I looked at the date this morning and saw it was Sunday September 25th. Not only had fall officially arrived, I realized I hadn't posted one... single... piece... all summer. Nothing for almost 4 months. Do I go into details and tell y'all why... Nah, most of you probably already know. It's been a super hectic, crazy and sometimes very stressful summer. Stress usually = Not drinking whisky. Sad situation really to look at my most favourite spirit in the world only to have my instinct tell me -> Probably not a good idea right now. Thankfully, I always trust my instinct.
So then there's the next step: Errrrr, what do I write about after such a long hiatus. It was an immediate and easy decision: BLIND TASTING time!!! There is no doubt that my nose/palate need to get whipped back into shape. I went to the sample shelf which only reinforced how long it's been since I truly stuck my nose in a whisky. Shelf is plentiful of many lovely samples from all over the word but man... I've never seen so much dust. I spent the next hour (yup 60 minutes) reacquainting myself and cleaning them. It was a bit like opening presents on Christmas morning as I found some really lovely gems I had completely forgotten about. On the bottom shelf, way in the back I found three non-descriptive bottles that I carefully wiped and didn't recognize. Bottle 1, 2 and 3... same hand writing, no names/words. Hmmmm... Picked up my whisky book to see what I had written, if anything about these (I usually am pretty good at writing things down, errrr somewhere?!) And sure enough, there it was... Samples received from Raj Sabharwal (@Whiskyraj)! Hot diggity dog, what a fabulous way to come out of hiatus, if I do say so myself.
By lunch time (Yes.. I waited!! hehe), I was ready. Dinning room table, glassware, pen/paper, water and WHISKY! What a lovely feeling to have my thinking cap back on and nosing. I can feel the cogs of my olfactory memory wheel trying desperately to break free of their idle slumber.
Sample 1: Colour, so delicate it reminded me of a sauvignon blanc. (Oh man I am rusty, I'm comparing my whisky to wines?!) Nose: Green grapes, clean and fruity sweet. (errr still on the wines it seems?!) Palate: Oh, yeah there it is... Crisp, fresh fruit like slightly unripened pears or green apples. Refreshing yet tart. (Wait.. Am I drinking wine!? Oh man my poor senses are way out of whack?)
At this point I decided to walk away for a few minutes and try again a bit later. Back again and albeit a bit more muted. The aromas and flavours are still the same. This is a very subtle and delicate whisky that isn't aggressive in nature and really makes you work to find and appreciate what is in the glass. Another sip, and now with a bit of time this has turned into a very luscious and tart lemon meringue pie. Creamy, lemon with the airy sweetness of the meringue. Finish: This is cask strength and you can tell, it's long lingering and warms the belly on impact. Hmmm, a touch of mint at the very end?
From start to finish, this is quite an enjoyable dram. If I had to guess I would say this is above 50% ABV, a scotch and it's possibly a lowland or speyside. Maybe?!
Whatever it is, I do love it. It's an easy sipping whisky that is not only enjoyable but really seemed to awaken my somewhat dormant senses.
RAJ's REVEAL: Blackadder Drop of the Irish Single Malt Cask Strength, 58.9% ABV
Sample 2: The colour of a red ale (oh oh... now I'm comparing these to beer!?) Prunes... rich dark fruits. Dark brown sugar, almost bordering on molasses. Palate: More high strength stuff! Burnt sugar'ish, bitter and very drying. Finish: Leaves a strange aftertaste and lots of burning. Added a fair dollop of water. Calms the burning but brings in a waxy component. Still has a very unique aftertaste that I can't quite pin down. My first instinct is to say new wood "sap"... It's a combination of sour, bitter and resinous.
This sample is a bit perplexing, it started out quite lovely on the nose but then went down hill quickly. Water didn't help it. Makes me wonder if this was finished in a slightly different type of cask? I would say also cask strength, likely not from Scotland (again relying on instinct) and I would dare say somewhat "middle age'ish" and finished in something other than ex-bourbon or ex oloroso... Something "different"...
Feeling the blood rushing through the veins now... or maybe that's just the effect of the whisky kicking in? Moving on!
RAJ's REVEAL: Amrut Portonova Single Malt Cask Strength, aged in first fill Port pipes. 61.2% ABV
Sample 3: Well, you know it's a good sign when you see black bits of char in the sample. Mouth already watering. Raj is the master of surprises when it comes to samples, so I'm really looking forward to this one.
Colour: Old gold. Shines like a turn of the century wedding band. (Weddings?! Hmmm, quite a few of those coming up very shortly...) Nose: Good old fashion organic and earthy peat. It's like standing in the peat bog on Islay with my friends Ansgar & Thomas! Backdrop of honeyed vanilla and creamy butterscotch. (Finally the whisky descriptors are coming back to me now, thank goodness)... Palate: As to be expected, sweet, subtle with an "exhale of peat smoke" that is not only sublime but quite delectable. Finish: Long... lingering delicious flavours of wet moss.
This one is an old and sophisticated Islay, also at cask strength. Likely a straight ex-bourbon, or 2nd fill ex-bourbon. It's the truest form of the spirit as it's meant to be enjoyed. The peat is not aggressive. The dram is well balanced and very drinkable without water. But, it is cask strength so like the other two I did add a bit of water. Opened it up just a tad, more notes of a smokier backdrop, the citrus notes appear but the whisky doesn't fall apart.
RAJ's REVEAL: Blackadder Raw Cask, Amrut Peated Sherry Cask, Cask Strength 62.3% ABV
So, I would have to say that in order of preference for me, on a cold but sunny September afternoon I really loved sample 3 the best. I would buy this, whatever it is and I think my friend Peter Clark and I would continue to enjoy this on the cold fall evenings to come. Sample 1 came in 2nd place because again it was very enjoyable, slightly unique and a nicely balanced dram that wasn't overly complicated but a nice sipping whisky. And... last, number 2. Alas this one did not speak to me, it started out strong with a lovely nose but then dove into the pits of "there's something weird about this whisky" and I simply didn't enjoy it as much as the other two.
Raj, I want to thank you for always pushing my boundaries as a whisky enthusiast. It goes to show how dedicated you are because you have the belief that sampling blind can always lead to wonderful surprises and an appreciation for the journey it takes you on vs the end result. So now what? Well, now we hope that Raj is kind enough to tell me what exactly I was sampling, otherwise these will simply remain a mystery. If I do find out, I'll update below. If I don't, well... I can at least be thankful for the experience and finding three unique and very interesting samples to come back to blogging about. Raising a bit more of sample 3, thanks again Raj, you are a good friend and passionate whisky ambassador!
Sincerely,
The "back in action" nosing/tasting/blogging Lassie
SHE'S BACCCCCCCCKKKKKK! ;)
It is really exciting to look back at 2013 and revisit the entire year. The point of my 12 memorable drams was to share some of the adventures and moments that changed me or the direction I am headed. I always say the road is a bendy, windy, crazy adventure. I'm glad I have fantastic friends, a helmet and some knee pads, hehehe. The up moments have been glorious, the downs also epic. Can you say crash & burn! Oh yeah... 2013 had some very memorable life experiences indeed. My grandmother often said: "It takes sitting in manure to make beautiful flowers grow". Well this year I felt, at times, like I was in shit up to my ears...
After a brief hiatus from the world this summer I came back to whisky, blogging and me with a slightly deflated attitude. I was struggling to find that spark and passion that I used to have. Well at least that's what it felt like at the time. I kept telling myself to just put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Glad I did because on my 2nd trip to Toronto, I took some time to visit Still Waters Distillery (yet again) and had a fantastic time (yet again). Wrote about it here:
http://www.whiskylassie.blogspot.ca/2013/10/get-your-stalk-barrel-here-cask-5-8-and.html
But it's what happened as a result of trying cask 5 that sparked the whisky "burn" back into my life. When I asked Barry how I could get some of the best whisky (IMO) they were casking to date, he replied: "You can't, the whole cask is being shipped to the USA". I recall my shoulders slumping for a moment... "USA? All of it? Really? None for Canadians?"
They explained that an importer had come to the distillery and chosen Cask 5 (obviously had a good nose/taste in whisky) so I asked the who, what, where questions because I really wanted a bottle for myself. Then it happened: The creative juices began to run hot in my veins like a fantastic whisky toddy (just had to add the pun...) and the next thing I knew I made contact with Raj Sabharwal @whiskyraj and pitched my idea, right on the spot. Within a week it was planned, organized and done! What, you might ask? The first USA twitter tasting of course. :)
The fantastic part: Four whiskies from around the world. Canadian, Tasmanian, Indian and English. We had a blast! The whiskies were great and I made 10 new whiskyfabric friends not to mention a fantastic networking contact in Raj, (Purple Valley Imports) whom I had the pleasure of meeting in New York City.
More importantly... I rediscovered that when I find a good whisky that I want, I have no fear in putting my best foot and ideas forward. The fire was there all along, I apparently just needed someone to poke it with a stick and add a bit of fuel so I want to thank Barry & Barry for being such a great repeated highlight to my year. It's meant the world to me to be so privileged and share your story and whiskies with people from around the world.
To cask 5 and being me again. Whisky Lassie back, better then ever and ready to take on whatever 2014 holds...
PS - I did get a bottle of Cask 5 :) which I've shared several times...
LASSIE
