August 10th, 2010

Guest Review: Laphroaig Triple Wood, 48%, $100

John Hansell

This is the first time I’ve been up for reviews here so I had a game plan: play it cool, mark tightly, let everyone know I’m hard to please. Then they gave me this, the whisky equivalent to front row tickets to Neil Young on his current Twisted Road tour: not just a chance to get up close and personal with an old favorite, but to do so with an old favorite who’s on fire. Laphroaig’s owners are intent on ensuring a big peaty engine for any new release, but this is a monster by anyone’s standards. It’s essentially Quarter Cask finished in oloroso sherry casks, so in addition to the intense charcoal smoke attack there are rich fruity notes; blackcurrant and berries. It’s an evening barbecue whisky. Grill that fish until it’s blackened and crispy, drizzle on lemon, and as the smoke rears up in protest, sip this. Big, moody, broody, fruity, and rich: what’s not to love? (Travel Retail and some European specialist retailers.) – Dominic Roskrow

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 94

Category: Reviews,Scotch whisky,Travel Retail Tags: 62 Comments

August 9th, 2010

Guest whisky reviews coming from Dominic Roskrow and Dave Broom

John Hansell

As I mentioned here back in June, Dominic Roskrow and Dave Broom have joined me in reviewing whiskies in Malt Advocate’s Buyer’s Guide. They will be focusing on whiskies not generally available in the U.S. (They have easier access to these whiskies than I do.)

Starting this week, I’ll be posting up reviews by Dominic. Most are Travel Retail exclusive whiskies. Then, I’ll be posting Dave Broom’s reviews of eight different Japanese whiskies during the two weeks following. All these reviews will also be included in the next issue of Malt Advocate, due out in September. I’m giving my WDJK readers a sneak peak here first.

Category: Guest Blogger,Reviews,Writers Tags: , 7 Comments

August 6th, 2010

Would you like to be a guest blogger?

John Hansell

I’m vacationing from August 30th through September 3rd.  I don’t want to be blogging while I’m on vacation. (Well, to be truthful, my wife doesn’t want me blogging while I’m on vacation.)

So, I’m looking for five worthy guest bloggers. Are you interested? Then send me a guest blog post. For one week, this will be “What do you know,” not “What does John know?”

Here are the details:

Anyone reading this is eligible. But, if you work in the whisky field in some manner, it can’t be a sales pitch. You can talk about your product/brand/etc., just don’t be peddling it. The more informative, thought provoking, entertaining, etc., that it is, the greater the chance I’ll pick yours. Still, it could be something as simple as a great question you wanted to ask everyone here–one that will stimulate conversation and get a great thread going.

You’ll get a “by line” at the end, so be sure to include your real name. If you don’t, I won’t publish it. And if you work for a whisky-related company, let me know who that is too.

This is a non-paying gig. (Sorry.) But, it’s really great exposure for you. (And the opportunity to be published.)

Email me one post (just one), along with a picture if you want to, before Monday, August 23rd. I will pick the five best guest blog posts that I read.

Send your guest post to john@maltadvocate.com. I’ll look at them during the week of August 23rd and pick five.

Let’s have some fun with this.

Now for the fine print:

In the subject line, you must put “Guest Blog” or I might not read it.

If you have a question about your post, comment here. Others might have the same question. Please don’t email me.

Unfortunately, I won’t have time to respond to your submission, so please don’t take it personally. I won’t be sending rejection emails out to everyone. Just check in daily during that week and keep your fingers crossed.

Category: Guest Blogger,Writers 11 Comments

August 6th, 2010

Review: Duncan Taylor “NC2? Aberlour 16 year old

John Hansell

Look what I found. Affordable too!

Duncan Taylor “NC2” (Distilled at Aberlour), 16 year old, 46%, $80
This whisky packs a lot of flavor. They’re clean, complex and well-balanced too. Creamy, layered, malty-sweet foundation ( vanilla, caramel, toffee), chock full of bright fruit (golden raisin, honeyed orchard fruit, currant), rounded out by firm, dried spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, mint) that dances on the palate. Long, warming, spicy finish. Nicely done!

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 92

Category: New Releases,Reviews,Scotch whisky Tags: , 17 Comments

August 5th, 2010

Review: Parker’s Heritage Collection Bourbon (2010 release)

John Hansell

 The fourth edition of Parker’s Heritage Collection, and the first wheated bourbon as part of the Collection. Another solid effort!

I lined up my review sample, along with samples of a few other great wheated bourbons: Jefferson’s Presidential Select 17 year old Batch #1 (which I rated a 96), and the 2009 and 2008 releases of William Larue Weller (ratings of 93 and 96, respectively). This new Parker’s is in the same league.

For more information on this whiskey, check out my previous blog post announcing this whiskey.

Parker’s Heritage Collection (2010 release), 10 year old, 63.9%, $80
Soft, sweet, and very smooth. Richly textured layers of caramel, toffee, vanilla fudge, nougat, maple syrup, and rhum agricole. Bramble, date, cinnamon, subtle cocoa and nutmeg add complexity. Clean, polished and perilously drinkable. A delicious wheated bourbon!  Not quite the complexity of the classic 2009 William Larue Weller, but getting close.

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 93

Category: Bourbon,New Releases,Reviews Tags: 19 Comments

August 4th, 2010

Review: two whiskey barrel aged rye beers

John Hansell

The reason why I initially named the magazine “Malt Advocate” is because the magazine equally covered beer and whisky. (Malt being the common thread.) I was a beer writer before I wrote about whisky.

I still have been reviewing beer, freelance,  for America’s longest running beer magazine, All About Beer. (A great magazine, by the way, if you are a beer enthusiast.)

I’ve now decided to focus my beer reviewing efforts back here, under the Malt Advocate umbrella. So, to kick things off,  I thought I would write about these two beers I recently received. Both have a whiskey connection: the are beers made with rye and aged in whiskey barrels. Their oak aging is evident but not excessive. They are best enjoyed at cellar temperature. And as you can see from my rating, I like both of them.

HE’BREW “R.I.P.A on Rye”(beer on left) is a rye double IPA aged in rye whiskey barrels.  (Six year old Sazerac Rye barrel, in case you were going to ask.) It checks in at 10% ABV. A sipping beer for sure. The bitter hop notes mask some of the rye spice, but there’s still plenty of rye spice to go around. I can really taste the spicy and citrus rye notes in the beer, along with the caramel, vanilla,  apricot, dark chocolate, espresso bean, and gritty, dry, rye barrel notes emerging and concentrating on the finish. Very bold and dynamic. ($12)

Malt Advocate magazine rating: 90

RY(e)AN ALE is beer produced by Smuttynose brewery for Julio’s Liquors. It’s simply described as a “rye ale aged in bourbon barrels.” (Buffalo Trace and Four Roses, for the record.) It doesn’t have the hoppy bitterness like the HE’BREW beer (it’s smoother too!), but it sure is full-bodied  (as it should be, if it wants to stand up to the wood) and fairly strong, logging in at 7.7% ABV. I can smell and taste the charred oak influence. It’s rich, sweet and malty, with chewy caramel, molasses, malted milk balls, plum skin, black cherry, licorice and pleasant orchard fruit for balance. Liquid Dessert! ($9)

Malt Advocate magazine rating: 91

Category: Beer,Bourbon,Rye whiskey Tags: 32 Comments

August 3rd, 2010

21 year old Czech single malt? Really?

John Hansell

Every once in a while, something comes out of the clear blue–like a 21 year old Czech single malt, reported today by Drinks International.

Apparently, when a company bought the distillery, they found the whisky. And it’s not a small amount that will sell out soon.

I wonder what Czech whisky, made with Czech water, barley and aged in Czech oak tastes like?

“Hammer Head” will sell for £34.99 in Travel Retail.

Category: European whiskies,New Releases,Opinions 22 Comments

August 2nd, 2010

Reviews: Jim Beam “Signature” Six Grain and Jim Beam Black

John Hansell

I received a review sample of the new Jim Beam “Signature” Six Grain bourbon, so I thought it would be fun (and informative) to compare it to it’s sibling, Jim Beam Black.

You can only find the Signature in Travel Retail outlets, but the Black is readily available. (I purchased my bottle at a local retailer.)

The Black is nice, pleasantly sweet, and fairly straight-forward, while the Signature is spicy, relatively dry, and more complex.

Jim Beam “Signature” Six Grain, 44.5%, €30

Caramel and vanilla notes, with a peppering of spice (primarily cinnamon, but also evergreen, cocoa, teaberry and nutmeg) and subtle roasted walnut, finishing dry, gritty and spicy (from the grains and also the oak). Spicier and not as sweet (when compared to its sibling Jim Beam Black, an eight year old). There’s certainly a lot going on here. A very “busy” whiskey. Intriguing too! A whiskey for exploring and discussing. (Exclusive to Travel Retail.)

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 88

 

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Jim Beam Black, 8 year old, 43%, $22

Moderately rich, with layered caramel, vanilla, fig cake and subtle sweet corn. Date, raisin, and a dusting of spice (cinnamon, cocoa, hint of ginger) round out the palate, leading to a gently sweet, soothing finish. A very versatile bourbon—certainly enjoyable enough to drink neat, but you won’t feel guilty if you make a cocktail with it or drink it on the rocks.

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 84

Category: Bourbon,New Releases,Reviews,Travel Retail Tags: 7 Comments

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