Whisky Wench Tales

#1 Glenfarclas 10yr
Strength: 43%
Appearance: Golden and shimmery, a wee bit yellow
Nose: molasses, malteasers, sherry, a little earth
Body: medium
Palate: Very light on the initial sip and incredibly smooth, a little oily, creamy, this ones a grower, the longer you hold it, the more that it fizzes like sucking on a pepperdew, instead of eating it immediately. Perhaps a little bitter citrus in there.
Finish: Delightfully understated, a real grower which seems feeble at first, but sticks around on every inch of your gullet accumulating more warmth the with each sip.

#2 Kilkerran – Work in Progress
Strength: 46%
Appearance: Iight yellow and very cloudy
Nose: sea salt, lots of seaweed, this smells like the West coast, reminds me of fish and chips, harbours and a boat called Fart (or Bram in Gàidhlig)
Body: medium/light
Palate: On first sip it is surprisingly tame and lacks the evil stereotypical of younger whiskies. This is an “accumulator” and the salt is much more understated than the nose would initially suggest. Peat starts to stick to your tongue after several sips, which leads to a promising finish
Finish: A little jewel of warmth on a cloudy day. I say that this whisky has promise.

#3 Balvenie Doublewood 12yr
Strength: 43%
Appearance: Amber, gold and a little cloudy
Nose: Very light, needs a little warming, then a little caramel, fizzy on your nose hairs, really sweet like candied dates
Body: Light
Palate: At first it’s very fizzy and warm, with a tingle at the end of the tongue, some citrus and yummy malt. Some mild floral undertones. Fully rounded tongue fun, with long-lasting results, which you can explore for ages!
Finish: you can still taste it right now.

#4 Longrow CV
Strength: 46%
Appearance: Quite similar to Kilkerran, more frosty and opaque
Nose: peat and salt. A bit closed, benefits from warming, then some sweeter honey tones and a little melon comes in.
Body: Medium
Palate: Man is this oily! The peat is there but it isn’t OTT. Instead it is salty and has some delightfully sweet and seaweed-like tones. The throat is pretty smooth with some residual peat smoke added in.
Finish: Some interesting smoke, with warm in the pit of your chest.

A very distinctive beer!

Hi all,

I know that I am only an occasional blogger, but I had to share this one with you. Last night I tried a magnificent beer called Ola Dubh aged in former Highland Park 30yr casks. It was a real treat and at $25 for a twelve ounce bottle, it had better be!

Here are my notes….

What is said on the bottle:
Ola Dubh
Harviestoun
Special 30 reserve
Ale matured in Whisky casks
Aged in selected oak casks, formerly used to mature Highland Park’s rich and complex 30year old single malt scotch whisky.

Head Brewer: BS Cail
Master of wood: George Sepie
Bottle No. & Date: 21400/Sept 2007
Imported by B. United International, Inc

What it tasted like when it came out of the bottle and into me:
Aroma: slightly salty, deffinitely peaty, liqorice, seaweed and hops.
Palate: rich and chocolately, imbued with deep mature peat, definite sea tastes. Very rich.
Body: a true ale, flat not fizzy
Finish: crystal malt coming through with the tang of whisky but no alcohol taint.

Not too shabby!

There are only 100 tickets available and I will have twenty to thirty of them before the end of the week. Send me an e-mail at: whiskywench@gmail.com if you would like tickets (first come, first serve).

Please come it will be a lovely treat and I would love to see you…I miss you!

The Wench hath spoken!

View Czech & Slovak Sokol Mn in a larger map

My questions and your answers, photos included!

If being a Whisky Wench were a serious profession which picture do you think would best represent that?

pic13

If the Whisky Wench were a famous author which image would she have on the back cover of her book?

Straight draw between these two!

pic8

pic3

My favorite is pic 8 and as grand adjudicator, I win.

Top 5 Pictures:

#5

pic12

#4

pic8

#3

pic1

#2

pic3

#1

pic13

Aww my favorite is number 8, because my hair looks good. I’ll have to use that one too!

Thanks again for voting!

CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE THEM PROPERLY! DEPENDING UPON THE SPEED OF YOUR WEB CONNECTION, IT MAY TAKE A WHILE FOR THE SURVEY BELOW THE IMAGES TO LOAD. CHEERS! WW

Survey is now closed, thanks for voting!

Hello Everyone,

Well it looks like my marathon ambitions may be over as I am suffering from some kind of knee affliction. All the more reason to drink Scotch for its painkilling properties!

Here is the flight in just under two weeks:

#1 Scapa “the Orcadian” 16yr (Orkney)
Strength: 40%
Appearance: Golden, shimmery
Nose: very sweet, a little mealy. Smells a bit like Malteasers (a chocolate and malt candy concoction). Raw sugar.
Palate: light taste, airy, a wee bit of sea salt to it, a peaty lilt that feels more like peat than it actually tastes of peat
Body: light/medium
Finish: slightly warming

#2 Bruichladdich Waves (I don’t know yet…watch this space) (Islay)

#3 Caol Ila 10yr – Connoissuers Choice – Gordon & MacPhail (Islay)
Strength: 46%
Appearance: yellow
Nose: more peaty and smokey than regular Caol Ila. I cannot detect any of the characteristic sea salt that one would normally find in the dram
Palate: very sweet initially, leaves a very fizzy peaty coating in one’s mouth. Peat blast!
Body: light/medium
Finish:very long and feisty. This is pretty crazy-ass, more like a beef jerky than one would expect!

#4 Talisker 10yr (Skye)
Strength: 45.8%
Appearance: golden, a little light brownish
Nose: sweet but big torrents of peat coming through, some mealiness
Palate: deliciously multi-dimensional, peaty yet fruity. Exciting tongue action!
Body: full
Finish: delightfully smokey and robust, with warmth

Come to Merlins Rest on Thursday September 3rd. We start at 7:30pm, but come early to get a table and your ticket!

I’m looking forward to it!!

WW

Hello everyone,

I apologize for the lateness of this posting, saying that I’ve been busy is an understatement. I pulled off Artery 24 in collaboration with my two co-curators and my marvelous intern, I also started a new full-time job and I am still training for the marathon (I’m crazy, I know).

So this week’s scotches are:

#1 Benromach
Strength: 40%
Appearance: very light, like chardonnay
Nose: grass, wet shrubbery, hint of smoke
Palate: very light with a peaty tongue tingle, pleasant sweet malt swallow
Body: light
Finish: very light, the only thing that lingers is taste in the throat

#2 Strathisla 12yr
Strength: 43%
Appearance: very deep gold, furniture polish
Nose: closed aroma, but a little smokiness coming through, acidic tickly nose, raw vanilla, earthy
Palate: sweet and light in the mouth with mounting smokey peat that comes through, hot tongue
Body: medium
Finish: subtle finish, mostly sticks around in your mouth

#3 Deanston 12yr
Strength: 40%
Appearance: light, very yellow, not so gold
Nose: sweet popcorn, butter, sweet malt, a tad of smoke
Palate: very light and smooth in mouth, very malty flavors coming through, heat in mouth, a wee bit of salt and pepper, some citric tones
Body: light
Finish: mostly just a bit of flavor in mouth and a back of throat

#4 Glentauchers 14yr
Strength: 43%
Appearance: yellow, gold
Nose: a little acidic, definitely some mandarin orange, an ever-so-slight hint of treacle
Palate: very sweet with citric tones and a very dry tongue, a little honey comes through, reminds me of Springbank Marsala finish a little bit!
Body: light
Finish: dry and mouth is warm, a little chest warmth lingers

I hope to see you on Thursday!

So speaketh the Wench!!

Hello Everyone,

Well this month has been quite hot for this (almost translucent) European, so I found myself thinking about some tasty and refreshing blends that we could try. This is what I came up with…..

#1 Black Bottle
Strength: 40%
Appearance: light, gold and shimmery
Nose: deeply honeyed, heather, very sweet, a smidgen of peat
Palate: old fashioned blend in the best sense, not boring. Toffee, a bit of heathery sweetness, followed by a peaty, smokey blast.
Finish: quite long-lived for a blend with a peaty tongue aspect

#2 The Dimple Pinch
Strength: 43%
Appearance: deep gold, uniform
Nose: mild aroma, a little sweet, fresh with some malt thrown in!
Palate: very creamy, peat lovely, tingly tongue
Finish: smoky, sumptuous mouth, not much warming

#3 Compass Box Hedonism – vatted grain whisky
Strength: 43%
Appearance: shimmery and light, like chardonnay
Nose: so mildly sweet and fresh and shimmery, a little marzipan and caramel
Palate: smooth followed by a herbal blast, quite savory considering the sweet nose, perhaps like basil with some mild peat inflections. Adding mineral water tempers the blast a little, I think that this would also be excellent on the rocks. Delicious!
Finish: lingering, full on taste malty flavor in throat. Warming yes, but quite different from any other finish that I have experienced.

#4 The Naked Grouse
Strength: 40%
Appearance: deep gold, tree resin
Nose: green, fresh with sweet bourbon-like aspects, some of those maple qualities that one expects to find in something like Jack Daniels, a wee bit of toffee
Palate: heavily sherried, oaky, very deep when compared to other blends, let alone regular Grouse
Finish: pleasant not overly long. A very drinkable blend.

Come to Merlins Rest next Thursday. We start at 7:30pm, but come early to get a table and get your ticket sorted. I have a deal with a man, who has very long hair, who says that there must be shortbread…or else!

See you then!

Sláinte Mhath!

WW

This month we shall sample the delights of two distilleries that definitely will not be producing any more whisky…because they are demolished! This month is a rare chance to try two bottlings that don’t show up all that often now. Once they’re gone…we have empty bottles.

#1 Lochside 13yr (Eastern Highland). Closed 1992, demolished in 2005.
Strength: 43%
Appearance: light, watery
Nose: malty, lemon, edgy, elderflower
Palate: fizzy and sweet, with a malty kick, sharp, orange marmalade
Body: light/medium
Finish: slow lingering finish that subtly resides in ones chest

#2 Speyburn Brandan Orach (Speyside) – Still open!
Strength: 40%
Appearance: light, yellowish
Nose: prunes, malty
Palate: a bit sharp if drunk too quickly, citrus tones, a bit of yummy toffee on the end
Body: medium
Finish: low toned finish, a little linger

#3 Glendronach 13yr (Speyside) – Still open!
Strength: 40%
Appearance: perfect gold
Nose: very sweet, candyfloss, xmas candy with brandy inflections, fruitcake
Palate: honeyed palate, a little oily, dried fruit, tart citrus
Body: medium
Finish: creamy finish, gentle spice, not much linger

#4 Pittyvaich 12yr (Speyside). Closed 1993, demolished 2002.
Strength: 43%
Appearance: deep golden brown, brandy-like
Nose: very subtle, malty and sweet, tart apple
Palate: little bit chewy, very sweet, a bit malty flavor with smokey inflections
Finish: really understated, a bit of a grassy taste left over. Don’t let that discourage you though.

Come to Merlins Rest next Thursday. We start at 7:30pm, but come early to get a table and get your ticket sorted. Prize draw as per usual with whisky galore!