Whisky I've Drank: Glenfarclas 105

By MasterOfMalt 
Glenfarclas 105 is a superb cask strength whisky, with a history that can be traced to 1968. When the original incarnation was released that year, Glenfarclas became the first distillery to release a barrel proof single malt whisky.
The bottling was eventually re-named to 105, referring to its alcohol content in British Proof, which equates now to 60% ABV.
The 105 doesn't carry an age statement presently, making it rare among Glenfarclas bottlings. Although, there are suggestions that it is matured for 8-10 years in a combination of both ex-sherry and ex-bourbon barrels.
Drying, assertive and richly spiced, the 105 makes for a superb dram, one the Malt Maniacs rated as the best “Bang for your buck” whisky in 2004. Add a drop of water if you please to explore its depth - and don't be put off by that ABV, there's plenty of flavour here to enjoy.

Whisky I've Drank: Benromach 15 Years Old

By MasterOfMalt
A 2015 release to the brilliant Benromach range. The Benromach 15 Year Old is matured in a selection of bourbon and Sherry casks, resulting in an intense but balanced flavour profile. There's big spices (think ginger, mint and a little sprinkle of cinnamon), there's juicy fruit (plum and clementine), there's a touch of smoky charred oak - all well placed and in harmony with each other. Yummers.

Whisky I've Drank: 3 Lobos

By OCãoEngarrafado
Quando nasci, meu pai tinha um Puma dourado. E desde minha mais tenra infância, eu adorava o carro. E, provavelmente, meu pai também. Porque ele ficou com o Puma por uns bons cinco anos depois de meu nascimento. O problema é que o carro tinha apenas dois lugares, e eu – como era uma criança – não podia andar no banco da frente. O que, claro, não impedia meu pai de me colocar sentado naquele tablado duro, atrás do banco do passageiro, para dar umas voltas comigo.
Nos anos oitenta, cadeirinha, cinto de segurança e bom senso eram opcionais. E as leis da física provavelmente também, porque à medida que crescia, deixava de caber naquele – tão fascinante quanto desconfortável – espaço. Com cinco anos de idade, minha coluna vertebral descrevia a angustiante curva do vidro traseiro, e minha cabeça acompanhava, em batidinhas surdas contra o teto do carro, o péssimo asfalto da cidade.
Para falar a verdade, não era só banco traseiro que faltava no Puma. Ele era um automóvel espartano, ainda que muito bem feito. O que, claro, o tornava ainda mais fascinante. Quando meu pai finalmente o trocou por um Monza – em que eu podia me esticar confortavelmente no assento traseiro – fiquei genuinamente decepcionado. O Puma não era apenas um carro. Ele era um orgulho. O mais bem sucedido esportivo nacional, ainda que não o primeiro. Uma promessa da indústria automobilística nacional que, apesar de algumas louváveis tentativas – como o Lobini e o Vorax – nunca se concretizou.
Talvez uma promessa parecida no mundo do whisky, tenha acabado de aparecer. A cervejaria Backer, de Minas Gerais, acaba de lançar um single malt. O Whiskey Três Lobos Single Malt – Também conhecido como Experience. Apesar da grafia com o “e”, o whisky é produzido de acordo com a tradição escocesa. Com cevada maltada – a mesma usada em algumas cervejas da Backer – em alambiques de cobre. Alambiques, aliás, que foram construídos especialmente para a destilaria, e que se assemelham muito a seus pares escoceses.
A cervejaria Backer foi fundada em 1999 pelos irmãos Lebbos, próximo à Serra do Curral, em Minas Gerais. Atualmente, a cervejaria conta com um bar próprio – denominado Templo Cervejeiro – em Belo Horizonte, e um extenso portfólio de cervejas. Dentre elas está a Bravo American Imperial Porter, maturada em barrica de Amburana, e querida deste canídeo. Além disso, a marca lançou, junto com seu whiskey, um gim, que leva um ingrediente bem cervejeiro: lúpulo.
“É uma ousadia; um novo momento para a Backer experimentar uma fatia de um setor que ainda não conhecíamos, e tenho certeza que dará muito certo. Não estamos simplesmente fazendo destilados. Estamos produzindo destilados que contêm matéria-prima cervejeira. Isso é o essencial. O nosso single malte possui características próprias, pois é destilado em pequenas panelas de cobre e feito com malte e fermento cervejeiro.“, explica Paula Lebbos, diretora da Backer.
A maturação do Três Lobos Single Malt aconteceu em barricas de carvalho americano de ex-bourbon Jim Beam, e levou cinco anos. Para o primeiro lote, foram produzidas pouco mais de cinco mil garrafas, à venda no site da Backer por R$ 180,00 (cento e oitenta reais). Ao visitar a destilaria – que fica no Templo Cervejeiro – pode-se também provar o new-make-spirit , que deu origem ao whisky.
Para este Cão, o Três Lobos Single Malt remonta um jovem single malt de speyside ou highlands. O aroma é frutado e adocicado, com baunilha. O sabor remete a compota de frutas, com caramelo, canela e um final de especiarias e cereais. O álcool está relativamente bem integrado para um whisky de sua idade, ainda que apareça um pouco, especialmente no aroma.
É fácil notar o esmero empregado por todos envolvidos na produção do whiskey Três Lobos Single Malt. Da embalagem ao líquido, passando pela bela identidade visual da garrafa. Sensorialmente, ele é um whisky jovem e equilibrado. Mas, acima de tudo, é um começo extraordinário para uma destilaria em um país sem muita tradição na produção de whisky. Ele é como nosso querido Puma – uma promessa.
Uma promessa que, na opinião deste Cão, já está quase concretizada.

BACKER TRÊS LOBOS SINGLE MALT:
Tipo: Single Malt
Destilaria: Backer
País: Brasil
ABV: 40%
Notas de prova:
Aroma: frutado, com baunilha e caramelo. Quase remonta um bourbon. Um pouco alcoólico.
Sabor: Inicio frutado, com pêra e compota de frutas. Um pouco de canela. Final adodicado, com baunilha. Alcool relativamente bem integrado.
Preço: R$ 180,00 (cento e oitenta reais) na Loja Oficial da Backer.

Whisky I've Drank: Oban Little Bay

By Masterofmalt 
Previously part of their travel retail offering, Oban's Little Bay has graduated to the core range as a 70cl bottling. Master Blenders Dr. Matthew Crow and Dr. Craig Wilson use whisky matured in refill American oak hogsheads, European oak Sherry casks and refill casks with new ends for this expression before allowing the resultant single malt whisky to marry in small oak casks.

Whisky I've Drank: Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare

By Karla Alindahao at Forbes
I may not see dead people, but I do believe in ghosts—particularly when it comes to my whiskies. And these days, the spirits in the spirit world have more to do with defunct distilleries than haunted rickhouses.
In 2017, Diageo introduced Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare, the inaugural expression in a limited-release series that intends to blend highly-valuable “ghost” whiskies with rare malts. (For the uninitiated, the informal term “ghost whiskies” refer to expressions extracted from barrels that hail from shuttered distilleries—a noteworthy detail that makes them much-sought-after commodities in the whisky world.)
So to say that Ghost and Rare, as an ongoing endeavor, is something that’s both incredibly exceptional and daring is a massive understatement. Considering that there’s a finite amount of remarkable “ghost” expressions out there, it really is quite the gamble—because once these reserves are gone, they’re gone forever. Vanished. Use too much of the resources on R&D and you’d be left with a shortage of the good stuff. But on the upside: We’re talking about master blender Dr. Jim Beveridge. And he most certainly knows what he’s doing (and always has).
So we Johnnie Walker Blue fans should rest easy—because we’re in good hands.
The first iteration of Ghost and Rare included a single malt from Brora, a grain whisky from Cambus, and another single malt from Pittyvaich. Those three “ghost” expressions were then blended with exceptional spirits from Clynelish, Royal Lochnagar, Glenkinchie, Glenlossie, and Cameronbridge. The final blend clocked in at 46% ABV with very rich notes—something to enjoy and collect.
Now, the second edition of Ghost and Rare is debuting this October. And it highlights one of the most vaunted shuttered distilleries on Islay—Port Ellen. Using Port Ellen as an anchor for this edition is a talking point itself because there’s such a demand for bottles from that distillery that the price, no matter what the age statement, is astronomical. Consider this: A 35 Year Port Ellen can be purchased for around $3,650. And we’re not even talking about secondary markets, which would set you back a lot more. If you were to purchase Port Ellen by the dram—in Paris’ Golden Promise Whisky Bar, for instance—you could be paying close to $200. (Adding to the allure of the new expression is the reopening of the Port Ellen and Brora distilleries, which no doubt has something to do with the prominence of Port Ellen in this blend.)
The two other “ghost whiskies” in this particular expression are Caledonian and Carsebridge, which balance out Port Ellen’s peaty and saline intensity. In addition to all that, five rare malts join the blend to round out the notes, flavors, mouthfeel, and finish: Mortlach, Dailuaine, Cragganmore, Blair Athol, and Oban—all of them at least 20 years old.
During my tasting (via a tasting kit), Ghost and Rare Port Ellen starts out closer to the traditional Blue Label, which is slightly smoky to begin with. It’s evident that the second expression is in keeping with the Blue Label DNA—just sweeter on the nose, reminiscent of vanilla. But as you progress a few sips further, you’ll begin to notice the distinct Port Ellen peatiness intensify (but not too much) on the palate. And the sweet roundness of vanilla bean highlighted by citrus notes will begin to emerge as well. Remember, though, that these flavors don’t show themselves until minutes after your first sip. It’s a Scotch that takes its time to unfold: Even its medium-light viscosity shows itself not during your first three sips, but a good while into the dram.
What makes it stand out, in my mind, is the ease with which one can drink it. The Port Ellen edition is 43.8% ABV—lower than Johnnie Walker Blue’s first Ghost and Rare—so it’s not altogether surprising. But its balance is extraordinary—so much so that even a novice whisky drinker would not have trouble appreciating it. (Think: zero whisky face.) The pleasurable salinity of Port Ellen is also one of the main highlights, even though it’s very much subdued by the other Scotches in the blend. The price ($350) is a pleasant surprise because it’s $50 less than the first Ghost and Rare.
All in all, it’s a solid expression and worth a spot in any serious Scotch collection. And I will say this: If you’re expecting a colossal dose of peat because of the Port Ellen name, I cannot reiterate enough that that’s not what you’re going to get. The whisky is fresh, balanced, and malty. But it is not screaming of Islay. Like any good ghost, it murmurs.

Whisky I've Drank: Nikka All Malt

By Ruben Luyten 
In general, blended whisky is created by mixing malt whisky (malted barley distilled in a pot still) with grain whisky (unmalted barley distilled in column stills, also known as Coffey stills).
For this Nikka All Malt, the Japanese group Nikka used only malted barley but distilled in both types of stills at their Yoichi and Miyagikyou distilleries. It’s quite unusual to distill malt whisky in a column still and the end result is a unique product.
In the Battle of the Stunners hosted in January, Nikka All Malt had a lot of fans and was even named the overall winner by some.
Nikka All Malt (40%, OB 2009)
Nose: a very candied profile with marshmallow and vanilla. Some lemon sweets. Ripe apples and cinnamon. Honey. A bit of creamy toffee as well (hints of Baileys). Some tobacco, leather and the lightest hint of smoke. Mouth: a shy attack, very mellow and again very creamy. Barley sugar. Notes of raisins. A bit too sweet maybe. Oily aftertaste. Finish: rather short with some honeysuckle, wood and coconut.
This Nikka All Malt is less simple than you would expect. It’s filled with flavour and highly drinkable. Check it out if you like sweeter malts or Irish whiskey. Around € 25 which means it’s definitely a stunner and a nice introduction to Japanese whisky.
Score: 83/100

Whisky I've Drank: The Glenturret Triple Wood

By The Whisky Exchange
Glenturret has long been known as the spiritual home of The Famous Grouse. 2015 saw a new range introduced, including this Triple Wood. This higher-strength UK release has been aged in a combination of three cask types: American oak sherry, European oak sherry and American oak bourbon; this is aromatic with notes of marzipan and coconut.