New ranges of Nikka and Kilchoman malts at the new Wild About Whisky retail shop….
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Trying to act like an adult I invited a couple of 40 year olds over last night…..
Glenbrynth 40y0 Blended Malt 43%
Orchard fruits with vanilla and new paint, then with time and teased from the depths, arrives a fruit salad of over ripe pawpaw, melon and banana, a twist of toffee wrapped around a wad of burning leaf embers, then fruit chews, vanilla toffee and almonds start to dominate.
Despite the age, surprisingly thin on the palate, the sweet orchard and tropical fruits impact, spicing and peppering on the mid palate, leaving a delicious warmth of vanilla and toasted oak. 88
Glenfarclas 40yo Single Malt 46%
Like falling into a vat of stewed dark fruits that have been marinating in Oloroso and PX sherry casks for forty years. However this vat is sitting on a termite hill of Matabele ants, the foundation and structure of this aged whisky, then dark chocolate cherry liqueur, musty maraschino cherries, dark toffee, a hint of horse sweat and drawing room leather.
The palate is astonishing, so rich and a mirror image of the nose, beautifully balanced, with rich burnt molasses , spicy rumtopf, aged Spanish oak and coalescing in the longest, lingering aftertaste of dark liquorice toffee…a full bodied bear hug of a dram. Stunning! 94
The best of the blended best?…..I think so….
This exceptional twenty one year old commemorates the Knighthood awarded to Alexander Walker in 1920. It contains precious reserves of twenty one year old malt and grain whiskies including extra rare casks from the iconic lost distillery, Brora.
Johnnie Walker XR 21yo Blended Whisky Bottle No: 7312GJW 40%
Old leather washed in Oloroso sherry, cranberries, blueberries, dark toffee, a trace of Matabele ant scurrying along the Spanish oak and a smorgasbord of rich fruit cake and trifle.
Soft as velvet and sweet sherried on the tongue, the toffee gives way to a rich and spicy mid palate, finishing with a long lingering wooded compote of raisins and prunes.
Water releases a few more ants, a hint of smoke and naartjie(tangerine) dipped in dark chocolate.
Stunning, complex, a delight, the best Johnnie Walker and quite possibly the best blend I have ever tasted.96
Dullstroom launch Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey…..
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Liqueur 35%
A blend of Jack’s Old No.7 and a proprietary honey liqueur, this is the latest spirit from the iconic distillery.
Bananas, caramel and toasted praline fried in brown sugar smothered in toffee custard…..and that’s just on the nose.
Honey sweet and mouth coating, with a mid palate of mocha, a finish of praline iced coffee and a lingering aftertaste of toffee and banana. Deeeeeeeeelectable!
Come and share in the launch of this exquisite liqueur by visiting Dullstroom over the Winter Festival between the 6th and 8th of July.
A tale of two whiskies, one from Ireland, one from Scotland that crossed continents and cities before settling in Dullstroom….
The Irish whiskey, Writers Tears started it’s journey in Cork, Ireland. The Scottish whisky, Te Bheag began its voyage on the Isle of Skye. Both these bottles crossed the Atlantic and sat in a boutique whisky bottle store in Hamburg, Germany. A good friend of mine, Markus Schroeder, home on leave in August 2011, walked into this shop and with mobile guidance bought the two bottles, packed them carefully into a suitcase and flew to his home in Nairobi, Kenya.The bottles, now very much out of their comfort zones, flew from Nairobi to Arusha, Tanzania and then by vehicle for a day’s drive into the Northern Serengeti and Klein’s Camp, where Markus and his wife Stephanie manage the lodge. The bottles, now having witnessed the migration and more at home in this wild East African environment, were on the move again, this time back to Arusha and then Nairobi on the 21st of May2012, before boarding a plane. Their destination Johannesburg. A night in Pretoria was to follow before eventually heading east, climbing the plateau into the Eastern Highlands to the little village of Dullstroom and the Wild About Whisky bar, where they have now joined 950 of their compatriots and are now happy and anxious that you all make a journey and come and taste them……..
Te’ Bheag Gaelic Blended Whisky 40% Unchilfiltered
Pronounced “cheyvek” and meaning “a wee dram” in Gaelic it is produced on the Isle of Skye, home to the the Talsiker distillery.
The nose is all stewed pears soaked in honey and an apple cider marinade, then sherry and toffee top dress the pot with mocha and some peated barley eventually emerging.
The palate hits first with the honey and then a mid palate of fino sherry, pepper and a little smoke on the dry finish. Water does bring out more of the peat characteristic but introduces a bitterness on the mid palate. Best left naked.85
Writers Tears Irish Pot Still & Single Malt Whiskey Blend 40%
Most great Irish authors suffered, at some stage, with writer’s block…”Many sought comfort and inspiration from whiskey. It was said that when an Irish writer cried, he cried tears of whiskey”……..
Barley and sugary blackcurrant pastille, a nod to the great Midleton malts, marzipan, and soft over ripe pears dominate the nose.
Viscous, oily and seductively tongue coating the blackcurrant transfers to the palate in bucket loads, the mid palate a touch bitter but leaving a long fruit-driven finish.
A remarkable and stunning Irish whiskey. 92
The world’s finest in single grain whiskey…..
Cooley Distillery
In 1987 John Teeling bought the Ceimici Teo Distillery in Dundalk, Ireland and renamed it Cooley, eventually producing a wide range of Irish whiskeys from peated malt to single grain whiskey and creating hugely successful brands like Connemara, Locke’s, Kilbeggan, Tyrconnel and Greenore, a double-distilled, bourbon cask matured single grain whiskey.
Greenore Single Grain Irish Whiskey “Limited Edition” 43%
Vanilla ‘n Bourbon with jasmine blossoming in the background.
Sweet and languid, honey liqueur, then some peppery spice with sweet, light bourbon on the finish.
Water just boosts the honey ‘n vanilla on every level. A delicious lunch time aperitif. 86
Greenore 8yo Single Grain Irish Whiskey “Small Batch” 43%
Hard to fathom the nose, seems masked at first, then strains of mocha start revealing themselves, then toffee, demerara sugar, then it fades again…
However the palate is monstrous, boldly sugary sweet, with gooseberry and ripe marula dominating.
A dash of aqua brings out the signature Cooley grain note of elastoplast(Band Aid), so best drunk naked as a baby! 87
In the 2012 World Whisky Awards, Greenore 18 was voted best single grain whiskey in the world….
In the 2012 World Whisky Awards, Greenore 18 was voted best single grain whiskey in the world….
Greenore 18yo Single Grain Irish whiskey “Small Batch” 46% Limited Edition 4000 Bottles.
Astonishing nose, immediate impact of rich sweet toffee, vanilla, jasmine, stewed gooseberry and apple drenched in honey with a hint of bourbon.
Sweet and syrupy as it coats the tongue, then toffee apple dipped into a honeycomb, Oloroso sherry, a little spice, then a long vinous finish.
Water increases the sugars and boosts the bourbon, particularly on the finish but still best neat. Astounding dram. 92
