While not terrible, the Trader Joe's single malt was mild-to-bland on the palate, almost a light beer type of whisky. Kirkland's single malts are provided by Alexander Murray & Co., just like TJs'. So they also have 40%ABVs and are inexpensive.
Like yesterday's TJs sample, this one was provided by Florin (a prince). When he and I first tried this whisky two years ago, we found some similarities between it and Tomatin 18. But Tomatin is not in Speyside, so if anyone has anything theories as to what distillery provided this "Speyside", please let me know in the comments below. This whisky has been replaced at my local Costco by a 20yo sherry finish Speyside and a 18yo sherry finish Highland at different times, but there may still be bottles of this one left on shelves at other locations.
Label: Kirkland
Age: minimum 18 years
Maturation: probably ex-bourbon casks to start and ex-sherry casks to finish
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
NEAT
The color is an orange gold. The nose's most prominent straightforward notes are honey, nutty sherry, fuji apples, and maple. But it also shows quirkier things like vinyl, graphite, new shoes, and wet sheep. The palate is mellower than the nose, malty and tangy. Milk chocolate, caramel, honey, and peaches make up much of the delivery. A chemical bitterness intrudes here and there. Burnt black raisins and wood pulp also have cameos. The finish grows more citrusy and the bitterness improves a bit. The wood pulp lingers as do those burnt black raisins.
(I'm ambivalent at best about whiskies resulting from brief finishes in ex-sherry casks, so that should be taken into account when considering my conclusions.)
This was an improvement over the Trader Joe's 10yo right from the start. And it's better than one would normally expect from a 40%abv store brand whisky. But I wouldn't say this is a particularly great single malt. Again, the nose is the best part, showing some decent complexity possibly coming from the age. The palate works occasionally, but something keeps screwing it up -- whether it's e150a or some crap casks.
We consumers should not be lured by an 18 year age statement, as in "Woo! 18 year old whisky for only $30! I'll buy a case!". An older whisky doesn't guarantee quality and a bargain isn't necessarily a great find. (This is coming from someone who has been hunting bargains for his entire life. This year alone I've purchased a half dozen cheap whiskies which have provided me nothing but regret. More about this issue another time.) I think $30 is a reasonable price for this single malt. The quality is significantly better than the Trader Joes 10yo, arguably better than Glenmorangie Lasanta, but falls short of Tomatin 18yo.
Level of thankfulness: I'm thankful I had multiple opportunities to try this whisky. And I'm thankful to have a little extra that I can utilize to improve TJs' 10yo...
Availability - Costco
Pricing - $29.99-$32.99
Rating - 78
NEAT
The color is an orange gold. The nose's most prominent straightforward notes are honey, nutty sherry, fuji apples, and maple. But it also shows quirkier things like vinyl, graphite, new shoes, and wet sheep. The palate is mellower than the nose, malty and tangy. Milk chocolate, caramel, honey, and peaches make up much of the delivery. A chemical bitterness intrudes here and there. Burnt black raisins and wood pulp also have cameos. The finish grows more citrusy and the bitterness improves a bit. The wood pulp lingers as do those burnt black raisins.
(I'm ambivalent at best about whiskies resulting from brief finishes in ex-sherry casks, so that should be taken into account when considering my conclusions.)
This was an improvement over the Trader Joe's 10yo right from the start. And it's better than one would normally expect from a 40%abv store brand whisky. But I wouldn't say this is a particularly great single malt. Again, the nose is the best part, showing some decent complexity possibly coming from the age. The palate works occasionally, but something keeps screwing it up -- whether it's e150a or some crap casks.
We consumers should not be lured by an 18 year age statement, as in "Woo! 18 year old whisky for only $30! I'll buy a case!". An older whisky doesn't guarantee quality and a bargain isn't necessarily a great find. (This is coming from someone who has been hunting bargains for his entire life. This year alone I've purchased a half dozen cheap whiskies which have provided me nothing but regret. More about this issue another time.) I think $30 is a reasonable price for this single malt. The quality is significantly better than the Trader Joes 10yo, arguably better than Glenmorangie Lasanta, but falls short of Tomatin 18yo.
Level of thankfulness: I'm thankful I had multiple opportunities to try this whisky. And I'm thankful to have a little extra that I can utilize to improve TJs' 10yo...
Availability - Costco
Pricing - $29.99-$32.99
Rating - 78
Speculation points to Glenrothes, Glen Grant, or even Speyburn (note that all three are neighboring distilleries) as the source. Alexander Murray also bottles Lismore Single Malt which is also speculated to be Glenrothes.
ReplyDeleteJeebus, they're the ones responsible for Lismore?! That is some awful awful whisky. I even had a chance to try the 21yo Lismore this year and it was oddly similar to the NAS version.
Delete[FYI, if anyone wants to see a sub-50 point review and endless gratitude, then send me a big honkin' sample of Lismore NAS (not actually swallowable).]
This now makes me REALLY question Alexander Murray & Co's barrel selection / blending acuity. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of Glenrothes -- I'd take this Kirkland thing over the Select Reserve any day of the week and twice on Shabbat.
I appear to be wrong about Lismore's ownership. Since I'd only seen Lismore at Trader Joe's, I made the assumption that they were bottled by Alexander Murray which handles the T.J. and Kirkland bottles. However a little Google-fu reveals Lismore is owned by William Lundie & Co. Ltd. William Lundie is just as mysterious as Alexander Murray with the Whisky Portal (http://www.whiskyportal.com/distillery.asp?DistilleryID=1309&DistilleryName=William+Lundie+%26+Co.+Ltd.) suggesting that they are owned by... drumroll... J&G Grant.... meaning Lismore may be Glenfarclas.
DeleteActually yeah the William Lundie name is on the Lismore label. So Alexander Murray & Co regain some of my trust. :)
DeleteIf Lismore is Glenfarclas, then I think I know where all the bad barrels are going.
DeleteFor a while a lot of Glenfarclas was the sherried element going into Isle of Skye 8yo. I've heard that Skye switched to sherried Glenrothes a couple years ago. I can't say for certain which garbage barrels are going into Lismore, but I remember reading in one of the geek forums that it was 'Rothes. In any case, Lismore is a good example of what crap single malt barrels are like when they're not diluted by grain whisky in cheap blends.
DeleteFor further reference regarding this whisky, please see these reviews as well:
ReplyDeleteM.A.O. (moderate but checked enthusiasm) -- http://myannoyingopinions.com/2013/11/07/kirkland-speyside-18/
Scotch Noob (mightily enthused) -- http://scotchnoob.com/2013/10/21/kirkland-speyside-sherry-cask-finish-18-year/