Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 548: Kemlya Black Oak Russian Single Malt

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tastes his very first Russian single malt. Kemlya is a distillery in Mordovia that was founded by Stepan Stepanovich Krotkov in 1828 in the village of the same name, halfway between Moscow and Samara. It has been in continuous production and will therefore celebrate its 200th anniversary in a few years. The production of whisky is much more recent. The first release dates from 2022. Mark’s friend Kit recently came to visit him and brought this beautifully packaged bottle. The Black Oak matured in two bourbon barrels (numbers #1367 and #1370) and was finished for 6 months in moist bog oak, barrels made from partly petrified, very old oak from a swampy area. Exciting!

https://youtu.be/1l-e90fPPSg

ralfy review 1056 Extras – Tale of two very different malts.

The Good Dram Show – Episode 574 ‘Thanksgiving Bourbons’

Welcome to this week’s episode of the show inm which I’ll be taking a look at a selection of American whiskies. The Good Dram Show with Chris Goodrum Episode 574 – Giving Thanks For American Whiskey..!

Filmed in The Revamped Study Nottingham 

Featuring

Larceny Small Batch 92 Proof 46%

Elijah Craig 12 year old Barrel Proof 68.3%

https://heavenhilldistillery.com

Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Tennessee Whiskey 46.5%

https://unclenearest.com

Abraham Bowman Double Barrel Bourbon 50%

Eagle Rare 10 year old 45%

https://www.sazerac.com

Barrell Craft Spirits Cask Finish Series: Mizunara 58.21%

https://www.barrellbourbon.com

ralfy review 1056 – Benromach 2013 Vintage @59.7%vol:

Living Souls 19YO ‘Kildalton’ Blended Malt, 42%

https://youtu.be/SH2YDccBbkc

Finally! An older Islay whisky that isn’t trying to destroy my wallet through terrible packaging and ‘allocated’ availability. This was an absolute delight upon the first smell and sip. A combination of Kildalton distilleries from the southern portion of Islay, I’d put strong money on Laphroaig being the backbone of this, unsure if Lagavulin or Ardneg are filling out the gaps in between.

I am honestly blown away by the layers of scents and flavours that are sitting within this glass of whisky. It is decadent with cherry, amaretto, almonds, smoke, white chocolate, hazelnuts, and just a delight at every single sensory corner.

I have to say fair play to the folks at Living Souls. This collection of four whiskies are some of the best releases I’ve tried in the past few years. Rare is it you get whiskies of this age that deliver on every aspect of the overall package. It’s simply incredible.

ralfy review – THREE great heavily peated whiskies in 2024

Day 0 – Dare To Dram Whisky Advent Calendar

Adam prepares for this year’s Dare To Dram Advent Calendar by exploring some of the samples his friends have shared with him recently.

ralfy review 1055 Extras – Price confusion with malt whisky.

ralfy review 1055 – Talisker Skye @45.8%vol:

The Good Dram Show – Episode 573 ‘Blended Whisky’

Welcome to this week’s episode of the show in which I’ll be taking a look at a selection of blended whiskies. ..

The Good Dram Show with Chris Goodrum Episode 573 – Always Expect The Unexpected..!

Filmed in The Revamped Study Nottingham

Featuring

Scottish Leader Blended Whisky Original 40%

Scottish Leader Blended Whisky Signature 40% scottishleader.com

Black Bottle Blended Whisky 10 year old 40% blackbottle.com

William Lawson’s Blended Whisky13 year old 40% www.williamlawsons.com

The Famous Grouse Blended Whisky 16 year old 40% www.thefamousgrouse.com

Label 5 Blended Scotch Whisky Extra Rare 18 year old 40% www.label-5.com