Category Archives: Tasting Notes

Glen Moray 16yo Tasting Notes

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glen-moray-16-year-old-whiskyGlen Moray is a Speyside distillery located in Laich O’Moray (The Laich of Moray), an agricultural coastal plain located in Moray. Laich means low lying land and Moray is a local council area of Scotland, located in the north-east and along the coast. Based on its location, which happens to be near Elgin (the capital town of the Speyside region), it experiences milder weather and the protection of nearby mountains.

Until my first sip of Glen Moray 16yo, I’d never had any Glen Moray before. I’m a big fan of Speysides, more of the fruity spirits versus the floral ones, and so I knew that I’d become fast friends with Glen Moray. It’s finished in ex bourbon casks from the United States.

It probably doesn’t get as much press and media since it’s owned by La Martiniquaise, France’s 2nd largest spirits group, and not one of the massive conglomerates.

What caught my eye was the tin canister – most whiskies here are in boxes – and when I opened it, I liked the design of the bottle. It was reminiscent of whisky stills.

What’s fun about this whisky is that it’s a marriage of whisky matured in ex Bourbon and ex Sherry casks. They literally take one batch and age the new make in ex Bourbon casks for sixteen years, take another batch and age it in ex Sherry, then put them together.

Tasting Notes:

  • Nose: Sweet and dry fruity like raisins, tiny hints of vanilla, no floral or peat.
  • Palate: Sweet with a firm body, some tannins but not much, a bit of caramel and barley richness
  • Finish: Medium finish with a sweet aftertaste

It’s a classic fruity Speyside that’s light, easy to enjoy neat, and smooth. ABV 40% and comes in a nice decorative tin if you’re thinking about gifting it.

Glen Garioch 1797 Founder’s Reserve Tasting Notes

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glen-garioch-founders-reserveThe Highland region is massive. It’s basically all of northern Scotland with a little chunk removed, named Speyside, and is home to many well known distilleries like Glengoyne, Glenmorangie, Edradour, Dalmore, Macallan, Oban… the list goes on and on. Funny enough, it doesn’t actually include Highland Park, which is located in Orkney which is part of the Northern Isles.

Glen Garioch, pronounced Glen Geery, was founded in 1797 and is located near Aberdeenshire – famous for producing the best barley in Scotland. It would make sense that a distillery call it home! If you’re into trivia, it is the easternmost distillery. The distillery has had a wild ride, having been shut down and restarted a few times, most recently closed temporarily between 1995-1997, but is now in full production after renovation in 2009.

I’ve never been there before but they’re one of several distilleries that allow you to bottle your own at the visitor’s center, always a nice little treat.

Glen Garioch is currently operated by Morrison Bowmore Distillers, which is owned by Suntory.

But enough about the background, you’re not here for a history lesson.

How’s Glen Garioch’s Founder’s Reserve? This 48% abv spirit was made to celebrate the 200 year anniversary. Matured in bourbon and sherry casks.

Tasting Notes

  • Nose: Very subtle scents, took me a minute to pick them out. There’s some vanilla, caramel and a bit of apple or some other kind of fresh fruit on the nose.
  • Palate: It packs a punch, owing to the 48% abv, but you get a creaminess and vanilla coming through, a very slight hint of apple but not sweet at all.
  • Finish: Medium finish, soft, vanilla, dries out

I remember linking up this tasting note for Glen Garioch 15yo (not what this tasting note is about, but same distiller) from a while back… different strokes for different folks. 🙂

A tasty dram, a nice high ABV that still has subtle flavors. It really opens up with water, which I needed because of its higher ABV, and the vanilla and caramels shine.

Four Roses Single Barrel Tasting Notes

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four-roses-single-barrelAs scotch whisky prices creep upward, I’ve been dabbling in the world of bourbons and other domestically produced whiskies. There’s a whole rich world of spirits here, a rapidly growing craft distilling culture, so why limit myself? I’m sure you’d all agree… whisky is good, whether it has an E in it or not! 🙂

On a recent trip state-side, my friend Rick asked me to pick up a bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel because he’d heard it was good and it wasn’t available in the UK. I decided that if it was good enough that he wanted me to pick one up for him when he came by, it was certainly going to be good enough for me to buy for myself… the logic is sound, right? And at just $43 a bottle at the local store, it was hardly a big bet.

This wasn’t my first meeting with Four Roses. I’d tried their Small batch, Single Barrel, and Yellow Bourbon back in May of 2011. Back then, I didn’t have the experience, vocabulary, or the palate to appreciate a 100 proof bourbon.

Fast forward five years, a lot of drams, and you bet I can appreciate it now!

The label of my Four Roses Single Barrel stated it was from Warehouse No. TS, Barrel No. 41-6E, for what that’s worth, and I suspect there will be small variations between all the single barrels from different barrels.

Tasting Notes

  • Nose: Cherry, plum, vanilla, maple syrup
  • Taste: Big red chewing gum (i.e. cinnamon), sweet
  • Finish: Medium, spicy

In my mind, they could’ve replaced the Four Roses logo with four cherries, that’s how pronounced that flavor was on both the nose and the palate. Cherry was the high note flavor while plum and vanilla rounded it out. Cinnamon presented itself like the chewing gum Big Red, it was unreal because that was my first thought and it’s been 20+ years since I’ve smelled or chewed that gum, and there was a sweetness ever present. Finish was nice, a little heat and spice, but complemented the cherries, vanilla, and cinnamon.

I wonder how much of the fun of this bottle was in the nostalgia of a gum I haven’t chewed in many years. I wasn’t even a big fan of Big Red too, I preferred spearmint gums over different flavored ones. But when I did get a stick of Big Red, the novelty was always fun and it reminded me of all the fun I had in the first few minutes of a Fireball (after the spice was gone, I usually spit those out!).

Thoroughly enjoyed it, would get again. 🙂

(photo source)

The Macallan Edition No. 1 Tasting Notes

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Photo Courtesy of Gregg Albert

Photo Courtesy of Gregg Albert

The Macallan is one of the most celebrated distilleries in all of Scotland and one I’ve visited before in the past. It’s a great tradition and most scotch aficionados make it a point to try their signature bottle, the 18yo.

In more recent times, Macallan has been leading the way in non-age statement whisky. If you go through any duty free store, you won’t find any Macallan with an age statement. They’re all NAS in travel retail.

Regardless of what you think about the general move in that direction (I am not a snob about age but I think something does get lost when nothing has an age statement), you can’t argue that distilleries still have to put out a good product. You may be swayed by the label on the bottle but you won’t be tricked by the dram inside (hopefully!).

Macallan’s latest entrant into the NAS whisky market is the Macallan Edition No. 1. 48% ABV and priced at around $100, Macallan says it’s aged in 8 different styles of European and American oak casks, hand picked by Macallan Master Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno.

I didn’t try it but one of our intrepid Facebook members did, Gregg Albert, and this is what he shared with us:

  • Nose: Orange peel, vanilla, and a sweetness that reminded me of funnel cakes at the Fair a few days ago.
  • Palate: Full of spice and rich fruit, toffee. Hits with a punch.
  • Finish: Spiced! lingering and smooth.

He added – “This stuff is complex and changes with every sip. It’s going to the top of my list…” He has Edition No.2 also, which may make it into a future tasting note on the site (I hope!).

Usquaebach Reserve Premium Blended Scotch Whisky Review

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Last year, I tried a bottle of scotch that I’d never heard of before — Usquaebach.

For us non-native speakers of Gaelic, the word looks like a lot of other scotch whisky names. But it’s a variant of uisge beatha, the Gaelic words meaning “water of life.” The name Usquaebach was commemorated by Robert Burns in a poem, titled Tam O’Shanter (he uses the line “Wi’ usquabae, we’ll face the devil!” – with the water of life, we face the devil!).

usquaebach-flagonWith that name origin in mind, what is Usquaebach? It’s is a blended scotch whisky and the product is over 225 years old. To prove it, they still sell some of it in an old timey flagon. And for those who are audibly curious, it’s pronounced “oos-ke-bah,” which I probably would’ve gotten on the sixtieth try!

43% abv, the bottle I tried (sent by their PR company) didn’t come in flagon but a regular bottle. Shucks. 🙂

Tasting Notes:

  • Nose: A younger blend with bits of honey, sugar, and citrus. Not much oak on the nose and some spice, like the soft warmth of ginger and some vanilla. It has a little bit of everything except iodine and smokiness but not a lot of anything.
  • Palate: Toasted malt with a sweetness and vanilla. A little pepper spice to it. Light in the mouth, not much heft to it.
  • Finish: Medium with light caramel, chocolatey finish and a bit of pop with the pepper.

It was a tasty whisky and they state it has a blend of 10-18 year old whiskies, which I believe. At a price of $43, I wouldn’t rush out and get some (the value proposition isn’t there) but it’s a nice middle of the road (nose/palate-wise) that doesn’t disappoint.