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Kitchen Chat and more…
Kitchen Chat and more…
The America Sour Mash is a unique Tennessee whisky from George Dickel. Tennessee whisky is normally called straight whisky and must be produced only in Tennessee. Sour mash is a special technique that uses leftovers from a previous fermentation process to add a certain “sourness” to the current batch of fermentation. Bottled at cask strength, the America Sour Mash looks nothing like a 5 years old whisky. In fact, it looks more like an 18 years old! This unique 5 years old can easily be misunderstood as a whisky with added colours, but due to the US mandate that no colouring can be added to any whisky made on its land, you can be assured that the colour of the sour mash is certainly genuine.
Colour: Caramel
ABV: 59.7%
Nose: Nail polish removal on the high! Glue alert! Strong, creamy vanilla tries to cover the acid but succeeds only partially. Caramel popcorns with leather come in shortly, with herbal or tobacco leaves. It feels sharp on the nose, likely to need some water. Gradually, it releases notes of chrysanthemum flowers with acetone. (17/20 points)
Palate: Aggressive and spicy even as the rich sweetness of corn syrup engulfs the palate, almost like burnt plastic. The hint of sourness mixes with sweet peppercorn and bitter orange chocolate as you keep the liquid in the mouth. Vanilla fades in and out just like the typical American bourbon with hints of salted caramel. (16/20 points)
Body: A Relatively balanced whisky with overpowering sweet corn and malt. Aggressive and spicy but yet sweet on the palate. (31/40 points)
Finish: A long finish of over-boiled sweets lingers on the palate with hints of sourness and a sharp spiciness. The overpowering sweetness lingers on your palate long after the drink is gone. (16/20 points)
Total Grade: 80/100 points
Comments:
Geek Choc: “I did not like this very much due to the sweetness of caramel and vanilla. However, I’ve got to admit that the finish is great even if I do not completely agree with it. I think it will be an enjoyable drink for those who like sweet long finishes.”
The Tobermory 22 Years Old is an exclusive single malt Scotch whisky bottled by The Single Cask at cask strength. With only 86 bottles available in the market, this whisky is special. The Tobermory distillery is located on the Island of Mor, and to make this whisky, they employed a very special technique. The distillery obtained ex-sherry butts to make this whisky, but instead of using the ex-sherry butts directly, they sent it to a cooperage, had them scraped the inside of the cask, recharred them and put in white sherry. After some time, they removed the white sherry and put in the new spirit and matured it for 22 years. They literally created a whisky out of a second fill sherry butt.
The result of this unique method is a whisky with a light golden hue instead of a dark red that is typical of a sherry cask. It is nonetheless a whisky made from ex-sherry butts, making it special in its own ways.
Colour: Light Golden
ABV: 59.1%
Nose: White pepper rushes into the nose with hints of flint and gunpowder with fruity sweetness at the background. After aeration of 10 minutes, the fruity sweetness comes forward to soften the spiciness of the whisky. (15 points)
Palate: The fruity sweetness greets the palate for a very short while before the peppery spice commands a complete takeover. The spice tingles and burns the tongue slightly but not in an unpleasant way. I had a chance to taste this whisky again after 1.5 months and the palate changes significantly. Now, the entry is brine, pepper and sweet fruits. The spice no longer overwhelms but mix nicely with the slightly salty notes and sweet fruits. It becomes very pleasant indeed! (17 points)
Body: Generally a balanced whisky that sorts itself out nicely between sweetness and spice. Might be a little spicy for some but those who like a strongly flavoured whisky should like the whisky. (33 points)
Finish: Unique, long and dry finish with some spiciness to lead the way. Fruity sweetness takes over the spice and after some time, hints of bitter oranges can be felt at the tip of the tongue. (17 points)
Total Grade: 82 points
Geek Flora: “Overly spicy for my liking but I do like the finish of the Tobermory. I find the unique long finish pleasant even with the spiciness leading the way because it is softened by the sweetness towards the end. I must say that I like the bitter oranges that came in right at the end.” – 13 August 2017
Geek Flora: “It has been 1.5 months since I last tried the Tobermory 22 Years Old and I had a chance to taste it again in the masterclass collaboration between TSC and Whisky Butler. The change in the palate of the whisky is amazing! I like the whisky more now. The brine, pepper and sweet fruits mix really well now, and the balance is just fantastic!” – 30 September 2017
The Single Cask Macduff 19 Years Old is a single malt from Scotland Speyside. As a Scotch, it has a certain reputation to uphold. Featuring the similar sweet notes that are typical in a Speyside Scotch, the Macduff 19 Years Old is bottled at cask strength. Despite the high alcohol contents, the whisky is surprisingly mellow and an extremely pleasant drink.
The Macduff distillery is considered as an unfashionable distillery in Speyside because much of its whiskies go to Dewar for the making of the Dewar whisky. Macduff does not have a lot of single malts to its name, but the two that are known are Glen Deveron and The Deveron. The Glen Deveron can be found in DFS in Singapore. Currently owned by Bacardi, the distillery still provide whisky to blending houses, but has developed a range of its own single malts.
The bottle from TSC is distilled in 1997, and matured in bourbon casks for 19 years before it was bottled in 4 May 2017.
Colour: Dark Gold
ABV: 53.5%
Nose: Floral with some fruity and citrus sweetness are the first to meet the nose. Hints of oak floats in soon after. Slight tints of vanilla at the background. Surprisingly mellow with hardly any hint of spice despite the high ABV. (16 points)
Palate: Sweet and malty at the first sip; flowery oak notes greets you before spiciness hits the side of the palate. Vanilla notes lingers in the back. After aeration of a few minutes, the palate changes with the vanilla notes taking a stronger hold. The spiciness also follows with a stronger bite. After aeration of 10 minutes, the spice mellows and takes a back seat and citrus notes overpowers everything else. (18 points)
Body: An extremely well-balanced whisky with some surprise up its sleeves. The mellowness is not expected but it made the drink pleasant and easy. Aeration of the whisky also brings out more flavours to add complexity to the drink. (34 points)
Finish: Medium to long finish with the sweet and citrus notes lingering for a time. (16 points)
Total Grade: 84 points
Comments:
Geek Flora: “This is a pleasant drink that caught my attention from the first sip. The surprising mellowness and the balance between sweet and spice makes this a wonderful drink for any occassion.”
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