Going Green - Bushmillls 10yo Single Malt

Bushmills 10yo

With the advent of Saint Patrick's Day 2011 and excuse to cook and drink whisky I had fellow DTWC members and family, The Grey Bush and El Capitan, over for a hearty Beef and Stout pie with mashed potatoes and cabbage, a few pints of Guinness, green cup cakes and of course a Dram or 2 of Bushmills 10yo Single Malt Whiskey (note the spelling).

It had been a long time since I have had an Irish and even then it was a blend. What better excuse to buy an Irish than for Saint Patricks Day. Of course the selections of Irish are pretty limited here in Australia as it is so it doe not leave much for choice. At least if I only buy a new Irish each Saint Patricks Day that is going to give me 4 or 5 years before I run out of choice completely.

What to expect out of a run of the mill Irish. First and foremost is Triple Distillation. There is many reasons why Triple Distillation is done and depending on what history you read and from whom will vary greatly. There is 2 things though that are firm with this process and that is 1. a lighter, fresher, smoother taste and 2. a removal of the impurities giving a clear and consistent colour. Many say it was the Irish that perfected the methods of whisky distillation and that the Scotch then adopted it. It should also be noted that Irish was the whisky of choice and greatly out sold Scotch in the US prior to Prohibition.

Bushmills 10yo Single Malt
Triple distilled, aged primarily in ex-bourbon barrels
Alcohol: 40%
Location/Region: Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland
Colour: Yellow amber

On the nose warm honeys with a citrus zest and ripe figs I guess you could say. Very clean but also a bit of a burn. Unexpectedly fresh in comparison to a Scotch (if that is what you are used to of course).

To taste quite silky on the tongue, vanillas are very strong but less the sweetness and mild hints of mixed spice. I find it hard to even get any distinguishing wood notes at all. Easy to swallow and not too challenging.

The finish is medium and dry with the draw quite hot before a tingle returns to the palate and lips.

The balance is a little off to me on the finish which is a mild drawback overall but it is interesting to get a whisky that changes through the 3 primary stages of tasting.

Value is excellent at $49 AU a bottle and I have had a lot of bad single malt scotches well above that price range so there is no disappointment factors here.

I do not take water in my whiskies as you all know so I cannot comment on what a drop or 2 might add to the flavour.

I like this whisky but not excited by it. Certainly my attraction to Scotch has not been swayed by this Irish. If I was to give a dram then it would 5 out of 7. No booty scale either. If you are interested in getting into whisky in general this might be a good starter.

As a note the recipe I have developed for Beef and Stout pie is pretty fool proof and is an excellent accompaniment to any evening that you may be wanting a few nips of the water of life. I will post up about that one soon enough now that it is getting a winter chill in the air. Looking forward to next years Saint Patricks Day already.

Also for you Guinness drinkers our good mate at Whisky Cast, Mark Gillespie, posted a great title video on how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness. Does not work so well from a can (I have been trying for weeks now) but if I ever get a chance to get behind the bar and pour my own I am ready and willing.

The Baron

Gets me sorted - The Glenlivet 18yo

The Glenlivet 18yo. Distinguished by the Navy Blue box and label.

There are things in every whisky that makes it unique such as fruits and citrus, floral and fresh. The Glenlivet 18yo covers all these bases. It must be said as a bench mark I love The Glenlivet 12yo for its consistency, its graceful bouquets, rich pallet. It is my daily dram of choice so it is no biggie I like the 18yo, but not as much as one would think. Contrary to my opinion El Captian glenloved it.

The Glenlivet 18yo
Alcohol: 43%
Location/Region: Speyside
Colour: Dark toffee

On the nose dried straw, spikes of citrus rind, deep honey, ANSAC biscuits and my mothers fruit cake. The alcohol races up and tickles the nostrils on a deep draw leaving you with the slightest burnt toffee effect in the throat. The nose on this benefits from an open glass and no need to concentrating it with a narrowed lip glass.

To taste very different to the nose with a smoothness across the tongue, both elegant and yet exciting. Lots of bitty citrus, ginger, oaks, with a peppered heat that quickly races into the chest. Very quickly I find myself swallowing, not because it is unpleasant, but because it moves so quickly and evens out across the pallet it is just a natural progression. Another dram please.

The finish is dry and medium length which tingles slightly of acetone in the throat. This is really the only thing I dislike about the Glenlivet 18yo. The finish has been dulled and dried in comparison to the 12yo that makes it a little off balance to me.

Overall balance is fair though and I think I would like a little more sweetness to compliment the dryness. Still very palatable and leaving you wanting more.

If I was to give a dram then it would be a 6 1/4 out of 7. I really like it and it gets me sorted but this version fell short of previous releases I have had. I would not be surprised if others say they have had better in the 18yo. This is my 3rd bottle I have had the pleasure of consuming and certainly it will not be my last and would not be disappointed if I received another one as a gift. In the past I have built this up as being bigger than I remember and may have slightly overrated. I hope to be again proven wrong.

From a food perspective it does go exceptionally well with TimTam biscuits.

It is also worth a note the price on the 18yo varies greatly here in Australia. I have purchased it at $89 and seen it range upwards of $130. That is a big swing in pricing and would be interesting to know how this happens.

The Baron

Flavour Monster - Ardbeg 10yo

Ardbeg 10yo - note the light colour in the glass

I thought it was time I threw my own 2 cents worth in on the Ardbeg 10yo. We have all had it and think we all like it to some degree. Whenever an Ardbeg makes an appearance at a club meeting the bottle risks becoming an endangered species. If you a newcomer to the whisky world you may find this too strong but really I feel if you like lots of flavour in your food and like a challenge then this is certainly a whisky to try before you die as you won't be disappointed.

My Grandmother use to have a nip of whisky (JW Red) every night. A few years ago I thought to introduce my mother the world of the single malt. She did not like the Glenmorangie's and Glenlivet's of this world but she loved Ardbeg instead. She did not really drink whisky straight before then.

One of the true flavour monsters of the single malt world it is worth knowing that the Ardbeg distillery has more than once come close to being closed indefinitely. These days it retains a legendary status amongst us single malt drinkers and hard to believe it nearly ceased to exist.

Ardbeg 10yo
Alchohol: 46%
Location/Region: Isle of Islay
Colour: Light pear

The nose is smokey ash, sweet malt, a little moist with hint of sea air. Just the smell alone makes me think of a cold wet day on the coast. The smell will permeate a room while the whisky still fills the glass.

To taste those sweet notes on the nose quickly turn to an chewy earthy spice, heavier smokey ash, and strong alcohol high in the throat. Salts are there but not so much as on the nose.

The finish is deep, soothing, long and drawn. Heat in the cheats, smoke in the pallet and a tingle on the tongue but you also find those sweet notes again.

Balance is quite good regardless of the heavy ash smoke and in fact that is exactly what you are desiring in the Ardbeg 10yo. Either you start on this whisky and stay on it for the rest of the night or you class it as a finisher and look forward to the experience when the moment comes. Ardbeg 10yo is extremely rich at first though I have always noticed it diminishes somewhat within the first 4 weeks of opening and all those high notes give way to the ashy peat smoke.

I like and appreciate Ardbeg 10yo though I would not consider it a daily dram nor is it ever in the front of my mind when my whisky stocks are low. That said I would easily give this a 6 out of 7. It is always consistent and always pleasing and something to look forward to. Something to savour and not over indulge. Goes well with dark chocolate that has a very high cocoa content.

Ardbeg does not just make peated whisky even though the common myth is that all Islay Whiskies are peated / should be peated. For Ardbeg this is nearly true but with the release of Ardbeg Blasda at only 8 parts per million phenol content I am really looking forward to the day I taste this sucker.

To finish off it is worth a note I would prefer Ardbeg 10yo over Laphroaig 10yo yet on the other hand give me a Laphroaig Cask Strength (or Quarter Cask) and day over an Ardbeg Uigeadail.

Das Baron

Ballantine's Finest: Sweet Ballantine!

Owned by Pernot Ricard (owners of the Chivas and The Glenlivet malts), Ballantine's blended Scotch Whisky took my interest because it's bottled in the same town as my grandmother was born: Dumbarton, Scotland. Even the local Dumbarton F.C. is sponsored by Ballantine's…makes sense.

Home strip, Dumbarton F.C.

Whilst this review is about Ballantine's Finest, I have actually had a bottle of the 17yo which I bought duty free when returning from the US in 2008. I never wrote a review, as it was literally being consumed as the D.T.W.C. club and blog were being formed (if you look at one of our first posts, you'll see a picture of the box). The 17yo has actually just won Jim Murray's 2011 Whisky of the Year Award. All this means is that I hold this brand very close to my heart, as it touches my family, as well as my whisky family (aka D.T.W.C.).

Anyway, as part of a whisky project, I have started drinking my way through this family of blended Scotch malts, starting with Ballantine's Finest. Apparently they say there are over 40 whiskies in this blend, including grains, so not sure what chance I have to get this review right...but here goes!

The Bottle: I love the branding of Ballantine's, but I am a sucker for a good piece of stylised hand-writing. As a guess, Ballantine's have gone for a bottle shape reminiscent of a bygone era, with a short-squat square brown bottle. It works for me, particularly when you compare it to other brands around the $40 mark. Its easy to grip and would look great in a brown paper bag!?!

Nose: A strong pervading sweetness (almost rum-n-raison like) and alcoholic whiff. There is also pungent liquorice notes and subtle hints of vanilla.

Taste: Initially very sweet…and then more sweetness, which I assume is coming from the grain whiskies in the blend. I must say the sweetness not really to my personal liking, but would obviously suit those inclined to drinking with (dare I say) mixers like dry-ginger ale and coke. To end it has the strong sour taste of citrus fruits and some vanilla. The mouthfeel is syrupy, and the blend does tend to numb parts of the mouth.

Liked by the lady's, Ballantine's Finest!

I want to write that this is a brilliant whisky, maybe it is for the price, but it isn't to my liking. I haven't tried many blends in this price range so maybe my opinion will change once I have a serious Johnny Walker Black tasting or The Famous Grouse to review.

I would give this two-and-a-half bolts from a possible seven. Would I buy it again? I must admit I would save my money and buy the 17yo (which I just did, A$85 duty free only). I have also just purchased the 12yo (A$50, available Dan Murphy's). In the end, the sweetness in Ballantine's Finest kills it for me.

The Diplomat (formerly Secretary),
D.T.W.C

PS - Mark Gillespie from WhiskyCast was invited to tour the blending room at this famous distillery, see the podcast here.

Indeed you are powerful - Talisker 18yo

Talisker 18yo what's left of the dram after event 7

I’m keen to write up a review for this Talisker 18yo from the 7^th DTWC meet. So I’m sitting here at 11am on a Saturday while my daughter has just gone down for a sleep and my wife is out for the day. Ideal conditions. The whisky was enjoyed by all at the last meeting and I’ve been looking forward to trying the final dram that was left in the bottle. How we managed to save a dram is anyone’s guess.

Nose: Controlled and not overpowering. I remember a lot of members saying that is was harsh on the nasal passage. I’m still not finding that now.  There are strong mixed fruit notes and it’s very appealing to me. One of the more memorable smelling whiskies.

Taste: Very smooth and well balanced. There is no harshness, but at the same time it doesn’t just slide down. You want to just keep rolling it over your tongue. The very subtle smokiness is extremely pleasant and much less obvious than the Talisker 10yo. Again mixed fruits and raisins are present.

Finish: An momentary peppery blast hit the back of the throat but instantly subsides into a long smooth coating of everything down the back passage. An everlasting experience with flavours still present some time later. 

This tastes so good that I don’t want to go back for more just yet, but can’t seem to help myself. I don’t know if this makes sense, but it’s a relatively light whisky initially, which hides some great depth and complexity. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who wouldn’t enjoy this I think. It would last long opened in anyone’s cupboard.  I can easily rate this 6 and a half lightning bolts, actually no, I’m going to rate this 6.75 out of 7. I am that impressed.

El Capitan

Seven Members for the Seventh meeting

Talisker 18yo choice whisky for the evening

The 7th meeting of the Distant Thunder Whisky Club was certainly enjoyable - not quite as enjoyable as Expo 88 - but still enjoyable. Seven members made the trek out to El Capitan’s stronghold in Cherrybrook and we also skyped in The Diplomat formally know and The Surgeon formally knows as The Secretary from sunny Brisbane.

The Diplomat pensive as always on skype

Whisky of the evening was a memorable Talisker 18yo. Expectations were high across all members, and I must say, nobody was disappointed. This was an exceptional whisky and a review has been performed separately to this post.

The evening also saw what was arguably the highest quality selection of whisky we’ve had at a meeting.

The selection :

• Talisker 18yo
• Wild Turkey 12yo
• Arran 1996
• Laphroaig Quarter Cask
• Ardbeg 10yo
• Taliksker 57 North
• Glenfiddich 21yo
• Ardbeg Uigeadail
• Vat 69 (turn a blind eye)

Choice selection for the evening

I speak for everyone in saying a big thank you to my lovely wife (and trusty whisky sidekick) who served us some exceptional quality dumplings and an exquisite sweet and sour pork. Indeed, when the evening reached a late hour and the wolves (aka The Grey Bush with the largest portion) went back for seconds they were literally scrapping the bottom of the pan for the sauce.

Dog The Sexy Cat Dog displaying his winnings (truly uninspiring)

Other notable events from the evening included the first whisky quiz. This appeared well received by members with a lot of shooshing and covering of answers. The winner, declared as The Dog, was fortunate to receive an opened bottle of Vat 69, handed down from the previous club meet.

With seven members chipping in the new $25 levy we now have a $175 surplus for the next meeting.

Let’s try for eight members, when The Unclean hosts us next.

El Capitan

The Macallan Select Oak & How Globalisation Will Doom Us All - Excerpts from The Dog

The Macallan Select Oak

As I sit in my bat cave sipping on the delightful Macallan Select Oak (only available at duty free shops around the world), I cannot help but pontificate on an issue which is becoming a source of heated discussion among the elite in North Sydney:

The early decades of globalisation (which we are still in) has heralded many beneficial changes to the Australian way of life.

The shifting of basic manufacturing industries such as textile & clothing to relatively cheaper overseas countries such as China and outsourcing call centre functions to lower cost areas such as India has created great economic benefits for the majority of us through cheaper goods and services while eliminating only relatively few unskilled positions from the local employment pool.

Given the booming economic conditions partly created by globalisation, this small pool of unemployed workers have been able to retrain and gain employment in other industries – in other words, the workforce has largely been able to absorb the initial job losses caused by outsourcing and globalisation.

However we are now entering a period where it’s becoming possible to shift more and more skilled jobs overseas as technology makes it possible for say an accountant to be located in China but work for an Australian based operation. Again, there will be short term benefits to the Australian economy as company overhead costs reduce as a result of using cheaper overseas labour and the price of good and services fall further.

But the question is: as this rising tide of globalisation moves more and more jobs and industries away from Australia, will the country have the ability to keep retraining its population to work in fewer and fewer industries? One feels an economy needs to cater for the different skills, needs and abilities of its people by having a vast variety of employment opportunities in both skilled and unskilled areas, junior and senior roles. As an example, how can an individual who has not been to university yet performs perfectly adequately as retail assistant in Harvey Norman be expected to retrain as a mining engineer because that happens to be one of the few areas of job growth in Australia?

In addition, retraining comes at a heavy cost to the individual and society in general. Take the example of a banker with 15 years of experience who has steadily moved up the ranks in a world class domestic finance organisation and now enjoys a modest if not extravagant standard of living with a family to support and a mortgage. This banker relies on his current job to sustain this standard of living. If he becomes unemployed due to his company transferring his job to a cheaper overseas location, his standard of living automatically drops. He may have to sell his home as he can’t afford the mortgage repayments and return to university to study towards a new degree in a completely unrelated field. After three to four years of study, he then has to start a new career as a graduate with the commensurate income level. That’s if he’s lucky enough to find an enlightened employer who will be prepared to hire a mid 30’s aged graduate!

In summary, we all need to be aware that globalisation is effectively leading to an “averaging” process whereby the wealth and standard of living which we’ve accustomed to is being eroded through jobs and industries being exported to other parts of the world. Their win is our loss.

The Dog

Note from The Baron: For more vague nuances, dram-atisations, and plain weirdness this particular bottle of The Macallan Select Oak has imparted on us see C'est la vie - A Gentleman's Repose.

Livin' la Vida Loca - Wild Turkey Rare Breed

Coming off the back of possibly the lamest attempt of a bourbon ever I threw myself at the Wild Turkey Rare Breed thinking there is no better time to go for it than now. Was I pleased… OH YES! Was that Ricky Martin singing Livin' la Vida Loca in my head as I took the first dram… I hope not but it seemed like just the right song at the time.

I have been waiting to taste this puppy for a long time. At $80 AU a bottle it is not a cheap bourbon by any measure so at some stage you need to throw caution to the wind and splash out.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed is a blending of 6yo, 8yo and 12yo barrels all at barrel-proof / cask strength with no addition of water. Remember that bourbon does not suffer the angels share like scotch so the flavours are extremely full of character from the distillation process and the new oak barrels it fills. Tasty.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Barel Proof 54.1% Alcohol
Batch No. WT-03RB

This is certainly one of the more well presented bottles of bourbon I have seen yet not so extravagantly package that you start thinking where has all the one gone. The bottle is voluptuous, shapely and attention grabbing. Judging from the bottle I think we can tell how Jimmy Russell liked his ladies.

The nose is rich and thick with lots of sweet toffees, corn and rye and not too much oak or dry straw. This is a bourbon that you could nose for an hour and I really had to just stop myself several times from diving in because I knew once that hits the pallet there is no going back. Just delicious.

On the pallet, at first, it is quite a strange sensation with an unexpected burst of tingling spices and citrus notes, sweet, rich and chewy. For me somehow the rye keeps making it's way forward and reminds me a lot of the Wild Turkey Straight Rye whisky. Still with all that is going on it is smooth on the tongue though I must confess you need to have a taste for barrel proof/cask strength whiskies to appreciate it. It really attacks the senses from here on.

The finish is where barrel strength starts to be notice. A bit of heat but not as much as one would expect, very long on the draw with a sweetness that slowly build up in the jowls of the mouth. Slight tobacco smoke dryness in the back of the throat though not unpleasant. For some reason maybe 3 minutes later does the lips also get the tingle and bitterness arrive.

The balance is fair on the nose and the pallet and not confusing like I have found with some bourbons.

With a crazy sense of certainty if I was to give a dram I would rank this is as one of the best bourbons I have had to date (Buffalo Trace aside of course, still waiting on the review Secretary/The Diplomate) and will score it 6 1/2 out of 7. A rare score indeed for a rare breed of bourbon.

On a finishing note I would really like to try this chilled so I am thinking I need to get some whisky stones. No way I would kill this with water.

The Baron livin' the crazy life (he thinks)

Mutton Dressed As Lamb Posing as Bacon - McKenna Bourbon

Seriously if there was ever the most regrettable whisky I have ever purchased this has to be the one. You know it is bad when a $2.75 packet of budget bacon is more appetising. I was so pissed off after buying this I went straight out the next day and purchased a bottle of Wild Turkey Rare Breed (review to come).  Now we are not exactly pros at this but our club is about quality in whisky. In fact this whisky is so bad I am not even going to make an effort to go into detail.

McKenna Kentucky Straight Bourbon
37.2% Alcohol (enough said)
Double Distilled
Barrel aged 5 years
Marketing catch phrase - The Urban Bourbon

To nose: a mild essence of what bourbon should smell like but it is very faint, almost stretched. So stretched in fact I cannot nail down any particular traits.

To taste: I don't think so. There is absolutely no dynamics in the flavour at all. no complexity, no special touches. I was seriously checking my glass incase I had actually mistakenly poured the whisky into water. At 37.2% it is not hard to see where the flavour went.

The Finish: Lot's of heat and that is about it. Totally goes from the pallet in an instant.

Balance is no where to be seen. I know I am sounding harsh but there is just no soul to this bourbon at all. Honestly if you care anything about the quality in a whisky don't even go here.

So it comes in a nice bottle with a black label and silver printing should that make a difference? I was fooled until I discovered she has a false eye and a wooden leg but only after tasting the sour melon.

Whom would this suit you may ask? Someone whom really does not like to drink bourbon straight and even finds mixing it with cola too overpowering. It is a feather weight in the world of bourbons in my books and I would be laying bets on the bacon instead.

2 out of 7 on the dram-o-meter and that is being generous. No effort has gone into the production of this bourbon and if it has it was lost when someone poured a bucket of water into the barrel to stretch out the economy of scale. They say it is extra smooth, I say it is just weak.

The Baron

A strange thing of note is that the actual Mckennabourbon.com website does not actually even work. I can get a vague reference to an Australian site but it does not work either and a NZ site that has 3 pages of nothing at all. Stranger still is that if you search on the web for McKenna Bourbon it leads you down dead end trails. From vague references this bourbon is made in Kentucky but bottle in NZ? Seemed to be a lot of references form a few years ago but that is about it. The facebook says the product is only available in Aus and NZ?! A dead brand.. maybe and it won't be missed by me.

The Converted goes to Australia's Lark Distillery

To get to our rental cottage just outside of Cambridge, in Tasmania, we had to drive past the Lark Distillery. I wish I could tell you it was a romantic building situated in a grain field and next to a peat bog. Unfortunately it was a big blue shed in a grassy field! A field surrounded by vines, but nonetheless it felt odd as whisky isn't made from grapes.

You can't visit the distillery so the next day we went to the Lark Whisky Bar in Hobart for a taste!

The whisky bar is located in central Hobart next to the main wharfs. The 'bar' isn't quite sure what it wants to be. Part museum, there is an old whisky still and a small display about whisky making. Part shop, there is a large selection of Lark products which includes vodka, gin, brandy and rum as well as whisky.

It's also a bar. There is a decent range of scotch whiskies as well as Tassie rival Sullivan's Cove on offer. However, it's not the most impressive whisky selection you'll ever see. Beer, wine and other spirits can also be had.

You can taste their whisky at $3 per glass or four whiskies for $10. (The other Lark spirits can be tasted at $1 a go.)

We went for four whiskies for $10. I wish I could tell you it was a fantastic experience, but I'd be lying! I was asking the lady conducting our tasting about the barrels they use, how long they age their whiskies for, the difference between their products etc.... It wasn't quite as bad as talking to a brick wall, but it wasn't a lot better!

All I did manage to learn was that their whiskies are five to seven years old. They import all their bottles and majority of their barrels from France. They primarily use port casks, some bourbon and have recently secured a 'secret' source in NSW.

The first whisky to taste was the Lark Single Malt Whisky, 43%, a single cask whisky. Even though you are paying you get such a small measure it's difficult to determine the flavour. Two sips and it was gone! Light straw in colour it definitely isn't a complex whisky.

Lost on me, but the tasting notes describe spicy plum pudding, liquorice and mixed peel. I didn't detect much peat, which is odd considering Lark have their own peat bog in central Tasmania.

The second whisky was the Lark Single Malt Whisky Distillers Selection, 46%. I asked how the distillers collection was different from the regular single malt, to be told that the distiller particularly likes the flavour profile of the barrel. I couldn't detect any difference in taste, but you can tell that the alcohol content is slightly higher.

The final true whisky in their selection is the Lark Single Malt Whisky Cask Strength, 58%. Just like the first two whiskies it is single barrel. This was my favourite of the three whiskies once you got over the alcoholic shock. It was helped by being cut with a little water. There was a good floral nose.

The final of the four tastings was the Slainté a malt whisky liqueur. Sweet on the nose and in the mouth it was almost sticky. It tasted of candy and light caramel.

It was fun to visit Lark. They've obviously got a passion for whisky, are a small boutique producers and working hard to try and make it financially viable. However, they've got a long way to go before they can start mixing it with the boys from Skye.

The Converted