The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society

Highland Region – 44.6%ABV – 750ml or 700ml outside of the US (with crystal decanter with 2 cut crystal glasses in a wooden gift box)– $2525.00 | £1400 | €1680

After having tasted the 26yr Glenglassaugh, I could not resist in tasting my sample of their 40yr cask strength whisky (a big, huge, ginormous thanks goes out to Alan for the sample!) – an IWSC trophy winning whisky!

This whisky will be available in the US through Purple Valley Imports (well, through stores who have access to the whiskies they import).  And actually, as I am told to understand, there will only be one bottle allocated to the US for the fair price of $2525.00 (suggested retail price).

You can also get this bottle through Master of Malt and other purveyors of fine spirits in the UK.

I’m not going to blather on any longer, I just need to taste this fancy juice:

On the nose – Youthful nose filled with cherry tarts and fresh citrus notes (think Mineola oranges).

Quince jam – maybe with a bit of strawberry mixed in??

Hot soy latte.

Licorice twists.

Brown sugar oatmeal & fresh oats.

Oaken church pews.

More coffee notes – like lightly roasted, fresh ground beans.

Finally some garlic.

On the mouth – Like liking the inside of a humidor thats got Acid “Liquid” or “Kuba Kuba” cigars (oh, to taste that smell!  Ab-Fab!).

That quince jam from the nose is back and along with it came some gorgeous honey and perhaps some fennel seed.

Cinnamon and indian spices (you name it, it’s in there – wow!).

Finish – The spice remains throughout and a nice fizziness lasts a good long while.

In sum – Ok, my birthday is coming up (sort of).  Remember this date: December 6th!  If you feel so inclined to buy me a bottle of this masterpiece, I thank you.

Truly exquisite.  Layer upon layer of goodness.  Immensely complex and not what I’d expect from a whisky that is older than me (by four years) – youthful yet wise.

One to share with the closest of friends who happen to be whisky geeks/lovers.  One to impress the father-in-law with.

Highland Region – 50%ABV – 750ml (or 700ml outside of the US) – $260 | £150 | €180

After a few days of tasting “spirit drinks”, it’s nice to get onto some actual whisky.  Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed the past three spirits I tasted but, to me, whisky is where it’s at.

Older Glenglassaugh whiskies are, well, old of course, but also very rare and therefore very expensive.  What we have here today, however, is a fairly old Glenglassaugh at a price that’s… not too bad (given the age and rarity of it).  Believe me, I understand $260 | £150 | €180 is A LOT of money for many people (myself included).

Let’s put the money out of our minds for a second and perhaps focus on the whisky itself.  As opposed to their 40yr (that review is forthcoming) and their 30yr expression, this whisky is NOT cask strength.  However, it’s still bottled at the fairly strong ABV of 46%.  Still acceptable, if you ask me (if it were 40%, I may have shuttered a bit but hey, that’s me).

This 26yr old whisky was distilled only 2 years before Glenglassaugh was mothballed back in 1986.  For more history on Glenglassaugh and it’s grand reopening back in 2008, you’ll find links at the bottom of this post to an interview I did with the distillery’s Managing Director, Stuart Nickerson.

Without any further ado, my review:

On the nose – Smells juicy and fruity (think sugared lemonwheels).

Brown paper lunch bags.

Oaky new humidor scent.

The more I nose it, the more prickly on the nose hairs it becomes.

Vanilla and caramels.

More oak but, not over oaked – extremely inviting.

Smoke deep in the background?  Could it be?

On the mouth – Oak and butterscotch.

Buttered cinnamon crumpets (my favorite breakfast treat!).

Such an wonderful balance, very well integrated.

Warmed nuts at a baseball game (on another type of  blog, this statement would mean something quite different).

The mouth feel is pleasant.  Not big and chewy like I prefer but nowhere near like holding water in the mouth.

Finish – Short and nutty with that brown paper bag note I detected in the nose emerging from the palate’s belfry.

In sum – Another celebratory whisky from Glenglassaugh.  Perfect for when the air starts to cool as summer rolls into autumn.  The bottle is both sexy and regal (and can be reused as a decanter).

For Jason of Guid Scotch Drink’s notes, click here.

I recently had the honor and good opportunity to interview Stuart Nickerson (Managing Director of the newly re-opened Glenglassaugh distillery).  If you’ve not yet had a chance to read it, you may want to do so right now. Part 1 & Part 2

Speyside – 47.8%ABV – 750ml – $60-65 | £42 | €51

Balvenie week, Day #5.  The final day in this series (though surely not my final Balvenie!).  A big thanks once again to Sam Simmons (aka Dr. Whisky) for the videos and samples!

The Balvenie 15yr Single Barrel was my first Balvenie ever and currently, my favorite.  I remember the day I bought the bottle as if it were yesterday…

Looking at the storekeepers stock, I had a choice of The Balvenie 12yr DoubleWood for $36 or the 15yr for about $49 (it’s now a good $60-65 bottle of the 15yr these days).  I went into the store with the good intention of buying the DoubleWood but when I saw that I could get 3 more years worth of whisky for only $13, I jumped for it.  It’s sort of silly now that I think about…  I now feel that, for the most part, age doesn’t mean anything.  Taste does.

So, how does this stuff taste?  Well, there are two answers to that question:

A) It tastes damn good (as you’ll see in my notes below)

B) Because this is a single barrel expression, there’s a good chance that every bottle you buy could have come from a different barrel and the fluid could be more than 15yrs old (remember, an age statement with whisk(e)y is a minimum age statement), resulting in a slightly different tasting whisky each time.  This is one of the things I love the most about this Balvenie series – you get something new every time.  It’s like getting the honeymoon period of a romantic relationship in a bottle!  Cool stuff.

On to the video…  At long last (well, not that long.  It’s only been a week), we arrive at the final video of the series.  Today we are featuring Mr. David Stewart.  Yes, the David Stewart.  The man who designs and meticulously selects all of the whiskies for The Balvenie range.  David, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed and for explaining why the Balvenie 15yr is also your favorite Balvenie:

And now my review of The Balvenie 15yr Single Barrel:

On the nose – The higher ABV for this one is dead on.  Good on you, David!

Big bright fruits peaches (in white wine) & cantaloupe.

Marzipan – sharp almond notes.

Thai yellow curry & lightly buttered couscous (even getting some lime leaf here).

And floating on top of it all, those classic Balvenie honeyed notes.

On the mouth – Pure honey and citrus.

Hints of water cured ginger.

A slight brininess to this.

Great mouth feel – thick and sweet but not overly so.

The sweetness is pushed aside and now there a nice tapioca pudding quality to this.

Finish – There’s a fizziness throughout my entire mouth and lingering citrus and honey notes.

A delicious nuttiness returns (reminiscent of the marzipan note from before though, less sharp).

In sum – There’s something so elegant about The Balvenie.  While this is nice enough as an everyday drinker, I can picture myself saving it for a special evening – a nice Shabbat (the Sabbath) dram!  Wait a sec, Shabbat starts tonight!  Also, its my oldest daughter’s 4th birthday.  I think I’ll celebrate both occasions with a little Balvenie 15yr.

L’chayim!

Speyside – 43%ABV – 750ml – $35-40 | £30 | €36

Balvenie week, Day #4.

Alright, we’re coming down the pike here.  Only two days left of The Balvenie week.  I’ve decided to save my favorite Balvenie whiskies for the last two days.

Here, on our fourth day, I am featuring what is quite possibly one of the best bang-for-your-buck whiskies out today.  Full, rich in character and in flavor and… for only $35-$40??  Come on.

There are other bang-for-your-buck whiskies out there and I think that the good folks over at whiskyparty.net do a great job with their top 40 whiskies under $40 series.  Check it out (then come back).

Also, as an aside and with regards to The Balvenie DoubleWood, this whisky was my good friend Gal Granov’s (Whisky Israel) gateway dram.  You can read about it here in this interview with him on chwisgi.com.

As with my other Balvenie Week posts –  before we get to my review of today’s whisky, please sit back and enjoy this exclusive video with a very special employee of The Balvenie (please note that my saying this is not meant to imply that the other Balvenie workers we’ve shown aren’t special) – today’s guest is Dennis McBain, Coppersmith for The Balvenie for nearly 51 years.  You can read more about Dennis here and here.  I am very honored that he agreed to be recorded for this series.  Dennis, thank you.

Now, my review of Dennis’ favorite Bavenie expression, the DoubleWood:

On the nose – A tale of two noses.

Initial few whiffs offer up great (though not overwhelming) sherried notes filled with chocolates & licorice.  

Better yet, chocolate covered licorice (yes, it exists).

Wine soaked raisins.

Right beside these scents I get notes of a full jar of honey and cup of vanilla tea.

Clove laden orange.

On the mouth – Succulent.

Warm.  Warming.

Chewy toffees and warm butter.

Boston baked beans (the candy coated peanuts).

More sugared nuts.

Finish – Baklava.  Walnuts.  Medium length.

In sum – A solid… let me rethink then restate this…  Beyond a “solid” whisky, it’s a must have.

Inexpensive and interesting enough to give to your guests who have the occasional whisky (perhaps this one will turn them into whisky geeks – as mentioned, that’s how it happened for Gal of Whisky Israel), complex enough for the whisky connoisseur, easy enough to be an every day drinker.

Japan – 43%ABV – 750ml –  $80-100 | £60 | €73

I’ll get right to the point here, I loves me some Japanese whisky.  Yamazaki 12yr?  Loved it.  Nikka Yoichi 12yr?  Can I have more?  The Yamazaki Sherry cask?  I will sin for you.  Nikka Yoichi 20yr 1988 vintage?  Sweet fancy Moshe!!

This is the tip of the iceberg.  Here’s my next new love – The Yamazaki 18yr – a fine sherried whisky.

On the nose – Delicious sherried nose. Spicy as all hell with bursts of cinnamon.

Hot pepper peanut butter.

Red grapes and grappa.

Underneath some great notes of prunes.

That high sweet note that I just love from the Yamazaki whiskies.

A salty note is here – celery salt?

Finally, new leather and pipe tobacco.

On the mouth – Chili pepper chocolates.

Crystalized ginger.

Caramels, poached pear (slight).

Fresh lawn mulch.

The mouth feel is so chewylicious….  Not a super winey sherried malt (thank you Suntory!) just, nice.

Finish – Cheyenne peppers and breakfast cereals – Kellogs mini-wheats (sans frosting).

Oak and tobacco.

Lasting & lovely.

In sum – I haven’t met a Yamazaki I haven’t loved.  A finely balanced whisky perfect for the fall time.  Watch the leaves fall, throw on a sweater, get ready for the new year (I’m talking Rosh Hashanah here, folks).