ralfy review 941 Extras – Your chill-filtration challenge !

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 457: BenRiach 14 Year Old 2008 Art Malts

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries a very limited BenRiach. Art Malts, aka Mark’s good friend Steven Ver Eecke, does it again…  only 36 bottles of this 14-year-old BenRiach saw the light of day. And will you look at that color! This is from a bourbon barrel, mind you. Amazing. Mark got to taste it in preview at the cozy festival When Whisky Meats BBQ (no typo). He hurried to order it. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/N8B-Ul8J2vw

ralfy review 941 – Benromach 2012 Cask strength @60.2%vol:

https://youtu.be/WlHTDMqccuw

I’ve always enjoyed Highland Park, no matter what state or bottling it was given to me in. My joy at hearing they’d released a cask strength that didn’t destroy my bank account was unbridled and I bit the bullet at the first retailer who listed it…sold out. Batch 2 came along, much easier to get, but once I’d opened it I kind of forgot I owned it. Never glowing praise for any type of purchase.

Overall, I enjoy this whisky. It has notes at 63% that no Highland Park I’ve had before does, also, if you choose to add water then it becomes a more classic expression. But, and I’m not normally one to get hung up on this, why didn’t you age state it? Even if it had a huge 4YO age statement, I’d’ve still bought and enjoyed it, but a little integrity appears to be missing, as is batch 3 of this release, where is it?

Highland Park, despite their premium rise, have fallen in the eyes of those who once loved it as an accessible and fun mix of all flavours. Despite me enjoying this bottle, the brand is becoming very…limited.

Welcome to the first of two episodes of the show featuring Annandale distillery. This weeks episode takes a look at their un-peated range, Man O’ Words.

https://youtu.be/9LKuokQWPfQ

ralfy review 940 Extras – Nailing down good malts.

https://youtu.be/Gj8k34xR-k0

As a firm lover of Green Spot, Yellow Spot, and nearly all of Midleton’s ranges – out of the starting blocks, I must say that despite this being an anniversary whiskey, I’ve found it a little disappointing. But is that a surprise?

Gold Spot celebrates 135 years of Mitchell & Sons as a whisky merchant, and the relationship that has been shared between Mitchell & Sons of Dublin and Midleton Distillers. Building on a base of ex-bourbon and sherry casks, the intricacies of weaving in the powerful flavours of port and Bordeaux wine casks into the flavour of Gold Spot would have been a monumental task. Bottled at 51.4% ABV, a promising thing on paper but the flavours are muted The scents and tastes are ginger, apricot and loads of tea, but there isn’t a particular drive of it being memorable.

If that was the intention then that’s totally fine. But as with some other recent anniversary bottles (Ardbeg) this is, for me, a bit of a let down. But I also felt this way about Red Spot and Blue Spot. I haven’t reviewed those, but I wasn’t thrilled by them, which is odd given my love for Redbreasts core range. Perhaps the variable cask influences are cancelling out some fun?

ralfy review 940 – Teaninich 12yo @54.2%vol (Thompson Bros:)

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 456: Milk & Honey Apex Cognac Casks

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries a kosher whisky from Israel. Apex means top, with which the Master Distiller of Milk & Honey, Tomer Goren, wants to indicate that these whiskies are among the best of what he has already created. There are currently several expressions: Cognac, Rum, White Wine, Pomegranate Wine, Peated STR Cask and the acclaimed Dead Sea. Today Mark tastes their Cognac Cask, which is actually their Classic which was given a finish on former casks of an undisclosed small cognac house.

https://youtu.be/RYJFmF50eU8

ralfy review 939 Extras – Explaining ‘sensations’ in malts.