50.000

Hi everybody and welcome to the Whisky Paradise,

Normally you will find my Tasting Notes and Reviews here where I tell you what I think about a Whisky or a Classic Rock Album. Today I want to celebrate the fact that you visited the Whisky Paradise 50.000 times. Thanks a lot for your interest and the opinions and questions you leave in the Comments sections. Of course tasting whisky and listening to Classic Rock are my hobbies and I love writing about it. But it makes it so much more fun to know that a lot of people from all around the world are interested in - and take the time to read my stuff. 
So today I want to say thanks to all of you. I'll drink to your health with a dram of BenRiach 16 Years, one of my favourites so far. You can find the Tasting Notes here: BenRiach 16.
Cheers and see you all back tomorrow!
Saude!
Jan

Auchentoshan 18 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Auchentoshan

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Lowlands

Age: 18 Years

Alcohol: 43%

Date: 20/08/2012

Colour: Pale Gold

Nose: A rich nose with mature Fruit, Honey and Oak to start with. Then I get impressions of Rum soaked Cake, (over)-ripe Bananas, Vanilla, Malt, English Orange Marmalade and Caramel. Hints of Green Tea and Grass. I also get a hint of Sherry but that should be impossible given the fact that the 18 Years is matured in American Oak Barrels. But what can I do! I smelled the empty glass the next morning and was welcomed by Buttered Toast with Orange Marmalade. Very nice!

Taste: Despite the 43%, the delivery is still a touch too watery. This should be bottled at (at least) 46% in my opinion. On the Palate this dram is Sweet and quite Dry at the same time. Sweet Barley, Honey, Oak and Spices (Ginger and Nutmeg). A Touch of Lemon -and Orange Peel.

Finish: Middle-Long and very Dry with Oak, slightly bitter Almonds, Dried Fruits and a little Spice and Honey.

I added a few drops of water. The Nose does not change a lot although I get some more Malt and also some Pear. On the Palate, the Fruity tones become even more present. The Finish however gets a bit too bitter in my opinion. I suspect that some Sulphur is the cause of this. You can experiment with a couple of drops if you like but I prefer this dram straight.

Rating:  82  

Nose:  22 - Taste: 20.5 – Finish: 19.5– Overall: 20

General Remarks: Auchentoshan is the only remaining permanently triple-distilled Scottish whisky. The Distillery, that is located close to the city of Glasgow, was licensed in 1823 and is owned since 1984 by Morrison Bowmore that in turn was acquired by the Japanese Suntory Group in 1994. Under the new management the brand has made a huge turn-around in popularity. Auchentoshan is the Gaelic word for Corner of the Field by the way.

Conclusion: Let me start by saying that I’m not (yet) a huge fan of the Auchentoshans I’ve tasted so far (12 Y and Three Wood). And I’m struggling a bit with the 18 years as well. Let’s start with the good part. I really enjoyed the Nose. I’ve enjoyed at least half an hour Nosing each time I tasted this dram. And I even more liked smelling the empty glass the next day. Quite a treat if you like Buttered Toast with Orange Marmalade. (And I do!). But the Palate is too heavy on Sweet Stuff and I can’t find a good balance in this Department. It tastes a bit tired although I’m not sure you can apply this term to a whisky. But I hope you understand what I’m trying to say here. And the Finish is too dry for my taste. This is quite an expensive dram at around US$ 90 and I don’t think it’s worth that kind of money. Although I smile when I recall the smell of my empty glass the following day!

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Jan van den Ende                                                               August 2012

O' Kanagan Irish Whiskey Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: O’Kanagan

Type: Triple Distilled Blended Whiskey

Age: NAS

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 19/08/2012

Colour: Pale Straw/White Wine (Chardonnay)

Nose: Very Light. It’s almost non-existing. You have to dig deep here to get Slightly Sharp Grain, Oak, Light Alcohol, Malt, Lemon Peel, Vanilla, Bread Dough. Very light Notes of Toast with Margarine and a little Honey.

Taste: Very light on the Palate. Malt and Oak. Hot, Spicy and slightly Bitter. Almost nothing is happening here.

Finish: Extremely Short. Bit of Sugar, Wood and Hot Spices. A hint of Licorice at the end.

I added a bit of water but it does not make a lot of difference. You can try it either way.

Rating: 71 

Nose: 19 – Taste: 17.5 – Finish: 17– Overall: 17.5

General Remarks: I can’t find any essential information on this Blend other than that it is composed of Irish Grain and Malt Whiskeys. It is distilled in Ireland, maybe by the Cooley Distillery. It is (probably) bottled and (certainly) distributed by Distillery Group Toorank BV, a Dutch based Distilling company with distilleries in the Netherlands and Poland that produce a.o. liquors and rum. I’ve read somewhere that Canada is one of the main markets for this Blend. It’s a cheap blend at around US$ 20,-

Drinking Experience Straight: Not Satisfying.

Conclusion: I had never heard of this Blend before and I can see why. While the Nose, although very faint, is not unpleasant, Palate and Finish have almost nothing to show for. I seldom have tested a whisky with so little Taste and such a short Finish. It’s probably usable as a mixing Alcohol for Fruit Cocktails but I can’t recommend this when you like to drink your dram neat.  

Jan van den Ende                                                                 August 2012

Chivas Regal 12 Years Review - The Final Verdict

Country : Scotland

Brand: Chivas Regal

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: 12 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Tasting Date: 30/09/2011 + 18/08/2012

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Oak and Malt followed by some Sherry and  Dried Fruit (Orange Peel and Apricot). Not much else there.

Taste: Creamy Delivery with some Toffee , Sherry and Spice. Then suddenly something of a bite on the palate.

Finish: Short, some Spice. Not much here as well. A bit of Hazelnut after a while.

Rating : 73

Nose: 20 - Taste: 18 – Finish: - 17 Overall: 18

General Remarks. This blend contains some Strathisla, the Speyside Distillery that is the home of the Chivas.

I added a few drops of water which brought down the sharp Spices a bit. Still, better drink it neat.

Drinking Experience Neat : Average

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Good

Conclusion: The nose, as so often, is the best part of this rather unbalanced blend. The rest is a bit aggressive. It’s not really bad but not something I would recommend. Buy a miniature bottle first (as I did). It's good enough however to drink On the Rocks or mixed.

Jan van den Ende                                                                           August 2012

Santis Malt Edition Sigel Review

Country: Switzerland

Brand: Santis (Appenzeller Single Malt) - 

Type: Small Oak Beer Casks Matured - "Edition Sigel"

Age: NAS

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 16/08/2012

Colour: Golden

Nose: Pleasant, Crisp and Fresh. Savoury Malt, Anise, Wood, lightly Buttered Sweet Bread, Dried Apricots, Brown Sugar, Orange Liquor. Hints of Amber coloured Belgian Beer (Kwak), Cinnamon and Dark Chocolate.

Taste: Sweet Malt, Spices (White Pepper), Anise, Wood, Orange Liquor and Hints of Kwak.

Finish: Middle Long with Light Spices (White Pepper and Cloves) and Sweet Orange Liquor.

I added a bit of water but that does not improve the dram. It just waters things down in my opinion. Still, feel free to try out a couple of drops and see what you prefer.

Rating:  80  

Nose: 21.5 – Taste: 19.5 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 20

Part of the Brewery Complex.

General Remarks: The Brewery in Appenzell (Switzerland) produces beer since around 1830 but was purchased by the Locher Family in 1886. Today they produce a wide range of beers, with or without Alcohol. In 1999 the Brewery started distilling whisky that was presented to the market for the first time in 2002. It uses water from the Alpstein Mountains and the whisky is matured in old used Oak Beer Casks. There are 4 expressions all named after Alpstein Mtn. formations. They are Santis, Sigel, Drei-faltigkeit and Marwees. 

One of the fine beers of the Locher Brewery.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: When you are used to drink Scottish whisky or American Bourbon you will need to get used to this Swiss whisky. The Nose is pleasant and interesting enough with a variety of tones. Palate and Finish are slightly comparable to triple distilled Irish whiskey. Spices and Orange Liquor tend to be a bit dominant here. Still, this is a good effort of a young Distillery. Would be interesting to see what would happen to this Malt when given more time to mature and bottled at around 46%.

Jan van den Ende                                                    August 2012