Whisky Mistaken for a Gun

A man in Wales was shot by police following them mistaking a bottle of whisky for a gun! In the polices defence maybe it was a bottle of Ardbeg double barrel he was carrying!

Talisker 18yo 45.8%

Well this is a whisky with a huge reputation winning an award from the highly respected malt maniacs and also being named best whisky of the year by whisky magazine - actually question this competition as only open to official distillery bottlings but still worth a shout.

Anyway here goes!

Nose: Big, Germolene , oily and a touch of smoke - not huge smoke though. Touch of smoked mussles mmmm smoked mussles and then maybe a hint of menthol mouthwash.

Taste: Chlorine, flat peat, and dry smoke and a little bit grassy! Also a little bit salty with some sherried notes - cracking stuff!

Finish: Wow big - fruity salty finish! Love this! Big and fruity and peat coming through!

Comment: This is cracking - malt maniacs and whisky magazine are right!

Score: 95/100

Drammies Announced

Over at the great website Scotchblog they have announced the results of the results of the drammies!

Well done to all the winners but a big shout out must go to Drwhisky ---- although I hope he doesn't win to many awards or his pictures might get worse!

Keep up the good work!

Colonsay 80 Shilling Ale Pint bottle

I know, I know I can hear you say thought that this was a whisky blog and your blogging on about bloody beer again! Well who cares it's my blog and I will write what I want! Anyway had to tell you about this 80 Shilling from the Colonsay Brewery. This is one of the best beers I have had in a long time rich full flavoured with a creamish finish! Not sure if I can find the smoke they are talking about on there website but then again maybe it's there or maybe I am just looking for it - never feer I will be drinking this alot I imagine so no worries about me checking it out again in the future.

Also being on their site you see a lot of tongue in cheek humour coming through which I feel is there because the guys who put it there are funny and it's mnot just marketing bollocks. Make sure you look up their business plan under the brewery section. Priceless!

Anyway there is an IPA and a lager to try so there will be more on here.

A must try!

Aberlour 15yo Sherry Finish

According to the Aberlour website this was initially matured in Bourbon and sherry casks before being finished in "selected" sherry casks! I am sure that I heard a rumour that this was being discontinued so let's try it while I still can!

Nose: Quite closed, sweet and creamy then an oakiness fights through the inititial sherry notes. Given time a little meaty and a faint hint of sulphur - but not unpleasant and also a touch of ginger.

Taste: Rich sherry fruitiness, then drying meaty oranges - more an image of a flavour than an actual flavour! Becomes a little dull after initial fruitiness.

Finish: Lingering flat lemon sherbet and soft musty custard creams.

Comment: Promised a lot but then failled to deliver and rather faded out in quite a dull way!

Score 80/100

Orval Trappiste Beer 6.2%

Found this wee monastray belgian beer from Orval and thought I would give it a go. This is a Trappiste beer. You have to love Wikipedia! I had never realised the reasoning behind trappiste beers before but it is a very rigourous organisation with only 8 Trappiste Abbeys producing beers under the following rules:

1. The beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist abbey, by or under control of Trappist monks.
2. The brewery, the choices of brewing, and the commercial orientations must obviously depend on the monastic community.
3. The economic purpose of the brewery must be directed toward assistance and not toward financial profit.

We have got to love monks for the contribution they have made to the drinks industry - bar maybe buckfast!

What I would say about this beer is that it doesn't taste too strong - has a slight fairy liquid note on the nose (something I get in beer quite a lot - and no I have cleaned the glass properly!) there is a red fruity note in the middle of the taste and hints of spice and a little bit sour but very pleasant.

Anyway - not that I know but - I would say this is not a typical Trappiste and some night I must try several at once. Worth a try but would say it would be the odd bottle here or there rather than a regular bottle to reach for!

Diageo are doing OK

It was announced today in the Herald that Diageo have made an increase in profits this year of 7% unlike some companies - 7% increase in profits of a multinational company like Diageo is the GNP of a reasonable sized country I would imagine!

Edrington Turn to Rum

The Edrington Group owners of well known whisky brands The Macallan, Highland Park and The Famous Grouse have announced in a press release today that they have acquired a 60% share of Brugal rum. This shows an new direction for the company - so how many of their top level management are now off to buy Dave Brooms excellent book on rum.

Why Ken Livingstone Couldn't be An American Politician

As we approach super Tuesday many whisky fans in the USA will not be able to purchase whisky. A law in nine states dating back to prohibition days means that the sales of spirits on election day is prohibited!

Just as well Ken Livingstone isn't running!

Balvenie Sherryoak 17yo 43%

Since I saw that this was getting released I wanted to try it and now I can. This is an unusual release from Balvenie having been entirely matured in Sherry casks for 17 year in warehouse 21. They don't tell you why the warehouse 21 bit is important but they put it on the label! Anyway I thought this would be a fairly readily available release but Royal Mile Whiskies have sold out of it so maybe I have got lucky. Although the label does also say first release so maybe there will be more!

Nose: Wow, big smack in the face of sherry cask (well what do you expect) but "good" sherry cask nose - rummy creamy and sweet.

Taste: Big but not to big (medium big I would imagine that is then!) Lots of heavy fruity notes, quite creamy - dairy milk chocolate and raisans.

Finish: Long lingering creamy caramel and toffee with heavy dark fruits.

Comment: I like this a lot - maybe not enough to pay £59.00 for another bottle - extremely well balanced which almost goes against it as it is a little too integrated making it very easy to drink. (what rubbish I speak at times!).

Score: 89/100

Sierra Nevada Summerfest 2007

When I posted my musings on the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale someone left a comment saying I should try the Summerfest - alas they thought I would have to wait until summer as did I - however I spotted this tonight in Tesco so had to buy it. Admittedly it is Summer 2007 and not this year - you don't need to be a genius to figure that out as it is flamming freezing here!

Anyway this 5.0% traditional lager is bottom fermented which means it is fermented at lower temperatures with as little air contact as possible and then cold stored for as long as possible. As Sierra Nevada seem to be a very traditional company I would imagine that this would be nearer to the traditional six months than the mass produced 6 weeks of some companies. Ok this is all new to me - I am learning as I go - so bear with me!

Anyway I have chilled my beer as instructed by beer pages so lets see what its like:

First of all an excellent head on it - soft hoppy style - very soft and refreshing but with a zingy bite (in a good way) on the finish also some lemony notes. Overall I like this and look forward to a day when I can drink this in the sun! Prefer the Pale Ale but thats just my personal taste.

Nice beer though!

Mortlach 16yo Dewar Rattray Cask 4238 55.5%

With the Mortlach 16yo Flora & Fauna now unavailable rumours having it that it will never return or if it does it will be 4 years I have been reccomended this Dewar Rattray bottling as a suitable replacement so here goes:

Nose: Big Huge sherried Mortlach Nose, darl treacle then a creaminess - typical mortlach meatiness and then toffee doughnuts!

Taste: Big bitting sherry, cinnamon and lots of dried fruits in tupperware boxes.

Finish: Thick tingling and warming. Tails off into a little bit of sulphur but not too unpleasant.

Comment: I really like this - if it wasn't for the slight sulphur end this would score more.

Score: 91/100