on entry: Sweet, red wine grapes are notable with some pepper/ ginger spice developing  - 15/20

Mouth feel: Good nice and smooth or oily/ buttery - 9/10

Finish: Getting anise in the finish, some citrus - lemons more lemon peel, and vanilla fudge, dry, medium length - 15/20

This is quite an easy drinking, nice whiskey. It's a little like a toned down American/ Canadian whiskey - Rye maybe with the spiciness but not quite as flavoursome. Not the most complex drop but quite nice all the same.

Total Score: 79/100

Cheers,

Kev.

Whisky review #21: 1495 Blended Scotch Whisky

Here's one to avoid, Read on at your own peril! This whisky is called 1495 which refers to the first mention in historic text of the distillation of whisky in Scotland. I could go on but this whiskey doesn't deserve the attention. This is bad whisky! My lowest scoring whisky yet! Oh Dear! looks like I've prematurely deleted my photos again OOOPS!

Price: The cheapest that money can by in Australia and also the best thing that this whisky has going for it (I almost scored this a 6 but I don't think this is actually good value as for a few dollars more you can get a much better blended scotch) : 3/6

Bottle/Label: Not much given away on the label, 40% ABV, no age statement, no mention of caramel addition but it is a budget blend so I expect that this is no older than 3 years old and has had caramel added and has probably been aged in very tired overused oak barrels. The label is not very attractive and the bottle is clear glass, featureless and nothing special to look at. Bog standard, bottom shelf scotch here. 2/6 

Marketing: not much to speak of really, actually in looking for marketing on this I discovered that this is likely a supermarket home-brand whisky produced by a third party for Woolworth's! The link to the article published by Aussie newspaper "The Australian" is below: 0/6

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/executive-living/coles-and-woolworths-sell-homebrand-spirits-though-its-often-hard-to-tell/news-story/e4163e49aa954b19ed99dc31a735198d

Appearance: Yellow gold with some legs forming on the glass - 6/6

Availability: quite available in some bottle shops but not all, this is because it is probably a Woolworth's home-brand bottle in disguise. This will not be in the duty free and I've never seen it in a pub, it is available online - 3/6  

Nose: big whiff of distinctive cheap scotch smell, getting some mint, slight solvent smell like nail varnish remover, some malt sweetness. The nose is not offensive nor is it interesting - 10/20

Taste on entry: not much! no bad flavors or good ones and then the burn hits! - 9/20

Mouth-feel: thin spirit, burns the pallet, this is rough stuff - 4/10

Finish: Burning! Dry, a little something medicinal like fisherman's friends appears and disappears very quickly - 9/20

Total score: 46/100

With this whisky you get what you pay for, and you pay very little. I bought this bottle for two reasons:
First and foremost to use in an experiment to make a homemade fireball type spiced whiskey.

Secondly just to satisfy my curiosity about the cheapest whisky available to me here in Australia.

That box has now been ticked and I will not likely buy another bottle of this in the future unless the experiment comes off really well of course! (It hasn't - Put rubbish in get rubbish out)

Slainte!
Caoimhin

Review #20: Dewars White Label Blended Scotch Whisky

Here's a cheap scotch blend, the cheapest available at the time of purchase and Oh Dear!!!!

I've prematurely deleted my lovely photos :-(

Oh Well! 

Price: $32Au very cheap stuff but is it worth buying? Yes. It is. 6/6

Availability: The first time I tried this was on a plane! This is available the world over I'd say. Apparently this is the top selling scotch in the US! This stuff is everywhere, pubs, good bottle-shops, bad bottle-shops, planes, probably trains.... 6/6

Marketing: Something is wrong with the audio on the videos they have on their website or I need new speakers for my PC!... no my speakers are fine! There's a bunch of videos but I don't know what they are about because I can't hear what's being said! These guys have been around for a long time and they know it but they don't bang on about it too much as far as I can tell... 3/6

Bottle/Label: Attractive label, plain not too flashy. It has a serial number to let you know it's the real thing! It has a royal warrant to Queen Elizabeth II. It lets me know that it's bottled at 40% - the legal minimum for scotch whisky. The label tells me this is made from a selection of up to 40 different whiskies, malt and grain, aged in oak and blended together. There's something about medals and gold and some interesting designs on the glass with a triscellion (a celtic symbol - I think) and some medals from the late 1800's. It's a cheap blend without any BS? Not pretending to be anything that it isn't - ok! There is no explanation anywhere of the medals or gold, no age statement, it's probably three years old - again the legal minimum for scotch whisky, it probably has caramel added but doesn't say so... 3/6

Looks: light yellow gold, very little caramel added here, legs are forming on the glass far apart and lingering a little longer than I would have expected hmmm: 6/6

Nose: honey, caramel sweetness with cheap scotch smell probably corn whiskey... fading to reveal some grain and cereal notes, not offensive but not particularly interesting, there's a hint of marzipan in there too: 13/20

Taste on entry: not much! light sweetness, hint of green grapes, touch of anise 13/20

Mouthfeel: not bad actually! Better than I expected, it coats the mouth nicely, gently and has a pleasant velvety feel to it: 7/10

Finish: sweet citrus coming through with some gentle spice and wood, touch of mint, dry, medium to long and pleasant enough: 15/20

This whiskey is not bad for a budget daily dram, pleasant to drink, nothing off in the nose or taste but nothing exciting happening, easy going stuff, quite drinkable actually.

Total score 72/100

Cheers,

Kev

Review #19: Black velvet Canadian blended whiskey

Here's something I picked up in Hawaii that I had never tried before and I'm not too upset that I've never seen it here( in Australia) before and I wont be upset if I don't ever try it again. In fact the rest of the bottle is being put to experimental use in a fun project which I will write a future post on! 

Packaging: plastic hip flask or naggin in my native slang. Not terribly attractive but practical and cheap. Label  tells me its 3 years old, 40% ABV and is made in Canada under government supervision. You would think the Canadian government would have better things to do than supervise whiskey production. Sure aren't governments full of politicians? Sure aren't all politicians corrupt lying assholes? Or worse! 3/6

Price: CHEAP!!!!: 6/6

Availability: I bought it in Hawaii because I'd never seen it or heard of it before and to be honest I can't be bothered looking to see if I can get it here or anywhere else so I'm just going to assume that it's not available - yeah a little lazy: 2/6

Appearance: light gold color. Probably natural but who knows? Some legs form but don't hang around for very long at all - interesting that. 6/6

Marketing: there is a very basic and lame website. There are is an official video on you tube with a blond lady in a black velvet dress which is laughable, and then there are what appear to be a few spoof videos which are quite good and highly critical of Johnnie Walker, points are mostly scored for the spoof video: 3/6

Nose: sweet and light with candy cheap chewy stuff, maple syrup and coconut, butter cream icing. Not offensive at all but maybe a little overly sweet makes me think of all that cheap icing/frosting I scrape off bought cakes that are brought into the office. The sweetness becomes less enjoyable the more I drink. 13/20

Mouthfeel: thin but maybe a little buttery. 6/10

Taste on entry: sweet buttery very light spice. A little boring but not unpleasant: 12/20

Finish: short to medium sweet with a little spice pepper and a hint of anise - unimpressive 11/20

Total score: 62/100

This whiskey makes me want to call it a night and go to bed. Too sweet for me. Its not bad but....it comes pretty close.

I will be putting this into an experimental concoction along with some cheap blended scotch i came by recently and maybe a few drops of something else with a little bit of this and a few of those.

Cheers
Kev

Whiskey Review #17: Jameson caskmates stout edition

Price: this bottle was a gift from my mother the second of 2 lovely bottles of Irish whiskey that she gave me last year.  I'm not sure how much she paid for it back home however it has since become available here in Oz and is priced at $55 AU. I think that's reasonably OK for a good blended whiskey with a cask finish. 5/6

Availability: I can pick this up in my local bottle shop, at specialist whiskey bars, probably in duty free and in Irish bars too but probably not in every bar: 5/6

Marketing: Good story of guys talking in the pub and doing a swap deal and making it work without the knowledge of their marketing department it also promotes rather nicely the Franciscan Well craft brewery with whom they did the swap. Of course there is a website which is alright to look at, provides a video of the story behind the whiskey and also a little blurb about it too all done quite nicely without an excess of nonsense - the link is below check it out if you like!: 6/6 

https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/us/ourwhiskeys/jameson-caskmates

Packaging and label: Nice typical green glass bottle from Jameson with an attractive label which tells me about the brewery and gives some vague tasting notes around the neck of the bottle and states that the whiskey is triple distilled and bottled at 40%. No mention of chill filtration or caramel colorant addition which probably means both have happened. There is mention of the bow st distillery in Dublin which is a museum but no mention of the Middleton distillery where this was likely produced. 3/6

Appearance: A little darker than regular Jameson I think, yellow gold with a hint of green and amber. Not too much caramel added maybe. Nice legs on the glass but I'm starting to wonder if any whiskey doesn't have that quality?  6/6

Nose: hint of chocolate and coffee typical of stout- yummy! Can get the typical Jameson potstill nose in the background with some cereal and something green with sweet soft buttery fudge: 14/20

Taste on entry: buttery fudge and bananas with spice developing into the finish: 14/20

Mouthfeel: this is a lovely soft whiskey, nice and buttery: 8/10

Finish: medium to long with lingering spice - ginger i think and a little annise too. also after a few minutes it definitely tastes as though I've had stout in my mouth - in a good way!: 15/20

Total score: 76/100

This is a very enjoyable dram
Thanks again Mom.

Cheers

Kev

Review #18: Templeton rye

Here's another interesting gift that I picked up for myself from Hawaii - I really am so Good! This was a really good whiskey and I and everyone I shared it with really enjoyed it too.

This is a whiskey which has courted controversy recently having been the subject of a class action lawsuit in the U.S. over claims made on it's label which you can see in my photos. The issues related to claims on the label about where the whiskey was produced, it claiming to be "small batch" and the "prohibition era recipe". The class action lawsuit was successful and the guys who produce the whiskey or who bottle this whiskey have since had to change their label to state that it is produced in Indiana by a different company and have had to remove small batch and prohibition era recipe from their label.

The legend on the label would have you believe that this was Al Capone's favorite whiskey and that it was referred to by him or others as the good stuff! I wasn't around back then so I don't know if that's true or not and how closely this product actually reflects whiskey produced in Iowa during prohibition is anyone's guess? I have heard that the guys who make the whiskey may have tried to produce their own whiskey instead of buying it in from the people in Indiana but apparently the stuff from Indiana was much better than anything they were able to make themselves so they kept buying it in. The legend behind this whiskey also states that originally the "good stuff" was made by farmers in Iowa as a source of income and that I would say is probably the truth. Whiskey is an agricultural product produced traditionally by farmers to make use of excess grain. It's a very useful product alcohol, it can and has been used for preserving, many medicinal purposes, fuel and for pleasure. Some people call it liquid sunshine!

Ultimately the producer had to pay damages to the princely sum of 6$ to anyone who could prove that they bought a bottle for up to 6 bottles.. doesn't sound like much, they should add it to the bootlegging stories! 

Price: pretty good for what I paid which was just over $30US, however a little search online in Australia indicates that when this whiskey was available it would have set me back $199AU - FFFFFFar out! that's expensive! quite a difference! It's no longer available anyway!!! For what I payed: 6/6

Availability: pretty bad - have not seen this for sale anywhere else, no sign of this for sale online either and I've never seen it in a pub: 1/6

Marketing: Well Stretching the truth to the point where you loose a class action lawsuit and have to refund customers and change your label - I think these guys took the Michael with their bullshit stories and overlooked facts. The website focuses on the history of the area and stories and legends pfff: 0/6

Packaging/label: LEGEND!!! LIES!  too much BS not enough fact. No age statement, no mention of what additives are added, Prohibition era whiskey had all sorts of nasty crap thrown in by some accounts. Lovely looking bottle and label though: 3/6

Appearance: golden with a tinge of amber and nice legs on the glass: 6/6

Nose: fruity and something green - fresh cut grass with grapes, lychees and musk sweets and maybe some sherbet - really nice. Something a little earthy in the background. Limes and avocados coming in too: 18/20

Taste on entry: sweet and spicy - peppery and ginger and a little citrus - lemon: 15/20

Mouth feel/Body: quite good actually - cant fault it: 10/10

Finish: long, peppery and spicy ginger and some citrus in the finish too nice stuff: 17/20

Total score: 76/100

So this whiskey may have additives and flavorings but it was a really good whiskey and I really enjoyed drinking it, just too much B.S.

Review #16: Evan Williams Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey 43%

I picked this little gem up in Walmart when we got to "the big island" on our trip to Hawaii last year. 9$ is what this whiskey cost me.... Yes I picked up this bottle of whiskey for 9$!!!! Yes 9$!!!! and would you believe it, it's actually quite good! Very drinkable, lovely tasty whiskey. Well worth the 9$ gamble on an unknown quantity! 

Price: 9$ for 43% straight bourbon the cheapest best value whiskey I'm ever likely to find. Nothing more to say. 6/6

Appearance: Golden brown. Legs present but I'm beginning to think I wont ever find a whiskey that wont have nice looking legs. Apparently at international whiskey competitions the appearance of a whiskey when being judged as a rule gets scored 0 points. So I'll only deduct points in future if something looks really wrong with a whiskey which is not likely to happen as I probably wouldn't drink it in that case. Still though nice to look at and describe what I'm drinking. 6/6

Availability: I can pick this up in a bottle shop albeit for significantly more than I paid for it in the states ($45 aus). I think I've seen it in a few pubs but generally not behind the bar in most pubs also I've never noticed this in duty free: 4/6

Marketing: check out the website link below, they provide some tasting notes and cocktail recipes, not bad but nothing special: 4/6

http://evanwilliams.com/bourbons.php?page=black-label

Packaging: No age statement. Straight bourbon so its at least 4 years old with no additives, either flavorings or colorants. There is a silly story which might be stretching the truth about the man for whom the whiskey is named and some other waffle which doesn't really tell us much about what's in the bottle.  4/6

Nose: Not too much going on. Slight solvent smell and maraschino cherries. Oakwood, sweet caramel, crystalised ginger and you can smell the mash or wort in the background too. 14/20

Taste: sweet cherries, oak, pepper: 15/20

Finish: medium to short finish some licorice: 14/20

Mouthfeel: Has a nice body to it, nice and smooth, not amazing but not bad: 6/10

Total score for this most budget of budget whiskies: 73/100

I was really chuffed with myself for having taken a punt on this while on holidays and I remember tucking into a dram of it on several nights while in Hawaii, happy days!

cheers,
Kev

Review#15: The Glenrothes Select Reserve

I picked this one up recently as part of a gift or sample pack while on holiday in northern NSW. It came with the 1995 and 1998 vintage bottling's and also three mini Glencairn nosing glasses which was really cool. I'll review the vintage bottling's at some point in the future but I was really quite happy to pick these up as they seem to be hard to come by and thanks to my wife who spotted it behind the counter and suggested I pick it up - Nice one lovey!

The Select Reserve is the house style of the Glenrothes, an entry level NAS whisky which I for one am very impressed with. Apparently whisky from this distillery is aged in bourbon and sherry barrels - nothing unusual there. This malt is apparently used in well known blends including "The Famous Grouse" and "Cutty Sark". The Glenrothes single malt is owned by Berri Brothers and Rudd but the distillery is owned by the Edrington Group - an unusual situation.

Price: I'm really happy with the package I picked up given that it had 3 different whiskies within containing 100ml each, 2 of which being vintages are likely to be rare and hard to come across. 6/6

Availability: This is an available whisky, I can walk to my local bottle shop and pick it up, I can get it in good whiskey bars but not all bars: 5/6

Marketing: check out the link to the website for some good videos that give a virtual distillery tour and tasting notes!: 6/6

http://www.theglenrothes.com/ 

Packaging and Label: Nice and distinctive cardboard box very recyclable. Three bonus glasses included - very good! The bottle is also nice and distinct - quite round. The label is not offensive and states 43% ABV, Brief tasting notes are provided, NAS (No Age Statement) whiskey, No statement on chill filtering or addition of colorant either: 4/6 

Appearance: Legs are present on the glass when rolled gently and look nice and thick, the whisky looks a pale straw yellow I couldn't imagine any colorant was added to this, full marks: 6/6

Nose is sweet malty, a little spicey, as in its tickling my nose, some oak and walnut in there too, something buttery and fudgey and a little something fruity  - quite nice, as I'm drinking it I'm starting to pick up a little marzipan, hay and more malt - very nice and interesting, a hint of coconut, a little citrus and fresh grass. This has a really lovely nose I have spent quite a bit of time just enjoying putting my nose to the glass: 20/20

Taste on entry: Light sweet lemony citrus like sweet lemon drop lollies, A little spice which develops on the finish: 18/20

Mouthfeel: Quite good actually nice and buttery: 9/10

Finish: Citrus giving way to spice - medium length. Lovely sweet lemon zesty spiciness. Something a little hotter then ginger although possibly close to how I experienced ginger as a child maybe something a little more peppery though I'm thinking mace or nut meg quite a dry finish to the whiskey: 18/20

Wow! I'm very impressed with this one. I had no expectations of it when I opened the bottle and I'm really quite pleased. This is a lovely Speyside whiskey, light fruity malty with an intriguing nose and lovely to drink, very nice for a summer dram. Very happy - will buy a full bottle and would recommend.

Total score: 92/100

Cheers,
Kev.

Review #14: Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 10 yr old. 45.8% ABV

Talisker is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye located in the village of Talisker which interestingly for those of us are fans of the Highlander Films and TV series was formerly owned Clan McCleod!

This particular bottle had been in the office for a while, one of the boys brought it in shortly after joining us fully embracing Friday dram tradition that we have going on. It has been open for about a year so in all probability it has lost some of it's potency and peatiness, however I have drank this before and on occasion over the last year from this bottle and have also tried it again recently from a fresher bottle. This is a dram that I do quite enjoy however my wife hates me drinking smokey whisky so for diplomatic reasons I tend to go easy on them and maybe buy 1 in 10 bottles or just partake on a boys night out. 

Peated whiskeys aren't everyone's cup of tea however having grown up with turf as a fuel and having spent a bit of time on bogs, even having worked for Bord na Mona in Ireland which actually translates from the Gaelic to Board of Bogs/Peat! I have many fond memories of the smell of burning peat/ turf. I often find when drinking peated whiskies that my mind drifts back to past life experiences, like sitting in front of the fire as a kid or the fire in my best friends house when i was 13 and how his dad was an interesting character to say the least - odd stuff, walking home from town in the rain on a cold autumn night and occasionally getting the pleasant distinct waft of a turf fire.

Price: quite reasonable - 60$ on sale in the local shops, I picked it up for 50$ in duty free once: 6/6

Appearance: looks a little orange might have the caramel added??? label tells me nothing. Nice legs in the glass: 5/6

Availability: widely available, duty free, supermarkets this whiskey is fairly common might even make an appearance in non whiskey specialist pubs: 6/6

Marketing: Talisker is part of Diageos' "classic malts" series and there's a bit of flavor profiling on their "Malts" website and also the opportunity to sign up for a free distillery tour pass to about ten of their distilleries which is really cool. on the Talisker page there's a virtual distillery tour via google maps which is pretty good - check out the link below. there's a nice historic timeline with some lovely photos of the distillery and surrounds. Interestingly Talisker used to triple distill! I wonder what that would taste like? I cant fault the marketing really, it's nicely done: 6/6

https://www.malts.com/en-gb/distilleries/talisker/  

Packaging And Label: Clear glass, nicely shaped bottle, pretty label that tells me the latitude and longitude of the isle of Skye but not too much about the whiskey, says it's made by the sea, could be up for a class action lawsuit there! I'm pretty sure this whiskey was made by a bunch of blokes in the distillery on Skye using stills and such!! This comes in at just under 46% could be non chill filtered but doesn't say it:  4/6

Nose: peated smokey, not as strong as a laphroaig, as I mentioned above this whiskey takes me places, theres also a lovely sweetness there too and zesty lemon citrus: 17/20

Taste: smokey heavier sort of smoke still peaty but not light peat, closer to coal and oil - not in a bad way, the sweetness and citrus are there too: 17/20

Mouthfeel: ok, nothing amazing but not bad either, maybe a little thin: 7/10

Finish: There's a big hit of pepper spice which comes and goes fairly quickly and there's something medicinal in there too, some sweetness and citrus in the finish too: 16/20

This is a really good interesting whiskey which I will definitely be coming back to as I've been drinking lots of peated whiskey as of late and I want to have another dram of this to see howe it compares with several Islay whiskies, a peated Arran and a Highland Park from Orkney that I've enjoyed lately.

Total score: 84/100