May Day May Day! (Part 1) - A beer, and the Aberlour 18

A long weekend, and one too many drinks. Beer with WT and PY on Friday night, whisky with LT on Saturday, and whisky again on Sunday with DW and JE. A couple of new things, a few old things, something exciting, and something slightly revolting (maybe that's wording it too strongly).

First up, the beer.

I've never been much of a beer person. Something about the fizz in beer gets me feeling bloated and light-headed quite quickly compared to whisky. But the craft beers that PY has been introducing are very good indeed. Special mention goes to the EvilTwin Yin Imperial Stout.

It's the first stout that I'll say that I like. My past experiences with stouts and dark beers haven't gone too well. I either find them too yeasty, or too dark, too burnt. This one however, is perfect. A nose that's filled with lychee, especially if you get a good head of foam. On the palate, there are rich notes of dark chocolate and a double shot espresso. It's also fairly creamy. At 10% alcohol, this is a strong stout. And a really good one too.

Honourable mentions go to Brewdog's 5AM Saint. Hoppy and fruity. A really fun brewery!

Next, the whiskies!

Aberlour 18 (43% abv)

JE bought this from the DFS on my recommendation. We've been wanting to open this for a while. Aberlour is one of the distilleries that carry the banner for sherried speysides. Let's see how this goes.

Colour - Amber. A really nice colour!

Packaging - This one was a tough one to open. The rubber/wax sealing thing that they do to the cap made it difficult to open as there wasn't a string that we could pull to break the seal. Resorted to a knife and a lot of fingernail leverage. This better be worth the work.

Nose - This smells like a richly sherried whisky alright. Rich, succulent sherry, backed by a solid wall of spices - I got cinnamon and maybe nutmeg. Some suggestions of chocolate, and a bit of rum soaked raisins. Not as intense as the Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask, but this smells inviting.

Palate - Mmm. A little bit of a let down after the nose promised so much. Creamy, but the flavours are a lot more subdued. Some raisins, a little bit of leather. The chocolate doesn't really get off the ground. Vanilla, and some oak and spice to balance out the sweetness. This is close to honey but not quite. A good nose, but a little tame on the palate. Hmm.

Finish - Tastes like there's a bit of artificial colouring in this, with a drying feel that isn't quite tannins, but closer to the chemical caramel colouring. Raisins remain, as does some spices.

Overall - pleasant, but not enough richness and kick on the palate. Maybe this needs some time in the bottle to open up. Will probably give it a shot again a few weeks later.

That's Part 1 of this happy long weekend! Part 2 will be up in a couple of days, and it will review the Gordon and Macphail Connoisseur's Choice Ledaig 1999 - 2015. So exciting!

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.