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Whisky Lady – April 2017
April brought another trip to Jakarta and Singapore – naturally fitting in a whisky flight too!
Plus two of our whisky groups met up and I revived my “mini” session too – with notes to follow in the coming months…
Whisky Ladies explore Master Distiller Rachel Barrie’s Bowmore Travel Trilogy:
- Blackrock 40% – Smoked fruit, sweet peat spice, easy to drink
- Gold Reef 43% – Maple syrup peat with bitter chocolate and honey sweet finish
- White Sands 17 year 43% – Our favourite of the trio!
Finally got around to sharing our February Original’s Undisclosed Distillery session with the BMC lads:
- Sansibar Islay 8 year 52.2% – Fresh muted peat with an evolving character, well rounded
- Port Askaig 19 year 50.4% – Sufficiently complex to to keep it interesting, for a peaty whisky quite elegant
- Wilson & Morgan “Highland Heart” Sherry Cask 43% – Rich marmalade, incredibly smooth and rounded… a rather regal whisky you simply want to curl up and enjoy
Our original group had a celebration of NAS whiskies:
- Guillon Banyuls (2015) 43% – Technically is a ‘malted spirit’ not whisky…
- Oban Little Bay 43% – A new party whisky?
- Arran Port Cask 50% – Fruity nose that kept evolving, red sour plums and long finish
- Kavalan Peaty Cask R091214006A Bottle No 043/137 54.8% – Curl of peat around a delicious dram
I also managed to swing through Singapore twice in March and April with stops at:
- La Maison du Whisky Singapore Renewed!
- The Single Cask with two flights and a single dram…
- 1st Flight – “Whisky guessing game” with Cask Islay 46%, Dun Bheagan Islay 43%, Finlaggan Cask Strength 58%, Islay Storm 40%
- 2nd Flight – A lighter touch with: Deanston 15 years (1997/2013) Cask No 1958 45.8%, Glen Moray 21 year (1991/2013) Cask No 9980 46%, Glentauchers 18 years (1996/2014) 2 casks 46%, Miltonduff 21 year (1995/2016) 45.8%
- Single dram – Ben Nevis 19 year (1996/2016) Cask No 871 45.1%
There were a few more notes sharing Whisky Live Singapore explorations:
- Whisky Live Singapore – Bruichladdich
- Whisky Live Singapore – Balvenie
- Lost Distillery 1 – Auchnagie, Stratheden, Towiemore
- Lost Distillery 2 – Jericho, Gersten, Lossit, Auchnagie
Plus the last from the archives:
Curious to know more? Check out recent Whisky Lady’s monthly missives:
You can also find my Whisky Lady in India avatar on:
- Blog https://whiskylady.co/
- FaceBook Whisky Lady in India – https://www.facebook.com/WhiskyLadyIN
- Twitter @WhiskyLadyIN
Whisky Lady – March 2017
Once upon a time, March 31st used to mean year-end sales push with everyone running around, heaps of energy, effort and much more!
While I no longer have such direct business pressures, I do still need to do the accounting books so did a little whisky cabinet spring cleaning to pull out a few older oxidation bottles to have on hand for a late evening post numbers wind down. Great plan… til a cold happened. And I never waste good whisky on a stuffed up nose!!
So instead, my March round-up will not feature my hidden gems, instead share that it did bring some merriment and mischief with a trip to Jakarta and Singapore – including a nip into The Single Cask and La Maison du Whisky.
Alas March missed two of our usual tasting group sessions – both the BMC and our underground original club. However nothing was going to stop our Whisky Ladies from their monthly tasting!
And what did the ladies chose? A few less common slightly ‘Risky Whiskies‘:
- France – Brenne Estate Cask 40% – A delightful light, frankly ‘girly’ bubblegum whisky
- France – AWA (Authentique Whisky Alsacien) Pinot Noire 42% – A wine influenced playful, flower bouquet of a whisky
- USA – Virgil Kaine 2016 Ashcat 45.6% – Bourbon with a twist!
Plus a birthday bonus and bourbon:
- Lowland – Auchentoshan 40 year 41.2% – A whisky lady birthday treat! Happy Bday Pooja!!!
- USA – Willett Pot Stilled Reserve 47% – Great with a cube of ice!
I also shared notes from an amazing evening with Krishna Nakula when we sampled:
- Undeclared 22 year (1990/2012) 46% – Sweet spice with a lovely long finish
- Glenlivet 19 year (1995/2015) 58.1% – Banana spice, nutty cereal…
- Amrut 5 year (2010/2015) 56.5% – Finally an Amrut I really LIKE!
- Kavalan Solist NAS Sherry Cask S081229026 55.6% – Yet another brilliant Kavalan!
- Benriach 20 year (1994/2014) 54.7% – Lots of different elements, not quite in harmony
Plus a few extras like:
- Whisky Tip for Asia – “Take a “shot” of ice cold water” (Murray Campbell, Bruichladdich Brand Ambassador for Asia)
- Whisky Live Singapore – Ladies Room + Amrut
- A look back on the remarkable Nordic Whiskies Journey
- Recap of the Whisky Ladies bitching at the International Scotch Day
- And “Of all the gin joints!” on Native Brew’s early gin experiments for the Whisky Ladies
Curious to know more? Check out recent Whisky Lady’s monthly missives:
You can also find my Whisky Lady in India avatar on:
- Blog https://whiskylady.co/
- FaceBook Whisky Lady in India – https://www.facebook.com/WhiskyLadyIN
- Twitter @WhiskyLadyIN
Whisky Lady – Frolicking February 2017
February was just frivolous and fun! I flew off to Delhi to co-facilitate a conference, home to Mumbai then a few days in Goa where I made a quick trip to Paul John distilleries too!
For the Whisky Lady, February had two whisky industry events:
- Glenmorangie’s 3 country introduction to Bacalta
- International Scotch Day
For our regular whisky tasting sessions, I played host to two!
- A bit cheeky, I twisted our original underground club‘s most sacred of traditions – blind tasting – by teasingly revealing the bottles from three independent bottlers… who did not disclose the distillery on their labels.
- Then even more sneaky, I planned to repeat the performance with our Bombay Malt & Cigar gents to see what they thought of the selection.
My idea was to contrast and compare tasting experiences… alas the BMC night was postponed to April however here is a sneak peak into what the original club thought!
- Sansibar Islay 8 year (2007/2015) 52.2% – Citrus spice & everything nice!
- Port Askaig 19 year 50.4% – Floral, beautifully balanced peat with a long refined finish
- Wilson & Morgan “Highland Heart” Sherry (2006/2015) 43% – A classy classic whisky – soft wine, spice and simply superb
Without our regular ‘proper’ tasting evening, the BMC gents decided to do their version of a ‘Bar Night‘ with whiskies more accessible to us mortals – Aberlour 12 year, Lagavulin 16 year and Penderyn Madeira finish.
Our Whisky Ladies also departed convention and embraced a Sunday sundowner to sample gins made by our very own Whisky Lady – Susan Dias!
Another whisky lady and I brushed off the last Nordic whisky samples to explore:
- Iceland – Flóki Young Malt 1st Edition 47% – Barely a whisky, suggest adding a few more years… and then see what its all about
- Finland – Teerenpeli Kaski Distiller’s Choice 43% – Loved their homage to light sherry! What a fabulous dram…
- Denmark – Stauning Young Rye (2010/2011 – Oct 2012) 49.3% Batch 5 – Can’t tell whether its because I’m not a fan of rye or… but not my whisky style but didn’t do it for me
- Denmark – Stauning Peated 4 year (2009/2013) 55% 2nd Edition – All Danish peat, grain, locally malted… not bad but…
In February, caught up with the tasting notes for earlier sessions and experiences…
Starting with our original club’s November Irish night:
- Teeling Single Grain Wine Casks 46%
- Teeling Single Malt 46%
- Teeling Small Batch 46%
- Teeling Cask Strength
(Photo: Table for One)
Then our combined Whisky Ladies / Bombay & Malt and Cigar gents “Ladies Choice” whiskies with guest posts by some of our whisky ladies:
- Japan – Akashi 40% (Nikoulina) – Appetizer whisky…
- Sweden – Mackmyra Vinterdröm 46.1% (Susan) – Special edition
- India – Paul John Single Cask #1844 60.5% (Paula) – Unpeated single cask
- France – Kornog Taouarc’h Pempved 14 BC 46% (Pooja) – Our bras stayed on this time!
- Taiwan – Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask S090102020 57.1% (Shruti) – What a whisky!
Followed by the Whisky Ladies “out of ordinary” North American evening:
- Shelter Point Single Malt (2016, Batch #1) 46% – Fantastic 1st foray into the world of whisky – bravo BC, Canada!!
- Westland Single Malt 46% – Continues to confirm these Seattle folks are making darn good whisky
- AD Laws Triticum Straight Wheat 2 year (Batch #1B) 50% – The trouble with tribbles and grain experiments
- AD Laws Hordeum Straight Malt 2 year (Batch #1B) 42.5% – More grain experiments
And closing with more Whisky Live Singapore postings with:
- Dalmore – Quick nip of the 18 year
Curious to know more? Check out recent Whisky Lady’s monthly missives:
You can also find my Whisky Lady in India avatar on:
- Blog https://whiskylady.co/
- FaceBook Whisky Lady in India – https://www.facebook.com/WhiskyLadyIN
- Twitter @WhiskyLadyIN
Whisky Lady – Jolly Good January 2017
January was just jolly good! It was great being home in Mumbai and even better being able to join all three whisky groups sessions…
My Whisky Lady posts began the month with a great big THANK YOU for so many who have been integral to making it possible to have such copious content and memorable experiences!
(Photo: Table for One)
Whisky Lady – December Delights
Just wanted to raise a virtual toast and wish you all a very Happy New Years!!
As I was away in Indonesia for most of December, my Whisky Lady posts were mostly catch-up on earlier tasting experiences…
Once again the Bombay & Malt and Cigar gentlemen managed to accommodate my mad travel schedule and arranged our night to coincide with my limited dates back in Mumbai. The theme was Berrys’ and a blend featuring:
- Berrys’ Speyside 46% – Sour cherries meets bitter sherry… hmm….
- Berrys’ Islay 46% – Peaty sweet cinnamon spice…
- Ghosted Reserve No 2 42.8% – A trio of lost Lowland distillery spirits from Ladyburn, Inverleven and Dumbarton…
Whisky Lady – November novelties
My Whisky Lady posts kept speed with lots of activities in November despite being away in Indonesia most of the month with a short detour to Singapore for Whisky Live.
Before flying off, managed to sneak in a session with the Bombay & Malt and Cigar gentlemen which was a quest for quality affordable cask strength whiskies:
- Linkwood 24 year (1991/2015) Cask No 586497 53.8% (TWE) – Somehow just too much discord between nose and palate…
- Longmorn 24 year (1990/2015) 53.7% (TWE) – Autumn delight, all elements in harmony
- Balmenach 26 year (1988/2015) Cask No 3242 51.1% (Signatory) – Faaaar too easy to enjoy
Our original tasting group carried on to sample an interesting assortment of Teeling whiskies – which I also tried at Whisky Live in Singapore… so didn’t feel completely left out! (more…)
Whisky Lady – October offerings…
Happy Diwali and Hallowe’en everyone!!!
As the lights glow, firecrackers pop and people get dressed up in silly costumes, time for my monthly Whisky Lady round up! Even being away in Jakarta for a good part of September and early October did not deter sampling adventures….
Nor an opportunity to share an extract of an interview with Inver House (AnCnoc, Balblair, Old Pulteney, Speyburn, Hanky Bannister, Caorunn) Master Distiller Stuart Harvey on whether “Single Malt drinkers are promiscuous.” (more…)
Whisky Lady – Speedy September
My Whisky Lady posts kept speed with lots of activities in September… including celebrating the 300th post!
The month was supposed to welcome the return of all three tasting groups… However my Jakarta trip derailed our Bombay Malt & Cigar night… oops!
Whisky Lady – August
Mumbai monsoons are a time to curl up with a hot cup of chai and crisp pakoras…
With cooler temperatures also comes most enjoyable conditions for a dram or two… which this Whisky Lady indeed did!
Our original club took a hiatus however the Whisky Ladies of Mumbai celebrated our 1st anniversary in style! We went ‘potluck’ – both on the whiskies and nibbles, inviting friends to join the merriment. In honour of our anniversary, I also launched a new “Whisky Ladies Corner” to feature a few special Whisky Ladies posts. (more…)
Whisky Lady – Just July
July was honestly just a lot of fun. Just as June was full of travels, July was very much Mumbai focused.
Our original club and Bombay Malt & Cigar club took a break, however no mere monsoon could hold back our intrepid Whisky Ladies who tackled 5 whisky regions with:
- Lowlands – Glenkinchie 12 year 43% – Light apple cider appetizer
- Islands – Jura Turas-Mara 42% – ‘Long journey’ to silky sweetness and deceptive richness
- Highlands – Clynelish 14 year 46% – Satisfying contrast between aroma, palate and finish!
- Speyside – Cardhu 12 year 40% – An experiment comparing newly opened vs previously opened bottle…
- Islay – Ardbeg 10 year 46% – For those of the peaty persuasion!
Everyday Asia 