Hankey Bannister Review

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Hankey Bannister Original

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: NAS (My guess: 3-5 Years)

ABV: 40 %

Colour: Dark Amber 

Nose: The familiar young Grain Alcohol welcomes us right from the start accompanied by Green Wood, light Malt, Brown Sugar, Grapefruit, Nuts and Sultanas, Orange Peel, Alcohol, some Wood Spice, a touch of Sherry and a hint of Pineapple (Juice). The Aroma is Slightly Bitter. I suspect the presence of some Sulphur as well. 

Palate: Sweet at first with Toffee/Caramel, light Vanilla and Honey but more Bitter towards the end with Cereals, Wood Spice and Oak. Quite simple but better than expected.

Finish: Short and Sugary Sweet with Caramel, Cinnamon, light Vanilla, Cereals and light Pepper.

With a bit of Water, the Nose becomes very light but, and that's a surprise, shows some Fruity tones. Palate and Finish become Bitter-Sweet with Grains, Sugar, Oak and Wood Spice fighting for the lead. My advise is to drink this Hankey Bannister on the Rocks! 

Rating: 75

Nose: 18.5 - Taste: 19.5  - Finish: 18 - Overall: 19

General Remarks: This Blended Scotch Whisky is distilled, blended and bottled for Hankey Bannister & Co. Rumour has it that the company was founded in London in 1757 by Beaumont Hankey and Hugh Bannister. I take it they were wine merchants at first as Blended Whisky was not sold until around 1860. Among their famous clients supposedly were the Prince Regent William IV, George V, the Duke of Norfolk and, in the 20th century, Sir Winston Churchill. The Blend name is owned at the moment by Inver House Distillers. At the heart of the Blend are Single Malts (around 30%) from the Highlands/Speyside such as Balblair, Knockdhu, Balmenach, Pulteney and Speyburn  and Grain Whisky (around 70%), mostly from North British and Port Dundas. Next to the NAS original, the company offers the 12 Year old Regency, the 21 Year old Partners Reserve, the 25 Years and the 40 Years. The Original is not expensive at around 20 US Dollars or even less.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average/Okay

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Okay

Conclusion: This is a cheap Blend but it's slightly better than many of its better known competitors such as Dewar's White Label, Vat 69, Bell's, Ballantine's Finest and Black & White just to name a few. Of course you can't expect the world for 20 US Dollars but it's a good alternative for JW Red as a party/mixing Whisky. I had it On The Rocks a few times and it's drinkable, especially when you pour a shot of Ardbeg or something similar. Cheers!

Jan van den Ende                                                                          June 22, 2013

Longmorn 1992 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Speyside

Brand: Longmorn 1992 (Archives)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 19 Years

ABV: 48.5 %

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Malty, Woody and Fruity with Sweet Barley, Buttered Toast, Oak and lots of Fruit such as Orange, Berries and Peach. Papaya Cream and Pineapple as well. Besides those I get Vanilla, Wax, Nuts, Lemon and hints of Good Dark Chocolate, Vinegar and Peanut Butter. Unfortunately the Alcohol is not yet fully integrated.  

Palate: Bitter-Sweet, Spicy, Herbal and reasonably complex with Orange, Malt, Papaya Cream, Pepper, Cloves, Cinnamon, Licorice, Stroh Rum from Austria, Oak, Vanilla, Honey and Walnuts.

Finish: Bitter-Sweet, Nutty and Dry with Walnuts, Coconut, Peanut Butter, Vanilla, Strong Tea, Bourbon and Spices.

I added a bit of Water and the Fruit and Malt on the Nose are enhanced. But Palate and Finish become quite Spicy. Better sip this Longmorn neat.

Rating: 82.5

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

General Remarks: Archives is the relatively young own label of Independent Whisky Bottler Whiskybase from the Netherlands. This Longmorn (Third Release) was distilled in October 1992 and was bottled at Cask Strength in May 2012. It matured in Ex-Bourbon Cask # 86607. Only 60 bottles were reserved by Whiskybase. This whisky is non chill-filtered and non coloured. The 1988 expression is sold at around 95 US Dollars but it won't be easy to get it.

The Longmorn Distillery is located in Longmorn, Elgin and was founded in 1893 by John Duff, George Thomson and Charles Shirres. In 1897 John built the BenRiach Distillery next to Longmorn. Duff & Company went broke and ownership changed hands various times. In 1978 the distillery was bought by Chivas Brothers which in turn were acquired by Pernod-Ricard in 2011. Part of the production is used for blends like Chivas Regal, Something Special and the new Queen Anne.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is only my first encounter with Longmorn so it's too early to draw conclusions. I certainly like the Papaya Cream Aroma and Flavour. Papaya Cream is one of Brazil's favourite deserts and I like it a lot. The Nose is certainly interesting although the Alcohol spoils some of the fun for me. In general however, this 1992 expression is just a bit too Woody, Nutty and Spicy on the Palate for my taste. However, if that's your preferred flavour profile, you could give this Single Malt a try!   

Jan van den Ende                                                                      June 20, 2013

Bunnahabhain 1997 Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Islay

Brand: Bunnahabhain 1997 Heavy Peat

Selected by and Bottled for Wilson & Morgan, Edinburgh

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 13 Years

ABV: 46 %

Colour: Old Gold

Nose: Lots of Peat as could be expected but it does not present itself in an aggressive way. It's comparable to the Softer Vegetative Peat from Orkney and Skye. Consequently I get a bit of this Cabbage Aroma that I don't care for very much. I also suspect the presence of some Sulphur. I got visions of someone striking a match while sitting in Wet Grass. Besides that I also find Meat (Salted Cured Meat rather than Juicy Fat Bacon), Leather, Tobacco, Ashes, lightly Buttered Dry Biscuits, Light Sherry, Lemon and Grapefruit. Some Mineral tones as well.

Palate: Slightly Watery texture. This Bunnahabhain could have been bottled at 50% in my opinion as the Alcohol is nicely integrated. The Palate basically follows the Nose with Peat, Leather, Ashes, Lemon, Black Pepper, Bitter Almonds, Salted Bacon, Herbs, Dry Biscuits, Brown Sugar, Cereals, Wood and light hints of Rubber, Cabbage and Sulphur.

Finish: Bitter-Sweet and Herbal at first and Dry towards the end with Peat, Leather, Ashes, Licorice, Mint, Malt and hints of Rubber and Chocolate.

I added a couple of drops of water. On the Nose the Peat is enhanced and some extra Buttered Toast and Pastry are added. On the Palate and in the Finish Citrus, Licorice and Ashes start to dominate. The Ashes will stay with you for quite a while.

Rating: 84 

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

General Remarks: The Wilson & Morgan Company is an Independent Bottler, based in Italy. Owners are the Rossi family that started importing Blends in the sixties. Single Malt Selection was added in the 1980's and in 1992 Wilson & Morgan was founded by Fabio Rossi to attend the high end Single Malt market. At various distilleries, W&M selects barrels for their Barrel Selection series. Most of the casks mature at the distillery itself. The Bunnahabhain I'm tasting today was distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2011. No artificial colouring was added and the Whisky is not Chill-Filtered. It sells at around 55 US Dollars. 

Bunnahabhain (Mouth or Foot of the River) Distillery was founded around 1881 and is located close to Port Askaig. Usually, the Distillery dries the Malt with hot air or light Smoke giving their whisky a more subtle flavour then most of its Peated neighbours on the island. So today's expression is the exception and not the rule. The distillery normally uses a mix of Ex-Bourbon, Ex-Sherry and Refill Casks to mature their whisky.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This Bunnahabhain expression is labelled Heavy Peat and that's slightly misleading. For sure Peat is the most important Aroma and Flavour but it's not the Heavy Briny Medicinal Peat we know amongst others from Laphroaig or Ardbeg. It's much more comparable to the Softer Vegetative Peat we find in Jura or the peated expressions from BenRiach. Still, you need to be a true Peat lover to fully enjoy this 1997 Bunnahabhain as other Aromas and Flavours are there but play second fiddle. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                     June 18, 2013