The Rum Howler Blog

(A Website for Spirited Reviews)

  • Copyright

    Copyright is inherent when an original work is created. This means that the producer of original work is automatically granted copyright protection. This copyright protection not only exists in North America, but extends to other countries as well. Thus, all of the work produced on this blog is protected by copyright, including all of the pictures and all of the articles. These original works may not be copied or reused in any way whatsoever without the permission of the author, Chip Dykstra.
  • Cocktails and Recipes

    Click Image for Awesome Recipes

  • Industry Interviews

    Interviews

    Click the Image for Great Interviews with the Movers of Industry

  • The Rum Howler Interview (Good Food Revolution)

    Click on the Image to see my interview on Good Food Revolution

  • The Rum Howler Blog

    Unknown's avatar

  • Rum Reviews

  • Whisky Reviews

  • Gin Reviews

  • Tequila Reviews

  • Vodka Reviews

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,091 other subscribers
  • Subscribe

  • Visitors

    • 15,516,142 pageviews since inception
  • Archives

  • Follow The Rum Howler Blog on WordPress.com

Posts Tagged ‘Single Malt Whisky’

Review: Connoisseurs Choice – Rosebank 1991 Single Malt Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 22, 2010

The Connoisseurs Choice is a series of malt whiskies from various Scottish distilleries many of which are no longer producing whisky.  Boasting over 40 different single malts available from the Scottish regions The sheer variety of styles and flavours of whisky available from Gordon and Macphail’s Connoisseurs range is staggering.

The Rosebank Distillery once produced a lazy laid back style of lowland whisky which was triple distilled for extra smoothness.  The Distillery was closed in 1993 despite being widely recognized as one of the premier distilleries in the lowland region.   Only through independent bottlers such as Gordon and Macphail can we still taste the whisky which was once produced at Rosebank.

Here is a snippet from my review:

“…This is a clean tasting and gentle experience. My palate is tickled with a nice mixture of  warm vanilla, oak spice disguised as citrus, light smoke, and a mildly sweet and punky butterscotch.  The smoke brings forth a light combination of dried raisins and currants…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Connoisseurs Choice – Rosebank 1991

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Connoisseurs Choice – Rosebank 1991 Single Malt Whisky

Whisky Review: The Macallan Sherry Oak (12 Year)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 18, 2010

Photo Courtesy of J.Wheelock

The Macallan is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery, located near Easter Elchies House, at Craigellachie in the Speyside region of Scotland.

I was given a bottle of The Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak and the 10 Year Old Fine Oak by J. Wheelock, the Brand Ambassador West for The Macallan, Highland Park, and The Famous Grouse. Mr. Wheelock ask me to do a comparative tasting of the two styles of oak as part of my series of reviews of The Macallan Single Malt Scotches. For those who do not know, The Macallan Sherry Oak whiskies are aged exclusively in oak barrels seasoned with sherry from Jerez, Spain.  The Fine Oak Series is a relatively new series of whiskies which uses American Sherry and American Whiskey barrels in addition to the Spanish Sherry casks.

Photo Courtesy J. Wheelock)

Both bottles presented to me were 750ml bottles, each bottled at 40% alcohol by volume. I shared my review of  The Macallan Fine Oak 10 Year Single Malt Whiskey earlier and you may click on the link to read it for comparison.

And here is an excerpt  from my review of of The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 Year Old Single Malt Whisky:

“….When I poured the Macallan Sherry Oak into my glencairn glass the immediate nose was complex and tainted with sherry aroma.  I sensed a firm woodiness in the air which had an exotic ‘fruit-like’ flair. Treacle and sherry smoke slowly drifted out of the glass with the firm imprint of wild berries and tart cherries….”

You may read the full review here:

Whisky Review: The Macallan Sherry Oak (12 Year)

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Whisky Review: The Macallan Sherry Oak (12 Year)

Whisky Review: The Macallan Fine Oak (10 Year)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 11, 2010

Craigellachie Bridge near the Macallan Distillery (Photo Courtesy of J. Wheelock)

The Macallan is a single malt Scotch whisky, produced at The Macallan Distillery near Easter Elchies House, at Craigellachie in the Speyside region of Scotland.  Originally, The Macallan whiskies were (primarily)  matured in oak seasoned with sherry brought to the distillery from Jerez, Spain. Beginning in 2004, The Macallan introduced a new product, the Fine Oak Series, with whisky matured in seasoned American oak casks, (sherry as well as bourbon), as well as sherry casks from Spain. The Fine Oak Series is quite a departure for The Macallan, and the new whisky has brought rave reviews from some quarters (Jim Murray for example awarded it “Best New Scotch Brand” when it was launched), and dramatic criticism from others who considered the American barrels inferior (a puzzling criticism it seems to me).

Photo Courtesy of J. Wheelock and The Macallan Distillery

I was given a bottle each of The Macallan 10 Year Old Fine Oak and The Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak by J. Wheelock, the Brand Ambassador West for The Macallan, Highland Park, and The Famous Grouse. Mr. Wheelock asked me to do a comparative tasting of the two styles of oak as part of my series of reviews of The Macallan Single Malt Whisky. Both bottles presented to me were 750ml bottles, each bottled for the Canadian market at 40% alcohol by volume.  I thought I would begin my analysis with a review of The Macallan 10 Year Old Fine Oak Series:

Here is an excerpt from the review:

“…When I pour the Macallan Fine Oak into my glass, the first aroma is that of a nice oak spiced  butterscotch with a dollop of treacle. The treacle is not overdone such that this would smell caramelized or burnt, rather it is a steady accent on the butterscotch and spice thickening them, but also preventing too much sweetness to form…”

You may read the full review here:

Whisky Review: The Macallan Fine Oak (10 Year)

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Scotch Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Whisky Review: The Macallan Fine Oak (10 Year)

Review: Glenmorangie Nectar D’or Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 28, 2010

Glenmorangie was amongst the first Scotch distilleries (1960s) to use ex bourbon barrels to age their whisky rather than Spanish oak (IE: sherry casks). This helped to change the taste profile of their Scottish whisky in a significant manner, and today ex bourbon barrels are use extensively alongside ex sherry casks in many Scottish distilleries. In 1996, Glenmorangie introduced their wood finish range which began the experimentation with a range of new wood finishes like port wood casks and wine barriques. These wood finished products are now used by many distilleries and once again Glenmorangie can claim credit for helping to extend  the range of the taste profile of Scottish whisky.

The Nectar D’or is a mature Glenmorangie (at least ten years old) that is aged in ex bourbon casks and then finished or ‘extra matured’ in Sauternes wine barriques.  The use of the Sauternes wine casks  gives the Nectar D’or a touch of grape sweetness.  This sweeter  ‘white wine or grape’ character is evident in the tasting and review notes that follow.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…When the Nectar D’or is poured into the glass I immediately recognize a light aroma of soft white wine rising into the air beside the more familiar Scotch whisky aroma.  I smell oak spices with trails of vanilla and honey accented by that light white wine scent.  The aroma is very complex, and it includes sharper citrus scents of lemon and fresh orange .  I find this extremely inviting….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Glenmorangie Nectar D’or Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Glenmorangie Nectar D’or Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Whisky Review: Cooper’s Choice – Mortlach 1979

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 29, 2010

Cooper’s Choice – Mortlach 1979

I have a thing for well aged whisky. I love the spirits which have been aged 15 … 20 even 25 years. I also have a soft spot for a bargain. So when I spied a 25 year old Scotch for only $125 bucks, I was like a hungry fish spying a shiny new lure. In spite of my firm resolution to only buy what I sample first, I was hooked! I did not even put up much of a fight.

The Cooper’s Choice seems to be a relatively new third party bottler who have stepped into my market place bringing in Scotch whisky from distillers who typically do not bottle their own products.   In this case the Mortlach Distillery in Dufftown,   a Speyside distillery.

(I know what you are thinking and No! This is not the home of Duff Beer,  The Simpson’s and the Mortlach Distillery are not related.)

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The nose prepared me for the onslaught from the bottle.  My palate was filled with a triumvirate of heavy smoke, heavy oak, and 92 proof alcohol.  It pretty much knocked my taste buds back and crippled them to the other nuances.  It was not until I rested my palate, and added an ice-cube that I was able to taste the other nuances of the dram…..”

You may read the full review here:

Review: The Cooper’s Choice – Mortlach 1979

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Whisky Review: Cooper’s Choice – Mortlach 1979