A Trio of Hazelburns....

We got a lovely surprise when Springbank popped some samples through our door and an even bigger smile when we realised that we can now have a go at a vertical Hazelburn tasting.

For those in the 'know' Hazelburn is the name used for the un-peated triple distilled malt from Sprinbank. Taking the name from one of the number of Campbeltown whisky distilleries that closed down in the 1920's. They have only been producing the Hazelburn since 1997.

So now the whiskies.....

Hazelburn-8 year-old, 46%abv: Sweet styled, vanilla pods and short bread. On the plate there is a real sweetness that just makes the mouth water.

Hazelburn-12 year-old, 46%abv: I thought that the nose was not as distinctive as the 8 year-old but on the palate - WOW - It's still sweet but now its massive! Vanilla, sweet oak, chocolate, oranges and some dried spices.
For another opinion check out Ralfy's review of the Hazelburn-12 year-old http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhnyjwYT6w4

Hazelburn-8 year-old Sauternes Wood, 55.9%abv: A limited edition expression (9180 bottles world-wide) that has spent 5 years in Refill Bourbon Cask and a further 3 years in Sauternes Cask...........a heavenly experience in a glass! The nose is rich and strong with aromas of oranges, raisins and a lovely touch of salt that stops it becoming too sweet. On the palate it really has a great mouth feel, it also has a lovely whiff of smoke at the back.

And after all that hard work I think I deserve a wee glass of Old Raj Gin!!

Japan Whisky Experiance - Story & Taste

I was lucky enough to to be able to attend this talk and tasting hosted by Dr Koichi Inatomi , a senior advisor for Suntory.

We covered the history of Suntory from building Yamazki Distillery in 1923 -it's first manager Masataka Taketsura was an apprentice at Hazelburn in Campbeltown- to a tasting of some of the modern expressions.

The presentation was very informative but still with a relaxed atmosphere that helped us all get a real feel for Japanese whisky.

What we tasted.....

Yamazaki-12 year-old, 43%abv: A light, soft malt that has a very Speyside freshness to it. It is drenched in tropical fruits and pineapples.

Hakushu-12 year-old, 43%abv: Still very fruity but more pronuced than the first whisky, this time the main fruits were more plums and raisons. On the palate more of the same fruit but with a very smokey edge - lovely.

Yamazaki-18 year-old, 43%abv: Not as quick to jump out the glass but a wonderfull well integrated malt. Lovely richness of raisins, cherries, coffee and chocolate. A sweet styled malt but worht it.

Hakushu Peated, 48%abv: Peated up to 25 p.p.m. for that Islay-styled whisky. I thought it was like a more fruit driven version of Laphroaig but with red currants and a dash of lime.


A huge thank you goes out to University of Glasgow's School of Education for putting this event on - Many Thanks.

We've have been busy.....

Hi folks...sorry its been so long since our last post - expect more to start popping up over the next few days.

So what have we been doing since the last time we blogged, more tastings, more sales and, even better, more stock.

Over the past few weeks we have increased the range that we carry in the shop by a factor of 10.

Pete was beside himself with excitment when the new German and Austrian wines came in - Siegal Reisling 2009, Louis Dry Reisling 2009, Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2009, Karl H Johner Pinot Blanc/Chardonnay 2007 and the Pinot Noir 2007 from German and Little J Gruner Veltliner 2009 and Zweigelt 2007 from Austria. Expect a full report from Pete soon.

My excitment came in the form of the increase of the whiskies that we now stock. Our plan was to concentrate on the West Coast independants and increase the range when we can. In the past couple of weeks we added Arran-10 year-old, 14 year-old, the Amarone Cask and a small order of Machrie Moor. From Bruichladdich we concentrated on the First Growth range and brought in the Lafite, Margaux and Haut Brion ACE'd casks and from Springbank we were able to increase our range and get in the Hazelburn-8 year-old Sauternes Wood.

We were also able to get some old and new vintages of some of our top wines...

New vintages of Meerlust Red, Rodney Strong Charlotte's Home Sauvignon, Rusden Boundaries Cabernet and also the new La Nina Verdelho from Argentina.

Old friends that we have managed to rescue from the back of our warehouse include a large selection of Rhone wines including PJA Condrieu Les Cassines 2006, PJA Cote Rotie Les Jumelles 1998 and 1999, PJA Chateauneuf Du Pape Les Cedres 2006 and the excellent PJA Hermitage Le Taurobole 2001.

Next time your passing just stop in and we can show you everything else.

Andy

Dalmore: The King in his Castle

A very generous friend dropped off a wee sample of the new Dalmore Castle Leod for us to try and asked us for our thoughts..............

Andy: I've always been a large fan of Dalmore (even popped into to the Distillery on my honeymoon - thanks Gillian). The 12 year-old is a dark chocolate fruit filled delight and affordable enough to find its way into my drinks cupboard every now and again. I'm also very lucky to right now have a 20 year-old cask strength and a 21 year-old bottled for the American market - a report on them to follow.

Now Castle Leod.....its definitely a Dalmore! The nose is attractive, clean full powered with raspberries and fresh strawberries mixing with chocolate orange. On the palate its got a touch of spice and more dark chocolate with a red berry juice undercurrent. All in all it's another fantastic malt from up north.


Pete: Has yet to try his sample but we'll keep you updated.