I started at Gauntleys in February 2000 and although having a very minimal knowledge of whiskies at the time I took over looking after our spirits selection. At the time this mainly comprised distillery bottlings with a few bottlings from Gordon & MacPhail. I decided that if we were to be truly thought of as a whisky specialist, then I should apply the same criteria to our whisky selection as we did to our wine, this meant tasting as many whisky samples as I could get my hands on!

This period of time was marked by an increased interest in Independently bottled whiskies and I would regularly badger them to send me samples of their new releases, so I could select which ones I thought were worthy of putting on our shelves. Interestingly enough it is now common practice for a number of these companies to regularly send out samples of their new releases, although I’m not taking all the credit for this practice! Over the next few years I believe I became very well versed in judging the quality of these Independent releases, so much so that in 2007 the Whisky Magazine asked me to become a judge for their Independent Bottlers Challenge competition and this subsequently led to being asked to judge the World Whisky Awards in 2012 as well as the World Drinks Awards. Also in that year I started my weekly YouTube channel called the Good Dram Show, which is still going strong.

I am now a regular judge for a number of spirits competitions and spent a happy couple of years doing the New Releases tasting section of the Whisky Magazine. I would like to think that I have a reputation within the whisky industry as a firm but fair judge and having no allegiances I am free to offer an honest opinion and give praise and constructive criticism where due.

Although there are a number of whisky writers and reviewers with a lot more experience than I have, I believe that I make a valid and valuable contribution to the whisky industry as a whole through my passion for whisky and all things spirits related.

This week I’m looking at not only the Bruichladdich Rare Casks releases but their core range too.

The Review

Whisky Intelligence is pleased to introduce whisky review by Chris Goodrum of Gauntleys of Nottingham

Ralfy re-visits an affordable, available malt in Ralfy Review 723 – Strathisla 12yo @ 40%vol: (re-reviewed 2018)

THE REVIEW

A few of you Bourbon fans may be thinking, ‘he’s a bit late with this one.’ – Well yes, you’re kind of right, however, after I only recently purchased a few bottles did I find out that people were in a rush to pick up as many as they can due to it being discontinued. Coincidentally, I had a conversation with a BA for this brand and he assured me that there are palate’s of the stuff sitting around in UK warehouses – so that stopped me from dropping my savings account on some cases and I’m now going to open them all as that’s what it’s all about anyway! Elijah Craig, The Rolling Stone of barrel maturation, loads of people did the same thing but he is the most famous for it. Using it as a storage vessel, it’s only real intended purpose, one winter the Mississippi River froze over and he had stored his spirit in a barrel that had been charred either on purpose or by accident, history still can’t really decide on that yet and here we are today with the idea of charring wood and storing whisky for a maturation process. James Pepper experimented a with this stuff and a whole heap of other famous Bourbon-ites…(new word) – Twelve years old, 47% ABV and a nose that is dominant with white chocolate, maple syrup, breakfast waffles and everything else that I love in life. Cheers.

https://youtu.be/SRxsLcBe7Uw

Glenmorangie have always released some very unusual cask finished over the years, this is no exception to their every growing and experimental style. The Taghta uses Manzanilla sherry casks to provide a more ‘coastal’ and different approach to the classic honey’d highland style. Manzanilla isn’t renowned for it’s sweetness and as a result, a lot of this classic caramel and vanilla notes are turned into salted caramel and peanut butter. This is a style of Morangie that i really enjoy and the spiciness of the finish is something that I welcome to the ever-developing highland style that already encompasses so many different and versatile flavour profiles. If you can still find one and fancy something a little off the beaten track, I would recommend.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 201: Tennessee 2003 for MMM

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, and his buddy Manny release another whiskey in their MMM-series. Under the MMM-banner – short for Mark & Manny’s Malts – they try to have something special in every series. For this year’s Antarctica Series’ second release, they found a great single barrel of Tennessee Whiskey. But they had to promise to keep the distillery top secret. While they are not fond of this, the whiskey does speak for itself and they did not hesitate. Once they had tried it, they knew they definitely wanted it.

https://youtu.be/yGJXNoMvl_A

Isle of Jura, a distillery that in my eyes was always a, ‘jack of all trades’ – Had such a large market share but never really had a house style of sorts. Some peated, some un-peated, NAS, Age Statement…what do you want guys?

Well, know we have that house style – five bottles in a range, all slightly peated with some interesting and much more captivating potential for a market that has firm foundations in Jura as a brand. This offering is the Seven Wood – one type of American Oak and size types of French Oak, five of which I can’t pronounce, so i won’t. Its a pleasant surprise from a distillery that has avoided my attention for quite a long time. Cheers.

https://youtu.be/lppE79QZtCU

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 200: Caol Ila 30 Year Old

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, is already at 200 whisky ramblings, and therefor he wanted to do something special. He tries the Caol Ila 30 Year Old. It is the oldest official bottling of this Islay distillery and was released by Diageo in 2014 in their yearly Special Release. With a price tag of around 600 EUR, it is not exactly a cheap bottle, but once you have tried it, you’ll want to save up for one, Mark says.

https://youtu.be/PpRSXkDCmGs

https://youtu.be/efzy3LeRSxI

I really, really, really like Dailuaine 12yo Single Cask.

Enjoy!

………Phil.

Nikka Coffey Grain

https://youtu.be/Up8piGCuC0o

A day late but it’s worth the wait! Nikka! A Japanese distiller who have always impressed me, from the standard range all the way through to their high-end bottling’s, they’ve never fallen short of being modern classics in my eyes. Coffey Grain is a high corn base with some malted barley to kick start the alcohol development but with that corn base, a good age range, up to 15YO and some beautiful refill Bourbon casks selections, this thing really flies! Butterscotch, vanilla wafers, caramel, coconut, mango and tons of cheesecake flavours! I love it, it loves me. Let’s just get married?

Cheers

(Better late than never! ~ WI)