Springbank 12 Cask Strength (53.8% abv)

The long-awaited Springbank 12!

This is the one that I've been eager to open: the Springbank 12 Cask Strength. There have been several batches of the Springbank 12 Cask Strength thus far. Each batch has had a unique ABV, and this one is at 53.8%, which makes it Batch 11, I believe. I bought this at Vom Fass a couple of months ago at slightly under $150, and have been saving it for a good occasion. Now seems like a good time, with Practicum almost over.

This batch of the 12 year cask strength was matured in a mix of casks. 70% of this came from malt matured in sherry casks, and the remaining 30% from whisky aged in bourbon casks. This should be exciting.

Springbank 12 years, Cask Strength (53.8% abv)

Colour: Dark gold, which turns to light gold bordering on straw with water added.

Nose: In this newly opened bottle, the alcohol is strong. Perhaps it will mellow a little with time. Apart from the alcohol, there's a slight metallic edge to the nose. Sea breeze with a bit of algae in it, and maybe some charred wood too. Some leather, sherry wine, and peat. The peat takes a back seat and only comes out close to the end. That's really polite.

With water: Similar, but gentler. A little whiff of vanilla.

Palate: Wine on entry, though this gets swiftly overtaken by an explosion of spices and alcohol burn. There's peat, charred wood, and salt. The peat in this tastes like burnt vegetables - reminds me a bit of parsley. The sherry cask makes itself felt - there's a bit of sherry richness, and rubber too. After holding it in for a bit, a touch of honey emerges. This is good. The higher abv makes it a bit of a rough ride, but there's a deep complexity in this, for sure.

With water: It becomes fruitier. Orange peel, tannins from grape pips. It doesn't lose its alcohol burn, but water does tame the ferocity. Less peat and a sweeter entry. There's some mineral edge to this. Tastes a little like... a wet rock?!? The peat goes down, but the taste of charred wood and smoke becomes stronger. This one goes very well with water. I really like this. It's like drinking a fireplace that's burning fruit wood. Does that make sense? Why do I keep using fireplace metaphors when there's no such thing in Singapore??? Is this a neo-colonial imperial hegemony of the mind?!?

Finish: Salty and spicy. There's a lot of pepper, and a bit of ginger juice squeezed in too. A bit of oak, and then smoke. Great.

With water: Cinnamon! Wow! Yummy stuff. Pepper gets toned down a little, but much more ginger is released. There's more smoke as well.

Overall:
Personally, this Springbank was my favourite of the four that we had tonight (the other three being the Santis, the Oban 14, and the Hakushu 18). While the Hakushu 18 was very smooth and remains one of my favourites, the Springbank 12 has a complexity and depth that I think the Hakushu 18 misses out on in exchange for smoothness and elegance. The Springbank is edgier, like a rock concert, while the Hakushu 18 is closer to an orchestra. Without water, this whisky is a little rough and tumble. Great, but definitely not easy. Thankfully, it takes water really well. It doesn't lose its "masculinity", but instead, is more like a heavyweight boxer in a suit, when, without water, it's like a heavyweight boxer in his fighting gear.

Great stuff. I want more Springbanks... Thanks LT for the company!

Raising two Diageos to Guinness - Clynelish 18 single cask for the Auld Alliance, and Talisker Distiller's Edition 2013

Under rather serendipitous circumstances, I bought Mansfield's The Search for God and Guinness on Kindle, and then, a couple of days later, got a ticket to attend a talk given by Os Guinness, the descendant of Arthur Guinness, creator of the Stout drank all around the world today.

Beyond learning more about the company, the Guinnesses, and how God was at work in the firm, I also found out, towards the end of the book, that Guinness would morph into Diageo, one of the biggest companies making and selling alcoholic beverages today.

Thus, to commemorate the finishing of this book, and to raise a glass to the vision that Arthur Guinness had for his beer and company, today's drinks will be from Diageo (which is, sadly, seen as a deviation from Guinness's initial vision).

Today's whisky comes from Clynelish, a distillery that was bought over by Diageo, and appears to be increasing its output ever since. It is one of the old classics of Scotch whiskies. Let's see how this newer expression is.

Clynelish 18 Year old, 1995 - 2013, bottled for The Auld Alliance single cask series 005 ( 51.2% abv, matured in refill hogshead)

Colour - white wine

Nose - Some maritime scents - sea salt and other minerals. Vanilla, some honey, and then, amazingly, green fruits. Feels like figs. This is quite nutty too. Almonds, I think. Then, there's some peat, pepper, and European oak (I think. Still learning to tell my wood apart). This is rather complex and well-balanced!

Palate - There's a peppery attack, and a little prickly due to the higher alcohol contnet. There's a bit of peat, vanilla, and oak. The peat is closer to an aromatic ash. Good quality tobacco, perhaps? More almonds here. They might have received a light roasting. There's some wine around the middle of the palate, as well as some leather. Apples and honey become more prominent after a few minutes of breathing, as does something citrusy. The combination of wine, apples and honey reminds me a little of canned pineapples. The texture of this dram is oily and viscous. Kinda like cream, or maybe good quality oil. The smooth texture clashed a little with the spiciness, or perhaps, it disoriented me a little, but not in a bad way, mind. More like a, I never expected this to work out.

Finish - Medium length, and goes down on peat. There's a touch of apple rind or grape seed, while the taste of ginger lingers around on the insides of the walls of the mouth.

Overall - I really like this. At $26 a glass, I think this is well-worth the money.

The second Diageo today is the Talisker Distiller's Edition, 2013 (45.8% abv, as is the Talisker custom nowadays). This is the standard Talisker 10, but given a little more time in Amoroso sherry casks.

Colour - gold, but close to amber. The sherry cask has left its mark on the visual presentation.

Nose - Fresh grapes giving way to salt and peat. Pepper comes out more slowly than the standard 18 or 10. After some time, orange peels become more prominent. It seems like there's something unpleasant right at the end, almost perfectly hidden behind the other scents...baby vomit? Some sulpher? Everything was good except that bit at the end.

Palate - Thinner than the Clynelish. The sherry is rich. Rich sherry overlays the powerful Talisker pepper without smothering it. The sherry actually helps to smoothen the pepper out, making it more muted than even the 18. Light peat, a bit of smoke. Oak, but the oak seems a bit bitter and drying. There isn't much bourbon influence detectable here, even though the Talisker 10 probably spent quality time with a bourbon cask. There's maybe a faint trace of coconut, but that's probably me imagining things. Placebo effect and things like that. This one is slightly rubbered. On the whole, it has a nice sherry attack that dries into the spice, peat and wood of a Talisker. The Amoroso complements the Talisker well

Finish - Less pepper than what I remember from the Talisker 10 and 18. Peat, smoke, rubber, pepper - all are present but less pronounced than in other Talisker expressions. The sulphur is popping up again, a blemish on an otherwise excellent whisky. Or maybe I'm just oversensitive, or under-appreciative.

Overall - This is priced between the Talisker 10 and the 18. The price is, I think, a good reflection of quality. Still, this would be higher in my reckoning if the sulphur notes were removed. Perhaps this batch wasn't as good as other batches.

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Guinness became Diageo, and Diageo continues to lead the world in alcoholic beverages. Here's hoping that the company recaptures its vision for social justice while bringing old distilleries like Clynelish back into business.

The first I ever bought - Kavalan Single Malt

The Kavalan Single Malt was the first whisky I ever bought. It was purchased from the Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan, when I was there for a holiday about a year ago. The sales assistant was trying to persuade me to buy the Sherry Oak instead. On hindsight, I should have got that. But, as it was my first ever purchase, I decided to go for the more basic option. This Single Malt came in a 1 litre bottle, and cost about $100 SGD, after converting from Taiwan dollars. Not too bad, fairly value for money. It's available in Changi Airport for slightly over a hundred, I think.

Kavalan is a relatively new distillery, but it has churned out many heavyweights already. Most prominent are the Solist range of single cask malts. The Solist Vinho Barrique was awarded the best single malt by the World Whisky Awards a year back, while the Solist Sherry casks have regularly struck gold in the Malt Maniacs awards. This single malt whisky is their basic staple, and is NAS.

Colour - Gold. Colouring has been added, and it can be tasted in the finish. Still, a beautiful colour

Nose - A little alcoholic, probably due to a young composition. Green fruits mostly. I got notes of green papayas, and some coconut shavings. Green bananas and green mangoes too.

Palate - Largely consistent with the nose. When chilled (I stuck the entire bottle in the fridge because I found it nicer when chilled), this is a fairly relaxing whisky. It's simple and fruity enough to just sip and calm down after a long day. Green fruits were the main tastes that I got, with a little bit of vanilla. Just a little bit.

Finish - This is where the green fruits and the caramel colouring come together to leave a slight drying feeling that Hokkiens call "siap". It's a bit like tea tannins. Not just drying, but makes your throat clam up a little. But this isn't very pronounced, just a little bit. Not too bad, on the whole. The finish is simple, straightforward on green fruit, a bit of drying colouring/tannin, and just a bit of oak.

Overall - This one showcases the basic spirit of the Kavalan - green fruits, without becoming too light. I've not seen an aged expression from Kavalan yet, so that's something to look forward to. This young, fruity whisky appears to be a good canvas for the various single casks that Kavalan has been producing. Perhaps I will get to try one of the Kavalan blends some day.

Sale at La Maison du Whisky (Singapore)

There was a good sale at La Maison this weekend, so I popped by the shop twice: first time with PY, and second time with CO, and a few other friends. CO's husband was thoroughly bored though. But the rest of us all had fun.

Bottles bought:

Teeling Single Malt
Teeling Single Grain
Great King Street Glasgow Blend
Gordon and Macphail Connoisseur's Choice Caol Ila (2001)
Gordon and Macphail Connoisseur's Choice Ledaig (1999)
Amorik Single Malt
Douglas Laing Provenance Auchentoshan 12
A single grain whisky from England that I forgot the name of
Kilchoman Sanaig
Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon

So, that's 10 bottles bought by 6 people. Total cost of the 10 bottles, bought over 2 days, worked out to just over SGD$700. This is a great sale.

Of the 10, I bought the Great King Street and the Ledaig, so the reviews will be up when I get around to opening them.

The sale ends tonight at 1030pm, if you're reading this and discover that there's time yet.

Lagavulin 16

Picture from Master of Malt

The Lagavulin 16 was, I think, the first Islay's I've ever tasted. It came as part of a tasting flight of Islay's at the Auld Alliance. Other whiskies in the flight included Bowmore 12, Caol Ila 12, Ardbeg 10, and Laphroaig 10. Of the 5, the Lagavulin 16 was my favourite.

One of the amazing things about the Lagavulin is that the 16 year expression is actually its standard release. The 12 is limited edition, as is the 8 that was recently released as part of an anniversary celebration. Not many distilleries have a 16 year old standard release.

I think it was the Lagavulin 16 that got JP hooked on peat and Islay's malt. It was also one of the first few bottles that I ever bought for myself (I think the first ever was...the Kavalan Single Malt, then the Taketsuru 12, then this one. The order gets a little hazy after that).




Colour: Dark gold, bordering on amber.

Nose: My first impression of this was a very meaty nose. It smelt like a barbecue, with lots of cooking and slightly charred meat upfront.  The barbecue makes way to unveil the usual Islay's flavours. Peat is very present without dominating everything else. There's a nice saltiness in the nose too. Then, something fruity. Oranges? Orange/Lemon zest? More citrusy than sweet. Some nuts as well, but I     don't think I can pin it down.

Palate: This is sooo good. Basically, the Lagavulin Distiller's Edition (previously tasted), minus the additional wine/sherry influence. Peaty, but more charcoal than ash. Rather smoky too. Then, meaty and savoury, with a dash of salt. Not really spicy. Just a little bit of...pepper? Chilli? Or saffron? This one brings out some citrus fruits if you let it hang around. A very well-rounded whisky.

Finish: Smoke, peat, a bit of vanilla from the wood, and smooth. A little bit of zest, some leftover savouriness. The finish lasts quite a bit, and dries the back of the throat a little. But on the whole, this is smooth.

Overall: Good stuff. Probably my favourite affordable Islay. This one is obtainable from Duty Free at about $83, and at some shops for about $120. Really good value for money.

Talisker 10

I have a weakness for Talisker. It's one of those whiskies that just appeal to me due to the taste profile, and, I admit, the marketing. Only distillery on the Isle of Skye has an exclusive ring to it. The "king of drink" title bestowed by a literary giant helps too. I like to tell myself that it's primarily the taste and feel of the drink that I like, and the marketing is just a nice veneer. But these kinda things work subconsciously...

Talisker 10 (45.8% abv, which is the Talisker standard nowadays)

Colour - Gold. I suspect this one has been chill filtered, and colouring added. 

Nose - Rather inconsistent from sniff to sniff. On the whole, there are whiffs of pepper, a hefty dosage of salt, a bit of alcohol sting, and some faint hints of coconut, oak and even fainter suggestions of vanilla. Peat comes across as well, though it seems to come and go. Some smoke too, but, like the peat, it isn't an ever-present.

Palate - Peat, smoke, oak, some hints of coconut. There is some vanilla sweetness as well, but in the Talisker 10, it's a little hard to find. The 18 is a lot more forthcoming with its sweetness. But when it hits, it's like the peat and smoke suddenly clears, you've unexpectedly stepped out of the peat bog into an oasis of sweet vanilla, as if everything has been building up towards this moment of sudden sweet clarity...and then the pepper, smoke and peat engulfs you again. Sweet momentary respite, but not for long. 

Finish - Talisker's signature black pepper finish, and the pepper in this is quite hot. Smoke lingers, as does some peat. The oak is barely discernible, but I think there's some caramel colouring left right at the end, within bearable limits.

Overall - One of the first few whiskies that I really liked. As mentioned in my review of the Talisker 18, this one is not as accomplished as the Talisker 18, but I think it is more value-for-money.

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Scottish Barley (50% abv) - This one was sipped at Harry's Bar at Novena Square, in the middle of a trying week at work. Heard good things about this from JE. Let's see how good it is.

Nose - The glass wasn't ideal for sniffing, so I'm probably not getting the most out of this. Lots of ripe apples. Almost caramelized, in fact. Vanilla. Some wood in there too. This is very nice. Almost like a good Speyside, until the whiffs of sea breeze rise up to meet you. This is an Islay's, after all. I think there's some peaches among the apples. Or maybe honey dew, or rock melon.

Palate - This is very nice! A smooth continuation of the nose, with an added spice kick, rather more like ginger than pepper. Hardly any alcohol burn, which is really pleasant for 50%. This is good stuff. Very good for an entry level NAS whisky, essentially. Smooth, sweet, fruity, well-balanced, low on alcohol burn. I'm impressed.

Finish - A touch of smoke. Unpeated, but this is slightly smoky. And I'm one of those who will say that there's a difference. A bit more of that ginger-like spice, and the oak lingers a bit. I think this should be considered a short finish, but there's enough in there to keep it interesting, and to keep the drinker continuously sipping.

Overall - Not a world beater, but there's space on every shelf for something so balanced and good at an entry level. Maybe I'll try to find a bottle, after I finish my Oban 14, which is developing very nice orange notes, after sitting half empty in the cupboard for a couple of months. Yum.

Hakushu Distiller's Reserve

It's been a busy week, so I'm pulling out an old tasting note on a new whisky - the Hakushu Distiller's Reserve.

The Distiller's Reserves from Hakushu and Yamazaki are meant to become the new entry level malt for the two distilleries respectively, replacing the 12-year-olds that used to be their entry level offering. Reception has been pretty mixed for both. Some see it as a watering down of good, aged whiskies to feed a burgeoning market, while others see it as a welcome step to make good single malts more accessible, both in terms of quantity and price. Both DRs claim to contain some old whisky. That may well be true, but a simple tasting will reveal that the DRs are much younger than they are old. If only distilleries reveal average ages of the whiskies that go into the final product...

The 12 -year-old Yamazaki was fairly accomplished, while my impression of the DR wasn't as good. It felt like an uncomfortable blend, something trying to be both young and old at the same time. There were some touches of older Yamazaki, but somehow, that took the effervescence off what could have been a good, young Yamazaki without really adding the benefits of age.

The Hakushu Distiller's Reserve, on the other hand, was much more to my liking.

Hakushu Distiller's Reserve (40% abv)

Colour - Light gold, very close to straw

Nose - Young whisky indeed. The alcohol is prickly on the nose. With some time, the nose starts to develop. The forests that you can find in the 18 are here as well. In fact, it seems fresher. The Hakushu 18 smells like pine sap. This one smells like the forest, untouched. Pine, green, unripe pears, and the crisp smell of clear mineral/river water.

Palate - the alcohol is sharper than in the 18, like it was in the nose. But that's to be expected. Pine leaves, mineral water crispness, and some earthy notes too. Not sure if I would describe that as soft peat or soil, but something from the ground, basically. A little bit of lemons; sharp but citrusy. And, surprisingly, a sudden, quick flash of the mature oak and ripe pears more associated with the Hakushu 18. This flash of maturity disappears quickly, and the young age of the DR reasserts itself.

Finish - Short, and a little prickly. Spice and alcohol leaves its mark, but disappears quickly. This is a pretty short finish, with a little more alcohol burn than spice. Some oak at the back just before it goes down and disappears.

Overall - I like this. The Hakushu DR, if drunk and tasted in its own right, is good and enjoyable. It isn't in the same style as the old Scotches, of which the Yamazaki is probably closer in style to. But I would say that the Hakushu feels more like an attempt at Japanese whisky with a Japanese twist in its flavour. More Japanese green tea and less English Breakfast, if such a comparison is appropriate. I like this, and it's fairly affordable too.