Having first started in 2003, West Cork Distillers are a company I have heard different stories about without actually ever getting a chance to try any of their whiskeys. I was therefore only too happy when I recently got the chance to get a couple of samples and see exactly what they have to offer.
Like I said the company has been on the go since 2003 and in 2013 they moved their distillery into larger premises based in Skibbereen, West Cork.
They are responsible for a range of whiskeys, vodka and liqueurs with brands such as Drombeg, Two Trees, Lough Hyne, Kennedy and of course their West Cork Whiskey.
With regards to the whiskey side of things, they can boast an ever increasing range with two blends to accompany a range of aged and finished malts.
Moving on to this review, one of the samples I recently received was of the West Cork 12 year old Single Malt - Port Cask Finish.
From looking about online, it's pretty hard to get much detail behind the whiskey but it seems that it has had a short finish in a port cask before being bottled at 43% ABV. They are very clever to neglect to mention whether the malt is double or triple distilled so as to obviously disguise the origin of the original spirit.
I am not sure where the company are at with their own distilled spirit but I would probably guess that the current range may have started it's life in Co. Louth (if you know what I mean).
As with a lot of other new Irish whiskeys I've no doubt that West Cork are carrying out the finish themselves so there is still a lot of room for them to stamp their own flavour onto the whiskey. The question is can they deliver? Let's find out.
Onto my notes:
Nose - Initially this is a bit tricky to get to grips with as the obvious tropical notes battle with the port finish for dominance. As it develops the tropical flavours win the battle with fresh banana, banana cream, a little green apple and a touch of lemon zest zing. The Port still finds time to come through with a little blackcurrant and raspberry. It would almost put you in mind of "Fruits of the Forest" yoghurt with the cream notes still coming through also. Any idea of spice is very restrained with only the mildest of pepper lingering under the fruits. With time the darker Port fruits marry with the citrus element to bring out a little orange. Very nice actually.
Palate - Initially it's all more of the same with citrus and banana giving way to red berries and a little more spice. Deeper lemons and oranges are to the fore with the black pepper and clove coming through nicely. The berries are also a lot deeper with distinct blackcurrant tailing off into a little more green apple. The fruits on the palate are definitely a lot more richer in nature and I have to say this works really well.
Finish - Deep, juicy, Port wine berries, a little dry spice and sour apple sweets to finish.
Overall I have been pleasantly surprised by this whiskey. Like I said I had heard a lot of different things about West Cork Distillers but it's only when you actually try a product should you form your own opinion.
What I've discovered is that they certainly seem to have good malt whiskeys under their control and they also seem to know how to pack some extra flavour into them with good finishes in good casks.
The price point is also very decent too with the 12 year olds setting you back about €50, or about £45 at current exchange rates.
At these prices I'd definitely recommend this whiskey and West Cork Distillers are a company I shall be keeping a close eye on as they move forward.
Until next time,
Sláinte
SI
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of taking part in a Tweet Tasting, hosted of course by Steve Rush of "TheWhiskyWire.com", in which all involved were presented with whiskeys from Walsh Whiskey.
Since 1999, when the company was first founded, Walsh Whiskey have gone from strength to strength. In the last 17 years they have seen their "Irishman" and "Writers Tears" brands grow and as recently as this year they have seen the opening of their brand new distillery at Royal Oak, County Carlow.
When looking closely at the Royal Oak distillery you can see that Walsh Whiskey mean business when it comes to producing Irish whiskey. They currently have the capacity to produce 650,000 cases of whiskey per year and, with pot and column stills located on site, they can boast the unique accolade of being able to distil all three types of Irish whiskey in one still house.
They also have warehouses located on site with the ability to mature 60,000 casks of whiskey at any one time.
Getting back to the Tweet Tasting we had 3 different whiskeys to get through, along with a sample of new make pot still. The 3 whiskeys on show were The Irishman 12 year old, Writers Tears "Copper Pot" and Writers Tears "Red Head". For this review I shall be focussing on The Irishman 12 year old.
The Irishman 12 year old is a triple distilled Irish single malt that has been matured in 1st fill bourbon casks. It has been bottled at 43% ABV and without chill filtration.
What immediately stands out for me is the fact that they state it is a triple distilled single malt, meaning that there's only one distillery they could have obtained this single malt from, and I was very interested to see exactly how Walsh Whiskey would present this whiskey given that the spirit should be of excellent quality.
The use of 1st fill bourbon casks is, for me, a major plus as this shows that Walsh Whiskey are intent on making sure this whiskey is shown off in the best way possible and with the bottling strength at 43% ABV this should also add an extra dimension to this whiskey.
Onto my notes:
Nose - Buttered brown toast, ripe banana and mashed banana. Savoury cut grass keeps the sweetness in check. Green apple and a little dusty oak comes through with vanilla cream which brings a feel of banoffee pie and cream. Not much spice in here but maybe just a touch of black pepper.
Palate - Light, smooth arrival that gives way to more intense flavours of fruit and now a little more spice. Toffee apple, lemon drops, stewed orange and a lovely dryness from the oak. Little savoury notes pop up here and there and again these keep the sweet notes restrained perfectly. The sweet and savoury combine to give a very balanced experience, delicious. Then, just when you think there's nothing left, a light dustiness runs through the palate to give a sense of age and luxury. Impressive.
Finish - Smooth, sweet and extremely moreish.
Overall this is a fantastic dram of Irish whiskey.
Recently a lot of whiskeys have fallen short of what has been expected and have been left floundering in the "style over substance" category. What we have here is substance over style.
Walsh Whiskey have taken a clean, classic, well made spirit and elevated it to great heights.
They have taken time to ensure the whiskey is given the care it needs to truly shine. If this is in any way indicative of what they have planned for their own spirit, when it is matured and ready for release, then we are in line to experience something special.
They seem to have a strong understanding of what it takes to present whiskey in a way that shows off it's true potential.
This is the first time I've really had a chance to sit down and examine any of the "Irishman" range and I can't express enough how impressed I am with this whiskey. I think it's time to get out there and seriously try the rest of the range, which includes "Founders Reserve", their NAS single malt and their cask strength single malt.
Here's to the future of Walsh Whiskey.
All I have left to say is a huge thank you 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 Walsh Whiskey for the excellent sample.
Until next time,
Sláinte
SI
As we move into the festive season many people are, as always, on the lookout for something a little different to buy for the whisky drinkers they know and, whilst any fan of whisky should be happy with almost anything they receive, it is always nice to see people taking the extra time to find something that's maybe not always available on the supermarket shelves.
One excellent way to achieve this, without breaking the bank, is to keep an eye on the various online whisky auctions. These auctions do have many collectable items, at eye watering prices, but they also have many unusual, and older bottles, that won't hurt the wallet and will give said whisky drinker something truly out of the ordinary.
This is what leads me on to this review. Last year, around this time, I made my first purchases from an auction site. I managed to pick up this bottle of Glenleven and a bottle of Dimple, another older blend. The final bidding price for each was £12.50 and with postage I was able to get these two, now unseen bottles, for about £20 each. For me this is an awesome price to pay for something that can't be found anymore.
A question would always be if what you are buying is in anyway decent, and with a little online research you may be able to get some information, but I find that the adventure of opening up a bottle of an unknown, older whisky is reward in itself and, in fairness, most older bottles I've tried have different great qualities to them.
Moving onto this bottle of Glenleven, it is a 12 year old blended malt whisky, or pure malt, or vatted malt, or whatever way you choose to describe it. Essentially what this means is that it is a blend of various single malt whiskies and in this case it is specifically a blend of 6 different malt whiskies. While it is unknown exactly what malts are involved I have received information that two of the malts may be Glenkinchie and Glenlossie.
It was bottled back in and around the 1980s, at a slightly larger amount of 750mls and at a strength of 43% ABV. The last info, as seen in the picture, is that it came from John Haig & Co. Ltd.
I don't care what anyone else says, for me, a 1980s bottle of whisky, containing only single malts, at 750mls and at 43% ABV for £12.50 (plus postage) is a bargain.
Onto my notes:
Nose - Old, rich and indulgent. Starts off with old wood, dusty wood, wood sap and pine. Maybe a hint, just a hint, of wood smoke, probably from the casks. Stewed apples, stewed oranges and a nice spirit undertone. A little citrus and a little PX sherry with dark dried raisins. All in all this is velvety and very inviting. With a little water a lovely Jamaican ginger cake note arrives with more wood sap.
Palate - Old and smoky arrival. Again this is definitely wood smoke and not earthy peat. A little heat from the spirit and at this point it feels like a little water would help. With water we get the apples and oranges but this time they feel a lot fresher. Water also brings out a lot more of the dusty notes and with time we go back to the stewed, sherry notes.
Finish - Perfectly fine with a great mix of fruit juice.
Overall this is a fantastic experience. The flavours involved here are simply not that easy to find in today's bottles. The old dusty notes and wood notes, in my opinion, are indicative of the style of whisky being made back in the 1980s and also may give some insight into the way it may have been stored.
I've no doubt that back then, the whisky was produced differently, casks were a little older in their lifespan, storage conditions may have been a little rougher, damper and generally not as clinically clean as some modern day storage facilities and this, for me, has led to some completely different flavour profiles.
I've noticed this in this bottle, older Dimples and Old Parr whiskies.
It is these differences that make this a special experience. Yes we could all go out and keep buying standard bottles of blends and malts but every once in a while it should be an aim to find something different and, the bottom line is, we don't need to spend hundreds of pounds to achieve this.
Happy hunting.
Until next time,
Sláinte
SI
Earlier this year, I attended another wonderful event hosted by the Merchant Hotel in the centre of Belfast. This was the second in their "By The Fire" whiskey events and welcomed Midleton's master blender Billy Leighton to take us through a range of whiskeys from the Midleton portfolio.
As with the previous event, with Colum Egan, the room was set and provided the perfect setting for the evening's festivities.
Tickets had sold out well in advance and the crowd was eagerly anticipating what we might be treated to, let's face it, these nights always have a wee surprise in store.
To get us in the mood we started off with a Jameson, Ginger & Lime, a drink that Jameson have tried hard to market and in fairness I think it's starting to take hold. When out in the town I hear more and more people asking specifically for this and even at a recent leaving dinner, in Newtownards, the drink on offer was this very concoction.
It's a drink that works and is a perfect little taster for people that want to try something different and might bring more into the whiskey world.
As Billy Leighton introduced himself the mood was relaxed, and laid back, with no strict script and questions flowing back and forward.
The main line up for the evening was as follows: Powers "John's Lane", Redbreast 12yo, Redbreast 12yo cask strength, Redbreast 15yo and Redbreast 21yo. Not bad at all for the £25 ticket price.
As the conversation carried on Billy acknowledged the perception of him working in a lab, bringing together the wondrous flavours we know and love, but he was very honest in comparing himself more to a stock controller.
It's an aspect of the whiskey world that is often overlooked. With such a large company, he is responsible for managing the huge stock at Midleton, the ages and cask types, to ensure that age statements and quality are maintained year on year.
When you consider that Midleton has something like 45 warehouses on site, each containing millions of litres of spirit, you get an idea of the scale of the task that faces him.
He continued by highlighting how his task is very different from scotch blenders who would have a larger range to play with. As all Midleton blends are produced on site it's very much in his hands to maintain the stanards throughout all the styles.
To really hit this home he described that, because the much revered Redbreast 21yo has some 28yo whiskey contained within it, he has to have the next 28 years worth of 21yo already maturing. As part of his role he also has to forecast for 10 years, so now the overall forecast is 38 years, and as a sherry cask takes 5 years to make, and season, this is now increased to 43 years.....this has to be done for all brands and their relevant expressions!!
As if this wasn't enough he also would divide forecasts into optimistic, pessimistic and realistic as the market changes. Unbelievable really, when you think about it.
As we sipped the 12yo we were informed that it roughly contains 12 - 14yo whiskeys.
He touched on global brand reach by stating that they are starting to do well in Russia and South Africa, have been doing well in the USA for about 10-12 years and are quiet in China, at the moment, due to other brands.
As we moved onto the 15yo we were treated to more inside information. He highlighted the make up of the whiskey by stating the key character is sherry matured with a mix of first fill & second fill casks and also stated there is some 19yo contained within.
He also informed us that this was first made, back in 2005, as a "one off" for La Maison du Whisky in Paris, France.
Four years later marketing came along asking him to re-create this expression for general release. As this was initially a one off, the components were not readily available, to make the same flavour profile, but it was re-created as best possible from an original bottle held at Midleton.
Only now, is the 15yo, more or less, at the same level as it was for that '05 special release.
We finished with the 21yo, which I absolutely adore, and if the tasting had finished there then I would have went home very happy but......here came the surprises.
Five, yes FIVE, more samples that had been taken straight from the casks at Midleton.
They were as follows:
1 - Pot Still whiskey distilled in 1994 and matured in a first fill port cask
(Used in Jameson Rarest Vintage)
2 - Pot Still whiskey distilled in 1998 and matured in a first fill sherry cask
3 - Pot Still whiskey distilled in 1997 and matured in a first fill bourbon cask
4 - Pot Still whiskey distilled in 1996 and matured in an American virgin oak cask
(Small amount used in Jameson Gold)
5 - Grain whiskey distilled in 1990 and matured in a second fill bourbon cask
I could not believe my luck!!
He took us through each and the flavours were out of this world from, the almost meaty, port matured Pot Still to the exceptional single grain, which is quite simply the finest single grain I have ever tasted.
I quizzed him specifically on the single grain, and why there has never been a Midleton single grain released, and it seems that marketing just aren't that interested in getting it out there.
I think they're mad in the head as this would put anything else on the market to shame. I suppose it may be needed for more important blends but I'm sure if they got together they could get some maturing right now, even for some sort of a special release like the Mano a Lamh.
To finish off the evening we were treated to something truly special. A chance, albeit slightly rushed, to see Billy Leighton at work. It was at this moment he collected up one of each of the sample bottles and went round each table asking how much to use and, with that, he set about creating what I shall call the "By The Fire Blend".
As we suggested measures he adjusted them accordingly to balance the flavours and we were then treated to a taste of this once in a lifetime blend.
Amazing, just simply amazing.
As Billy brought the evening to an end he left us to enjoy what was left of the samples and my oh my did they disappear quickly. Maybe even back to some people's houses....I'm saying nothing.
All in all an absolutely awesome evening and a great chance, yet again, to hear from the people who truly are at the heart of Irish whiskey. It's not the bosses of Pernod Ricard, or previously Diageo, who fund our much love distilleries, but the people actually working there, day in day out, creating something special for everyone to enjoy.
With people like Billy Leighton at the heart of Irish whiskey, especially with the passion he has, I know we're in very safe hands as Irish whiskey continues to grow.
As for the "By The Fire" event, I know they were having a break over the summer months but I believe they are planning to start up again soon with a possible visit from Tullamore on the cards.
Lastly I would just like to thank the Merchant Hotel, and Billy Leighton, for a memorable evening and I look forward to more of the same.
Until next time,
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.
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
Having first started in 2003, West Cork Distillers are a company I have heard different stories about without actually ever getting a chance to try any of their whiskeys. I was therefore only too happy when I recently got the chance to get a couple of samples and see exactly what they have to offer.
