Ballantine's - Tweet Tasting - Review

On Wednesday 19th November 2014 I took part in another fantastic Tweet Tasting, hosted of course by Steve Rush of "TheWhiskyWire.com", in which all involved were presented with a range of the much loved Ballantine's blended whisky.  

The five expressions on show this evening were the "Finest", 12yo, 17yo, 21yo and their 30yo.  A serious range for a serious tasting in which we were also joined, online, by Ballantine's own master blender Sandy Hyslop.

As many of you know Ballantine's is a huge name in the whisky market.  It has the honour of being the second biggest selling scotch in the world and, considering they are second only to the behemoth that is Johnnie Walker, that is a pretty impressive position to hold.  

The brand is also steeped in history, having been established in 1827, and has a wealth of stock to choose from when making it's blends.  Being owned by Pernod Ricard they can call upon close to 50 different whiskies to compile their whiskies with the signature malts being Miltonduff and Glenburgie.

I was particularly thrilled to be taking part in this tasting as, apart from quickly reviewing the "Finest" last year, I have had no other experience with this brand and on that note I shall move onto the whiskies themselves.


Ballantine's "Finest" - Bottled at 40% ABV this is the oldest recipe in their range having been first created way back in 1910.  There's more than 40 malts and grains in this blend which have been selected from 4 different Scottish regions.

Nose - Crisp, barley, lemon shortbread biscuit, oak resin and sugary orange syrup.  A light grassy note along with slight perfume.  Just the faintest smoke hides in the background then we come back to lemon sherbet and salted butter popcorn.

Palate - Fresh, spicy arrival that moves into zingy citrus, lemon, orange and lime juice.  Bags of toffee and caramel show a serious sweet side to this one and then you get red apple and clove rock sweets which is slightly "new makey".  The smoke doesn't want to show itself on this palate.

Finish - Slightly short but big on sweet red apples.

Overall - A very decent whisky that is perfect as an entry level blend and for the normal price you can pick it up for, especially coming into the festive period, a serious must for when friends call round.

Ballantine's 12 Year Old - Bottled at 40% ABV this holds the distinction of being the favourite of Sandy Hyslop who stated, on the night, that it ticked all the boxes due to it's smooth, creamy, toffee, vanilla.  The maturation of this is a combination of American and European oak and the core malts involved are, as mentioned earlier, Glenburgie and Miltonduff.

Nose - Tropical. Banana, orange, lemon and candied pineapple.  Some red fruits present here and back to the tropical with a feel of tropical mix dried fruit.  With time this becomes more sherried with dried fruit, Christmas cake and mixed spice.  Banana cheesecake and a light, gentle char.  Not obviously smoke and certainly not peat just char.

Palate - Beautiful warm spice and stewed fruits with orange being dominant.  This has a lot more depth then the "Finest".  Blackcurrant / strawberry jam, clove and warm red apple crumble.  Very smooth.

Finish - Slightly short with clove, menthol and deep warm fruit.

Overall - This is an obvious step up from the "Finest" yet shouldn't cost too much more, depending on where you shop, and in that respect this is fantastic value for money.  I'll be buying a bottle this Christmas.

Ballantine's 17 Year Old - Bottled at 40% ABV this is marketed on Ballantine's website as having an extra depth of flavour, due to the longer maturation, which is characterised by a subtle sensation of smokiness that differentiates it from the 12 year old.

Nose - Deep, earthy fruits that are almost mineral in nature.  Light coffee, Terry's dark chocolate orange and a whisp of smoke which doesn't appear to be any more than was present on the "FInest".  More grassy notes with brown sugar syrup.  Feels a lot like the "Finest's" big brother.

Palate - Very smooth but a tad flat.  Brown sugar, malted bread, light clove spice, deep orange and a good initial juiciness.  The flavour builds well enough but fades rapidly to the end with no distinguishable finish.  I tried this several times to confirm my thoughts and each time the experience was the same.

Finish - Short and disappointing.

Overall - The promise of a great whisky, that was shown on the nose, did not deliver in the taste.  A bit of a let down to say the least.

Ballantine's 21 Year Old - Bottled at 40% ABV, we moved into the big hitters.  Hoping to see some great cask influence we were informed that this blend contains a higher proportion of European cask matured whisky than the rest of the range.

Nose - Rich and enticing.  Banana, grapefruit juice, orange and lemon oils.  Brown sugar, wood polish with rum and raisin ice cream.  Rich vanilla cream, perfume and an even more gentle whiff of smoke.  Huge deep leather and malt.

Palate - Sweet, sweet arrival with a good kick of clove and chilli spice.  Rich malt, dark red fruits and more red apple.  As hoped, there is a good sense of oak influence going on here.  In time you get a dustiness of old books and leather and right at the very end you get a little taste of smoke, first time it has shown itself in the palate.

Finish - Very good with dusty spice and right at the end you get a last taste of melted butter.

Overall - A great whisky and a great balance of age and spirit but you get the sense, as with the previous expressions, that this could do with a % or two more.

Ballantine's 30 Year Old - Now for the grand finale.  Bottled at 43% ABV, praise for the extra %, this is described as being the ultimate balance between distillery character and cask influence.  We are also informed that some of the whiskies involved are incredibly rare with the distilleries no longer in existence, but we get let in on the secret that these include Dumbarton and Dalmunach.

Nose - Old, dirty, damp smoke which I mean in the nicest possible way.  Thick oily feel to this one.  Old worn leather with lovely vanilla.  Tropical notes in here but the age dominates fantastically.  Ripe, mashed banana and more polished wood.  Dark melted chocolate and with time the, surprisingly fresh, fruit comes along with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Palate - Bitter / sour arrival.  Massive amount of damp, dusty wood that dries the mouth nicely.  Fruit is intense with a great feel of concentrated blackcurrant juice.  The rich malty notes interplay well with gentle spice.

Finish - Great length and moreish with blackcurrant, spice and an end of orange zing.

Overall - The star of the show which obviously comes at a price.  Great old flavours and sense of cask influence with intense fruit.  

Well that has certainly increased my knowledge of Ballantine's.  An excellent blend that shows great consistency of flavour through the range.  Their young blends are fantastic for the price with the serious oldies being of great character.  As for the 17 year old?  I'm not sure what happened there but maybe I'll try it again in the future and see if I'm impressed any more.

Once again a huge thanks to Steve Rush at TheWhiskyWire.com, where anyone can apply to join in the fun of the tweet tastings, and also a big thank you to Sandy Hyslop of Ballantine's for passing on his knowledge on the night and giving us an extra insight into the whisky itself.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

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

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

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

 

 

Caperdonich - 17 year old - Whiskybroker.co.uk - Review

After the fun of reviewing the Big Peat tweet tasting last week I thought it was time to start working my way back through my collection and with this I decided it was time to get into two specific bottles that I had bought a while back from Whiskybroker.co.uk.

Set up by Martin Armstrong, Whiskybroker.co.uk is a company that was set up to source and sell casks of whisky to enthusiasts and clubs wishing to purchase larger quantities of whisky at cheaper prices per bottle.  In addition they also bottle a few more mature whiskies for anyone only wanting a bottle or two.

Obviously being only a lowly individual blogger I'm more suited to purchasing from, and commenting on, the individual bottles they have for sale.

A quick scan down through the online shop will show that they have a fine range range of whiskies available.  Most regions are covered with an excellent selection of ages and all bottled at very good prices.  Most are bottled at natural cask strength with all having no added colour and only lightly filtration to remove large particles of wood sediment.

Last year I made my first purchases from this site, treating myself to two types of whiskies I had yet to enjoy owning, a bottle from a closed / demolished distillery and a bottle of a decent age.  It is the first of these bottles that I shall be reviewing today.

First built in 1898, Caperdonich was originally known as Glen Grant #2 after being opened by the founders of Glen Grant distillery.  In it's initial form it only managed to last 4 years before being closed until 1965.  When re-opened it's name was changed to Caperdonich and in 1967 two steam heated pot stills were added to the distillery.  

Pernod Ricard bought the distillery in 2001 before closing it in 2002 and in 2010 the distillery was demolished for good.  

In it's heyday it was a component of some of the blends manufactured by Chivas Regal and in 2005 it's only official bottling was released which was a cask strength sixteen year-old.

The bottle I obtained from Whiskybroker.co.uk was, as stated, a 17 year old that was distilled on 13th May 1995 before being bottled on 14th February 2013.  It is a single cask bottling that has been bottled at 55.0% ABV and the further information states that this is a third release of 220 bottles coming from hogshead number 95068.

Onto my notes:

First thing I would like to say about this whisky is that it took a good 6 months and half a bottle to allow this whisky to settle down.  When first opened this was unbelievably feisty and struggled to show it's true character but it has now managed to relax itself down enough for me to get to grips with it.

Nose - When first poured this whisky coats the glass beautifully.  If without an ABV you would be in doubt that this was very strong in alcohol due to the liquid being thick and syrupy.  With a little time in a glass we start to get properly into the flavours.  Orange, clove, coconut, wood vanilla, menthol and bags of butter dominate.  There's some serious, sugary, sweetness going on, presumably from the malt, along with some mashed banana and red apple.  This is a real fruity number when given time.  With a good blast of water the nose becomes even more buttery with perfume and a strange zing that I can't quite put my finger on, maybe sherbet.  

Palate - Chokingly hot!!! Chewing through the alcohol drys the mouth out to extreme levels but if you work with it the fruit on the nose eventually shows through.  More orange and apple with hints of pear.  Still very sweet and creamy but hard to pin any other flavours down due to the intense alcohol.  With water the dram does become softer and in fact it can take a serious amount of water which does allow the fruitiness to take over.

Finish - Numbing with final finishes of fresh fruit.

Overall this is a great experience.  In my opinion this distillery had some amazing flavours within it's spirit which appear to have been outdone, in this instance, by a bad cut of alcohol / a poor cask being used.  I think the way this has been bottled is completely perfect as it allows you to see, naturally, the good and bad points of this distillery.  Without doubt I'm enjoying working my way through this whisky and it's certainly not one you can taste once and drink through quickly.  It takes time and patience to allow it to gradually open up along with a bit of experimentation with water to see how to best to extract all those flavours hidden deep within.

As far as my opinion of Whiskybroker.co.uk goes it is easily my favourite site to purchase whisky from due to its excellent range, style of bottling and fantastic prices.  Where else would I get a 17 year old demolished distillery and a 29 year old single malt for a little over £100.

In case you all fancy getting yourselves over to pick up a special bottle or two I've included a few links to Whiskybroker.co.uk below.

Until next time,

Sláinte.

SI

Whiskybroker main site - http://www.whiskybroker.co.uk

Whiskybroker Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/whiskybroker.co.uk

Whiskybroker Twitter - https://twitter.com/whiskybroker