KPax – Page 2 – DramWorlds

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021

[White Oak] Meikakuna Trader Joe’s Excl.

*Rating*	29.6/40
*Origin*	Japan, Hyogo Prefecture
*Distillery*	[White Oak]
*Owner*	[Eigashima Shuzo]
*Blender*	Shiki Shuzo Corporation
*Style*	Blended Whisky
*Strength*	43% (86 Proof)
Retailer	Trader Joe’s

Despite there being virtually no information on the bottle, the clue to this having been distilled at Eigashima Shuzo’s White Oak distillery is that the bottle says this was distilled in Hyogo prefecture. White Oak is the only distillery there. Between that and some digging through public US shipping records I’m about 95% certain that I’ve got this right. Either way this little gem is exclusively sold by Trader Joe’s. And at a surprisingly low price given the rather steep prices fetched by Japanese whiskies off late.

Nose: A rowdy crowd of freshly cut thin slices of barely ripened green apples explodes out of the glass and noisily rattles about the whole place. Right after things calm down a bit as soon as a well-dressed group of dignified red apples enters the room in a much more quiet and orderly fashion. Between the two influences the nose evolves into a rather nice and interesting experience of, you probably guessed it, appleness. Oh, and someone recently polished all the wooden furniture with camphor hand lotion. (7.5 /10)

Palate: Wait, where did all the apples go? There’s a slice of spice across the middle of the tongue that seems to extend neither to the front nor the back. I don’t think I’ve ever had a whisky with a palate that sits sideways across the mouth like a stuck piece of 2×4. With the apples having left the party the polished wood furniture comes to the fore, slowly shifting from the nose’s hand lotion notes to a more untreated kind of oak that has a bit of a roughness to it. It even occasionally tries to bite you with tiny bitter teeth. What starts as spiciness eventually evolves into a continuous, wide-spread sensation of gentle sparkling on the surface of your tongue. (7.1/10)

Finish: This is where the oak lives. Almost dry, a lovely wood note that reveals brighter notes each time when breathing out. Here and there bitter spots come out of nowhere and fade again. There is even a subtle coating of smoke in the back of the throat that comes alive on every breath. For a bottle strength whisky this fills out surprisingly well over time though there’s, unsurprisingly, not a lot of chest action. Still a pleasant and mild warmth manages to settle it after a while. (7.8/10)

Balance: If it wasn’t for that bit of roughness on the palate and the occasional bitter edge biting you out of nowhere this would be pretty damn good. In many ways it still is, especially considering the rather low price for a Japanese whisky. I did not expect to but I really quite like this. (7.2/10)

May 6, 2021May 7, 2021

Ardbeg Scorch Ardbeg Day 2021 Committee Release

*Rating*	35.8/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Islay, South Shore
*Distillery*	Ardbeg
*Owner*	LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE via Glenmorangie
*Series*	Ardbeg Day Committee Release
*Edition*	Scorch
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Heavily Charred Ex-Bourbon
*Bottled*	January 2021
*Strength*	51.7% (103.4 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase

Matured in heavily charred Ex-Bourbon casks and bottled for Ardbeg Day 2021 this is Ardbeg’s latest Committee Release and it is one hell of a unique and interesting experience. Every year these bottles are gone in seconds and by day 2 what’s left in stores fetches double or triple the MSRP. But they’re almost always worth the trouble. Looking forward to comparing it to the bottle strength version soon to be released more widely during the time of Feis Ile 2021.

Nose: When you burn food until there’s splintery bits so charred you can’t tell if they once were food or just wood. Something acidic… like a lemon and vanilla glaze underneath. Almost metallic eventually. Later sweeter notes emerge that ever so slowly evolve into bulging, fuzzy, warm, peaty… blood orange juice poured over a mix of slices from ripe and not so ripe bananas. Does this thing ever stop changing? Between the experience of nosing this whisky straight out of a freshly opened bottle and the experience of nosing it out of one that had a chance to breathe lies a vast and inexplicable chasm. And yet the two are closely related. (9.0/10)

Palate: A large piece of sheet metal, coated with lacquer made from charred wood and ashes, slices horizontally through the palate, leaving nothing alive in its path, heading straight for the back of the throat. Deliberate chewing of subsequent sips awakens flavor in the front but this whisky is not one willing to expand vertically. All moisture has disappeared from my mouth. Lost I wander across the bitter ashes of the tortured plains leading up to the Morannon. (8.3/10)

Finish: The finish lives almost entirely on the air flowing in and out of my lungs. On each breath out, charred embers light up brightly, emitting sharp, acidic smoke. Breathe carefully… this one will make you cough. A drop of water proves to be the magic key. Suddenly the missing dimension of expansion appears and the finish begins to fill the skull. Countless additional notes and flavors appear to create a much more dense, complex and deep experience than one would have expected from first impressions. And, mind you, a much more lasting one too. The staying power of this finish is astonishing. (9.7/10)

Balance: Without water this is the mystical experience of a lifeless, burnt desert covered with the charred traces of a terrible wildfire. With water this becomes an intense, smoldering, smoke-laden alcoholic tea extracted from those very remnants. This is a difficult one to grasp. It’s both very Ardbeg and not Ardbeg at all. Fresh out of an unopened bottle it is almost a bit unfriendly and unwilling to explain itself. Give this a good amount of time and one tiny drop of water. It will turn into a great friend to have a long conversation with. If you don’t make the effort, I’m afraid, you’ll soon forget almost all about this one and move on to lesser drams. The greatest weakness of this whisky, such as it has one, is most certainly its palate. But since the finish almost serves as a palate-like experience this imperfection can be forgiven. (8.8/10)

May 6, 2021May 6, 2021

Glenlivet, 12yo

*Rating*	26.6/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Livet
*Distillery*	Glenlivet
*Owner*	Pernod Ricard via Chivas Brothers
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	European & American Oak
*Strength*	40% (80 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase

The bog standardiest of bog standard single malts. But that shouldn’t stop anybody from occasionally enjoying a basic pleasant dram to ground themselves again after diving deep into high end stuff. No need to turn your nose up at this stuff. It’s cheap, it’s decent and you can find it just about anywhere.

Nose: Apples. Apple pie, in fact, permeated by soft cinnamon and vanilla notes that, on occasion, shift gears into a more perfumy type mode. The apples are of one of the more tart varieties. Some faint acerbic notes of dry wood float about. Mild but pleasant. (6.5/10)

Palate: The autumn winds must have ripped some dry, old wooden shingles off the roof. The shingles didn’t get very far and quickly plopped into a nearby, small, inflatable pool next to a bare apple tree. Some apples had fallen into the stagnant water where they’re now listlessly bobbing up and down. (5.5/10)

Finish: The standing water has evaporated and all that’s left are memories of using those dried up, crumbly old shingles to grate a batch of sweet and wrinkly winter apples. (7.5/10)

Balance: The somewhat forgettable mid section is bookended by quite enjoyable notes on either side, which makes up for the sad dip and ultimately adds up to a pleasant experience. A perfectly fine daily drinker or a pleasant starter and warm-up dram for a serious evening of tasting whiskies. (7.1/10)

April 21, 2021May 28, 2021

Caol Ila K&L Excl. Sovereign, 7yo, 2010/2018

*Rating*	34.7/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Islay, North Shore
*Distillery*	Caol Ila
*Owner*	Diageo
*Distilled*	August 2010
*Bottler*	Hunter Laing & Company
*Series*	Sovereign
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky
*Peated*	yes
*Cask*	Sherry Finished Butt HL15300
*Bottled*	July 2018
*Bottles*	556
*Strength*	59.9% (119 Proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants

What is a “sherry finished butt” you ask? In this case the bottler has taken a used sherry butt, re-filled it with sherry for a year for a bit of a boost, and then used it to further age some young Caol Ila. This results in a stronger sherry influence than a traditional sherry finish. Basically a fancy form of double maturation in a refreshed sherry cask. Either way, the result is rather convincing and I hope they’ll be doing this a lot more often!

Nose: Big, bite-y, beautiful beat, uh, peat. Velvety, too. Can velvet bite? I guess it can. Faint hints of chocolate flit about playing hard-to-get. This nose is not uber-complex but it is great regardless. (8.1/10)

Palate: Big and expansive right out of the gate. Even the chocolate gets a slight boost but mostly it’s that same thick peat smoke from the nose. A bright and shiny layer that’s almost acidic floats above it all. It’s not exactly citrus though. More like a cask aged vinegar perhaps that’s had a chance to mellow out over time. That vinegar, it seems, may have been used to marinate a few blood oranges. The more velvety aspects of the nose do not present themselves here. (8.5/10)

Finish: Now, this is one of those whiskies that can light a beautiful, warming fire all the way from your mouth down into your belly. The smoke stays up top and fills the skull, held in place by convections rising from the deep heat far below. Just like the nose the finish is not particularly complex, but, honestly, it really doesn’t have to be. It is so big, smoky, expansive and warm, and it comes alive with vigor on every single breath… what more could I possibly need? (9.1/10)

Balance: What a wonderful dram for those of us who love big, powerful, peated single malts! It starts out great and then keeps on getting better. And it was ridiculously cheap too. Under fifty bucks if I recall correctly. This can easily compete with (and beat) a ton of whiskies that would cost significantly more. The only sad thing about it is, that it was a single barrel bottling and is, by now, long gone. And that’s a serious bummer. (9.0/10)

April 21, 2021April 21, 2021

Caol Ila K&L Excl. SVUC, 8yo, 2009/2018

*Rating*	33.0/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Islay, North Shore
*Distillery*	Caol Ila
*Owner*	Diageo
*Distilled*	Oct 22nd, 2009
*Bottler*	Signatory Vintage
*Series*	The Un-Chillfiltered Collection
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky
*Peated*	yes
*Cask*	Hogshead 319401
*Bottled*	Jul 16th, 2018
*Bottles*	287
*Strength*	56.9% (113.8 Proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants
Whiskybase	Whiskybase

A youthful, energetic and aggressive single barrel bottling from a cask hand-picked by the folks at K&L Wine Merchants back in 2018. Balance is not what this one is about but it has plenty to offer in other areas.

Nose: Sharp, bright peat jumps right out of the glass snapping excitedly at your nose with the sharp and pointy teeth of a young pupper that’s been cooped up inside all day and desperately needs to burn off a good amount of pent up energy. Apparently it tore into a bucket of powdered vanilla cream at some point, which is now caught in its fur. (8.0/10)

Palate: The same sharp, bright peat cuts through the oral cavity like a bright but narrow beam of sunlight that found its way into a dark room through the crack of a door left slightly ajar. While it indirectly lights up everything, it doesn’t itself spread out and you can clearly see the crisp geometry of the shaft where it lights up countless peaty dust motes in its path. (7.5/10)

Finish: Hoo boy! At first that beam of light illuminates some very young, freshly cut wood, but luckily that somewhat unpleasant, unripe smell burns away quickly. With the distraction of the bright beam gone the peat finally expands into a massive cloud filling the entire mouth and top of the throat. Heat is crawling down into my chest but I keep losing track of it as I’m too busy chewing on that billowing smoke, which intensifies and thickens with every breath. Wait, did I eat chocolate earlier? Where did that suddenly come from? (9.1/10)

Balance: A bit rough in parts and volatile and bouncy as one might expect from a younger whisky. In fact this one feels considerably younger than it actually is. If I had tasted this blind, I would have guessed it might be 5 or 6 years old at best. Water doesn’t really help it calm down or integrate more… it just… lessens it. That big smokey finish though… damn. It makes up for a lot. (8.4/10)

April 2, 2021April 2, 2021

Tamnavulin Tempranillo Cask Edition Batch #576, 2018

*Rating*	23.4/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Livet
*Distillery*	Tamnavulin
*Owner*	Alliance Global Group via Emperador via Whyte & Mackay
*Edition*	Tempranillo Cask Edition
*Batch*	576
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	American Oak Maturation, Tempranillo Cask Finish
*Bottled*	2018
*Strength*	40% (80 Proof)
*Retailer*	Duty Free Exclusive
Whiskybase	Whiskybase

A duty-free exclusive from one of the lesser-known Speyside distilleries that was finished in Tempranillo whine casks.

Nose: Aged cola gummies served on top of old berry stained shoe leather, which somehow distracted me long enough for someone to lock me into a tight, freshly polished, darkly stained cherry wood cabinet. Later a school of sparkly lemons arrives and amuses itself by flitting hither and to right above the surface of the whisky. This is all rather more entertaining than I had expected. (7.5/10)

Palate: A soft and, honestly, rather dull hit on the palate. It’s like the whisky is struggling to break through its own viscosity. Most of the bits from the nose are there but subdued and muffled, as if you had dived into a vat of mineral oil. Holding on to the whisky it just never manages to do anything at the top of the palate. It does, however, ooze out from underneath itself after a short while and shows some signs of making an effort. However, all it manages to pull off is a dark and listless buzzing across the tongue. Let’s make that a… B minus for effort. (4.5/10)

Finish: More interesting stuff here, thank god. Not that hard to pull off after that flat tire of a palate. The buzz from the palate amps up a bit in the throat and manages to puff itself up on each breath. Not much of a glow but that’s not surprising at this low strength. The finish hangs into the chest a listlessly like an old slack hammock that’s lost all tension, but, still, there’s some joy here. (6.5/10)

Balance: This is like that one track on an album that you don’t mind but never choose to play. I don’t exactly like it. But I also don’t dislike it. If it was a little more even it’d make for a fine pay-no-attention social drinker. But the sad droopy dip in the middle is just… disappointing. It makes me forget the fun stuff on the nose and prevents me from enjoying the palate or the finish. Oh well, can’t all be champions. An extra dose of disappointment is due to me being a fan of Spanish Tempranillo wines and the influence of those casks has, sadly, completely failed to save this one. (4.8/10)

March 5, 2021May 21, 2021

Glengyle Kilkerran Cask Strength, 8yo 2017

*Rating*	28.3/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Campbeltown
*Distillery*	Glengyle
*Owner*	Mitchell Family
*Series*	Kilkerran
*Edition*	Cask Strength
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Ex-Bourbon
*Bottled*	2017
Bottles	6,000
*Strength*	55.7% (111.4 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase
*Wine Searcher*	Wine Searcher

This one-off small batch release of a younger and more aggressive expression adds another facet to Glengyle’s Kilkerran line of peated single malts, which already includes a number of “Work In Progress” as well as some heavily peated batch releases. Though the most commonly available bottling is probably the basic bottle strength 12 year old.

Nose: A soft perfume-y smoke, more bubble bath than peat really. It jumps out and up at you but then, ultimately, it doesn’t amount to much more than a thin bubble pushing some perceptible notes with not a whole lot of substance behind it. Not unpleasant, but also not really a whole lot of… anything. (6.1/10)

Palate: Aha! Stuff! Finally! Pretty aggressive and bouncy in its youthfulness. A sharp hit of smoke, a bunch of loose staves of unripe wood clatter about noisily, but all of that dies down quickly and what’s left can’t quite make itself be heard after the ruckus of the initial impact. Later sips are very candy… probably why the kids were bouncing off the walls like that. (6.5/10)

Finish: The kids have tired out and settled down. Finally it’s a quiet and peaceful around here. Mouth and throat are left feeling empty from the sudden silence. There’s a few wooden toys left scattered about the floor that need tidying up. But someone’s got the fireplace going on the other side of the living room and there’s a welcoming heat beckoning us to come on over from deep inside in the chest, just above the diaphragm. This is nice. (8.5/10)

Balance: The finish makes me want to forgive the whisky for the underdeveloped nose and the irritating palate, but this is a review and I’ve got to be honest. Still that finish is nice to settle into. Don’t bother sniffing. Just sip, swish and swallow, then sit back and let out a deep breath. (7.2/10)

February 23, 2021March 6, 2021

Trader Joe’s Premium Rum Cask Finish

*Rating*	19.7/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Highlands
*Distillery*	Not Specified
*Bottler*	William Grant & Sons via Quality Spirits International
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	Premium Rum Cask Finish
*Strength*	40% (80 Proof)
*Retailer*	Trader Joe’s
Whiskybase	Whiskybase

Trader Joe’s describes it as having been matured in traditional oak casks until it had achieved the perfect balance and flavor, upon which it was transferred into first-fill premium rum casks to increase the depth of flavor. Sadly I must report that I have discovered neither perfection nor premium anything in this whisky. I wish this one had turned out to be one of those hidden treasures in the twenty to thirty US dollar range, in part because I generally like the influence of rum casks on whisky, but, alas, it did not. William Grant & Sons bottled this through a subsidiary of theirs. Since WG&S currently own only Speyside single malt distilleries in Scotland (Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Kininvie) the Highland label is either somewhat inaccurate by SWA standards, though sometimes Speysiders are labeled as Highlanders, or they bottled juice from a distillery not their own for this. Balvenie does play around with rum casks, e.g. for their 14yo Carribbean Cask releases, so perhaps this is something made there that wasn’t deemed fit for use in a proper, labeled Balvenie.

Nose: The rum finish isn’t completely obvious here though there is a presence of it. It’s less like nosing rum-finished whisky than it is like nosing somewhat plain whisky sloshing over a framed photo of brown sugar. Eventually more rummy molasses begins to seep through pushing a few classic whisky citrus sparkles into the background. Neither element is particularly prominent and both are somewhat… simple. Decent enough, I guess, though the sugar gives it a decidedly non-premium, one might even say cheap, feel. (4.9/10)

Palate: The entrance is rather goopy but it does deliver a considerably more detailed report on the sugars and citrus fruit involved. That report has been printed on a thin sheet of wood. Not at all bad, actually. It’s really surprisingly entertaining after the less than thrilling nose. That is until you swallow it, anyways. (5.9/10)

Finish: Bah! All the nice, interesting and shiny bits that popped out on the palate quickly sink into a dull, sugary swamp that sucks the life right out of everything. Just a bored, plain, sweet coating is all that’s left behind. A few desperate lemons struggle valiantly for a few moments, trying to stay afloat, but they too are quickly sucked down into the sludge. The best thing about the finish is a soft hint of warmth in the chest. (4.1/10)

Balance: I’m always happy to find pearls on the bottom shelf. But this ain’t one. It’s more like a small, boring but not totally ugly picture of a pearl that someone put into an oversized and rather lame picture frame. Unfortunately they mounted the picture with lots of sugary glue so there is nothing you can do about it. I am disappoint. Anything one might even remotely consider “premium” is crammed into the brief but enjoyable palate. If you must drink this whisky I recommend holding onto the whisky in your mouth for as long as humanly possible for that is where all of the limited joy is. (4.8/10)

February 19, 2021February 19, 2021

Macallan Double Cask Lunar New Year 2020 Pack, 12yo

*Rating*	24.7/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Central Speyside
*Distillery*	Macallan
*Owner*	William Grant & Sons via Edrington Group
*Series*	Double Cask
*Edition*	Lunar New Year 2020 Pack
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	Oloroso seasoned American and European oak casks
*Bottled*	2019
*Strength*	40% (80 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase
*Wine Searcher*	Wine Searcher

One of Macallan’s slightly gimmicky Lunar New Year releases, this one for 2020, the year of the rat. To be honest the packaging is perhaps slightly more impressive than the whisky itself. It’s certainly quite nice but neither demands nor requires attention. A pleasant dram for distracted enjoyment at a reasonable price, at least compared to the usual Macallan price range.

Nose: A wooden bowl of creamy orange yogurt with some honey drizzled on top. Later it begins to dissolve and fragment and ends up shifting towards paint thinner flavored candy. Pleasant but with a slight impulse to try and turn less so. (6.2/10)

Palate: Quite nice. It puffs itself up to a decent volume filled with those orange notes from the nose minus the creamy yogurt and, luckily, the paint thinner candy. After a few sips some bitter elements begin to dominate things but, again, not to an extent that really throws a wrench in the flavor works. (6.2/10)

Finish: Decent heat, decent volume, decent flavor, decent length. Just not spectacular or particularly noteworthy. Slight to the better side of average. I do like the surprising amount of warmth it manages to develop near the solar plexus given it clocks in at basic bottle strength. (6.1/10)

Balance: This is nice? But if I’ve ever met a whisky that really doesn’t require attention it’s this one. Perfect for distracting social settings and yet that thought makes me feel like it’s a whisky wasted. (6.2/10)

February 15, 2021September 8, 2021

Johnnie Walker White Walker Game of Thrones Ltd. Ed., 2018

*Rating*	23.3/40
*Origin*	Scotland
*Blender*	Diageo
*Series*	Johnnie Walker/Game of Thrones
*Edition*	White Walker
*Style*	Blended Whisky
*Bottled*	2018
*Strength*	41.7% (83.4 Proof)

This limited edition was Diageo’s Johnnie Walker addition to the series of mostly pretty decent Game of Thrones branded single malts from their massive portfolio of Scottish distilleries. An additional gimmick here is that, if you freeze the bottle, you’ll see some changes on the wrapping. Which one could interpret to be a less-then-trust-inspiring suggestion or expectation by Diageo that most people should or will drink this on the rocks. Winter… is it coming?

Nose: Something green? Conifer-like? Like pine boards painted with stain made from freshly ground pine needles and a base of bitter sap. A minute or two in there is a surprising puff of sherry that quickly melts away into caramel made from generic brown sugar. (5/10)

Palate: Hm, this is actually reasonably nice given that I wasn’t exactly a huge fan of the nose. A mellow but flavorful entrance. Is that a very faint echo of Bowmore lavender notes in there? Anyhow, this will do fine as a starter for the night but probably won’t hold up to much else that comes after. The flavors do wear out sip after sip like a cheap t-shirt’s fading colors but it’s pleasant enough. (6.8/10)

Finish: Surprisingly, even at this low strength, the blend actually manages to generate a little bit of heat in the chest, at least when it’s the first of the night. A pleasant surprise that. Unfortunately all the notes from the palate thin out into some residual bitterness and sparingly applied coating of some sweet, fake fruit flavor, like some unpopular candy. That said, eventually things layer up a bit and there’s actually a pleasantly flavorful afterglow to enjoy. It takes perhaps a bit too much effort to get there but, hey, not complaining. Well, not complaining anymore after it arrives. (6/10)

Balance: Eh, it’s not terrible or anything. Happy to warm up with this one if there’s nothing else that’s more enticing. No particular desire to stay with it for too long though. Time to move on. If the rating for balance feels oddly low it’s partly because of the suboptimal nose and mostly because the pleasant part of the finish takes a while to develop and, until that happens, the backend is not exactly enjoyable. There’s good stuff in this blend but, in terms of the experience and the journey, the price one has to pay for it is perhaps just a little higher than warranted. (5.5/10)