Mastodawn

Marruk Dec 8, 2023

Advent Calendar Day 7: The Balvenie 14 Year Old - The Week of Peat

Advent Calendar Day 7: The Balvenie 14 Year Old - The Week of Peat - Lemmy.World

Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, owned by William Grant & Sons. One week a year Balvenie turns their production to making a limited run peated whisky. According to Balvenie’s website, this practice started after distillery manager Ian Millar visited Islay. He ordered a batch of Speyside peat for the kiln and built a peat burner on the side ‘for, well, extra peatiness’ with the intent to experiment with their The Balvenie profile. Due to the strong influence of peat, they separate the remaining low wines and feints, basically low-alcohol spirit, and store them in a tank until the following year’s peat week, so there is a year-to-year link between one peat week and the next. It is bottled at 48.3% ABV. Other than that… I don’t seem able to find any details about the maturation, coloring, or possible chill filtration process. Balvenie dedicated a lot of time to crafting a web page to highlight the history behind the making of this bottle, but they offer very little details on the bottle itself beyond their tasting notes. Regardless, I was excited to try this. I’ve never had anything from Balvenie before, and I’ve recently become more interested in Speysides. I’ve only tried a handful of Speysides so far (the bulk of my whisky experience is focused on Islay so far), but my impressions so far have been very favorable. None of those have been peated, so this seemed like a win-win. Nose: Canadian bacon, lemon, brown sugar Palate: smoke, peat, vanilla, chili, apple juice Finish: lingering burn and sweetness. Notes: This was very disappointing. It lacks complexity, it’s a bit too sweet, and the peat and sweet that dominate aren’t even well integrated. It doesn’t taste actively bad, but I’m just not finding anything positive about this. Of all the whisky I’ve tried in the past couple of years, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this one least of all. Score: 3.5/10 Scoring guide 0 - Undrinkable 1 - Awful 2 - Bad 3 - Flawed 4 - Below Average 5 - Average / Mediocre 6 - Above Average / Decent 7 - Good; a solid choice 8 - Great; I’d happily drink this any day 9 - Excellent; for truly special occasions 10 - Mythical/perfect

Marruk Dec 7, 2023

Advent Calendar Day 6: Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire 10 Year Old

https://lemmy.world/post/9240748

Advent Calendar Day 6: Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire 10 Year Old - Lemmy.World

From Master of Malt: >“Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire 10 Year Old Whisky hails from an undisclosed Islay distillery, with a quarter of its content having been matured in first-fill oloroso sherry casks. This whisky is known for its succinct name which gives a clear indication of its profile: straightforward, smoky, intricate, subtly sherried, well-balanced, and imbued with coastal characteristics. It is an ideal choice for those who appreciate the unadulterated nature of Islay whisky and prefer minimalist design.” 40% ABV. Nose: Salty brine, bandaids, dark chocolate, seaweed baking in the sun. Palate: lemonade, wakame, oyster shells, brine, peat, earthy loam, coffee. Finish: Surprisingly thick with a strong chili and black pepper burn mixed with light caramel. The finish fades pretty quickly. Notes: I’ll admit I was skeptical, largely due to the name. It just seems a touch… gimmicky. But it’s surprisingly good. None of the notes seemed out of place, and it definitely fit some of the themes in the name: I got clear notes of seaweed on the nose, and I did detect something in the palate that reminded me of heavy, fertile soil. Oddly enough I didn’t really get much smoke (there was plenty of peat, but I find peat and smoke to be rather distinct from each other), although perhaps the “fire” refers to the spicy burn on the finish? I have no idea what “aeons” would taste like. I can’t say I’d seek out a bottle of this, but I would be perfectly content to order this at a bar or enjoy a dram if offered by someone who did buy a bottle. I think it is easily on par with other OB Islay 10 year old single malts. Score: 8.0/10 Scoring guide 0 - Undrinkable 1 - Awful 2 - Bad 3 - Flawed 4 - Below Average 5 - Average / Mediocre 6 - Above Average / Decent 7 - Good; a solid choice 8 - Great; I’d happily drink this any day 9 - Excellent; for truly special occasions 10 - Mythical/perfect

Marruk Dec 6, 2023

Advent Calendar Day 5: Elements of Islay Cask Edit

https://lemmy.world/post/9197841

Advent Calendar Day 5: Elements of Islay Cask Edit - Lemmy.World

Elements of Islay was launched by Speciality Drinks Ltd, now Elixir Distillers. Their Cask Edit release is a blend of single malt from an unspecified south coast Islay distillery along with a fruitier style from an unspecified distillery on the north coast. It is a naturally colored non-age statement whisky that’s been aged in first fill and refill bourbon barrels and sherry casks and is non-chill filtered. It is bottled at an ABV of 46%. Nose: Smoke, vanilla, iodine, chocolate, brine. Palate: Very smokey, wood smoke and peat smoke. Caramel, brine, creme brulee. Finish: long, oily finish with salt and a maritime brine and a light caramel sweetness. Notes: Smells like Lagavulin. The taste reminds me a bit more of laphroaig, but there’s a slight taste of something that reminds me very strongly of an artificial sweetener. I’m not saying that there’s a sweetener in it, but there’s something in there that just triggers that association for me. It’s a bit between an artificial glycerine sweetener and that aftertaste I get from sucralose. If it wasn’t for that sweetness I’d enjoy it much more. I don’t know if this is just a tasting note that hits me wrong, or if something is throwing my palate off. I didn’t alter my usual timing and routine for my whisky reviewing, so I don’t think it’s my palate, but I do wish that I had more than just the 3cl sample so I could try this again another time and see if I still get that saccharine note. As it is, I have to drop its score a bit. Despite my dissatisfaction with the sweetness, it is a solid Islay whisky that highlights some of the best aspects (elements, if you will!) of Islay: peat, smoke, and strong maritime notes. Score: 7.7/10

Marruk Dec 4, 2023

Advent Calendar Day 4: Kyrö Wood Smoke Malt Rye Whisky

https://lemmy.world/post/9154813

Advent Calendar Day 4: Kyrö Wood Smoke Malt Rye Whisky - Lemmy.World

Kyrö Distillery is a Finnish distillery that makes rye whisky and gin. The company was started in 2012, allegedly during a discussion in a Sauna. The founders appear to have kept a sense of humor as core to their identity, and their site (which is somewhat NSFW) has some pretty fun accounts of the company history, including a rather oddball introductory video. They use Finland-grown rye for their distillation. >Kyrö wood smoke is made from 100% malted finnish whole-grain rye. Following an old northern tradition the malt is alder smoked in a 100-year-old barn. The whisky is double pot-distilled and matured in ex-bourbon, French oak and new American white oak barrels, resulting in intense pepperyness and sweet notes of caramel and vanilla lifted by crisp alder smoke. 47.2% ABV. NAS. I could not find anything on their website about chill filtration or color, but I did see some reviews saying that they use neither. I can’t validate those claims, so let’s take that with a grain of salt. Nose: oatcakes, grapefruit, red licorice Palate: Swedish fish (does Finland make their own version?!?), wax, almond, rye, pine, subtle campfire smoke. Finish: A thick, oily mouthfeel producing tobacco and juniper flavors gives way to candied fruit mixed with a lingering tannic bitter note that eventually fades to a mild pine. Notes: I am not sure what I expected from a “peated Finnish rye whisky”, but this… most definitely was not it. The nose also did not prepare me for the taste. I found the nose pretty inviting, if a little overly sweet (more licorice than oatcake by far). The taste, though, is very different. It was actually sweeter than the nose suggested, which is saying something, but there’s a lot of complexity on the palate. The finish was also surprising, changing the character from “eating booze-soaked candy in the forest” to “did I just drink whisky-flavored gin?”. Overall, I liked this, particularly for the complexity and because it’s very, very far from any other whisky I’ve ever had, but in general it was far too sweet for me. I haven’t had a lot of grain whisky, but what I have had I’ve found a bit too sweet for my liking, so this is probably more of a personal preference thing than a deficiency in the whisky itself. Score: 7.9/10 Scoring guide 0 - Undrinkable 1 - Awful 2 - Bad 3 - Flawed 4 - Below Average 5 - Average / Mediocre 6 - Above Average / Decent 7 - Good; a solid choice 8 - Great; I’d happily drink this any day 9 - Excellent; for truly special occasions 10 - Mythical/perfect

Marruk Dec 3, 2023

Advent Calendar Day 3: Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey

https://lemmy.world/post/9098846

Advent Calendar Day 3: Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey - Lemmy.World

Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt is an Irish whiskey from Teeling Whiskey. Triple distilled and then matured in a combination of ⅔ ex-bourbon and ⅓ ex-sauternes white wine casks. It is bottled at 46% ABV without chill filtration. There’s no mention of whether they use colors on Teeling’s site, but it is quite light colored and coupled with the lack of chill filtration I’m inclined to believe they don’t add color. Nose: peach, grape must, peat, black pepper, orange zest. Palate: Lemony, peppery, light peat, pineapple juice, light salt brine Finish: Lingering light notes of pepper, mild dish soap, grilled oranges. Notes: The nose is light and delicate. The flavor is also rather delicate. It’s a really nice mix of fruit and pepper in nearly equal balance. The peat is more of a backdrop. Part of Teeling’s marketing was that the triple distillation process removes some of the “medicinal” taste from the peat smoke; I initially dismissed this as marketing speak, but it really does seem to present the peat in a different light. I’m guessing that is why the peat falls into much more of a background note. I really like this. It is a nicely light and refreshing dram, and I enjoy the contrast in the flavors. I’d absolutely try this again. Score: 8.2/10

Marruk Dec 3, 2023

Advent Calendar 2: Peat Bomb 8 Year Old

https://lemmy.world/post/9065864

Advent Calendar 2: Peat Bomb 8 Year Old - Lemmy.World

#Sample 2 I couldn’t find much information about Peat Bomb 8 Year Old. According to the listing on Master of Malt it is from the Whisky Bombs brand [https://www.masterofmalt.com/distilleries/whisky-bombs/]. The blurb for this bottle is: >Do you love whiskies that pack a big ol’ blast of smoky brilliance? Then Peat Bomb is a single malt that’s well worth a look! This expression is an 8 year old single malt from an undisclosed distillery on the isle of Islay, and as the name suggests, it’s mightily peaty indeed. Earthy smoke, bonfire embers, simmering spice – it’s all there and more. It is bottled at 40% ABV. I could not find out if it is chill filtered, or if it uses artificial colors. #My review Nose: Apple cider, light shellac,faint peat smoke, Brunswick stew. Palate: peat, smoke, raw hardwood, heavily charred bbq meat, burnt sugar, toasted chestnut. Finish: thin, watery finish of lingering mixture of wood smoke and charcoal smoke. A bit like you had a wooden spoon, set it on fire, let it burn a bit, blew it out, and then used it to eat some soup. Notes: When I first opened the sample I was immediately hit with strong peat, which was no surprise at all. What was surprising is that after letting it rest the peat on the nose became very subdued. Even more surprising was how all of that immediately went out the window once I tasted it; the palate, at least, absolutely lives up to the name. If you don’t mind the peat it’s quite an easy sipper. Presumably this is helped by the low ABV; while the lack of alcohol burn makes it easy to drink, it also leaves it thin and, imho, somewhat disappointing. All bark with no bite, if you will. Although there were a few notes I found somewhat off-putting (the raw hardwood and burnt sugar on the palate weren’t great, and the lingering char on the finish was borderline unpleasant), it wasn’t a bad dram (assuming you enjoy peat). Aside from the nose (which promised a lot more than was actually delivered) it was a bit simple, though, and the thin, watery consistency really hurt my enjoyment. Score: 6.6/10

Marruk Dec 2, 2023

Advent Calendar 1: Torabhaig Allt Gleann, The Legacy Series

https://lemmy.world/post/9030032

Advent Calendar 1: Torabhaig Allt Gleann, The Legacy Series - Lemmy.World

Today is the first day for my advent calendar. I figured I’d try and write a review for each one (although I can’t promise to publish them daily). I did cheat a bit and look at the list of what should be included, but there’s a possibility that some substitutions will be made. That being said, almost all of these will likely be to be brand new to me. #Sample No. 1 Torabhaig is the newest Isle of Skye distillery, opened in 2017. This makes it the second Isle of Skye distillery in 200 years of legal Scotch distilling. As a new distillery, they don’t have an extensive library of releases yet and everything released appears to be NAS. The distillery provides a nice amount of detail for their bottlings. The official description for this second release of Allt Gleann is: >Our second release in The Legacy Series, Allt Gleann is named after one of two burns that feed the distillery. An evolution on the 2017 inaugural release, Allt Gleann introduces Laureate malted barley alongside Concerto, Safspirit M-1 yeast alongside Pinnacle MG+, and re-fill whisky barrels in maturation alongside first-fill bourbon barrels. There is a little more peat and added complexity compared to the 2017 inaugural release, elegantly showcasing the evolution of our spirit. They elaborate that the finish is 80% First fill bourbon and 20% re-fill whisky barrels. Spirit phenols are 77ppm, and whisky phenols at 17ppm. This is not information I’ve seen listed on other distillery sites (admittedly I’m still very new to scotch, so maybe this is more common than I think), but I think it’s very cool that they offer it. This seems in line with Torabhaig being a new distillery with a focus on craft distilling. Accordingly, their bottlings are not chill filtered and they don’t add color. The second release of Allt Gleann is bottled at 46% ABV and has no age statement. #My review: Nose: Peat, ocean brine, orange, bowling shoes, wood smoke. Palate: Early sweetness, then waves of peat and salt, then a spicy burn at the end. Vanilla cream, peat, salt, chili, and black pepper. Finish: It’s a light finish that fades fairly quickly, but leaves a bit of a spicy chili burn, salt, and fruit. Notes: The nose is intriguing. It’s salty and funky, but there are undercurrents that remind me of fruit, without being overtly fruity (if that makes any sense?). The nose reminds me of an Ardbeg 10 but with a lighter, fresher note. The palate is not complex. It’s very straightforward: mostly salt and peat. But there’s an underlying sweetness running through the palate that makes a really interesting contrast. This is a brash, young scotch that highlights two rather unsubtle flavors, peat and brine. While that sounds a bit unflattering, it does a pretty classy job of it. In a way it reminds me a bit of Ardbeg Wee Beastie: unrefined, raw, but with more sophistication than you might expect. I enjoyed this dram. It’s not something I’d reach for every day, but it is interesting and I’m glad I tried it. I’m looking forward to seeing more from this distillery. Score: 7.2/10

Marruk Oct 17, 2023

Anyone else have whisk(e)y plans for the holiday?

https://lemmy.world/post/6939138

Anyone else have whisk(e)y plans for the holiday? - Lemmy.World

My wife got me this for the upcoming holiday season. Waiting until December is going to be hard! A bunch of stuff in here that I’ve never tasted before, including a couple (hopefully; actual contents could vary depending on availability/supply) that have been at the top of my “must try” list: Kilchoman Loch Gorm and Ledaig 10. Are you planning on opening a special bottle (or two, or three, or more…) for the upcoming holiday season? I’d love to hear what you have in mind!

Marruk Oct 17, 2023

What are your whisk(e)y plans for the holiday?

https://lemmy.world/post/6938814

What are your whisk(e)y plans for the holiday? - Lemmy.World

Marruk Sep 18, 2023

[Review] Ardbeg Anthology: The Harpy's Tale

https://lemmy.world/post/5314522

[Review] Ardbeg Anthology: The Harpy's Tale - Lemmy.world

The first entry in Ardbeg’s new cash grab Anthology series, The Harpy’s Tale has been matured for 13 years in rare Sauternes wine casks and married with classic Ardbeg ex-bourbon. As per Ardbeg standard, it is not chill-filtered, and no color is added. It is bottled at 46% ABV. For my review, I drank this neat from a Glencairn after letting the pour sit 10-15 minutes. # Nose The first thing that hits me here is a strong sweet undercurrent of sugar cookies, pineapple, and vanilla. Following quickly behind that is a mix of peat and a metallic tang reminiscent of copper. Following behind it all is a faint waft of ocean brine. Overall, it is very pleasant and suggest a complex spirit. # Palate The nose does not lie. This is a complex spirit, and there’s a lot going on with the flavors. At various points I caught strong hits of spice, including black pepper, coriander, cardamom and clove. There’s sweetness there, a creamy vanilla mixed with hints of apricot, but not as strong as I expected after the nose. The peat is very strong, and brings with it some bitter notes that stay with you well into the finish. The seawater brine is here, too, as are some notes of pine. # Finish I was disappointed at first with how quickly the finish dissipated, but halfway through my first dram the finish was lingering significantly longer. Pepper and spices mixed with vanilla coat the tongue pleasantly. However, they’re joined by a not-so-pleasant lingering ashy bitterness that I find hard to ignore. There’s also lingering peat, as well as raw wood that at times strongly reminds me of popsicle sticks. # Comparisons I’m trying to include at least one comparison in my reviews since I find the tasting notes to be so subjective. Being able to use other bottlings as baselines for comparison seems a little more… useful? For this bottling, though, I’m not sure which would be the most appropriate Ardbeg to compare it to. The Ardbeg 10 can be a good baseline for comparison for anything in the Ardbeg line, since it is part of their core line and has some very characteristic notes. The Harpy’s Tale does fairly well compared to the 10, in that it is far more complex. I like Ardbeg 10 quite a bit, but it is fairly simple. Harpy’s Tale is nowhere near as sweet, nor does it have the strong citrus flavor I associate with the 10. Both have strong peaty smoke, but the Harpy’s Tale brings significantly more ashy bitterness with the peat. Though both are bottled at 46%, the Harpy’s Tale does have a stronger finish. Considering the price point and the complexity of the Harpy’s Tale, Ardbeg Uigeadail is worth mentioning, too. I find Uigeadail to be much more complex than the 10, as well as a bit pricier. Harpy’s Tale beats Uigeadail in both regards. It has a lot more flavors vying for attention, and is certainly much more expensive. However, Uigeadail just feels more… polished. Some of that may be the difference between cask strength and the 46% Harpy’s Tale release. I think Harpy’s Tale may have been better served bottled at cask strength. I’m not sure if it would have avoided the lingering ash-and-popsicle-stick finish, but certainly the $140+ price tag would have been more palatable if it were cask strength. In the end, though, I think the main way that Harpy’s Tale loses out to Uigeadail is that it is, well… just kind of all over the place. I find the various notes interesting. Enjoyable, even. But I’m simply not sure they work together. Certainly some of the notes seems to fight against others. Sometimes that works well, like the peat countering the sweetness on the palate. But in other cases I just don’t think it works out. Uigeadail, by comparison, is a strong, polished whisky that builds a cohesive whole from the sum of its flavorful parts. # Conclusion I was a bit hesitant to pick this one up, despite my general appreciation for Ardbeg. The only one of the special releases I’ve tried was Scorch (for the record, I liked it, but I also didn’t have a lot of other heavily peated whiskies to compare it to). The reviews across the recent special releases have been pretty consistent in their criticisms: the uniqueness isn’t justified by the premium price, even when the uniqueness “works”. I’m inclined to agree, including the Harpy’s Tale. Overall, I did enjoy it, and I am glad that I pulled the trigger on this bottle. It’s interesting. I do enjoy savoring it and moving my focus from flavor to flavor in a way I can’t with the other Ardbegs I’ve had (10, Wee Beastie, Uigeadail, and Scorch). I wish it worked better, though, and while I wouldn’t turn down a dram offered to me, I also wouldn’t buy another bottle. There are too many jarringly off notes, and the price makes me a bit resentful that it isn’t cask strength. I have a suspicion, as well, that some of the unflattering notes are due to the watering down.