Waterford Ballykilcavan 1.1

While getting a bottle of every harvest/vintage they released is too impractical, I did manage to get a number of samples of Waterford, including this from their inaugural set of releases. I’m very interested in how each farm changes over time, but also how the farms differ with the same process. Not a proper side by side, but I will be mentally comparing this to Bannow Island 1.1.

Waterford Ballykilcavan, Ireland Single Malt, 50% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on February 9, 2016 from Taberna barley from Ballykilcavan farm - sown on March 19, 2015 and harvested August 17, 2015 - fermented with Mauri distiller’s yeast for 150.5 hours and matured in American oak, French oak, and Vin Doux Naturel casks for 3 years, 11 months, and 18 days before bottling in June 2020 producing 8,640 bottles. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Old gold, 0.6.

Nose: Butter cookie, fried dough, fruit tries to sneak in.

Taste: Malty. Green fruit, honey. Off note under it all.

Finish: Off malt, grass, honey.

I’ve read that some of their wine casks early on had issues with sulphur, and I wonder if that is that off note I got. It diminished/I got acclimated before the end of the dram, and toward the end that note in the finish almost became pleasant, but it was still prevalent enough to knock it down a peg for me. Without that it would have been quite enjoyable, though young. Nose-wise it was pretty similar to the Bannow Island 1.1, with a bit of difference, but this also had a different cask makeup as virgin oak wasn’t available at the time this went into casks. That off note (by the way, totally not present in the nose) did stop me from being able to do any real comparisons on the palate. I still think this will be a great distillery once the spirit has had time to age more. I’m also pleased that the nose was really very similar, so even though they’re doing a lot with terroir and trying to demonstrate the differences between the barley type, farms, harvests, etc., there does seem to be a “house style” so I’m expecting a fair amount of consistency going forward without every single expression being drastically unique. In short, if you find you do or don’t like one Waterford release, you can probably expect the same on others (though that could change if more aging brings it around, or they do something wildly different with one batch, such as peating the barley).

Score: 74

Musical Evocation: Haggard – “Awaking the Centuries”

Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength - Batch 007

I love the 10 year old, and the way people raved about this it put it on my list so it was a no brainer when a local liquor store happened to have some. 

Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Batch 007, Islay Single Malt, 56.3% ABV

Minutia: Bottled at cask strength in January 2015 after 10 years of maturation, the 7th batch of this expression. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Tawny, 1.4.

Nose: Molasses, campfire, musty fruit, smoky butterscotch, tobacco.

Taste: Smoke, pepper, dunnage.

Finish: Oaky spice, smoke, seaweed. Long.

This is powerful and flavorful. Like so many drams for me of late, the nose is the star of the show. I’d say I enjoyed all the elements about the same, but something about the nose is more compelling. The 10 will always hold the whisky equivalent of a place in my heart held by my first love but this – without getting vulgar with specifics – is akin to an improved version of that person in all ways. I have too many bottles at the present time to begin following through with this, but once the amount of bottles is under control/amount of space can handle the bottles I’ll be getting at least one bottle of every batch for as long as they make this.

Score: 92

Musical Evocation: Bathory – “Lake of Fire”

Top 10 Whiskies of 2020

This post is about the Top 10 Whiskies I tried over the course of 2020. It is all about when I took the notes, not when the whiskies were released, and they are in no particular order.

1. Lagavulin 12
2. Laphroaig 28
3. Talisker 25
4. Talisker 30
5. Ardbeg Alligator
6. Longrow 18
7. Octomore 10.3
8. Octomore 10.4
9. Springbank 15
10. Springbank 24 Single Cask

Advent 2020 #24 - Kilchoman UK Small Batch Release 1

The final day, not as exciting as finishing with Ar11 would have been, but let’s see if it was a strong finish anyway.

Kilchoman UK Small Batch Release 1, Islay Single Malt, 48.3% ABV

Minutia: Matured in bourbon, Sherry, and Madeira casks and bottled in 2019 yielding 1,260 bottles.

Color: Burnished, 1.1.

Nose: Big banana, funk, dough, hand rub yields snuff. That banana and funk are really more a single aroma of banana taffy.

Taste: Banana taffy, burnt molasses, light smoke.

Finish: Smoke, green wood, apple, spices.

Guess: Springbank 15 Rum.

Hmm, other than a Bushmills, I haven’t had anything using Madeira casks before, I have to guess that’s where that prominent banana flavor came from. Overall this was quite interesting, but that banana bit is a touch too much for me

Score: 89

Musical Evocation: Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer – “Redemption Song”

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

Advent 2020 #23 - Elements of Islay Ar11

One of the more intriguing drams in the lineup given the age and cask makeup. Ardbeg from a Sherry cask is insanely popular and pretty hard to come by. Any Ardebg that turns up in the SMWS store, particularly Sherried ones, regardless of the price, sell out even more quickly than other desirable casks and go for silly prices at auctions. Coming across a sample of this felt like a great opportunity and I’m glad it turned up in the Advent calendar this year, particularly toward the end to finish with a bang.

Elements of Islay Ar11, Islay Single Malt, 56.8% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 2000 and matured for 12 years in American oak casks and 7 years in a 1st fill PX butt before bottling in 2019 yielding 840 bottles. 

Color: Brown Sherry, 1.9.

Nose: Dry winey fruit, smoke, must, molasses. 

Taste: Peppery, smoky fruit, cola.

Finish: Woody, musty, pecan pie but not sweet. Long

Guess: Laphroaig, either the 15 or more likely an older IB. I’d be stunned if Sherry wasn’t involved somehow.

Pretty close, generally speaking. I feel like I should have got this as after the reveal it does remind of Alligator and Day in some respects. Holy smokes is this good. I must say I’m very disappointed this isn’t readily available (where I am, anyway). If this was stocked by sites I can order from, barring an obscene price this would easily be included in my “post Advent calendar drams I liked enough to buy a bottle” order. I’ve had interest in the Sherried Ardbegs from the SMWS I mentioned above, but have thus far pulled out of the bidding when it got above what I felt it was worth. I might stick around a bit longer after having this one (or better yet check if any of these are up for bidding). Easily the darkest whisky I’ve reviewed thus far, and it’s all natural. I’ve got a sample of Traigh Bhan on the way from a swap and I’m super eager to try that given the similarities to this, but if I have expectations of this I think I’ll be let down so I’ll be trying my best to keep that mindset away.

Score: 92

Musical Evocation: Ennio Morricone – “The Ecstasy of Gold”

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar: