Tag Archives: Bourbon

Whisky

Exploring Global Whisky: A Personal Advent Calendar Journey (The conclusion)

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With Christmas Day my Advent Calendar came to an end. There are no more whiskies to try. (In my Advent Calendar). There are still thousands, millions maybe, of whiskies still out there. I can drink a different whisky every day, from today until I run out of breath. By then, I would just about have scratched to surface of all that this wonderful drink has to offer.

Dec 25th – Christmas Day

Our final whiskey is a Bourbon from the United States, from Kentucky to be precise. Made by Michter’s, they claim to trace their lineage back to America’s first whiskey company in 1753. I do suspect that whiskey had been produced unofficially long before then.

It is Michter’s US★1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon. It has an ABV of 45.7% and is dark amber in colour. Its nose has leather, dried fruit and just a hint of smoke. They char their barrels, and I think that is where the smoke comes from. On the palate I got sweetness, somewhere between maple syrup and caramel, with nutmeg and cinnamon. Followed by a hint of the oak char.

I enjoyed tasting this whiskey. Online the price it is offered at varies considerably. But I think it is reasonable value. It and the other Bourbon (Maker’s Mark) in the box have made me think. I should try a few others.

My Advent Calendar whisky journey has taken me from the far North of Sweden, south to New Zealand, then west to Kentucky and Tennessee, in the United States, and east to Japan and Taiwan. We have visited quite a few other countries on route.

I won’t say I liked every every whisky, but I did enjoy the experience of trying them. As the blurb on the box says, in the worst case scenario, it saves you from having twenty-five nearly full bottles of something that you don’t really get on with. Every whisky drinker has one or two of those.

There are a few that I wouldn’t drink again. There are many that I would happily accept as a gift. Some of them I would pay hard-earned cash for.

I didn’t get on with any of the Rye whiskies. I was surprised by how much I liked the Bourbons. I have never been a fan of sherry cask whiskies in the past. However, I was surprised by a couple of them. When it came to the whiskies that I liked best, I am a huge fan of Islay malts. Especially the slightly less peat prominent ones, like Caol Ila. So it is no surprise to me that the two whiskies I liked best, have similarities to Islay Malts. Those two are the Connemara 12 year old and the Yoichi single malt.

All of this is purely my personal opinion and taste. As I said right at the start, I am no whisky expert, just someone who enjoys a dram. And I did enjoy these twenty five, very different drams.

Whisky

Exploring Global Whisky: A Personal Advent Calendar Journey (Part 4)

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Moving on, with my thoughts on the next four whiskies in my advent calendar. Blogging about the very varied whiskies that I am finding in the calendar is an interesting experience. I am finding that it is making me think about what I am drinking. Instead of just drinking the day’s whisky, I reflect on it. I consider whether I like it or not and share my thoughts. Drinking mindfully, if you like.

Dec 13th

We journey back to Japan for today’s whisky. The Yoichi distillery has been producing whisky since 1934. It is situated in Hokkaido, in the far north of Japan. Their stills are heated by coal fires, which gives their whiskies some of their character.

My whisky today, was the Yoichi single malt with an ABV of 45%.
It has a lovely pale gold colour. I found the nose had a little bit of smoke, sultanas, and other fruit. The palate had apples, honey, and citrus, with a hint of spice.

This was whisky that I liked a lot.

Dec 14th

Today’s whiskey surprised me. I have mentioned, in an earlier blog, that I am not generally fond of cask strength whiskey. But I found that the Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Kentucky Bourbon at 55.1% ABV was surprisingly approachable, even before the addition of some water.

The colour of the whiskey is dark amber, almost brown. Its nose gives aromas of vanilla and maple syrup. On the palate I found, caramel, chocolate and spice, with a slightly herbal finish.

I found that the addition of a little water opened up the nose. It also enhanced the palate. But, I found it very drinkable at cask strength.

Dec 15th

For today we have an English whisky. Fielden is an English Rye Whisky at 48% ABV. According their website the name “Fielden” comes from the Old English and means “from the fields”, or “of the fields”. They apparently use rye wheat and barley in various combinations. Still, I am fairly sure that my whisky was at least 50% rye.

Colour wise the whisky is an attractive amber. It has quite a floral and sweet nose. Taste wise, like the earlier rye whisky, it had a hint of rye bread, as well as nutty sweet marzipan notes.

It wasn’t a whisky that I was particularly fond of. I have never drunk that much Rye whisky in the past. It is possible that they are not my thing, or that I have yet to discover the one for me.

Dec 16th

Our whisky today comes from down under. Melbourne to be precise. The Starward distillery has been making whisky since 2007. Recently they have been exporting to the UK. I noticed a bottle of today’s sample in my local Waitrose.

Starward Left Field single malt comes in at 50% ABV.
It is very dark in colour, almost brown. The predominant note on the nose is fruit. The whisky is matured in red wine casks. (There is a lot of wine produced in Victoria.) So I assume that is where the colour and the nose come from. The palate is fruity and quite sweet, I would describe it as a biscuit sweetness.

I tried the whisky as it came and also with a drop of water, but it didn’t appeal to me. I calls itself “Left Field” and their website talks about “moving beyond tradition”. Often things are done traditionally, because that works.

Click on the names of the whiskies. You can also click on the pictures of the bottles. Both actions will take you to the appropriate distillery website.