Tasmanian Whisky Tutorial

Dear Readers,

Chairman Bill here. May this posting find you and your loved ones well.

I had the privilege of joining a select group (two of us) who had the honour of opening a bottle of The Singular Overeem Single Malt Whisky, Port Cask Matured at Crusty's Bar located deep in the heart of Southern Ontario.

This particular bottle was handed to the person who purchased it by Jane Overeem at the distillery in Tasmania. The purchaser, let us all give her a respectful bow, brought this lovely example of the whisky maker's art all the way from Tasmania to Canada and gifted it to Crusty. So when I laid my respectful hands upon the bottle, I was the third person to have handled it post distillery.

To learn more about this whisky have a look at Old Hobart Distillery and Overeem on the net or wherever you research things. The bottle or the box states
 "An exceptionally robust and intense whisky from one of the most Southernly Distilleries in the world."

As we all know there has to be something that differentiates one distillery from another. This whisky is double distilled in copper pot stills and all copper condensers. It is matured in heavily toasted oak quarter casks cut down from sherry casks. This process apparently matures the whisky more quickly.

This must be true because the whisky is only....drum roll..5 years old!

Colour:    A Beautiful Golden Colour

Nose:    The Nose Was Sweet. My smeller was not in top shape, read what the      distillery says for more complete notes.

Taste:   Silky Aromatic Loveliness. Crusty said "It's like an angel p-----g down your throat." I'll take his word for it because his bar is a little piece of heaven so he is familiar with angelic visitations.

Finish:   A Minor Bite at the Back of the Throat - Improved with Three Drops of Water

I would be most delighted to add this whisky to my drinks cabinet.

When asked how this wonderful whisky stacks up to the single malts from Scotland, my comments can only be general ones based on my "Whisky Memory."

It is to some degree comparing apples to oranges since there  are no widely acclaimed 5 year old single malts from Scotland.

The Scottish single malt whiskies that I think are in the same ballpark all have been chosen based on taste. Glengoyne 10 year old, Tullibardine 8 year old Aged Oak, Blair Athol 12 year old, Edradour 10 year old, Aberlour 10 year old with a sherry cask finish.

Crusty and I agree that the Tasmanian whisky makers have been able to achieve some very impressive results regardless of the number of years they take.

So if you get a chance, do try some Tasmanian single malt whisky.
I will post some photos when they become available.

Chairman Bill

Dear Readers,
My blogging has been done in fits and starts and I hope it has not distressed anyone. Now that all of the distilleries have been described, I will be posting stories of whisky tastings or whisky tutorials as we call them here at the College of Whisky Knowledge.

Keep well eh?

Chairman Bill

Glenmoranghie, the 21st Distillery!

This is a Highland region distillery. Glenmorangie is Scotland's best selling single malt within Scotland. My visit corresponded to the end of a bus tour, so it was awhile before I was taken through. The tour guide was top notch and went the extra mile to drive me into town to catch my bus.

Tasting Notes:
Glenmorangie 10 year old Amber colour, light fruity flavour, light finish
Overall a lovely dram that is welcome to join my drinks cabinet.

Benromach Distillery Number 20

This distillery is located in Forres on the way to Inverness

It is still in the Speyside region of whisky making. It is the smallest working distillery on Speyside with a staff of two including the manager.

The tour was very well run.

Tasting Notes:
Benromach 10 year old: Pale amber, sweet and a bit smoky, nice flavour bites at the finish.

I would be happy to add this whisky to my drinks cabinet.

Glenfarcas Distillery Number 19

This distillery is in a beautiful location. Its name means "Valley of the Green Grass." The tour was very well done. The tasting room is called "the Ship's Room" because it has the original ship's bar from the ocean liner Empress of Australia.
The wood panelling in the tasting room is also from the ocean liner.

The malt is lightly peated for this whisky. There is a range of single cask bottlings under the Family Casks label. You can enjoy whisky for each year from 1952 to 1994. I did not have the opportunity to try all of these whiskies.

Tasting Notes:
Glenfarcas 10 year old. Light colour and mild flavour with a hard finish
Glenfarcas 25 year old. Amber colour, smooth and tasty, 2 drops of water improve the finish making it less harsh.
Glenfarcas 30 year old. Darker amber colour, very smooth and tasty, bites at the finish. 2 rops of water improves the finish making it less harsh

All three whiskies are most welcome to be part of my drinks cabinet.

Cardhu, Distillery Number 18

Note the Blue Sky above this Distillery!

I was on the first tour of the day, so it was just me and the tour guide who was most pleasant. She was surprised to hear that this was the eighteenth distillery that I had visited. I explained how some people admire cathedrals and others admire whisky. When I am too old to travel to distilleries, I will have fond memories of this trip and I will recommend Scotland and its wonderful people to one and all.

The tour was well done.

The tastings were also well done:
12 year old Cardhu - light, very nice. All in all a lovely whisky
Cardhu Special Cask Reserve - purrs down the throat
Cardhu 18 year old - darker colour and more flavour than the 12 year old

All three of these whiskies were very fine. I gave top marks to the Special Cask Reserve followed closely by the 18 year old. The 12 year old is quite acceptable, but it is in a different league. They are all welcome to come and stay in my drinks cabinet.

Cragganmore

Cragganmore, Distillery Number 17

After a wonderful morning interlude at Balvenie distillery, I decided to travel out to Cragganmore after lunch. This distillery is located nine miles south of Aberlour.

It is part of the Diageo which meant a free tour with my passport. The malt is unpeated and the casks are ex-Bourbon.

Tasting notes: Cragganmore Distiller's Edition - 12 years old and a wee bit more.

Aged in Bourbon Casks and then in Port Wine Casks for a few months.

Light colour, delicate nose, sweet taste with a hint of smoke. I would be happy to add this whisky to my drinks cabinet.

It is unfortunate that after the tour is over, the visitor does not have the option to purchase whisky by the dram. This was part of my experience at Tullibardine and Edradour distilleries and I would like this to be adopted by all distilleries who welcome visitors. 

I believe that this is part of the "So many fine whiskies, so little time" syndrome that whisky lovers suffer from.