Glenmorangie Original 10 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Glenmorangie The Original

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Highland

Age: 10 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 25/11/2011, 24/05/2012 and 10/01/2015

Colour: Golden Straw

Nose: Sweet but not too Sweet. I find Butterscotch, Toffee, Oak, Nuts, Orange Zest, Mandarin, Sweet Malt, Honey, Peach, Mint and Floral Tones. The alcohol is present so the whisky needs to open up for 20 minutes or so before nosing.

Taste: Sweet and Creamy with Barley Sugar, Oak, Orange, Mandarin, Peach, Toffee, Nuts, Vanilla, Nutmeg, Pepper, Ginger and light Licorice

Finish: Quite Long with Sugared Oranges, Mandarin, Lemon, Clean Oak, Malt, Nutmeg and Ginger. Quite nice for a 10 Year Old. 

Rating: 85.5 

Nose 21,5 – Taste 21.5 - Finish 21 - Overall 21.5

General Remarks: The necks of the stills of Glenmorangie are the tallest in Scotland and are replicas of the first gin stills that were installed at its opening around 1845. These stills produce a fresh and clean spirit. I added half a teaspoon of water but won’t do that again. The nose is gone and the whisky gets the taste of a cheap blend. I also believe that this Single Malt would greatly benefit from a bottling at 43 or maybe even 46% alcohol but that would ofcourse increase the price. At the moment, the Glenmorangie 10 sells at 45 US Dollars (Early 2015)

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Good

Conclusion: The Original has a pleasant while not spectacular nose and is easy going on the palate. The finish is quite okay for such a young spirit. I have a slight preference for the comparable The Balvenie Double Wood but both are certainly acceptable choices for your everyday bedtime dram. And they are affordable!

Update: In subsequent tastings after November 2011 I have noticed that the young alcohol gradually disappears on the nose once the bottle has been opened for a while. Therefore I have added 0,5 points to the nose.

Update May 2012

Very minor changes really. I got a bit of Nuts and more Oak on the Nose that I hadn't noticed in earlier tastings. Good and affordable To Go To Dram.

Update January 2015

I slightly rearranged the notes and added some details. But the score stands and also the conclusion that this is a good everyday dram at a reasonable price.

Jan van den Ende                                                               January 10, 2015

Whisky and Women

Whisky and Women.

Is it my perception or are there a lot more men than women who buy and drink whisky? Which does not mean of course that there aren’t a lot of women around who enjoy the occasional dram. But lots of women seem to prefer wine or sherry. Maybe that’s because of the fact that the lower alcohol grade better combines with the female soul!

Could be! But isn’t it also a fact that there are far more men than women who smoke cigars after a fine dinner.

Let’s try to find out why that is and what can be done about it. As I said, the preference of men for Malt and cigars will surely influence their choice of whiskies. Many times their preferred Single Malt whisky will be full of smoke, tar, peat and seaweed.  Isn’t the peaty Johnnie Walker Black one of the best selling blended Scotch! During my tasting sessions of the Bowmore whiskies for instance, I got complaints from my family that my room didn’t smell very agreeable. While I on the other hand really love to nose both the Enigma 12 Y and the 18Y. We might therefore conclude that maybe a lot of women have been over-exposed to whiskies that do not combine with their nosing and tasting profile.

It would be interesting to see how they would react to the sweet whiskies from say the Scottish Speyside. Whiskies that are characterized by their bouquet of blossom and sherry and fruits. For sure women who like sweet wine and sherry would feel attracted to those whiskies. So if women would read more tasting notes and would subsequently buy the whiskies that would suite their tasting profile, they would probably review their thoughts on our noble spirit! 

So guys, next time you get your Ardbeg or Bowmore or Laphroaig and the lot, consider buying a Glenmorangie Nectar d´Or or something similar as well, thus introducing your wives and girlfriends to the Whisky Paradise!

Jan

The International Whisky Festival 2011.

Whisky “mates” visit International Whisky Festival at The Hague

Peter van der Pol and Jan Bronkhorst, both followers of Jan’s Whisky Paradise, visited yesterday (Saturday, November 19) the afternoon session of this famous festival at The Grote Kerk at The Hague in the Netherlands.

On this 3-day festival, with about 500 visitors, most of the leading Dutch whisky importers presented more than a hundred whisky brands.

This festival is therefore a unique opportunity to get acquainted with a lot of Scottish and Irish single malts and many whiskies from other countries.

The admission fee included unlimited tastings, a Glencairn whisky tumbler and a catalogue of the festival with tasting notes.

Only for the more exclusive whiskies you had to pay additional “drams”, the local payment coin of the festival. 

Peter and I had a free admission as a member of the International Whisky Society. For further information see http://www.internationalwhiskysociety.nl

We were practicing “tasting and nosing” during several hours and also visited  “Bourbon Street” where several American and Canadian whiskies could be tasted.

One of the highlights for us was a visit to “The Glenlivet Guardian Room”, only accessible to Glenlivet Guardians http://www.theglenlivet.com/guardians

The complete assortment of The Glenlivet Single Malts could be tasted for free. We tried the 18, 21 years and especially The Glenlivet XXV.

For me one of the finest of this festival. Amber colored, aromatic, creamy and very intense. Price in the shop about € 260! 

To give you an idea of this great festival and the wonderful afternoon we had, have a look at the pictures below.

Cheers!

Peter van der Pol and Jan Bronkhorst 

(Photos used by kind permission of Jan Bronkhorst and Peter van der Pol)

Whisky and Food

Whisky and Food

I think whisky is more a drink to savor than a party drink. On social occasions I prefer to drink beer or wine. Of course there's nothing wrong with drinking a nice blended whisky or straight bourbon on the rocks on a reception or party but in case you overdo it you will be sorry in the morning.

I will give you my favorite whisky moments besides the actual tasting sessions:

1- Whisky as an appetizer before lunch or dinner. A light blended whisky like Cutty Sark or a Single Malt like the Glen Grant (see the review elsewhere on the blog) with an ice cube or two are strong candidates. Light and not too sweet whiskeys from the Scottish Speyside or Irish whiskies will also do well as appetizers.

2- Whisky as after dinner drink, maybe in combination with some chocolate or fruit cake. Here you would look for sweeter Speysides or Highlands like the Glenmorangie Nectar d' Or  (see the review elsewhere on the blog).

3- In case you prefer coffee and maybe a cigar after dinner instead of the sweet stuff, I can highly recommend the Islay Single Malts like Ardbeg or Bowmore or Laphroaig (see the reviews elsewhere on the blog). Their smoky and peaty characteristics will combine perfectly here. I also had Bowmore in combination with shellfish by the way and it worked well.

4- Finally, there's that moment usually at the end of a long working day that you just sit down and relax with one of your favorite whiskies. Could be one of your comfort whiskies like Johnny Walker Black Label but I think the moment deserves a Single Malt. This is the perfect moment for reflecting on whatever is passing through your mind at that moment. Great!!

As usually all the above is nothing more than my personal opinion but maybe it gives you some guidelines for appreciating whisky.

Jan

Whisky, Water and Ice

Whisky Water and Ice.

First of all let me say that you should drink your whisky the way you like it best! It's like with wine. What law says you should drink red wine with red meat? If you prefer white wine or beer or milk to accompany your steak that's fine. The only thing that you could say is that a lot of people like to drink red wine with red meat. And dry white wine with fish. And sweet wine with your desert.  But in the end you decide!

In the case of drinking whisky however, it is always advisable to drink sufficient amounts of water as well to avoid dehydration, headache and hangovers! 

Another question all together is whether you should put water or ice in your whisky. Let's start with the ice. If you drink whisky because your girlfriend or boyfriend left you or any other reasons that might give you the blues it's better to drink your whisky with lots of ice! First of all that's less damaging to your health and secondly the ice helps to hide eventual deficiencies in the cheaper whisky. Because you don't open up an expensive Single Malt if you just want to forget!

On the other hand, when the weather is nice, you're outside and you take a little whisky as an appetizer you might consider to add a cube or two. Certainly refreshing! Lots of people from France and Italy drink their whiskies like that.

A little bit of ice or a small amount of still water will also help open up whiskies, particularly those that have a high volume of alcohol. Say Above 45% or 90 proof (USA). 

But be careful because a little too much can drown the whisky completely. It's a matter of experimenting I guess. Try a few drops first, taste and add some more if needed. 

When you really taste the whisky (for the sake of tasting and not for the sake of drinking) it's usually a good idea to add a couple of drops to be able to determine the effect. Does it bring more flavors to the nose? Does it take away a bit of the harsh alcohol or spices on the palate? Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I usually prefer to drink the Single Malts and very good blends straight and the day to day blended whiskies or bourbons with a bit of ice. In the individual tasting notes you can always find what a bit of water does to the whisky. In the end however you decide what you like best. But don't be afraid to experiment. I'm sure there will be lots of people around the world that will drink their Johnny Walker Red Label or Jack Daniels on the rocks for all their lives and are perfectly happy. That might be the case but they do miss a lot!!

Jan 

  

Whisky and (Artificial) Colorants

                                      Colorants in Whisky.         

One of my colleagues made the remark to me today that all whiskies seem to have the same color. In fact most blended whiskies and, unfortunately, a large number of single malts indeed contain (artificial) colorant, usually caramel. The idea behind it is twofold:

1- First of all, blended whisky producers will certainly aim to offer a consistent product (taste, presentation and color) at all times. This consistency makes that people come back again and again for the same product. And as different casks of spirit present a different natural color after maturation, a coloring agent is used at the moment of bottling. I don't see anything wrong with that as such for blended whiskies. Although there is a growing tendency to overdo it;

2- The second reason is that lots of people think that darker whisky (gold color) is better or older than lighter colored spirit. This is absolutely not true. In fact that's why Single Malts that do not contain any colorant are usually sold in green bottles to " hide" the lighter color from the potential buyers.

As I can understand and appreciate the reasons of presenting blended whiskies as a consistent product, I do not agree with adding colorant to Single Malts. I think the true value of Single Malts is the unique combination of distillery characteristics, region of production, water and barley used, craftsmanship, wood and what have you more that in the end determines the individual end product that is called Single Malt. Therefore I believe that different colors for different Single Malts should  be allowed to exist.

Jan

How To Store Whisky

Storage of Whisky.

Most single malts and all excellent blends have matured for at least 10 years. So the product is ready and matured when it's bottled. Different from wine it will not get any better in the bottle. So does it get worse? I think that with modern technology most bottles will be sufficiently closed so no air can come in.

If then the bottles are stored in a cool place (not too warm and not too cold) and are not exposed to direct sunlight, it is fair to believe that the whisky will stay okay for decades and decades. Provided they are always kept in the upright position to avoid any leakage. Personally I can't and won't wait decades to open my bottles. First of all I'm to old for that and secondly I want to taste my whiskies!

It's something else completely if you ask me if you can store whisky for a long time after having opened the bottle. Once exposed to oxygen the whisky might lose some of its original characteristics. In July I bought a bottle of Bowmore Enigma, a very fine Single Malt from the island of Islay. You will find it high on my list of favorites so far. One of the distillery characteristics is the skillful combination of not too heavy peat smoke and not too heavy sherry finish. However, we are now in November and the bottle  contains less than half of the original 1 liter. This means of course more oxygen in the bottle. As a result, a large part of the original smoke is gone. It's still a fine dram but it's not the same whisky I opened in July. So I suppose it's best to finish the bottle in say three months. That's too fast? Then you could consider decanting the whisky into smaller bottles so it will have less contact with oxygen. 

At all times however, keep the bottles (opened or unopened) out of the sun. Not so easy here in Brazil!! 

Jan

The Nosing of Whisky

Today I would like to share my experiences with you on the subject of nosing whisky. I didn't start by poking my nose in my Tasting Glass trying to detect Wet Violets on a Sunday Morning in a little village south east of Vienna. Instead I started to read about the basic flavors that can be detected on the nose and on the palate when tasting whisky. So I started sniffing and tasting fresh and dried fruits, marmalade, honey, sherry, beer, spices like pepper, cinnamon and crave , lemon and orange zests, coffee, tea , corn syrup, toffee, cake, fresh bread and chocolate. After that I learnt about the different regions of productions and I started to nose flowers, heather, ashes, leather and salt. When I had to go to the port of Santos for my work I even went for a walk around the quays sniffing cables, fish, brine, the sea etc.

Of course It was impossible to remember all these impressions during my first tasting sessions but after some 10 different whiskies including Single Malts, Blends and Bourbons I felt I started making progress. In the meantime I've done over 60 whiskies and I now feel much more comfortable when I start nosing. To get you under way, here are some tips that might help:

The Nosing of whisky takes time. On average I nose the whisky on at least two different days, each time for at least 20 to 30 minutes. This gives the whisky enough time to open up in the glass. In case you only give it a couple of sniffs, the chance is very high that you will only get one or maybe two of the 4 main odours that usually pop up in whisky:

1-  Malt. In the end whiskey is made from malted grains;

2-  Wood and spices from the contact of the spirit with the American Oak Bourbon casks;

3-  Sweet Sherry from the Spanish Sherry Casks;

4-  Smoke and Peat in all whisky from Islay and some other islands as well as some (coastal ) distilleries on the Scottish mainland. But in other whisky producing countries like Ireland and Japan you will also find peated whiskies.

One last important tip: If you stick the whole of your nose in the nosing glass, you will probably just get the wafts of alcohol. Try to nose the rims of the glass and use all angles. You will see or rather smell different flavours in different places.

Auchentoshan 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Auchentoshan

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Lowlands

Age: 12 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Tasting Dates: 06/11/2011 and 29/04/2012

Colour: Copper

Nose: Oak, Malt and Biscuits at first. Some Floral tone. This whisky really needs opening up before it reveals anything at all. Hints of Spices, Dried Fruits and Baked Apples. Lemon and Caramel. Disappointing really for a Single malt.

Taste: The delivery is very smooth and a bit sweet with some light Sherry, a hint of Leather and Spices like Cinnamon and White Pepper. Quite uneventful. 

Finish: Medium Dry Finish with light Honey, Oak and Lemon.

Rating: 80

Nose: 20 – Taste: 20.5 – Finish: 19.5 – Overall: 20

General Remarks:

This Single Malt is triple-distilled just like most Irish whisky. Maybe that explains both its smoothness and lack of personality.

Don’t add water to this Auchentoshan for you will drown it completely although it does add more malt to the nose.  

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: Certainly easy going on the palate . But we should expect more from a Single Malt. This is only slightly better than your average blend and it’s much more expensive. No value for money whatsoever.

Jan van den Ende

Ballantine's 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Ballantine’s

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: 12 Years

ABV: 40%
Chill-Filtration: Yes
Price Range: US$ 30-40 ( August 2018)
Buying Advice: 😐 Reasonable Blend with an okay P/Q ratio. Best over Ice!

Colour:

Golden Honey (Artificially Coloured)

Nose: 

Grain Alcohol, Toasted Grain, Butter Kekse (German Butter Biscuits), Caramel, Toffee, Vanilla, Dried Fruit, Honey, Nuts, Refill Wood, light Sherry, Marzipan and Lemon-Pepper. Sweet. A very faint hint of Smoke.    

Taste: 

Bitter-Sweet and Thin. I find Toasted Cereals, Grain Alcohol, Caramel, Toffee, Vanilla, Honey, Nuts, Dried Fruit, Herbs, Caffe Latte, Pepper, Nutmeg, Ginger, Refill Wood and a faint hint of Smoke. 

Finish:

On the Short side, Bitter-Sweet and a little Thin. I find Caramel, Toffee, Grain Alcohol, Vanilla, Honey, Dried Fruit, Nuts, Orange Peel, Refill Wood, Milk Chocolate, Pepper, Nutmeg, Ginger, Menthol and a very faint hint of Smoke. 

Rating: 79.5

Nose: 21 – Taste: 20.5 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 20

General Remarks:

The key Malt components of this Blend are Miltonduff and Glenburgie. 

Drinking Advice: 

I added a few drops of water and that takes away a good deal of the heat. But it also becomes really Thin. The best way to enjoy this Ballantine's is over Ice.

Drinking Experience On the Rocks: Good

Drinking Experience Neat: Just Okay.

Conclusion:

It's not bad and it's got a reasonable P/Q ratio. But it's not interesting enough to  sip neat. Better enjoy it over ice.

Jan van den Ende                                     August 5, 2011 and August 10, 2018

Glenburgie

Wild Turkey 101 Review

Country: USA

Brand: Wild Turkey

Type: Bourbon (Kentucky)

Age: 8 Years

Alcohol: 50,5%

Colour: Gold

Nose:  Very Nice. Sweet (Dried Fruits), Vanilla, Malt. There’s something else there but I can’t define it. Could be Leather.

Taste: This is not for beginners!! A full body overwhelms you with Malt, Caramel, Vanilla (Crème Brulee) Oak and Spices (Cinnamon). Great stuff!

Finish: The finish is spicy (Pepper) and quite dry. Slightly bitter at the end and then suddenly some Vanilla returns.

Rating:  86 

Nose: 22 – Taste: 21 – Finish: 22 – Overall: 21

General Remarks:  Nice generous Sweet and Innocent Nose followed by lots of heat and Pepper. I miss a bit of balance here. Still a great Bourbon. I added a few drops of water to the Bourbon that brought some dried fruit (Plums) to the nose and some sweetness to the finish. However, the finish also seemed to burn a bit more and the alcohol became clearer. Interesting to try it out both neat and with some water.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion:  This should not be your first glass of Kentucky Straight Bourbon. It could easily scare you off. Some ice cubes might help out!

Jan van den Ende                                                          September 2, 2011

White Horse Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: White Horse

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: Unspecified

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Deep Gold

Nose: Thin Nose. As Lagavulin is at the heart of this blend I expected a reasonable amount of Smoke on the nose but this is not the case. Mostly Sweet Grain with a bit of Malt. Hints of Light Oak, Blossom and Green Apples. Brown Sugar after some 10 minutes.

Taste: A bit watery. Sugared Grain with a bit of Malt and Spice. Tastes like young grain whisky.

Finish: Short with some Spice and faint Floral notes. Slightly bitter. Green Apples seem to be back right at the end. 

Rating: 75 

Nose: 19 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 18 - Overall: 19

General Remarks: At the heart of this blend lies the Islay Single malt Lagavulin but it also contains Caol Ila, Craigellachie, Glen Elgin, Linkwood and Talisker In all it contains 40% Malt – and 60% Grain Whiskies.  I added a few drops of water but I won’t do that again. It completely drowns the whisky.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average

Conclusion: Reasonable blend. Comparable to the Famous Grouse. Frankly speaking, I had expected more given the intrinsic quality of its Malt content. However Grain dominates and there is little else to this blend. It’s inoffensive but I certainly won’t ask for it again.

Jan van den Ende                                                            October 16, 2011

Famous Grouse Review

Country : Scotland

Brand: The Famous Grouse

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: Unspecified

Alcohol: 40%

Tasting Date: 28/08/2011 + 06/09/2012

Colour: Golden

Nose: Full and (Bitter) Sweet. Malt, Grain, Floral Tones (Lavender), Young Oak, Honey and hints of Sherry and Smoke. Quite some things going on here which is a pleasant surprise. You will need to get around some Alcohol.

Taste: The delivery is light with Malt and Grains, Citrus, Wood,Vanilla Spice, a bit of Honey and a whiff of smoke.

Finish: A bit on the short side with some Toffee and Spices and somewhat disappointing after the promising nose. I detected a touch of bitterness (Sulphur and/or Refill Casks) that I could easily live without. 

I added a few drops of water that revealed more Grain, Caramel and Sherry on the nose. It also brought some more Toffee to the finish and therefore I conclude that this blend accepts a few drops of water.

Rating: 76

Nose: 20 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 18  - Overall: 19

General Remarks: This blend contains Macallan and Highland Park single Malt  along with other Grain- and Malt whiskies. It’s the best selling blend in Scotland. Because of all this I was really curious to taste the spirit. It's nothing special but quite drinkable.

Drinking Experience Neat : Good

Drinking Experience On The Rocks: Light but not bad.

Conclusion: A reasonably balanced blend with an attractive price tag. The nose is very interesting but taste and finish can't quite live up to that.

Jan van den Ende                                                             September 2012

Dalmore 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: The Dalmore

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Highland

Age: 12 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Gold  (Contains added Caramel for colouring)

Nose:  Complex. Sherry, Malt, Wood, Oak, Vanilla, Bitter Sweet like Orange Marmalade. A hint of Leather. Strangely enough, during the first tasting session, I thought for a moment I detected a vague smell of cardboard boxes, you know the ones they used in the past for archiving documents. Very strange indeed! Couldn’t detect it anymore during the following tasting sessions. 

Taste: Smooth, Sweet and Spicy. Creamy Malt, Orange, Sherry, Ginger and Spices. 

Finish: Middle Long and not bad at all with some Toffee, Orange, Ginger Vanilla and Pepper. Dry Nuts in the end.

Rating: 85

Nose 22 - Taste 21 – Finish 21.– Overall 21

General Remarks: I added a teaspoon of Water but I won’t do that again. The taste suddenly became unbalanced and watery. The Dalmore 12 does not take Water very well. It should be bottled at at least 43% in my opinion.

Drinking Experience Neat:  Good

Conclusion:

A very “ easy” single malt that will please beginning whisky drinkers. I recommend drinking it neat. When I first opened the bottle the Dalmore did not gave away all of its hidden secrets. This became quite clear when I tasted the spirit again about a week later.

Jan van den Ende                                                               August 14, 2011