Author: Sean Handley

Arran 18 Year Old

Sean Handley Islands ,
Distillery: Arran
Bottled: 2015, Distilled: 1997
Age: 18 years old
ABV: 46%
Cask: Oloroso Sherry Hogsheads
More Info: WhiskyBase

Here’s the second whisky in the lineup for the Third Arran Tweet Tasting April 2015 – the hotly anticipated Arran 18 Year Old.

Nose: A little leathery, with sweet apple blossom, fresh peaches, juicy pears, white wine, and a sherbety (almost) smoky edge. Vanilla fudge and Highland chewy toffee. A pear strudel emerges. Bananas and salted cashews. Wow.

Palate: Toffee and cinnamon. Runny honey. Barley sugar sweets. A lovely, almost peaty tingle runs through the middle. Mellow fruit notes of tangerines, pineapples and ripe plums.

Finish: Slightly drying with tea leaves, egg custard, dried mangoes and apricots.

Those Oloroso hogsheads, being smaller than those big butts (tee hee!) get more wood contact so they’re imparted some great flavour here.

This is a refined and sexy whisky. Balanced, fruity, and very more-ish. Well worth the £72.99 asking price on the distillery website.

Next is an exclusive premium single Bourbon cask bottling…

The tweet tastings organised by Steve Rush are a lot of fun. Get involved over at www.thewhiskywire.com

Arran Sauternes Cask Finish

Sean Handley Islands ,
Distillery: Arran
Bottled: 2014
ABV: 50.0%
Cask: Ex-Bourbon, finished in Sauternes wine
More Info: WhiskyBase

Here’s the first whisky in the lineup for the Third Arran Tweet Tasting April 2015 – the Sauternes finish.

Nose: Glacé cherries, salty caramel wafers and cream. Sweet meadowy notes – grass, flowers and pollen. Bit of a meaty, sulphurous note in there too. Spicy gingerbread. Wet raspberries and melon rind. A bit musty too. Anti perspirant, but in a good way.

Palate: Cold black coffee and chocolate. Orange hard boiled sweets. Lovely luscious oily mouthfeel on this. Golden delicious apples, grapes, and sultanas.

Finish: Dry tobacco, leaf litter and slightly ashy.

I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a Summer whisky but this is definitely it! Sweet, floral, luscious and mouthwatering. A perfect dram to enjoy in the recent bout of sunshine we’ve had in the UK.

Next is the hotly anticipated Arran 18 Year Old…

The tweet tastings organised by Steve Rush are a lot of fun. Get involved over at www.thewhiskywire.com

Bowmore 16 (Old Particular)

Sean Handley Islay
Distillery: Bowmore
Bottled: 2014, Distilled: 1998
Age: 16 years old
Cask #: DL10448
Bottler: Douglas Laing
ABV: 48.4%
Cask: Refill Hogshead
More Info: WhiskyBase

Here’s the second in a set of three Old Particular whiskies from one of the great indy distillers, Douglas Laing. Each bottling of the series is from a single cask so number of bottles available are quite limited.

16 years old is a good age for Bowmore. Oh heck, any age is a good age for Bowmore! But I’ve generally had good experiences with teenagers from the distillery so I have high expectations here…

Nose: Shoe leather, clean and crisp. Crystalline pear sugar. Ripe juicy plums, tangerine syrup and sliced guava. An edge of chalky, salty minerality.

Palate: Fruity smoke and spice with Signature Bowmore parma violets. Pineapples and pears. Salty chilli chocolate. Seville Marmalade.

Finish: Chalky and perfumed with a tingly smoke tang.

Cracking fruity notes in this one with that gentle salty peat smoke and sweet-shop edge so typical to Islay’s oldest working distillery. At £91 I’d say this a solid cask strength expression. I don’t know if it’s old enough to be branded “Old Particular”, but it’s definitely got maturity and character.

Next time, I’ll be trying the Bunnahabhain 17…

You can get samples (and bottles) of the Old Particular range from www.MasterOfMalt.com.

Ardbeg Batch 5 (TBWC)

Sean Handley Islay , ,
Distillery: Ardbeg
Bottler: Master of Malt
ABV: 47.5%
Bottles: 23
More Info: Master Of Malt

Oh my.

It’s always fun to sample an interesting Ardbeg. This time it’s another batch from the chaps at Master of Malt.

Their Boutique-y whiskies are from mystery casks bottled independently and adorned with clever cartoon labels, usually depicting an in-joke of the whisky world. Sadly they keep the details (including the age) to themselves, but the whisky in the bottle is usually of a high standard and full of character.

Much as I love them, this should be quite a departure from the current core Ardbeg expressions…

Nose: The smell fills the room! There’s that distinctive Ardbeg coal tar (though it’s a fair bit more restrained than in Ardbeg 10), rubber shoe soles, candle wax, lemon cough drops, eucalyptus, pineapple chunks, rock salt, and fresh boot polish. With time, more delicate notes of wild flowers and dry grass.

Palate: Sooty and sweet! Quite creamy, cereal-rich, and malty to start. Then bakery notes of gingerbread, spiced treacle, and malt loaf developing into soft fruit, dark coffee and chocolate fudge, all against a backdrop of gentle sticky peat.

Finish: Salty smoke and hazelnuts with dry liquorice root, damp wood and earthy peat.

This is fucking classy. Like a really excellent dessert course after a posh meal. A fine mix of smoke and dark, rich cake in a glass. Pretty much exactly what I wanted from this dram – all those lovely Ardbeg characteristics but toned down with subtlety and elegance and some fun bonus notes along the way.

I wish MoM would tell us more about this batch but that’s just not the way they roll when it comes to Boutique-y Whisky. It’s certainly tastes like it’s a decent age. I’m guessing it’s at least 18, though that’s pure speculation on my part…

If you’re an Ardbeg lover, I’m afraid all 23 bottles are now gone but there’s still some samples left as I write this. £19.45 isn’t such a bad price for a sample, and I’m sure you’d be asked to pay that for a glass of Haig club on a night out in London anyway.

Ben Nevis 18 (Old Particular)

Sean Handley Highlands
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottled: 2014, Distilled: 1996
Age: 18 years old
Cask #: 10415
Bottler: Douglas Laing
ABV: 48.4%
Cask: Refill Hogshead
More Info: WhiskyBase

Here’s the first in a set of three Old Particular whiskies from one of the great indy distillers, Douglas Laing. Each bottling of the series is from a single cask so number of bottles available are quite limited.

Ben Nevis is a distillery I don’t often come across on my travels. I love the area, particularly following the A82 up past Ben Nevis and through Glencoe. I can’t really imagine a more picturesque place for distilling (or drinking) whisky.

Let’s see what the liquid’s like…

Nose: Boiled sweets and dessert apples with mint leaves. There’s a faint whiff of rubber, chalk, and menthol cigarettes. Takes me right back to my school days…

Palate: Pear juice and plums in custard with a rising taste of Cayenne pepper and ash.

Finish: Bitter grapefruit and a touch more menthol.

Great nose on this, but the finish spoils the experience a bit. It starts well and then falls flat into a wall of bitterness on the tongue.

Hey ho. This is part of the thrill of drinking single-cask whisky! Next in the series is the Bowmore 16…

You can get samples (and bottles) of the Old Particular range from www.MasterOfMalt.com.

Springbank 12 Cask Strength 2015

Sean Handley Campbeltown
Distillery: Springbank
Bottled: 2014
Age: 12 years old
ABV: 53.2%
Cask: 70% Sherry 30% Bourbon
More Info: WhiskyBase

I have to say, I’m struggling to find a Springbank expression (official or independent) that I don’t like. Always loads of solid coastal smoke notes without being overly maritime or medicinal plus a few unusual hints of other things for good measure.

I’m an Islay man, when it comes to whisky, but those Campbeltown distillers are doing an excellent job turning my head…

Nose: Leathery and damp with coastal salt and rocks aplenty. Dry moss, nettles, salty lime skin (possibly with tequila?). A soothing waft of warm butter with dry wood smoke.

Palate: Oily, malty, and salty with sweet dark honey and spicy smoke rising. Mulled spices and chilli peppers. Big Red cinnamon chewing gum.

Finish: Spiced Maple syrup and black pepper.

Another winner for my money, and excellent value to boot. All the oily coastal smoke but with plenty of other notes giving it depth and interest.

This year’s Springbank 12 Cask Strength is available on Abbey Whisky for £45.50 – bargain!

Glendronach 15 Revival

Sean Handley Highlands
Distillery: Glendronach
Bottled: 2009
Age: 15 years old
ABV: 46%
Cask: Oloroso Sherry
More Info: WhiskyBase

Glendronach’s got a great name in whisky these days for being a superb sherried dram. Having sampled a couple at various tasting events, I can definitely see what people are making a fuss of.

The distillery was rebooted (along with Glenglaussaugh) by Benriach in 2008. As a result, you’ll tend to see all three whiskies together at festivals.

Tonight I’m tasting the Revival, a flagship dram to mark the reboot. Aged a full fifteen years in Oloroso sherry, this is a dram for people who like a sherry bomb.

Nose: Sticky figs and dates, tea leaves, dry Summer hay, dusty wood, rich barley cereal, cumin, and a touch of mineral saltiness.

Palate: Luscious mouth-coating sherry with barbecued banana, orange boiled sweets, red grapes, molasses and sultanas.

Finish: Slightly drying with toasted oak, black pepper and a tingling tobacco smokiness.

Mmmm. The mild smokiness really works for this dram. It’s like someone lit a Cuban, dipped it in a glass of Oloroso, and somehow created a whisky.

Fiercely drinkable, this.

Kilchoman Oloroso 2009 (Single Cask 422)

Sean Handley Islay
Distillery: Kilchoman
Bottled: 2015, Distilled: 2009
ABV: 59.2%
Cask: Oloroso Sherry Casks
More Info: WhiskyBase

Here’s the sixth and final dram from the Manchester Whisky Club’s tasting with Kilchoman, the Single Cask Oloroso 2009.

Nose: Sesame seed, caramel wafers, coal tar, plasticine, marzipan, plum sauce.

Palate: Sweet and syrupy with tangy cough drops, cola, orange zest, and tingly sour smoke.

Finish: Long and smoky with plenty of earth and tar. Reminiscent of Ardbeg.

Staggeringly good for a 5 year old. This one really made the night for a lot of the club members. Wow!

This cask (422) will be bottled and released in Belgium but we have it on good authority there’s a similar release due for the UK market. Here’s hoping…

Originally posted on Manchester Whisky Club.

NOTE: The info link is for a different (but very similar) single cask bottling.

Kilchoman Port Cask

Sean Handley Islay
Distillery: Kilchoman
Bottled: 2014, Distilled: 2011
ABV: 59%
Bottles: 6000
Cask: Ruby Port Casks
More Info: WhiskyBase

Here’s the fifth dram from the Manchester Whisky Club’s tasting with Kilchoman, the Port Cask. This was released last year and sold out very quickly indeed. The original release was watered to 55%, but we’re very luck to be trying an original cask sample at 59%!

Nose: Smoked cheese with brandied cherries. Musty dunnage warehouse. Barley grain.

Palate: Fizzy sour strawberry laces, with tart raspberry, soft grape, and a Lapsang Souchoung smoke running through.

Finish: Drying with chewy peat and savoury oak.

The distillery started with 20 fresh 1st-fill port casks back in 2011 and filled them with spirit straight away to capture the flavour. At 3 years old they decided to release it because the port was having such a strong influence on the whisky. Any longer and it’d have looked like Ribena!

The colour on this is amazing – you almost never see a whisky of this hue. After time in sherry it darkens but almost never to this pinky/reddish colour.

It’s an interesting dram, for sure, but it’s quite a departure from what you’d expect from a whisky. The port influence has given it a lot of soft-fruit notes which are pleasant and refreshing but they’re kind of fighting against the peatiness of the whisky.

A really interesting one to try, nonetheless.

Originally posted on Manchester Whisky Club.

Kilchoman Original Cask Strength

Sean Handley Islay
Distillery: Kilchoman
Bottled: 2014, Distilled: 2009
ABV: 59.2%
Cask: 1st Fill Bourbon
More Info: WhiskyBase

Here’s the fourth dram from the Manchester Whisky Club’s tasting with Kilchoman, the Original Cask Strength.

Nose: Wood spice, candy, liqourice, hay, farmyard, salty rocks, herby vegetation and dry straw.

Palate: Oily and sweet. Vanilla, peated custard with cinnamon. A little bit of seaweed. Peat rises to become salty and dry.

Finish: Long and warming with savoury smoke, oak, and salt.

This was released October 2014 round about the time of the London Whisky Show. A limited release, this was produced with 35 fresh first fill Bourbon casks and bottled aged five years.

Of all the line-up, this for me is the most typically Islay with that fierce cask strength adding an oily and more-ish quality and some more pronounced coastal notes than the others.

Originally posted on Manchester Whisky Club.