Tag: French Oak Cask

Craft Works: Rage

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Craft Works Rage

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Nose: Sweet and spicy. Loads of red berries with hints of herbs and pepper. Just a touch of nougat and red wine jelly. The nose comes out of the bottle hitting you like a sledgehammer. Palate: If the nose was sweet and spicy, the palate is spicy and sweet - loads of herbs and pepper, a touch of chilli, and some liquorice. Then comes the fruit - loads of raspberries, cherries, and blackberries, with a sweet malt and brown sugar note hanging in there somewhere too. Mouthfeel: Thick and oily. Finish: This finish is quite long, and full of flavour.…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Definitely. It's intriguing well past the last drop in the glass.

Craft Works: Tokay Okay

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Craft Works Tokay Okay

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Nose: Christmas Cake. In. A. Bottle. Fortified wine. Sultanas. Glazed oranges. Caramelised sugar. Rich moist cake. Palate: Still a touch green - with notes of white wine up front. After that though, there's sultanas, icing sugar, and glazed oranges. Hints of chocolate oranges as well. Almost a slight rum profile as it heads to the back of the tongue. A little bit pepper - but just a touch. Mouthfeel: Thick and oily. With just the slightest tingle. Finish: Warming. Raisins, marmalade, and burnt sugar. A little bit of oak spice, but still quite sweet. Really long. The raisins and marmalade…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Without a doubt. Whilst still young, this whisky is just plain delicious - and the finish; oh my!

Bruichladdich: Octomore 9.2

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Bruichladdich Octomore 09.2

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Nose: Rich, smokey, sweet, and dark. Like opening the lid on a barbeque after you've left a rack of lamb glazed with berry jam on the grill for just a touch too long. Jammy (mixed berries), meaty, and a little ashy. Palate: Straight up, this is quite a dark, closed whisky; with ash, meat juice, some cloves, and pepper, being the mainstay on the palate. Add a dash of water though and you get a whole lot of tart raspberries and sour cherries on the palate. The ash turns more earthy and medicinal - going from barbeque to beachside camp…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Probably - not my favourite Octomore, but still a good whisky.

Bruichladdich: Octomore 6.2

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Bruichladdich Octomore 6.2

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Nose:  Salty peat (dry earthy peat, not at all medicinal), a bit of that flower-bed smell with mulch and bark, fresh charred wood, and sweet citrus notes.  There's also some berry ice cream, and some peppery notes.  Given some time to breath, more fruity notes show themselves, with the earthy notes receding in their wake. Palate:  The salty peat is prominent.  Citrus flavours and sweet berries are fairly big too.  Quite sweet with lots of vanilla, as well as an earthy taste, along with some charred wood and white pepper as well. Mouthfeel: Reasonably thick, although not notably so for…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

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Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish
Balance

Bruichladdich: Octomore 7.2

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Bruichladdich Octomore 7.2

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Nose:  Peat, salty beach water, bran flakes, and mixed berry sorbet.  Also a hint of a wine glass that has been left overnight. Palate:  Quite maritime for an Octomore; salty and hints of iodine.  Quite smoky, and spicy.  Burnt ANZAC biscuits and mixed berry jam. Slight traces of vanilla. Mouthfeel:  Reasonably thick and slightly oily, with a bit of warmth. Finish:  Decent length on the finish.  Dry and spicy, with lots of dried berries - strawberries, raspberries, red currant.  Also a slight hint of chocolate and hazelnuts. [divider] Octomore 7.2 is a 5 year old single malt from Bruichladdich on…
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Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish

Bruichladdich: Octomore 7.4

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Bruichladdich Octomore 7.4

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Nose:  The nose on this is unmistakeably Octomore - the malty, sweet, cured meats, and damp vegetation notes that are prominent on the nose of just about every x.1 Octomore release.  This one also brings in some lighter fruity notes, as well as an undercurrent of sweet white wine.  There's also just a slight touch of the dying gasps of a wood-fired barbeque. Palate:  Up front this whisky is a battle between the raw oak flavours and the peat - both the smoky burnt peat as well as a dark vegetation note.  It's quite a sweet peat - nothing like…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

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Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish

The New Zealand Whisky Company: Dunedin DoubleWood 15 Year Old

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Nose:  Rich caramel, rum & raisin sponge cake, sultanas, dried red berries. Very sweet. Palate:  More caramel up front, joined by sticky toffee and golden syrup - which replace the rum & raisin.  The sultanas and dried berries are joined by a whole pack of dried mixed fruits.  There's also a slight hint of some spice; cinnamon and nutmeg.  Like a good Irish potstill, some of these flavours just won't sit still. Mouth Feel:  Thick and chewy.  Very creamy. Not even a hint of oil, and no burn at all either.  Quite firm and dry. Finish:  The finish is extremely…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

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Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish

Sullivans Cove: Double Cask

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Sullivans Cove Double Cask

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Nose:  Vanilla, honey, winter fruit - pears and apples, nutmeg, and faint notes of citrus, and cinnamon - with a very slight malt smell at the back. Palate:  Creamy malt, honey butter, pears, green grapes, sweet spices, vanilla, and light notes of lemon boiled lollies. Mouthfeel: Creamy yet also juicy, medium weight, slightly warm.  Neither oily nor dry. Finish: Crisp, slightly sweet and spicy, traces of vanilla.  Most of the flavours die down after a not particularly long time, but sweet spices and the vanilla hang around for quite a while.  My mouth keeps watering for the entire time the…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

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Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish

Compass Box: The Peat Monster

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Compass Box The Peat Monster

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Nose:  Fresh cut grass, honey, peat smoke, and mixed citrus peel. Hints of dried apricots and dry apple chips. Palate: A big peat smoke impact here, some cured meats, beach water and the mouthful of seaweed you get when dumped in the surf. Hints of fresh and sweet botanicals. Fairly medicinal, but not overpoweringly so. Mouthfeel: Reasonably thick, but not chewy or creamy. A small alcoholic tingle that sits on the tip of the tongue, but goes no further. Somehow it seems to fill the whole mouth - up to the roof of your mouth - whilst it goes down…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

Nose
Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish