Glen Keith 1992 Review KIW

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Speyside

Brand: Glen Keith 1992 Single Cask Collection (KIW - Kintra Whisky)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 19 Years

ABV: 53.8%

Colour: Gold

Nose: Sweet like Fruit-Filled French Flaky Butter Pastry (Papaya, Peach, Pineapple, Nectarine and Apple). Sweet Cereals, Vanilla, Sugared Orange Peels, Grass/Straw, Honey, Oak, a hint of Latte Macchiato, a sprinkle of Pepper and Cinnamon and a touch of Bourbon. Not overly complex - but sufficiently interesting Nose.

Palate: Sweet and Spicy with Pineapple, Plums, Lemon, Pepper, Ginger, light Licorice, Oak, Vanilla, Sweet Grains and Bitter Chocolate.

Finish: Short with Apple, Vanilla, Pepper, Oak, Licorice, Cocoa Powder and Dark Chocolate. 

I added a bit of Water and that reinforces the Fruit, Butter and Honey on the Nose. But Palate and Finish suffer so better sip the Glen Keith neat.

Rating: 84.5

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: This Glen Keith was distilled in October 1992 and bottled at Cask Strength by Independent Bottler Kintra Whisky (Deventer, the Netherlands) in July 2012. It matured in an Ex-Bourbon Hogshead with Cask # 120587 out of which 156 bottles were reserved by Kintra. The whisky is non-chillfiltered and non-coloured. It costs around 110 US Dollars but I'm not sure if it's still available.

The relatively new Glen Keith distillery is located in Keith (Moray), very close to the very old Strathisla Distillery. The construction of Glen Keith was completed in 1960. The whisky was mostly used in Blends like Chival Regal, Passport and 100 Pipers. That's why you find quite a lot of IB Single-Malt expressions around. The Distillery was mothballed in 1999 but was bought in 2001 by Pernod-Ricard. Since 2012, it is being reconstructed and chances are it will open up in 2013.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good.

Conclusion: Good all round Speysider with Fruit, Honey, Pastry, Vanilla and Spices. Wood and Alcohol are well incorporated. Quite expensive though!

Jan van den Ende                                                                    May 26, 2013

Caol Ila 1982 Archives Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Islay

Brand: Caol Ila 1982 (Archives)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  30 Years

ABV:  51.2 %

Colour: Pale Straw/Chardonnay

Nose: About a month ago I tasted the Caol Ila 1990 Archives and liked it a lot. At that time I was greeted by Juicy Peat but that's not at all the case here. An array of Fruits is my first impression. I get Pineapple, Mango, Melon, Pear, Red Fruit, Banana and Green Apples. The Nose is almost mellow with the Peat and light Smoke woven in very nicely. But there's more to this Nose. Over time I also get Olive Oil, Lemon-Pepper, Honey, Mineral Tones, lovely French Salted Butter from Normandy, light Iodine, Sour Bread, Malt, Tea, Oak, Vanilla and a sprinkle of Aniseed. Very pleasant, not at all aggressive and with all Aromas nicely integrated. It lacks the raw Power of the 1990 but it's equally good.  

Palate: Fruity with Lemon, Grapefruit, Pineapple, Cherries and other Red Fruits, Banana and Pear. I also get light Smoke, Peat and Iodine, Ashes, Honey, Pepper, Licorice, Salt, Oak and Caramel. I must confess I was ever so slightly disappointed. I had expected a tad more complexity after the very nice Nose. In a blind tasting session I could have very easily identified this as an Islay with Red Wine finishing.  

Finish: Middle-Long and more convincing with Grapefruit, Caramel, light Peat, slightly Bitter Almonds, Red Fruit, Oak, Ashes, Salt and Pepper.  

I added a bit of Water and the Nose gets more Malt, Floral Tones and Honey. Some Peach as well. On the Palate and in the Finish the Fruit and Spices are enhanced. You can play with a couple of drops here. As usual, I prefer to taste it neat.

Rating: 88

Nose: 23 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 22 - Overall: 22

General Remarks: This Caol Ila 1982 is released by Archives. Archives is the relatively young own label of Independent Whisky Bottler Whiskybase.com. This whisky was distilled in 1982 and bottled at Cask Strength in 2012. It matured in an Ex-Bourbon Hogshead with the Cask Number 758 out of which 207 bottles were obtained by Whiskybase. This whisky was not coloured artificially and is un-chillfiltered. It is priced at around 170 US Dollars. 

Caol Ila is Gaelic for Sound of Islay (Islay Strait). From the Still House of the distillery you have a wonderful view on this Strait and the Isle of Jura. Caol Ila was founded in 1846, was rebuilt in 1974 and nowadays forms part of the Diageo Group.

Drinking Experience Neat: Very Good

Conclusion: The extra 8 years in the Ex-Bourbon hogshead have clearly mellowed down the spirit. Gone are the Alcohol and the Raw but Juicy Peat from the 1990. Instead you get lots of (Tropical) Fruit. Very little Oak despite the 30 years. I really loved the Nose and the Salted Butter is amazing! But on the Palate the Fruit gets a bit too dominant as far as I'm concerned. I would have loved to see a bit more Peat and Maritime Notes there for balance. Still, it's a thoroughly enjoyable Single Malt of course. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                     May 22, 2013

Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 5 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Speyside

Brand: The Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch # 5

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 50.1 %

Sample Received from Andrew in Australia. Thanks!

Colour: Light Amber with a touch of Orange.

Nose: The Nose needs time to open up. Batch # 5 does not give up its hidden treasures easily. What does become clear right from the start however is that this Marriage has worked out well. From which we should not automatically deduct that marriages shouldn't last for more than three months of course. Right? Right. Back to the Balvenie! It shows good balance between the Sherry butts and the Bourbon casks. I get Sherry, Oak, Honey, Balvenie Oranges, Floral Tones, Dried Fruits, Cigars, Leather, Wood Polish, Brown Sugar, Walnuts, Milk Chocolate, Cocoa Powder, Sweet Malt and ripe Plums. You do find traces of The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 as well. 

Palate: Mouth coating, quite thick delivery. Rather Spicy as well with Pepper, Licorice and Cinnamon. Reminds me somewhat of older Bourbon. I also get Lemon and Orange, Oak, Honey, Sherry, Caramel, Dark Cherries, Leather and Chocolate.

Finish: Middle-Long, Dry and Spicy with Bitter Chocolate, Tobacco, Leather, Citrus, Pepper, Nutmeg, Malt, Oak, Aniseed and Tea.

With a bit of Water the Nose shows more Malt, Honey, Chocolate and Ripe Fruit. But it also gets a bit Soapy. As usual, Palate and Finish get too watery for my taste. But that's personal of course. You certainly can experiment with a bit of Water when you are nosing and tasting Batch # 5. 

Rating: 85

Nose: 22  - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21- Overall: 21

General Remarks: The Tun 1401 is a special large vatting cask that Grant's Master Blender David Stewart uses for marrying hand selected specials casks from the Balvenie's Warehouse # 24, one of the oldest areas of this distillery. Seven batches have been released so far, most of them for selected regions or special Travel Retail issues. The Batch # 5 we are tasting today was released in October 2012 and is a vatted Blend of 5 Sherry Butts and 4 Bourbon Casks that were mostly distilled in the Seventies. But there is some newer spirit in it as well. Subsequently these casks were married together for three months in Tun 1401 and bottled at Cask Strength. It's quite expensive of course at around 250 US Dollars. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: Not an easy one this Batch # 5. Make sure you give the whisky plenty of time to open up. When it does, the Nose is very well-balanced and complex. This balance is not quite extended to the Palate and Finish. Lots of Lemon, Oak and Spice and not enough Sherry and Fresh Sweet Fruit to balance it out. There is Fruit but it's nearly overripe. All this is of course explained by the age of many of the whiskies used for this Batch. So if you like a well-matured whisky with lots of very ripe Fruit, Oak, Spices and Lemon and images of Christmas Spices and Mulled Wine, this Balvenie might just be your whisky of choice for special occasions. But although it's a very well-crafted Single Malt, I would not spend 250 US Dollars on Batch # 5 . I even think I would have scored this whisky a couple of points lower in a Blind Tasting Session. In any case I would advise you to try out a sample first before buying a full bottle.

Jan van den Ende                                                                    May 10, 2013

Master Blender David Stewart