A great new product by Johnnie Walker age 10 years in American Oak barrels. I do not recommend drinking it neat but it can definitely be enjoy that way I you like it that way. I find drinking Rye straight or the rocks a bit too spicy for me, but that is just my palate. Rye Label is a great fresh whisky that adds that something else in a whisky cocktail. It also makes a great “something different” on the bar or for someone who likes Rye.
Good price and taste with Price ranging from $50-$60.
Muirhead’s Silver Seal Highland Single Malt 12 Year old Scotch is a new one for me in my whisky tasting experiences. I purchased it without previously sampling it to try something different to replace my summer bottles which are almost all gone. After doing some research on Muirhead’s and did not find anything deeply interesting about this scotch. I wonder if that is connected to the quality of the taste profile. However, I did find these interesting points;
It is named after Charles Muirhead who created the Glenmorangie Company. If you are not familiar with Glenmorangie, they are a major player in the scotch world.
There are other expressions such as the 16-Year-Old and some Limited Expressions.
“Muirhead” is a Gaelic word that translates to “Head of the Moor” which means the “highest point of the moor. A “moor” is defined as a tract of uncultivated upland or grassland area.
Tullibardine is the distiller that produces Silver Seal is and is from the Speyside region of the Highlands of Scotland.
I did not find much else about this scotch and to be honest I am not going to keep looking. I was not very impressed with the flavor profile. It was not good or bad, it was just not complex or interesting. Silver Seal 12 a slugging scotch in my opinion. For a 12-year-old at this price range (or $10 more) I would rather have a Glenfiddich, Balvenie or Auchentoshan.
As the saying goes, “There are no bad whisky’s, just some are better than others.” That would be the case for Silver Seal 12.
It is interesting how the seasons can affect your mood when it comes to food and drink in NYC. In the summer time, you do not want a beef stroganoff, apple cider, pumpkin latte, or a peaty whisky. The cooler weather is coming soon so your tastes for whisky should be changing to something that warms you up when you come inside from the cold city.
Highland Park 12 is aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks. The exact amount of aging has not been released from the distillery. If I had to guess due to cost of purchasing the casks and the flavor profile, it would be 10 years in bourbon and 2 years in sherry casks. An interesting geographical fact about the distillery is that it is the most Northern distillery in Scotland. Located in the Orkney Islands it is so far north that the peat has a different composition than the southern regions. The north has more trees and seaweeds in peat compared to the south which has more flowers and brush. This difference in detritus gives a different taste to the peat and the flavor profile of the whisky. Highland Park advertises that it is a “Highland whisky with Viking soul”. This is an accurate statement since the Scots are descendants of the Vikings and Norway used to rule the Orkney Islands until the 14th century.
I like this scotch for the flavor and the price. I also like it because it would be a good entry-level whisky if you are interested in trying stronger full bodied scotches (E.g. Bowmore, Laphroaig, Lagavulin). I have learned that if you like medium-bodied whisky’s it can be hard to jump into something too strong, woody, or peaty. You will need a transition whisky to show you the way and Highland Park 12 can do just that.
Price around $65 and well worth the money for a 12-year-old Scotch with this flavor profile.
The Glenlivet 12-Year-Old Single Malt is one of the best sellers and most widely recognized names in the whisky world. Founded in 1824 in Moray, Scotland this Speyside Region scotch is 100% malted barley and bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof). The scotch is aged in European and ex-bourbon barrels and is a smooth and easy scotch.
The Speyside Region of Scotland is in the North Eastern region of the Highlands and is its own region with respect to scotch. It is own region because Speyside has almost half of the distilleries in the North stands alone. Other well-known Speyside Scotches are: Aberlour, Balvenie, Cardhu, Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Glenfarcas, Glengassaugh, Glenfiddich, Speyburn, The Macallan, and Glenrothes.
Glenlivet 12 is a very nice, medium body scotch that I feel is more of a summer drink than a winter dram. I do not normally suggest pairing of food with whisky but this one would go well with a cheese tray if you are serving food. Personally, I do not like to match whisky and food as whisky does not enhance food in my opinion. Good whisky needs nothing but a glass to drink it from.
Priced around $45 and worth the money to keep on the bar at home.
Auchentoshan Single Malt Scotch “American Oak” expression was introduced around 2014 to replace the “Classic” expression. I have been to the distillery outside of Glasgow and I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. The Highland distilleries look nice, but they are long trip from Glasgow or Edinburgh.
American Oak is a non-complex, easy drinking scotch. I believe the name is self-evident of where they source the wood. I find most of the expressions from Auchentoshan to be easy to drink and a good in the warmer weather on ice. Lowland whisky is not known to be as rich, robust, or peaty as the Highland scotches. From my experience this whisky is a good one for occasional whisky drinkers and older people who don’t like too much flavor on their tongues. It is also good for anyone who drinks cheap whisky. The people who drink the cheap shit will think this scotch is amazingly good. You will save lots of money if they start sucking it down.
Priced around $35 and worth the money for an easy drinker.
The Dalmore 15-Year-Old in this photo is from my balcony when I lived in Florida. Did I ever tell you I used to live across the street from the beach for $850 a month? Then I moved to NYC.
Dalmore Distillery is located in Alness, Scotland which is 20 miles North of Inverness on the East coast in the Highlands. Launched in 2007, the Dalmore 15 is a 100% barley single malt scotch whisky. The scotch spends 12 years in American white oak and ex-bourbon barrels. After the first aging process of 12 years, the whisky spends 3 more years three different casks. These casks are Matusalem (rum), Apostoles (sherry), and Amoroso (sherry). Each of casks imparts various flavors to the scotch which lead to the sweeter finish. In layman’s terms, Dalmore 15-year-old is basically the 12-year-old with three more years of aging.
The body is medium with a sweetness that is smooth and well balanced. It is 80 proof so it is not too harsh on the tongue and is a sweeter scotch due to the final aging process.
Priced around $135, it is a little expensive for the age and proof, but it is very good. Dalmore is one of those scotches that stand out in the crowd of bottles so you cannot go wrong with a Dalmore bottle on your bar.
Name: Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Heavily Peated Whisky
Color: Light Yellow
Nose: Clean, fresh, barley peat, smoky wood
Taste: Barley, citrus, lemon-green grass
Review:
The Bruichladdich Port Charlotte is a Scottish Highland heavily peated single malt from Islay. I purchased this expression after tasting it at theRobert Burns Tasting at the Astor Center. It may be titled “heavily” but I did not find it that heavy. It has a clean and fresh taste on the tongue and finish with a nice amount of peat. It base flavor is similar to the Classic, but it is not peat forward like Lagavulin 16 or Laphroaig 10. It has a nice balance and is a good alternative to the big boy peaters. I found it to be a medium winter scotch and definitely not a summer drinker.
The distillery states “ingredients matter”. The barley is 100% Scottish, the water is sourced from a local spring on the island, and it is finished in ex-bourbon casks. The whisky is non-chilled filtered and has no coloring added. It has the natural color, hence the lighter appearance in the bottle.
The scotch is named after the village of Port Charlotte which is on Loch (Lake) Indaal two miles south of the Bruichladdich Distillery. The name Bruichladdich, which translates to, “brae (hillside) by the shore” is not the easiest name to pronounce so you can look it up online. I do like that fact it is difficult to pronounce. It makes you look cooler when you order it in a bar or serve it home. You won’t look King of Cool Steve McQueen cool, but you might impress a few people along the way. If have not tried any of the expressions yet I recommend you do so, you might impress yourself as well!
Priced around $65 and worth the money.
If you like it, drink it! – Christopher
If you like it, drink it!
ChrisBruichladdich Port Charlotte Heavily Peated Whisky
The Famous Grouse is a well-known and popular Scotch Whisky that you see in all the bars in Scotland and most liquor stores in America. Founded by Matthew Gloag and his son William Gloag they created The Famous Grouse in 1896 and have become a cornerstone of the scotch whisky industry in Scotland.
The distiller (now owned by another company), produces other expressions such as; Smoky Black, Alpha Edition, Mellow Gold, Snow, 16-Year-Old Vic Lee, and a few other expressions. A few years ago the comedian Ron White had a comedy bit about drinking Black Grouse. Today, he owns a tequila company so doubt he will be doing scotch jokes. The Famous Grouse is also the official whiskey of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and I will be reviewing a special edition of Grouse 1986 in the coming weeks.
A few weeks ago, on a trip to see the family in Scotland, I took Virgin Train from London Euston to Glasgow Central Station. I decide to treat myself and purchased the 1st Class ticket. When you go 1st class you get free Wi-Fi, food, drink and access to the lounges at the stations. On the train they were serving The Famous Grouse so I drank it, and I liked it. The scotch and the beautiful scenery out the window made the trip very relaxing. If you have not travel from London to Scotland by train, I highly recommend it. You get the scenery, affordable cost, and general time saving compared to a flight.
Priced around $25-35 and very affordably Scottish. It is fine a for a slugging whisky, mixer, or a train ride.
Glenfiddich Fire and Cane is a recent and fourth addition to the Glenfiddich Experimental Series which include Glenfiddich IPA, Project XX, and Winter Storm. Fire and Cane is a non-aged stated bottled at 86 proof. It is a peated barley scotch aged in bourbon barrels and finished in Latin Rum Barrels. When I was in Glasgow a few months ago I went to The Pot Still with the plan to try Red Spot Irish Whiskey. Unfortunately, they did not have it. It was a busy at the bar and the Fire and Cane was right in front on me so I decided to try it.
I am not a fan of sweet whisky in cold weather and barely a fan in warmer weather. It is an interested flavor profile, but again, I continue to see more and more sweet/sugary whiskies on the market. I also see young crap tasting ones too. I wonder is the market is oversold on brown spirits and these sugary experimental expressions are being created to keep interest. Fire and Cane is listed under Glenfiddich’ s “Experimental Series” but I don’t think this experiment will last. It is just too sweet. Glenfiddich is a big name so they have the money to try things out, which is a good thing but this scotch was not my thing. It was nice warm up after I left The Pot Still and head to the Horse Shoe Bar in Glasgow, Scotland. Price around $65 and a bit too sweet for my taste. Try it out and let me know what you think.
The Deanston Distillery is located on the River Teith, about eight miles from Sterling, Scotland (near Edinburgh) and was founded in 1965. The Distell Group Limited owns Deanston and also owns Bunnahabhain, Isle of Islay, Tobermory, and Isle of Mull whisky. The name “Deanston” is named after the Dean of Dunblane. Dean was connected to the Gaelic term “toun” meaning farm/settlement to make the name “Deanston”.
I tried Deanston a few years ago but do not remember the taste profile. It was probably around the time when I first started getting into whisky. My cousin who lives in Sterling got me a sample pack. Each bottle contains 3cl (1oz) samples from the distillery and Sauternes was the fourth sample I tasted.
The Deanston 15-Year-Old Sauternes Finish is bottled at 57.3%, non-chill filtered, and has its natural color. The strength of the whisky balances well with the sweetness but the flavor profile is hard to detect without adding a few drops of water.
Sauternes is a sweet wine that comes from the Graves section of Bordeaux in France. It is known for being an after dinner or dessert wine and one of its biggest claim to fame is the famous Chateau d’Yquem. From my brief time as a sommelier in college (a career I should have stayed in) I can tell you that Sauternes wines taste amazing and that the d’Yquem is ridiculously fucking expensive.
Price around $110+ and the balance is good but not too sweet. I look forward to tasting the last sample.
