KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 8: Maker's Mark Bourbon
Posted on November 7, 2021
by EvanDay Eight is here, so crack open that door on your 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar to reveal the Maker's Mark Bourbon Whisky.
Wait! You say, appalled. A BOURBON?!?
Yessiree, that is correct. Potentially due to my own malevolent and underhanded influence, the Maker's marks the second year in a row that we have had a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey in our whisky calendar. Blame me if you wish - I will just sit here smiling all smug-like and ramble on about one of my favourite types of Whisk(e)y.
For your edification, I should tell you that I did not start like this. Indeed, I was just a simple-minded Single Malt Scotch snob for many-a-year. I had tasted the stuff here and there - I even enjoyed a bottle of Eagle Rare. But I wasn't one of them, who shared a false belief that Bourbon can be just as good as Scotch Whisky - though in different ways.
It was actually KWM Alumni and fellow unabashed Bourbon Lover Hunter that infected me - made me see the light I should say. Then Andrew and I travelled to Kentucky - a few years back - before the time of Covid.
After that trip came back a changed man. Now I cannot help but kneel down and kiss the foot of the great statue of Jim Beam, extol the virtues of heavily charred virgin oak, and preach the gospel that is the Bottled in Bond act of 1897. Perhaps when we tear through the red wax on the neck of this bottle of Maker's Mark Bourbon and give it a taste it will make a believer out of you as well?
Maker's Mark has always done things a little different than your standard bourbon. Below the iconic red wax seal dripping down the neck on the label itself, you will notice it proclaims to be a "Whisky" without the standard "e" added on most American fare. Maker's also is made with Red Winter Wheat as the second most prominent grain in the mash behind corn, instead of the more common rye grain that you see in a majority of Bourbon Whiskey.
Maker's Mark has been bottled since 1959 – though this distillery was built in 1889. Before being sold to Bill Samuels Sr. and becoming Maker's Mark Distillery it was called Burks Distillery. Bill Samuel Sr.'s wife Margie Samuels named the whiskey, created the label and came up with the idea for dipping the neck of the bottle in red wax. For years, the Bourbon we are trying today was the only whisky that the distillery made. That has changed over time, with special labels sold only in Japan and the introduction of Maker's Mark 46 in 2010, plus a cask strength version now made. Perhaps the 46 is worth a go at another time - for now let's dive try out the flagship bottling of Maker's Mark.
Maker's Mark Bourbon - 45%
50ml Mini bottles can be found here / 375ml half bottles can be found here
Mad...
KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 7: Aberfeldy 12 Year Old
Posted on November 7, 2021
by EvanThe end of the first week in the 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar is upon us! Time to both celebrate and lament its passing with today's bottle: the Aberfeldy 12 Year Old!
We talked a wee bit about the Last Great Malts of Scotland whisky lineup on Day Two of this year's Whisky Calendar with the Craigellachie 13 Year Old. Today we are back at it with Aberfeldy, which is another distillery in the Bacardi/Dewar's portfolio.
Unlike Craigellachie, Aberfeldy Single Malt actually had a presence before The Last Great Malts line was launched in 2014, though its range and look was given an overhaul at that time, introducing us to the fairly iconic Aberfeldy labels that are showcased now. Sales benefited from this revamp tremendously. Aberfeldy sells 5 bottles of Single Malt Scotch for every single bottle of Speyburn sold.
Aberfeldy Distillery resides in the Southern Highlands by the River Tay, just on the outskirts of a town that shares its name. It's nearest neighbours are the Edradour and Blair Athol Distilleries to the East in Pitlochry, and the Glenturret and Strathearn distilleries to the South near Perth.
The site where Aberfeldy sits held a brewery before the sons of John Dewar purchased the property and installed stills in 1896. Purpose-built for use in the Dewar family's Blended Scotch Whiskies, Aberfeldy malt has been the core that much of the Dewar's range ever since it's founding.
The Aberfeldy Single Malt core range contains a 21 Year Old that has been a fan favourite for years, and a well-priced and well-regarded 16 Year Old as well. The range begins with the Aberfeldy 12 Year Old, which we are tasting today. How does it hold up? TIme to give it a go!
Aberfeldy 12 Year Old - 40%
Also available in 50ml mini bottles
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: Honey, brown sugar, fresh malt, Golden Grahams cereal, chai tea latte, waxy fruits, sliced strawberries, grapefruit peel, chocolate fudge, and... a touch of pine smoke?
Palate: Soft, warming smoke again. Lemon meringue in a graham cracker pie crust, honey roasted almonds, a mojito-like mix of citrus and mint, and a dash of chai and cream once more.
Finish: Chocolate chips and a touch of oak, plus soothing on the throat like you just popped a Lemon and Honey Lozenge.
Comment: I do get the slightest smoke in this bottling and it makes it all very intriguing. The Aberfeldy 12 Year is a solid single malt for the price - but I do wish it was bottled at higher than 40%.
There you have it, Day Seven gives us another solid whisky from the Bacardi/Dewar's stable. Now we just have to wait and see what Day Eight will present!
Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool<...
KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 6: Connemara Peated Irish Whiskey
Posted on March 19, 2025
by EvanBehind that Sixth Door in your 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar awaits something Irish: The Connemara Peated Single Malt.
I should probably dive into the background on this whiskey but given what it is, this seems like a great opportunity to dismantle some of the myths and BS that seem entwined with Irish Whiskey. The Connemara breaks a few of what some people think are the "rules" of Irish Whiskey. These falsities need to be dispelled now more than ever, given how booming and varied the Irish Whiskey category is about to become.
Here are a few of those Irish myths that people often parrot. It is not really their fault, it is simply due to outdated information and an industry that has relied on them for far too long:
Irish Whiskey is smoother than Scotch Whisky because it is triple distilled.
We all know this is complete nonsense by now, right? Yes, there are Irish Whiskies that are triple distilled, but not all of them are. The one we will taste today likely isn't. Plus, there are triple distilled Scotch Whiskies available as well.
Irish Whiskey is not as rough as Scotch Whisky because it is not peated.
The peated Irish Whiskey we will be tasting today completely undermines this notion. You CAN make a peated Irish Whiskey. Plus, there is more unpeated Scotch Whisky produced than actual peated Scotch Whisky, even in this era of smoky renaissance that Scotch Whisky finds itself in.
All Irish Whiskey contains unmalted barley.
There are indeed Irish Distilleries that use this distilling method that emerged in the late 18th century as a creative form of tax evasion, but not all do. While the origins of this style are Irish, not all Irish Whiskey is Single Pot Still and other whiskies from around the world utilize some unmalted barley in distillation as well.
Irish Whiskey is better/worse/different when compared to Scotch Whisky.
At least the 'different' part is true - geographically. Irish Whiskey has to be made in Ireland just like Scotch Whisky has to be made in Scotland. Beyond that, you could make the same style of whisky in both countries if you wanted, or in many other parts of the world. That would not make it better or worse. It would just make it different.
Irish Whiskey is made by Leprechauns.
I don't know who brought forth this idea, but it needs to be stopped. It is patently untrue. Not only is it demeaning to every hard-working, true-blooded, red-headed Irish person, it also belittles the hard work that all Leprechauns do 'round the world. This message may or may not have been sponsored by the Society for the Ethical Treatment of Leprechauns. I can neither confirm nor deny that a pot of gold was left on my doorstep - if it was l...
KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 5: Speyburn 10 Year Old
Posted on November 26, 2023
by EvanOnwards to door number five. Open that door, pull out that new shiny bottle and reveal the Speyburn 10 Year Old!
"Speyburn?" you say, with one eyebrow raised.
Indeed. Not exactly the distillery that is on the tip of every single malt lover's tongue. Perhaps that is slowly changing, though. I know the owners of Speyburn would like it to have more of an impact and are making a bigger push than they have in the past to showcase what this brand is capable of.
While it may be a bit of an unknown to many of us, Speyburn apparently sells as much single malt globally as Glengoyne and GlenDronach. Neither of those two brands are massive by any means, but they are well-known by many lovers of Single Malt Scotch.
The distillery is in a bit of a tough spot when it comes to being noticed, you see. Speyburn is owned by Inverhouse Distillers/Thai Beverages. Owned by this same company are the more famed Old Pulteney and well-respected Knockdhu (bottled as AnCnoc) and Balblair. Though Speyburn is capable of producing more spirit annually than any two of these distilleries combined, each of the other brands in the Inverhouse single malt portfolio has more cache with whisky geeks.
The recently revamped Speyburn core range of Single Malt is worth giving a try when you can. The range begins with the no-age-statement Braden Orach. We will be tasting the 10 Year today, but there are also 15 and 18-year-old expressions - both of which lean more into sherry cask influence in comparison. Beyond those, there is a 25-year-old as well.
Also worth noting (if it is still available when you read this!) is that we have our own KWM cask of Speyburn, the first official single cask from this distillery available in Canada. It was distilled in 2000 and filled into an ex-Bourbon barrel and bottled at 52.5% ABV.
Enough about the bottles for the moment. Let's talk about the distillery itself. Speyburn Distillery dates back to 1897 when it was founded by a family that also happened to own Tobermory Distillery at the time. Speyburn was a modern distillery at the time of its inception and was designed by famous architect Charles Doig.
Another thing that made it modern was a new version of malting the barley. Instead of using the tried and true floor maltings, Speyburn Distillery was the first to employ a newfangled technology for this process called drum malting. Drum maltings use a large cylinder (or drum) to rotate the barley during the malting process, which allowed the temperature and tilling/separation of the germinating barley to be machine-controlled. The result was the need for far less space to be taken up by the malt floor, fewer employees needed to monitor and turn the barley, and greater speed and consistency of the entire process. These drums were used at Speyburn for 70 years...
KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 4: Ledaig 10 Year Old
Posted on November 7, 2021
by EvanOh boy!
I am smiling from ear to ear because Day Four brings us a peated Scotch. Not just any peated Scotch though: today we will be tasting the Ledaig 10-Year-Old!
Ledaig is pronounced "Let-Chick", or "Led-Chegg" depending on who you ask. The whisky made under this name is a heavily peated style of Single Malt Scotch and it is created by Tobermory Distillery which resides on the Isle of Mull.
The distillery was founded in 1798 under the name Ledaig and has switched between that and the Tobermory name throughout its lifetime. The most recent name change happened in 1972 when it was revived as Ledaig. It then went back to being officially named Tobermory in 1979 and has stayed that since.
The distillery lays claim to a history of spotty production. Like many Scottish distilleries, it shifted from busy to closed depending on the local and global economy and general demand for whisky. It has twice been closed for a four-decade stretch - first between 1837 and 1878 and again just last century from 1930 to 1972.
Tobermory Distillery is owned by Burn Stewart/Distell International. This company was responsible for Tobermory's most recent closure of two years, which happened between April 2017 and June 2019. This closure was for renovations and refurbishment though, which included the replacement of two of its four stills. A new gin still was also installed during that time, though sadly the Tobermory Gin has not made its way to our neck of the woods just yet.
Distell International owns the blended Scotch Whisky known as Black Bottle and two other distilleries besides Tobermory. The Deanston Distillery in the Highlands and my personal favourite Islay Distillery: Bunnahabhain.
Speaking of favourite distilleries: I have a deep and some would say confounding and disturbing amount of passion for all things Ledaig. I am not entirely sure why, but I have been enamoured with it for years. Ledaig is greasy, oily, funky and often weird. It can come off as rubber and brine and iodine and ballpoint pen ink all rolled into one, with any hint of redeeming malt or fruit character utterly murdered by these off-putting chemical notes. If you manage to embrace the weirdness of it all, you might find it lovable too.
All that said, I honestly have not spent much time with the official Ledaig 10-Year-Old. Most of the Ledaig I have tasted has been from single casks bottled by the likes of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and other indie gems. From what I recall, the 10 Year Old has a more approachable style and is not as dirty and weird as some of the single casks I have tasted. How does this official 10 Year Old hold up? Let's dive in and give it a go!
Ledaig 10 Year Old - 46.3%
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: A combination...
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