Showing posts with label Blended Whisky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blended Whisky. Show all posts
Monday, July 6, 2015
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Thursday, March 6, 2014
The Scotch Whisky Guide - Gentleman's Gazette
This is one of the best articles we've read, on defining what Scotch whisky is! Share it with your whisky loving friends.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Isle of Skye 8 year old & 12 year old
Isle of Skye 8 Year Old
Whisky Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Bottle Size: 750ml
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Notes: This is a blend I picked up on the spur of the moment. I was looking for something to take along on a road trip vacation. My daughter was about to finish a semester interning at a family resort best known for it's large rodent mascot, and my wife and I were going to spend a week down there on vacation before bringing her back home. I needed something with a secure top, that would travel well on a long road trip. I was browsing the racks at a local wine and sprits store and found this, bargain priced at under $25, and decided it was worth a chance. Not only did it survive a trip to Florida and back, but it was so good that it's become a regular staple in my home bar.
Isle of Skye is a blend from Ian MacLeod Distillers Limited, owners of Glengoyone and Tamdhu distilleries, and a very diverse portfolio of independent bottlings and blends, including Smokehead Single Malt and the well known Chieftain's Range, just to name a few.
Isle of Skye 8 year old Blended Scotch Whisky, is a whisky that reminds me of older bottling's of Johnnie Walker! It's got a kick of oily and peppery peat, likely coming from Caol Ila, and Talisker (the only distillery on the Ilse of Skye). It's also got some nice Speyside and/or Highland malts in the mix, with a strong profile of Bourbon cask Scotch whiskies in the blend, giving off notes of honey and vanilla. This is a really tasty blend, with decent complexity and a strong malt heavy character!
Nose: This first thing you notice, is the Bourbon notes of honey and vanilla, then the peat and a hint of pepper follow.
Taste: This is where the complexity comes though, with dark chocolate and vanilla, some almond, peat and spice all competing for attention, without distracting or overpowering each other.
Finish: The almond ultimately wins, with a medium long finish, with a whiff of smoke and vanilla lingering on.
My Personal Ranking 1-100: 84/100 (Blend Score)
Isle of Skye 12 Year Old
Whisky Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Bottle Size: 750ml
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Notes: The 12 year old version of Isle of Skye has a very similar profile to the 8 year old, so the blend components are very similar, if not the same. The additional age seems to bring out some sherry notes that I didn't notice in the younger version. Maybe some sherry aged Glengoyne has been added to the blend? While I hate the overuse of the word smooth in whisky reviews, the additional 4 years of aging does bring that word to mind. This is a reasonably complex, smooth and integrated, malt heavy blend, at a very reasonable price.
Nose: Notes of honey and vanilla again, some citrus notes, and the peat you would expect from a whisky carrying this name.
Taste: A wonderful explosion of flavors, including dark chocolate, vanilla and carmel, ripe orange, smokey peat, and a hint of spice.
Finish: A pleasant finish where the citrus and peat flavors linger.
My Personal Ranking 1-100: 86/100 (Blend Score)
Friday, September 27, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Back to Booze School?
Monday, August 26, 2013
Johnnie Walker's newest releases?
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| The Ron Burgundy Signature Edition "Brown Label". |
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| Tapping into the Zombie Craze, the "Red/Dead Label", arriving just in time for Halloween. |
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| Lastly, the Star Wars "Dark Side" edition of the classic "Black Label". |
Monday, August 5, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
The future of Whisk(e)y? Part 1 - Black Label
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Johnnie Walker Double Black
Whisky Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Bottle Size: 750ml
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Notes: Johnnie Walker Double Black, takes the standard Black Label, and adds younger more peated malt whisky to the blend (thus the lack of an age statement to this offering), then ages it all in charred oak casks. It's like Johnnie Walker's iconic Striding Man stopped striding long enough to enjoy a dram of the basic Black Label by a campfire! This blend was typically only found in duty free shops at airports, but now it gets a limited annual release here in the states, usually in the last quarter of the year. I've seen several bottles on the shelves of well stocked speciality retail outlets, so these stores wisely stocked up on this while they could so they seem to have enough year round!
Nose: The peaty smoke sweetness of the standard Black Label is replaced here with a smokey bonfire smell that dominates everything.
Taste: The malted barley notes remain, but now there's a meaty barbecue flavor that comes though. The overall smoky flavor is more charcoal smoke than peat smoke.
Finish: Sweet smoke, with a lingering barbecue note that fades slowly.
My Personal Ranking: 86/100 (Blend Score)
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Year Old
Whisky Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Bottle Size: 750ml
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Notes: Johnnie Walker Black Label, is one of the classic Victorian Era blended Scotches. It's probably one of the best known whiskies in the world. The Black Label has a peatier character than most other blends, due in part to the inclusion of whiskies from Caol Ila, Lagavulin, and Talsiker in the mix. It's still a well balanced and great tasting whisky, and it tends to be consistently stocked in my whisky cabinet!
Nose: It starts with a smokey sweetness, followed by a hint of fruit and peppery spice.
Taste: The smoky malt and grain mix well with the developing apple and vanilla flavors that follow.
Finish: A lingering apple note, with the smoke giving way to a honey finish.
My Personal Ranking: 84/100 (Blend Score)
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Blog FAQs
Blog FAQs.
This blog will primarily focus on whiskies that use malted barley. That will include, but not be limited to, Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Blended Scotch Whisky, and any Pot Still, Single Malt and Blended Whiskies from Ireland, Single Malts and Blends from Japan, Whiskies from North America (the US and Canada), and from around the world.
Each review will only be made on whiskies where multiple tastings were taken from an individual bottle. No single dram tasting will be given a full review.
The focus on these reviews will be on whiskeys the average consumer can find and afford. Therefore, expensive specialty releases will rarely if ever be reviewed because it isn't practical or interesting to this reviewer.
All reviews will include personal images of the bottle being reviewed, and include information on the distillery or blender, specifics such as strength and chill filtering, nosing and tasting notes, and a score based on the industry standard 100 point scale.
It will not include notes on the color of the whiskies being reviewed! Why? Because too much emphasis has been placed on color, to the point where some in the industry feel the need to add coloring to their offerings to make them look "older" or more "finished". They claim they do this for simple consistency, but I don't agree, and feel the best thing I can do is concentrate on the important stuff, like the smells and flavors of the whiskies, and ignore the trivial details like color. Maybe then the higher ups will quit worrying about chill filtering and carmel coloring, and other things that do more harm than good to what's inside the bottle!
Please drink responsibly!
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