Grant's 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Grant’s Blended Scotch Whisky

Bottled by William Grant & Sons, Dufftown

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: 12 Y

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 07-07-2012

Colour:  Pale Gold

Nose: First impressions are Peat, Malt, Oak, Vanilla, Grains/Biscuits and a tad of Leather. There’s some Alcohol present so you have to find your way around it to detect some Fruit (Orange Zest, Peach, Apple and maybe Mango or Pineapple).

Taste: Rather sweet with Honey, Milk Chocolate, Malt, Cereals, Orange Zest and Spices like Pepper and Nutmeg.

Finish: Middle-Long and not as sweet as the Palate would want you to believe. Grains, Malt, Cinnamon and Nuts (Almonds).

When adding a few drops of water you eliminate most of the Alcohol on the Nose while releasing more Malt, Vanilla, Biscuits and Tropical Fruits. On the Palate the Spices are less present. The Finish reveals a bit more bitter Grain. You can play with a bit of Water without overdoing it of course.

Rating:  81 

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20 – Finish: 20 – Overall: 20

General Remarks:  This Blend is produced for the Family-Owned William Grant & Sons Ltd by their Master Blender Brian Kinsman (formerly David Stewart). It contains 50% Single Malts and 50% Grain Whiskies. (Girvan Distillery – see Picture above). It matures for at least 12 Years in Oak Casks before being finished for another 6 months in First Fill American Oak. William Grant & Sons are also the owners of Glenfiddich and the Balvenie so we may assume that these Malts are part of this Blend.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Quite Nice.

Conclusion: This is a much better Blend than the Family Reserve, that’s for sure. There is nothing challenging here but it’s a well-balanced all-rounder that will please most people. It’s not quite interesting enough to drink it neat on a regular basis in my opinion but on the Rocks you can’t go wrong with this Blend.

Jan van den Ende                                                                    July 2012

Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Years Review - The Final Verdict

Hi Everybody and Welcome to the Whisky Paradise,

Monday is a holiday here in Sao Paulo so we are enjoying a nice long Weekend. Tonight and tomorrow night I am going to taste Grant's 12 Y Blended Scotch. I do hope it will be better than The Family Reserve that I tasted earlier this year! Yesterday night I revisited the Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Y Single Malt. I refined the Tasting Notes a little bit here and there but my overall opinion and the final score remained the same. It's a very pleasant easy going whisky that is an excellent starting place for newbies in the whisky world. And given its reasonable price, it's one of my day-to-day drams. You can find the Tasting Notes elsewhere on the site or you can simply click here: The Balvenie DoubleWood.

I was hoping to have finished another Pink Floyd Review but that's not the case. Still working on it. Finally I would like to thank my visitors from all over the world for their interest in Whisky and Classic Rock. During the last 24 hours they came a.o. from Myanmar, the USA, Indonesia, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the Netherlands, India, the United Kingdom, Serbia, Denmark,Canada, Belgium, the Philippines,  Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. I wish you all a very nice weekend, enjoy the reviews and Tasting Notes and feel free to visit us soon again.

Sweet Drams!

Jan

Graham Nash - Wild Tales - Review

Songs: Wild Tales, Hey You (Looking at the Moon), Prison Song, You´ll Never Be the Same, And So It Goes, Grave Concern, Oh Camil (The Winter Soldier), I Miss You, On the Line, Another Sleep Song.

Type of Music: Early Seventies Country/Folk/Pop

Comments:

Graham´s forgotten album. And that´s a Shame!  Wild Tales was recorded in 1973 with the help from buddies David Crosby and Joni Mitchell and some members of Neil Young´s  “ Harvest “  band. It´s almost a country album with some pop and folk thrown in for good measure. All songs were written by Graham and usually his voice fits the songs well like in the heartfelt I Miss You. But just try to imagine what Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen could have done with the anti War Song Oh Camil (The Winter Soldier) or say the Eagles with You´ll Never Be The Same. The Album is rather short and there´s some filler but after all those years it´s still one of the albums that regularly returns to my CD Player. My favourite songs include the country-pop of Hey You (Looking at the Moon), Prison Song that deals with the differences in the legal systems of the various states in the Union and And so it goes.

The Album missed a Hit-single like “ Chicago” on “ Songs for Beginners” and was overlooked. Sometimes life just isn´t fair! 

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: Anyone who likes the sound of Crosby, Stills & Nash in songs like Teach your Children or Our House should buy this one. May be hard to find though! 

Chieftain's Caol Ila 10 Years Medoc Finish Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Chieftain’s Caol Ila Medoc Finish

Bottled by: Ian Macleod & Comp. Ltd., Edinburgh

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Islay

Age: 10 Years

Alcohol: 43%

Date: 02/07/2012

Colour: Pale Gold

Nose: A mixture of Peat, Smoke, Rubber, Medicinal Alcohol and Sea Water. A bit of Malt, Biscuit and Vanilla in the background. No fruity tones that I’m aware of. It’s not bad but it’s quite uneventful and one-sided.

Taste: Peat, Sugar, Light Spices and unexpected hints of Milk Chocolate.

Finish: Quite long, perhaps even too long with Peat, Rubber, Sugared Herbal Tea and Licorice

With the addition of a few drops of water, the Nose becomes a brick of Peat sprayed with Salty Water. Bit of Malt, Oak and Vanilla and a hint of Red or Rose Wine. On the Palate the dram becomes a bit milder but the Chocolate is gone. The Finish is much shorter and uneventful really. You can certainly experiment with a bit of water. I usually prefer to drink Single Malts neat but in this case a couple of drops are beneficial.

Rating:  76 

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

General Remarks: Ian MacLeod is a so-called Independent Bottler. These companies play an important part in today’s whisky industry. They buy casks of (young) spirit from Distilleries, mature them, finish them and bottle them, all at their own discretion and then sell the final product under their own label. This is all very attractive for whisky drinkers who look beyond the standard Distillery offerings. They are often bottled at cask strength and non-chill-filtered. Many times, but not always, Independent Bottlers offer products that are greatly appreciated.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is my first dram of Caol Ila and I’m sure there are a lot of better expressions around. 

This 10 Y Medoc Finish suffers from a lack of fruit. I would love to try a Distillery expression that was(partially) matured in fine Sherry casks. I’m sure that would provide a better balance for the Peat, Smoke and Medicinal Tones. As it is, I find this whisky too monotonous. It also possesses a rubbery off-note that I find unpleasant, particularly in the (overly) long Finish.   

Jan van den Ende                                                                 July 2012

Black & White Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Black & White

Bottled by James Buchanan & Co., Glasgow

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: NAS

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Pale Gold

Nose: Medium Sweet, Oak, Biscuits, Rather Sharp Grain Alcohol, Vinegar, Touch of Peat.

Taste: Rough and Tough. Grain Alcohol and some Sugared Dried Fruits. Bit of Oak and Pepper.

Finish: Short. Sharp Grain Alcohol and a little Oak and Vanilla. Hint of Honey.

When adding a couple of drops of water you get rid of most of the Alcohol on the Nose and get more Grain, Straw and a little Malt. It completely waters down the Palate however and the Finish becomes even shorter with a Licorice note right at the end. So while water certainly benefits the Nose, it does not have a positive effect on Palate and Finish.

Rating: 73 

Nose: 18 – Taste: 19.5 – Finish: 17 – Overall: 18.5

General Remarks: James Buchanan created this Blend in 1884 and gave it its current name in 1904. It was originally sold in a Black Bottle with a White Label, hence the name. It contains 35 Grain – and Malt Whiskies with a 60-65% Grain Whisky content, a/o from Port Dundas and Cameronbridge. The main Malt component is produced by the Dalwhinnie Distillery(Highland). Above you see a picture of this Distillery.

The Blend is now owned by the Diageo Group. Main markets for this Blend are South Africa, Canada and Italy.

Drinking Experience Neat: Regular

Drinking Experience On The Rocks: Regular

Conclusion: The rather young tasting Grain Whiskies dominate this Blend. There’s not much room for anything else. Some sweetness, Oak and hints of Peat and Honey. It’s certainly not expensive but it offers too little to consider buying it again.

Jan van den Ende                                                                   June 30, 2012