some of you may recall the first post which kickstarted my weekly whisk(e)y reviewing, the National Day flight by The Single Cask and The Swan Song, in which i had gone undercover to share my experience. as would be expected of any bartender worth their salt, i was promptly found out within an hour of my Instagram post going up, so that was that.
the good news though was that my friends also discovered this secret reviewer life i've been living, and in the weeks that followed, i was able to have the opportunity to join them and gain much more confidence in whisky nosing (and tasting). so it was no surprise that when tickets for a very special whisky tasting were released, i had the honour of joining them as one of the first few to block out my calendar and book our seats.
and that was how i found myself in the company of two good friends - and an impressive whisky flight curated by The Single Cask - that saturday evening.
to celebrate their fifth anniversary, The Single Cask held an epic guided tasting of ten of their latest releases (including one that won't be brought into Singapore). they held a first run on thursday (10 sep) and an encore on saturday (12 sep), and with tickets going for S$150 per person, i considered that this was an immensely good deal, even putting aside the commemorative aspect at hand.
the flight experience began with a trio of whiskies, the first a 29-year-old Girvan 1990 (60.8% alcohol by volume), the second a 26-year-old Strathclyde 1993 (55.3% alcohol by volume) and the third a 21-year-old Glenrothes 1997 (40.8% alcohol by volume).
the Girvan and Strathclyde being grain whiskies were both exceedingly pale in the glass; the former boasted light floral notes and was relatively sweet with a slight spice right at the tail end of its finish, while the latter was rather unique in that it lacked that characteristic 'grain' whisky taste and was more akin to a whisky-infused rum, with more body than the preceding dram. both were pleasantly light, sweet and easy to drink, though i preferred the touch of fruit and wood that came out more in the Strathclyde.
the Glenrothes had a surprisingly low alcohol by volume percentage considering that this was its natural cask strength, and was considerably darker in the glass compared to the other two. on the nose, this featured a sweet toffee drizzled over a berry compote, though the tasting yielded unexpected results - contrary to the sweet tartness i had been expecting, this was pure essence of nut, a mellow and woody dram which felt rather light and without much body to it. an interesting experience, though as someone who firmly believes that nuts have no place coming anywhere near my ice cream sundae, this was much more enjoyable to nose than to taste. my other friends (who must have been part squirrel) adored it, though.
after a short interlude, the flight continued with a wonderful duo of sweeter whiskies, an 8-year-old Blair Athol 2011 (58.3% alcohol by volume) followed by an 8-year-old Linkwood 2011 (57.7% alcohol by volume). these were a beautiful liquid sunshine in the glasses, and oh, the honey!
right on the nose, the Blair Athol was a lovely symphony of honey, beeswax and vanilla that raised my expectations to the skies... and brought them crashing down when i discovered that it was, in truth, a fuller-bodied whisky that was nowhere near as sweet as its aroma. still, the duo was saved by what was by far my favourite of the evening, the Linkwood. i had originally thought that the Blair Athol was already a great display of honey on the nose, but the warm rich honey and clean sweet caramel in the Linkwood eclipsed it easily and made the Blair Athol seem almost like artificial syrup in comparison. plus, unlike the preceding dram, the Linkwood's taste lived up to the promise from its nosing - it was a really refined and decadent honey yet not overly sweet, supported against a medium-bodied backdrop of fruits and soft florals. this, this is something that i could imagine in a gourmand perfume. turns out that this one had charmed me so much by the end of the evening, to the extent that i decided to order a bottle for myself once it arrives in Singapore.
another intermission to pace things out, and then the next two drams were brought out with a flourish - a 12-year-old Dailuaine 2007 (58.7% alcohol by volume) and a 20-year-old Ben Nevis 1999 (53.0% alcohol by volume). these two are particularly meaningful ones for the team at The Single Cask, being the first signature bottles of bartenders Chee Wei De and Kwek Yi Xian respectively.
Wei De shared that with his first signature bottle, he considered this a sort of 'dark horse' - sometimes, whisky doesn't have to come from a famous distillery to be a good one. it was the first time i had heard of Dailuaine, though this introduction to the distillery was truly stunning. the first sniffs from the glass had a slight nuttiness (though not as much as the Glenrothes, thankfully) which bloomed on the palate with a hint of orange. this one had a nice long finish and was a pleasure to enjoy.
Yi Xian described his Ben Nevis as being akin to frosted cornflakes, which was interestingly accurate. the first sniffs had a sort of malty cereal aspect which was refined with some sweetness, and the taste was truly unique. this one was surprisingly light for a 20-year-old, subtle and changing quite beautifully with some time in the glass. initially the first sips yielded a fruit basket overflowing with citrus, peaches and a hint of apricot, but after a while the characteristic funk of the Ben Nevis came through (while still being perfectly balanced with the fruit). i suspect my palate needed more experience with this particular 'funky' dimension of whisky, though overall it was still a great dram which i liked very much.
the final interlude passed, and then the last three were brought out in all their glory: a 4-year-old Inchfad distilled at Loch Lomond (61.4% alcohol by volume), a 6-year-old Caol Ila 2013 (59.1% alcohol by volume) and to bring the tasting to a close on a high note, a 10-year-old Ruadh Maor 2009 distilled at Glenturret (62.3% alcohol by volume).
the Inchfad was a rare UK exclusive, a charity bottling for the NHS. it was interesting to find that the first sniffs of this after it was freshly poured turned out to be a funky, earthy peat that was vaguely reminiscent of smelly socks (but not in a bad way). however, after some time in the glass, its character did a 180-degree-turn and instead came across as a lovely sweet pour that actually confused me for half a second wondering if i had mixed up my glasses (no i didn't). that said, on the palate, this turned out pretty interesting. there were some... interesting and vivid descriptions being floated, one of which involved a donkey's behind, though the tail end of the palate vaguely reminded me of durian - not the sweet creaminess that people seek the king of fruits out for, but the pungent funk that would send non-durian lovers running for the hills (and experienced durian lovers shaking their heads while tsk-ing). definitely a dram which takes some getting used to, but as an acquired taste, it's really something in itself.
next up, the Caol Ila teased the nose with some smoke and sea salt, then promptly blew me away on the palate with a layer of the characteristic Caol Ila woody smoke and salt over a veritable fruit salad featuring apples and pears. as someone who's really quite into smoky whiskies nowadays, i found this one quite impressive, but as things would turn out, i wasn't done with being amazed for the evening.
the flight ended on a high note with the Ruadh Maor, and at 80 phenol parts per million (ppm) this peated whisky was a dream come true for the smoky whisky lover in my soul. on the nose, this was a quiet and subtle smoke that didn't need any bells and whistles to distinguish it from all the preceding whiskies. the first sips surprised me because the palate didn't yield much smoke at all, and i remember raising my eyebrows for half a second - before the finish completely blew me away. the smoke just blooms in a great refined cloud that leaves you wanting more, and it passed what my friends jokingly termed the "dragon test" - exhaling on the finish really made us feel like legendary creatures billowing smoke in a refined and powerful way. a superb end to a well-curated flight, and a lovely celebration of The Single Cask's five years (and more to come!) here in Singapore.
==
this review is of products that i had purchased at regular price with my own money. i wasn’t asked to review this as a condition of purchase and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with The Single Cask and as always, all opinions remain my own.
all information correct at time of publishing.
Comments
Post a Comment