The Malt Cask

Second review in one month, and more Campbeltown whisky courtesy of @whisky_whims with the second sample Stuart sent to me: Longrow 18. Like with Kilkerran, I am looking at a peated single malt from Campbeltown but this one is a little older and was aged in ex-rum casks for 60% of it and refill sherry casks for the remaining 40%.  Longrow is produced by the Springbank distillery. Springbank is their mildly peated single malt and has been distilled two and a half times. Hazelburn is the name of their triple distilled non-peated single malt, and Longrow is their double distilled highly peated single malt. Longrow 18 is released in small batches each year but the casks used vary from year on year so do check the bottling date printed in black underneath the back label to know which one you have in your hand! That you very much again to Stuart for this great sample. Go and have a look at Whisky Whims' YouTube channel and check out his review of this Longrow 18! Slàinte! ...

Today I am reviewing a sample sent to me by Stuart @whisky_whims. He got in touch with me on Instagram and offered to send me a sample of Longrow 18 (review to follow) and of the brand new Kilkerran Heavily Peated. I guess I could not pass on the opportunity! Kilkerran comes from Campbeltown. It is produced by the Glengyle distillery and is one of the new kids on the block having only started production in 2004 (even if the distillery was actually founded in 1872 it had stopped production in 1925) I have tried their standard 12 and their 8 year-old cask strength which are fantastic so I am looking forward to pour this Heavily Peated sample into my glass! A little leak in transit but nothing too serious fortunately! There is no nonsense here as far as the presentation is concerned. This Kilkerran is presented in its natural colour, unchillfiltered and at the cask strength of 59.3%. The whisky has been aged for 55% in ex-bourbon casks and 45% in ex-sherry casks. Nose: Q...

Let's go to Asia today, specifically to Taiwan with the Concertmaster. In the last few years, Asian whiskies have become very trending particularly anything coming out of Japan, but not exclusively. Taiwanese whisky and Kavalan in particular have been producing some pretty amazing whisky too, winning quite a few prizes for some of their releases despite operating only since 2005. I have tried some of their Solist bottles (cask strength releases) which were very impressive, and their standard, more accessible range is not bad either.  Kavalan whisky is relatively young but the heat in which the spirit is aged accelerate wood interaction and therefore the maturation process, thus allowing the distillery to release younger whiskies which do not necessarily taste that young. So what about the Concertmaster? It is a single malt which was first matured in American oak before being finished in Ruby, Tawny and Vintage port barriques. We are not given an age on the bottle but I gue...

I cannot believe I have not yet reviewed this bottle as I opened it about 3 years ago. To be perfectly honest, I bought it at the same time as Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace, and preferred the other two to this one. Since, I have moved onto Blanton's Gold and some Rye, which meant the Maker's was left pretty much untouched. A few weeks ago however I had another pour and was pleasantly surprised. What put me off Maker's is the fact that at the time, I felt it tasted a little too mineral to my taste compared with Buffalo Trace and Woodford which were much sweeter. I guess that could be down to the fact Maker's use wheat in their mash bill instead of Rye. A few years down the line and it is not something that bothers me anymore! Maker's Mark Bourbon is bottled at 45% and is of course natural colour. Nose: There are two sides to the nose. There is some sweetness and fruitiness with vanilla, cherry, corn and even floral notes, but there is also some mi...

A quick review of a sample of Ardmore 9 years old bottled by Chorlton Whisky. Ardmore is not a very popular distillery. It is in the Highlands to the east of the Speyside region. You do not come across many official bottles apart from the Legacy, the Port wood and the 20 years old released a couple of years ago. Even amongst independent bottlers, it is not a name you will see frequently on labels. I reviewed the Legacy a couple of years ago and though that for the price it was relatively good value for money. I tried the Port wood which I enjoyed and now my first single cask. This whisky was drawn from an ex-Bourbon barrel and only 153 bottles are available. As it is only 9 years old, it is quite pale in colour. It is bottled at natural colour and strength (60.1%) and it has not been chill-filtered.  Nose: Sweet and smoky, a little bitterness/spirit driven (young + 60.1% abv...) There is quite a bit of fresh citrus notes in there, hints of ginger and a bit of white ...

For the last review, I tried a youngish (probably) sherried blended malt from Berry Bro's and Rudd. Today, a bit of the same but this time the sherried blended malt is a little old and it's from Chorlton Whisky. This is a bottle which was due to be released for Christmas but ended up being delayed and was finally out a couple of weeks ago. So what is it? First, where is it from? The bottle is produced by Chorlton Whisky a small independent bottler based in south Manchester. David, the owner is keen to present whisky he likes in the best way possible so his single casks bottles are offered at cask strength, in their original colour and without chill-filtration. A pretty good start. Next, the name? Còig Deicheadan means Five Decades in Gaelic so you get where this is heading.  The components? The information available for this bottle give us 4 names for this blended malt: Glenturret, Highland Park, Macallan and Bunnahabhain (looks like an Edrington mix!) T...

A bit more sherry this month with a bottle I had never come across or even heard of before. This is a blended malt whisky from Berry Bros & Rudd, which means it is a mix of more than one single malt without the addition of any grain whisky. It was aged in ex-Sherry casks and all you get from the label on the bottle is that it is "blended from the best Sherry butts". No more information on the types of sherry or the age of the whisky. It is pretty rich in colour, nose and palate so I would go for a mix of Pedro-Ximenez and Oloroso. I doubt the liquid in the bottle is too old but that does not necessarily matter (still wish they had put an age statement on the label!) The bottle was very reasonably priced at £32 and the presentation was very good -I am guessing no chill-filtration or addition of E150 took place (despite the dark colour)- so I did not hesitate long before taking the plunge. But was it worth it? As I mentioned above, the presentation for this blen...