A Christmas Malt that’s been selected with care, From a Speyside distillery,though we can’t tell you where.
The Whisky Exchange has selected a special Christmas single malt for 2018 that you won't find anywhere else. It’s the perfect winter dram, full of festive sherry-cask flavour – just the thing for enjoying with family and friends this Christmas.
‘A fine Christmas Malt’ 17 yo (58,7%, The Whisky Exchange 2018, Oloroso sherry butts, 1800 btl.) Nose: classic, balanced sherry surrounding the malty core. Raisins, vanilla, buttery brioche and a hint of red berry candy. Plenty of toffee notes. Stewed apple with cinnamon. Hints of apricot cake. Rather candied with some aromatic oak in the background. Mouth: punchy and sweet, with a juicy fruitiness on one side (apricots, oranges, pears) and spicy oak on the other side (pepper, clove, cinnamon). Christmassy indeed. Hints of plum wine. Growing nutty notes and charred oak towards the end. Finish: quite long, on glazed cherries, a little spicy heat and a drying, leafy note.
Classic Ballindalloch, I wouldn’t mind finding this under my tree. Now available from The Whisky Exchange for around € 85. I’m sure this will fly off the shelves.
Klingt grundsätzlich ziemlich gut. Ich freue mich auf das Sample und den direkten Vergleich zu den Weihnachtsferkeln, die die Hanseaten alle Jahre wieder importieren.
Nose: Highly characteristic of this ‘unknown’ distillery’s house style – Chocolate cake, sponge fingers and toffee sauce envelop a generous helping of dried fruits – raisins, figs and cranberries. There are fresher fruit elements here too – poached pears and zesty oranges. Spicing goes straight for the Christmas dessert jugular with plenty of cinnamon, a touch of ginger and a dusting of icing sugar. In the background, substantial earthiness (damp soils) and hessian cloth. Reduction reduces sweetness, but opens up a wider array of aromatics – anise, nutmeg and something akin to either pickled onion crisps or balsamic.
Taste: The arrival has the viscosity and impact you’d expect and hope for from the high ABV – forceful, but not aggressive and opening with rich and sweet flavours. Demerara sugar and fruit cake (containing some combination of pears and oranges) are tempered by slightly bitter coffee grounds, dark chocolate and a parcel of spices (cinnamon and prickly pepper) that builds in intensity along with the development. The mid-palate delivers nuttiness (hazel) and charred wood as well as offering a noticeable change in mouthfeel – not quite chalky, but heading towards seeming alluvial. The addition of water adds some juiciness to the fruit selection as well as heightening the influence of the cask – slight oaky bitterness with peppery heat and the return of the earthiness that was detected on the nose.
Finish: Long, peppery and with a touch of cough syrup.
A Fine Christmas Malt 17 yo (58.7%, The Whisky Exchange, 1800 bottles, 2018) My, is it Christmas already? Colour: gold. Nose: starts a tad brutal and hot for Christmas, grassy, kirschy, with notes of lees (possibly from sherry wood), then gingerbread and beef bouillon with parsley, and sour apples. Gets then meatier by the minute, with even more soups, stocks, broths and consommés. With water: even meatier. Beef marrow and porcinis with chives and parsley. Mouth (neat): a rather fatter spirit indeed, composed with sour cherries, plum eau-de-vie, liqueur-filled chocolate (how Christmassy indeed), and notes of blackcurrants. The whole’s perhaps a little rustic, pleasantly so. With water: cranberry sauce, duck, sour cherries, lime juice, green walnuts. This is one for your (sterling silver) hipflask. Finish: rather long, mostly on blackcurrants and sour cherries, with these meaty notes remaining in the aftertaste. Comments: a very nourishing malt whisky, I would say. I’m very fond of this classic ‘hardiness’. SGP:461 - 86 points.
Zu Sirup eingekochte reife Kirschen mit einer Spur Rauch und später erkaltete Asche. Brombeere und Pflaume nebst Zimt erscheint. Begleitet von Walnuss und einem Hauch Kardamom.
Mal sehen wie er schmeckt….
Kraftvoll, den Prozenten angemessen füllt er mit feinen Aromen den Mund und Gaumen. Kirschen und Pflaumen im Wechselspiel mit anderen roten Beeren. Holz macht sich bemerkbar und kaut man länger kommen Espresso Noten an den Rändern der Zunge hinzu….so mag ich es!