St George's Distillery Chapter 7

St George's Distillery Chapter 7

Official bottling
Single malt - East Anglia
Buttercups
46% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Leather, lemon juice, ink, black tea, grapefruit, sea salt. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, tingly, slippery. 
Tasting:  Sour bitter. Cream, vanilla, lemon juice, grapefruit, leather, hints of black tea. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, grapefruit, leather, sea salt. 

Comments: 

Apparently, this is sherry cask and unpeated. But no, there's heaps of leather, and it doesn't taste very sweet at all. In fact, it's rather tart and just a teensy weensy bit salty. Bitter too, like eating grapefruit pith. Still, very decent dram.

Verdict:

I like this.

Hudson Baby Bourbon

Hudson Baby Bourbon

Official bottling
Single bourbon - New York
Amber
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Brown paper, black tea, red grapes, leather, hints of roast pork. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thickens, syrupy, sticky. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Black tea, honey, leather, tobacco leaf, brown paper, bananas, hints of roast pork. 
Finish: Short. Honey, bananas, apples, hints of chocolate. 

Comments: 

New York bourbon! This is pretty good, and quite complex despite its youth. This reminded me of aged Yamazaki in fact, with that delicious sweet meaty note. Very tasty stuff, and cleverly named as well.

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 85.33 (Glen Elgin 9 yo 2006/2016)

SMWS 85.33 (Glen Elgin 9 yo 2006/2016)

2016, SMWS
Single malt - Speyside
Very pale gold
60.1% ABV
Dram

Nose: Magic marker, pears, sawdust, apples, cranberries, hints of cherries. With water, grassy, more sawdust, beeswax. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, watery, loose. 
Tasting:  Sour . Lemons, grapefruit, sawdust, cranberries, hints of ginger. With water, less sour, raspberries, vanilla, cinnamon, hints of butter. 
Finish: Long. Lemons, grapefruit, dessicated coconut, apples. 

Comments: 

It was promising on the nose at the beginning, with a lot of fruit. But then the woody notes took over, masking a lot of the other flavours. I had to work hard to get anywhere underneath that sheath of wood. There's other notes as well, but in the end it was just too hard work.

Verdict:

Not bad.

SMWS 58.18 (Strathisla 10 yo 2005/2016)

SMWS 58.18 (Strathisla 10 yo 2005/2016)

2016, SMWS
Single malt - Speyside
White wine
60.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Grass, chamomile, white grapes, marmalade, hints of pears. With water, honey, barley sugar, vanilla. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, tingly, slightly gritty. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Green tea, chamomile, vanilla, white grapes, pink peppercorns, hints of ginger. With water, sweeter, less pungent, honey, dark chocolate. 
Finish: Medium. Dark chocolate, vanilla, pink peppercorns, ginger. 

Comments: 

Very young whisky, but fruity and grapey on the nose. Slight pungency on the tongue, and in the finish, at least when neat. Once water is added it opens up quite a bit, becoming sweeter and more delicate. I'm not really blown away.

Verdict:

Not bad.

Reference Series III.2

Reference Series III.2

Official bottling
Blended malt
Brass
47.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon juice, sea salt, honey, pine needles, hints of chocolate. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, slightly tingly. 
Tasting:  Salty sour. Sea salt, lemon juice, grated coconut, pine needles, toast, smoke, hints of chocolate. 
Finish: Short. Vanilla, smoke, lemon juice, sea salt. 

Comments: 

A blended malt with 10% Islay whisky. It's not quite enough I think. Still, interesting combination of flavours, herbal, cereal, and the smoke makes it toasty. Lots of coconut and some chocolate. Not sweet at all though.

Verdict:

Not bad.

Hanyu 2000 cask #919

Hanyu 2000 cask #919

For Zuma / Roka, Specialty Drinks Ltd
Single malt - East Honshu
Chinese tea
57.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Smoke, chocolate, honey, tobacco leaf, brown paper, orange peel. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, static, slightly watery around the edges. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Chocolate, honey, raisins, smoke, leather, orange peel, hints of red grapes. 
Finish: Long. Honey, chocolate, smoke, hints of red grapes. 

Comments: 

Cask #919, about 15 years old. This is a special bottling for Zuma Bar and the Roka chain of restaurants. It's delicious. No need for water, this is full of honey and chocolate notes, with an alluring veil of smoke. Very very nice, plenty of red grapes as well. Incredible whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Imperial 1996

Imperial 1996

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Yellow gold
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Cola nuts, lemon zest, thyme, vanilla, raisins, hints of grass. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, watery, loose. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Cola nuts, cookie dough, grass, thyme, plums, hints of chocolate . 
Finish: Medium. Cookie dough, coffee, chocolate, plums. 

Comments: 

A rarity from the closed Imperial distillery! This is a 18 or 19 year old distilled shortly before the distillery closed. It's rather good, with the usual cookie dough and gentle vanilla notes wreathed in cola nuts and grassy herbal notes. Good, but alas, not great.

Verdict:

I like this.

Chivas Regal 18 yo

Chivas Regal 18 yo

Official bottling
Blend
Amber
40% ABV
Bottle

Nose: Leather, peat, tobacco leaf, chocolate, smoke, hints of coffee. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, slightly watery. 
Tasting:  Bitter. Leather, tobacco leaf, chocolate, toffee, raisins, hints of coffee. 
Finish: Medium. Peat, smoke, coffee, tobacco leaf. 

Comments: 

Chocolatey, smoky and slightly peaty blend. This has some old Longmorn in it if I'm any judge. It's bitter, but pleasantly so. Good blend, I would drink this in preference to some single malts. Now is that because some single malts have fallen drastically in quality? Hmmm...

Verdict:

I like this.

Balvenie 12 yo Triple Cask

Balvenie 12 yo Triple Cask

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Amber
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Orange peel, cinnamon, raisins, rhubarb and custard sweets, hints of lemon juice. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, loose. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Black tea, oranges, cinnamon, tangerines, vanilla, lime marmalade. 
Finish: Short. Golden syrup, lime marmalade, orange juice. 

Comments: 

Travel retail edition of the normal 12 yo. This one has perhaps more sherry cask. Nice and citrusy, with dried orange peel and plenty of marmalade. This is a very nice whisky, shame it's only available in duty-free.

Verdict:

I like this.