Whisky I've Drank - Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club Collection - The Spice Road

By Hamish Smith at DrinksInternational
Diageo unveiled the first whiskies of its Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club Collection at TFWA Cannes yesterday.
The products are part of an innovation drive that will see a number of exclusive Johnnie Walker collections launched in the channel.
The first series from the Explorers’ Club Collection, named The Trade Routes Series, builds on the brand’s heritage as a pioneer of the category.
The Spice Road ($43 for 1 litre), The Gold Route ($95 for 1 litre) and The Royal Route ($159 for 1 litre) make up the series.
None of the expressions carry age statements; all are 40% abv.
The whiskies will be staggered in their release; The Spice Road launches to global travel retail now, The Gold Route will arrive in February/March and The Royal Route in May/June - at which point the collection will be available as a three-whisky pack.
Answering questions from journalists at the event, Steve White, marketing director for the brand, said the expressions' prices don't necessarily reflect the age of the liquid but the “rarity of the flavours”.
White said the Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club Collection campaign would be “the biggest we have ever run in travel retail” and that “we think that it is the biggest anyone has ever run [full stop].”

Whisky I've Drank - Part Thirteen - Grant's The Family Reserve

By Master Of Malt
The nose is quite soft and light. There are notes of malted barley and toasted cereals with the requisite sweetness. The palate is of good body and quite sweet. There are notes of toffee and caramel with vanilla fudge and a touch of gentle, supple oak. The finish is of medium-length.
Grant's 'The Family Reserve' is a superb example of blending skill, and one of the most complex examples of the type I've ever tasted. My favourite blend is still Teacher's (that Ardmore malt... unbeatable!), but I'd say this wins over it in terms of sheer complexity. The nose is mouthwatering, sweet malts, dark fruit, then the palate really opens the throttle: more malt, rich fruit, hay, something almost vegetal-like, the malt and the grain standing out from each other, distinctive, the finish rolling all those flavours up and gently fading away. A masterpiece.

Whisky I've Drank - Part Twelve - Johnnie Walker's Swing

Tasting Notes by Michael Schout
This whisky comes in a cool bottle that is curved at the base so it has the ability to rock back and forth without tipping over. The name Swing is derived from this. I have never actually seen this whisky sold anywhere before, but my family has had a bottle for many years and because there isn't a review of it on Connosr, I think I'd write one while partaking in a dram.
Nose: 

Full of sherry and fruit sweetness. Nosing this whisky transports you to a warm spring day underneath a blossoming orange tree. There's a strong scent of orange blossom and dried apples and also a little hint of oak.
Palate: 

It's very light, fluid, and fruity. The sherry is subdued and more fruitiness comes out on the palate. I get the same fruit tastes as I smelled in the nose, but all are a bit more subdued. There's a faint smokiness. On first sip it seemed a little young and harsh, but I think that might have just been my mouth not being prepared because it was silky smooth for the second sip.
Finish: 

The finish is smoky and has a lot of oak. There is sherry just lingering in the back of your throat. It's a shorter finish and the spiciness that you have on the tip of your tongue once you swallow soon fades. It dries out the mouth a little.
Overall: 

I have no idea how old the scotches are that go into this blend but it is very smooth. It would be a very nice summer dram. It reminds me a lot of Johnnie Walker Green Label except instead of being earthy and malty, it's very light and fruity. I think that this is an exceptional blended whisky.

Whisky I've Drank - Part Eleven - CRAGGANMORE 12 YEARS OLD SINGLE MALT

TheScotchNoob 
Cragganmore. I had seen the bottle on the shelf at various whisky shops, and vaguely knew that it was part of Diageo’s main Classic Malts series, representing Speyside. I had never tried it or even heard it talked about. Why would Diageo pick, out of the hundreds of prolific and historic sites in the heart of mainland whiskymaking – Speyside – Cragganmore to represent the region? Luckily I got a chance to try the three main distillery bottlings of Cragganmore at a K&L Whisky Tasting recently. Whisky Tastings are such an important way to try new whiskies and expand one’s horizons. I wish they were more prevalent in the U.S.
Cragganmore is also the principal malt used in Diageo’s wildly popular blend Johnnie Walker Black Label, providing the gentle malt base. The distillery-released 12 year-old comes exclusively from 2nd-fill bourbon casks, to reduce the woodiness imparted by long aging in first-fill barrels. At $44 a bottle, this isn’t a bad deal and is worth considering against similar ex-bourbon-cask malts like Glenfiddich 15-year, Glenmorangie 10-year, and Oban 14-year.
Nose: Pale hay – indeed it smells like Johnnie Walker Black Label! (Imagine that). Very light… a bit of ground peanuts?
Palate: Hazelnut and milk chocolate. Peanut butter, lavender, floral honey.
Finish: Sweet processed honey. Nice oak tannins, small bitter note. Trails off with hazelnut skins.
Overall: Mild and inoffensive. No smoke, no fruit, just a soft cereal character and light accents of florals and nuts. Somewhat meaty, although the flavor profile is mostly balanced around the nuts. Certainly worth the money, and a contender for the “midrange Speyside” spot in your cabinet – especially if you like nuttier flavors instead of Speyside’s more-common honey, apple, and heather style. I do wish Diageo would bottle this at 43% and without chill-filtration. The added body would really complement the nuttiness.

Whisky I've Drank - Part Nine - BALLANTINE'S 17 YEARS OLD

By TheScotchNoob  
Jim Murray caused a bit of an uproar when he named Ballantine’s 17 year blended scotch whisky World Whisky of the Year in his 2011 Whisky Bible. In 2010, it had climbed nearly as far – winning best blended scotch of the year. The thought of a blended scotch trumping over all single malts sent many whisky nuts (this one included) into paroxysms of rage. I had to try it.
A caveat: I’ve since read that Jim was tasting a newer bottling of Ballantine’s 17 – the slightly updated bottle in a blue box and the number ’17′ in larger font on the label. Since my tasting sample was a 30ml Master of Malt vial, I have no clue whether it came from the blue-box or red-box Ballantine’s.
Like many blends that were born in grocery stores, Ballantine’s originated as a series of blends sold by a grocer named George Ballantine in 1827. It uses 50 malts, but focuses on four key ‘flavor’ malts: Scapa, Glenburgie, Miltonduff, and Glentauchers. Of those, I’ve only tried Scapa before.
Nose: Honey and honeysuckle. The honey here is refined, not raw or honeycomb-like. Very floral. Vanilla. Faint hint of woodsmoke. Sweet apple cider. Buttercream frosting. Reminds me a lot of Oban 14.
Palate: Vanilla bean up front. Milky texture – not quite creamy. Elegant malt, with pure cereal flavors. Becomes tangy near the end – lemon custard.
Finish: More honey on the finish. A touch of wood. No bitterness to speak of. Medium-long. Echoes of honey and buttercream frosting.
With Water: Water releases a puff of cinnamon, a whiff of licorice, and something herbal that might be peat. It doesn’t hurt the body too much but it roughens up the finish, making the dram taste younger than it is. Skip the water here.
Overall: What’s most impressive here is the concentration of sweet desserty flavors without even a touch of bitterness on the finish. I guess that’s what you’re paying for. I could have used a little more nuttiness somewhere to round out the flavors. There is nothing here to indicate the presence of “low brow” grain whisky. After 17 years, it has definitely smoothed out. It adds the body and likely some of the cereal flavors, although the lack of full creaminess in the body texture makes me wonder if the grain whisky percentage in the blend is low. The overall impression is light and sweet, without any eclectic or surprising flavors to distract the palate. Surely, it’s very very good whisky… but I wouldn’t call it exciting.
I’m not sold. Sure, it’s good whisky, but I’d rather spend the money on some malts that are at least as good (quality-wise), even if they aren’t as masterfully assembled. It’s like buying one piece of art from a popular artist instead of four pieces from equally-good, but less-known artists for the same money. Will you enjoy the popular painting (and its inherent value) more? Probably, but you can cover more wall space with the four also-rans. Maybe that’s a tortured metaphor, but it works for me. If the above sounds interesting, but you don’t want to drop the $90, spend the money instead on a bottle of Oban 14, which is packed with honey flavors, and a bottle of Great King Street which is almost as good for half the price.

Whisky I've Drank - Part Eight - JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL

By Lance Mayhew at Cocktails.com
Johnnie Walker is one of the most famous brands in the world of blended Scotch whiskies. Each marque has its own color designation, from red, to black, to green and then gold. At the pinnacle of the Johnnie Walker line is the exceptionally well regarded Blue Label blended Scotch whisky. Each bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label comes in its own silk-lined box, with a certificate of authenticity and a unique serial number on each bottle. Luxury, exclusivity and quality are implied by the presentation, and the contents of this bottle do not disappoint.

Nose
On the nose, Johnnie Walker Blue Label offers up nosegay of floral notes, dried lavender, roses and rununculas predominate. Notes of leather, raisin, lemon peel, Seville orange and pipe tobacco emerge with time.
Body and Palate
Johnnie Walker Blue Label is a rich, full bodied and mouth-coating whisky. Dried plum, tobacco, cedar wood shingles and hints of toffee are at the forefront of this whisky. As it caresses the palate, orange marmalade, rose petal and brown sugar flavors peek out from behind a curtain of soft smoke.
Finish
On the finish, Johnnie Walker Blue Label delivers what every super-premium Scotch whisky should, complexity and elegance intertwined. Big smoke notes emerge to clear the earlier fruit notes off of the palate with more cedar and tea spice notes at the end. This is a long, lingering finish that true whisky enthusiasts will find immensely satisfying.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label is an expensive whisky. It is a special occasion whisky that delivers exactly what one would expect from a whisky of this caliber and price tag; a memorable experience. Johnnie Walker Blue Label is one of the greatest blended Scotch whiskies in the world and comes highly recommended.

Whisky I've Drank - Part Seven - ROYAL SALUTE 21 Years Old

By Greatdrams
Chivas Regal are not ones to shy away from an opportunity to make great looking bottles. In the past they have collaborated with famous names in the fashion industry, including Tim Little and the legendary Vivienne Westwood.
And the Royal Salute 21 is just one of many phenomenal designs they have released.
They recently updated their bottle, adding to the majesty that they had already succeeded in capturing.
Royal Salute 21 comes in three different colours, Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, a homage to the three stones found in the Crown Jewels.
The drink itself was created to commemorate the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and what better way to that than with these amazing bottles.
With a slight bulge in the neck, reminiscent of typical whisky bottles, this is a play on the normal Chivas Regal but with an elegant twist.
The colours really add to the bottle and alongside the mighty lion and smoke filled canons that now replace the King and stead, they live up to the Regal name.
These are the perfect additions to your own Whisky version of the Crown Jewels and even come with a matching velvet pouch to really give it that extra bit of panache.
Chivas Regal do not disappoint with their design offerings, and manage to match the quality of container with the quality of drink.
Crack open a bottle sometime before the next coronation and you’ll be met with a wonderful nose full of nuts and fruit, with a slight hint of bitter dark chocolate and caramel.
The nutty tang intertwines with ripe, juicy fruits. It sounds like a Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut Bar, but please rest assured, it is so much more.
The flavours are deep and interesting, and remember, this is only the beginning.
Once you indulge and actually take a drink of the Royal Salute 21, you will be met with a rich and creamy mouth feel that will have you begging for more.
The flavour profile develops and the fruit and nuts in the nose are given real depth. This dram definitely lives up to the bottle it is held in.
There is a sherried sweetness, full of apples and raisins, with candied citrus peels in the background. The oak of the barrels also comes through, with a slight wooded tang and adds a freshness to the sugary sweet overtones.
Hazelnuts and pralines dipped in dark chocolate give a slight bittersweet quality to the dram. This ties in perfectly with the rich fruits and the orange and clementines that begin to show themselves.
To wrap it all up, we have an amazing finish. The flavours tie together and are surrounded by an overall oakiness that captures the liquid in its maturation. The finish is long and dry, the perfect end to a fantastic dram.
The luxury of the bottle is made into liquid form and comes out as this dram. Chivas manage to pull off what many cannot, with a great aesthetic appearance and a stupendous Whisky to give it substance.
This is a dram for collectors and for those who just want a bit of luxury in their Whisky cabinets. Don’t wait until the next coronation (because as Charles knows, you’ll be waiting a while) and go out and get your own Royal Salute 21 now!

Whisky I've Drank - Part Six - JOHNNIE WALKER BLACK LABEL AGED 12 YEARS

By TheScotchNoob
I’ve always (since I began drinking scotch) had a lively lack of respect for the Johnnie Walker line of blended scotch from Diageo. It represents to me the wrong end of the spectrum between artisanal, hand-crafted, small-batch spirits and factory mass-produced, lowest-bidder, penny-squeezing corporate swill. I personally don’t believe that quality and greed can coexist in the same producer, whether that producer is making whisky, wine, cheese, or furniture. Diageo has publicly stated that since most of its significant global revenue comes from blended whisky like Johnnie Walker, it would happily close down its high-cost, low-margin single malt bottlings and focus entirely on dumping vats of malt into vats of grain for blends, if it could. That does not sound (to me) like a company interested in providing a high-quality product to a discerning consumer.
That said, this blog is meant for evaluating the taste (not just the politics) of whisky, so I thought it high time I give a thoughtful look at the quintessential Johnnie Walker whisky: the Black Label. This is a standard blend of some unknown percentage of malt and grain whiskies, all at least 12 years old, and represents something like 130 million liters of annual sales (that’s an old figure from 2005 and includes all Johnnie Walker blends – this info is surprisingly hard to find online). Suffice it to say they make a LOT of the stuff, and it sells at a fantastic rate worldwide. The component malts of Johnnie Walker are (along with 36 other malts and grains, at varying percentages): Cardhu, Talisker, and Lagavulin. Doubtless, a little bit of every Diageo-owned malt (except Oban) is included. It’s a safe bet that the majority of the malt here is Cardhu 12-year, although some marketing material claims that “the heart” is Talisker. After tasting it, I doubt that.
I don’t usually remark on color, but I noticed that JW Black has an unnatural red-gold color. It is most certainly heavily colored with caramel coloring.
Nose:

A light Highland peachiness (Dalwhinnie?). Pretty floral. Light and inoffensive. Totally unable to detect any peat. Deeper in, round and mildly buttery. Nary a hint of paint thinner!
Palate: 

Medium-bodied. Mild tongue burn – I guess that would be called ‘smooth’. Vanilla cake bread crumbs, a slight hint of smouldering match head, and a few seconds later, an acidic wave of vodka-esque off notes.
Finish: 

Slightly acrid, like a smear of coal tar on top of a buttered scone. Fading out with some almond paste, and only a little bitter woodiness. On the short side.
With Water: 

Elevated florals, and a hint of peach pit on the nose. Shortbread and crumb cake on the slightly thinner palate. A nice woody marshmallow and some caramel on the finish. This is quite improved by the addition of a splash of water.
Overall: 

Ok, fine, it’s really not that bad. It has some nice floral elements in the nose, a straightforward flavor, and not too much bitterness on the finish. That said, it has two major downsides: First, it was clearly blended to be bland and uninteresting (the industry euphemism is ‘consistent’). There might be peated malt in here, but it’s so diluted that it just comes across like a fine layer of stale ash. The florals would be interesting if they weren’t overpowered by a wash of cereally grain. Second, the grain component is obvious, and not harmoniously integrated with the malts. It provides some nice heft and body on the palate, and a bit of creaminess, but its relative youth – although 12 isn’t too bad – and lack of quality can be tasted in the vodka notes on the tongue. Frankly, it would be hard for this not to taste mass-produced.
For $30, you could certainly do worse, but I feel that for a little more money, one could enjoy a wide variety of single-malts that shine in their own ways, rather than continuously pour cash into the Diageo blend machine and be satisfied with a muddy, uninteresting jumble of substandard malt barrels and bottom-dollar grain. (That’s hyperbole, the bottom-dollar grain goes in the Red Label). Here’s an idea: buy a bottle of Dalwhinnie 15 or Cardhu 12 for the florals, a bottle of Cragganmore 12 for the malty sweetness, and a bottle of Caol Ila 12 for the punch of smoke, and blend yourself a personalized (and far superior) Black Label blended malt.

Whisky I've Drank - Part Five - CUTTY SARK

By ScotchDrammer
Blended Scotch is mostly a historical curiosity to me. Once the main form of Scottish whisky available outside the Highlands, blended Scotch surprisingly still makes up about 90% of the Scotch market, and indeed, a lot of great single malts exist mainly to support well known blends. As a young lad in the early 80's, I vividly remember seeing huge billboards for J&B along the side of I95. But who is drinking this stuff today? My experience has largely been that for the price point, you can get a far higher quality bourbon or even an "entry level" single malt, but from what I've read, this wasn't always the case. Blends used to be much higher quality; I've read of vintage bottles from the 70's being benchmarked against modern blends, and usualy, even for better quality blends like Teachers, the older bottle is by far the better one, with far more nuance of flavor. Still, I've had okay experiences with blends, so for the sake of exploration (and my wallet...distilleries don't seem to be beating down the door with free samples), I thought I'd spend some time with blends, ranging from cheap and barely legally Scotch, to some higher end stuff. For starters, an undistinguished offering from Cutty Sark.
I'd had Cutty Sark once or twice at bars, where blends tend to rule, and never thought much of it...thin in body and flavor, pretty weak. But still, I decided to start here once I was in the liquor store and noted that Cutty Sark is the house blend of London wine merchant, Berry Bros. and Rudd, known mostly for the Speyside single malt Glenrothes. I tend to think highly of Glenrothes, so this seemed like a fun exercise...can I taste the Glenrothes amidst the other malts and high proportion of grain whisky?
Surprisingly, the toffee and citrus fruit in Cutty Sark is discernibly Glenrothes. I had pretty low expectations here, figuring I'd just find mild generic "Speyside" flavor, but it's clearly mostly Glenrothes. Sadly, it's also clearly blended with a pretty high proportion of pretty neutral grain whisky, and not exactly extensively aged. Cutty Sark isn't really rough, but it's thin, lacking body and flavor. My best description is probably if you took some mid range Glenrothes (1998ish) and mixed it half and half with some vodka. Cutty Sark does make an acceptable and smooth Old Fashioned, but I actually miss the bourbon kick. Score: 70

Whisky I've Drank - Part Four - THE FAMOUS GROUSE

By TheScotchNoob
The Famous Grouse was first blended by wine merchant Matthew Gloag (grandson of the company’s founder) in Scotland in 1897. Now, the brand is owned by the Edrington Group. It is a blend of grain whisky (purportedly over 65%) with unknown quantities of single malts including The Glenrothes, Highland Park, and The Macallan. Its malty character is impressive considering the high percentage of grain. The Famous Grouse is the best-selling brand of whisky in Scotland, but is not as well-known elsewhere. The company suggests serving on ice, with water, or with mixers. I prefer to compare all whiskies neat, however, so my notes are for the whisky straight:
Nose: Grain prominent, with marshmallow, mild malty sweetness, baked sweets.
Body: Medium, with a slight chewiness.
Palate: Upfront there is a clear grain component. Resolves into toffee, malt of indistinct origin, but smooth and soft.
Finish: Short, a mild vodka like grain lingering. Some pepper and a little brown sugar.
Good, but a little bland. No peat and no fruit, but also smooth and malty with a nice toothiness. A drink-it-and-forget-it malt, but certainly better than the bottom-shelf blends of lower cost. Does not compare favorably with the cheaper highland malts.

Whisky I've Drank - Part Three - J & B RARE

 

By Richard Thomas 
Despite the name, there is nothing rare about J&B Rare whatsoever. This is the entry-level scotch of one of the most mass market labels around, a fact exemplified by J&B billing itself as “The World’s Party Whisky.” You can find the green glass bottle, yellow labeling and red print of J&B just about anywhere that alcohol is legal, and it’s been the drink of choice for everyone from Truman Capote to John Wayne Gacy.
My own J&B experience stems from John Carpenter’s 1982 classic The Thing. The protagonist, the chopper pilot MacCready played by a young, hirsute Kurt Russell, must have a pallet of J&B stashed at that Antarctic research station, because he opens the movie by pouring some into and destroying his irritating chess computer. Station staff are seen taking pulls off a bottle of J&B periodically right up to the last scene in the movie. It’s one of my favorite films, and in an insidious example of product placement programming children, I developed a predisposition for J&B that flowered in my college days… or at least it did until I discovered better scotches in the same class, such as Grant’s and Ballantine’s. It’s been several years since I touched the stuff (excepting the overrated J&B 15 Year Old), but I decided to return to humble J&B Rare for this publication.
The Scotch
On the nose, J&B has a sweetly nutty character, with hints of peat smoke and wood. That character carries over onto the palate, where it has a sickly sweet and grainy taste. This syrupy style is quite a surprise, since the scotch is a very pale gold in the glass, and almost transparent.
J&B Rare is reportedly a blend of 42 different whiskeys, although I don’t see how drawing from more than three dozen different sources is something to boast of. In this case, the result is a scotch that in terms of scent and taste is lacking in character. It’s a mellow scotch, but one without complexity or subtlety. This only changes with the finish, which starts out positively cold, but ends with a little bite. I didn’t care for that, but it was at least different.
The Price
This is cheap stuff, but the price tag isn’t light enough to reflect the cheapness of the contents. Standard bottles often go for less than $20, and 1-liter bottles are available for around $25. I often see it in Europe for 10 or 11 euros. Even so, there are much better mass market scotches out there for the same price.

Whisky I've Drank - Part Two - BALLANTINE'S 12 Years Old

By Richard Thomas
The 12 Year Old is the first step up for many a line of blended scotch, and so it is with Ballantine’s. I first looked at Ballantine’s Finest more than a year ago, where I noted that the whiskey’s popularity in Europe and Asia. What applies to the entry-level label apparently does not apply to the line’s more rarefied, premium expressions, since all this time I have been stalled in progressing up the line by my inability to find a bar that stocked Ballantine’s 12 Year Old, let alone something more aged.
Possibly confusing things is the fact that Ballantine’s actually has two 12 Year Old scotches. This review is about the 12 Year Old blended scotch, but the company also has the 12 Year Old Pure Malt. The latter is a vatted malt, or all malt whiskey blend drawn from more than one distillery, whereas a blended scotch includes both malt and grain whiskey.
The Scotch
Ballantine’s 12 Year Old comes in a bottle similar in terms of shape and styling to the entry-level scotch, with the major change that now the bottle is of clear rather than brown glass. The scotch is bottled at 40% alcohol.
In the glass, the scotch has a clear honey gold coloring. On the nose, this Ballantine’s installment is creamy smooth with honeyed vanilla and oaky notes. The creamy texture carries over into the taste, although the flavors switch roles. The oakiness comes a little more to the forefront, achieving a balance with the vanilla and honey. The finish is light, short, and quite restrained.
The 12 Year Old is a pleasant sipping scotch, and while not quite comparable to Grant’s 12 Year Old, the whiskey is noticeably superior to Johnnie Black or Chivas Regal.
The Price
I usually see Ballantine’s 12 Year Old on store shelves for €12 to 15, but in the United States a 750ml bottle goes for somewhat more, being priced in the $25 to 30 range.

Whisky I've Drank - Part One - CARDHU 12 YEARS OLD

By Cardhu Distillery
In 1811 John and Helen Cumming sited their first still at Cardow Farm on Mannoch Hill, high above the River Spey. At this location, spring water, naturally softened by rising up through a layer of peat, bubbled from the ground. It is alleged that Helen Cumming distilled the first gallon of Cardhu, the only malt whisky to be pioneered by a woman. For many years Helen Cumming produced only the smallest quantity of malt whisky in Cardhu's little still as quality was her chief concern and she continued to contribute to its success well into her 90s.
Elizabeth Cumming, Helen's daughter-in-law, took over the managment of the distillery in 1872 when her husband died and ran it with energy and foresight. Under Elizabeth's direction, a new piece of land was acquired on which the distillery was rebuilt in 1885. Sales of Cardhu tripled in the space of a few years and by the end of the 19th century, Cardhu had attained a reputation as one of Scotland's top malt whisky distilleries.
Cardhu has made a unique contribuiton to the success of Johnnie Walker Blends. In 1893 when the Walker family wanted to guarantee the quality of their Blends, at a time of rapid growth, they negotiated the purchase of Cardhu Distillery from Elizabeth Cumming to secure supplies for blending. Elizabeth's son, John Fleetwood Cumming, was appointed to the Johnnie Walker Board. His skill as a Distiller complemented the talents of the Walker brothers, George and Alexander II, who brought both the artistry of blending and entrepreneurial drive to the Board. Together they made a team that ensured the growth in international popularity of the Johnnie Walker Blends.
Cardhu is the luxury single malt whisky from Speyside. It is produced in limited quantities by a deliberately slow distillation process, and matured for 12 years in specially selected oak casks. It may take longer than many malts to reach fruition, but it is time well spent, as can be judged by Cardhu's exceptionally smooth and mellow character.
The malt itself – which is presented in an elegant decanter with a beechwood stopper - is pretty typical of a Speyside malt. It is highly approachable – smooth, sweet, mellow and uncomplicated and often described as silky. It has good body and length. Interestingly, the distillery is the only place in the UK where you can buy Cardhu™ single malt – which, naturally, adds to its very special nature. It’s a taste that is obviously popular as it is known and loved all over the world. Such is the popularity of Cardhu Single Malt in Spain that worldwide demand has outstripped the capacity of this small distillery, with the result that its malt is sadly no longer available in many countries.
Cardhu is owned by Diageo.
- Appearance: Golden honey.
- Nose: At full strength, heady, nose prickle, pear drops and tightly integrated heather, resin and sweet honey-nut notes. Enticing. Intriguing. With a little water, still harmonious but less pronounced, allowing some malt-cereal, soft, spicy wood, moorland and faint traces of wood-smoke to appear.
- Body: Soft, pleasing, medium.
- Palate: Palate Well balanced, smooth mouthfeel; short punch, sweet and fresh, then a pronounced drying effect. Enjoyable at any time, with little or no water.
- Finish: Quite short. Some lingering sweet smoke in the attractive, drying aftertaste.

My Top 10 - THE BALVENIE DOUBLEWOOD 12 YEARS OLD

By FoxNews
The Balvenie is one of the great distilleries of Speyside, Scotland. Founded in 1892, it is one of the pioneers of introducing various wood finishes to its malts. Their aptly named DoubleWood is a twelve-year-old Single Malt that spends most of its life in second-fill Bourbon casks prior to being transferred to first-fill Oloroso Sherry casks. There are three levels of flavor in this Single Malt. The original Balvenie imparts heather, honey and clean barley flavors. The Bourbon barrel adds vanilla, a sort of cookie-like taste, as well as marshmallow, caramel and toast. The Oloroso Sherry barrel’s influence is expressed via peach, marzipan, clover, a bit of honey and prunes. Complex and approachable, this Single Malt has a younger brother that's actually older The Balvenie 17 Year Old DoubleWood was first released in September of 2012.

By The Balvenie
The Balvenie DoubleWood is a 12 year old single malt which gains its distinctive character from being matured in two wood types. Over the period of maturation it is transferred from a traditional oak whisky cask to a first fill European oak sherry cask. Each stage lends different qualities to the resulting single malt ~ the traditional casks soften and add character, whilst the sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavour.
TASTING NOTES:
NOSE
Sweet fruit and Oloroso sherry notes, layered with honey and vanilla.
TASTE
Smooth and mellow with beautifully combined flavours ~ nutty sweetness, cinnamon spiciness and a delicately proportioned layer of sherry.
FINISH
Long and Warming

By Steve H. (Seattle, WA, USA)
Balvenie is an old distillery that still does everything the only fashioned way. Their copper stills are shaped differently than other distilleries and they turn all of their malt by hand (a rarity). The Doublewood is made the traditional way of being aged in bourbon casks. They age for 12 years and then they move them into casks that were used for sherry. They age them there to the taste of the master distiller (averaging about 9 months), then bottle this nectar up. This is the same method as Glenmorangie Lasanta, but with less smoke and peat and sweeter.
Doublewood is a fruitier, lighter scotch with very little smoke in the flavor. There is a strong hint of honey, followed by some caramel and spices (like cinnamon). The best way to describe this to my friends, and they all agree, is that it tastes like Macallan 12, but with cinnamon added. I love Macallan, but I love this more! I also love that it comes in a slightly shorter bottle so it stores a little easier than the wine-size of Macallan.

My Top 10 - THE MACALLAN 10 YEARS OLD CASK STRENGTH JEREZ

By Matt Goldstein
When the Whiskey Goldmine releases our Top 10 Single Malt Scotch list in the next few weeks, the Macallan Cask Strength is destined for the top 5. This single malt is a flat out masterpiece. The Macallan Cask Strength is aged for a minimum of 10 years in Spanish Oak casks, handcrafted and seasoned by Sherry in Jerez. The Macallan cask strength is bottled straight from the barrel without chill filtration or adding any water, as opposed to what is normally done in almost all scotches, not to mention all whiskeys. The genius of this whisky is just that, it’s just the single malt Scotch whisky in its natural state making the statement in your glass. One could search their entire lives looking for a 10 years aged single malt with this much complexity and undoubtedly come up short.
The color is a deep red, almost a mahogany. The flavor and mouth feel are a complex and sweet syrup, with beautiful notes of wood. With hints of vanilla, fruits, spices and oak, the flavor, mouth feel, and finish is just on another level than other premium single malts. Almost like a pancake meeting maple syrup for the first time, no other premium single malt is this rich and complex.
Perhaps the craziest attribute of the Macallan Cask Strength is just that, its strength. There is no water added and the whisky is bottled straight from the barrel, 58.5% ABV, 117 proof. Yet, with the strong character of the cask strength is still an exceptionally smooth and beautiful whisky. Compared to other premium single malts, the Balvenie 15 year Single Barrel is 47,8%, the Talisker 10 year is 45.8%, Highland Park 12 year is 43%, and the Oban 14 year is 43%. That would mean that the Macallan Cask Strength has almost a 35% higher ABV than Highland Park and Oban.
This Macallan Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch comes with our highest recommendation. This is perhaps the most exception single malt we’ve ever tasted and in its price range and maturation, one will find it extremely difficult to match.


By TheScotchlife.com 
I’ve been craving, of late, the distinctive character of Macallan Scotch Whisky, and so went to the liquor store to satisfy that urge. I had fully intended on picking up the 12 year product when the Cask Strength bottle caught my eye! I immediately remembered that I’ve heard it is being discontinued in the U.S. and I needed to pick some up soon. I really don’t know why, but I don’t ever remember purchasing this product. I’ve seen it several times but with all of the different whisky out these days I’ve usually come away with something else.
Now I love The Macallan, and I am very fond of the 12 year product that can be found almost anywhere. I think that perhaps this product may be in the same circumstance as Glenmorangie Astar, the alcohol content is high and the price is not low. However, these offerings are special and you should enjoy both before the disappear. It cost me about $95.00 USD.
So the Cask Strength Macallan comes in at 60.1% ABV, or a 118 proof. That’s very high considering the usual Macallan 12 year offering is only 40%ABV or 80 proof. This product is “uncut” and “unchill-filtered” so you are enjoying it as Nature has made it. The Distiller’s notes are as follows:
Color: Red Mahogany
Nose: Dried fruit, with chocolate, orange, vanilla and wood spice.
Palate: Rich and smooth, with fruit cake, vanilla and a hint of wood smoke.
Finish: Full and lingering, with dried fruit and spice.

In other words, classic Macallan mostly. The color along gets me going. I just love the color that the Sherry Oak casks from Jerez, Spain deliver! It is such a rich looking whisky.
The notes on the bottle advise enjoying this dram with a splash of water. As usual, I will try it without and then I will take their advice and see which one I like better.
WOW! It takes a remarkably well done whisky to accomplish the mouth-feel of this offering. And considering its alcohol content, I can keep this whisky in my mouth for as long as I want and enjoy it! That shows me the class of this whisky. It’s extremely well-rounded and beautifully complex. This product is so good, I don’t feel like adding water. I did, it does reveal some nice flavors, some that burst and some that linger. Very nice! I prefer it uncut though.
I believe, age wise, this is a ten-year product. It does not state it on the bottle but the web-site shows it as a ten years product. I’m guessing that they removed the age statement for Americans because most Americans believe you can only drink a scotch that has aged at least 12 years. It’s an unfortunate misunderstanding to say the least.
As I said earlier, this product, from my understanding, is being discontinued in the U.S.A. If you appreciate really good whisky, you will want one of these!
Cheers!

My Top 10 - LAPHROAIG 10 YEARS OLD

By Laphroaig
Laphroaig 10 Year Old is an all-malt Scotch Whisky from the remote island of Islay in the Western Isles of Scotland. Laphroaig, pronounced "La-froyg", is a Gaelic word meaning "the beautiful hollow by the broad bay".
In making Laphroaig, malted barley is dried over a peat fire. The smoke from this peat, found only on Islay, gives Laphroaig its particularly rich flavor.
Laphroaig is best savoured neat, or with a little cool water. Roll it around on your tongue. Release the pungent, earthy aroma of blue peat smoke, the sweet nuttiness of the barley, the delicate heathery perfume of Islay's streams. It is as unique as the island itself.

Tasting Notes:
- COLOR : Full sparkling gold
- NOSE: Huge smoke, seaweedy, "medicinal", with a hint of sweetness
- BODY: Full bodied
- PALATE: Suprising sweetness with hints of salt and layers of peatiness
- FINISH: Lingering

Awards:
2011 SF World Spirits Competition - Double Gold medal
2010 International Wine & Spirit Competition – Silver Medal
2010 SF World Spirits Competition - Double Gold medal
2009 SF World Spirits Competition - Gold medal
2008 IWSC - Silver Medal and 'Best in Class'
2008 SF World Spirits Competition - Gold medal
2007 International Wine and spirits Competition - Gold (Best in Class)
2007 ISC (International Spirits Challenge) - Gold medal
2007 International Review of Spirits (BTI) - Silver medal
2007 San Francisco World Spirits Competition - Gold medal
2006 International Wine and spirits Competition, Gold, Best in Class
2006 San Francisco World Spirits Competition - Double-Gold award
2005 Malt Maniacs Awards - Silver Medal "A peat monster that takes no prisoners"
2005 IWSC - Silver Medal and 'Best in Class'
2004 International Spirits Challenge - Silver Medal
2003 International Spirits Challenge - Silver Medal
2003 International Spirits Challenge- Gold Medal
2001 International Spirits Challenge - Gold Medal
2000 International Spirits Challenge - Gold Medal
2000 International Wine & Spirit Competition - Gold Medal
1999 International Wine & Spirit Competition - Gold Medal
1998 International Wine & Spirit Competition - Best Single Malt Scotch Whisky under 12 Years Old
1998 International Wine & Spirit Competition - Gold Medal

By Mike Tarrani "Jazz Drummer" (Deltona, FL USA)
I have to agree with Christopher Gerg's March 1, 2013 review in that this is one single-malt whiskey that you will either love or hate. I happen to love the single malts from Islay and this one epitomizes those: dense peat with salt and ineffable other flavors and nuances.
At first sip your first reaction will be that there is nothing subtle about this whiskey. As you savor it, though, you find yourself trying to sort out a myraid of subtleties - and that is why I am so hooked on Islay whiskeys in general and this one in particular.
To truly get the most from this single malt I recommend a specialty glass like the lencairn 6 oz. Whiskey Glass that accentuates the 'nose'. I am by no means a connoisseur, but can pick out and enjoy many of the constituent aromas, fragrances and flavors. Having a proper glass helps.
Obviously if you are new to single-malt whiskeys you may want to try one of the smoother Highland ones first. Once you acquire a taste and start exploring the other regions give this one a try when you get down to the south west coast region. If you are already a single malt aficionado, and especially if you love the Islay whiskeys, you should try this one if you haven't already.