I doubt Balvenie will be a new name to any of my readers, and as many of you will be well aware they have picked up quite an impressive range of awards for their various expressions – as I’ve said so many a time before, though, it often does seem that nearly any whisky that hits the market will be awarded with some gold medal or other.  Anyhow, Balvenie have released several PortWood expressions including 1989, 1991 and 1993, and they have picked up several prestigious gold medals.

Rewards aside, it’s actually rather reasonably priced as well (around £35 in the UK), so it seemed fitting to make PortWood (the 1993 expression, specifically) the first Balvenie reviewed on this wee blog of mine. In my opinion, Balvenie PortWood is actually one of the easier whisky expressions to agree upon tasting notes for, as mostly everyone seems to agree (and rightly so) that the main notes are very nutty, fruity and oaky and that pretty much goes for both the nose and palate.

If I were to be more detailed, the nose presents a nuttiness ranging from sweet almond to bitter hazel along with sweet, vanilla, oak and dry raisins. Nothing too complicated, but well balanced and easy enough for anyone to enjoy, regardless of your prior exposure to whisky. The palate is thick, buttery and creamy with lots of lovely honey and dried fruits and some oak – less nuttiness here, but it returns to say farewell on the finish.

A straight-forward, deliciously balanced and easily drinkable whisky which pretty much anyone ought to be proud of having in their collection.

Colour:  Golden caramel.

Nose: Nuts (hazel, almond), vanilla-oak, dry raisins.

Taste: Thick, creamy, buttery, honey, dried fruits, oak and a nutty finish.

As I mentioned earlier, Fraoch is a heather ale, which quite simply means that heather flowers are added to the barley. Williams Brothers themselves claim that “heather ale is probably the oldest style of ale still produced in the world”, something I can’t personally vouch for, but whether true or not – it’s old, okay?  While I like most ales at room temperature, I would recommend that you chill this in the fridge for a short while (maybe 20 minutes) before consuming it – but don’t drink it too cold!

Unsurprisingly, the nose is really floral – it’s like Scottish spring in a bottle, with lots of heather, some malt and a mix of honey and yeast. Or in one word: Lovely. The palate is fairly similar, with a very sweet and floral mix of flavours and a bit of citrus. There is hardly anything that would hint of it being alcoholic (it’s bottled at 5%) and it goes down really easily, but I don’t think I could drink more than one or two in a session as it is very sweet.  Overall, a great and quite interesting beer.

Let’s move on to Alba, which is a pine ale – mmmm, pine… If you’ve ever bit in to a pine you may not find the prospect of a pine ale too exciting, luckily though it tastes rather better when accompanied by malt. Unlike Fraoch I wouldn’t chill this at all, just drink it at room temperature (to be honest, I may even put it in the sun for a bit to warm up, but I am a bit of a freak like that).

The nose here is of bready malt, pine and sweet fruit and perhaps just a tiny tiny bit of citrus. The palate is earthy, malty and piny along with notes of dark chocolate and juicy raisins. Something that holds true for both of these ales is that I have never tasted anything like them, they are incredibly different, and I would recommend them both warmly.

If I had to pick one to recommend, I would probably have to go for the Fraoch – though that is probably more a reflection of my current mood than general preference.

Fraoch Summary

Eye: Dark straw.

Nose: Floral, heather, malt, honey, yeast.

Tongue: Sweet and floral, citrus, yeast.

Alba Summary

Eye: Mahogany/amber.

Nose: Pine, bready malt, sweet fruit and a touch of citrus.

Tongue: Earthy malt, pine, dark chocolate and juicy raisins.

You’ll need:

• 170g of raisins
• 120ml of whisky – a blended whisky is your best bet here, pretty much whatever you have at home will do
• 450g of flour
• 110g of sugar
• 1tbsp baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 1tbsp medium-grated orange zest
• ½tsp baking soda
• 240ml buttermilk
• 60ml melted butter

And the method behind the madness:

1. Place your raisins in a bowl, one by one or all at once, and pour over the whisky. Leave to soak overnight, and make sure not to eat them all in the morning – they will be delicious. On a side note, I like to soak raisins in whisky for a couple of days and cover them in chocolate as a Christmas treat.
2. Day 2: measure out your sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and orange zest and mix it all up in a decent sized bowl. Add your raisins and give it all a final, good, stir.
3. Grab a small bowl or a glass and pour in the milk, add the baking soda and stir for a wee bit until it dissolves.
4. Add your milk-soda to your big bowl and stir well.
5. Grab a 9×9-ish pan and butter it up gently, once the tin is fully lubricated fill it up with your mixture.
6. Slap in a pre-heated oven, about 175c should do, for about 50 minutes or until it’s a nice golden brown on the outside.

Serve! As I mentioned earlier on it’s delicious with whisky butter, which is a lot like brandy butter, and can be made by combining, say, 120g of softened butter with about 1tbsp of whisky.

Fascinating, no? Yeah… I didn’t really think so either, so let’s move on to the bottle. The 1993 Connoisseurs Choice expression which I’m taking a look at today is bottled by Gordon & Macphail, and will set you back about £30-35 in the UK. It pours a very white wine type colour which suits my mood today perfectly, and as such I will go ahead and give it full marks for appearance. The nose is quite floral, including heather, along with some honey, apricot, a bit of vanilla and… malt? Yeah, malt, I think – my nose is a bit stuffed today, but I’m pretty sure that’s it. Quite a calm and well behaved nose, it’s not too aggressive but not cowering in the corner either.

The palate is sweet and quite fruity, with a fair bit of cereal, some malt, just a touch of nuttiness and a slight sea-water saltiness that you wouldn’t expect from the nose – it’s very mild, though. Not terribly exciting, but not boring either. Overall I’d say this is a quite standard malt, nothing that sticks out, highly drinkable, and it shouldn’t offend anyone. A safe bet for pretty much any occasion, but not suitable for snobbery, I’d say.

Personally (what other than my personal opinion you would expect to find here I don’t know, but still) I think it’s a bit pricey for what you get, which feels rather silly to say since it’s not that expensive, but I’d be more prone to recommend it if it was around the £25 mark. Then again, some of you may think it’s worth an extra £5 to get a whisky that not everyone will have in their cupboard, in which case you shouldn’t be disappointed – just don’t expect a mouthgasm.

Eye: White wine.

Nose: Floral, heather, honey, apricot, vanilla, malt (?).

Mouth: Sweet, fruity, cereal, malt, touch of nuttiness, slight sea-water.

The islands region consists of several islands, would you believe it, and as such there is no general history for the region as a whole nor is it very easy to find shared traits. A common misconception is that Island whiskies are largely similar to those produced on Islay, which is incorrect – there is a vast difference between each island whisky, and certainly between Island whiskies and Islay whiskies.

There are several well known island distilleries, though, including the world renowned Highland Park, Isle of Jura, Talisker, Arran, Scapa, Tobermory and Ledaig – some big names, in other words, but some smaller ones as well.

Further commentary would require going into detail on each distillery, which I will leave for reviews rather than turning this post into a monster.

Nearly every bar and pub in the known universe will stock this on their shelves, and I suppose that’s one of the things that makes it so darn good. It offers familiarity. As if that weren’t enough, though, it’s rather cheap, too! That said, I was at my local pool club the other day and spotted it behind the bar. When I ordered one the barman look confused, and I had to repeat my order and point to the bottle. He went over to grab it, looked at it with a look of complete confusion, and mumbled something about finding an opener before disappearing and returning with a more experienced barman. As it turns out, he’d thought he needed a wine opener! It was clear that they don’t sell much of the stuff, in fact I’ve confirmed that by returning once a week for a regular game and ordering the same drink, each time the bottle is just as full as it had been the previous week.

So really, they shouldn’t stock it – it doesn’t sell well enough – but there appears to be an unwritten law whereby every bar must stock it, and thank Christ for that as it is the only drinkable spirit they have on offer!

To the point! While the Remy Martin V.S.O.P is by no means the best Cognac around it is rather good, and it offers great value for money. A bottle will set you back about £30-35 in the UK, and I believe anywhere between $40-50 in the US, a glass at the above mentioned pool club is £2.45 – bargain! The nose carries delightful warmth with hints of dried fruits, leather, spice, vanilla and some oak and it definitely won’t bore you in the slightest. The palate is largely similar but perhaps more intense, it packs a bit of an initial kick but quickly settles down and lets you enjoy it in full. Not at all a shy drink, but not too aggressive either, with some but far from overwhelming alcohol taste.

Colour: Bourbon-esque.

Nose: Warm, dried fruits (apples, figs, peach), vanilla, leather and oak. Delightful.

Taste: Much the same as the nose, perhaps a bit more aromatic.

While it may be a bit of a boring choice to have in your cupboard as it’s very common – it is common for good reasons. I always have one on the go.

Want to buy this cognac? Available in: UK & Europe (click), USA & World (click)

We had booked a table for around half seven, and arrived pretty much spot on that very time, but before being taken to our table in the restaurant we were shown to a wee whisky bar in an adjoining room. There, we were sat down and each handed a whisky menu with some 350 Scottish whiskies on offer – as well as a couple of liqueurs – all of which were reasonably priced. Much to my delight and, in honesty, slight surprise, the waiters all knew a fair bit about whisky, and were quite competent indeed at recommending new malts based on your current favourites.

Whisky ordered, we were presented with the food menu, and our order was taken from the comfortable armchairs and sofas in the bar, where we remained seated until our starters were ready – a pleasant twist, as sitting at the dinner table often isn’t quite as relaxed, or as comfortable.

The food on offer shows their commitment to everything Scottish, ranging from starters such as smoked salmon with Arran mustard and whisky dressing, to mains including the most beautifully cooked and amazingly tender fillet of Scottish beef I have ever had – served with wild mushroom and truffle oil sauce. The only disappointment on the menu, that we ordered, was the wild mushroom starter, which was too sweet. The beef, as mentioned, was sublime, and their vegetable haggis starter was nothing short of delicious.

After the meal we ordered another round of whisky and had a good chat with the waiter about the various malts on offer. Soon thereafter he offered to take us to see their whisky collection – the biggest in the world, apparently, with some 3000+ expressions, weighing in at over 3 tonnes (which means they had to reinforce the floor) and purchased at about £1m! An astonishing collection, kept in incredibly good nick, and beautifully presented in perfectly lit glass cabinets.

Overall Amber offered great value for money, fantastic food, and outstanding service – I was well and truly impressed, and will without doubt return soon!

To be honest, I am not quite sure how I feel about this cocktail, but I thought I’d share it anyway. I’ve never really had a cocktail based on a tangy berry before, and it’s quite interesting, at least. You’ll need the following:

• A highball glass
• 3-4 ice cubes
• A handful of fresh lingonberries, or 2 tablespoons of lingonberry jam
• 5 mint leaves
• Lemonade
• A 50ml measure of whisky of your choice, my host used Aberlour
• A dash of lemonade
• If you use fresh berries, you’ll need 1½tsp of sugar as well

And do the following:

Mix your lingonberries or jam with the mint leaves, mushing it all together (but don’t break the leaves), and pour the mixture into your highball glass. Add the ice, whisky, and top up with lemonade. Stir gently for about 15 seconds, and serve.

An odd cocktail indeed, but one that I think would grow on me if I had it a few more times. If you try it, I’d love to hear what you think!

I’m a bit worried that some of my readers may misunderstand me and as such I’m going to be painfully repetitive and say this again: I don’t dislike Glenlivet, I do like Glenlivet, I just don’t feel as if though I like it as much as I should. I guess my relationship with it is similar to that of a 13 year old boy or girl and Christmas Eve – you love the concept, you know it will be awesome and that you will get a whole bunch of presents, but you just can’t get as excited about it as you feel you ought to or used to. See what I mean?

Anyway, I sat down today with three wee drams in front of me, the 12 year old, the 12 year old French Oak Finish and finally the 18 year old and decided to drink them in that very order. I won’t go into detail on the 12 year olds in this post; I merely had them to remind myself of what they are like and to attempt to get in the Glenlivet ‘zone’, if you will. The 18 year old, I can now conclude, is my favourite amongst the three.

The nose, to start with, is beautiful. Much like the 12 year old expressions it has a decisive flowery aroma, which is nice and fresh, along with a shy murmur of amontillado and some oak. There’s some peat in there, light footed as a ballerina, and definitely some fruit though I can’t quite put my finger on it. Not quite as apple-heavy as the 12’s. All of the aromas come together very nicely.

The palate is where the real improvement has been made; it starts out with the same flowers and fruits carried forward by the nose, then a bit gentle spice and oak. There’s another flavour that I can’t quite describe, the closest I could get is home-made nougat soaked in coffee – a small serving, mind you. The finish is dry, fairly sweet and just keeps going.

Have I changed my mind about The Glenlivet, then? Well, I suppose I have, at least a bit. The 18 year old, which I haven’t had all too often, is better than I remembered. Still not one of my favourite whiskies, but it is very drinkable and as such I can see why people enjoy it.

Colour: Amber.

Nose: Flowers, fresh, faint amontillado, fruit, light peat, some oak, nicely combined.

Taste: Flowers, fruit, gentle spice, coffee soaked nougat.

Want to buy this whisky? Available in: UK & Europe (click), USA & World (click)

They both had a rather low alcohol level, the Jim Beam weighing in at 4.6% and the Jack at 6%, which served as a bit of a warning. Unfortunately they both tasted a bit watery, and the cola used was, I think, a bit sweeter and more artificial than usual and kind of dominated the natural sweetness of the whiskey. While the Jack had a higher level of alcohol, and as such there was presumably more Jack in the mixture (they’re both bottled at 40%), it actually seemed to have lost more of its flavour to the cola than did the Beam.

It could also be, though, that the Beam’s naturally sweeter flavours simply went better with whatever brand of cola used. It was rather sickly though, more so than the Jack, so in that sense picking a ‘winner’ would be difficult. In the end, I’ll be steering clear of both of them and mix my own, as you get better ingredients and proportions that way. Most people mix ‘em differently and I guess that’s where these products really fall down. Shame, because I like the idea of them as an alternative to beer when you’re out and about!

Oh and it must be said that the Jack Daniels can was, for a company that normally produces a high standard of branded shirts/barware and rely so heavily on their well known design, incredibly cheap looking and frankly ugly. The front looks good enough, but down the side (if you will allow me to refer to any part of a round can as its front or side) it says “old no. 7” in what is arguably the ugliest font I’ve ever seen, which makes it look very cheap. The Jim Beam can is much nicer.

Not good enough to replace beer, and far from as good as mixing your own, but does have novelty value. Generally too sweet and sickly. That’s how long this article could’ve been!