Review #9: Laphroaig - "Select Cask"

Here's a review of Laphroaigs' every cask whiskey which they have ironically decided to call "Select Cask"

I've read a few bits online regarding this whiskey that talk about it being a compromise or entry level Laphroaig- I'm not sure I agree. It is a non age statement expression and not priced too differently from what I would think is the actual entry level Laphroaig - the 10 year old. It's not necessarily the peat monster that the 10 year old is however I think this is a very nice whiskey and offers something a little different to the standard 10 year old expression.

Price: I picked it up for 50$US in duty free however for some reason here in the local bottle shops this sells for what I feel is a high price, but it's actually quite tasty and a little different then my experience of Laphroaig in general: 5/6

Appearance: light yellowy gold, the label says it's natural color, can't fault that very good! 6/6

Availability: yes, at bottle shops, good bars and duty free: 5/6

Marketing: a google search brings the Laphroaig website up as the second link so that's good however they present the union jack as a choice of language??? That's odd! Perhaps they're embarrassed as Scotsmen to put up St Georges Cross to represent the English language. There's a nice video that goes on a little about the history of the distillery and inspiration for the whiskey. Apparently the Friends of Laphroaig Group had some involvement with the final recipe which is nice always good to interact and listen to your customers: 5/6

Packaging: nice, practical plain cardboard tube with the typical Laphroaig design, fairly informative in that it tells about the whiskey, the wood used and where the barrel's were aged. There are no stories about about the rugged seaweed island monsters or any of that nonsense. This is bottled at 40% and aged in Olorosso Sherry butts, virgin American white oak casks, Pedro Ximenez (aged sherry) seasoned hogsheads, quarter casks and first fill bourbon casks. The label also states that this is bottled at natural color. The bottle is the usual lovely green one. 6/6

Nose: big initial peat reek - lets you know where it's from! Cigarette ash! - lovely, reminds me of certain Irish pub experiences before the smoking ban came in back in 2004. To me the smoke fades and becomes very subdued after a little while and some sweeter notes start creeping through: 16/20

Entry: sweet-sherry I reckon there was a fair amount of PX seasoning involved - really quite nice though. The peatiness and dry cigarette ash is there too but fades over time, well either that or my senses just become very accustomed to it. 16/20

Mouth feel and body: feels good, a little spice on the tongue, quite nice: 7/10

Finish: sweet with a peatiness and saltiness, picked up a little bit of licorice and citrus too, medium length finish in my opinion flavors hang around for a bit but not overly long: 15/20

Total score: 80/100

Cheers!
Kev.

Review #8 Knockando 12 Yr old single malt Scotch Whisky

I picked up this bottle in duty free on the way back from my last visit to the motherland while stopping over in Singapore for a mini break. I knew nothing about this whiskey when I made the purchase. I've very much enjoyed it over the last six months or so, sharing this with some old close friends and some new ones too.

A little online research tells me that the Knockando distillery is owned by Diageo and is part of their classic malts series. The distillery has 4 stills with a capacity of 1.8 million Liters per annum. It's located in the Speyside region of Scotland. An interesting fact is that they bottle this whisky in seasons which apparently means that every bottle contains only whisky produced from over the course of a single year. My bottle was distilled in 2000 making it Millennium whisky! Nice! The regulations with Scotch are that if they put an age statement on a bottle it means that the youngest whisky incorporated into the mix must adhere to the age statement, however several different whiskys of varying age (older of course) can be added in order to achieve a distinct and consistent recognizable character associated with a particular brand or label. so that would mean that this particular whisky might be subject to greater variation from one year to the next a little like wine vintages.


Price: good! 50 bucks from memory in duty free on the way back from Singapore a few years ago, however looking now online it's available for c. $81 Australian which I think is a little steep - 5/6

Appearance: This looks a very natural light straw colored gold, I doubt anything has been added to this, and the website confirms that fact, but wait written in dutch( I think) is something to the effect of Caramel colorant is added, well at least they are kind of honest about it and it can't be much that they're adding based on the extremely light color - a little strange really - 5/6

Availability: I can get this online but I've never seen it in any bottle shop over here - one of the reasons I picked it up in the duty free. I've seen it on the menu in a very good whiskey bar in Melbourne but never in a regular pub or restaurant - 3/6

Marketing: little to speak of really! There is a web page devoted to the distillery which tells a little bit about it and also states that it's not open to the public which is a shame because the photo up depicts a beautiful woodlands setting. There are no adds for this on YouTube as far as I can tell. It's a little mysterious - again that's one of the reasons I picked up the bottle. Whatever little bit of marketing there is appears to be factual and related to the history, setting and development of the distillery which is good, no B.S.  - 4/6

Packaging and presentation: this whisky comes in a nice plain brown round cardboard container, fairly easy on the eye, and recyclable. The text on the box tells me the age statement and year of distillation, has the distillery managers signature, a royal seal of approval! On the back there's a nice little bit of text telling you all about distillery and how only the purest water and finest ingredients are used. The label is much the same as the box. Oh and yes this whiskey is bottled in clear glass at 43% but curiously in dutch there is a statement about the addition of caramel colorant and no mention of chill filtration. - 5/6

Nose: this is a fairly subtle whisky, I can smell the malt, a very slight hint of peat, yes this is a peated whisky even though it's a Speysider. It smells slightly fresh - slightly floral - like some sort of hint of freshness you'd get from a laundry conditioner, nice but very understated - 13/20

Taste on entry: this is fairly light, pleasant tasting whisky, slightly sweet, i'm getting some fruit - pears.. initially, I really enjoyed drinking this during the summer months I found it refreshing - 14/20

Mouth feel/ body: the whiskey feels good and has a really lovely balance to it - 9/10

Finish: more pleasant light sweetness, some citrus almost like watered down orange and some light stone fruits - like a pale nectarine and a lovely light taste of peat smoke coming in on the end and lingering for a little bit but nottoo long - 15/20

Total score for this is 73/100.

Cheers!
Kev

Duty free shopping Versus Liquor Stores while in Hawaii

One of the reasons I decided to start this blog was because I was trying to find some reviews on a whiskey that my mother had gifted me while visiting from Ireland. I couldn't find a lot of information on it and thought sure why don't I write my own review!  That way anyone else will at least have something to go on, well at least another persons independent opinion any way. I have yet to post a review of that particular whiskey - better get onto it this month!

I ran into a similar problem on my recent holiday to Hawaii although it was in relation to the duty free shopping at Honolulu airport. I was looking online before we left to try and find out what was on offer and whether it was worthwhile purchasing booze at the duty free or to just buy it from liquor stores while over there. I've noticed that duty free shopping isn't always the great value that it should be, particularly here in Melbourne where stuff can often be found cheaper in bottle shops.

One of the things my wife and I both love doing while overseas is visiting supermarkets and regular grocery stores to check out any different exotic products on the shelves and find out how everything is priced. We often do a bit of self catering when we travel too - you tend to get sick of eating out all the time and it's not very healthy on the bank balance either. I always find myself mysteriously drawn to the liquor section and end up spending quite a bit of time perusing the available beers and more to the point whiskies.

The stores we checked out included the following:

Walmart - a huge shopping center where I picked up 2 bottles of Evan Williams for an insanely low 9$. One to take home and one for sipping out on the balcony - NICE!

ABC Stores - All Blocks Covered! These shops are everywhere in built up parts of Hawaii, this is where i picked up most of my bottles in the picture below. American whiskeys are cheap and they have a reasonable selection with a choice of Scotch, Canadian and even some some Irish whiskey too. This is where I picked up everything else pictured below, reviews coming soon :-) these places have all bases covered from tourist point of view - hence the name!

We also checked out Longs Drugs Store which from memory had the widest and cheapest selection of stuff available from the various traditional whisky producing nations - nothing Japanese or Australian on offer but that stuff is all a bit boutique for a drugstore maybe and there was no sign of them elsewhere either.

I'm quite happy that I picked up the grog before going to the airport. Not only did I not have the extra baggage to carry around but when I got to the airport would you believe! I had a look anyway! Surprise surprise - what else does one do at the airport!

The duty free shopping was very limited with offerings from:

Glens Livet, Fiddich & Morangie, the Balvenie & Macallan.

Some blended stuff was available too: Johnnie Walker, Ballantynes ...

as for American whiskies Jim Beam/ Jack Daniels and little else...

Not bad stuff but not very well priced and really for such a tourist destination quite poor and simply not the adventure I was looking for.

I've already got stuck into the Evan Williams, Elijah Craig and Buffalo Trace - all very tastey!
My poor liquor cabinet shelf is under pressure!

Cheers
Kevin

Review #7 Sazerac straight rye whiskey, 45%

Yet another review of an american whiskey I enjoyed while on holidays in Hawaii.

I had this while sat at the hotel bar while waiting for our takeaway dinner order. The whiskey was served up in a slightly curved tumbler and was accompanied by a local IPA. This is another whiskey that I've never tried before and rye is a style I'm also unfamiliar with. The barman told me this was a good whiskey, tasty and smooth with just a little smoke!

This juice comes from the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky and is a straight rye whiskey, which means it's made up of at least 51% rye grain and aged for at least 2 years in fresh charred virgin american oak barrels. I have been led to believe that it has actually been aged for 6 years and I can confirm that it is bottled at 45% ABV - Nice!

"The Sazerac" is a cocktail - possibly Americas' first branded cocktail - a mixture of rye whiskey or cognac, peychauds' bitters, absinthe and sugar. sounds interesting! I'll have to give it a go sometime. Apparently some politician tried to get legislation passed to make this Louisiana's official state cocktail - wow! What a good use of time and resources - the bill was defeated. SHAME!!!!

Price: I really can't remember what I payed for this at the bar but booze in the states is cheap, and I've searched for this over here in Melbourne and it's pricey in this part of the world! $110 a bottle at my local larger bottle shop. Is this value for money mmmmm maybe not quite: 3/6

Appearance: as you can see the bottle has a unique shape without being overly ostentatious, the stylised writing in my mind fits in with the backstory and the whiskey in the bottle looks like whiskey! nice and golden brown: 6/6

Marketing: there's a web address on the bottle which goes to a dead website - old bottle possibly, maybe the information on the buffalo trace website is what's available. That website tells the story about the New Orleans cocktail thing... nothing that I noticed on YouTube apart from whiskey reviewers vlogs. The whiskey has a genuine, nice backstory that doesn't reek of manure: 5/6

Availability: it is available here, I can walk down the road and have a bottle of this in my hand in 10 minutes time if I wished and seeing as how it's got a fairly famous cocktail named after it I'd say a lot of cocktail bars and decent whiskey bars will be stocking some too. 6/6

Packaging and Label: while the stylised writing is lovely, it doesn't tell everything about the whiskey in the bottle, OK straight rye, 45%, and place of distillation V dead website and no age statement: 4/6

I should point out I drank this by the water and there was a pleasant breeze, it was a hot day! My pizza and coleslaw arrived sooner then expected and I had not eaten in 6 hours I was hungry.

Nose: this whiskey has a fruitiness, a sweetness and some cereal notes, I was getting something rubbery too, a slight chemical note that I couldn't quite place, maybe air fix modelling glue or something of the sort, over time i noted more sweetness and something buttery. 16/20

Taste on Entry: fruity  initially and light, with a good bit of spice, wood and something else maybe nutmeg. 16/20

Mouth feel and body: This whiskey is smooth and has a good body to it, nice mouth feel: 8/10

Finish: sweet, buttery, peppery finish that lasts for a decent bit! 16/20

It's good stuff!

Total score 80/100 

For the record the IPA is a Kona Longboard made locally on the big island and is quite hoppy and fruity to taste and quite fruity in the nose too, I had quite a few of these over the week, it's a good beer!

Cheers,
Kev

Review #6 Michters Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

This is another review of an American whiskey, a Bourbon which I enjoyed recently in Hawaii. The bottle caught my eye from behind the bar (Don the Beachcomber) at the Hotel where we were staying in Kona on the Big Island. On a slight tangent these guys served up some really tasty burgers and made a beautiful coleslaw which I couldn't get enough of while of, looking forward to recreating it during the summer. I'm salivating just thinking about it.  I had this whiskey in the early afternoon on a breezy day from a tumbler right by the ocean as you can see from the picture, while writing postcards to the folks back home!

I had heard of the name Michters before from listening to whisky-cast - a really good whisky related podcast. I had never seen it or had the chance to try it before, up until this point, so I grasped the nettle! Carpe Diem! and all that! and I'm glad I did.

Price: This is an expensive whiskey: I don't think I paid too much for it at the bar but over here in Oz it will set me back $120 a bottle by the looks of it, excluding Postage and packaging. Or I can get it by the half dozen for around $720 - what a steal! It is small batch though and bottled at 45.7% so 3/6.

Appearance: This whiskey looked alright, amber gold I'd say and I was drinking it in a beautiful setting on a beautiful day as you can see from my photo. How could I not love anything in that moment? 6/6

Availability: Well it is small batch so it shouldn't be very available and it isn't! Not here in Melbourne anyway. I've never seen it in an airport, I can't walk to the shops and get it however I can get it online and I suspect if I went into a decent whiskey bar I'd probably be able to order a dram: 3/6

Marketing: Website tells a little about it and goes into the small batch stuff and how no more then 12 barrells typically go into a batch.There are some pretty slick videos on Youtube from the distillery, check out the link below, all good stuff: 6/6.

https://youtu.be/eo4PEkx1yMo

Packaging and Label: Nice and plain yet still eye catching from behind the bar. There's a little bit of historic "B.S" about a pre-war recipe - Americans love wars! Well some do, I'm pretty sure a lot don't, but they've become very good at making films about them: 4/6


Nose: Light nail varnish , solvent smell, a little citrus - orange peel maybe. I would really love to have this from a better glass sometime in the not too distant future but for now and based on how I enjoyed it i'm giving it 14/20

Taste on entry: Lovely light fruity entry with sweet grapefruit - very unusual in my experience but really nice stuff, not bitter, a little sweet wood spice in there too: 16/20 

Mouth feel/ body: Nice and smooth - great for the hot weather. The mouth feel is good, velvety, a little lighter than some of the other bourbons I tried while on holiday: 7/10

Finish: Medium to short and has a little wood spice and some orange - quiet pleasant;  15/20

all up this gets 74/100
If I can do simple addition,

This is a lovely whiskey! I'll have to check out more of their range if and when I get the chance, maybe a visit to some of Melbourne's better whiskey bars is in on the cards,

happy days!

cheers,
Kev 

Review #5 Seagrams 7 blended American whiskey

Hmmm not much on the nose from this one!

I'm drinking it from a mini beer glass while watching the sunset from Dons cocktail bar in Kona.
It's our first night on the "Big Island" having had four lovely nights in Waikiki on Oahu. My lovely Wife is putting the little one to sleep and I'm having a drink and chilling out at the bar or lounge gazing out across the pacific ocean. I think I said it previously but life is good! The sky is red, the sea is calm, there's a gentle and very pleasant breeze, a luau is going on in the distance to my left and there are a bunch of Tiki torches burning to my right - check out the view!

This whiskey is accompanied by a local porter from the Kona brewery which is pretty good.  

I've never heard of this whiskey before and the waitress told me it was scotch which it isn't because it's American! Not specifically from the USA but possibly a blend of US and Canadian whiskeys or one of either of the two if that makes any sense. A little online research reveals that this whiskeys origin is slightly unclear and that it's largely drank with mixers - 7 and 7 apparently is a popular drink... why anyone would want to add 7 UP to whiskey is beyond me but to each their own!

There really isn't much on the nose at all, I got a faint whiff of something bourbony at the start, there's something faintly sweet about it all but nothing much else. 

It's hard to talk about the color in the light but really who cares the setting is beautiful and well it has a gold brown sort appearance which is fine. 

Unsurprisingly it's a hot evening in Hawaii!

This whiskey is smooth, has a pleasant mouth feel which is one of it's most redeeming features.

It's sweet to taste with some wood spice but not too much, fairly mild and muted but quite pleasant to drink given the conditions. 

There's something a little fruity - cherries I think. 

Not sure how easy the little one is going to go to sleep, there's a fair bit of noise - drumming and applause coming off the luau, although it sounds like they may be wrapping things up shortly.

The cherries come in more on the finish with some wood spice but don't hang around for too long but long enough to be enjoyable. 

Not a bad whiskey by any means. I can't find anything online from the producers about this whiskey albeit only following a quick search. It was fairly available and cheap too while in Hawaii. I've never seen it here in Australia or noticed it anywhere else for that matter. It's always nice to try something new.

I'm scoring this one 63/100

Cheers
Kev.

Review #4 Crown royal - Part 1

Night 2 on Oahu

Having this whiskey as a chaser with a pint of "Heff" (Tikis' house heffeweissen) at Tikis' bar in the hotel where we're staying while the little one puts my lovely wife to sleep even though it should be the other way around ;-)

I think this whiskey suits hot suits the hot weather,

It's very easy drinking with a little spice but not much,
It barely smells like a whiskey but I am drinking from a tumbler so that doesn't really help much.

Lovely mouth feel to this, smooth and velvety. 

Doesn't taste much of anything at all, a little sweet and very little aftertaste or development...

Maybe it's the heat??

Maybe it was the very tasty burger I had for dinner???
Who knows...

Again this was drank from a tumbler at a bar.

Very easy going stuff!
I'm scoring this a 62 out of 100 (for the moment).

What was nice is that as soon as I ordered and received the whiskey the guy beside me said cheers! and I got talking to him, the barman and the waiter from the night before. He have me a  recommendation for his own place of work across the road as a top steak bar and also the best whiskey bar in town with a selection of over 20 whiskeys!
I'll have check it out (I didn't - maybe next time)

BBQ Ribs - done (repeatedly mm mm ribs!!)

Burger - done (was fantastic Americans do great burgers!)

Steak - did it  (disappointing - steak is better in Australia and Ireland)

I will review this whiskey again as i bought a miniature to take home with me :-)

cheers,
Kev