A seductive whisky for a first introduction to the whisky world

Auchentoshan distillery is the nearest distillery from Glasgow. 

Auchentoshan whiskies are produced in the Lowlands traditional style meaning that they are elaborated through a triple distillation such as Irish whiskey: Wash still/low wines still/spirit still. This is the only Scottish distillery to permanently do this and It is well explained on their own website: http://www.auchentoshan.com/triple-distillation-(our-way)/triple-distillation.aspx

This triple distillation allows to obtain pure and soft distillate which reach 80% of alcohol, which is not common in Scotland (≈ 70%). Those whiskies are renowned to be light, smooth and delicate.

For several weeks, I had a mission to find a whisky that can be appreciated by some of my female friends which usually define whiskies as too strong aged alcohols. To resolve it, I chose an easy-to-drink whisky and we tasted together an Auchentoshan 12 years old.

They changed their mind, new people to share spirit experience with. Mission accomplished!

The same experience can be reproduced with a Glenkichie 12 years old to introduce non-amateur to the fabulous world of whiskies. They are two entry-level whiskies for new whisky amateur.

Tasting notes

Colour: Gold/amber

Nose: Light. Citrus and apple (cider) notes. Caramel, toasted almonds.

Palate: Light and smooth. Floral. Citrus fruits: Orange zest/lemon. Spicy: Cloves, cinnamon, vanilla and ginger taste. Honey, caramel notes. Bourbon and Sherry mark.

Finish: Medium and dry. Spiced and barley malted notes. Slightly bitter tasting (dark chocolate)

ABV: 40%

Slainte!

A story of oak maturation

The Balvenie distillery was founded by the William Grant & Sons family in 1892 in Dufftown. This same family started the Glenfiddich and the Kininvie distilleries in the Speyside region. It is one of the few Scotch distilleries which has its own malting floors, also supplying its neighbour Glenfiddich. The Balvenie whiskies are elaborated for more than 50 years by David Stewart, the masterblender. The company enjoys a excellent reputation in the whisky world with several whisky awards.

Today, let’s taste one of his realisations, The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 y.o. It is a Single malt Scotch Whisky which is matured in two distinctive casks. Over its period of maturation, it’s transfered from an ex-Bourbon oak cask to a Sherry oak cask. 

Tasting notes

Colour: Amber

Nose: Citrus fruits (Orange dried peel), honey, vanilla. Hints of oak.

Palate: Soft, medium body. Sweet fruit taste. Honey, vanilla, cinnamon, spices notes. Slightly tannic (sherry notes) and oaky. Citrus taste and bitterness. Duality of flavours (Bourbon+sherry maturation)

Finish: Medium. Dry vanilla notes and spicy.

ABV: 43%

A pleasant Single malt whisky with an interesting nose, very aromatic. An easy to drink Scotch whisky, great for introducing people to single malts. I recommend without hesitation and it is available at a reasonnable price.

Slainte!

Back to the origin...

Today, let’s talk about one of the first whisky which made me up my fascination for whiskies: The Aberlour A’bunadh (a-boona), A’bunadh meaning “the origin” in Scottish Gaelic.

Tasted for my first time at the distillery, appreciated several times, I recently had a glass in the Café Brun in Bordeaux.

Let’s have a dram together. As usual, a great trip! …

A’bunadh is a cask-strength single malt whisky from the Aberlour Distillery (Pernod Ricard) in the Speyside region (Scotland).

This cask-strength is produced as the 19th century traditional way of making whiskies, exclusively matured in Olorosso sherry barrels, unchilled and unfiltered.

It has no age statement. Each batch is blended from 5 to 25 years old barrels and each batch carries a unique number, mentioned on the label. Thus, depending from which batch the elixir come from, colour, nose, palate and the ABV vary. For example, the ABV can oscillate from 59% to 63%.

What does it taste like?

Tasting notes

Colour: Dark amber/Deep copper

Nose: Powerful. Spicy and fruity. Citrus fruits notes. Sherry, winey notes. 

Palate: Well balanced. Citrus fruits (orange), black cherry and dried fruits notes. Ginger, dark chocolate. Spiced and woody. Intense Olorosso sherry notes.

Finish: Long and warming. Chocolate, honey. Oaky and spicy notes.

A superb after-dinner malt, complex and powerful for sherried lovers. 
To match also with an onctuous molten chocolate cake (fondant au chocolat)

It’s also a very good value for money for a cask-strength malt whisky. An advice, always have a bottle of it in your whisky collection or some if you want to compare the different batches.

I really recommend the Aberlour Distillery Experience, an excellent visit where you can unbolted your own Aberlour whisky, direct from the cask (Sherry or Bourbon).

Slainte!

The jewel of Indian whiskies

Indian Whisky? Tasted during the Whisky Live Belgium 2013, let’s introduce you: Amrut  Fusion (no age statement).

Amrut is part of the phenomenal of internationalisation of whisky. India is an important whisky consumer and also a big whisky producer but the majority of the Indian whisky are unfortunately made with molasses, which means they can’t be considered as whisky but rums.

Anyway, Amrut is definitely a single malt whisky made with 100% malted barley. It is produced by Amrut distillery Ltd founded since 1948, few months after the Indian Independence, in Bangalore (South of India).

Why Fusion? This unique product, it associates Indian barley from Himalaya (75%) with peated Scottish malt (25%). A true fusion of culture. Original but not really ecological!

It’s usually matured in bourbon barrels from 3 to 5 years at nearly 1000m above the sea level. It represents a real maturation accelerator combined with the hot climate. The angel’s share is quite important, around 12% of evaporation each year, the equivalent of ten years in Scotland.

Tasting notes

Colour: Bright gold

Nose: All-round. Citrus notes. Honey, barley and almonds. Spicy: Vanilla, cinnamon, liquorice. Hints of peat.

Palate: Rich. Fruity: orange, mango. Oaky, malted barley notes. Vanilla, dark chocolate and coffee taste. Hints of peat and leather.

Finish: Long and rich. Well balanced between the sweetness, spiciness and peated. Touch of marmalade.

ABV: 50%

Pairing it dark chocolate or a tiramisu must be excellent…

Bowmore, the oldest distillery of Islay Island

Founded in 1779, Bowmore is the oldest distillery on Islay Island. It's one of the only five distilleries in Scotland to still produce its own floor malted barley. 

Bowmore makes well balanced, subtle whiskies with a phenolic content (peaty) slightly lower than the others Islay whiskies producers. It uses a big proportion of sherry casks, 1/3 of the global production is matured in it. It makes the elixir rounder. 

Situated on the shores of the Loch Indaal, Bowmore vaults are literally placed on the waterfront, even below sea level, justicating its marin notes.  

Springbank 10 y.o and Bowmore Enigma 12 y.o tasting
Let's taste together the Bowmore Enigma 12 years old...

Tasting notes:

Colour: Dark amber

Nose: Fresh marin breeze. Floral: lilac, lavander. Touch of honey. Sweet citrus, tangerine, very matured orange notes. Salty butter, caoutchouc.

Palate: Warm and complex (oily). Peated and salted. Fruity: light sherry, tangerine, lemon zest notes(bitter taste). Spiced. Nose characteritics confirmed.

Finish: Long, sweet and fresh. Peated, lightly salted with hints of Gentian.

ABV: 40%

The Bowmore Enigma is sweeter and richer than the standard Bowmore 12 y.o. It's a great value whisky. Well balanced between the peat and smoke and the sweetness of the sherry. I just expected more sherry tastes. Very pleasant dram! 

Slainte!

The art of Japanese master blenders: Hibiki.jp

Hibiki which means « harmony », is the creation of Suntory, the pioneer of the Japanese whisky through its emblematic distillery Yamazaki in 1923.

Renowned as one of the best blended whisky in the world, the Hibiki 12 years old is a rich and smooth elixir partly matured in ex plum liqueur cask (Umeshu casks).

This is a high quality blend of various single malts style and grain whisky from the two Suntory distilleries, Hakushu (1970s) and Yamazaki.

Numerous types of pure single malt whiskies aged in various types of casks such as Mizunara, a very rare Japanese oak. Other particularity, this distillate is filtered through bamboo coal.

Including its brothers, the 17 and 30 years old, Hibiki series are multi award winning whiskies, creating a real earthquake on the whisky planet for more than 10 years.

Concerning the packaging, Hibiki benefit from a special detail care, from the cork to the bottle shape that is related to the 24 seasons of the old Japanese lunar calendar through the 24 facets of the bottle.

Tasting notes

Colour: Golden amber

Nose: Fresh and light. Fruity: Plum, raspberry, pineapple notes. Vanilla, honey, maple syrup. White pepper notes.

Palate: Well-balanced. Fresh and mellow. Hints of oak. Barley sweetness. Fruity: apple (Pinnacle), exotic fruits, and lemon.

Finish: Medium long. Sweetness. Slight spiced notes. Hint of sourness.

ABV: 43%

Remarkable! The Hibiki 12 y.o is a seductive, fresh, fruity, unctuous blended whisky makes a great introduction to the world of whiskies, especially to the Japanese whisky world.

Kampai 乾杯                                    

First truly organic Single Malt Whisky!

Benromach is the smallest distillery of Speyside runs by Gordon & MacPhail company. It produces the first single malt whisky to be certified as organic in the world. Benromach is  produced with 100% organic Scottish barley and yeast, pure local spring water and untreated, unused American oak casks. As the Benromach brand ambassador told me, they are not allowed to use second hand casks as usually use for the whisky ageing (mostly bourbon or sherry casks) to be classified as organic.

This Benromach organic is bottled at 43% ABV and has no age statement. Interesting...

Let’s have a dram…

Tasting notes

Colour: Golden Brown

Nose: Characteristics of American oak barrel. So, oak, vanilla, coconut. Spicy and a bit smoky. Fresh fruits such as melon and apple.

Palate: Smooth and light. Slightly peated with butterscotch and toffee taste. Dried fruits. Lightly spicy and sweet malted barley notes.

Finish: Medium long. Smooth and fresh. Slightly oaky. Vanilla and dried fruits notes

This whisky is at a reasonable price, it’s well worth a try. To be honest, it’s an elegant and smooth whisky but I don’t find something different which can guide me to say that it’s an organic whisky.

A whisky to taste during spring/summer time matched with Pata negra ham and melon. Waiting for the melon season!

Slainte!