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Enjoying Scotch Whisky and a few other things

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Glen Grant 16 year aged Single Malt Scotch Whisky

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Intense, ripe orchard fruits, lingering finish….. These are the words imprinted on the bottom label of the lovely bottle of Glen Grant 16. After you drink a lot of whisky (variety, not quantity) particularly scotch, you do see the finer scotch whiskies have a distinctness about them and within their own line each one acts differently. Glen Grant is a newcomer to the States and has a long history with a few owners, originally family, but since the 1970’s corporate ownership has dominated. It is a line of whisky started in 1840 in Rothes, Speyside, Scotland in the UK and was most noted by it’s second owner James Grant who at the ripe age of 25 became its purveyor and visionary. Now corporately owned, it has been introduced into America with a 10 year and a 16 year offering. I tasted both of these at the SMSWA event in Washington D.C. this past fall and really liked them. I thought the 10 to be a great entry or starter scotch for someone and the 16 to be a scotch truly enjoyed by those who imbibe scotch regularly.

Recently I found a bottle of the 16 available in DC. I snatched it up, despite its $70 cost because I am so desperate for variety of scotch and I do remember it being good, $70 good….not so sure, but like I said, desperate for variety.

When nosing this, you do notice a very clean fresh fruit nose. It’s a very bright and cheery nose, quite enjoyable. The affect on the tongue is equally refreshing! Mouthfeel is just right, a bright burst of fruit and alcohol hit you mid-palate but do not overwhelm. I would say this is a very young acting 16 year old. Much like a teenager but fully developed no doubt. I think this same spirit aged a few more years would be incredible. But fruit is forward, and very refreshing in this whisky. I’d say this would be great with strawberries or something tart like kiwi.

The finish is very nice, lingers, and really makes you want more. Being that my relationship with this bottle is new I don’t know quite how to feel about it. I do feel it has a special place though. The more I try it, the more I like it and feel this would, though great now, is strong enough to age at least four more years. I really think I have found a new favorite scotch!

And if you were wondering about cigar pairings, I would not pair this with more than a mild-medium cigar. You really are not going to find a cigar with flavor to match this one so keep it mild so the two do not clash. I’d recommend a smooth Davidoff or Montecristo with this one. If you are paying for this bottle and smoke cigars I’m sure you are not a stranger to those names.

Cheers!

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Gordon & Macphail’s single malt scotch whisky

I finally got back to one of my favorite Washington, DC liquor stores, Pearson’s, which is off Wisconsin Avenue. The choices are always fun because they do not stock typical offerings that most stores do, especially the Virginia ABC stores… (where selection sucks)

So I was happy to see among several offerings this Gordon and Macphail’s 10 year single malt. I have enjoyed several of their offerings but never a “standard” like this one. I actually enjoy not knowing which distiller they purchased their product from. This mystery malt sat either in a Speyside warehouse or in Elgin at G&M’s warehouse. Regardless, someone distilled it and G&M claimed it. It’s that simple.

What isn’t simple is the complexity of this dram. It is very nice, balanced, and has great mouth-feel. The fruit that comes off the nose is nice and I rather enjoyed it without water. After adding water a few more notes open up in the nose and as for taste, it smoothed out like a lake in the morning.

The cost of this was exactly 42.99 USD. I believe it to be priced about right (nothing you can do about taxes) and I believe it is distinct enough from the likes of Balvenie and Macallan to set in among your scotch offerings. I would call this a daily drinker but I rather think it special. And so, only a twice or so a week dram. I can always rely on Grant’s as my anytime dram.

You could enjoy a cigar with this, but, I’d reserve this as an aperitif or a dinner dram. I’m not an advocate of drinking great scotch with cigars because inevitably, one will win out and the other will be non-present.

So if you are lucky enough to pick up one of these, I would encourage you, I think it’s worth a try!

Cheers!

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Highland Park 15 Single Malt Scotch Whisky

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In luxury items there is fierce competition these days, and then there are those items that defy competition due to their superiority. Highland Park whisky is one of those products. In fact the 18 year was bestowed “best scotch in the world” by one reviewer. There is a virtual sea of scotch whisky products these days and much of it really good. Highland Park has always been a standard since I’ve been into serious whisky but for some reason I’ve evaded buying my own bottles. Today I corrected that mistake. The ABC store had the 12 and 15 year on sale. I grabbed the 15 year for around $67. When I last tasted the HP products it was with Martin Daraz on a whisky cruise in Washington D.C. It’s amazing how different the mouthfeel is on these two.

The 12 year is all over your tongue like a young spirit without rest. The 15 year actually shows a completely different and mature behavior and lays down the softest, lightly peated fruit. You might even be mistaken to call this an Islay scotch. The mouth feel is one I like, it has a viscous, oily finish that I find goes really well with a cigar.

Some say that this (Highland Park) is just too much to pay for whisky but if you enjoy premium products you owe it to yourself to try Highland Park, even the 12 year is very nice. I’m going to enjoy this bottle over the holidays this year. I hope you find a spirit you enjoy also.

Cheers!

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Some Drams at Jack Rose Dining Saloon

Recently I met up with a couple of Whiskey enthusiasts at Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington D.C. and as usual, tried a few single malt scotch whisky’s that I haven’t had before. Before I forget, the food, as usual was awesome! I had the Duck Breast, awesome, and a delicious appetizer the Chef whipped up for me special, many thanks!!

So, the first dram was a Glen Garioch 21 year that was very reminiscent of the 12 year I have in my cabinet yet smoother and more refined. I thought the Garioch would go great with Duck and I proved this out to my liking. The most surprising aspect of this dram was that at 43% ABV it still had a nice little initial alcohol burn on the nosing. It of course went away as I kept my nose firmly implanted in it. A very nice fruity dram.

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Second up was the Prime Malt bottling I spied that turned out to be an aged Macallan which always interests me. As a rule, scotch that I can find almost anywhere on God’s green earth tends to not please me but The Macallan has yet to disappoint. This dram was no exception and the 30 years of aging proved in-line with other aged Macallan’s I have had. It’s just a hard offering  to beat, regardless of the bottler!

imageAt the urging of the bartender I tried his favorite single malt, which is saying A LOT, when you are at Jack Rose! So the Rosebank is famous and unfortunately rare since the distillery was closed in 1993. Chieftain’s offering from them was a 20-year-old (aged) and I can’t say it is my favorite dram at JR’s but it offers a very interesting experience. The flavors impact you first at the tip of the tongue and on the finish the flavors rush to the rear of your palate. Quite different, and I have experienced this before but it is not typical in my experience. I quite enjoyed it and it was probably the best dram of the three that night.

So if you are reading this and find yourself in the Washington D.C. area, you also can find these fine drams (though drams like this are limited!) so get down there and imbibe!

Cheers!

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P.S.! If you were not aware, Jack Rose has a VERY nice humidor from Draper’s cigars and it is filled with Premium Cigars! All for $10! And between you and me, some are worth a LOT more than that! Smoking is allowed upstairs.

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Balvenie TUN1401 Batch 3 tasting

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Glenfiddich 12 year Single Malt Scotch Whisky notes

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All hail the King of Scotch? Well, if you go by distribution, and I mean worldwide distribution then this may as well be the King.

The Glenfiddich is a very old distillery and I do have one friend who will drink nothing but Glenfiddich 18 which is a very nice dram indeed. But this is the 12 year and as  you can see, the special Glencairn tasting set offering that is in distribution as of this writing.

The set is very nice, it comes with a whisky diary that is has a calendar in it and a few pages in which you can review/rate each whisky you taste. It also comes with a Glencairn glass which is the glass I use most often when tasting if I am not using a tulip nosing glass.

This Glenfiddich 12 is a very nice, gentle scotch whisky that in my book would be a good first scotch to try. I have said that before about The Glenlevit and a few others and I will add this to a “must try” for the novice scotch drinker.

This is a single malt scotch whisky that has spent 12 years in an European as well as an American Oak cask. The result is a very soft and fruity whisky that has the distinct flavor of pears. The nose is not overly telling and I’m not sure how much time it spent in an Oloroso Sherry cask but I do not think of long. The ABV content is 40% and the finish is pleasant and even. Using the “grading scale” that is on the pages, I rated it a 8.5 on the nose (which in retrospect may be generous), a 6 on taste and a 5 on finish. The points are out of a possible 10. This is a nice everyday drinking scotch and many occasional drinkers would be more than pleased with this one. However, if you prefer a Macallan 12 as a daily drinker this one will come up short.

The set is nice and I always like to pick up a Glencairn glass when I can. This was offered as a special in my area and if you come across it you may want to check it out.

Cheers!

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Dalmore 14 year Single Cask tasting

There is a certain pain being a scotch enthusiast in America. That being that there is a massive body of water in between the distilleries in Scotland and our taste buds being parked in North America. Yet a few retailers have seen fit to ship products over to us and for this, I am thankful!

So my most recent order from Master of Malt held a few goodies that I wanted to try and one bottle of Edradour that a retailer in California had but by law could not ship to the Commonwealth of Virginia. WTF! So I’m not going to get into a rant about the idiotic laws between the States in America and their agreements to sale or not to each other, but in times when we need all of the money to change hands in this country to support jobs, I’m just at a loss. And so is a shop in California.

So two of the small 3cl bottles I ordered contained something very unusual. An actual Dalmore single cask tasting. If you enjoy the Dalmore, as I do, you are used to the usual complex offering that Richard Paterson assembles with single malts in various casks to achieve a unique offering. These offerings are very nice and win awards, but they do not market a single cask to my knowledge. So seeing this 14 year aged product distilled in 1996 was a must try, and it has left me begging for, a full bottle!

I drank the first one about a week ago and was so impressed with its freshness and difference compared to other Dalmore offerings. You immediately notice that this does not have a sherry nose or color. The nose was light and if I was unaware of what I was about to drink I would guess a Speyside offering. The ABV is 55.5% which is quite a bit higher alcohol content than what Dalmore’s typical offerings are at. This was not lost on me when I took the first sip! It’s like a rose garden exploding in your mouth! But like Dalmore offerings quietly leaves a great mouthfeel and actually left me begging for more.

I do taste a lot more than I write about, pesky day job and all keeps me down, but I had to make note of this one! I would encourage you to try out the Master of Malt offerings, it’s the only way to get unique offerings on this side of the Pond (known officially as the Atlantic Ocean) and I loved tasting this “naked” Dalmore offering.

Cheers!

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Tomatin Single Malt Scotch 12 tasting notes

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I recently discovered a new Highland Scotch that is evidently quite well known in Scotland. According to Michael Jackson’s Single Malt Scotch guide, Tomatin is as big as Glenfiddich and in 1950-1970 period was one of the largest distillery outfits in the world. After that it was well used in making other blends but wasn’t recognized as a stand alone scotch. After picking up a bottle on special for around $25 dollars I think this may be one of the biggest finds in the USA in affordable scotch.

It has an unmistakable Highland quality to it. It reminds me a bit of an unpolished Macallan. It is finished in sherry casks which give it color and great sherry wood taste. I figured for the money, it was worth a shot! I was pleasantly rewarded with a bottle that I would consider a good mid-line scotch that could compete in the mid-range price level. It was only after a few drams that I actually decided to add a wee bit of water to see what happened. The result is I will always add a wee bit of water to this whisky! With water this turns into a very sweet, mellow malty whisky. I find it quite refreshing actually. It is also a good candidate for a medium to full cigar. I am going to smoke a Carlos Torano 1916 with it tonight and expect good things.

If you are new to scotch or want to get into single malts, this would be a good place to start. This is a much better scotch, to me, than a Glenlivet 12 or Johnny Walker Black. This is a true single malt, and they are hard to beat by a low level blend. For the record, MJ’s guide scores the Glenlivet ten points higher than the The Glenlivet is a single malt, but I think its commonplace makes it less interesting than the Tomatin 12.

If you happen to come across this whisky and the price is south of $40 U.S. I would give it a try!

Cheers!

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Balvenie Signature tasting notes

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It is with much admiration I write anything about The Balvenie products and this is no different. You can go to their website and you will see their marketing about how they control the whole production of their product from grain to barrel and in a world where so much is borrowed or outsourced it is refreshing that someone in this day and age can control costs and still produce a fantastic authentic product.

The Balvenie Signature which is aged 12 years is an absolute hit. I actually had to travel to Georgetown, DC and purchase it because Virginia’s ABC doesn’t stock it. That means I had to only travel five miles from my office so it’s not like it was a hike. I also picked up a couple of expressions that ABC of VA doesn’t carry also and will talk about them soon.

But back to the Signature. As with all Balvenie products it comes down to Malt Master Dave Stewart to produce their fine expressions and he really hit this one right. A combination of single malt barrels from three different cask types brings it all together. You can call it blended if you like but I do prefer the vatted or married analogy when you are talking about mingling single malts. The nose is very nice and very Balvenie. I quite like the spice of it that is stronger than their Doublewood and the spirit hits the tongue like a grand dive of an Olympian. It lingers nicely and absolutely begs to be drank neat to me.

The only problem I’ve had is seeing the bottle deplete so quickly. Luckily we’re not talking about a $100 product, I think I paid somewhere in the $30-$40 dollar range and can’t wait to get another one.

As an aside, I’ve smoked a couple of cigars with it, tonight was a Park Avenue 44 which kind of got buried by the scotch and then an E.P.Carillo which paired much better.

So to clear it up, this is a great DD or daily drinker. I will buy this product again and will continue my trek through the Balvenie lines. I do have most of the 17 year products now and recently snagged one of the few remaining Islay Casks from the U.K. thanks to a good friend.

Word on the street is the Balvenie boys tour with the Morgan will be coming to the DC area in the near future and I’m really looking forward to it. You can find information on their website.

Until next time,

Cheers!

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