[Scotch Log]Glenmorangie 12

Quinta Ruban Port Cask
Lasanta Sherry Cask
Necar D'or Sauternes Cask

I've tried each of the Glemorangie 12 year varieties separately, but haven't yet had a chance to taste them together so I could get a good idea of how the flavors varied. The 12 year batch of this scotch comes in 3 varieties: the Quinta Ruban, aged in a port cask, the Lasanta, aged in a sherry cask, and the Nectar D'or, aged in a Sauternes cask. A bit of googling tells me that Sauternes (so-TERN) is a region of France known for it's rich dessert wine.

All three of these scotches have a lovely, rich amber color. Darkest to lightest, we have the Quinta Ruben, the Lasanta, and the Nectar D'or. The first has a slightly rosier, woodier color than the other two, while the Nectar's hue is more golden. The differences in the three are very subtle, though, and we could only really discern a difference with good lighting and background.

Each of the three scotches had a fairly sharp bite, both in scent and flavor - more so than I remembered from tasting them out at restaurants, which makes me wonder how they'll mellow with a little exposure to air. The nose of the Nectar D'or was very sweet and honey like with a sharp, spicy undercurrent - maybe cloves, though subtle. The smell of the Lasanta was much richer and spicer by comparison, with a scent more mapley than the honeyed Nectar. The Quinta was the lease overwhelming of the three with a sugary, floral nose.

To taste, the Quinta was smooth and thick on my tongue with a lovely lingering finish. It was neither smoky nor peaty, but it was also not particularly sweet. Unable to place a finger on the distinct flavors of the Quinta, I referred to the bottle and found it described to be chocolatey and minty - though I can't speak to the latter, the former is certainly true, and where so much of the richness in flavor comes from. After letting my tongue rest for a minute I noticed a slightly smoky after taste.

The Lasanta has slightly more of a peaty flavor, but again very subtle. The much more dominant flavor was something close to caramel and a bit like hazelnut. On the tongue the Lasanta was much sharper, though both it and the Quinta made my lips nice and warm.

The Nectar D'or is the sweetest of the three and also goes down the most smoothly and with the least sting. The after taste reminded me a bit of cherry, though the initial taste had something closer to sugary lemons and a very prominant honey vein.

Really I could happily drink any of these, though I don't think they're likely to displace The Balvenie from the title of "staple scotch." Still, I'm glad to have the chance to taste them all back to back so I could more fully appreciate the subtle differences between them.

[Scotch Log] Penderyn Whiskey

Scotch: Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky
Region: Wales
Malt: Single Malt, unknown age
Price: ~$60

Proof: 92

While exploring the fine Scotch list at The Vortex last night, I saw that they had an entry for "Welsh Whisky". Being a general fan of all things Welsh, and being curious what this was all about, I decided to give it a shot.

The color was fairly light, a diluted tea or honey color. The smell was sweet, especially up front. A lot of brown sugar and not astringent in the least. It was quite pleasant to smell; I found it difficult to move on to tasting! There's also a lingering honeysuckle or other floral flavor once the sweetness fades a bit.

The flavor had more in common with maple syrup than the aforementioned brown sugar, but the mouthfeel was very thin. It has a pleasant burn in the mouth, but at first I didn't notice any warmth once I swallowed. However, as I continued drinking I found that a very pleasant warmth was building slowly behind my ribs.

The taste isn't quite Scotch and it isn't quite Irish, but it's quite tasty. I've since learned that the Penderyn distillery is the only whisky still in Wales, and it only began production in 2000. The current age of the single malts it is producing are between 4.5 and 5.5 years old. This definitely surprised me, it could easily pass as a 10 year or even 12 year old Scotch. However, by the end of the glass the drink was tasting rougher, more harsh. I suspect this is a symptom of the youth of the bottle.

Overall, I consider this a very promising distillery, I'd be more than happy to continue drinking Penderyn Whisky in the future, although until the bottles start getting a little bit older, I think I'll stop at one glass a night, rather than sticking with it all night like some of the smoother whiskies. I can't wait to see what else they produce, especially since there is rumour of them producing a Sherry cask bottling and a Peated bottling[0], both of which would be very interesting!

Their website implies that they do not produce very many bottles... with luck I'll be able to track down a bottle of this locally[1]...

[0] It appears that these have already been released as limited editions, but some commentors appear to imply they will be making seperate full-release versions.

[1] Oooh! The Penderyn site has a "find a retailer" section! Nice! It looks like they carry this at Beverage Superstore in Suwanee, Green's on Ponce, and Tower in Buford, amongst many others. Bonus :D

[Rum Log]Gosling's Family Reserve Old Rum

Rum: Gosling's Family Reserve Old Rum
Bottle Number: A23/07
Price: $70
Region: Bermuda
Proof: 80

A certain someone at my New Year's party heard me espousing the amazingness of Zaya, and as he had been putting off buying my Christmas present until inspiration struck, he seized upon my apparent new Rumly Passion to pick up another bottle of fancy sipping rum for me.

Thus I came into posession of the Gosling Family Reserve, which loudly and proudly broadcasts that it is, indeed, an Old Rum. The bottle comes in a large wooden box with Old Rum stamped clearly on the side, and a metal ring aroung the bottle espouses the old-i-tude yet again. The bottle itself is hefty and matte black, with a gorgeous shiny (albeit polymer) wax poured over the top to steal the deal. The understated label is finished with a hand written bottle number - something I'd surely consider a good sign if the Pyrat hadn't just scammed me with a a similar setup.

When poured into a glass, the Gosling is a rich, dark amber - an intense color that looks as though a lighter colored rum has been super-saturated with brown sugar or infused with syrup.

The nose is primarily brown sugar, with a hint of something softer - my first impression was of flowers, but I think powdered sugar is a better descriptor after a second smell. The scent was very sharp with a final hint of citrus - lemony.

Neat, the flavor of the rum was smooth with a strong powdered sugar theme that matured into something like sweet cream. A little tangy around the edges. The finish was dry and lingering with a subtle caramel aftertaste - very delayed. There was just enough sting to keep you paying attention - more of a kick than the Zaya, but less than a strong scotch.

With ice, the tangy lemony flavor I mentioned above came out more clearly, and the rum mellowed quite a lot. The aftertaste shifted away from caramel and more to straight cream - very soft on the tongue. Once the ice melted I'd defnitely classify the flavor as "malty."

All in all, I'm very impressed with the Gosling - the whole experience was a bit like drinking a sweet scotch, much more enjoyable than the saccharine experience of the Pyrat Rum I reviewed last time. Definitely a must try - and yet another inevitable step down the path of giving me more expensive liquors to obsess over.

[Rum Log] Pyrat Rum XO Reserve

Rum: Pyrat Rum XO Reserve
Age: 15 year blend
Price: $30
Region: Caribbean rums, bottled in British West Indies
Proof: 80

Apparently making good (LOT) tequila wasn't good enough for Patrón - they decided they needed to make high-end rum as well! As it turns out they also felt the need to put said rum in really cool boxes that look like books, and thus we couldn't resist picking up some to try out - if only for the cool box and the novelty of being able to hide our alcohol in the library.

The Pyrat (yes, pronounced pirate) rum is a blend of Caribbean rums, up to 15 years in age. Getting into the bottle was both fun and challenging - first we had to untie a festive orange ribbon, then remove a plastic seal, then pull off the paper seal (while noticing the official hand-written bottling number). After that we had to examine the lovely medallion of Hoti (the Zen patron saint and protector of fortune tellers and bar tenders), and resolve that our next addition to the home network will now have a name. Finally we had to break out the pliers to get the gods-damned cork out. The previous steps were fun though!

The color is a light butterscotch (described as toasted apricot on the bottle). It swirls nicely with an ice cube without getting cloudy. My first impression of the smell was the lovely nose of rubbing alcohol; luckily this faded with a bit of air, so I was less turned off. Once the unpleasant scent faded, a more flowery scent was revealed. And I do mean flowery - we're not talking red wine "flowers" we're talking, like gardenia flowery. There are also hints of brown sugar, vanilla, and cloves.

The taste of the rum is a lot like the smell. Predominantly it tastes of vanilla-coated candy flowers with quite a big kick of lemon. There's also a hint of smooth, cool honey. The flavour improves vastly with some ice to mellow it out, and it has a very soft, wet feeling in the mouth with absolutely no sting or burn. It's very easy drinking, and has little aftertaste other than "cool and refreshed."

Tasting Pyrat provided a lot of review fodder, but I don't think we'll be buying another bottle. We have the cool box now, and plenty of other more subtle liquors to drink.

[Scotch Log] Glenlivet Nadurra Single Malt

Scotch: Glenlivet 16 Year - Nadurra
Region: Speyside
Malt: Single Malt [Cask Strength]
Price: ~$60
Proof: 112.4

This is my first cask strength, and it's been a very interesting experiencing tasting it. The flavors are much deeper and more complex, I can definitely see why proper scotch drinkers are so fond of cask strength malts. I first tasted it neat, which was good and delicious. I then tried it with a touch of bottled water, which totally ruined the glass. I would highly recommend avoiding ice or water with this scotch. It becomes cloudy, which is to be expected since it is unfiltered, but the taste drastically changed and not for the better. The notes below are for a neat.

Color: Very pale straw coloring, clear and brilliant
Nose: Oaken, and fruity. A bit of pine.
Flavor: Very oaky, with a bit of other woods. Not much peat or smoke, but not terribly sweet either. It's very smooth after the first couple sips, once your body gets used to drinking a fairly high proof liquor.

*looks up a professional's opinion*
Well, I don't know that I've ever been so far off the mark in my tastings! I tasted mostly wood, and hated it with water. This guy and I weren't even tasting on the same planet I don't think!

Without water: Intense, tickling. Fresh and clean. Resolutely fruity. A full basket of ripe fruit, mostly exotic. William pears, baby bananas, pineapple, coconut, a touch of passion fruit. Lemon pulp. Green apple. Gives a feeling of appetizing freshness enhanced by an aniseed fringe. Lingers on that fruity mood for ever. Creamy note of praline. In the back, some herbal and spicy notes. Green tea, coriander seeds.

With water: The nose becomes softer and more biscuity. Cereal notes come through with buttery aromas. Lemon curd. Freshly squeezed tangerine. A floral touch of gorse.

Palate:

Without water: Crisp, appetizing. So mouth-coating, with an oily feel immediately followed by a fizzy sensation on the tongue. Lavishly challenging for the taste buds but alcohol is perfectly tamed and never burning. Custardy. Poached peaches in vanilla syrup. White chocolate. Aniseed lollipop. Candied ginger.

With water: Gets more chewy. And even more refreshing on sweet malty and minty flavors. Thirst-quenting.

[Rum Log] Zaya Gran Reserva

Rum: Zaya Gran Reserva, 12 year
Price: $35
Region: Trinidad
Proof: 80

I by no means consider myself a Rum Connoisseur, even less so than I can call myself a scotch or wine snob - which is saying a lot, considering as how I'm barely a dabbler in either of those. My usual experience with rum involves something cheap and coconutty meeting equal proportions of coke.

And then I met Zaya.

Now, I'm assured that the latest batch of Zaya (from Trinidad, rather than its original Guatemala) is inferior, but I find that hard to fathom. Honestly, if it were any more delicious, I'd be in a bit of trouble.

The rum itself is a really gorgeous dark honey amber color, much darker than even the spiced rums I've seen. Certainly darker than any of my scotches. The scent is overwhelmingly of brown sugar and vanilla - it seems like there's something else hiding underneath, but these two scents are overpowering enough that I can't quite put my finger on it.

The flavor is much like the scent, if more heavily weighted towards the vanilla. It goes down with no sting whatsoever - very warm and smooth. The aftertaste is a little woody with some nice hints of cinnamon.

I tried the Zaya both neat and with a little ice, and I decided the ice is a bit of an insult to it. It waters down the flavors and really detracts from the overall taste. With no ice included there's a bit more sharpness and sting going down, but that's made up for in richness of flavor.

So that's my glowing review... because I really needed to get into expensive rums, in addition to exepensive scotch.

[Mixed Log] Lychee Vodka Martini

After having one of these at a local Indian restaurant, I investigated how to make one myself. Unfortunately, I was daunted by the total lack of lychees or their syrup at ordinary grocery stores. My compatriot, however, proved my stupidity in the matter by locating canned lychees at our World-Famous (tm) Dekalb Farmer's Market. Maybe they'll get proper fresh ones when they're in season.

Anyway, my mad science mixological experiment turned out to be rousing, sousing success, so I present my recipe to you, Dear Internet Reader. Though not strictly speaking a "traditional" gin martini, I figure I can get away with calling it such since I actually use vermouth.

Remember, enjoy responsibly: always drink while wearing a condom.

Lychee Vodka Martini

3 parts vodka
1 part dry vermouth
1 part peach schnapps [0]
3 parts lychee syrup (recipe follows)
1-2 lychee fruit

Mix over ice in martini shaker. Shake until mixed and cooled. Serve in a martini glass with lychee fruit as garnish.

[0] Many other kinds of schnapps probably work, too. Triple sec could also work well. Go forth and experiment!

Lychee Syrup

0.5 cups water
0.5 cups sugar
8 canned lychee fruit
0.5 cup syrup, reserved from canned lychees
1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

Combine sugar, lemon/lime juice, and water in a small saucepan and heat until boiling. Continue boiling for approximately 2 minutes. Set in refrigerator to cool.

Once the simple syrup is cool, mix in blender with reserved canned lychee syrup and the lychee fruit. Blend until smooth.

To remove most of the lychee pulp, use a fine strainer. Refrigerate before use. May be stored for up to two weeks in the fridge.