As you may have noticed, this blog has been "abandoned".
Several months ago I just fell out of favour with the Blogspot platform as it wasn't really conducive to publishing my whisky reviews in the way I always envisioned. At that point I stopped publishing reviews and instead, put my time into developing a new blog on a trusted Open Source blogging platform on my own web space.
I'm happy to announce (to my 3 random viewers) my new WhiskyOz Blog.
I'm pretty stoked with the ability to post time-course reviews in a tabbed format, encode whisky information in purpose-built metadata attributes, work with custom post types etc. all which will enable me to do some Really Cool Stuff (TM) in the not too distant future.
My focus now is to port across the few blog posts I want to keep, get my old reviews and sizable review backlog into my source repository system and then roll them out to the new blog.
Onwards and upwards!
Saturday 9 March 2013
Friday 11 May 2012
Whisky Friday - Bourbon time?
So it's been a little slow on the whisky front, the last little while. Between the 9-5 job, my energy-sapping 1 year old and the never-ending house maintenance and weekend activities, it so happens that I don't get to indulge as often as I would like.
True "first world" problem to be having, right? Right.
Anyway - I'm in a bit of a whisky mood tonight, after my customs duty run-in (stay tuned), a long day at work and thinking about sending and receiving samples for the first time to a "whisky friend", making sure I have enough "empties" etc.
To that end, I consumed half a 50ml sample bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon whilst making dinner - my first bourbon in years, over a decade, in fact (long story short - bad experience with a certain Jim Beam in my mid-teenage years put me off the stuff for the next.. what is it now.. some 14 years later).
Surprisingly good! Nothing like the horrible, standard J.B. of yore although the nose had just a little of that unmistakable, sickly sweet edge to it that I had associated with Jim Beam all those years ago. Perhaps my maturing taste buds and ability to handle spirits have helped somewhat in yielding tonight's pleasant Wild Turkey dram experience - I guess I'll never know - but at least the overriding feeling at the moment is one of satisfaction and optimism for a future that includes bourbon whiskey in my tasting repertoire, and maybe even in my whisk(e)y cabinet!
Of course no sooner was the Wild Turkey downed, when my trusty whisky calendar (on two devices, no less) informs me that I ought to be doing a 3 month follow-up on the Dalmore 12 I've reviewed previously - so it's currently "breathing" while I write this and I'll be posting an addendum to that review shortly.
As I mentioned earlier - I had my first customs run-in on merely my second importation of whisky from the U.K. and ended up paying the duty this morning to "free" my precious aqua vitae from the clutches of Australia's finest Border Control and Revenue Raising department. It wasn't pretty. But an error in calculation on their part saw me save at least AU $30 so a minor victory to me, shall we say? I could understand slugging a shipment of dutiable alcohol for an alcohol re-seller but 2 bottles for private consumption? Really? Seems you just can't win because if you buy local, you pay through the nose with all the taxes and duties and local excises passed on, and if you dare import (the cheaper option even with 70 GBP shipping!) - it's still a game of Russian Roulette when it reaches the border.
End rant. Sorry. At least I'm not Candian though, eh? Those poor guys can only get what their Government allows them to have, and not for a fair price either - I do feel very sorry for whisk(e)y lovers in Canada. To you my fellow ex-colonials, I raise my glass in defiance and hope for the future! Slainte!
True "first world" problem to be having, right? Right.
Anyway - I'm in a bit of a whisky mood tonight, after my customs duty run-in (stay tuned), a long day at work and thinking about sending and receiving samples for the first time to a "whisky friend", making sure I have enough "empties" etc.
To that end, I consumed half a 50ml sample bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon whilst making dinner - my first bourbon in years, over a decade, in fact (long story short - bad experience with a certain Jim Beam in my mid-teenage years put me off the stuff for the next.. what is it now.. some 14 years later).
Surprisingly good! Nothing like the horrible, standard J.B. of yore although the nose had just a little of that unmistakable, sickly sweet edge to it that I had associated with Jim Beam all those years ago. Perhaps my maturing taste buds and ability to handle spirits have helped somewhat in yielding tonight's pleasant Wild Turkey dram experience - I guess I'll never know - but at least the overriding feeling at the moment is one of satisfaction and optimism for a future that includes bourbon whiskey in my tasting repertoire, and maybe even in my whisk(e)y cabinet!
Of course no sooner was the Wild Turkey downed, when my trusty whisky calendar (on two devices, no less) informs me that I ought to be doing a 3 month follow-up on the Dalmore 12 I've reviewed previously - so it's currently "breathing" while I write this and I'll be posting an addendum to that review shortly.
As I mentioned earlier - I had my first customs run-in on merely my second importation of whisky from the U.K. and ended up paying the duty this morning to "free" my precious aqua vitae from the clutches of Australia's finest Border Control and Revenue Raising department. It wasn't pretty. But an error in calculation on their part saw me save at least AU $30 so a minor victory to me, shall we say? I could understand slugging a shipment of dutiable alcohol for an alcohol re-seller but 2 bottles for private consumption? Really? Seems you just can't win because if you buy local, you pay through the nose with all the taxes and duties and local excises passed on, and if you dare import (the cheaper option even with 70 GBP shipping!) - it's still a game of Russian Roulette when it reaches the border.
End rant. Sorry. At least I'm not Candian though, eh? Those poor guys can only get what their Government allows them to have, and not for a fair price either - I do feel very sorry for whisk(e)y lovers in Canada. To you my fellow ex-colonials, I raise my glass in defiance and hope for the future! Slainte!
Tuesday 1 May 2012
Review - English Whisky Co Chapter 6 (sample)
"English Dessert Dram"
Opened March 27th, 2012 from a 5cl (50ml) sample bottle.
Nose: Custard, vanilla essence, melting moments, ice cream, confectionery, icing sugar. So sweet. Incredible nose. No alcohol bite. Most amazing confectioner's nose. If there's any malt present on the nose it's the sweetened "Horlicks" variety. Soft, refined and fragrant. I'm blown away.
With water: Seems to dull the confectionery sweetness a little and introduces some faint earthy, malty aromas.
Taste: A little tingly at first in a very sweet arrival, just as the nose promised. Some soft citrus there, malt sweetness developing, oak spice comes through as does the obvious Bourbon influence - sweetened cream, icing sugar, vanilla bean.
With water: Brings out more woody spice notes and tones down the sweetness.
Finish: Ephemeral, soft, dissolves like melting moments. Dry sweetness and developing baked white fruits (apple pie crust?) in a short but warming finish.
Balance: Nothing out of place. Superb.
A dessert dram that would compliment vanilla ice cream, creme brulee, cheese cake etc. Elegant and refined for such a young spirit.
Score: N23 T23 F22 B24 (92)
Round Two (@ 1 month, 2012-04-28)
Nose: Icing sugar, barley sugar lollies, menthol, waxy green leaves
Taste: Chewy sweet barley sugar, woody spices, vanilla,
Finish: Bitter oak tannins, malt, menthol, citrus oils
Balance: Very well integrated as previously established, hardly a thing out of place.
This is a really good whisky. While the balance is fantastic, after the second tasting however I felt that there is something holding this
whisky back from true greatness - it has definitely lost something from the first tasting - just 4 weeks since opening it is no longer the classy, sweet confectionery "bomb" it was upon opening.
Opened March 27th, 2012 from a 5cl (50ml) sample bottle.
Nose: Custard, vanilla essence, melting moments, ice cream, confectionery, icing sugar. So sweet. Incredible nose. No alcohol bite. Most amazing confectioner's nose. If there's any malt present on the nose it's the sweetened "Horlicks" variety. Soft, refined and fragrant. I'm blown away.
With water: Seems to dull the confectionery sweetness a little and introduces some faint earthy, malty aromas.
Taste: A little tingly at first in a very sweet arrival, just as the nose promised. Some soft citrus there, malt sweetness developing, oak spice comes through as does the obvious Bourbon influence - sweetened cream, icing sugar, vanilla bean.
With water: Brings out more woody spice notes and tones down the sweetness.
Finish: Ephemeral, soft, dissolves like melting moments. Dry sweetness and developing baked white fruits (apple pie crust?) in a short but warming finish.
Balance: Nothing out of place. Superb.
A dessert dram that would compliment vanilla ice cream, creme brulee, cheese cake etc. Elegant and refined for such a young spirit.
Score: N23 T23 F22 B24 (92)
Round Two (@ 1 month, 2012-04-28)
Nose: Icing sugar, barley sugar lollies, menthol, waxy green leaves
Taste: Chewy sweet barley sugar, woody spices, vanilla,
Finish: Bitter oak tannins, malt, menthol, citrus oils
Balance: Very well integrated as previously established, hardly a thing out of place.
This whisky has definitely opened up after a month at half level in the sample bottle, taking on a whole new character with much more of the barley malt and spirit coming through. There is a noticeable "fuzziness" on the palette however, hinting at oxidation in early stages
but without taking too much away from this good whisky. Citrus oils in
the finish are a new development adding a new dimension to the sweet
confectionery experience.
Verdict
At 4 weeks, is this now a more "true" picture of the whisky? Is the whisky too young (lacking integration) and therefore prone to losing its "charms" too quickly? I have no way of knowing for sure. I think several drams from a full sized bottle over a few months, with slower oxidation and bottle aging would be required to put this to the test. Based on my first experience upon opening however, I would not hesitate to buy a bottle "just to be sure" - and nor should you if you love a sweet whisky - an unforgettable lesson in American oak influence.
Score: N21 T20 F21 B22 (84)
Final (average) score: N22 T22 F21 B23 (88)
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