Amrut Fusion Batch 29, March 2015 |
Amrut Fusion Batch 85, January 2020 |
Amrut Fusion Batch 88, March 2020 |
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The peatiest of the trio. A mix of smoked paprika and wood smoke starts the nose, followed by cinnamon, cardamom, packaged cookie dough and 3 Musketeers. It gains vanilla bean and in-season plum notes with time. | Wow, the nose is all over the place. Lemon, ham, nutritional yeast, Spam, cinnamon and a dash of peat create a sense of "WTF am I about to sip?" It gradually simplifies into barley, yeast, cinnamon, brown sugar, and a hint of florals. | Peat, milk chocolate, basil and melted candle wax sit up front in the nose, with kiwi and pineapple in the background. |
The palate leads with cinnamon, ginger powder, limes and heavy smoke. Milder notes of baklava and wormwood-esque bitterness arrive later. | The palate begins sweet and tangy with a hint of smoke. Lots of raw heat, apple cider vinegar and cinnamon red hots. Ash ascends with time, as does a floral note. | The palate is gingery and peppery, though less raw than batch 85. It's tangy and grainy with a grassy smoke in the background. Feels almost like a blend. |
I wish I knew my limes because I'd love to detail the finish's vibrant lime notes. Instead all I can say is: salt, limes, good bitterness and a touch of sweetness. | The harshest of the three Fusions, batch 85 finishes with heat, salt, pepper, ash and agave syrup. | It's a bit edgier in the finish, with tangy citrus and ginger, bitterness and heat. |
Monday, July 4, 2022
Three batches of Amrut Fusion
Friday, July 1, 2022
Kilkerran Work In Progress, Sixth Release (Sherry Wood)
WIP 1: White label
WIP 2: Gray label
WIP 3: Light green label
WIP 4: Beige label
WIP 5: Blue label (Bourbon Wood & Sherry Wood)
WIP 6: Pink label (Bourbon Wood & Sherry Wood)
WIP 7: Dark green label (Bourbon Wood CS & Sherry Wood)
Region: Campbeltown
Limited release: 9,000 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a added? No
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Kilkerran Work In Progress, Second Release (re-review)
I often thought of Kilkerran WIP #2 (gray label) as my favorite whisky of the Work In Progress series, with #5 Bourbon Wood and #7 Bourbon Wood as its main competitors. Then I went through a bottle, finding it very good but not astounding. Then during the final in-person Columbus Scotch Night event of the pre-Covid era (technically, February 2020), the group tried the whisky alongside two other Kilkerrans, and I had the same sensory response: very good, but not nearly as amazing as I'd once thought it was. I took home a sample of the whisky from that bottle, saving it for some unknown evening.
That unknown evening has arrived tonight. Work In Progress #1 has been poured as well, in order to provide perspective.
Region: Campbeltown
Limited release: 15,000 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a added? No
Monday, June 27, 2022
Things I Really Drink: Kilkerran Work In Progress, First Release
Though last week I bemoaned, "Whew, all these young malts are beginning to get to me," I have made an executive decision to break out some young single malts that will hopefully represent better examples of whisky in its early bloom. And I'm going to start with one of my favorite retired whisky series, Kilkerran's Work In Progress. I'm going to try an old favorite, and as well as the only two WIPs I've yet to review. I'm beginning with one of the latter, Work In Progress, First Release, pouring from my bottle.
For those who haven't read my previous WIP raves, I'll recap 'em. Springbank's parent company (re-)opened Glengyle in 2004, then started to roll out annual whisky-as-status-updates known as the Work In Progress series once the whisky was of legal age. The year after reaching Batch 7, the distillery offered up their first 12 year old single malt. I enjoyed some, adored others, seeing many of them as "ready to go", as opposed to "works in progress". But I never reviewed the first batch. And I had a bottle. Then I opened it and now I am really drinking it, making it an official TIRD!
Region: Campbeltown
Limited release: 9,000 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a added? No
Friday, June 24, 2022
Three Yoichi Key Malts
Given the choice of Nikka's two Japanese distilleries, Miyagikyo and Yoichi, I'll always pick the latter. With more than a decade of maturation, Yoichi can hold its own with, or surpass, Scotland's best peated whiskies. Of course, "more than a decade of maturation" is quite the qualifier, presently. The Key Malts I have here today are likely very young, judging by the Miyagikyo set I reviewed on Wednesday. It may not be Waterford-young, rather Kilchoman-young. But of the two sets, this is the one I've been looking forward to.
Sapporo Triplets
Yoichi Woody and Vanillic - 55%abv |
Yoichi Sherry and Sweet - 55%abv |
Yoichi Peaty and Salty - 55%abv |
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The nose is woody indeed. With peat thrown in, it registers like mesquite. After 10 minutes the vanilla bursts in, carrying mint and sugar with it. Rosemary, hazelnuts and dried apricots stay in the background. | The nose starts out earthy with a little bit of wood smoke. Vanilla, lemon and caramel sit on top. Nutty sherry on the bottom. It develops a cheesy yeastiness with time. | "Laphroaig Jr." (per my notes) on the nose. Old bandages and antiseptic. Ham, dry peat, citronella candles and eucalyptus. |
The palate is REALLY HOT, like 65%abv. Very sweet too. Once the tastebuds recover, they pick up something a lot like Craft bourbon. There's burnt wood, wood smoke, mint and pears. Maybe some kiwis in the distance. | Generic sherry cask notes lead the palate, with black raisins and cherry syrup. The peat barely makes it to the midground. Basic. | The palate shows a good balance of smoke, sweet and bitter. Notes of lime, mint leaf, fresh ginger and cayenne ease in gradually. |
It finishes hot and sweet, with mint and lumber. | The finish offers dried cherries and currants. Very little smoke, but plenty of woody bitterness. | Lime, ginger, wood smoke and a touch of herbal bitterness fill the finish. |
Diluted to 45%abv: The nose has sugar cookies and pine, with hints of farm and dried herbs. The palate is very bitter and very sweet, with vanilla extract and pineapple. Nothing but bitterness and vanilla in the finish. | Diluted to 45%abv: Sulfur and roses in the nose, followed by vanilla and golden raisins. The palate starts out well with dry oloroso and lemon, but then the black raisins and tannins take over. It finishes with maraschino cherries and woody bitterness. | Diluted to 45%abv: The nose feels gentler and more pulled together. Lots of ocean and dry peat. The palate becomes tarter and more herbal, with kiln smoke filling every corner. It finishes with dry herbs, limes and kiln. |
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Three Miyagikyo Key Malts
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Beatrice rounded up |
Belated Happy Father's Day wishes to all the pappies out there. I hope you had plenty of time to drink alone, like I did.
Damn, that came across precisely as dark as I'd intended it.
Anyway, I'm back. The older folks out there might remember that Nikka's Japanese distilleries had a few 12yo versions of their Key Malts in previous decades. I had a chance to try a pair in Shinjuku, seven years ago.
But on this past Father's Day Eve, I did a side-by-side-by-side comparison of the trio of Miyagikyo Key Malts that were released in 2015-2017. All three were NAS (boooo), bottled at 55%abv (yay?). They were named Malty and Soft, Fruity and Rich, and Sherry and Sweet.
Were they any good, and did they do exactly what it says on the tin......?
Sendai Triplets
Miyagikyo Malty and Soft - 55%abv |
Miyagikyo Fruity and Rich - 55%abv |
Miyagikyo Sherry and Sweet - 55%abv |
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Yep, malt on the nose. Malt, marshmallows, green apples and VOCs start things off. Complexity builds with time as orange peel, anise, grapefruit juice, caramel chews and a hint of barrel char appear. | The VOC/raw note appears here too, but more forward than in the M&S's nose. It does have fruit though, specifically kiwis, oranges and yellow nectarines. Malt as well. Some banana pudding. Hint of toffee, hint of farm. | Oloroso-style dry nuttiness leads the nose, followed by malt (again), brine, honey butter and the same raw note as the others. It picks up gunpowder and black raisin notes with time. |
Wow, the palate is green. Barley, grass, thyme, rosemary and a hint of yeast fill it edge to edge for a while. Notes of ginger and tart kiwis materialize after some time. | The palate reads more floral than fruity, and less graceful than expected. I find unripe peach, mild lemon, toasted rice and a hint of savoriness first. It gets sweeter slowly, picking up perkier citrus and Ito En's Genki sweet tea. | This one has the thickest mouthfeel of the trio. A big A'bunadh-style sherriness leads the palate. Sweet cherries, bitter walnuts, dried currants and salt follow later. |
It finishes with grass, ginger, malt and lime. | The finish is both sweet and drying. Tannin, perhaps? It's also sort of dusty, with mild notes of lemon and lychee. | Luxardo cherry syrup, milk chocolate, black raisins and a hint of dates in the finish. |
Diluted to 45%abv: Nice nose: malt, apples, roses, oranges and nut bread. The palate and finish get fruitier, with kiwis, limes and lychees, balancing the sweet and tart well. | Diluted to 45%abv: The nose loses its excitement and complexity. It feels blander, though it does hold onto flowers and citrus. The palate is bitterer, rougher. Peppery and acidic. It finishes tangy, tannic and lightly sweet. | Diluted to 45%abv: Honey, raw nuts, dried currants and mild sulfur make up the nose. More sulfur on the palate now, with lots of dried fruit in the background. It finishes with tannins, raisins and sulfur. |
Friday, June 17, 2022
Waterford Bannow Island 1.1 Irish Single Malt
Region: Waterford, Ireland
Outturn: 8616 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a? No
(from a bottle split)
Pricing - $60-$120 (w/VAT, w/o shipping)
Rating - 78, but drink it quickly and keep it neat