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Whisky Lady – October 2017
October was the 1st month that I juggled a new full-time ‘regular’ job that immediately plunged me into a demanding yet incredibly interesting project. And yet, what is a Whisky Lady to do but keep up with tastings too!
Thankfully it was a ‘slow’ month with only the Whisky Ladies and Original club’s having full tasting sessions. To keep things interesting, there were also were a few minis sessions too!
Our Whisky Ladies celebrated Diwali in all our finery and accompanied the festivities with Asia focused whiskies:
- From Japan – Hakushu 43%,
- From Bhutan – K5 40% vs Misty Peak 40%,
- And back to Japan Nikka From the Barrel 51.4% vs Super Nikka Whisky 43% (revival version)
Rye (Photo: Nikkhil Shirodkar)
Whereas our original club had a remarkable rye focused evening:
- Cody Road Rye (Iowa)
- Cascadia Rye (Português Port Barrels) 43.5% (Washington)
- High West Whiskey Double Rye 46% (Utah)
- Pikesville Straight Rye
My mini sessions had three distinctly different bents… The 1st was peaty with:
- Peat Chimney 12 year 40% (Wemyss) – Sea swept salty maritime peat
- Big Peat 46% (Douglas Laing) – Kept shifting and changing, overall delightfully
- Longrow 46% – Earthy, organic peat
- BenRiach Peated Quarter Cask 46% – Peppery peat, Christmas treat!
- Ledaig 10 year 46.3% – Farm peat, spice and straight forward
The 2nd was a revisit of Glenfarclas with:
- 15 year 46% – Straightforward, no pretence
- 105 60% – A full strength sherry berry cake, best had with a few drops of water
- 21 year 43% – Approachable and multi-dimensional
- 25 year 43% – A 2nd date dram that needs time to reveal its full character…
And the 3rd was not whisky at all but rum!
- Diplomatico 40%
- Zacapa 23 Solera 40% vs XO 40%
- El Dorado 12 year 40%
- Criterion 10 year 56%
October also introduced a new guest writer from our original club – Nikkhil Shirodkar – who provided the terrific notes on the September session I missed:
- Writers Tears (2013 Release) Cask Strength 53% – Alas didn’t meet expectations
- Springbank 12 year (June 2016) Burgundy 53.5% – A Burgundy wine twist
- Springbank 12 year (Jan 2017) Cask Strength 54.2% – The clear favourite! Gorgeous sherry and peat interplay
While I missed Mumbai, I did explore a whisky watering hole in Toronto… where I sampled a trio of bourbons at 1602 Dundas:
- Black Maple Hill Kentucky Straight Bourbon 47.5% – Mysterious origins, tasty results
- Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon 40% – Double the Rye, interesting nose
- Elmer T Lee Kentucky Single Barrel Bourbon 45% – Cinnamon spice, oaky and bitter
The month closes with my hopping on a plane to Germany… let’s see what can be discovered next!
Curious to know more? Check out recent Whisky Lady’s monthly missives:
You can also find even more Whisky bits ‘n bobs on:
- FaceBook Whisky Lady in India – https://www.facebook.com/WhiskyLadyIN
- Twitter @WhiskyLadyIN
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!
Whisky Lady – June Jaunts
June was full of travels! Which just so happened to prompt a few whisky adventures with:
- Amusing hour(s) selecting whiskies at London’s Whisky Exchange
- Went on a road trip to tour of Gimli’s Crown Royal plant
- Got completely distracted at a Winnipeg Liquor Mart
- Evening with Winnipeg’s “The Cabinet” whisky tasting club
- Popped into Winnipeg’s Whisky Bar (part of The Toad in the Hole on Osborne)
- Raided a friend’s whisky collection to snag a few samples to bring back to India… as he puts it “I do NOT collect stamps!“
June featured three tasting sessions! (more…)
Whisky Lady – May missive
Whisky Lady sampling remained strong in May with four whisky sessions!
It kicked off with a special “Gourmet Affair” whisky and food pairing by The Singleton and TheWestin Mumbai featuring:
- Glenkinchie 12 year with asparagus and burrata
- Caol Ila 12 year with stuffed morels and mushrooms
- Talisker 10 year with seared scallops and prosciutto or corn fed chicken
- Lagavulin 16 year with Australian lamb loin or Indian lamb shank
- Singleton by Glen Ord 12 year with mignardises
Whisky Lady – Jolly January
Yeah! This is officially the beginning of “Year 2” since I started sharing a monthly round-up of Whisky Lady sampling adventures!
January started off slow… then picked up pace to cover 25 whiskies – including back-to-back whisky tastings last night and the night before!
Light, bright, delight and woah!
Whisky Lady – May merriment
Welcome to Whisky Lady‘s 5th instalment summarising May’s whisky tasting adventures. Finally after a two month hiatus, our merry malt tasting group had our ‘proper’ session. We sampled blind whiskies from three countries:
- USA (NY) – Hudson Single Malt NAS 46% – Something ‘different’ in a small barrel, hand crafting, unusual 375 ml bottle… doesn’t mean the whisky is any good. Just skip it!
- Scotland (Highland) – Deanston Virgin Oak NAS 46.3% – Decent delicate and slightly dull dram. Perhaps a refreshing spring cocktail made with a light hand and subtle flavours
- Ireland – Teeling Single Malt NAS 46% – Trust the Irish to create a sociable whisky! A complete treat – the kind of whisky you to pull out and enjoy with friends
May tasting session trio (Whisky Lady)
In addition to our monthly sessions, I held a most enjoyable tasting with another whisky lady where we tried:
- Miniatures of Auchentoshan 12 year, Three Wood and 18 year – Pleasant but not special, consider if someone else is paying and all you need is a whisky to accompany nibbles and other action
- Auchentoshan Cooper’s Reserve 14 year – Clean, straight-forward with a whiff of sherry character but doesn’t quite pull it off
Auchentoshan quartet (Whisky Lady)
HITS – Unlike most months where it is tough to chose a ‘favourite’, the Irish Wishky Teeling is the only one I would consider stocking in my whisky cabinet for sociable evenings.
MISS – Also unlike most months, there was a clear ‘warning’ too – I still shudder at the Hudson. Don’t… I beg you just don’t…
Another highlight was Whisky Lady invaded Man’s World May edition with an interview with Dr Bill Lumsden.
MW May 2015
In honour of Ardbeg’s 200 year, I also published further extracts fro the Bill Lumsden interview focused on Ardbeg.
June should bring some interesting tasting adventures as I will be traveling to Singapore, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto, Canada then carry on to London in July. Let’s see what mischief and merriment can be had! Slainthe!
Curious to know more? Start with Whisky Lady’s monthly missives:
- Whisky Lady – April adventures
- Whisky Lady – March madness
- Whisky Lady – February fun
- Whisky Lady – January journal
You can also find Whisky Lady on:
- FaceBook Whisky Lady in India
- Twitter @WhiskyLadyIN
Jameson, Green Spot + Redbreast
Part of a series of tasting notes from a monthly private whisky club in Mumbai, India. This session was a special event focused on Irish whiskey.
Tasting Notes from 21 Nov 2013
We departed from our usual format in honour of a couple Irish lads from Jameson. Our evening included Irish whiskey history, making, trivia and tales – including a sniff of malted vs unmalted barley, new make spirit from pot vs column still.
The Jameson lads with their set-up for the eve
The whisk(e)y sampling began with a blind tasting of American, Irish and Scottish: (more…)
Everyday Asia 