Locke's 8 Years Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Locke’s

Type: Single Malt (Pure Pot Still)

Age: 8 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 15/09/2012

Colour: Golden Sunlight

Nose: Lots of Malt. Oak, Honey and Citrus. Very light Peat and some Fruit tones. Walnut shells. The empty glass smells like Oatmeal Porridge with Sugar and Honey.

Taste: Sweet Barley, bit of Pepper, Honey. Hints of Peach and Orange zest. Quite dry altogether.

Finish: Short and quite dry with Malt, Oak, Honey and Pepper.

I added a bit of Water and you get even more Malt on the Nose. Bit of extra Fruit as well. I prefer to nose it without Water but there’s room to experiment. On the Palate and on the Finish the Sweet - and Wood tones are a bit more accentuated and the Pepper is toned down somewhat. The Finish gets some Sweet Licorice. Certainly worth while to try it out both ways.

Rating: 79.5

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

Locke’s Distillery Museum

General Remarks: This whiskey was originally made by John Locke’s & Sons distillery near Kilbeggan and is named after John Locke, an important person in the Irish Whiskey Industry. It is currently produced by the Cooley distillery and is a blend of some of their Malts. It was officially released in 2000 and is double distilled in Pot Stills. Around 10% of the Malt used is peated. This whiskey is difficult to find outside Ireland.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: Another Irishman put to the test! Locke’s 8 year Single Malt is certainly not a bad dram. But the Barley is very dominant and leaves little space for anything else. Whatever the reason, I would really like to see a bit more personality. It’s harmless but will not linger in your mind for a long time. And that’s a pity really!

Jan van den Ende                                                                September 2012

Glen Edward' s Pure Malt Blend Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Glen Edward’s

Type: Blended Malt Whisky

Bottled by: Bardinet Group, Bordeaux

Age: NAS (Probably around 3-5 Years)

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Dark Amber

Nose: Light in character. Young Oak and Harsh Alcohol form the Welcome Committee followed by some Malt, Brown Sugar, Hay, Nuts and Raisins. When nosing the rim of the glass I get a bit of Honey and a hint of Peat.

Taste: Slightly watery delivery with lots of Sugar and Spice and a bit of Malt. Not much else going on!

Finish: Short with Sugary Cereals, a touch of Honey, Licorice and White Pepper.

I added a couple of drops of water. On the Nose you get rid of the sharp Alcohol but other than that no big changes occur. Palate and Finish become slightly more smooth and less Sugary. Still, it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. 

Rating: 74 

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

General Remarks: It’s not easy to find information on this Malt Blend. It has a brother or sister that’s called Sir Edward’s, but that’s apparently a Blend of Malt – and Grain Whiskies. Owner of the Brand names is the French based Bardinet Group who also owns Glen Moray. This might give us an indication as to the Edward’s core Malt ingredient. It ages in Oak Barrels. Ah yes, the son of the owner of the Bardinet group, the late Paul Bardinet, is called Edward! The whisky is apparently distilled by Leith Distillers from Edinburgh, a daughter company of Whyte and Mackay. It is then shipped in bulk to France where it is bottled in Bordeaux by Bardinet. I bought my Glen Edward’s (same label as Sir Edward’s by the way) in the Duty Free Shop in Argentina. The bottle states that the whisky is aged and distilled in Scotland and mentions the name Bardinet , Blanquefort. The latter is a northern suburb of Bordeaux. Apparently there is also a 12 Years Expression of Sir Edward.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Okay

Conclusion: Drinkable but utterly boring. It smells and tastes a bit like a cheaper version of the Whyte & Mackay’s Special Blend. Coincidence? Who knows!

                                         

Jan van den Ende                                                              September 13, 2012

Jack Daniels Single Barrel Review

Country: USA

Brand: Jack Daniels Single Barrel

Type: Whiskey (Tennessee)

Age:  NAS (Usually over 4 Years)

Alcohol: 47%

Colour: Deep Reddish/Full Gold

Nose: Sweet Corn, Maple Syrup, Charred Oak, Vanilla, Spice (White Pepper), Acetone, Banana, Furniture Wax and Butter. A bit of Alcohol is present what can be expected when bottled at 47%. The Nose is a more mature version of the Old # 7. After a while I get additional fruit (Peach). Quite nice. Need a little time to open up.

Taste: Cinnamon, Rye, White Pepper, Charred Wood, Vanilla, Toffee, Cigar Box, Cherries and Licorice.

Finish: Quite long. Dry, Spicy and Sour with Lemon, Licorice, Walnuts and Rye. Bit of Maple Syrup is the only sweet component.

I added a couple of drops of water to the whiskey that suppressed the Alcohol and the White Pepper on the Nose. It becomes sweeter and mellow with more Cinnamon, Maple Syrup, Sweet Corn and Caramel. Taste and Finish just mellow down a bit. You can certainly experiment with a little water here.

Rating   82   

Nose: 21.5 – Taste: 20 – Finish: 20– Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Jack Daniels Distillery is located in Lynchburg (Tennessee). It was indeed founded by a man called Jack Daniel in 1866 and it stayed in the family until 1956 when it was bought by Brown Forman from Kentucky.  

The Single Barrels that are chosen for this expression are selected from the uppermost floors of the warehouses located on the hills surrounding the distillery. During the year these floors endure extremes in temperature resulting in very aromatic and smooth whiskeys. Each bottle is hand–labeled and marked with the number of the Barrel, the Rick and the date of bottling. In this case I’m tasting bottle # II-5199 from Rick # L-2 that was bottled on the 13^th of October 2011. The mash bill for this whiskey consists of Corn, Barley and Rye.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Very Good

Conclusion: I found this Single Barrel to be in line with the general taste pattern of the Old # 7. It’s a bit more mature and polished than # 7 but not too smooth like the Gentleman Jack. It certainly benefits from the higher Alcohol percentage of 47%. If the Old # 7 would be bottled with the same percentage, it would be very difficult to tell them apart in a blind tasting session. Having said that, the nose of this Single Barrel was more interesting and mature than both Old # 7 and Gentleman Jack. The Peach tone was very convincing. And the colour is really beautiful. And it tastes great with Ice thanks to the 47% Alcohol. Is it worth all the extra money? I don’t think so. Despite the very nice bottle and packaging. In the end, I think that’s a compliment to the producers of Jack Daniels. It means that they have a very adequate standard expression with the Old # 7.

Jan van den Ende                                                           September 10, 2012

Crown Royal Fine De Luxe Review

Country: Canada

Brand: Crown Royal Fine De Luxe

Imported in the USA - and bottled by The Crown Royal Co., Norwalk (CT)

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: NAS (Minimum 3 years)

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Golden Amber

Nose: Sweet Grain similar to Bourbon but lighter, Caramel, Vanilla (Custard), Maple Syrup, Oak. Some Fruity Tones (think of Banana and Cherries). Hardly any Alcohol here.

Taste: Slightly Watery Delivery. Sweet Corn, Oak, Spices, Brown Sugar

Finish: Short, Dry, Slightly Bitter, Licorice, Spiced Rye and Oak.

I added a couple of drops of water that brought some Honeyed Sweetness to the Nose. But it waters down Palate and Finish so better drink this neat

Rating: 77.5   

Nose: 21 – Taste: 19 – Finish: 18 – Overall: 19.5

General Remarks: The Crown Royal Fine De Luxe is a Blend of 50 different whiskies, created in 1939 by the Seagram Company to celebrate the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. It is made of Corn, Rye and malted Barley. It matures in a mixture of older – and new White Oak Barrels. It is produced at the Crown Royal Distillery at Gimli on the shores of Lake Winnipeg (Ontario). Today’s owners are the Diageo Group. It’s the best selling Canadian Whisky in the USA.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: Pleasant Nose is not matched by an equally good Palate and Finish. I can see why it’s the best selling Canadian whisky in the States though. It’s quite similar in taste when compared to Bourbon. The Crown Royal would cost anything between 15 and 30 US Dollars, depending on where you live. For that price I prefer to buy a Bourbon. It does the same job, only better!

Jan van den Ende                                                            September 8, 2012

The Battle Between the Grouses

Hi Everybody and Welcome to the Whisky Paradise,
Today is a National Holiday in Brazil and I took the opportunity to revisit two of Scotland's best selling Blends, the Famous Grouse and her peated sister the Black Grouse. Although neither of them can be called spectacular, both are highly drinkable and affordable. I can see why they are so popular. I tasted both Blends resp. in late 2011 and early 2012. Now, during my my second tasting session, both scored slightly higher as I got additional flavour details that I didn't taste before. Therefore I updated the Tasting Notes on both Blends. Curious who won the battle? You can find them Notes here  The Famous Grouse and here The Black Grouse.

I'm really looking forward to the month of October when I expect to receive around 30 miniature bottles of Scottish Single Malts. That means that, together with my stock here, I will have enough material for the rest of this year and 2013. Good news!

As always I would like to thank all regular and new visitors to the site. It's great to see world wide interest for Whisky and Classic Rock. In the last 24 hours we received visitors from Germany, Norway, Brazil, Yemen, the USA, Sweden, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Morocco, Thailand, South Africa, Russia and Turkey. Thanks for your kind interest and feel free to come back anytime. You are more than welcome. I wish you all a very nice weekend. Enjoy it with a nice dram!
Saude!
Jan