Country to Coast (BFG)

Country to Coast

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Nose: Straight off the bat you get slammed with a big punch of campfire smoke and dessert spices. Once that settles, it's like a Christmas cake doused in vanilla custard - lots of dark fruits including plenty of raisins, a hint of candied citrus, and a serving of sweet vanilla. Palate: If ever there was a whisky that tasted exactly how it nosed, this is it - just throw in some red berries, and maybe a slivered almond or two, and the palate is the nose. Mouthfeel: Thick, oily, and not a hint of alcohol despite it's ABV. Like liquid…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Absolutely - it's an amazing whisky. I bought a second bottle to do just that!

Craft Works: Grumpy Old Man On A Hill

Craft Works - Grumpy Old Man On A Hill

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Nose: Fresh malted barley, fresh cut grass, Milk Arrowroot biscuits, cornflakes (the breakfast cereal), and creamed honey, and just a hint of lemon icing. Palate: Malted barley, biscuits with lemon icing, vanilla slice, and cornflakes. Mouthfeel: Quite thin, but it doesn't feel delicate at all. The slightest tingle, but no burn. Finish: Biscuits for days. The lemon icing turning more into lemon boiled lollies; faint traces of vanilla, and some bushfire smoke hanging around. Despite the lack of weight in the mouth, the finish is reasonably long. In the spirit of complete transparency - although I have bought, and loved,…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Absolutely - this is such a delicious, and easy drinking whisky.

Craft Works: The Capertee Cellar Door Release #2

Craft Works The Capertee 2

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Nose: Quite green. Lots of fresh malt and barley. Milk Arrowroot biscuits, a touch of honeydew melon, and just a hint of lemon icing. Palate: To be honest, I'm having a little trouble nailing down the palate on this one. There's no doubt this is still a very young whisky, but once you get past the green notes of malted barley; there's quite a lot going on here. The melon from the nose is still here. Along with the lemon icing, grapes, and a touch of mandarin. It is also a little bit herbal - and with a bit of…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Absolutely. Although not a whisky you're likely to reach for every night, this is hopefully an example of some amazing things to come from a young distillery.

The Irishman: Founder’s Reserve

The Irishman Founder's Reserve

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Nose: Fresh mown lawn, green apples, fresh grapes, star-fruit, and just a hint of cloves and uncut Kiwi-fruit. Mouthfeel: Mid-weight, with a touch of zing. A little oily, with no creaminess. Perhaps just a touch too sharp. Palate: The palate pretty much is exactly what you'd expect from the nose - taking the fruits and spices, and replacing the grass with some pot still spice, and raw cocoa. Hints of toffee and vanilla as it heads to the back of the tongue. Finish: The finish on this is huge. It lasts for an eternity. Cycling between pot still spice, oak…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Probably. Although I'm not sure it is worth buying over some of the other Irishman and Writer's Tears releases - which are just amazing.

Riverbourne Supremacy (Batch 4)

Riverbourne Supremacy Batch 4

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Nose: It's quite sweet on the nose - almost jelly lolly sweet. Quite a decent dose of moss and eucalyptus notes as well. The nose reminds me of opening a bag of fruit gummy bears down by the lake after a BBQ as a kid. Mouthfeel: It's a bit of an interesting mouthfeel on this - its a medium-weight whisky, nowhere near as thick and meaty as say a Bruichladdich, but it feels like it's got a solid strength behind it. It may only be a mid-weight, but it is viscerally there, and doesn't dissipate no matter how long you…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Most definitely - this is a fantastic whisky.

Green Spot

Green Spot

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Nose:  Grassy with notes of a caramel milkshake.  The nose is extremely light, even for a triple distilled whiskey. Palate:  Warm buttered Madeira cake with citrus icing.  Juicy green grapes.  Fresh apples and pears. Mouthfeel:  Smooth and creamy.  No burn.  Reasonable weight. Finish:  Practically non-existent.  Some slight fruit notes, but the whiskey is pretty much done once consumed. [divider] The Green Spot is a No Age Statement single pot-still Irish whiskey that has been matured in a mixture of first-fill ex-Bourbon barrels, refill ex-Bourbon barrels, and ex-Sherry casks.  All of the whiskey has been aged for between 7 and 10…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Probably. This wasn't a fantastic whiskey, but was decent enough.

Puni Alba (2016 Batch 1)

Alba Puni

Nose:  Spicy, dried fruits, mixed herbs, dates, and smoked almonds.

Palate:  Earthy, herby, a little spicy – also a little sweet.  There are some berry and plum notes.  Some faint cereal notes – a mixture of Weet-Bix and All-Bran.  Traces of the peat casks that some of the whisky was slumbering in hang around.

Mouthfeel:  A decently medium weight in the mouth with a soft and silky feel.  A slight alcohol burn.

Finish:  This whisky has a fairly long finish.  Spicy, full of peat, and the earthy notes from the palate continue right through.

[divider]

This whisky is a non-age statement un-peated Italian blended whisky that was aged in a combination of ex-Islay peated Scotch whisky casks, and Marsala wine casks.  It was bottled at 43% ABV with no added colouring, and no chill-filtration.

This is an interesting whisky; a blend of malted barley, malted rye, and malted wheat that was aged for three years in Sicilian ex-marsala casks before being finished in ex-Islay peated Scotch casks.  The spice from the rye is quite prominent throughout, as is the peat notes from the peated ex-Islay Scotch casks that it was finished in.  There is also a sweet fruitiness that lasts most of the journey as well, undoubtedly from the three years it spent in the Sicilian wine casks.

Although I first tasted this whisky at Whisky Live, it is hard to truly appreciate a whisky when you’re drinking that many of them so close together.  Never the less, it captured my attention, and after acquiring a bottle of it, I presented it in a couple of European whisky tastings that I held – where it was generally warmly received.  Although it was against some other intriguing competition from Goldly’s (Belgium), Slyrs (Germany), Millstone (Netherlands), Floki (Iceland), Mackmyra (Sweeden), and Santis (Switzerland); there were a few people that rated it as their favourite, and most people thought it was reasonable or better.  After the tastings, I sat down with what was left and gave it some due consideration on its own.

If you haven’t seen a picture of the Puni distillery, prepare to be amazed – the distillery building is more what you’d expect from a modern-art gallery than a whisky distillery.  Absent are the pagodas and chimneys, present is an almost mesh-like cube situated in the idyllic countryside of the northern Italian Alps.  The distillery gets its name from the nearby Puni river.  The surrounding region has been growing rye since the times of the Roman Empire, and it is this rye that Puni has malted and used in this whisky.  The amazing cube distillery building houses not just the distillery, but also warehousing where some of the Puni whisky slumbers, whilst the distillery also uses abandoned WWII-era underground bunkers to age the rest.

Whilst I could not say that this whisky has been one of my favourites, I am by no means going to struggle to finish my bottle of it – it’s both a pleasant whisky, whilst also being full of character.  The world would definitely be a better place if more whiskies had both of these attributes.

Nose:  Spicy, dried fruits, mixed herbs, dates, and smoked almonds. Palate:  Earthy, herby, a little spicy - also a little sweet.  There are some berry and plum notes.  Some faint cereal notes - a mixture of Weet-Bix and All-Bran.  Traces of the peat casks that some of the whisky was slumbering in hang around. Mouthfeel:  A decently medium weight in the mouth with a soft and silky feel.  A slight alcohol burn. Finish:  This whisky has a fairly long finish.  Spicy, full of peat, and the earthy notes from the palate continue right through. [divider] This whisky is a non-age…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Probably; I may even buy another bottle - although it's worth noting considerable differences between batches.

Glenmorangie: A Midwinter Night’s Dram

Glenmorangie A Midwinter Nights Dram

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Nose: Sultanas, red apples, brown sugar, marmalade, and sponge cake. Palate: Much the same as the nose, but with some added almonds and citrus peel - and perhaps just a slight touch of cinnamon and vanilla. Mouthfeel: On the heavier side of mid-weight.  Silky smooth, and slightly oily, with not a hint of alcohol Finish: Mid-length, a reasonable amount of heat, with traces of red apples and a touch of marmalade. [divider] Bottled at 43%, the Midwinter Night's Dram was a limited release by Glenmorangie in 2015.  It is a no-age statement whisky that was aged in ex-Bourbon casks before…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Definitely. I imported several bottles after first trying it, and will import more again if I can.

Glenfiddich: XX

Glenfiddich XX

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Nose:  Christmas cake with maraschino cherries and plenty of brandy soaked sultanas.  Quite sweet - heading towards the golden syrup end of the sugary spectrum.  Also some vanilla, and hints of some sweet spices. Palate:  Sweeter and less fruity than the nose - also a lot less heavy than the nose would suggest.  A few sultanas are still to be found, although they seem to have dumped the brandy.  A little nutty as well, and just a trace of vanilla. Mouthfeel:  Surprisingly light in the weight department.  Despite the higher alcohol, there is only a very very slight tingle on…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

Nose
Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish
Balance

Glenfiddich: IPA

Glenfiddich IPA

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Nose:  A fresh winter fruit salad of mixed apples, pears, and grapes, with a side serving of milk arrowroot biscuits and some subtle sweet spices. Palate: The winter fruit and malty biscuits come through from the nose, now joined by citrus zests - more lemon and lime than orange.  Also joining the nose is a decent serve of hops - soft and sweet, but with a slight tang; even a touch floral perhaps.  A hint of vanilla also creeps into the palate. Mouthfeel: Not the thickest whisky I've ever had, but a decent heft is present nonetheless.  A touch creamy…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

Nose
Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish