The Malt Cask

Going to Ireland today with a sample of The Gael from J.J. Corry, courtesy of Axiom Brands. The brand J.J. Corry (the name of a renowned whiskey Bonder of the 1890's) was created by Louise McGuane in 2016 when she became the first whiskey Bonder in Ireland in the last fifty years. But what's a whiskey Bonder I hear you say? It is someone who sources their spirit from local distilleries, matures it in their own casks and blends unique whiskeys to their customers' tastes.  Picture courtesy of  www.thewhiskyexchange.com Distillery : Irish - Unknown Bottler : J.J. Corry Age : NAS Distilled : n/a Bottled : Summer 2017 Cask : blend of 5% 26 year-old single malt from ex-sherry casks, 27.5% 15 year-old single malt, 27.5% 11 year-old single malt, 40% 7 year-old single grain Abv : 46% Unchillfiltered : Not mentioned Natural Colour : Not mentioned  Nb of bottles : 7000 Extra : The Gael is named after a bicycle J.J. Corry invented in the 1890's Nose : Fruity and grassy, sweet peach

 Quick review of the Aultmore 21 years old today. Picture courtesy of  www.thewhiskyworld.com Distillery : Aultmore Bottler : Distillery Age : 21 years old Distilled : n/a Bottled : n/a Cask : re-fill hogsheads Abv : 46% Unchillfiltered : Yes Natural Colour : Yes Nb of bottles : n/a Extra : Originally released for the travel retail market Nose : Fresh and fruity, citrus, orange and nectarine, vanilla, spicy hints, a little grassy, some honey and some oak/sawdust notes too. Palate : Rich and spicy with a mix of caramel and citrus fruit. A bit of burnt toffee bitterness, a little dried fruit and wood spice. Finish : Barley sugar with some bitterness. Some drying oak notes.  With water : The palate get more honey sweetness. The palate becomes spicier with the addition of some aniseed. Both heat and aniseed remain on the finish. Overall, even if Aultmore 21 is not a popular or easy to find single malt, this is a solid dram. Definitely worth giving a go if you can find it for a reasonable p

Back from holidays and I guess it's time to get back to it. I've been meaning to review this one a few weeks ago but time seems to have vanished way too quickly! So this mid-August review is another sample from the brilliant company Cheaper By The Dram . For those who wouldn't have read my Macallan 1989 head-to-head from the 24/03/2020 ( available here ), in which I introduce the company in more detail, Cheaper By The Dram allows whisky enthusiasts to purchase 3cl samples of old and rare, discontinued whiskies, bottles which are incredibly hard to find and therefore not generally cheap... This one is no exception, being an official 1 liter bottle of Bruichladdich 17 years old bottled in the 1990's. By doing simple maths, yes, it is very likely that the juice inside this little bottle came to exist in the 1970's, so way before me! Being an Islay single malt, you would expect peat to appear in the mix, but Bruichladdich doesn't tend to be that peaty unless the lab