Just what the Doctor ordered

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The Balvenie tasting, hosted by Dr Sam Simmons

The other week, the good folks at the Oak Barrel in Sydney  managed to secure Dr Whisky himself for a free tasting session of The Balvenie.

Who’s this Dr fellow? Sam Simmons (aka Dr. Whisky) is The Balvenie’s Global Brand Ambassador and just happened to be in Sydney for a whirlwind two-day tour that included no less than four events. Good thing he likes the stuff.

SamS

Walking in there, I think my brain naively told me ‘whisky ambassador? Must = Scotsman’, so I did a bit of a double-take when Sam spoke and I realized he’s actually a Canuk – and a genuinely funny and down-to-earth one at that!

The informal atmosphere of the Oak Barrel really lent itself to some great discussion and banter and both Sam and James (from William Grant & Sons) were genuinely knowledgeable, good sports. Bravo Balvenie, bravo!

What the Doctor prescribed

Lineup

First up was The Balvenie 15 year old Single Barrel, (cask #10786 bottle #317 for the boffins out there) and as expected, it was on form. Big Balvenie honey and toasted vanilla notes with a hint of banana on the nose. Creamy on the palate with that wonderfully feisty, warming finish that comes with the higher ABV of 47.8%.

This was followed by the (new to Australia) 17 year old double-wood, which has spent 17 years in American Oak (aka ex-bourbon) barrels, followed by around nine months in European Oak ex-sherry casks. The 17 really comes across as a richer, more succinct version of the classic 12 year old double-wood and the extra 3% ABV (it’s bottled at 43%) is a lovely touch.

Rounding out the trio was the decadent 21 year old Port Wood. This expression starts life in American Oak, before being transferred to ex-port pipes for around four months. In the scheme of 21 years, four months doesn’t sound like a long time, but we’re told that the pipes are saturated with a vatting of some of the finest vintage port out there (~30 year old port, I believe) The richness and depth is fantastic, especially for a 40% ABV bottling. You get the classic Balvenie honey and creaminess mixed with wonderful rich, red-fruit notes and some chewy oak.

Really hoping I get the chance to review each of these in a bit more detail at a later date.

That wasn’t all though

As if that wasn’t enough for a Friday arvo tasting, there was still one more surprise in store. Sam was kind enough to bring along a 40 year old cask strength Balvenie, hand-filled by The Balvenie’s master distiller himself, Mr David Stewart. This was a money-can’t-buy whisky, so it was pretty special indeed.

1973

After four decades in European Oak casks, the ‘73 had taken on an amazing mahogany colour and had a rich, full nose to match. At a natural strength of 55.2%, it was a heavy hitter, but still perfectly drammable (is that even a word?) without the need for water. It was incredibly complex and not overly oaked, which was quite a surprise considering how long it had spent in a cask. A seriously stunning whisky.

What’s remarkable is that despite the four different finishes and four different ages, you could really tell that these were all Balvenie. That marvelous creamy honeyed character really carried through all four expressions in its own way.

No doubt Sam’s schedule would have been pretty exhausting, but he still made time for everyone and didn’t miss a beat. A big thank you is in order for Sam and William Grant & Sons for their time and to the Oak Barrel, for hosting a thoroughly enjoyable and accessible tasting.

Oban 14 year old

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Stats for the boffins: Distillery bottling, 43% ABV, 14 years old, West Highlands, Scotland

Nestled in the Scottish western highlands in a little coastal town sits one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries, Oban. Built in 1794, it also operates two of Scotland’s smallest legal stills. Interestingly, the town itself was named after the distillery.

Oban 1

The artwork on the packaging pays homage to Oban’s location with a neat intricate line illustration of a coastal cliff scene – almost reminiscent of a tattoo.

Oban 2

Bet those gulls are fighting over hot chips..

Oban 3

Oban’s core range is pretty small – limited to just the 14 year old and a ‘Distiller’s Edition’, matured in Fino Sherry casks from Montilla in Spain. Diageo (owners of Oban) have just released a 21 year old this year as part of their 2013 special release. They’ve also previously done an 18 year old for the US market.

Oban 4

In 1990, Diageo decided that Oban would represent the West Highlands in their Classic Malt range, alongside the likes of some big name distilleries like Talisker and Lagavulin (the logo’s meant to be a Quaich).

So, what’s it like?
I did say that you’re not going to find ‘fancifully whimsical’ tasting notes here, but we all want to know what these whiskies taste like, right? Here are my honest, layman’s notes – hopefully they’re not too rambly 

Nose
There’s some sherry-cask sweetness on the nose, not the rich raisin, jam-like sweetness, but a slightly lighter fruity sweetness. Nicely complemented by some hints of spice and wood smoke at the back – pretty inviting nose.

Palate
The first thing I notice is that it has a fairly thin mouth-feel. There’s a somewhat odd combination of both sweetness and salty brine on the palate. I guess you could say it’s almost got some sweet and sour characteristics going on there which give way to some gentle back of the throat warmth with the faintest hint of smoke.

Finish
I’ve seen the finish likened to the finish on a Sauvignon Blanc and I think that’s pretty spot on – fairly short, drying oaky tannins with a hint of spice. The actual flavor seems to disappear pretty quickly, but that coastal brine note sure has some staying power!

11 months since opening and the flavours have really mellowed out. The nose was still great and if anything, it’s sweetened up a lot. But in doing so, it’s really disconnected itself from that salty palate which is a bit of a shame. It’s nicely presented, I was a fan of the packaging and labeling and whilst it took a while to warm to this one, in the end I think we got along quite nicely.

Welcome to The Whisky Ledger

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After filling the ears of many with my regular whisky chatter, I found myself repeatedly being told ‘you should really start up a blog’. I’d like to think it’s because my musings are just that interesting, but you can be the judge of that one.

In setting this up, my main aim is to make it accessible and interesting to all. You won’t find any numerical ratings or fancifully whimsical tasting notes here, but you will find a whole lot of genuine thoughts, adventures, photos and good times.

As full bottles replace empties and my favourites near their end, I’ll be covering it here. The odd bar write-up, event recap or piece of advertising or news will also be thrown in for good measure. I’ve no doubt this’ll evolve over time, so here’s to a light-hearted journey through all things whisky and whiskey!

In the words of Mark Twain, ‘too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough’. That’s the spirit. Let’s see where it takes us.