Old St. Andrews Par 4 - Blended Scotch Whisky Review

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Old St.Andrews Par 4 

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: NAS (Probably 3-5 Years)

ABV: 40 %

Date: 02/02/2013

Colour: Amber

Nose: It's been a while since I tasted a rather basic Blend. Young Grain Alcohol, Slightly Bitter Wood, Malt, Caramel, a handful of Nuts and Dried Fruits like Raisins and Sultanas, hints of Lemon Peel and Honey. T'is not much but t'is all there's to it! 

Palate: Thin delivery. Sugary Sweet Grain, Caramel, slightly Bitter Tiger Wood(s) and some Spice (think of Nutmeg). Hints of Lemon, Dried Fruits and Honey. Again, it's not much but it is consistent with the Nose.

Finish: Short and Sugary Sweet with a bit of Spice.

I added a bit of water and the Nose becomes somewhat Sweeter, less Bitter and less Grainy. I get a distant hint of Leather as well. Palate and Finish however do not benefit from the added water.

Rating: 70.5 (out of 100)

Nose:  18 - Taste: 18  - Finish: 17   - Overall: 17.5 

General Remarks: The Old St. Andrews Par 4 (Clubhouse) Blended Whisky comes in unique Golf Ball-Shaped Bottles. The showstopper is the Miniature bottle, an exact lookalike of a real golf ball. More than 10 million of these little balls were sold already. It was made popular in the 80's by Dennis Thatcher, the husband of the Iron Lady, although it was originally created for the Japanese market. The Whisky is one of many that are bottled by Brand Owner St. Andrews of London, whisky blenders for more than 75 years. It contains Grain Whiskies and between 12 and 18 Single Malts, a.o. the Tomatin. Today's novelty blend matured in Oak casks previously used for Sweet Wines, Sherry and Port and got its name from one of the oldest golf courses in the world, the Old Course at St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was established in 1552, has 18 holes and Par was set at 72. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Below Par.

Conclusion: A gimmick and a funky present for Golf-Players. The package and presentation are more important than the whisky I'm afraid. New balls please!

Jan van den Ende                                                                       February 2013

Glenlivet 12 Years French Oak Finish

Country: Scotland

Region: Speyside 

Brand: The Glenlivet French Oak

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 12 Years

ABV: 40 %

Colour: Light Amber 

Nose: Not a whole lot of special things going on here. Quite Dry with some Sweet tones. I get Dusty Oak, Grass/Straw, Toffee, Toasted Malt, Vanilla, Potpourri of Dried Fruits (with Apricot in the lead) and traces of Honey, Butter and Heather. Certainly not unpleasant but rather understated. The Wood tends to dominate the Nose a bit.

Palate: Rather thin delivery with Sweet Malt, Aniseed, Vanilla, Pepper, Cinnamon, White Grapes, Grass, Oak, Floral Tones and Nuts.

Finish: Middle-Long with some Sweet Fruit, Toffee, Aniseed, Pepper, Nutmeg and Dusty Oak. The Oak gets the last word again.

I added a bit of water and the Nose becomes more Floral and less Woody. The Palate gets more Fruit but the dram does become a bit too thin. The Finish becomes very Woody! You can add some drops but one at the time until you have found your ideal flavour profile.

Rating: 82.5

Nose: 21 - Taste: 21  - Finish: 20  - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: George Smith built The Glenlivet Distillery in 1824. It moved to the current location, Minmore House near Ballindalloch in 1858 and produces around 6 million litres of Alcohol yearly. Current Owners are Chivas (Pernod Ricard). Glenlivet is the best selling Single Malt in the USA and the second best on a global scale. Most of the production is sold as Single Malt with the remainder going to the Chivas Regal – and Royal Salute Blends. Most distilleries closed various times during their history, especially during the Depression and in wartime. But Glenlivet only closed during World War II. Without any doubt, the Glenlivet has contributed a lot to the current popularity of Single Malt whiskies. The 12 Years French Oak matured in American Oak Bourbon Casks but was finished for probably 6 months or maybe a little more in new Casks made of Limousin Oak. This wood is normally used to produce Casks for fine Wines and Cognacs. The Glenlivet Distillery used it for the first time for whisky. I believe this specific 12 Years expression was created in the early 2000's. As far as I know it has been discontinued in the meantime. Maybe because the contact with the Limousin Oak was not long enough to create a significant difference with the Standard Glenlivet 12.  Although in my opinion the Nose of the Standard 12 is characterised by Sweet Fruit while the Nose of the French Oak is dominated by Wood.  A 15 Years French Oak expression still exists. I will review that one later this year as well to see if the presumed extra Limousin Oak time made any difference.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: The idea behind the French Oak Finishing was certainly interesting. Lots of Cognac, Armagnac and noble Wines have matured in Limousin Oak. Well, the Glenlivet 12 French Oak is not a bad whisky. But I would have liked to see more balance. The Wood is too dominant on the Nose and in the Finish. And the Delivery is on the thin side. However if you like the taste of Aniseed, you should give this one a try. As it is, I liked the experiment but would not consider buying a full bottle if it was still available. I am curious however to find out if the 15 Years French Oak did a better job!

Jan van den Ende                                                            January 31, 2013

Ardbeg 10 Revisited

Hello Everybody and Welcome to Best Shot Whisky Reviews!

You might remember that I tasted the Ardbeg 10 for the first time in December 2011. I instantly liked it a lot and it still is my highest scoring Whisky to date. I know that most likely it won't be on top anymore in December 2013 as I will taste a lot of good whiskies this year. But it will always remain one of my favourites for sure. Recently I swapped a bottle of the 10 from my colleague Oswaldo who didn't like the dram at all. Nothing as personal as taste so I gladly accepted. It takes a bit of time to get used to the heavily peated Islays sometimes. Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to go back to the 10 and taste it again. After all I have been tasting whisky for another year now so my taste might have developed. I tasted the Ardbeg 10 yesterday night and I'm still in love with it. I was able to pick up some extra flavours and adjusted the text accordingly. I also wrote some Distillery info and added some pictures. But I didn't change the final score. I believe it's fully worth the 91 points I gave it now more than a year ago. That means it's still # 1 on my list so far. I am really curious to know what whisky or whiskies might chase it from that position in 2013. But I give the Uigeadahl a good chance!

You can find the adjusted Tasting Notes of the Ardbeg 10 here: Ardbeg 10 Thanks for visiting and do come back tomorrow for more Whisky and Classic Rock.

Saude!

Jan

Bushmills 10 Years Single Malt

Country: Ireland

Brand: Bushmills 

Type: Single Malt Whiskey

Age: 10 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Golden Amber

Nose: Light. First impressions are Grains (Malt, Toast with Margarine), Straw/Hay and Dried Fruits (Raisins and Sultanas) followed by Nuts, Oak, light Fruity tones (Apple, Banana with light Honey, White Grapes and Coconuts), Milk Chocolate, Lemon Peel and the faintest hint of Sherry. Grains are rather dominating the Nose. The other flavours, while not unpleasant, are rather understated for a 10 Year old Single Malt.

Palate: Watery delivery. Very light, Ashy, slightly Metallic, Sugary Sweet and Soapy with Malt, Oak, Licorice, light Honey, light Fruits (Apple, Pear, Coconut), Caramel, Green Pepper and Nutmeg.

Finish: Short, Dry, Slightly Bitter, Earthy and Herbal. Some Toast, Toffee, Green Pepper, Licorice and Lemon Zest.

I added a few drops of Water and the Fruit on the Palate becomes slightly clearer. The rest though is simply washed down.

Rating:  79 

Nose: 21 - Taste: 19.5- Finish:  18.5 - Overall: 20

General Remarks:  The Old Bushmills Distillery is located in the Antrim County in Northern Ireland. Since 2005 it's owned by the Diageo Group. In 1608 a licence to distill was granted by King James I which makes Bushmills the oldest licensed Distillery. That's why the year 1608 is printed on the label. The Distillery produces a whole range of Bushmills expressions including the Original or White Label as it's often referred to, the Black Bush, the 10, 12, 16 and 21 Years Single Malts and the Special Edition 1608, released in 2008 to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of Legal Distilling at Bushmills. The Bushmills 10 Years is the only 10 Year Old Single Malt from Ireland. It is Triple-Distilled, unpeated and matured in Bourbon infused American Oak Barrels and Sherry Casks. It's not too expensive at around 45 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Below Average

Conclusion: This was Whisky of the year in 2007 I believe! And Jim Murray rewards this with 90 points in his Whisky Bible! And I? I can't say I like this Bushmills expression a lot. It's not really bad but it's too light, too watery and too understated. Some people would call this dram Smooth, Crisp, Clean and Light. In my book this is called watery, uninteresting and utterly forgettable. And that's all there is to the Bushmills 10 Year old Single Malt if you ask me!

Jan van den Ende                                                                January 27, 2013

Ringo Starr - Beaucoups of Blues

Songs: Beaucoups of Blues, Love Don´t Last Long, Fastest Growing Heartache in the West, Without Her, Woman Of The Night, I´d Be Talking All The Time, $ 15 Draw, Wine Women and Loud Happy Songs, I Wouldn`t Have You Any Other Way, Loser´s Lounge, Waiting, Silent Homecoming. 

Type of Music: Country

Comments:

Ringo had already released a not very memorable solo album with Hollywood songs earlier in 1970 called Sentimental Journey. During his work with George on the All Things Must Pass Album, he met Pedal Steel Guitar ace Pete Drake who had also recently produced Dylan´s Nashville Skyline. Ringo always liked country music and in his Beatles period he had sung country songs like Act Naturally and What Goes On. Ringo and Pete agreed to do a country Album together. Ringo wanted recordings to take place in London but Pete persuaded Ringo to go to Nashville.

In Tennessee, Pete gathered the cream of country musicians and ordered a dozen of new country songs as well. So when Ringo arrived end June 1970 everything was ready and everyone was prepared. No wonder it took only 10 days to record the album. Still it manages to sound like an Authentic Country Album. 

Considering Ringo´s somewhat doubtful past as a singer and subsequent doubts about his future career as a solo artist, one should admit that he is not doing bad at all here. Of course it all depends on where you set your expectations. This is not All Things Must Pass nor McCartney nor Plastic Ono Band.

This is Beaucoups of Blues, a collection of tear-jerkers about Whiskey, Wine, Fallen Angels, Losers, Love Lost and Loneliness. But well played by professionals and “ starring”  Ringo´s adequate country performance.

Sometimes, adequate is not enough like in Silent Homecoming, a song about a girl waiting at the airport for the return of her lover´s body killed in Vietnam. This type of song requires more feeling or involvement if you like. But Ringo is doing fine in tracks as Beaucoups of Blues, Without Her and Loser´s Lounge.

This CD was released in 1995 and includes two bonus tracks. The first one, Coochy Coochy was written by Ringo during the Nashville sessions and I have no idea why it was not included on the original Album. It would have been the best song on the Album! The second bonus track is a pleasant instrumental called Nashville Jam, also recorded during the sessions for the album.

Conclusion: Certainly not an Album that shook the Rock World in 1970. But it´s pleasant back ground music for a Sunday Morning!

Bonus Tracks: Coochy Coochy, Nashville Jam.

Rating: ******* (7 out of ten)

Black = Good Songs

Green= Great Songs

Red= Could Be Better