SmokyBeast: October 2014

October 30, 2014

Review: The Exclusive Malts "Speyside 1989 25 Year"

We're back with some more of Creative Whisky Company's Exclusive Malts. A couple of well aged and interesting selections, we'll let them speak for themselves...

The Exclusive Malts Speyside 1989 25 Year

Nose: At first nutty, like buttered cashew nuts, then fruity - lemon cakes and tangerines, then there's like some mineral oil / aloe / wax / putty thing going on, and finally a little far away sort of Lemon Pledge aroma.

Palate: Really a lot of straight sweets though not overly sweet and doesn't taste like it's from a sherry cask. Just some good fruity jammy sweetness like melons, citrus stone fruits, etc.

Finish: Not a finish to write home about, though it is wickedly smooth and at almost a hundred proof this is so drinkable it could be dangerous.

This bottle is available here: http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1165072

The Exclusive Malts Bowmore 2001 12 Year

Nose: Really nice salty sea water smoke going on here. Behind that some caramel/nougat candy bar goodness, white grapes and rosemary. While the Speyside was a very nice dram, this one is immediately more up our alley as your faithful smoky beasts.

Palate: A little thin in terms of mouthfeel, but a good nutty smoky taste with some musk/perfume qualities.

Finish: This one has a lot of burn for a Bowmore, and you know what? We like it! Why don't more Islay's put out cask strength options?? At 116.8 proof, this is a little gang-banger. It's definitely more fire than warmth. The 12-years young shows in that respect. But on the other hand it's a great raw peat and has a lot of personality. We've found some Bowmores to be timid, but not this one. Very long-lasting ballsy finish reminiscent of a Caol Ila or Laphroaig, but with just a little more restraint. A very nice surprise!

This bottle is available here: http://www.gordonswine.com/exclusive-malts-bowmore-11-yr-2001-750-ml-102524

Coming up next week...

Revenge of the Roses!!!

Stay tuned. /SB

October 22, 2014

Review: Port Ellen 18 Year McGibbons "Winter Distillation" - A home run just in time for the World Series

Two Things That Don't Suck

Two things that don't suck: Douglas McGibbon's Provenance, and Port Ellen. Provenance is a line of independent single malt bottlings. In other words, the geniuses at Douglas McGibbon & Company hand pick casks of scotch (and these dudes have one of the best barrel collections in the world), age them in their vast warehouses, and release them just at the right time. If you love a particular distillery and Provenance offers a single cask release, you should buy it. You can bet it won't suck.

Another thing that rarely sucks is Port Ellen. If you're a loyal reader, you know that PE is like the holy grail for peat heads. It was one of the most prized distilleries in Islay until it was closed down in 1983. They made some magic there with a massive peaty whiskey that was so smooth it makes a baby's butt feel like sandpaper. We're faithful that Lagavulin 16 Year is the best scotch you can buy on the shelf today, but this stuff is like Lagavulin's elder statesman, older brother, or cool uncle. It's the shit.

Needless To Say...

Needless to say when we saw two favorite things come together in this McGibbon's Provenance bottling of Port Ellen 1982, we were pretty pumped up. We'd never had a Port Ellen this YOUNG. Since it's been thirty-one years since the distillery closed, you usually see older bottlings these days at twenty-five years and up. With these peaty Islay scotches, sometimes younger is better because the glorious fiery smoke tends to fade with age. At a barely legal eighteen years old, would this young beast show some of that coveted fire? On top of that, take one look at the color and you know that it's got to be a sherry cask. Sherry-cask, peated Islay scotch is our all time favorite type of malt. So on paper all the ingredients pointed to this being a hell of a dram. This bottle is dubbed the "Winter Distillation" and it was distilled and bottled in the winter months. Does that make any difference? We have no idea. But it sounds really cool.

Tasting Notes

Nose: It's like campfire stones bubbling with melted marshmallows, sticky candy orange slices, tree bark, and spicy lemongrass. Pink rock salt, a little salty ocean brine, more sweet: honey, molasses, bitter cherries, pears, and rose water.

Palate: The balance is just amazing. With sherry and sweetness and nice round edges, but adding an amazing layer of smoke and warmth underneath. It's got that "Ragout Factor" as in "It's In There!" Everything you're looking for: the old leather, the pipe tobacco, the sweet sticky raisins and plums, the big big smoke, the amazing spirit warmth. It's got it all.

Finish: Wonderful mid-length finish where the smoke, chocolates, and fruits just meld together in the mouth and float on top of a nice spirit warmth with absolutely zero alcohol burn whatsoever. The flavors linger until you're left with a little beautiful pipe smoke, sweet citrus fruits, and warm oak.

Review

We've gotten away from the grades lately, but holy crap this one is an "A+". It's a "desert island" dram without a doubt, just a total gem. We're going to have to savor this bottle for as long as we can before letting that last drop go. Because of course we weren't smart enough to buy two...

Cheers/SB

October 16, 2014

Review: Talisker 25-Year (2005 Cask Strength) - The Beast We've Been Looking For

On Wistfulness

Sometimes it's hard to separate the whisky from the memories. After all if you're drinking to drink, you're doing it wrong. The point of a good drink is to share with friends, to have a perfect taste to accompany the perfect moment, and to celebrate life together. Or even to have a quiet drink by oneself, to sharpen one's memories or enjoy the end of a special day. So sometimes when you taste a whisky in a particularly great setting, and then you go back and try it again, it just doesn't taste the same. This leads to wistfulness, the longing for times past.

One of the very first reviews we published on SmokyBeast was Talisker 25-Year. This was a dram that hubby had discovered years ago during a trip to the Isle of Skye. I remember it being so superb. Rich and smoky and full and just utterly awe-inspiring. That's why we sought it out to be one of our first, thinking that it would be such a home run that we'd share this amazing memory with all our new readers.

To be honest, while it was still pretty good, it didn't have the wonder that I'd remembered. It tasted a bit flat, lacking the brilliance. I assumed that it was my memory. After all climbing the hills of Skye, seeing the unbelievable nature, getting to know new friends, drinking with strangers... these are things that make everything taste sweeter. Then this happened:

Talisker 25-Year Special Release 2005

We got our hands on a 2005 release of Tali25. You see there's a very big difference between what they were putting out back then and what's on the shelf today. Namely, they used to bottle these at cask strength, and now they dilute them to around 46%. That makes for a lot less punch, and quite a different flavor. Now I realize that my memory wasn't the problem. I wasn't being wistful. It's totally different juice! Vindication!!!

Sufficed to say the old bottle was right on the money. Big bold, smoke & seawater, just everything I remember from my visit to the motherland.

Tasting Notes

Nose: As George R.R.R.R. Martin would say, "boiled leather." It's big oak, big salty sea air, and an undercurrent of peat smoke. Very balanced, very "men's club" (read: polished leather, wood, and cigar smoke), little bits of white chocolate, walnuts, and green grapes.

Palate: You can just tell right away. This is everything a malt should be. It's salty, sweet, and keeps that wonderful balance of smoke.

Finish: Oh my God that finish. It's a mighty spirit, and doesn't shy away. But everything just comes together so wonderfully. The smoke is more noticeable as the taste fades and little plumes of smoldering ocean wood drift up the sides of your throat to your nose. The sweetness is very contained, sitting behind and just taking the edge off the spirit. This is the definition of good aging - taking away the fire and leaving the warmth. Such wonderful deep warmth, it's hard to put into words.

The Bright Side of Wistful

Wistful can be warm. Like seeing Neil Young in concert and realizing that just because time moves on and we get older, it doesn't mean we can't still be rock stars. And finding a great whiskey that takes you back to the amazing experiences you had in your youth can be just as wonderful. Now I can share this bottle with the new friends I've met over the years, including my lovely wife, and tell them stories about my old college days romping around California and Scotland, drinking much more rampantly than I do today, but still remembering a special dram here and there.

October 6, 2014

Even Alf has come back down to earth.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcasting to bring you back down to earth. We know, our faithful readers, that you enjoy our whiskey porn – almost as much as we enjoy bringing it to you. But this review is a bit of a spin on missionary in comparison to our usual illicit romps. And sometimes, that’s all you need to get you in the mood. Therefore, we bring you the latest release from our friends at Michter’s – the US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon.

This might be controversial (so I won’t speak for hubby), but I’ve never really met a Michter’s I didn’t like. Seriously. As far as I’m concerned, it’s an old standard in whiskey market – bourbon and rye, to be exact. And the Michter’s US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon is no exception. For this latest release, Michter’s aged their US*1 bourbon per usual, and then transferred the brew to a unique toasted barrel for finishing, which truly adds a little charm to an already lovely specimen. Here’s the story...

Tasting Notes

Nose: Toasty, indeed! Caramel, pecan pie, apples, vanilla and a little cinnamon. A hint of woodsmoke. All of the good stuff you love about the fall.

Taste: Spicier than the nose, but pretty rich. Really enjoyable, pretty smooth, especially given the age profile. More apples on the taste compared to the nose. Also a bit of cinnamon candy, some orange and a hint of almonds.

Finish: Pretty smooth on the finish too. Baked pears, baked goods, just general all around warmth and deliciousness.

Review

I’m sorry to say I had my doubts on this one. I felt like the rebarreling of an already good thing was too much of a gimmick for my taste. But Michter’s, you proved me wrong. This is good stuff. And good timing too! I feel like it’s a perfect addition to my regular fall line up. I know it’s a limited edition, but I kind of wish it could become part of the permanent collection so I could find it whenever I visit my favorite bar. But alas…

Also, we have to admit: we didn’t have any of the original Michters US*1 Bourbon, which would have be fun to taste side by side (hint, hint, Michters).

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