Chieftain's Rosebank 14 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Chieftain’s Rosebank

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

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Lowland

Age: 14 Years

Alcohol: 46%

Date: 02/09/2012

Colour: Pale Straw/White Wine

Nose: Not bad but slightly disappointing for a 14 Years Single Malt. Alcohol and Oak are very dominant at first. This dram really requires patience. After 15 minutes or so I find Apple (Vinegar), Malt, Lemon and Honey. Floral tones and Sweet Peach at the back of the glass. Once the dram opens up, the Nose is not unpleasant but rather plain and without significant depth. When you nose the empty glass you get a pleasant combination of Apple (Pie) and Malt.

Taste: Sugary Sweet White Grapes with some Spices. It’s not unlike a Grappa.

Finish: A bit hot with Apple, Spices and a touch of Honey.

With a few drops of water, Alcohol and Oak are toned down on the Nose. You get more Malt, Toast and a bit of Blossom and Fruit. The Palate is a little less sweet and more balanced. The Finish gets a bit extra Pepper. You can certainly experiment with a few drops in this case. But as always, don’t overdo it because with one drop too much it gets watered down.

Rating: 79.5 

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20 – Finish: 19– Overall: 19.5

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.

The Rosebank Distillery was built on the banks of the Forth-Clyde Canal near Falkirk. Most of its production was used for Blends because of the light and floral character of the spirit. It is out of production since 1993 and practically dismantled. There are projects of a new Distillery at the same location but the Diageo Group, the owners of the Trademark Name Rosebank, deny that any whisky that might be produced there in the future will carry the name Rosebank.

Conclusion: Unfortunately I have no idea when this Single Malt was distilled and when it was bottled. I can only tell you that it aged for 14 years. The hot Spices indicate a high number of European Oak Casks but I can’t detect any Sherry influence so most likely Refill Casks were used. Honestly speaking I had expected more from a 14 Year Single Malt. It is a Lowland of course and we should consider the light character of those whiskies. But I feel this expression suffers from a lack of complexity and depth. It’s mainly Malt and Oak with a touch of Apple and Grappa. I bought a miniature of this whisky and that’s a great- and not very expensive way to sort out a dram. It will be hard to find a full bottle of this. I wouldn’t give it a lot of effort though if I were you!

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Jan van den Ende                                                               September 2012

Goodbye Lucida!

Hello everybody and welcome to the Whisky Paradise,

Today I will say goodbye to my beloved font Lucida Handwriting. I used this font right from the start of this blog on November 30, last year. I chose that font because I thought it to be more personal and well, I think it looks pretty nice. But many of you have informed me that, while nice, it's hard to read sometimes, especially when you use mobile phones or other smaller equipment. Since there is no reason for me to write when my readers can't read it I have decided to follow the suggestions and have changed the font to Verdana. She's nice too though not as beautiful as Lucida! So as of now all posts will be in Verdana Bold. 

If I have a lot of extra time I will one day adjust all older posts to the Verdana Font as well. 

Anyway, I hope you will appreciate the change. Just let me know what you think in the Comments Section.

Other than that I can tell you that I've been able to secure many miniature bottles of Scotch, both Single Malts & Blends and including spirit from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, the USA and Switzerland. So enough to go on at least for the coming year. 

  

I'm also very happy with your interest for the blog. There is a growing number of readers from Asia, more specifically from India, Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore. But also from all other parts of the world. In the last 18 hours for instance we had visitors from France, the USA, Poland, Argentina, Denmark, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, India, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, the Netherlands & Italy. Welcome to all of you. Hope you like reading the Tasting Notes and Reviews! Just let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or whiskies you would like me to review. 

That's it for now. I wish you all a very nice weekend. Enjoy tonight with a nice dram! Cheers and see you all back tomorrow for more whisky news!

Jan

Clontarf Single Malt Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Clontarf Single Malt

Type: Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey

Age: NAS

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Pale Straw

Nose: Crisp and Fruity (Hints of Pear, Peach and Maraschino Cherries) with Malt, Oak, Vanilla, Citrus and Honey. Bit of sharp Alcohol. It takes a while to open up.

Taste: Malt, Oak, Vanilla, Honey, Spices and Citrus.

Finish: Clean with Malt, Oak and a bit of Honey. The Malt lingers on for a while.

I added a bit of water and the Malt gets even stronger on the Nose. The Taste and Finish get a bit watered down though. Better drink this neat or with a little Ice.

Rating: 79 

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

General Remarks: This Single Malt is produced by the Clontarf Whiskey Company, part of Castle Brands Inc. Its name refers to the Battle of Clontarf, fought in 1014 and resulting roughly in an Irish victory over Viking invaders. Today, Clontarf is a suburb of Dublin. The Single Malt is charcoal-mellowed before it ages in Charred Bourbon Barrels. It’s  distilled at the old Bushmills complex at Country Antrim. The Clontarf Whiskey Company also sells a Blended Irish Whiskey and a Reserve. The latter one is a blend of Malt – and Grain Whiskeys.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: This is not a very complicated Whiskey but well-made. It’s crisp and light. The basic flavors are Malt and Oak with some Fruity tones. With a little Ice this could be quite charming on a fine Summer Day.

Jan van den Ende                                                                      August 31, 2012

Inver House Green Plaid Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Inver House Green Plaid

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: NAS (Probably 3 years)

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Very Pale Gold

Nose: Bitter Oak, Sharp Grain Alcohol and Apple. It’s not easy to identify this as a Scottish Blend. It almost smells like a very cheap type of Calvados, the French Apple Brandy from Normandy. With patience you can find the slightest hints of Malt, Toast and Nuts.

Taste: Watery delivery. Bitter-Sweet with an immediate Alcohol Burn. Some Grain and Toffee.

Finish: Short, Sugary and Edgy with Pepper and Toffee. Not a very pleasant aftertaste.

I added a couple of drops of water and the Nose gets a bit milder. But you completely drown Taste and Finish. If you must, drink it without water, but better still, leave it alone.

Rating:  64.5  

Nose 17 – Taste 16.5 – Finish 15 – Overall 16

General Remarks: Inver House Distillers was founded in Scotland in 1964 as a subsidiary of Publicker Industries USA. After closing down in 1985 and 1986 and after a management buy out it was finally purchased in 2001 by Pacific Spirit UK, a global beverage company. In the USA the Blend is imported by Barton of Chicago. It’s very cheap at around US$ 10.

Drinking Experience Neat: Not Satisfactory

Conclusion: This is the cheapest Scottish Blend I know. And therefore you can’t expect a great dram. It doesn’t taste like lamp oil like some of the stuff that is sold in Brazil. But I can’t recommend this, not even for mixes. Dewar’s White Label comes to my mind taste wise. And that was the lowest scoring Scottish Blend in my rankings so far. Before I tasted Inver House Green Plaid that is!

Jan van den Ende                                                               August 30, 2012

Rich & Rare Reserve Review

Country: Canada

Brand: Rich and Rare (R&R) Reserve

Bottled by Sazerac Co. at the Frankfort, Kentucky facility

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: NAS (Minimum 3 years)

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Light Amber/Orange

Nose: Nothing to get excited about. Harsh Oak and Sharp Alcohol, Syrup, Rye and other Grains, Varnish. Bit of Caramel, Buttered Toast and a hint of Citrus. There’s a Fruity tone in the back of the glass but I can’t pin it down exactly because of the Alcohol. Plums maybe. When I nosed the empty glass, I got the light but not unpleasant combination of Grain and Oak.

Taste: Watery delivery. Sweet Syrup, slightly bitter Oak and spicy Rye. Alcohol Burn. White Pepper. Very faint hints of Orange and Cinnamon.

Finish: Quite hot and dry with some Rye, bitter Oak and Caramel.

I added a couple of drops of water but won’t do that again. On the Nose you get a bit more Grain but the whisky starts tasting like simple vodka.

Rating: 70

  

Nose: 18.5 – Taste: 17 – Finish: 17 – Overall: 17.5

General Remarks: R&R Reserve is a blend of Reserve Barrel whiskies from Sazerac’s stocks of over 200.000 barrels of Canadian whisky. Sazerac is a very old privately owned company from New Orleans and is (apparently successfully) re-introducing Canadian whiskies to the US Market. It’s a very cheap blend at around US$ 14, - a bottle.

Drinking Experience Neat: Not quite my cup of Whisky!

Conclusion: You can’t expect miracles for US$ 14, - a bottle and you don’t get them with the Rich & Rare Reserve. The Nose is acceptable but taste wise I get no pleasure from this Blend. I suppose you could mix it with something but I would rather spend a few bucks more and get me a Standard Bourbon or Whiskey.

Jan van den Ende                                                                  August 27, 2012