Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 7 versus Aberlour A'bunadh batch 60

Oh, sherry.


Oh, Sherrie. Un low. Hoes ah. Hoes ah. 

?

What the hell is Steve Perry singing about? And why can't he enunciate?

Too much Sherrie sherry, perhaps?

Speaking of too much sherry:

Glendronach Cask Strength batch 7 VERSUS Aberlour A'bunadh batch 60

Glendronach Cask Strength, batch 7
Distillery: Glendronach
Ownership: Brown-Forman (ugh)
Region: Eastern Highlands (on the edge of Speyside)
Age: minimum
Maturation: a mix of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks
Alcohol by Volume: 57.9%
Batch: 7
Bottled: 2018

VERSUS

Aberlour A'bunadh, batch 60
Distillery: Aberlour

Ownership: Pernod Ricard
Region: Speyside (Banffshire)

Age: minimum 3 years

Maturation: Oloroso butts

Alcohol by Volume: 60.3%
Batch: 60

Bottled: 2017

It's about time for this blog to hold a Taste Off between these two sherry-sopped titanic tots. And don't tell anyone, but these two batches are sort of recent. Shhhhhh.

The prices for these two are usually similar. Neither has an age statement, of course. The A'bunadh always has a very high ABV and comes from Oloroso butts. Meanwhile the Glendronach CS batches come from a mix of Oloroso and PX casks. The previous six batches all were around 55%abv, while this one is almost 58%.

With Glendronach's new ownership and this batch's high ABV, I don't know what to expect. So far I've preferred the Glendronach CSes over the A'bunadhs I've tried. I always want to love A'bunadh, but you can't force love.

Where does my heart beat now?

---

NEAT

GlenDronach Cask Strength, batch 7
Nose - Cherries and a lot of alcohol. Gradually notes of flowers, orange oil and Twizzlers sneak out. Then there's citrus, berry compote and cracked peppercorns, along with hints of soil and grape jam.
Palate - Much less heat here than on the nose. It's fruity and sweet: honey, limes, red plums and brown sugar. A little bit of raw nut bitterness. Silky texture throughout.
Finish - It's sweet and fruity: berries and limes. Some fresh ginger and a touch of bitterness balance it out.

Aberlour A'bunadh, batch 60
Nose - Lemon sorbet, rosemary and pine sap start things out, followed by molasses, dark chocolate and freshly split lumber. After 20+ minutes in the glass the whisky releases notes of flowers, berries and almond butter.
Palate - Tart, warm and slightly bitter. Specifically bitter oak. Pine sap, lemons, dried currants and dried apricots make up most of the body. Gets saltier and more gingery with time.
Finish - Long, bitter, hot, almost numbing. Lemons, salt and mildly sweet sherry.

DILUTION TO ~46%abv

GlenDronach Cask Strength, batch 7
Nose - It's lighter now (obvs!). Fruity candy, chocolate, plums and black raisins. A hint of leather.
Palate - Still a sweetie. Honey, oranges, vanilla pudding, brown sugar and salty hard toffee.
Finish - Cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla and cloves.

Aberlour A'bunadh, batch 60
Nose - Though this is the sherriest moment of the tasting, there's still plenty of vanilla, pine, ginger and lemon to go around.
Palate - Milder and more pleasant than when neat. Still some bitter oak, though. Tangy citrus, baking spices, peaches and vanilla.
Finish - Oak, fresh stone fruit, black pepper, vanilla and a floral hint.

CONCLUSIONS
Glendronach wins hands down. So if that's what you're looking for, there it is.

The A'bunadh was different than any other batch I've tried. Exposed beams, if you will. Lots of aggressive American oak. The spirit's fruit, the sherry and the wood never come together. Much like politics, everyone sits in his corner refusing to move. The elements cooperate better with dilution.

Batch 7 may be the simplest of Glendronach's cask strength series, but it's plum delicious. It's also one of the rare whiskies with a better palate than nose. It's moreish, an adjective I used to type weekly but haven't used in years. It's friendlier when diluted, but I like it best neat.

I'm not motivated to try another batch of A'Bunadh any time soon. Perhaps I'll check back in a couple years. Glendronach, though? Looking forward to batch 8.

Glendronach Cask Strength, batch 7
Rating - 87

Aberlour A'bunadh, batch 60
Rating - 81 (with water only)

Killing Whisky History, Episode 18: Playing Dusty Detective

Is your dusty bottle confusing you? Spending too much time staring at bottles' bottoms? Measuring your misery in milliliters? Then I'm here to help.


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Amrut Spectrum 004, US Release

Of all the Amrut gimmicks, this one seems like the most fun: Purposely build a cask out of multiple cask types, then fill it up with whisky and watch what happens. I'm surprised Amrut beat the Scotch industry to it.

There should be an asterisk on this bottling, though. It's made of staves from four different types of casks: new French oak, ex-oloroso, ex-PX and new American oak. It is not made up of four "different oak woods", or at least there's no additional detail given other than what had seasoned the staves. In fact there are only two types of oak listed on the bottle's labels: French and American. American oak makes up the vast majority of whisky casks, including ex-sherry, for cost and structural purposes, so it's likely that American oak makes up three-quarters of each Spectrum cask.

An interesting, and educational, experiment would be to age whisky in each of these four separate cask types in the same corner of the warehouse as the Spectrum casks, then blend or marry the four cask types' contents together, then compare the results of Spectrum and this other "Four Wood" creation. Perhaps someone would learn something.

And in case you were wondering, yes, Spectrum is only finished in the custom casks. I'm not sure if I should be grumbling about that. Time to find out.

Distillery: Amrut

Region: Bangalore, India

Age: minimum 3 years

Batch: 004 (It's a James Bond joke. Get it?)

Maturation: first aged in ex-bourbon casks, then finished in casks made with the aforementioned four stave types
Outturn: 1,800 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? ???
(from a bottle split)

The whisky's color is very very dark. The nose leads with roasted nuts, specifically walnuts and cashews. Then coffee beans and a hint of dried currants. Later it's carob bark, mint leaves and maple candy. What's extraordinary about the palate is that it's nothing but espresso upon the first two sips. That's it. Then gradually comes salt, dried cherries and limes. Honey, wood smoke and toffee pudding. The PX starts to take over, as do plenty of tannins. There's also a significant musty oak note, just to keep the drinker on his or her toes. The espresso shows up in the finish as well. Then limes, brown sugar, grape jam, honey and pencil shavings. It grows sweeter with time.

Going into this, I knew the spirit was only present to deliver the product in a liquid medium. The result, the piles of tannins and sherries, is......Fun. There's something exceptional about its thumping shifts and volume. One moment it feels like a 40 year old sherry cask, the next moment it's a gloppy PX-finish, then it's honeycomb, then it's coffee. Does it ever come together as one piece? Maybe in the nose, which is subtle compared to the rhinoceros-playing-piano palate. The price, though. Jeez. That's wackier than the rest.

Availability - a few specialty European and American liquor retailers
Pricing - Europe: $300-$350 (ex-VAT); USA: $400-$500. Yes, you're reading that correctly.
Rating - 89 (that's some good wood)

Amrut Two Continents, batch 03 (2017 bottling)

In contrast to the mix mastery of Kadhambam, Amrut Two Continents is aged solely in refill ex-bourbon barrels. The hook for this release is its maturation in two climates. It first percolates in India, then waltzes(?) in Europe. They don't say where in Europe, just "Europe". Northern Finland's climate is slightly different than the South of France, so it kinda matters.

Distillery: Amrut

Region: Bangalore, India

Age: minimum 3 years

Batch: #03 (2017)

Maturation: refill bourbon casks
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? ???
(from a Columbus Scotch Club event)

NEAT
Timber! It's actually not that oaky on the nose, but there is an early note of freshly split logs. After that, the nose stays simple. There's hay, anise, apple and butter. It's kinda blendy. The perkier palate leads with simple syrup, pear juice, ginger and hazelnuts. Black peppercorns help things from getting too sweet. It gets smokier with time, though also picks up a notebook paper note. The moderate length finish is big on ginger and chiles, with smaller notes of acidic citrus and bitter smoke.

DILUTED TO ~40%abv, or <1 teaspoon of water per 30mL whisky
Less oak on the nose. Smokey ham, grass, apples and cardamom. Yet the palate gets woodier and more tannic. Papery and peppery. Smoked nuts and lemons. The finish is much quieter. It's tangy and tannic with acidic citrus and black pepper.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Batch 3 came out in 2017 with, curiously, a lower abv (46% versus 50%) than batch 2, and has more muted reviews online. I did not know this when I tried it head-to-head with yesterday's Kadhambam. But the Kadhambam really is in a different league.

This batch of Two Continents has that rawness and oakiness found in many/most American "craft" whiskies, though it pulls it off better than the Yanks. I do think the oak holds it back or at least removes something vital and lively found in most of Amrut's releases. It's still a reasonable whisky, but the regular CS, the peated CS and Fusion are all more enjoyable at much lower prices.

Availability - Many specialty European and American liquor retailers
Pricing - Europe: $80-$110 (ex-VAT); USA: $110-$140 (har har)
Rating - 81 (neat only)

Amrut Kadhambam, batch 05 (2017 bottling)

It's Amrut Time! Again. I knocked out nearly a dozen Amrut reviews in 2016 and 2017, but none in 2018. I'm remedying that with three consecutive Amrut posts this week, with each whisky enjoying a 2017 release. So exciting!

First up is Kadhambam, batch 5. As odd as Kadhambam's cask combo sounds, it seems like an inevitable experiment. Amrut makes brandy and rum, so they have those leftover casks. They've done sherried releases, so those casks are on hand as well. Just their luck, the mix works.

I thought Batch 3 was grand and strange. In my review, I was worried that Kadhambam had been retired. Batch 4 came out in 2013, and as of 2016 there was no sign of the next round. Alas, there was another.

Distillery: Amrut

Region: Bangalore, India

Age: minimum 3 years

Batch: #05 (2017)

Maturation: ex-Oloroso sherry butts, then Indian brandy casks, then Indian rum casks
Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? ???
(from a Columbus Scotch Club event)

NEAT
It has a big bright nose with lots of dried fruits, especially apricots. There are green apples, lemons and barley. Hard toffee and earthy cocoa. It picks up a pineapple juice note after 10 minutes. The palate is warm but not hot. Tobacco, dried cherries, brown sugar and just a hint of plum wine. A tiny bit of tannin, along with cinnamon and nutmeg. It finishes with citrus, brown sugar and toffee. Mild tannins and mild pepper.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or ½ teaspoon of water per 30mL whisky
The nose narrows, but also focuses intensely on toffee, cinnamon shisha and lime juice. Meanwhile, the palate shifts while keeping its breadth. It's creamy, fruity and spicy. Tropical fruit punch with cinnamon and chili oil. Brown sugar, oranges and cumin. The finish has oranges, honeydew and a little bit of salt, while holding onto its decent length.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Another great batch. While this one doesn't hit batch 3's heights, it is more stable and approachable, with the casks behaving more harmoniously. It also feels a little more mature than most of the other Amrut's I've tried, perhaps due to its calmness and lower heat level. It works with or without water, your choice.

On a side note, batch 5 seems to have had at least three bottlings: two in 2016 and one in 2017. This is the 2017 bottling, FWIW. The series does seem to have caught a second wind, and is now up to batch 8. I hope the batches maintain this quality because I look forward to owning a bottle, one of these years.

Availability - Many specialty European and American liquor retailers
Pricing - Europe: $70-$100 (ex-VAT); USA: $120-$160 (har har)
Rating - 87

Paul John single cask P1-163 Indian Single Malt Whisky

It was only a matter of time. With Bob Dylan brandishing his It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding Money Apparently whiskey, the artist formerly known as P. Diddy rushed his own whisky brand to the market: Sean Paul John. He sourced it from India and I can't take this joke any further because Bob Dylan made me sad, and not in a Boots of Spanish Leather way.

John Distilleries, founded in fact by a Paul John, is a pretty sizable company that produces brandy, wine and whisky across a number of distilleries and wineries throughout India. Their malt whisky is produced in the main distillery in Goa. As with Amrut, Paul John single malt experiences very active maturation within a cask due to the climate. Per Wikipedia, Goa's average daily highs range between 84ºF and 91ºF all year. It's very dry from December through April, then comes the humidity, then come the monsoons. Not quite Speyside.

I corralled this sample, my first Paul John, from a Columbus Scotch Club event a few months ago. All Paul John provides is the cask number. No age, no vintage, no cask information, no whisky in fact. I mean, look at the sample bottle:

Company: John Distilleries
Brand: Paul John
Region: Goa, India
Type: Single Malt
Age: ???
Maturation: ???
Cask number: P1-163
Outturn: ???
Release year: 2013
Alcohol by volume: 57%

NEAT
The nose starts out with apples, citronella, ocean and an aggressive ethyl burn. After 10-15 minutes small notes of pears, cantaloupe, honey and toasted oak float up. BIG heat on the palate. It takes some work to sift through the burning, but beneath it one will find tart fruit, vanilla bean and toffee. The sweetness stays mild and malty-ish. A bitter oak note creeps up after the whisky sits for 15 minutes in the glass. It finishes with acidic citrus and toffee and heat. It's tingly, sweet and bitter, but also leaves an unpleasantly sour aftertaste.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or <1.5tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Okay, I'll split the nose notes into good news and bad news. Good news: citronella and cloves. Bad news: Sharp, almost vodka-esque new make. Hints of cardboard and lead. Ugly news: Reminiscent of Glenlivet 12. At least the palate is calmer and more pleasant as the creamy vanilla pudding sweetness takes over and the bitterness recedes. Quite a bit of acidity though, and plenty of heat. The finish is similar to palate, with the acid and heat. The sweetness does help things out, though.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Though I am looking forward to trying more Paul John whisky in the future, this single cask does not bode well. I'm in the minority with this opinion, if one goes by the whiskybase community. And if you're questioning the sample's source, the bottle came from the gentleman who supplied the excellent Westland fino cask reviewed on Tuesday.

This comes across as young (and darkly hued) "craft" whisky. There's a lot of burn and oak no matter what you do. I'd recommend taking the heat because dilution lays waste to the zesty bright neat nose. The less I say about the finish, the better. Its competitor(?), Amrut, also produces hot brash whiskies, but they almost always show a complexity and depth absent from this Paul John single cask.

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - €70?
Rating - 76

Spirit of Hven Tycho's Star, Swedish Single Malt

Located on a teeny island between Sweden and Denmark, near the former digs of 16th century astronomer Tycho Brahe, Hven Distillery began distilling spirits in 2008. Whisky isn't their main focus. In fact it's just another one of their ultra-locally sourced products.

It's time for everyone everywhere to start ignoring every drop of digital ink spilled about the experimentation going on at Bill Lumdsen's distilleries in Scotland. You want to see some real tinkering? Here's how Henric Molin, Hven's distiller, makes Tycho's Star:
--Three malts: pale ale, chocolate and heavily peated.
--Two to three different yeasts applied over a 90-120 hour fermentation period.
--Three oaks: 58.2% heavily charred Quercus muehlenbergi from Missouri, 33.44% heavily toasted Quercus petrea from central France, 8.36% medium toasted Quercus robur from Bourgogne.
(These stats come from Thomas of whiskysaga.com)

Of course, if doesn't taste good then what's the point? Lemme see...

Distillery/Company: Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn
Region: Hven, Switzerland
Type: Single Malt
Age: ???
Mashbill and maturation: see above
Alcohol by volume: 41.8%abv
(from a purchased sample)

The nose leads with barley, honey butter and white chocolate. I keep finding lots of sugary breakfast cereal, like Corn Pops and Frosted Flakes. It has a spirity edge that reads a little phenolic. A little bit of mango slips in after a while. There's dark chocolate, roasted nuts and nutty whole grain bread in the palate, which is followed by a tart spritely nip and a slight herbal bitterness. It finishes with honey and toasted grains up front, smoke and bitter greens in the back.

I can imagine at 46+% abv it probably gets rougher and tougher, but as it's currently bottled the whisky is a nice drinker with a good sharp edge. It's also barley-forward, which is always a plus in this oaky era. Tycho's Star would probably appeal to most single malt lovers, which makes its experimental recipe a success. Unfortunately that same approach has made it expensive.

Availability - A few dozen retailers in the US and Europe
Pricing - $55-$80 (ex-VAT) in Europe for 500mL; $100-$130 for 750mL in US
Rating - 82