Tomintoul 12 Years Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Speyside 

Brand: Tomintoul Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 12 Years

ABV: 40 %

Colour: Golden/Light Amber

Nose: I'm struggling a bit with the Nose of this Tomintoul. I get the Sherry notes for sure together with a very light impression of Sulphur. And some familiar stuff like Hay, Oak, Malt, Toffee, Lemon Zest and Dried Fruits. Some Floral tones as well. And I also get a pair of completely different flavour sensations from time to time. Mind you, I have nosed this dram for more than 60 minutes. Sometimes I am sitting at a breakfast table with Toast, Breakfast Cereals and Orange - and Apple Juice. And sometimes I get Oriental impressions such as Cardamom, Ginger and Soy Sauce. It's like Yin and Yang.The Nose is interesting enough but I can't say I find it extremely appealing.

Palate: Slightly Watery Delivery. I find Pralines, Sherry, Red Fruit, Malt, Toffee and Spices like Cardamom, Nutmeg, Ginger and Pepper.

Finish: Middle-Long with very recognisable Wine Gums (mostly the Red ones) as well as Sherry, Barley Sugar, Pepper, Orange, Oak and hints of Chocolate and Cardamom.

I added a bit of water and you get a bit more Fruit, Blossom, Toffee and Malt on the Nose. Palate and Finish are just washed down. The whisky does get a bit more smooth with water.

Rating: 82.5

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

General Remarks: 

This distillery only started its operations in 1964 and released its first Single Malt only in 1973. Its nickname is The Gentle Dram. The distillery is located close to the river Avon, some 13 kilometres outside the village of Tomintoul, the highest village in the Highlands. Since 2000 the distillery is owned by Angus Dundee Distillers PLC, London. The whisky I'm tasting today is a so called Limited Edition. Limited quantities of regular Tomintoul 12 distilled in the autumn of 1995 were transferred to Oloroso Sherry Casks in January 2006 to finish maturation in order to enhance the whisky with some Sherry sweetness. The first bottles of this expression were presented to the market in October 2007. It costs around 50 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good 

Conclusion: Pfff, difficult this one. I don't think this is a bad dram. The Sherry is well integrated and does not dominate anywhere. But I simply don't manage to connect with this Whisky. I don't hear what it wants to say to me and, believe me, I've listened long enough. I've had the 10 Years before Tomintoul 10 and although I scored that a tad higher I did notice the absence of some Sherry Notes. That's of course not the case here. When comparing the two I did not find the regular 10 to be better but I did think it to be ever so slightly more appealing. In any case the two expressions were not able to turn me into a big fan of this distillery. Maybe the 16 and/or 33 Years, that I will review later on, can do that trick. 

Jan van den Ende                                                             February 5, 2013

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