Highlands region – 57.1%ABV – 750ml bottle – $65-75 | £52 | €63

Do you think you know Glenmorangie?  Perhaps you knew Glenmorangie but, man-o-maneschewitz, things have changed.  Today’s Glenmo is not your daddy’s Glenmo.

Whether is the Signet, Nectar D’or (Sauternes finish), The Traditional (not a standard in their new line up but a damn good whisky), Sonnalta PX, The Quarter Century… we sure as shite can’t discount their  “Original” Ten year or Quinta Ruban (Port finish) – Glenmorangie has kicked it up a notch (many, many notches).

I find their line to be so refreshing, different, complex as all heck and just… well, wonderful.

So again — Hi, My name is Joshua and I am a Glenmorangie devotee. (“Hi Joshua”).

Let’s see how this expressions fairs with the others I’ve mentioned and lined to:

On the nose – Loads of Mexican vanilla extract.

Wisps of strawberry.

Tangerines.

Spice, spice, spice.

A bowl full of lemons (you know what to do with a bowl full of lemons, right?).

A strong backbone of oak.

Some malt notes (I guess you should expect such a thing from Scotch malt whisky).

With a touch of water, some brighter and different fruits come out: pineapple and unripened pears.

On the mouth – Big creamy vanilla attack.

Made my mouth water uncontrollably.  I haven’t drooled in a while but… wow.

Citrus notes for sure.

Warmed peaches and cream.

With the addition of water the creaminess goes away (unfortunately) but a stronger spiciness comes out.

Finish – Malt, toffee and pure hot firey alcohol.

In sum – New wood goodness.  This is a big, strong, in your face yet strangely lighter style of whisky.  I’m not sure about this one.  Oh, it’s a nice whisky.  A really nice whisky; don’t get me wrong here.  It’s just I’m not quite sure of where in the Mood-And-Season-O-Meter™ it fits.  I would reach for this in the dead of winter for sure (due to the high-octane quality of this whisky).  However, it’s very light in style – something you think would be great for the summer time…  Hmmm, I’ll let you decide.

So, this is it.  My final “Rick’s Mystery Dram”.  It’s been a fun, fun time and I am thankful to Rick for A) sending me the samples and B) taking out the time to build this series for me and working with me on it C) opening up my eyes (and hopefully your eyes) to some fine American whiskeys!

As I mentioned in the 3rd post for this “Rick’s Mystery Dram” Series, I’ve decided to make this a wee bit more interesting by sending out a mystery dram to the correct guesser of the week’s mystery dram or, if there has been no correct guess, the sample goes to a commenter (randomly chosen).  Last week, “Shai Gilboa” won the mystery dram – congrats Shai!

Details on how to win a mystery dram sample (which will be Scotch or American whisk(e)y, your choice) are listed below, after the review.

Review time (and yes, it’s an American whiskey)!

On the nose – Strong spirity nose!

Obvious wood influence here in the form of a heavily charred barrel – I’m assuming.

This whiskey, by the way, is a very deep & dark amber color.

Underneath all of that hot spirit is some buttered cinnamon swirl toast.

A boat load of vanilla.

On the mouth – Big, huge heat but all of the flavor is here.

Lush cinnamon buns (frosting and all).

Old wood – reminds me of attic wood (old but slightly dampened with the humidity of summer).

Finish – Long and hot like a like a [insert a porn star's name here] movie.

In sum – Big hot bourbony fury that I think would be well suited as a slow summery sipper.

The clues –

• Big hot spirity nose & palate – High ABV!  Barrel strength.
• Full flavored – even with all the spirit heat – this is a full flavored, big sweet bourbon.
• Lots of wood influence – heavy charred barrels and, perhaps, some age(?).

JMSWS antes up!

For those who attempt to guess – each week I will be sending out one mystery dram (a small 5cl bottle) and the first person guesses correctly wins the dram.  Actually, if there are no correct guesses for the week then a winner will be chosen at random.  You win whether your right or not (like a weatherperson – right or not, s/he still has a job)!

So again, I will be awarding a free whisk(e)y sample every week to one lucky winner (whether you guess correctly or not).

How do I enter to win you ask?

Easy, comment on this post with what you think the mystery dram of the week may be.  It’s that simple.

I will let you choose the type of mystery dram — Scotch or American Whiskey (though that’s all you’ll know about it).  And if you’d like, you can send me your tasting notes and I’ll post them for my readers to guess at.  If you’d prefer the blind tasting to be between just you and me… that’s cool too.

For previous “Rick’s Mystery Dram” entries :

Here’s Mystery Dram #1 (which ended up being Parker’s Heritage First Edition)

Here’s Mystery Dram #2 (which ended up being Parker’s Heritage Golden Anniversary)

Here’s Mystery Dram #3 (which ended up being Evan Williams Single Barrel, 2000 vintage, barrel # 234)

Here’s Mystery Dram #4 (which ended up being Tonala 4 year Anejo tequila)

Here’s Mystery Dram #5 (which ended up being Wild Turkey Russell’s Reserve, 10 year)

Here’s Mystery Dram #7 (remember, there was no #6 dram.  #7 ended up being Jefferson’s Presidential Select, 17 year, batch #3)

Here’s Mystery Dram #8 (#8 ended up being Sazerac Rye 18yr which, by the way, completely threw me off.  Not what I was expecting from a rye whiskey.  I liked it anyway.)

Here’s Mystery Dram #9 (#9 ended up being Thomas H. Handy Sazerac which, by the way, was correctly guessed by Matt L!!  Congrats Matt – great job!)

Here’s Mystery Dram #10 (#10 ended up being Eagle Rare 17 year)

Islay region – 63.5%ABV – 700ml bottle (not available through US stores) – £49 | €58

E=MC2 | a2 + b2 = c2 | ei∏ = -1 | Ax = b <—– what does it all mean?  Perhaps Bruichladdich’s X4+3 can help us solve problems such as these (or at least get us tipsy enough so as we just don’t give a rat tuckas about it…).

The Bruichladdich X4+3 is a damn interesting… whisky?  Hmmm, let’s see.

Ok, before I begin, please know that I am not one for the technicalities.  Actually, scratch that.  I LOVE geeking out on all of the technical ins-and-outs of…pretty much anything, but, ESPECIALLY whisky (oh yeah, and guitar effects pedals).  I just don’t like writing on these subjects.  Too many damn words.  I will, however, try to summarize some techy stuff for you and hope that I get it all right[ish].

Most whiskies (be they Scotch, American, Japanese, Welsh, Swedish, etc, etc…) are distilled twice, two and a half times or three times.  That’s just how it is folks.  Almost all Scotch whisky is distilled twice (The Campbeltown whisky “Springbank” is distilled 2.5 times and Hazelburn distills 3 times).  The Irish, for the most part distill 3 times and it’s a bit of a mixture here in the US.

The good folks over at Bruichladdich thought that they’d go and one-up everyone by quadruple distilling their spirit (unpeated spirit) then age it for 3 years in both ex-bourbon and French oak barrels.

So, 4x distilled, aged three years (X4+3… get it?  Good.).

On top of this, the spirit that goes into the barrels is corked at 90%ABV (feck!).  The average is in the 60′s (63.5 – 67% – average.  Though, some may say otherwise).

Is this the best example of “mine is bigger than yours” or what?

Truth be told, this process is nothing new and the Bruich’laddies are not trying to one-up anybody.  This process of quadruple distilling goes back hundreds of years but has not been mimicked until present date.  The earliest mention of it was back in 1695 by Martin Martin.  He explained the drinking of this type of spirit as such: “…The first taste affect all the members of the body.  Two spoonfuls of this last liquor is a sufficient dose; and if ANY man should exceed this, it would presently stop his breath and endanger his life.”

G-d, I’m getting thirsty!

So, is this or is this not whisky?  Re-cap: traditional whisky is 2-3 times distilled, poured into barrels at 63.5% ABV.  The X4+3 is quadruple distilled and poured into barrels at 90%ABV…

Eh, screw it.  Let’s just taste this stuff.

On the nose – Powerfully strong and filled with limes, grapefruit, strawberries and rocket fuel.

I’m actually getting some grape lollypops and cranberry juice here.

Not as chemically as I expected but powerfully spirited!  Candied fruits.

With water — Peppery (think scotch bonnet – sweet and feckin’ hot as $hit), gooseberries, toy model glue.

On the mouth – Bent plastic superheroes, He-man toys and Transformers (More Than Meets The Eye™).

**Loads** of poached pears with touch of cinnamon.

With water — All of the focus is on those poached pears.  Straight forward but now getting duo-dimensional as some malty notes reared their head(s).

I liked it more without water when I got those plasticy notes along-side the pear notes.

Great mouth feel with water.

Finish – The first three layers of skin in my mouth have been removed but, I’m cool with that.

In sum – This is one to bring out to parties to say, “Hey guys/gals… check this out!”.  It’s beats huffing glue, that’s for sure!

All joking aside, I would never reach for this.  However, the X4+3 is a damn interesting dram and one that may work quite well with the mixologists out there (what, with all the fruits and high alcohol content).  Also, kudos to Bruichladdich for doing something that has not been done for centuries, bottling it and marketing it.  That’s brass balls baby!

Breaking news!!! This just came across my desk here at The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society HQ:

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Glenmorangie, Scotland’s Favorite Single Malt

Scotch Announces OU KOSHER CERTIFICATION

New York, June 08, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — The Glenmorangie Company and Moët Hennessy USA are proud to announce that Glenmorangie Original, Scotland’s favorite single malt Scotch whisky, has become kosher-certified by the Orthodox Union (OU), the world’s largest and most respected kosher certification agency. Additionally, its pioneering new expression, Glenmorangie Astar, has also become kosher-certified. Glenmorangie’s sister distillery, Ardbeg has also received OU Kosher certification for its Ardbeg 10yr old expression.

New packaging and promotional materials bearing the “OU” symbol will be distributed nationwide over the next few months.

“At Glenmorangie we take great pride in producing Scotland’s favorite single malt whisky, using the finest Scottish barley and hand selected American white oak casks of only the highest quality. The OU kosher certification will bring our iconic brand to an entirely new consumer base that can now enjoy our products,” Brian Cox, Glenmorangie U.S. Brand Director.

The Orthodox Union rigorously monitors all aspects of production. It supervises the process by which the whisky is created, examines the raw ingredients used to make Glenmorangie and regularly inspects the distilling and bottling facilities to make sure that its standards are met.

“We are very pleased to have Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch Whisky become the first major single malt scotch brand to attain OU certification. It was also gratifying for OU to guide the Glenmorangie Company through the certification process and bring this famous single malt brand to the growing kosher market place,” remarked Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, OU Kosher Vice President of Communications and Marketing. “It was rewarding for OU Kosher’s team, headed by Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz and Dr. Avraham Meyer, to collaborate with the Glenmorangie team to bring these renowned products to an ever-growing kosher market place.”

For further information, please e-mail David Blackmore, Glenmorangie U.S. Communications Manager, at glenmorangiepr@mme.net.

PRODUCT NOTES

Glenmorangie Original, is bottled at a strength of 43% ABV and chill-filtered, to enhance the smooth but complex flavors. It is aged for a minimum of ten years in superior quality American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels, made from forests carefully and sustainably managed for the Glenmorangie Company. These casks are filled with the Glenmorangie spirit, distilled to an unparalleled level of complexity, aroma and smoothness in the tallest copper-pot stills in all of Scotland. The result is a smooth yet complex malt whisky, revered and rewarded across the globe for generations. Glenmorangie Original consistently outscores its direct competition, scoring 94 points for the past 6 years in “The Whisky Bible”. Jim Murray, the author of the Whisky Bible and world renowned whisky expert describes Glenmorangie Original as “Complexity at its most complex.”

Glenmorangie Astar, is one of the newest expressions from the famed Glenmorangie Distillery, and is the first whisky in the world to be matured in ‘designer casks’ sourced from selected, air seasoned, slow-growth American white oak.

The creation of Astar began in 1985 and is the brainchild of Dr. Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s Head of Distilling and Whisky Creation. The wood used to mature the whisky is carefully selected, slow-growth, fine-grained American white oak, found specifically in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. The wooden ‘staves’ crafted from the oak is left in the open air to season for at least 24 months. This long wait, coupled with the wood’s inherent porosity, allows the white oak wood to breath and soften, adding the first elements of flavor that will contribute to the final spirit. The staves are ‘coopered’ into oak casks and toasted to contribute further flavors of almond and coconut. The casks are then filled with Tennessee whiskey and set aside to mature for four years, smoothing out any rawness in the wood, and at the same time releasing luscious undertones of vanilla.

These ‘designer casks’ are then ready to be emptied and shipped to the Glenmorangie Distillery in Tain, to be filled with Glenmorangie’s renowned, delicate and complex spirit, uniquely derived from Scotland’s tallest stills. The casks are finally laid down for many years in dark, cool, earth-floored warehouses for a long, slow maturation. Glenmorangie Astar is bottled at 114.2 proof, 57.1% ABV which represents the whisky in its most natural form, and allows the drinker to explore the fullest spectrum of aroma, texture and flavors.

Dr. Bill Lumsden comments:
“At Glenmorangie we are particular. We believe up to 60% of the flavor of the whisky comes from the wood and our quest for the very best wood is unparalleled. It is difficult to sum up years of passion and commitment! But I would describe Glenmorangie Astar as everything a single malt should be – it is the result of an incredible journey: the pursuit of perfection.”

ABOUT GLENMORANGIE

Glenmorangie originates in the Scottish Highlands where, at the Glenmorangie Distillery, it is distilled in the tallest malt whisky stills in Scotland, expertly matured in the finest oak casks, and perfected by the 16 Men of Tain. The distillery was founded in 1843 and is renowned as a pioneer in its fields, uniting tradition with innovation. Most recently, at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Glenmorangie was awarded the prestigious title of ‘Distillery of the Year’.

Today, the company is one of the most renowned and innovative distillers and marketers of Scotch whisky brands worldwide and is part of Moët Hennessy, the wine and spirits division of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH). Headquartered near Edinburgh, Scotland, the company produces two main single malt brands – Glenmorangie Single Highland Malt Whisky and Ardbeg Single Islay Malt.

ABOUT THE ORTHODOX UNION

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, represents the fastest growing segment in Jewish life. The OU is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA (Institute of Public Affairs), and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher certification label, the OU, is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 400,000 products manufactured in 80 countries around the globe.

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Great news, right!?  How very smart of The Glenmorangie Company and Moët Hennessy USA to move forward with certifying these three great, staple Scotch whisky products.

I have come up with a couple of new logos which both Ardbeg and Glenmorangie are free to use (no royalty payments required!):

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 70.9%ABV – 750ml bottle – $55-90 for the 2009 release | £95 | €107

There’s an old saying I once heard…  a saying that has stuck with me throughout most of my young adult and current years.  We all have these, right?  A saying or phrase; something that, in certain situations just comes to you right off the bat because when you first heard it, it struck a chord.  These sayings become a part of you for good or for ill.  That’s just how it is.

When I first sipped this bourbon, at 70.9% alcohol, without water, all I could say… all that would come forth from my mouth was:

“That’s hotter than a whore in heat!!”

And Man-o-Maneschewitz, if this stuff did not burn the top layer of skin off of the roof of my mouth – Whooo-eeee!

A quick summary as to what it was like without water (then I will continue my review with the addition of water, trying to bring it down to about 55% (a big thank you to Jeff, the Scotch Hobbyist, for his ABV calculator iPhone app!))

To nose it was like sniffing a sugar fire or perhaps a small burning pile of spiced gum drops.  To taste it was a bit different.  Yes, it burned like all hell but it was so lip smacking and sweet; quite spicy too – made me pucker.  Like a delicious cinnamon bun sitting atop a burning stern-o can.  The finish was L.O.N.G. Long! But full of ripe bananas (flambe perhaps??) and sugared vanilla and oak.

OK, now I must go on with the 55%ABV review.  It’s just way too hot to drink without water (go ahead, call me chicken, I don’t care).

On the nose – Pipe tobacco and fresh grass, nutmeg, cinnamon and pizza spices (think oregano – so odd!), banana peel comes though, much easier to nose at this ABV.  I don’t want to stop nosing.  It’s both inspiring and imposing, pleasant and brash.

On the mouth – Still hot.  Much hotter than the nose.  The palate flavors are a near mirror image of what I got on the nose.  How cool is that!?  There’s an addition of some citrus notes though and the banana is more prominent here.

Finish – Lingering, all burny and stuff… lots of spice and the oregano comes back but it’s very sweet, not so savory.

In sum – Fuck me!  This is some good stuff that makes you slap your leg and say wow!  This is such an American drink.  In your face and unapologetic.  If I could put a name or personality to this drink it would be Eminem.  

This bourbon whiskey just doesn’t give a rat’s ass.  It is what it is.  If you like it, cool, then you get it and love it.  If it’s not up your alley, this whiskey will give you the finger and tell you to fuck off.

Sorry for all the potty-words but, try this whiskey and you’ll see that you too will be swearing like the dickens and calling your mother names! (Mom, if you’re reading this, I never called you any bad names.  Promise.)

A special thanks goes out to JH for the sample!!

Lastly, in up-coming news –

I will have two field trip posts going up with in the next two to three days!  One for Whisky Live NYC which I attended last week.  Another for a tour of a newer boutique whiskey distillery!!  Stay tuned!!