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Kitchen Chat and more…
Kitchen Chat and more…
Wemyss Malts is an underrated independent bottler with some great bottles. They are not quite popular in Singapore yet, but in some countries like Taiwan, Wemyss is very well received. Flora was first introduced to Wemyss by our friend, Brendan, over at The Single Cask. Since the first tasting, we have tried more than a fair number of their expressions.
The particular expression for this review is one of those bottles which impressed us greatly. It is a 22 years old Clynelish; distilled 1995 and bottled 2017. It has an outturn of only 240 bottles. We like Clynelish well enough, but we do not usually go out of our way to try or buy a bottle. We have a couple of bottles at home, but it is not our first go-to distillery. However, after tasting this expression, we went all out to find a bottle of it to bring home with us. It was impressive.
How so? Let us find out.
Colour: Pale Gold
ABV: 55.7%
Nose: Sweet tropical fruits, red apples, sweet pears and hints of melons come quickly. As it develops, pineapples notes began to surface in the background. Vanilla cream develops and forms a beautiful nose together with the other fruity notes. Spice hides in the background, rearing its head now and then. (19/20)
Palate: Gentle spice and sweet fruits envelope the palate completely. The sweet fruity notes turn into red apples, sweet pears and butterscotch. The spice goes to the back and provides a gentle warmth all the way down the throat. (17/20)
Finish: Medium finish with a little burning spice at first but it mellows out beautifully. Sweet notes linger for a while before some oakiness takes over. (17/20)
Body: Well balanced dram that is extremely flavourful and complex. The sweetness complements beautifully with the spice and makes it an enjoyable dram to nurse after a long day. (36/40)
Total Score: 89/100
Geek Flora: “I love this Clynelish! It is fruity and yet the spice adds a challenging dimension to the dram. It encourages me to sip and savour this dram slowly, instead of drowning it out in one gulp!”
Geek Choc: “I do not like spice, especially the kind that burns! However, this Clynelish surprises me with its lovely complexity. The spice mellows quickly and is always in harmony with the sweetness of the fruits.”
We visited Barbershop and its awesome manager, Fab Arm on an idle Thursday night after the Trump-Kim summit. We were looking for a beautiful place to chill and enjoy some live music, so, we thought – Timbre or Barbershop. Since Barbershop generally serves what we need for the night (read: whisky), we decided to head over for pizza and whisky.
It was quiet when we reached around 7-ish in the evening. Two groups of working executives occupied a couple of tables. Choc and I took the corner high table (because we like secluded spots that remind us of Sentosa the area). We took a look at their menu, and we were astounded! Not only were the prices reasonable, but the range of whiskies also expanded tremendously! Wow, we were pleasantly surprised as Fab was still working on his list the last time we came.
Before we ordered, Fab came along to say hi! We haven’t seen him for a while now, so it was a great moment to meet again and catch up finally. It was indeed Fab’s hard work that contributed to that massive and impressive list of whiskies on offer at Barbershop! We were excited to wet our lips after learning that Fab curated more whiskies from what we understood from before!
I was a fan of Timbre and its food, so I know exactly what we need to order. A half and half pizza to share between both of us. It was a little greedy because the pizza could feed at least three persons, but we were hungry that night. A roasted duck combined with a Yakiniku Chicken sounded like a perfect fit for two hungry and greedy persons!
Fab came along with his whiskies and rum, of course. First up, we tried a wee bit of the Speymalt Macallan 1998 (19 years). It tasted almost identical to the official bottling of the old Macallan 18 years old. The only exception is that the Speymalt is slightly more spicer than the official Macallan 18 of old. Next up, we had a wee taste of an interesting rum. Bottled by The Whisky Agency & La Maison du Whisky, it hails from Sancti Spiritus Distillery in Cuba. Exotic as it is, this rum is approachable and frisky. There was also a Linkwood 15 years old Sherry Cask by Gordon & MacPhail, but we find it too light for our liking.
We ended up with the Speymalt and the Sancti Spiritus rum as a pairing to our duck and chicken pizza. Haha…it was an innovative experience, but I thought the Yakiniku Chicken went very well with the Macallan.
I tried this Speymalt Macallan 1998 previously at WhiskyLive 2017 and found it to be less than desirable. Perhaps the previous bottle was aired too much, or maybe I was just not sober enough to detect the notes. However, trying this again a second time gives me a different perspective. The nose is full of dark fruits, dark chocolate, raisins and bits of oakiness. Pretty much like an old bottle of the Macallan 18 years old. The palate is dark chocolate, raisins, sultanas, woodiness and under it all, a dark fruitiness that balances the entire taste. The finish is long, with raisins and dark fruits lingering all the way.
I like Macallan in the past and love the complexity that the old bottlings offered. The modern batch appears to lack something, and I thought that it requires the love that used to go into every bottle. Perhaps I am wrong, but that’s how I feel. Therefore, I was glad to find this Speymalt Macallan. It was like an old love, reignited.
Sancti Spiritus Rum is the first rum that I drank which does not turn me off immediately with its overpowering sweetness of caramel and toffee. Interestingly, the rum is full of its original character – sugar cane. The nose is full of subtle sugar cane sweetness, and a hint of strong spirit underneath the sweetness. Bottled at more than 60% abv, it is hardly surprising that the spirit within is flexing its muscles. The palate is biting, but the sugar cane sweetness covers it almost immediately. The taste mellows as I left it on my tongue. The sugar cane sweetness develops into a robust minty note as the spirit disappears, almost as if you have just eaten a mint drop. The finish gets oaky as the cask begins to talk but nothing overpowering. The mintiness lingers all the way to the end of the medium to long finish.
After all the “hard work”, we deserved yet another dram, don’t we? Once again, Fab showed his perfect hospitality with more wee tastes of another two different whiskies. First up is an Auchentoshan from Signatory Vintage. It is worthy to speak more about this whisky because it is what Auchentoshan should be when it grows up! I need to shout this off a rooftop: “Un-chillfiltered Auchentoshan is like a Rosebank!!” Yes, I am not kidding. Seriously, the Auchentoshan we had was fabulous!
The last wee taste we had was a Wilson and Morgan Bunnahabhain. Matured in a sherry cask, it is a relatively sweet Bunny! It is not fair to the Bunny though, because both Choc and I had fallen in love with the Auchentoshan.
When I first nosed this un-chillfiltered Auchentoshan, my first thoughts were, “wow, this is the full Lowland character that was lacking in the regular Auchentoshan.” As I subject the whisky to more nosing, the grassy and floral notes begin to resemble a bourbon-matured Littlemill expression that I had previously. The first taste is pure bliss as the floral notes explode in the mouth into a subtle fruity sweetness. The dry grassiness stays in the mouth even as I swallow. The finish is long and dry, with the dry grass filling the palate thoroughly.
I aired this Auchentoshan for about 15 minutes and what appeared caught me by surprise! It smells like the Rosebank 12 years old that I had at Swan Song! Omg, a second sniff confirms it. It smells like a Rosebank!! I quickly took a sip of the liquid. The palate is mellow, sweet fruitiness combined with a dry grassiness without overpowering each other. A subtle oakiness from the cask comes through at the end of the tongue, and with just a little peppery spice at the back of the throat. Again, this is similar to the Rosebank 12, but of course, the Rosebank 12 is more flavourful, and the notes are more prominent. The finish is long and dry, leaving me wanting more.
We got to admit that we called it a night after the Auchentoshan 1998 because we wanted to savour the flavours for as long as we want. Besides, each pour at Barbershop is 40ml, and we already had 160ml between us. Time to call it quits when we were still alert and sober!
Naturally, the best dram of the night was the Rosebank 12 Auchentoshan 1998! I think my life is quite complete now because I finally know how un-chillfiltered Auchentoshan taste like. My guess is right – it showcases all the right Lowland characters at its natural best.
Thank you, Fab, for showing us how Auchentoshan can shine! For those of you who want to visit Barbershop, give Fab a shoutout when you go, and he will treat you well!
Before we went on our recent Taiwan trip, we kept hearing many good things about The Malt, a bespoke whisky bar in Taipei. We made it a point to visit the bar in Taipei, as we need to find out just how good it is. The Malt is in the Da-an district in Taipei, and you could walk to the bar after taking the subway to Da-an station. It is quite a far walk as the bar is along a side road. If you are lazy to walk don’t know the way, you can always take a cab.
Choc and I chose to walk as we were out in the area that day. Walking in Taipei City is an enjoyable task because there are so many things to see, and eat. Haha…Along the way to The Malt, we encountered boutique shops, food stores with long Q and even pushcarts selling irresistible food.
When our meandering finally brought us to The Malt, this is what we found. As we were early, the bar was quiet. Walking into the bespoke bar was like stepping back in time. The rows of whiskies on the shelf on the right awed us into silence, and we walked, almost reverently, to our seat at the corner, near the back of the bar.
The boss of the bar explained how things work at the bar. They only sell whisky by the glass, and every bottle on the shelf is available for our choice. What we need to do is to walk to the shelf, choose our bottle, and bring it to the bar counter. They will pour the whisky for us and serve it at our table.
The selection at The Malt is unbelievable. Each row of the shelf holds three tiers of whisky, and every one of them has a tag with the price by the glass at the back. We found many treasures, including the Yamazaki Mizunara 18 years old, a complete range of Yoichi as well as old and rare Springbanks. We also saw a lot of independent bottling from the usual suspects – G&M, SV – as well as Taiwan’s independent bottlers – HNWS, The Drunken Master and Vie la Vie. Of course, there are also Taiwan exclusive from Arran, Bruichladdich and Glenlivet. The Malt cannot be called a Taiwanese bar if it does not have a range of Kavalan and Omar expressions, so we are delighted to see a couple of Omar bottles and an extensive range of Kavalan.
Naturally, Choc and I went for the unique stuff that we do not get in Singapore. In case you are wondering, no, we did not touch any Japanese whiskies. It is not that we do not like them, but that they are more expensive than what we would like to pay. My first choice was an Arran single cask, which I had been wanted to try for the longest time.
Choc chose an independent bottling of Bruichladdich. The Stillman’s Dram bottled the liquid after 27 glorious years.
Our first drams showed us what The Malt has to offer, and we continued to explore their vast collection after the first dram. I chose a Littlemill eventually (how can I not pick one?) from The Exclusive Malt. It is a 1988 expression matured in an ex-sherry hogshead.
After a taste of this particular Littlemill, I fell in love with it. It was the best-sherried Littlemill I had so far. Too bad that it is too expensive for me to buy the whole bottle home! Haha…not that it would have survived the days…I would carry it back in my tummy! Hopefully, I will be able to find a bottle of this particular Littlemill someday.
As for Choc, he is more greedy. He has two favourites from The Malt. The first one is an HNWS x Glen Castle Tormore 28 years. It is a sherry bomb without its undesired companion – sulphur. It was a sweet and flavourful dram with all the right notes in the right place.
The second one is a Rosebank 14 years from Blackadder. It is from the Raw Cask series, so we know that it is at cask strength. It was an expensive dram, but Choc loves it! As for me, I still prefer the official Rosebank bottling, especially the Rosebank 21!
I am sure that you know that we had more whiskies than what we shared above. However, we are not posting every one of them here as we had shared them previously on our Facebook page. Check them out if you have not!
As a reminder to myself that there are other bottles which I had not tried, I took a picture with bottles of my favourite working distillery – Bruichladdich!
If you are in Taipei or heading to the beautiful city anytime soon, be sure to head over to The Malt. It has everything that a whisky lover needs and you can stay there from the moment it opens till the time it closes. That was what we did on our first night at The Malt, and we had eight drams between us! The second night that we went was a Friday, and the bar was a lot more crowded. As we had a long day, we called it quit earlier. Nonetheless, we still managed to have seven drams between us.
The bespoke bar that is The Malt is a place for you to chill and relax. Whether you are alone or in a group, it is a great bar to enjoy some whiskies while in Taipei.
11311 Harry Hines Blvd
Dallas, TX, United States
(555) 389 976
dallas@enfold-restaurant.com