I am not a whisky connoisseur but certainly am a big enthusiast. This is my third visit to Whisky Live and I thought it's about time I share my experience.
This year, I had a rare opportunity (brag…brag) to join a Masterclass organized by the Whisky Magazine people where we had a chance to sample the winners of world whiskies awards. And here they are: The big WWA winners (with my tasting notes) World’s best single malt whisky: Sullivan's cove French oak cask (47.5%) I don’t have a big experience in sampling the Aussie version of the dram. But this is an art of a genius. This single cask bottling from Tasmania is matured in French oaks for around 10 years and is bottled using rainforest water! Nose: dried cranberries, a hint of citrus, dark chocolate, toasted almonds, Palate: Fruity, cereals, bit peppery, vanilla spice. Finish: Firewood smoke, dark fruits and chocolate, well balanced, World's best American whiskey: Balcones brimstone resurrection ( 64.5%) It is not easy disassociating American whiskey from bourbon. This smokey beast is NOT a bourbon. Made from Texan blue corn, this whiskey gets its smoke in a non-traditional way that involves a secret process where scrub oak is used to “smoke” the new make spirit prior to maturation. Nose: Burnt rubber, perfumes (incense sticks), sweet, open widely with drops of water, Palate: Smoky, sweet syrup, fruits, Finish: Long, warm and spicy, with a superb balance of smoke, honey, and dried fruit. World’s best Grain whiskey: Teeling single grain (46%) This world’s best grain whiskey comes from Ireland and is fully matured in Californian cabernet sauvignon casks. Nose: Sweet apples, cloves and caramel, hints of vanilla spice Palate: light and buttery, yet sweet and chewy Finish: long and balanced, World’s Best Blend: The lost distilleries blend (50.9%) As the name suggests, this is a blend of the whiskies from closed distilleries- Rosebank, Littlemill, Imperial, Mosstowie, Glen Keith and Port Ellen. A rare masterpiece from the blended whisky company. Just 97 bottles were released. Nose: sweet, fragrant spice, hints of citrus Palate: Tropical fruit, rich with balanced smoke, Vanilla spice Finish: Long, warm and dry with lingering smokiness. Other whiskies I sampled Apart from the WWA winners, I managed to sample a few other interesting whiskies. Here are a few to mention: Penderyn: From the Penderyn distillery ( formerly known as The Welsh whisky company) in Wales. Penderyn Sherywood(50%): Matured in Oloroso casks, Limited release Penderyn Peated (46%) The peated expression doesn’t come from the peat smoke itself but from the ex-islay casks. Old Pulteney: one of the most northerly distilleries in Scotland, Old Pulteney Navigator (46%) Sherry and bourbon casks. Old Pulteney:12 Years old (40%) Double Gold winner WSC San Francisco, 2006 Old Pulteney: 17 Years old (46%) WWA 2012 winner- Best Highland 13-20 years category. (Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez) Four Roses Bourbon Interesting story about the name from MasterofMalts. It is said that the founder of the distillery- Paul L Jones Jr was in love with a beautiful unnamed Southern girl. He feared rejection and rather than ask her in person, he sent her a letter proposing marriage. She replied saying that if she wore a red rose to the upcoming local ball, it would signal a favourable response. To his delight, she was not wearing one red rose, but a corsage four. Thus, the brand name was born. Kavalan: A good whisky from King Car Distillery in Taiwan, Named after the people who originally inhabited the island in Yilan county. Also Gold winner of IWSC 2011. Balblair One of the few distilleries that release whisky in vintage years. Balblair 1990 (46%) unchill filtered. Travel Retail Exclusive, Bourbon casks. Balblair 1983(46%) American oak, non-chill filtered. Glen Garioch Pronounced "geery" Glen Garioch Virgin oak (48%) First-ever release of this style. North American oak, Glen Garioch 1986: The end of peatiness. The few last batches of peated whisky from the distillery. Glen Garioch no longer produces peated whisky. Glen Garioch 1999 (56.3%) Matured entirely in Oloroso, Glen Garioch 1995 (55.3%) winner (Gold) at IWSC 2012. Glen Moray From Elgin, in Speyside. Glen Moray Chardonnay cask (40%) Matured entirely in Chardonnay casks. Girvan: Grain Distillery from the makers of Glenfiddich and Balvenie. Girvan Patent Still LE Bottling: (42%)25 Years old, UK exclusive FEW: Impressive name for the distillery. That's what they do - make a (few)range of American spirits, from gin to Bourbon, including some speciality spirits Few Rye Whiskey(46.5%) Few Bourbon (46.5%) Tomintoul The gentle dram from speyside, AKA speyside glenlivet Tomintoul Peaty Tang; (40%) a rare peaty treat from Speyside Teeling Deliciously Irish single-grain whiskey. Winners of the WWA 2014. Expressions include rum and wine cask maturation. That’s it. It was a great experience and a great recovery the next day!! Visit their website for your nearest whisky live events if you're interested.
|
Archives
December 2021
AuthorSunil Karki Categories
All
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of Cookies |