Home » Posts tagged 'Writers Tears'
Tag Archives: Writers Tears
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 – September 2017
September’s Whisky Lady tastings was a mixed month as one club didn’t meet and another did but it was a rare session I missed due to travel! Naturally I augmented with other experiences and shared the final set of tasting notes from our remarkable July which had seven different sessions!
The gents from the Bombay Malt & Cigar club met late August with an unusual selection of three Single Grains and two Indian whiskies:
- Girvan 8 years (2006/2014) Cask 532398 46% (Berrys’)
- Strathclyde 25 year (1990/2016) DL11335 51.5% (Douglas Laing’s Old Particular)
- Invergordon 28 year (1987/2015) DL11004 56.5% (Douglas Laing’s Old Particular)
- Sula’s Eclipse Blended Whisky 42.8% & Rampur 43%
Our whisky ladies had a lovely Sunday sundowner with this quartet:
- Mortlach NAS 49% – Sweet on the nose, apricot wood on palate… bit of a disappointment
- Arran Amarone Cask Finish 50% – Think pink summer blush, perfect afternoon sipper!
- Lochside (1981/2005) 43% G&MP – Stunning, simply stunning
- Aultmore 5 year (2007/2012) 66.8% Master of Malt – Provoked a very divided reaction
Whereas our original club enjoyed the following (alas without me as I was off gallivanting in the North America!):
- Writers Tears Cask Strength (2016 Release) 53%
- Springbank 12 year Burgundy (June 2016 Release) Cask Strength 53.5%
- Springbank 12 year (January 2017 Release) Cask Strength 54.2%
I also held a bottle polishing-off session with experiments in barley, wheats and more:
- Buckwheat from Bretagne, France – Eddu Silver 40%
- Ancient barley from Islay, Scotland – Bruichladdich Bere Barley (2008) 50%
- Hordeum Wild Barley Grass from Colorado, USA – AD Laws Hordeum Straight Malt 2 year (Batch #1B) 42.5%
- Triticum wheat from Colorado, USA – AD Laws Triticum Straight Wheat 2 year (Batch #1B) 50%
- American Corn, wheat, barley & rye – A.D. Laws Four Grain Straight Bourbon (Batch 8) 47.5%
Plus a sample session with Duty-Free No Age Statement (NAS) drams:
- Auchentoshan Heartwood 43% – Fermented fruit and pear tart
- Highland Park Einar 40% – Soft peat, accessible… quite “NASpy”
I shared July’s tasting notes from our “Dream Drams” evening with an exceptional set enjoyed with India’s Malt Maniac Krishna Nakula featuring:
- Mortlach 37 year (1976/2013) 43% G&MP – Classic restrained old style Mortlach
- Lochside (1981/2005) 43% G&MP – Simply a beautiful dram with an incredible finish
- Mosstowie 35 year (1979/2015) 48.1% Signatory – Lomond stills, nuanced complexity
- Aultmore 5 year (2007/2012) 66.8% Master of Malt – Punches boundaries of cask strength!
Plus revived the Whisky Tips with:
- A few ideas to keep in mind if you find yourself in need of Operation ‘House Clean’ – Whisky Style
- Vacu vin for whiskies – A way to keep your open bottles of whiskies from oxidation by using something like a ‘vacu vin’!
- And if you find yourself wanting to share a sample or two from your collection… some tips on whisky samples storage
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
Everyday Asia 