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