Quick Fire Whisky Tasting Notes #9

High West Double Rye

 

Nose: Nestle Mint Munchies, Lofthouse’s Fisherman’s Friends, a damp earthy Alpine forest, honey suckle, freshly torn basil leaves, ground black pepper, clove studded clementine’s, juniper berries, liquorice root, kaffir lime leaves, brazenly bashed lemon grass, cassia bark, toasted oak, baked peaches, Kirsch cherry liqueur, warm vanilla fudge, a cinnamon danish and hit after hit of right rollicking rye and grain gloriousness.

 

Palate: Cherry cough drops, Dentyne cinnamon chewing gum, aniseed balls, Paynes mint cream Poppets, Cadbury’s Bournville chocolate, warm toffee sauce, McVitie’s Jamaica Ginger Cake, toasted oak, ground black and white peppercorns, buttery sweetcorn, pine infused honey, apricot jam, macadamia nuts, bitter orange zest and a wealth of wood spice.

 

Finish: A superb spicy, sumptuous sweet finish, that’s as fine and frolicking as it’s long and lingering.

 

Summary: This is one heck of a rye rollercoaster that just keeps on evolving effortlessly in the glass. A bold and very beautifully balanced drop of Liquid Americana! By the way if you’re partial to a whisky based cocktail, it makes for an outstanding addition to an Old Fashioned.

 

 

 

Liquid Americana Tweet Tasting

Another Tweet Tasting you say? Well in addition to our current bounty of branded events, we’re absolutely thrilled to announce our second themed night of tweet tastery, this time exploring the wondrous world of ‘Liquid Americana’.

Yet again we’ll be teaming up with Arkwrights Whisky and Wines, to bring you a dramspanking evening of dramfotainment, as we sample blind a clutch of cracking bourbons, ryes and other dramming delights from our friends across the pond.

More details to follow about the night itself, but if you would like to take part and sample some fine ‘Liquid Americana’ libations as part of our themed run up to American Independence Day, just register your interest by emailing your name, postal address and Twitter handle via the contact tab, marking the subject line #LiquidAmericana

The closing date to register your interest in the tasting is Friday the 31st of May. If you are registering to take part please make sure that you will actually be free on the night!

Even if you're not one of the selected Tweet Tasters, it'd be great to have you following all the action with a dram in hand. So we look forward to seeing you over on Twitter on June 26th at 7pm BST via hashtag #LiquidAmericana

Until then Happy Dramlaxing!

Quick Fire Whisky Tasting Notes #8

Tamdhu 10 Year Old

 

 

Nose: Oloroso sherry soaked raisins and sultanas, Fry’s Chocolate Cream, warm spiced peach cobbler, plum jam, sugared almonds, vanilla infused poached pears, fresh fragrant oak, a subtle suggestion of Limoncello liqueur, lime zest, a pinch of mixed spice and a squeeze-ette of Molton Brown black pepper body wash.

 

Palate: Fry’s Chocolate Orange Cream, Amontillado sherry, stewed prunes, sultanas, bread pudding, McDonald’s apple pie, bouts of opulent youthful oak, cold black English breakfast tea, quince jam, lightly toasted almonds, cinnamon led mixed spice infused caramel and a binding spirity edge.

 

Finish: A surging sweet lingering sumptuousness, that then evolves into something dryer and woodspice dominant.

 

Summary: A real seductive temptress on the nose but a little rough around the edges on the palate. But do you know what, that’s by no means a bad thing and in my mind just adds to its character.

 

 

 

The Whisky Wire 'The Glenlivet' Tweet Tasting

Last Thursday we held the latest in our on-going string of hugely successful Tweet Tastings, exploring a gaggle of gargantuanly glorious expressions from The Glenlivet Distillery.

In addition to our teaming throng of Tweet Tasters from the UK, Europe and the US, we were also joined by their International Brand Ambassador Ian Logan, who not only tweeted in on the action but was also on hand to answer any ‘livet’ based questions that popped up.

On the night we sampled their cracking range of 12, 15 and 18 Year Old core expressions, before then moving onto the nights headline dram in the form of their new mysterious drop of maltage; The Glenlivet Alpha.

Here are a few of the tweeted tasted highlights from last week:

 

The Glenlivet 12 Year Old 

@themisswhisky Red berries dipped in honey and rolled in ash, with some newspaper & toffee notes for good measure.

@ifotou Light, refreshing, oaky and fruity with definite wood notes. Young, fresh and vanilla custard.

@whiskycast I get some coconut on the palate, along with vanilla, honey and a gentle hint of allspice.

@WhiskyDiscovery I'm ashamed to say I had forgotten how refreshing the 12yr is. Sometimes simplicity wins!

 

The Glenlivet 15 Year Old

@Girl_Whisky This one is wonderfully soft, leaving a trail of mangoes.

@EdinburghWhisky Creamy, biscuity, hints of pastries, apples, almonds, & butteriness.

@GuidScotchDrink Red apples and toasted caramel with honey covered grapefruit and hints of a Moroccan bazaar.

@weheartwhisky Lovely and rich, with some excellent spices but not overpowering in anyway. Figs dusted with icing sugar.

 

The Glenlivet 18 Year Old  

@iantheguardian Ah...the 18yo, the finest whisky known to man!!!! Okay I am biased.

@WhiskyDiscovery Vanilla starts sneaking out, fresh vanilla pods. Tobacco, dried fruits, figs, rich toffee, NICE!

@champdenwhite Full & rich. Some chewy, tannic oak. Honey and a touch of spice.

@TheWhiskyBoys Peachy with rich sherried raisins and some cinder toffee. Floral and a sweet creamy nuttiness.

 

The Glenlivet Alpha

@TheWhiskyWire Very Lilt'ish, in a very good way!

@themisswhisky Wowzers, waves of tropical fruit hit the nose with a backbone of spicy intrigue on this one.

@whisky4everyone Light, delicate, fresh, vibrant. Initial notes of freshly sawn oak shavings & a tangy lemon.

@ScotMaltWhisky Light spice dances around the lovely rich fruit which is lightly coated in creamy coconut.

 

 

As ever these are only a mere teasing taste of the notes from last week’s tweet tastery. For a full lowdown head over to Twitter and search hashtag #Alpha

To sample any of these splendourous Speyside stunners yourself, head over to The Whisky Shop who currently stock all the whiskies we sampled on the night.

A huge thanks to everyone who took part and followed last week’s tweet tastery. There are plenty more branded and themed Tweet Tastings to come, so if you would like to be one of our tasters, keep your eyes peeled on the website and on our Twitter handles @TheWhiskyWire & @TweetTastings for details.

For more information on The Glenlivet visit: glenlivet.com

Test your senses via The Glenlivet Facebook page by clicking here

Until next time Happy Dramlaxing!

Quick Fire Whisky Tasting Notes #7

Big Peat Small Batch 'Limited Edition'

 

 

Nose: Peat, autumnal burning leaves, beach barbecued bacon, sea spray, witch hazel, a honey and lemon hot toddy, Lindt chilli chocolate, warm spelt bread flour, McVitie’s digestive biscuits and a flirtation of something fresh and floral.

 

Palate: Peat, damp pavement, a recently tarred road, brine, roasted red capsicum, a kick-ette of chilli heat, ground black pepper, Lockets honey and lemon lozenges, Turkish coffee, fresh ginger, blackberry jam, a puff-ette of a Cafe Crème cigar and some freshly chopped parsley.

 

Finish: Bold, brash and beautifully lingering.

 

Summary: All in all this just makes you want to climb onto the nearest roof and shout “Let’s hear it for the blends”. Love the standard bottling but this really does deliver an added profound peaty punch. Love it!

 

 

Wemyss Malts Tweet Tasting II

 

Continuing our hugely successful teaming throng of Tweet Tastings, we’re absolutely thrilled to announce that on June 19th it’ll be a case of dramja vu, as we explore more of the wondrous whisky wares from Wemyss Malts.

Following the success of our first Wemyss Tweet Tasting last November, we thought it would only be rude not to bring you another. Full details to follow, but if you’d like to join us in sampling some of their latest dramming finery, register your interest by emailing your name, postal address and Twitter handle via the contact tab, remembering to mark the subject line #WemyssTT2

The closing date to register is May 21st. If you are registering to take part please make sure that you will actually be free on the night!

Even if you're not one of the selected Tweet Tasters, it'd be great to have you following all the nights dramfotainment, so we look forward to seeing you over on Twitter on June 19th at 7pm BST via hashtag #WemyssTT2

Until then Happy Dramlaxing!

For more information on Wemyss Malts visit: wemyssmalts.com

Quick Fire Whisky Tasting Notes #6

 

Talisker Port Ruighe

 

 

 

Nose: Smoke, brine, crispy bacon rinds, ground black pepper, charred oak, a Cadbury’s fudge bar, chocolate covered raisins, red and dark berries, dapple dandy plums, peel and juice from a Valencia orange, ginger root, ground cinnamon and a vinegary vinousness.

 

Palate: Bonne Maman damson plum conserve, black and white ground pepper, Maldon sea salt flakes, hints of five spice, harsh youthful oak, a cinnamon stick, Waitrose crystallised stem ginger, cherries dipped in honey, a sucked spent match, a dark Terry’s chocolate orange and something rather mentholly and chemically sweet.

 

Finish: Over lingering and under delivering.
 

Summary: The dramming equivalent to the Morecambe and Wise piano concerto sketch with André Previn. “I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order”. By and large there is an amazing set of individual notes coming through but the overall balance and teaming togetherness is rather lacklustre and dare I say disappointing.

 

Whisky Insiders Interview - John Glass

Company:
Tamdhu / Ian Macleod Distillers

Job:
Malt Master

Website:
ianmacleod.com

How long have you been working in the whisky industry?

I have been working for Ian Macleod Distillers for over six years now, starting as a blending assistant.  Before that I worked at the Scotch Whisky Experience, which was a good place to learn about the flavours, history and politics of the industry.

 

What has been your biggest career highlight to date?

There have been some great moments; working on the new Glengoyne range and helping re-launch Tamdhu Speyside single malt Scotch whisky are really up there.  My fondest memory is still quite early on in my career, when I was sitting three casks high in the dunnage warehouse of Glengoyne, looking out with a valinch and a case of bottles, realising I could taste any cask I needed to. It was a very surreal and joyful moment.

 

Can you remember your first dram, and indeed what it was?

I had whisky and Irn Bru in my youth, but I don’t count that!  My first memorable experience of Scotch was in Ireland and I was given a Johnnie Walker Black to contrast with an Irish whiskey to see how much better Irish was than Scotch. It had the opposite effect and I started to drink a lot more Scotch. My first memorable single malt was Laphroaig 10 Year Old. I was given a bottle and hated it. Being a student though I kept drinking it and by half way through I was smitten!

 

What does whisky mean to you?

Whisky is a great way to explore the senses and emotions. From simple ingredients such depth of flavour are created and it is easy to get lost nosing a whisky, letting the imagination run wild.  I love to share the experience of a new whisky with friends, where you can talk, relax and learn all at the same time.

 

Where would you like to see yourself in five years time?

I really enjoy working for Ian Macleod Distillers, they are a small family owned company and every day is different. I would be very happy to still be working for them and see some of the plans we are currently working on come into fruition.

 

What was your last dram?

The last dram I had was the Tamdhu 10 Year Old. It’s matured in only the finest oak sherry casks with natural Speyside water. I have recently come back from the Tamdhu re-launch event in Speyside and really enjoyed sharing our new dram with everyone who came along.

 

Do you have a favourite whisky and food pairing combination?

I am a bit of a purist and like to give whisky my full attention, so I tend not to drink whisky during a meal. I like whisky before, a Glengoyne 10 Year Old for example, and after maybe a Smokehead, but I don’t get the full appreciation of the subtleties if I drink it with food.

 

What’s your favourite time and place to enjoy a dram?

Definitely in the evening, in my living room, after a hard day and sometimes with a guitar in hand. It’s very comforting and a reminder that life is good!

 

What do you think is going to be the next big thing on the whisky horizon?

I think we are going to see more and more companies bottling single malt at natural colour.  We have always bottled Glengoyne and will bottle Tamdhu at natural colour, because we feel if you have a quality single malt you should be proud of its colour. It’s better for the consumer as they have a clearer idea of what to expect in flavour terms by looking at the whisky.

 

What’s the one dram you couldn’t live without?

There are a lot of whiskies that bring a smile to my face; good bourbon, sherry and peat influence all have their place and would be missed. Glengoyne 10 Year Old and Isle of Skye 8 Year Old are my most common drams at home, but I think the Glengoyne 15 Year Old would be the one I choose.  Well rounded and complex, it commonly fits into my mood.

Many thanks to John Glass. Who will be the next Whisky Insider? Click back soon to find out!