Cask to Drams

Auchentoshan Distillery Exclusive Oloroso Cask 4447

Mike Lawrence — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 12:39:51 +0000

Auchentoshan is one of those distilleries that has an incredibly recognizable and unique nose and taste. The distillery attributes much of this uniqueness to their triple-distillation method. As many of you know, most scotch whisky is double-distilled with Auchentoshan and a small handful of other distilleries distilling one more time creating and even cleaner and higher strength spirit.

What I find to be interesting is just how strong this unique scent and taste is. Not only is it immediately recognizable as Auchentoshan, it brings me back to my tour of the distillery one year ago (as of this week). The entire distillery has a very unique scent to it that permeates through every building, and especially so in the on-site warehouse. While I find most of their core range bottles to be a bit lackluster and watered down, there’s something to be said about the distillery exclusive single cask bottles that really represent this distilleries unique character.

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Auchentoshan
Region: Lowlands
ABV: 59.9%
Outturn: Unknown
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: Oloroso
Age: 8 years
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Brown Sherry

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: The Perfect Measure
Nose: Discernible Auchentoshan nose. Well refines, soft yet bold nose full of dark chocolate, red grapes, blackcurrants, blueberries. Almost a hint of a full-body Cabernet. The oloroso cask comes through quite strongly in the nose. Almonds and espresso beans come through the nose after a few moments of opening up.
Palate: Spicy spirit at first, then followed by chocolate covered espresso beans, toffee, marzipan. Shifting from chocolate to becoming very nutty. Berries and grapes underline the darker sweet notes bringing in some fruitiness to give the dram some depth and complexity.
Finish: Slightly tannic and long lasting. The oak spice comes through in the finish along with more of the bitter dark chocolate, espresso, and almonds with a dash of sea-salt. Grape and cherry undertones are weaved in throughout. Oak spice and dry dark chocolate are left on the breath.
Overall: This is my favorite Auchentoshan I’ve ever had and wish I had bought two bottles at the distillery as mine is quickly nearing empty. The dram is soft and velvety yet powerful and bold and makes for a well balanced and enjoyable drink.

Average Price: $115

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2011 Caol Ila 8 Year Roma Whisky Festival 2019

Mike Lawrence — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 14:30:46 +0000

A few weeks ago I was in Italy for vacation and my friend Shilton Almeida (Paul John Brand Ambassador) said I needed to go to Whisky & Co when I was in Rome. The store has an incredible selection of whisky. Lots of single casks my too. At the store I was greeted by Andrea Getulli, the whisky specialist for the store, and I told him I was looking for something exclusive to Rome. He suggested this Caol Ila, exclusive to the store for the 2019 Roma Whisky Festival.

The bottle was aged for 7 year 9 months in a bourbon cask, and then finished for another 16 months in St. Emilion Bordeaux wine casks – one of my favorite regions of Bordeaux – I had to have it. We don’t know which chateau it came from, but St. Emilion is small and Cheval Blanc is the most prominent and likely source of the cask. Although the cask strength was 57%, this cask produced 340 bottles at 55% – which seems to be the perfect ABV for this dram.

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Caol Ila
Region: Islay
ABV: 55%
Outturn: 340 Bottles
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: ex-Bourbon 7yrs 9mos, St. Emilion Bordeaux 1yr 4mos
Age: 8 years (2011-2019)
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Rose

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: The Perfect Meausre
Nose: Burning embers of a charcoal grill that’s about to burn out with charred meats basted in a sweet marinade and fresh cracked black pepper. Strong notes of wet red wine cork. Sultanas and currants linger. Beneath the sweet smoke are lighter notes of berries and herbal floral notes.
Palate: Sweet peat. The mouthfeel is a unique one in that it’s slightly chalky. Barbecue smoke, peppercorns and mesquite swarm the palate followed by oak spice and sea-salt. Mid-palate becomes slightly tart with boysenberries and stewed fruits. Sweet marmalade is woven in with the barbecue smoke that lasts throughout the palate. Slightly phenolic with a touch of tar.
Finish: Drying and tannic; the taste of smoked meats and charred oak rest on the palate. I can still taste wafts of smoke, peppercorns, and sea-salt moments later. Mellowed out boysenberries, currants, and sultanas come back lightly at the finish. The finish is long lasting making me yearn for the next sip.
Overall: This dram keeps you going back for more. There’s complexity woven in from the nose through the finish. Even though it’s 55% ABV, it drinks easy. The Bordeaux cask finish brought some sweetness that goes very well with the signature peat of Caol Ila. Pairs well with dark chocolate. Water brings out more fruit and tartness.

Average Price: $95

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Edradour – Scotland’s Little Gem

Mike Lawrence — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 13:02:02 +0000

Edradour calls themselves Scotland’s Little Gem. Producing only 90,000L per annum, Edradour is one of the smaller distilleries in Scotland. Edradour is also one of my favorite distilleries, one which I have more duplicates (gotta’ have those backups!) and variety than any other distillery in my collection. Several years ago, when I was just getting serious about whisky I had no idea there were “single cask bottles” and I’d definitely never heard of Edradour. One night I ordered a dram of Edradour 9 Year old Madeira Matured – my first experience with a single cask. That dram started my affinity for this little gem of a distillery and single cask exclusives in general.

One of the things I really love about Edradour is the consistency and variety. Well that seems like an oxymoron right? Edradour has many expressions that have been finished or matured in a variety of cask types, from ex-bourbon to casks that previously held some exotic wines (such as a Côtes de Provence rosé wine cask, which I recently acquired a bottle of). Even the three Oloroso Sherry bottles pictured are all quite different. One was matured in ex-Oloroso Sherry American oak, another matured in ex-Oloroso Sherry European oak, and one finished for 8.5 years in ex-Oloroso Sherry.

Yet, even with all that variety, the house style of the spirit comes through in every bottle. The spirit is not masked by the casks, but rather complemented by the cask. When you line them all up and taste them side-by-side you can tell it’s all Edradour by that spirit tying them all together, even though they are very different drams. That’s what I love about this little gem in the Scottish Highlands.

If you could only have drams from one distillery for the rest of your life, whats your pick?

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Milroy’s 2008 Glentauchers 8 Year Old

Mike Lawrence — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 11:40:19 +0000

Having recently spent time with close friends catching up over a few drams in London I thought this post would be appropriate. I believe the only thing better about whisky than the whisky itself is the camaraderie and friendships I’ve made from this passion of mine. One of my favorite places in the world to just relax and hang out is Milroy’s of Soho in London. Milroy’s, where I spent most of my evenings last summer, autumn, and part of winter, was where I made many of these great and life-long friendships.

Whisky is something that brings people together. Whether it’s at a whisky bar or through social media, I’ve made numerous friendships through sharing drams and discussing our favorite whiskies among other things. One night I was talking with Eddie DeSousa (bar manager of Milroy’s) as he poured me a dram of this Glentauchers and imparted his knowledge about the distillery upon me. A lesser known Speyside distillery that normally goes into Ballantine’s with very few bottlings as a single malt. Milroy’s released their own exclusive bottle of Glentauchers as a single malt distilled in 2008, bottled in 2016 at a punchy 65.1% with a color that is almost opaque.

To all my friends, sláinte!

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Glentauchers
Region: Speyside
ABV: 65.1%
Outturn: 768 Bottles
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: ex-Sherry
Age: 8 Years
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Dark Cola

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: Glencairn
Nose: Melting fudge oozing from a warm cookie. Macadamia nuts and Bailey’s liqueur melded with toffee. Letting the dram open for a few minutes bring out hazelnuts and dark caramel (almost like a Twix bar). Despite the 65.1% ABV and young age this dram does not tickle the nostrils and is quite well refined.
Palate: This dram is hot, but not in an off-putting way. The spice is upfront, but fades quickly to fudge, molasses, and raisins. Less forward are notes of dark fruits, plums, almonds, and macadamia.
Finish: A little bit of spicy oak, mostly nutty and fudgey – like a fudge brownie with almonds, macadamia, and hazelnuts that’s drizzled with fresh caramel. The brownie is accompanied by raisins, figs, and blackcurrants.
Overall: This is a powerhouse dram. Open the bottle and let it breathe for a couple weeks. When you pour a dram, let it breathe some more for a short while. This dram is a little tight to begin with, but letting it breathe it really opens up. It’s a fudge delight. I also recommend taking a sip of some water to coat your mouth before taking a sip of this whisky rather than adding water to the dram.

Average Price: $85

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Springbank 1989 13 Year Port Wood

Mike Lawrence — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 12:32:10 +0000

What was once known as the whisky capital of the world with as many as 30 distilleries in operation at its peak, now just three distilleries remain in Campbeltown – Springbank, Glengyle, and Glen Scotia. Springbank is known for producing three different single malts – Hazelburn, Springbank, and Longrow – with each single malt having a distinct character.

Springbank did a series of “Wood Expression” releases starting in the early 2000s with (as far as I know) 10 different bottles to show the different variations and influence a seasoned cask will have on the spirit. This Springbank was distilled in 1989, matured full-term for 13 years in Port Pipes then bottled at 54.2% with an outturn of 3120 bottles. After trying a dram, then going back for a second dram, I had to hunt down one of these bottles as the first Springbank in my collection.

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Springbank
Region: Campbeltown
ABV: 54.2%
Outturn: 3120 Bottles
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: Port Pipes
Age: 13 Years
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Burnt Umber / Old Oak

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: The Perfect measure
Nose: The aromas of an old smoking club at the end of the night fill the glass. Heavy mahogany and oak furniture lining the space, with wafts of thin smoke glowing in the dim light. A little bit damp and musty with tobacco leaves and cardamom. Deep inside the nose are stewed dark fruits, cinnamon and toffee.
Palate: Dirty, spicy, bitter dark chocolate. Very earthy. Heavy oak char, followed by those dark scorched toffee. Tobacco and leather compliment the spice and char. The smoke and peat are present throughout. Maraschino cherries and plum toward the end of the palate.
Finish: Truly a Springbank finish. A little dirty, a little earthy, and a little smoky without being overpowering. Layers of complexity with cloves, tobacco, leather, along spices of nutmeg and cinnamon. A bit peppery. After the spice and earthy notes fade you’re left with the stewed dark fruits lingering for a long time.
Overall: This is one of those drams I fell in love with immediately when I first tried it. Even where the palate and finish might fall slightly short of the nose, the aromas paint a picture that transport you to make the whole dram an enjoyable experience. It’s a dram that constantly evolves as it opens up in the glass.

Average Price: $250+ (secondary market)

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Gordon & MacPhail 2004 Glenturret 14 Year TWE Exclusive

Mike Lawrence — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 05:31:24 +0000

Situated in the highlands 50 miles north of Glasgow, Glenturret is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland that is still producing whisky today. Although officially established in 1775, like many distilleries, Glenturret was by illicit distillers dating as far back as 1717. (Makes me wonder what a 302 year old Glenturret would taste like?) While most of Glenturret’s production goes into The Famous Grouse, the distillery has released a few official bottlings and sold a number of casks to independent bottlers.

Only producing 340,000L per annum, I’m glad they part with a few casks to have this wonderful whisky bottled as a single malt. This Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice was distilled in 2004 where it spent 14 years maturing in a pretty active sherry casks before bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange at 55.1%. I feel lucky to have grabbed the very last bottle of this on past trip to London (sorry Jason).

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Glenturret
Region: Highlands
ABV: 55.1%
Outturn: 296 Bottles
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: Refill Sherry Hogshead
Age: 14 Years
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Brown Sherry

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: Tulip
Nose: Upon pouring melting milk chocolate fills the glass like you’ve just walked into a chocolate shop. Layers and layers of fudge. Letting it open up the dram begins to show more complexity, bringing in aromas of fresh leather bound books found in an old musty library. Cold warehouse of empty fresh casks with a slight char in the air.
Palate: A barrage of dessert fruits, caramel covered apples, chocolate covered strawberries, and bit of raspberry and dark grapes. A slight touch of star anise. Lady fingers dusted with cocoa powder. As the dram opens, dark chocolate covered espresso beans emerge.
Finish: Slightly spicy and hot, slowly giving way to marscapone and muddled brandied cherries that have been sitting in a Manhattan for nearly too long. Leaves a tingle in the mouth.
Overall: Bold but controlled. There’s a lot going on here without becoming overly complex. The flavors and aromas are prominent without being offensive, and not too subtle that you feel like you have to sit around and focus on all the nuances.

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Old Particular Bowmore 15 Year Shinanoya & Club Qing Exclusive

Mike Lawrence — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 17:27:05 +0000

First, I’d like to thank the two guys responsible for making this bottle a part of my collection. Martin Eber (Time for Whisky) first introduced me to this bottle when he sent me a sample from his collection that I truly enjoyed. A couple months later I went to Tokyo and saw Aaron Kovalcsik (Alligator Char) who suggested I make a stop at Malt Bar South Park where I asked for a sherry Bowmore and at the time unknowingly tried this again. I asked to see the bottle, sent a picture of it to Martin asking if he had it and he replies that its the same bottle he sent me a sample of! Unfortunately I had only a day left in Tokyo, so I quickly began searching the various Shinanoya’s in the area trying to find this bottle with no luck.

Upon my departure I sent Aaron and Martin a message asking if they could keep an eye out for it at Club Qing and Shinanoya. Martin said Club Qing had long sold out…my heart sank. Shortly after, Aaron said he recalls seeing one at a Shinanoya very recently and he’d go check for me. Sure enough, it was there on the shelf and he grabbed it for me. More amazingly it survived the long journey and 4 flights from Tokyo to New York when Aaron brought it over on his last trip for me.

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Bowmore
Region: Islay
ABV: 55.6%
Outturn: 548 Bottles
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: Refill Butt
Age: 15 Years
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Auburn

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: The Perfect Measure
Nose: The nose is full of those aromas of walking into a dunnage on a cool damp day. Earthy, damp wood, malty. Followed by candied mandarin oranges and nectarines. A little hint of star fruit and bergamot. A dash of allspice and cinnamon. The peat, a more earthy peat typical of Bowmore, is woven in with the damp oak and citrus notes.
Palate: The peat comes out more on the palate – earthy and ashy. A dry peat. Earthy notes from the nose are much more apparent. Old leather and cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The citrus notes from the nose are less present, more like red fruits with citrus zest accompanied by a variety of floral notes. A nice oily mouth feel.
Finish: Immediate, yet fleeting burst of citrus fading into leather and peat. Ash and burned cinnamon stick with toasted oak char. The finish tapers and then becomes quite floral – an unexpected twist. The smokey white ash lingers on the breath.
Overall: The cherry blossom on the label is well representative of the finish (whether intended or not). The floral notes on the finish were very unexpected after such a citrusy and earthy nose. The aromas of this dram are well balanced and elegant with a strong palate to follow. A weak nose of peat packs a punch on the palate and lingers on through a long medium-dry finish.

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Bruichladdich 1990/27 HB’90

Mike Lawrence — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 14:09:01 +0000

With a “limited” run of 12,000 bottles the Bruichladdich 1990/27, or HB’90 for short, was released exclusively to the travel retail market succeeding the fantastic 1990/25 Sherry Cask. The HB’90 is unpeated spirit distilled in 1990 where it then spent 17 years maturing in ex-bourbon casks, before transferred to French oak casks from Bordeaux. While Bruichladdich won’t tell us where the casks are from there’s a clue right on the label.

Situated outside the city of Bordeaux, France, producing Premier Grand Cru Classé rated wine, is Château Haut-Brion. One might deduce the HB on the label points to Château Haut-Brion as the supplier of the casks where this 27 year old whisky spent it’s final decade maturing bringing this dram a slight tartness and many wonderful layers of complexity.

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Bruichladdich
Region: Islay
ABV: 49.6%
Outturn: 12,000 Bottles
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: 17 Years ex-Bourbon, 10 Year French Oak (Château Haut-Brion)
Age: 27 Years
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Brown Sherry

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: Tulip
Nose: Fruit monster. Tart green apples, a twist of orange peel, a dash of lemon zest, strawberry, papaya and apricot jam. After a few moments, heavier notes appear – figs, fresh toasted bagels and vanilla macrons. The tartness dissipates, though the fruitiness remains in the essence of an old-fashioned.
Palate: The palate is more tame. Tart red-fruits are layered in with vermouth, rye, and maraschino cherries – like a spin on a rye Manhattan. Toasted oak takes a moment before bursting onto the palate.
Finish: How many cocktails are in this dram? Prominence of a whisky sour, the citrus notes come back in the finish with bourbon, amaretto, and a dash of egg white. A hint of vermouth and toasted cinnamon stick linger around, albeit quite feint.
Overall: I don’t think I’ve used so many cocktails to describe a whisky before. The 17 years of bourbon influence is present, yet equally balanced with such a heavy wine influence that this dram is like a whole list of dark cocktails in a bottle.

Average Price: $400+

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2002 Deanston Organic PX Cask Distillery Hand-fill

Mike Lawrence — Wed, 29 May 2019 19:35:22 +0000

After a bit of a hiatus from writing about whisky, I thought it was apropos that my first post for my return to writing be about one of the hand-filled bottles from one of my favorite distilleries I visited on my first strip to Scotland last summer. As some jokingly call me the “unofficial Deanston Brand Ambassador of NYC” it should come as no surprise that this hand-fill came from Warehouse No, 4 during my tour at Deanston.

I got to try three drams straight from the cask using a valinch to pull the dram and fill my glass, and my favorite of the bunch was this organic dram. Distilled in 2002 and matured in new white American oak casks. (Bourbon casks couldn’t be used for the maturation as most bourbon is not truly organic.) However, Pedro Ximenez sherry is organic, which meant after 12 years maturing in the new American oak casks the whisky could be finished in a PX cask. At 49.6% ABV at the time of bottling and spending 1/4 of its life in PX casks this dram is a stunner. I wish I could’ve brought home more than a 20cl of this!

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Deanston
Region: Highlands
ABV: 49.6%
Outturn: Unknown
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: 12 Years in new American Oak, 4 years in Pedro Ximenez
Age: ~16 years
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Auburn/Mahogany

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: Deanston Tulip Glass
Nose: Cinnamon brown sugar butter that’s beginning to melt in a ban. Melted M&M candies and caramel are intertwined with treacle and toffee. Beneath the sweet layers are notes of biscuits, malt, and damp newspapers. The aromas are well layered and balanced.
Palate: Fresh american oak coming in hot, packing a punch of oak spice and sandalwood. The spice tickles the palate, slowly giving way to maple syrup and Biscoff cookies. Treacle and toffee are less apparent than the nose.
Finish: Biscoff cookies and biscuits. Dates and raisins are light on the breath with wasps of feint oak lingering on. As the finish progresses light oak transitions into Belgian waffles (without the dusting of cinnamon sugar).
Overall: This is a really fun dram to unpack. The nose is incredible; it’s extremely well refined and layered yet that Deanston house style is clearly there as you peel back the layers. Much can be missed with this dram if you don’t sit with it and dissect every element as it’s also an easy drinking dram.

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Glenlivet 13 Year Sherry Cask

Mike Lawrence — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 22:55:03 +0000

One of the many great things about visiting distilleries is the opportunity to try things you might not normally come across, such as whiskies not yet released, distillery exclusives, and geographic or market exclusives – like this Glenlivet 13 Year Sherry Cask. Good friends of mine took a trip to Scotland last year, stopped by Glenlivet, picked up this bottle and kindly shared a dram with me.

A short while later this release was announced as an exclusive to the Taiwan market, so I was definitely glad to have had the opportunity to try something unusual and unlikely to come across until I go back to Taiwan. This bottle was part of the first release, 13 Years in Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 40%. There was a second release, a single cask, that was bottled at a cask strength 58.7%. Unfortunately I’ve not had the single cask Taiwan exclusive yet, but would love to do a comparison.

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Glenlivet
Region: Speyside
ABV: 40%
Outturn: Unknown
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: Oloroso Sherry
Age: 13 Years
Chill Filtered: Yes
Color Added: Unknown
Color: Old Oak

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: Glencairn
Nose: A light nose. Fig jam and dried dark fruits. A slight maltiness of cereal, fresh pie crust and creme. Dark chocolate.
Palate: The 40% is noticeable here with a very watery mouthfeel. Dark fruits and baking spices. The palate feels like it’s warming up, but doesn’t quite get out of the warm up phase and take off. It just struggles to launch, exhausts itself and then fades straight to the finish.
Finish: Oak tannins are prominent, with more of the fig and dark fruit notes still coming through from the palate. The finish becomes quite bitter and spicy after a moment.
Overall: It’s an easy drinking dram, but it feels empty. I’m really glad to hear Glenlivet has released a cask strength version of this at 58.7%. The watering down (and chill-filtering) to 40% really did this dram an injustice. It felt like there could have been a lot more to it, but all that punch was diluted away.

Average Price: $?

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