Cutty Sark Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Cutty Sark

Type: Blended Whisky by Berry Bros & Rudd, London

Age: Not Specified

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Pale Gold

Nose: As always give your whisky sufficient time to open up before nosing. I recommend at least 20 minutes. The Cutty Sark certainly does not present an impressive nose with Malt, Sweet Grain (Breakfast Cereals), Citrus and Oak. There is Alcohol but not as much of it when compared to various other blends in the same price range. At some point I thought I nosed Apple Pie with Raisins and Cream but it’s not consistently there. There’s also something nasty that I can only describe as morning sickness after a stiff night on the town if you know what I mean. Quite a mixed bag that we have here!

Taste: Delivery is a bit thin. Sweet, Simple but Drinkable with some Light Spices, Honeyed Grains, Extra Sweet Toffee and Apple.

Finish: The honey/sugar sticks to the palate for a while followed by Oak and the unpleasant Nutty Bitterness that is so common in Standard Blends and for which I have deducted a full point.

I would not recommend adding water to the Cutty Sark although you get a little bit more fruit (Melon) on the nose. But you completely destroy the  taste.

Rating: 76 

Nose: 19,5 – Taste: 19,5–  Finish: 18 – Overall: 19

General Remarks: This blend was created in 1923, at first especially for export to the USA during the Prohibition. The logo represents a drawing of a Sailing Ship constructed in Scotland in 1869 that bore the same name. The name, bottle and brand mark remind me a bit of pirates and smuggling.

Today the blend is still popular in the USA, but also in countries like Spain and Portugal where it is often mixed.

The blend consists of a number of grain whiskies plus around 20 Single Malts, mainly from Speyside. At its heart lies Glenrothes. Other renowned contributions are Tamdhu, Highland Park, Macallan and Bunnahabhain. The grain whiskies are blended first together as are the Single Malts. Afterwards they are then “married” together.

Drinking Experience Straight: Average/Good (Average because of the bitter finish)

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Average

Conclusion: Cutty Sark is not an expensive whisky and as such it holds its ground when compared to direct competitors such as Dewar’s White Label, Grant’s Family Reserve, Ballantine’s Finest, Chivas Regal 12 Years, White Horse, the Famous Grouse and Johnnie Walker Red Label. Still it’s depressing when you realise that 90% of all whiskies sold worldwide are blends, many of them of comparable quality, quite a few of them better but lots of them worse as the subject of this review. Anyway, Cutty Sark is an acceptable blend given its competitive pricing. It has some Speyside-like sweetness on the palate and some citrus on the nose. There are some off-notes as well, respectively on the nose (Morning Sickness) and in the Finish (Nutty Bitterness). If you go for cheap and reasonable, Cutty Sark could be your blended whisky of choice. Or you could save a bit longer and buy yourself a Deluxe blend or a Single Malt. Guess what I would do!!!

Jan van den Ende                                                                   January 1, 2012

Johnnie Walker Gold Label Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Johnnie Walker Gold Label  

The Centenary Blend

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: 18 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 29/12/2011

Colour: Gold (How could it be anything else!)

Nose: The first impressions are light Smoke and Peat in combination with Honeyed Bananas and a bit of Quality Oak. A breeze of salty sea air. After opening up you will find some more common notes such as Malt, Sherry, Butter, Orange Marmalade, light Spices and Fruits, mainly Nectarines but also tones of Peaches and Apricots. Not too much alcohol around to spoil the nosing, which is great.

There’s harmony and elegance but I miss a bit of the thrill that I feel when completely different elements such as Smoke and Peat and Sherry and Spices combine to present a wonderful nosing experience.

JW Gold’s nose is rich and comfortable and intimate but it’s not overly exciting. 

 

This is the image I get when thinking about the JW Gold Label Blend. I wouldn’t mind sitting in that chair though!

Taste: The delivery is smooth but just a touch too watery for an 18 Year old. This blend really should have been bottled at 43 – if not 46%. The Taste is easy-going and pleasant enough but not very complex with Honey, Malted Barley, Orange Marmalade and Butterscotch. Breakfast stuff really with just a whip of Smoke and Peat in the back to make it slightly more interesting.

Don’t add any water because it spoils this blend completely!

Finish: Middle Long with Honey, Sherry, Orange, Toffee, Light Spices (Cinnamon) and Mint. A slightly dry and salty aftertaste (Salted Almonds) appears after 10 minutes or so. As in all JW’s tasted so far, the finish is a little bit disappointing.

Rating: 85,5 

Nose: 22,5 – Taste: 21,5 – Finish: 20 – Overall: 21,5

General Remarks: This blend was created around 1995 and consists of Grain whiskies and Single Malts with the Highland Distillery Clynelish at its heart. The Peaty part probably derives from Caol Ila. Apparently, Cardhu also contributes to JW Gold.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Drinking Suggestion by JW: Freeze a bit of whisky for 24 hours and than drink it in a chilled glass. This way it becomes an  after dinner whisky with concentrated peat and honey. I’ve tried it and it’s okay. Still, I believe any product (and certainly a quality whisky) should be consumed the way it is presented. It’s all a bit weird if you ask me!

Conclusion: The JW Gold Label is a good, refined comfortable blend that will please many whisky fans but I find it not as interesting, mouth filling and yes, challenging as the Black Label. Therefore a price of around US$ 80 per bottle is way too high when compared to his Black cousin.

Jan van den Ende                                                            December 2011

Dimple 15 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Dimple (J.Haig & Company)

The Blend is called Pinch in the USA

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: 15 Years

Alcohol: 43%

Date: 27/12/2011

Color: Old Gold

Nose: Sweet Grains (Sugared Corn Flakes), Buttered Toast, Oak, Sherry, Caramel, a Touch of Peat, Mild Spices, Tones of Honey. There is a bit of alcohol there as well.

That’s the song I was whistling when testing the Dimple 15 Years. Can anybody remember the Searchers from 1963? Shit, I can!

Taste: Very Sweet, Medium Body, Honey, Toffee, Orange Marmalade, Spices (Nutmeg and Cinnamon), A hint of Smoke. A slight nutty bitterness that I could do without.

Finish: Middle Long but Too Sweet, Sticky Caramel and Butter Scotch, Dry Oak, Light Spices.

Rating:   80 

Nose: 20,5– Taste: 20– Finish: 19,5 – Overall: 20

General Remarks: Robert Haig is said to have been the first distiller in the Haig family. This was way back around 1630. The first Dimple Deluxe blend appeared in 1888 and the specific – and very nice bottle was introduced in 1893. This blend consists of around 30 whiskies. The basic malts are Glenkinchie and Linkwood, respectively Lowland and Speyside. There are also some matured Highlands malts included in this blend. Next to the 15 Years there are also 12 Years and 18 Years Expressions. Dimple is popular in a/o Greece, Mexico, Germany and the USA.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good. You can experiment with a little water thanks to the 43% alcohol. It brings a little bit more balance between the sweet and the spices.

Conclusion: It’s not so easy to draw a final conclusion on this blend. Certainly the Dimple 15 Year is not a bad blended whisky. But is it really good? No, I don’t think so. Why? Because when nosing and tasting the Dimple I can’t stop thinking about this all the time:

It’s simply too sweet. Sweet Cornflakes and Buttered Toast and Toffee on the nose, Honey and Toffee on the palate and Sticky sugary Caramel in the finish. Don’t forget to brush your teeth after drinking this whisky! But honestly, there is too much sweetness around and that makes Dimple 15 Year a bit boring. It tastes probably good when mixed with Cola but I don’t need to buy an exclusive blend for that reason. Okay, maybe the Dimple is not really an expensive blend at around USD 40 per liter in Europe. Still, how many kilos of assorted sweets can you buy with that kind of money!

                                                                            

Jan van den Ende                                                             December 2011

Glen Grant Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Glen Grant

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Speyside

Age: Unspecified but most likely around 5 years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Sherry (Fino)/ Straw

Nose: Light, Grass, Lemon, Honey, Malt (Biscuits), Young Alcohol, a bit of Spice. Not unlike some German Obstler distilled from fruit. After continuous nosing the Malty/Sweet Speyside character becomes clearer.

Taste:  The delivery is malty with some sweet component I can’t define, followed by alcohol and spices. It’s close to a simple Grappa. Rough and Edgy.

Finish: Short/Middle long. Dry, Bitter, Nuts. Some Lemon/Lime in the end.

Rating: 74,5

Nose: 19,5 – Taste: 19 – Finish: 18 – Overall: 18

General Remarks:  Probably the cheapest single malt around. Very light colour when compared to your average blend or single malt but still it is said to contain caramel for additional colouring. Very strange indeed! It’s an old distillery founded in 1840. It’s extremely popular in Italy because of its light character and, surprise, was bought by the Campari Group in 2006.

I added half a teaspoon of water that brought out some floral tones in the nose and took down some of the hot harshness on the palate. This Single Malt allows a bit of water. But only a few drops!!

Drinking Experience Neat: Average

Drinking Experience On the Rocks: Good

Conclusion: Not bad on the nose but not balanced enough on the palate. Too much young alcohol. Would love to try this one after another 5 years on American oak. Still, quite reasonable as an appetiser on a warm and sunny afternoon. That’s what the Italians think at least!!!

Jan van den Ende                                                               October 9, 2011

J&B 15 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: J&B (Justerini & Brooks)

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: 15 Years

ABV: 40%

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: First impressions are Peat and Malt with some Sherry lurking in the back. After a while we get Tobacco, White Pepper, Black Tea and Old Leather. There are more wafts of grainy young alcohol than I would expect from a 15 Year old Blend. There is evidence from coastal – or Islay distilleries in this blend but I find it hard to describe them. It’s like smelling a salty sea breeze but maybe I’m getting a bit too poetic here. But definitively salty! It’s certainly less sweet than I expected given the presence of the Speyside Malts. There are certainly some interesting aspects to the nose but you need patience to get through the wafts of alcohol that keep distracting you from time to time. I will deduct half a point for that.

Taste: The delivery is a bit watery. A somewhat remarkable combination of sugary Candy and Peat, spiced up with White Pepper and Cinnamon. It’s hard to detect the malt whiskies here. Not at all elegant. No need to add water as the delivery is already on the thin side.

Finish: Disappointing. Short and dry with salted Nuts and White Pepper. That’s too little for a 15 Year Blend.

Rating: 80,5 

Nose: 21,5 – Taste: 20 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 20

General Remarks: In 1749, Giacomo Justerini from Bologna, Italy fell in love with a British opera singer and went back with her to London. Together with an English partner, George Johnson they started to merchant wine. In 1831 Alfred Brooks bought Justerini & Johnson and the company’s name became Justerini & Brooks. You can always argue about taste of course but the brown bottle used for J&B’s 15Y reminds me more of strong Belgian beer than of quality whisky. Why is it brown anyway? Is there something to hide? Ah, I love conspiracy theories!

The J&B 15Y is a blend of 42 grain – and malt whiskies, whereby most of the Malts are Speyside.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average/Good

Conclusion: Really disappointing. The nose is interesting although without a clear purpose or vision. The wafts of alcohol should not be that present after 15 years! Taste-wise there's too much sweet candy and the finish is not worth mentioning. It’s drinkable of course but in Brazil you pay around USD 100 for this blend! For about half that price you can get yourselves a great blend like Johnnie Walker Black!

       

Jan van den Ende                                                           December 23, 2011