Hyde - No. 1 - 10 year old Irish Single Malt - Review

Irish whiskey is certainly booming.  Everywhere you look these days there are endless articles in newspapers, and online, about the way in which Irish whiskey is moving from strength to strength.

New companies seem to be popping up every other month and one that has appeared over the last year or so is Hyde Irish Whiskey.

Situated in West Cork, in the far south of Ireland, Hyde are using a model adopted by many.  Whilst patiently waiting for their own whiskey to mature they have bought up single malt whiskey from another distillery, finished it themselves and are releasing these bottlings to build up much needed capital.

The first release is the Hyde No.1 - Sherry Cask Finished - 10 year old Irish Single Malt.

This first release has also been named "The President's Cask" in honour of Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland, who was sworn into office on 26th June 1938.

Hyde whiskey state that West Cork provides perfect maturing conditions and this first release has spent 10 years in a first fill bourbon barrel before finishing off for 9 months in an Oloroso sherry cask.

They have then brought this down to 46% ABV, avoided chill filtration, and bottled 5,000 bottles, which have been individually numbered.

Not that it really matters, but for the serious knowledge hunters out there, it seems, from the press release, that only the sherry cask maturation has taken place in West Cork with the previous 10 years presumably having taken place in Co.Louth where this Single Malt originates from.

Onto my notes:

Nose - Straight from the off I always love the strange initial smells I get when I immediately pour a whiskey into the glass, and this is no exception, with a very faint initial hit of damp newspapers.  Let me assure you though that this is not at all a bad smell and is probably coming from the sherry casks.  The fresh / tropical fruits of the spirit are here along with the obvious touch of sherry cask and they work quite well.  Looking to the spirit side of things there's fresh apple, prominent ripe banana (maybe over ripe), a little fresh pineapple and some lemon / orange citrus.  Very much a fruit salad.  There's a slight buttery creaminess that leads into the sherry flavours but just before there's a little perfumed floral note.  The sherry influence is restrained but obvious.  The damp newspaper I got has now levelled out to a traditional dusty old wood effect.  Strawberry, raspberry and a bit of a youthful kick that brings some spice into play.  Over time the distinction between spirit and cask becomes less noticeable and the cask takes over.  The only thing that seems to happen with a touch of water is the fresh fruit gets a boost for a moment or two.

Palate - Initially soft and sweet that leads into strawberry chews.  A little on the thin side but all the flavours from the nose are here.  The dusty wood can be found in the arrival and the youthful spice takes over.  Orange, lemon, strawberry, raspberry and red apple which combines with the sweetness to give a taste of toffee apple.  Drying off quickly into the finish and with water the flavours are killed off quite quickly.  Best leaving water out of this.

Finish - A little short with some more fresh fruit.  To be honest, the finish is a little on the average side, but to be fair to Hyde I do not blame them in the slightest.  I have always found the finish, on most whiskeys from Co. Louth, to be on the average side, regardless of how it's been handled.

Overall this is a very decent whiskey that's been finished well to provide a nice balance of original flavours from the spirit with some fruity notes from the cask. 

When reviewing new whiskeys I always try to think about price as well, and this Hyde whiskey is currently on sale, in a well known Irish Whiskey store, for a fraction under £50. 

If I'm being honest I think this is too expensive for a 10 year old whiskey.  I understand the need to raise funds but this is a bit on the high side for my liking and for that reason I'd probably not buy it. 

That said, that is the only reason I would not buy it.  Flavour wise I think this hits the right notes and shows off the Co. Louth spirit whilst allowing Hyde to express themselves through a nicely managed finish.

As with a lot of the new companies I think Hyde have an excellent platform on which to build and I'm eagerly anticipating their new release which is due out very soon.  This will be their "Hyde No.2 - Rum Cask Finished - 10 year old".

Rum cask finishes are something I'm starting to come round to, after recently trying a single cask version, so I'm intrigued to firstly see how Hyde manage it and secondly, if the spirit is from the same distillery, how the already abundant tropical notes combine with a tropical finish.  Exciting stuff and hopefully the Hyde team will be at Whiskey Live Dublin to allow me to try some.

I would lastly just like to say a big thank you to Conor Hyde for the generous sample.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Bushmills - Tweet Tasting - Review

Recently I took part in another fantastic Tweet Tasting, hosted by Steve Rush of "TheWhiskyWire.com", in which all involved were presented with 5 samples from the "Oldest Distillery In The World" - Bushmills.

The samples on show were the Original, Black Bush, 10yo, 12yo Distillery Reserve and the 16yo.

Bushmills is a distillery that I have had much experience of, both through it's official bottlings, and bottlings through other labels, and to be perfectly honest there's been some mixed results.

I often find that while the flavours of the spirit are light and delicately delicious, the way in which the official bottlings are presented does not do much to bring the flavours across in all their glory.

Most official bottlings are bottled at 40% ABV, and undoubtedly with the use of chill filtration and E150a, yet a lot of the other bottlings are of a higher strength and presented in their natural form. 

These other bottlings I am referring to include those offered by The Palace Bar, Teeling, Knappogue Castle and The Celtic Whiskey Shop.  All of which have either been confirmed as Bushmills or are very probably Bushmills due to other information to hand.

All that said, it wouldn't take very much for Bushmills to hit the stratosphere with a little bit of tweeking in their production line and hopefully, now that Diageo have buggered off, they can get on with what they do best and produce great whiskey.

Until that time though there will obviously be a transition and we will have to be patient as the new owners find their feet in the Irish whiskey industry.

While we're waiting, we still have a good range of official bottles to try and I had been looking forward to this tasting as, whilst I have tried all the whiskeys before, I had never tried them all side by side.

Onto my notes:

Bushmills - Original

Nose - Fresh green apple, light and clean with a little malted sweetness and light grains making their presence felt.  "Rice Krispies" breakfast cereal and a little unripe banana.  Some light perfume / floral notes appear along with a definite sweet caramel and vanilla from the oak.  In time some citrus comes through but it's all very gentle and laid back.  If you weren't trying you'd almost definitely miss a few of these flavours and I guess that might be the point as this makes it an easy starting point for newcomers with no difficult flavours to contend with.

Palate - Light and sweet with more emphasis on orange citrus and now some heat in the form of black pepper and chilli flakes.  A little water eases the heat brilliantly and allows some dry oak spice and lemon drops to come through.

Finish - Short, clean and slightly drying.

Bushmills - Black Bush

Nose - More tropical, from the influence of sherry casks.  Ripe banana, deeper orange, slight menthol,  grapefruit and a sweeter, stickier malt.  Brown sugar syrup, a little milk chocolate which isn't unlike "Terry's Chocolate Orange".  As the nose opens up you definitely start to get the darker sherry notes.  Mixed spice, dried fruits, dried fruit mix that includes dried orange and lemon peel.  Christmas cake for sure and maybe some "Jamaica Ginger Cake".  Right at the end I got a distinct note of crushed walnut.  Excellent nose for a humble blend.

Palate - Sweet and sour arrival that moves over for lovely sherried flavours.  Rich mixed spice, deep, intensely rich, orange.  A little chilli shows itself again but this is much more balanced than the Original.  Menthol is still present on the palate and you get a sense that the malt whiskey used in Black Bush is of a very high standard indeed.

Finish - Not too bad at all with a lovely dryness from the oak and a concentrated red apple flavour that borders on sour red apple sweets.

Bushmills - 10yo

Nose - Still some tropical banana and light pineapple but this is a great deal more "green" in it's delivery with apples and pears also on show.  Some honey sweetness appears but at the same time you get a savoury feel to the whiskey, if that makes any sense??  The oak effect is here but the spirit dominates in a good way.  Lemon biscuits with vanilla cream.  Very fresh and summery.

Palate - Sweet red apples, good hefty kick of peppery spice and cooked oranges.  Menthol with oak spice.  With a little water a slight herbal note appears, this is a note I rarely find but could easily pick up in this whiskey, which to me underlines it's "green" qualities.  Some malted biscuits towards the end.  Again, this is all very clean and inoffensive.

Finish - Ok with apples and a little spice.

Bushmills 12yo Distillery Reserve

Nose - Honey, toffee apples, orange barley sweets (you can see the distillery spirit character flavours each time here) and banana ice cream.  Just a little dusty wood lurks in the background and then the dried fruits start to appear.  More cooked orange, red apple, cinnamon and creamy butter notes show through.  As this sits in the glass more of the dusty continues to evolve with leather and old books.

Palate - Salted caramel, light spice and hints of blackcurrants and raspberries.  More duty old sherry wood appears here with, again, cooked orange and maybe just some more chocolate.

Finish - Again, ok with warm spices and red apples.

Bushmills - 16yo

Nose - Deep, rich, buttery banana, raspberry coulis, blackcurrants, in fact most berries seem to be in here.  Blood orange marmalade, brown sugar and this actually retains it's freshness quite well before moving anywhere near anything resembling old dustiness.  The Port cask influence keeps this rich with red fruits and this is definitely not as musty as the 12yo.  Spice is soft and easy going.  This is how marriage of maturation should be done.

Palate - Intense rich berries, undiluted "Ribena", raspberry coulis and apple + blackberry crumble.  Dark chocolate orange, stewed orange and mixed spice.  Christmas cake, cherry bakewell tarts.  Indulgent and beautifully presented, lord only knows how good this would be at 46% and un-chill filtered....I'd say it would be one of the best whiskies in the world.  Huge statement I know but it really is that good.

Finish - So moreish with red fruit goodness.

Overall it was so enjoyable to work my way through the Bushmills range from, more or less, start to finish. 

The winner was undoubtedly the 16yo by a fair distance ahead of the 10yo which only just pipped the 12yo.  Then out of the blends the Black Bush easily won over the Original.

If I'm being honest though the 16yo is really the only one of these I would recommend with any great conviction.  The rest of the range is obviously well made, and carries some lovely character flavours, but in my opinion Bushmills need to do more.

Their spirit is so delicate that I feel it needs either to be bottled at a higher ABV or matured in more extravagant casks to elevate it to a higher level.  The 10yo and 12yo just don't have enough oomph behind them to really make them "stand out" whiskeys.

The 16yo gets through because of the extra influence of Port casks and I have previously enjoyed their 21yo, which also gets by due to the extra influence of Madeira casks.

When you see what Teeling (Rum amongst others), Celtic Whiskey Shop (Anima Negra Wine) and Knappogue (Marsala) are maturing their stocks of Bushmills, and then look at how well these come across at a higher strength along with the Place Bar's bottling "Fourth Estate", it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the direction Bushmills should be going.

For sure this may rock the boat with the long term, die hard fans but I honestly believe that something has to change if Bushmills are to maintain, and grow, their standing amongst Irish whiskey; and let's be honest it's only going to get tougher with the amount of new distilleries that are quickly catching up.

I'll finish with this though, and I've said it before, this is a very exciting time for Irish whiskey and long may it continue.

As always, a massive thank you to Steve at "TheWhiskyWire.com" for hosting the tasting and to Bushmills for the samples.
Until next time,

Sláinte

SI




N.B. Apologies for the different shaped images but they were the best I could find.

Dunville's VR - 10 year old - Review

Back in February, this year, I brought you all news of a brand new release coming from Echlinville Distillery, Co. Down, Northern Ireland. 

The release was of course Dunville's VR 10 year old single malt. 

This is the second release under the reinvigorated Dunville's label and if you wish to catch up on my release update then go ahead and click right here for a recap.

This new release is a 10 year old single malt, bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill filtered and finished for around a year in a PX sherry cask.  

With regards price I had initially stated that it was to hit the shelves at just under £50 but Master of Malt currently have this on sale for £44.62. 

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while would remember, back in February 2014, I reviewed the first release of the Dunville's VR, which was a blend, and I raised a few points that I felt would need to happen for this brand to achieve the status it is aiming for and, judging by the presentation of this 10 year old, Echlinville are moving rapidly in the right direction as they wait patiently for their own spirit to mature.

Further to this vast improvement, since I last wrote about this release in February, this whiskey hit the world stage in spectacular fashion when the World Whiskies Awards recently awarded the Dunville's VR 10 year old the award of "Best Irish Single Malt - 12 years and under" for 2015!!

Now, while I've no idea, presently, which other whiskeys the Dunville's VR was up against, this is an unbelievable achievement and brings the brand back into the limelight with a bang.  I can only imagine how chuffed Shane Braniff was with this result knowing the passion and effort he is putting into his brand and distillery.

Seeing as the whiskey has clearly wowed the judges at the World Whiskies Awards I may as well share my humble opinion....

Onto my notes:

Nose - Initially tropical with good hints of banana and a little coconut water but quite quickly some nice fresh fruit also appears with green + red apple and lemon sweets.  The sherry finish is not immediately obvious.  Some light pepper and a slight buttered note.  Sherry finally starts to appear but in a gentle fashion with light mixed spice and buttered red fruits.  The finish has been handled with care and allows the original spirit to stay in control without the sherry over dominating.  Right at the end a slight perfumed note also shows through.  With a little water a distinct dusty note appears giving a nice sense of age.

Palate - Initially sweet with malt and light berry.  Some black pepper and chilli heat arrives but this really benefits from the 46% ABV.  The dusty note sits in the background, presumably from the sherry casks, and with a little water the whiskey becomes much sweeter and sherried with more mixed spice, stewed strawberry and some dryness into the finish.

Finish - On the short side of medium but enjoyable with a lip smacking finish of red fruit.

Overall this is an excellent improvement on the 1st release.  I know they are two completely different styles of whiskey but in terms of direction we're now definitely heading upwards.

In honesty I initially struggled to get to grips with this release, when I first opened the bottle, as it was unlike any other Irish whiskey I'd tried before and in my opinion it reminded me more of some Scottish malts I have in my collection.

As I moved through the bottle though the familiar tropical fresh fruit notes, I was fully expecting, came to the fore and I am now fully enjoying each glass.  This whiskey can't be rushed, and needs a little time to open up, but the reward is a glass of whiskey that is well balanced and full of flavour.

The finish of this release is very impressive and gives you just a hint of sherry without overpowering the original spirit.  I believe that future releases may have a slightly longer finish, in the PX casks, and I think this will enhance the spirit even more.  Whatever the standard of the casks being used, they are imparting just the right influence needed to bring this whiskey up a level or two.

Without doubt Echlinville, and the Dunville's brand, are going in the right direction and all I can say is here's to the future.

Lastly I'd just like to say a huge thank you to Shane Braniff for the sample bottle.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

New Release - Dunville's - Very Rare 10 year old

A while back you may remember I brought you all an exclusive regarding the re-emergence of the Dunville's Irish Whiskey brand and this was promptly followed up by a review of the "Dunville's - Very Rare", which was the first bottling to be released under the title of Dunville's in nearly 60 years.

To recap quickly I feel it is important, for those who haven't seen the original update, to quickly go over again where this re-emergence has come from.

Around the start of June 2013 a distillers licence was granted to Echlinville Distillery, which is situated on the Echlinville estate in the small town of Kircubbin, County Down, Northern Ireland, and with this it became the first Northern Irish distillery to receive a licence for over 125 years.

It is this very distillery, under the owenership of Shane Braniff, a businessman from the local area, who is also responsible for bringing you the Feckin' Irish Whiskey brand, that has got it's hands on the "Dunville's" brand and they are intent on reviving the great memory of Dunville's by producing a top quality product to sit in it's bottles.

Echlinville itself has big ambitions for it's own spirit and a quick look on their site shows that they are producing single malt and pot still whiskey, which seem to be maturing in a variety of casks, and the first releases of this unique whiskey should be with us by 2016.

In the meantime though, and as seems the norm, we have these releases of Dunville's appearing, not only to seemingly get the money rolling in, but also for, in my opinion, another more honest reason.  I get a genuine sense that Shane Braniff has a very real desire to get this once great brand back to where it belongs, not as a stop gap, until the distillery's own whiskey is released, but as a high quality product to stand proud in it's own right on the same shelves.

Whilst the ambition is there, and I wrote previously of my excitement of seeing the brand back in our off licences, there was, in my opinion, an initial let down with the first release of the Dunville's - Very Rare.

Not to dwell on it too much I shall simply say that I felt as though it was a rushed release with little substance and little care seemingly put into the finished product and it really showed when tasting.
  
A final point I also noted in the previous review was - "I fully understand the need to get the brand out there with this initial release but I feel if they are to release other bottlings, prior to their own spirit being matured, then, cost permitting, they should secure some matured whiskey that will really start to add a touch of quality to their brand."

Well, I must be clairvoyant.

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to meet Shane Braniff where I received a bottle of what, apart from a slight change in labelling, is to be the next release of Dunville's - Very Rare and I have to say they are certainly going in the right direction.

This new release is a Irish malt whiskey that will be hitting the shops with an age statement of 10 years old.  Obviously not from Echlinville itself, the spirit has been obtained from elsewhere but "finished" by Echlinville in their warehouses on the County Down coast.

The finish is in the form of PX casks in which the whiskey has been rounded off for about a year and the added quality doesn't stop there.

This new release also benefits from a higher bottling strength of 46% and has not been chill filtered.  On speaking to Shane Braniff he is quick to point out that they do have a chill filtration unit on site, so to bottle this whiskey without the use of this facility is solely down to a desire to obtain that higher quality that the brand deserves.

I've included a picture of the label as it sits at the moment to give you an idea of how it will look when it hit's the shops.

As I mentioned there are a few last minute changes planned for the label, but once finalised the whiskey will be released with a price point of just under £50.  Considering the first release was £29.99 I feel an extra £20 for the extra quality mentioned is a fair amount.

Whether the whiskey itself is worth £50 remains to be seen but on initial taste I can say that there is certainly a lot of potential and I look forward to really getting into the bottle with the hope of positively reporting back soon that Dunville's is now hitting the heights it should be.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

An Evening With Bushmills Master Distiller Colum Egan

Previously I have spoken, with great sadness, at the lack of genuine whiskey events taking place in this wonderful city.  Apart from the Hudson Bar's whiskey club and a small number of other excellent establishments, that simply boast a fine selection of whiskey, there really isn't that much to get your teeth into.  

That was until the Merchant Hotel, situated in Waring Street, Belfast, grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns and announced their first ever "By The Fire" event.

Being blessed with a sumptuous interior the Merchant Hotel has the perfect setting to host top quality whiskey events and what better way for a Northern Irish hotel to kick things off than by hosting the master distiller of Northern Ireland's most famous distillery, Bushmills.

For, in my opinion, the small price of £25 you were able to guarantee yourself an evening of "whiskey tasting and informative discussion" with Colum Egan himself.

Tickets in hand, my girlfriend and I made our way down to the hotel and entered through the magnificent entrance to be directed towards a side room.  Upon walking into the venue for the evening it was clear that my previous thoughts of the hotel having the perfect setting were spot on.  Lush decor and elegant lighting provided the backdrop to what was going to be a truly intimate tasting.

To kick things off we were treated to a fine cocktail reception but unfortunately I missed the the name of the delicious citrus liquid that cleansed the palate perfectly in anticipation of things to come.

We then took our seats and surveyed the delights that had been laid out in front of us.  Five Bushmills' drams were ready and waiting: Original, Black Bush, 10yo, 16yo and 21yo.

Naturally the first of the night was the Original and this was an ideal whiskey to get us going.  Lighter and smoother than I remember, this allowed all those present to get their bearings and also allowed Colum to guide us into what was more of an engaging discussion between himself and tasters rather than a typical masterclass.

Questions flowed and Colum was not found wanting.  The answers were delivered with a real air of confidence and insight that would have taught even the most experienced drinker a thing or two.

As the "Original" was finished off a number of hotel staff swooped in and provided us all with small plates of Canapés to be enjoyed as food pairings for each of the remaining four samples and the match ups were as follows:

Black Bush - Foie Gras

10yo - White Chocolate Fudge

16yo - Blue Cheese

21yo - Dark Chocolate Truffle

Each was absolutely delicious!!

Although we had a set list of whiskeys, that were in a regular order, the questions touched on all aspects of Bushmills, and each of their whiskeys, in random order. 

While discussing the 21yo we were informed that this age was selected as it resonated perfectly with a "coming of age".  Colum continued by touching on stock control and the work that has to go into ensuring that the 21yo, and all expressions for that matter, are continuously released to the same high standard year on year.

As Colum spoke you got a true sense of passion and pride with his number one priority appearing to be the task of producing all Bushmills whiskey in the same manner that it has been produced for 100's of years.  This, he says, is his belief why Bushmills has stood the test of time.

We moved onto discussing the 16yo and, not for the first time, it was described as possibly being "pound for pound, the best whiskey in the world".  Whether this is a marketing ploy that has been slowly circulating around the whiskey world, or a genuine feeling from everyone who samples the 16yo, it is obvious that it does display a serious amount of brilliance for a relatively small price.  I have, at certain times, seen this as cheap as £30 in Sainsbury's.

While discussing all of the whiskeys on show we discovered that, generally speaking, the 16yo and 21yo are more or less completely made up of whiskeys of that age whilst the 10yo contains a certain amount of 13yo.  

As the night ticked on we inevitably got onto the hot topic of the last few months...the change of ownership.

For those of you that have been living in a whiskey void it was announced a few months ago that Diageo were relinquishing their control over Bushmills to further their interest in the tequila market.  The new owners are to be Jose Ceurvo who bring with them a feeling of a family run business with the focus going back towards craft and quality.

As we spoke of the exciting times ahead Colum was quick to praise Diageo and their internal investment citing a figure of £50 million that had been spent in the 9 years they were in control.  It is obvious that Bushmills has benefited from the Diageo ownership but in a time where whiskey companies are expanding their portfolios it seems the right time for Bushmills to get a new lease of life.

A feeling was talked about that Bushmills was about to go from being the small fish in a big pond to a rather large fish in a small pond thus allowing the focus to be on the spirit they produce and the people who make it.  As highlighted in a recent article in "Whisky Magazine" the people of Bushmills know their whiskey and know what works so, for god's sake, please let them do it.

As the discussion progressed there was a great sense of hope and excitement of what the future might bring, with murmurings of possible innovation and new ideas coming to life, could we be on the cusp of seeing some absolutely stunning whiskey coming out of Bushmills?  

In my opinion single casks would be a good start and, after my personal tastings of recent Celtic Cask releases, I know fine rightly that some interesting cask finishes wouldn't go amiss either.  I live in hope.  What is clear though that any new styles, or releases, that may appear, are still a few years away.

As the night finished off we ended on a touching note.  Having enjoyed our time with Colum, and the delicious Bushmills drams, we were cordially welcomed into the Bushmills family.

After the event we moved into the main bar where the bar manager took the time to gain valuable feedback from those involved and inform us that more events are in the pipeline with the next possibly being a visit from the mighty Midleton.

I know one thing is for sure, as Belfast grows, and moves forward, events like this are imperative to it's success.  When events like this take place, and more specifically whiskey events, it can only but improve consumer knowledge and bring many more into our already growing Belfast whiskey family.

Many thanks to Colum and The Merchant Hotel for an excellent evening.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Benromach - 10 year old - Review

From the moment I first became interested in whisky I, like you all, have used the internet as a great resource to learn from and, from following "ralfystuff" on YouTube, I always enjoy getting to the Christmas period when Ralfy reveals his "malt of the year".  Last year was no exception and I was pleasantly impressed when he tore the paper away to display a shiny box of Benromach 10 year old.

Not only does Ralfy always try and factor in value for money, in his malt of the year, but he always manages to get it spot on when it comes to quality and with Benromach he has certainly ticked that box.

Back in October 2014 I headed off down to Dublin to enjoy "Whisky Live" but before the show itself I decided to get myself involved in a Benromach masterclass.  What we were presented with was a story of tradition, quality, passion and whiskies that are being made the way they were many years ago.

Benromach started life way back in 1898 but was closed nearly a century later in 1983.  After being bought by Gordon & McPhail, in 1993, they set about reviving the distillery and recreating a true Speyside style reminiscent of the 1960s. 

Since then they have went from strength to strength and hit the heights last year when the 10 year old won "Best Speyside Single Malt - 12 years and under" at the 2014 World Whisky Awards.

During the tasting we tried a good range from Benromach but in honour of Ralfy's award, and also because it is the easiest to get a hold of, I shall review the 10 year old.

The Benromach 10 year old is bottled at 43% ABV and is a combination of 80% Bourbon barrels and 20% Sherry Hogsheads that has spent it's final year in a first fill Oloroso cask.

Nose - Naturally big on Christmas cake with cinnamon, dried fruit and stewed orange.  Some tropical notes come through with banana being the most easily identifiable.  Milk chocolate, buttered popcorn and warm apple crumble with vanilla ice cream.  There's a slight hint of hairspray in here, which isn't unpleasant, and the faintest whiff of smoke.

Palate - Sweet, very sweet.  Again, big on the dark, dried fruits. Raisin, mixed spice and dried orange peel.  More gentle smoke and nice feel of oak wood.  There's quite a kick to this dram but it's not by any means harsh and the orange flavours continue with more stewed orange and chocolate orange.

Finish - Medium length and very enjoyable with more dried fruit and and a, nicely warming, lingering spice.

Overall this is a very good whisky.  The passion that was spoke of is noticeable throughout the 10 year old, along with all the other whiskies that were sampled.  You can sense that Benromach are taking a huge amount of pride in the whisky they are producing and that can only be a good thing for us consumers.  I would have no hesitation in going back to Benromach in the future to continue my education of Speyside and the story they are telling.

One last thing I would touch upon is the value for money aspect mentioned at the beginning of this update.  What I am starting to see with most family run distilleries, and most distilleries that focus on craft and tradition, is that they don't seem to charge over the odds like some that are all about marketing, or those that are owned by the big companies like Diageo and, with this in mind, Benromach don't seem to be any different with the 10 year old being available for a little over £30.  In my eyes this is a small price to pay for a whisky that exudes so much style and substance.  Whilst I enjoy all whiskies, and enjoy sampling from all styles, these quality bottles are most definitely the ones that should be paid the most attention.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Four Arran Whiskies (and 1 New Make) - Tweet Tasting - Review

Those of you who follow me at @Whisky_Belfast will have no doubt noticed, on Monday evening past, my involvement in the latest fantastic tweet tasting to be hosted by Steve Rush from TheWhiskyWire.com.

This was the second tweet tasting to have been held in conjunction with Arran Distillery and having followed the first with envious eyes and salivating taste buds I was eagerly anticipating getting stuck into the 4 generous samples that were kindly provided by Arran themselves.

The moment the samples arrived at my door I was even more excited to see that they were accompanied by a small hessian bag that contained some malted barley, grist and........NEW MAKE!!!!!!!  A real treat indeed.

As I had admitted before, on a review of the Robert Burns Single Malt which can be found by clicking here, I have had very little experience of this distillery but at the same time I felt that the Robert Burns gave a good insight into the potential character of the distillery, hinting at a great spirit being aided by excellent casks.  Surely I wasn't to be disappointed on this evening?  Not a chance.

I shall quickly preview each sample before moving onto tasting notes for each:

Arran - New Make spirit

What else can I say other than this is, obviously, newly distilled spirit which comes in at a whopping 68% ABV.

Nose - Clove rock sweets, sweet malty raisins, rich and sumptuous, some stewed berries and with a little water a more cereal note comes through.

Palate - For the strength on show it is incredibly smooth and rich.  Dark dried fruits and more clove rock sweets dominate.

Finish - Evaporates at light speed off the tongue but is very tasty with sweet red apples.

Arran - 10 year old

Bottled at 46% ABV, without colour and non-chill filtered this is the latest release of their core bottling and is made with a mix of 80% bourbon barrels and 20% sherry hogsheads.

Nose - Lemon biscuits, fresh grassy note, light honey, buttery with mint / menthol through the background. More clove rock sweets that were found on the new make and with this the spirit style is evident here.

Palate - Sweet arrival, vanilla, more zingy lemon and now some orange. Initial warmth dissipates quickly to show some red fruit and red apples. With water the experience becomes sweeter.

Finish - Nice length, fruity, juicy and moreish.

This is a lovely light, fresh, summery whisky and obviously similar to the Robert Burns malt.

Arran - 17 year old

This is the last release in a trilogy counting down to the launch of the 18 year old in 2015.  The oldest official bottling from the distillery at the time of release, this was matured exclusively in ex-sherry hogsheads, bottled at 46% ABV and non-chill filtered with no colour added.

Nose - Tropical, banana on toast, orange, some more grassy elements but now accompanied with some perfume / floral notes.  Honey and mint with gentle pineapple.  The sherry cask has worked wonders with this and with some water an old woodiness appears.

Palate - Sweet red berries, red apple, warming spices, stem ginger, all spice, dark chocolate and stewed orange.  Fruit cake with lashings of butter and with water the spice reduces and the dark dried fruit influence increases.

Finish - Long, lingering, juicy and rich.

Fantastic dram with great range of flavours going on.  The balance between spirit and cask is near perfect.  Here's to the 18 year old when it arrives.

Arran - The Devil's Punchbowl III

In short the Devil's Punchbowl Series is a trilogy which started in summer 2012 and will conclude in 2014.  It is a blend of some of the finest Arran casks with this one having no peat influence but some influence of French barriques.  Bottled at 53.4% ABV, without colour or chill filtration this, last concluding bottle of the trilogy, shall be available very soon.  For a greater insight into this I shall add a link below.

Nose - Earthy and vegetal before sherry notes take over.  Xmas cake, mixed spice, creme brûlée, sweet orange marmalade.  Still tropical with banana and coconut.  Salted caramel and sweet & salted popcorn also make an appearance.

Palate - Intense spice, sweet malt and red fruit.  With water a more exotic waxy feel arrives with peppermint, clove and pepper.

Finish - Long and lip smacking.

To be honest, while this is again an extremely well made whisky, it's not quite my cup of tea.  A wee bit rough around the edges and a touchy spicy but as with all whiskies this may simply be a dram that you need to take your time with as you can still see certain qualities within.

Arran - Miss Black  

Bottled at 51.6% ABV this, distillery only bottling, is now completely sold out with your only chance of getting your hands on this awesome whisky being a constant trawl through the various auction sites out there.  This cask was specially selected by the Arran Distillery visitor centre manager Faye to celebrate her wedding.  Bottled at cask strength this sherry hogshead is just under 17 years old.

Nose - Rich, cocoa, coffee, stewed orange, banana, spicy coffee cake, brown sugar syrup, pineapple chilli jam, slight rubbery note (but not bad at all).  Moves effortlessly into rich red fruits, sweet tobacco / cigar, loads of dried fruit and with water it becomes more exotic with dark chocolate coffee creams......FANTASTIC STUFF!!!!

Palate - Sweet, rich and very, very smooth.  Dusty leather, dark chocolate, woody coffee, dried fruit and red fruit.  Stewed orange, chocolate orange and an amazing balance of sweet fruit and spice.  ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!  

Finish - To be honest this one is a little short compared to the others but I simply do not care.

This is easily one of the best whiskies I have ever tried.  Amazing complexity and balance throughout and one which delivers on nearly every level.  Such a terrible shame it's no more.  I for one shall be keeping an eye on the auction sites.

Well, there you go, that is me now well and truly acquainted with Arran and I have to say, I've been missing out.

Once again a huge thanks to Steve Rush at TheWhiskyWire.com where anyone can apply to join in the fun of the tweet tastings.  It's a truly great way to experience fantastic whiskies and meet fantastic people.  A huge thanks also to Arran distillery for producing fantastic whisky and being generous enough to share it with us all.

As with all of my updates further, relevant links can be found below.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

The Whisky Wire - http://www.thewhiskywire.com

The Whisky Wire Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheWhiskyWire

Arran Whisky - http://www.arranwhisky.com

Arran Whisky - The Devil's Punchbowl - http://www.arranwhisky.com/story/468