Bakery Hill Cask Strength Peated Malt

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NAS, 60% ABV, American Oak, Victoria, Australia 

I recently exchanged a number of emails with the friendly and helpful people at Dram Fine Whiskies in Melbourne Australia. A week or so later I was genuinely excited when a small box arrived from them with a few samples of some great Australian single malts that I hadn’t tried – this Bakery Hill was one of them.

Bakery Hill

Bakery Hill distillery started in 1999 in Victoria, Australia. Fast forward 14 or 15 years and they now produce six or seven different single malt whiskies, along with a Vodka and a Gin.

Did you know… 

Bakery Hill originally tested out their peated malt whisky using imported malt from the UK, before switching to Australian peated malt in 2005.

Nose 

Big sweet alcohol spirit nose.  You know it’s cask strength, but it’s still somehow soft and a bit mild.  I get hints of malty cereal notes and really soft peat in the background.

Add a few drops of water and the nose really opens up with some light creamy vanilla notes, sweet oak and light peat smoke.  Much better!

Palate

A big smack in the mouth of oily, viscous spicy sweetness. Really light fruit notes – almost a bit sour – hints of smoke, spice and oak.

Some water brings out a nice creamy sweetness and highlights those fruit notes a bit more. It also allows the peat to show through, bringing with it a somewhat drying nutty oaky-ness.

Finish

Wave after wave of warmth (really though, that’s kind of what you expect for a 60% ABV heavy weight) The warmth gives way to some earthy drying peat notes.

Water tames the finish, only ever so slightly though. Warming spice, earthy peat and a slight dark cocoa/oak bitterness right at the back.

Comments

When I saw the words ‘peated malt’ I was expecting something a lot more in your face, but this was somewhat delicate, especially as far as the peat is concerned.

I could be wrong, but I’m guessing this batch is post 2005 (when they started using Australian peat). It seems to have a drying earthiness to it, similar to a Speyside peated whisky, like a peated BenRiach. It’s quite different to the Isaly peat we’re most familiar with.

Some people like their cask strength whiskies neat (and some cask strengths actually taste better neat), but I think this one really benefits from a few drops of water – that’s when it really opened up for me. I suspect this is fairly young, but it’s got some great flavour going on, so I would love to see something older from Bakery Hill in the future!

A big thanks to Shaun from Dram Fine Whiskies in Melbourne for the sample.

The Glenlivet 18 year old

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18 years old, 43% ABV, American & European Oak, Speyside, Scotland 

One of the first single malts I ever owned was The Glenlivet 18 year old. A few years back I had family travelling through London and they knew I had a thing for whisky. They kindly picked up a bottle for me, opting for something they’d heard of, so I was pretty chuffed when this arrived.

Glenlivet 18

One thing you note when you pick up this bottle is how solid it is. The box is made of sturdy matte-finished card and the bottle of heavy glass – complete with a thick base reminiscent of a quality whisky tumbler.

Glenlivet 18 box

The rear of the box has a few paragraphs on the founding history of The Glenlivet (not shown), along with these tasting notes. I’m not sure I agree with all of the notes, but they’re a nice touch and it’s fun to have something to compare against.

Glenlivet thistle

The Glenlivet thistle motif (I’m pretty sure it’s a thistle) can be found in numerous places on the bottle and packaging. I’ve contacted The Glenlivet to try and find out its significance, but nothing to report just yet.

Did you know… 

To protect their stocks from the risk of fire, The Glenlivet store their maturing casks – they currently have over 65,000 – in a number of different locations all over Scotland.

Nose 

Quite a soft nose with hints of apples, pears and really muted sherry notes. There are some floral notes hidden in there and traces of spice. I also get an intriguing sourness, almost like a sour apple candy or maybe apple cider vinegar.

After a good 15 to 20 minutes in the glass the nose shows some mildly sweet notes to go along with the sourness (reminds me of a Fino sherry).

Palate

Starts with an oily, tongue coating mouth feel of soft fruit sweetness which gives way to some spice. I got some bitter nutty notes in the background, almost like citrus peel and almonds. Quite a nice balance between sweet, sour and spice.

Finish

A mid length finish with some throat warmth, lingering creamy mouth feel (from the American Oak I suspect) and a drying oak bitterness with hints of spice.

Comments

After I received this bottle I went on to buy other things and so it remained unopened for quite a while. Looking back on it, that was probably a good thing as I don’t know I would have fully appreciated it straight away.

Despite the liquid amber-ish colour which suggests a noticeable sherry influence, I found The Glenlivet 18 year old to be a rather light and delicate whisky, with a surprisingly complex nose.

Lagavulin 16 year old

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16 years old, 43% ABV, Islay, Scotland

My first encounter with the Lagavulin 16 year old was at the end of a memorable meal at a great little Spanish restaurant called MoVida.

A week went by and I couldn’t shake the thought of that intriguingly smokey-sweet dram I’d had, so I soon found myself at a local bottle shop purchasing my first Islay whisky.

Lagavulin 16

Although the Lagavulin bottle shape is shared with a number of Diageo’s other single malts (such as Caol Ila, Talisker, Cragganmore and Royal Lochnager), the green tinted glass and two-piece parchment style label go a long way to making it stand out as unique.

Lagavulin 16 closure

After peeling back the foil there’s a seal over the top of the cork which is a nice touch – a hangover from the pre-foil days I suspect. I’ve contacted Lagavulin to try and find out the significance of this little lion character, but have had no luck as of yet.

Did you know… 

The barley used for Lagavulin is produced at Port Ellen Maltings.

A common misconception is that the germinating barley is dried over a peat fire. At Port Ellen Maltings the barley is dried using hot air produced by oil burners and the peat fire underneath the kiln is only there to impart the smokiness we associate with some of the great Islay whiskies.

If you’ve got 10 minutes to spare, this great video gives you a behind the scenes look at Port Ellen Maltings.

Nose 

Waves of organic peat smoke – Think salty smoke notes, with ash and some sweetness. There’s a really nice balance between the three S’s – smoke, sweetness and salt – with none of the three completely dominating the nose.

Friends and family have used terms like ‘industrial, old oil lamp and mechanics workshop’ to describe the nose on this! Probably not far off, but it’s much more refined and alluring than those terms suggest.

Palate 

Initially quite oily with some sweetness at the front of the tongue. This is followed by a wave of salty saline notes, peat or ash and some warm prickling, not necessarily from the alcohol though. I almost feel as though it’s the kind of tongue prickling burn you get from something heavily cured or brined.

Finish

Residual sweetness, really light menthol notes and waves of peat smoke every time you exhale. That wonderful peat smoke fades to lingering salty finish with some faint bitter notes.

Overall 

A newly opened Lagavulin 16 hits you with waves and waves of smoke, fresh out of the bottle. I found that pure smoky magic faded rather quickly once the bottle had been opened for a few months, but at the same time it has matured a fair amount and has a lovely balance to it.

Make no mistake, you can still smell this one from the coffee table once you’ve poured a dram and sat back in your chair!

A very whisky Christmas – update

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They’re finished and not a day too soon!

Whisky tasting set

Each little pack contains a Glencairn glass, a water pipette, notes and tasting instructions (written by yours truly) and six 25ml samples.

The notes start by explaining whisky basics, blends vs. single malts, how whisky’s produced, the use of peat, the different casks and what happens during maturation. Using whiskies I had on hand, I wanted to try and take each taster on a little journey and really highlight how diverse whisky can be, so I settled on the following:

  • The Glenlivet 12 year old
  • The Macallan 12 year old sherry oak
  • Aberlour 16 year old double cask
  • Glendronach 2002 10 year old single cask
  • Highland Park 12 year old
  • Laphroaig Quarter Cask.

I think there’s enough variation in there for anyone to be able to pick up on some of the differences – from the honeyed vanilla and sometimes floral notes of a bourbon cask, to the rich raisin and spice notes of European sherry oak all the way to the intense smokiness of peat. Hopefully they each find something they like!

Whiskyleaks: The Balvenie 15 year old

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Are you a fan of this little number?

Whiskyleaks

I am, which is why I’m putting this news out there – sort of like a public service announcement for The Balvenie fans.

After hearing a few different rumours about the future of The Balvenie 15 year old single barrel, I recently had the chance to set the record straight. The chance presented itself when Dr Sam Simmons (The Balvenie’s Global Brand Ambassador) was in town holding a series of tasting events and it went a little something like this:

Sam: ‘C’mon guys, I was told you would have some really good questions for me!?’

The Whisky Ledger: ‘Alright then, here’s one for you. I’ve heard that the 15 year old is being discontinued and replaced with a sherry version. Is that true?’ 

*sideways glances and crickets chirping*

Okay, so it was a bit unceremonious of me to put him on the spot like that, but I had to know! All credit to Sam for handing the question like a true ambassador and not giving too much away.

Let’s just say, if you’re particularly fond of the Balvenie 15 year old single barrel – with its American Oak vanilla creaminess, hints of spice and classic honeyed Balvenie notes – then you might want to add a bottle or two to your Christmas list. I can confidently say that it’s being discontinued.

Don’t let those tears dilute your whisky too much though, because it’s not all sad news. The American Oak (bourbon cask) version is being replaced by a single barrel sherry version. Given the quality of The Balvenie’s sherried whisky in expressions like their doublewood and Tun1401, I can only imagine how luscious it’ll be – especially if it stays around the 47.8% ABV mark. I can’t wait to try it.

The new 15 year old expression will also be joined by a 25 year old version and another unspecified expression. No further info on release dates or price points just yet.