Here we go again with the Wemyss Malts Cream of the Crop tasting notes. The Wemyss family has a passion for whiskey since the beginning of the 19th century when Haig’s founded its first distillery on the island of Wemyss. They make their own blends but are especially appreciated for their job as independent bottlers. Each bottle name has a special name to guide the buyer to its favorite flavors. So what about this “Cream of the Crop”? This one is a Glen Garioch, from the Garioch Valley’s distillery in the Highlands, founded in a very small village at the end of the 18th century. Distilled in 1989 and bottled in 2016 (it’s a 27 or 26 years old whisky, we do not have precise dates, 261 bottles). Let’s see this Wemyss Malts whisky!
Tag: fruity Page 1 of 2
Today, let me introduce to you the Arran 21yo, specially bottled for whiskybase.com. This whisky spent 21 years in bourbon casks before being bottled for a limited edition of 180 bottles only. In other words, this one was quickly sold out. Arran (the island’s only distillery, but there were more than 50 of them in the past) is renowned for its special finishes in different barrels of wine or other spirits. But, sometimes, “simplicity” also pays with only “simple” bourbon casks.
Hi everyone!
Here is a little feedback from my last masterclass at the O’Flaherty’s irish pub in Namur on the theme “Whiskeys of the World” (organized by Whiskey-Select). Some options were available for some whiskeys so I will only talk about the ones I’ve tasted (logic eh!). Once again, I would like to thank them all for the explanations provided and the price they asked for!
25 € for 6 glasses including a 5 € voucher for a bottle purchase or a drink in the pub. If you’re in Belgium, do not hesitate to register for the next special tasting “Road of the peat” scheduled for the end of January (well, you have to love peat, necessarily… Otherwise take a good beer, like the McDouglas).
I’ve had the pleasure of participating to a masterclass entirely dedicated to the Teeling distillery. This is the opportunity for me to give you a little return about the whiskeys tasted at this event organized at the O’Flaherty’s (a pub that I highly recommend if you’re spending some time in Namur, Belgium). I already knew the Single Grain and Stout Cask discovered recently and for which tasting notes have already been published on this blog, so i’ll speak about the Brabazon, Small Batch Rum, Revival V (Cognac & Brandy Casks) and the 19-year-old rum bottling for The Nectar 😉
Today I will talk about the Macallan Quest (40%). This whisky, developed for the Macallan travel retail collection, has been aged in 4 different types of casks: old American and European sherry casks, American bourbon casks and small hogsheads. This whisky is a tribute to those people who travel thousands of miles each year in quest of the best casks for their whisky. So, does it worth the trip? :p
The Teeling Stout Cask comes from the marriage between two Irish spirits, the whisky and the famous dark beer. This product was developed in collaboration with the Irish Galway Bay Brewery, one more time we can say that Teeling demonstrates its creativity. This innovative association offers a limited edition (12,000 bottles) announced as being rich in flavors and character. This whisky was aged more than 6 months in casks containing the beer “200 Fathoms Imperial Stout”, and this beer just spent time in… old Teeling bourbon casks! So these casks just come back home with some bonus. Let’s see this! 😀
We’re staying in the Valhalla collection with the 3rd of the name … The Highland Park Freya 😀 This whisky spent 15 years in bourbon casks of first filling. With an alcohol level of 51.2%, this whisky was apparently first planned to be used in a blend before they finally found it too good for this. I was curious to see if this Nordic goddess would bring a feminine and different touch to the collection, let’s discover that 😉
Do you want to discover more of the Valhalla collection from Highland Park? Alright! After Thor, here is the Highland Park Loki 😀 Bottled at the strength of the barrel (48.7%), it is, like the rest of the collection, presented in an elegant wooden box figuring the bow of a viking ship. Is this one as good as his brother? Let’s discover this with the tasting notes!
Here are the tasting notes of one of my favorite bottles, namely the fabulous Highland Park Thor! First whisky from the Valhalla collection, followed by Loki, Freya and Odin (in this order). Highland Park has found the vein to tickle lovers of pretty boxes and, by the way, fans of Nordic mythology. I have to admit that I also bought this box as soon as it was released, without tasting it first… If I have regrets? Only one: not having bought 3 bottles at once.
For your next sunless day, I suggest you to discover a whisky that will brighten your day, the Macduff 33yo by… Macduff. Have to say it’s not the same Macduff as the one from the distillery, maybe they’re from the same family but this one is an independent bottler. Well, we don’t care, there are certainly a lot of Macduff in Scotland. This whisky (47.5%), from the collection “The Golden Cask Reserve”, is a limited edition of 125 bottles and comes from the CM210 cask. Here we go for the tasting notes 😀