Paul John Chirstmas Edition 2019 & 7 Cadenhead's Reviews

Hi everyone,

I seem to taste a lot more Paul John than Amrut for whatever reason.

I’ve found that I prefer the core expressions from Amrut but the really good whiskies from Paul John are stunning and have outdone Amrut for the moment.

Here’s two new ones, one official and one independent.

Paul John Christmas Edition 2019 46%

Colour: Bronze

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Sweet orange and dark raisin, sweet & sour Chinese sauce?, brandy and Christmas cake, orange chewing gum and dry oak, none of the smoke I got on the last one.

Taste: Sweet and v soft arrival, lacking some power, then chewy orange, grape juice, quite dry, some oak, lots of dark chocolate coming in with dry spice, cinnamon,.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Chocolate orange, oily oak, a little out of balance here.

Finished in PX Sherry casks (whereas last year’s was Oloroso) with a small proportion of peated malt (which I didn't really get). Don’t think this is out yet but will be shortly. Last years seemed more peaty and a touch better. Its close though and both are good. This should be around £50. Thanks to PJ's Craig for the sample.

75/100

Paul John 7 Cadenhead’s 55.4%

Colour: Bronze

Body: Medium

Nose: Creamy and buttery nose, dry sauna wood, corn on the cob, some basil, white pepper, a little smoky actually with a small ash note, eucalyptus. With a bit of coaxing there’s more fruit with delicious dried apricot, vanilla and exotic spices. Interesting and complex nose.

Taste: Soft and oily, fantastic arrival just on the oils, great mouthfeel, nice development with vanilla cream, butter, plenty of dry wood coming in, white pepper, dried mango and some turmeric.

Finish: Medium length. Ginger and white pepper, dry wood again, a tiny hint of cherry maybe, orange perhaps. A little too dry here but I’m nitpicking.

Released 2019, I suspect matured in Scotland for 2 years. Best Indian whisky I’ve had so far. A small step up from the German exclusive single cask I tried a while back. Big, dry whiskies both but there’s an excellent dried fruitiness (mango especially) to this that I love.

86/100

Updated Distillery Rankings

Indian Reviews #12-#13

Whisky Network Reviews #955-#956

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Baker's 7 Bourbon Review

Hi everyone,

I’ve been trying to try and make more of an effort to try American whiskies and one that I always wanted to try was Baker’s. Why? Because Horst Leuning of Whisky.com has always said that he prefers Scotch to Bourbon, much like myself, but said that one of his favourites in Baker’s.

So I thought it could be one of my favourites. Inter. Whisky in Frankfurt finally provided me the opportunity to try it because I’m cheap and have too much whisky for my tiny flat right now.

 

Baker's 7 53.5%

Colour: Bronze

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Funky and nutty. Slightly burnt chestnut, plum, a little peanut, herbal oak and charcoal.

Taste: Intense, spicy, dry oak, very dry then plum then more oaky again, nutty charcoal, a big grip on the palate from the tannins.

Finish: Medium length. Tingling, white pepper and ginger. Quite dry and tannic.

From Jim Beam distillery. Quite like the style of this one, fruity, nutty and tannic. Definitely up there with Bourbon’s I enjoy but probably wouldn’t go as far as to buy a bottle.

76/100

Thanks for reading!

American Review #52

Whisky Network Review #651

Network Average: 74.7

Best Score: 93

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

The Whistler 7, 10 & 7 Cask Strength Reviews

Hi everyone,

Today I’ve got a brand I hadn’t heard of before: The Whistler. It’s a new Irish distillery that doesn’t have any whiskey yet, so they’ve sourced some like the rest of them have. What thye’ve done next is interesting though. They bought some 35 year old Bodega Sherry casks and used them to finish a bunch of the whiskey. Giving these particular ones a nice Sherry kick to them.

Gotta say as well, I love the corks with the musical notes going around the side.

The Whistler 7 Cask Strength 59%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: A little rubbery on the sherry, raisin, orange chewy sweets, a little sharp abv, some porridge keeping it natural.

Water: More natural sherry, lovely toffee, raisin and orange.

Taste: Good arrival, intense, chewy orange and raisin, great natural yellow apple, spice.

Water: More balance and structure, still powerful. Natural oily malt.

Finish: Short length. Goes, but some orange left. Longer with water.

A 2 year Sherry finish. Double distilled single malt. Swims really well! Limited to 1200 bottles.

78/100

The Whistler 7 46%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely sherried fruit, raisin and orange.

Taste: Great orange and sherry fruit, cherry.

Finish: Medium length. Toffee and orange.

I was told this was the same whisky as the cask strength. Which makes sense because it tastes the same too.

76/100

The Whistler 10 46%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Same strain as the other two. Nice sherry, orange, blood orange.

Taste: Soft, malty, orange, Christmas spices, cinnamon.

Finish: Medium length. Toffee, chocolate and orange.

Very similar style to the 7 but actually I prefer that. Only by a little though. Overall, these are some really nice Irish Whiskies I would definitely recommend having a look at.

75/100

Thanks for reading!

Irish Reviews #19-#21

Whisky Network Reviews #581-#583

Irish Average: 68.9

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Miltonduff 10 G&M + 7 Sherry DL Reviews [When in Rome]

Hi everyone,

What can I tell you about Miltonduff?

Well, it’s an obscure distillery, although it’s massive. It’s owned by Pernod Ricard (owner of Glenlivet) and most of the whisky ends up in Ballentine’s with very, very little making it to single malts.

However, sometimes independent bottlers get their hands on some casks and bottle it… um, independently. So, if you’re looking to try it, they’re probably your best bet.

This first one I tasted recently at a trade event in Rome.

Miltonduff 10 Gordon & MacPhail 40%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: A really malty one, slightly earthy, green apple, refill oak.

Taste: Soft, a little watery, malt, biscuit, vanilla, shortbread and green apple.

Finish: Medium length. A little harsh ginger and chocolatey malt.

I like these old world-y style labels, and this is pretty good value for the price.

67/100

And as a bonus, because I’m unlikely to come back to Miltonduff anytime soon, here’s the only other Milton I’ve tasted:

Photo courtesy of
Master of malt

Miltonduff 2005 Provenance 46%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: A bit of a strange mix. Acidic, sour, yeast and sweet Sherry. Biscuit, cola, dry herbs, ginger biscuit, sour dough, malt vinegar, vinaigrette, sour cream, dry Sherry, a little vanilla.

Taste: Gentle arrival, quite sweet with Sherry and oak, lots of mint, some spice- Ginger, acidity building with some citrus, lemon and orange, malt vinegar, oak building into the finish.

Finish: Medium length. Sweet and acidic with quite a lot of oak for a 7yo.

Distilled Autumn 2005, bottled 2012. 7yo from a single Sherry butt. But I think the Bourbon barrels of the G&M 10 work better with the spirit.

65/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #485-#486

Whisky Network Review #561-#562

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Glendalough Single Malt 7yo Review

Hi everyone,

A quick review of an Irish single malt here.

It's 7 years old, it's a mystery malt because it's not from their distillery (Glen-dal-lock only started a couple years years ago but now I can't find my source).

The pious looking chap on the bottle is St. Kevin by the way.

Glendalough Single Malt 7 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Oats, porridge, under ripe fruit, definitely floral, a little gunpowder-y thing.

Taste: Soft, oats, grain, then some under ripe fruit and banana, some banana chewy sweets, a little youth.

Finish: Medium length. Oak first, banana chewy sweets, a tiny touch of that gunpowder.

The gunpowdery notes surprised me and brought an unexpected complexity, but I still find it hard to get past the Irish under ripe fruit thing.

69/100

Thanks for reading!

Irish Whiskey Review #12

Whisky Network Review #462

Network Average: 74.8

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Octomore 6.1 & Discovery 4x Distilled Reviews

Hi everyone,

Since everyone is posting Octomore’s  over at r/Scotch at the moment, I thought I’d chime in too!

The first I’ve got is the first Octomore I ever tried, at a Bruichladdich tasting in Cardiff organised by a local whisky club.

The second is the Feis Ile release that was distilled 4 times.

Boring story: I met a lovely guy on a tour where I work, he came up to me at the end and we got to talking about whisky and such. He told me that while on Islay a few months ago, he had a masterclass at Bruichladdich and the person taking it had told him to taste a whisky, the Octomore Discovery 4x distilled. He said it was the most beautiful whisky he’d ever tried and the tears started to roll down his face as he tasted it. I thought wow, I want to taste that one day.

Then while I was on Islay, I spotted a bottle in a bar. I had to try it.

Octomore 6.1 57%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: A big heavy dense nose. Alcohol- Absinthe, vodka, oily, tar, underlying sweetness, oaky sweetness, faint peat and a sweet chemical note- cleaning fluid, some fudge and toffee, rubber, raspberry tea, aniseed and liquorice.

Water: Peat coming through more, coal, charcoal, tyre, fragrant oak, floral- beeswax, citrus fruit- orange, lime and lemon, coconut as well.

Taste: Creamy arrival, immense building sweetness and creeping peat, a meaty note? And a metallic note.

Water: Huge. Peat and sweetness, rum and raisin, iodine, flint, rubber, tyre, liquorice root, fragrant oak, lots of spice (a bit of heat)- ginger and white pepper. Pear and vanilla too.

Finish: Long length. Tingling spice, oak and faint smoke. Lemon with water.

5yo, 167ppm, Bourbon barrel matured and Scottish barley. Beautiful bottle and whisky, really innovative. There's a young heat on the taste that doesn't really go away though, even with water.

82/100

Octomore Discovery 4x Distilled 69.5%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Soft barley and intense mineral. Restrained peat, brown bread, flour, granulated brown sugar.

Water: Lemon, charcoal. More water: More lemon, lemon juice squeezed over rocks, more Bruichladdich-y. Even more water: Lots of fresh brown bread, flour, a wisp of peat. After a bit- Hot chocolate and expresso, mint. After a long time- Lemonade.

Taste: Intense (Obviously). Alcohol, lemon, huge very mineral peat starts to come through and goes into the finish.

Water: Brown bread, flour, alcohol, lemon. More water: Finally alcohol gone, intense arrival on lemon and peat smoke, building development on mineral peat smoke, hot white pepper and zesty lemon.

Finish: Long/Very Long length. Lemon zest and very mineral peat.

Sherry casks, 7 years old. Great relationship between lemon and very mineral peat. A colossal abv, but not as complex as I was hoping, maybe because of the 4x distillation. No tears were shed in the tasting of this whisky.

82/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #331-#332

Whisky Network Review #364-#365

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?