The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old

Yesterday was a revelation from a distillery I've avoided as much as humanely possible. Today's dram comes from a distillery I recommend to everyone. At some point, every sherry loving whisky drinker in my life will have been advised to purchase The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old (great price, solid whisky, does exactly what it says on the tin). The "Single Barrel" line was launched in 2014 and puts the focus on a single type of cask rather than bottling a single barrel (though outturns remain small). Here comes the sherry cask at a tremendous bottling strength for an OB.

Behind window #8: The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old, 47.8% alc., £62/$93

C: Amber

N: Black tea gives way to pronounced malt, dark raisins, and Kola Kubes

P: Soft entry, warm orange spice and black raspberry jam with bitter chocolate and toasted hazelnuts

F: Long with lingering jamminess and dark chocolate bitterness

In conclusion: What a classy Speyside dram. Beautiful balance of flavors, great texture, and a finish that's so yummy and long it has me reaching for another drink just to go around again and again.

Sincere thanks to Master of Malts' Drinks by the Dram for the sample.

Glen Scotia Double Cask

Today's advent calendar dram is from one of only two distilleries I've spent my entire whisky drinking career avoiding. Known as "Campbeltown's other distillery" Glen Scotia has never had the best reputation in whisky circles. It was a sad little neglected distillery producing whisky with a very strange off note.

Since early 2014, however, under the ownership of Exponent Private Equity Glen Scotia has been spoiled with investment: new wash backs, new spirit safe, new roofs, still upgrades, and a visitor center. In 2015, a new retail line was launched that includes today's dram. Double Cask is a vatting of bourbon casks that were finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry for three to four months and bottled at 46% alc. (huzzah!). Let's see if fortunes are changing at Campbeltown's other distillery.

Behind window #7: Glen Scotia Double Cask, 46% alc., £31/$46

C: Gold

N: Ginger sponge cake with golden syrup, Connecticut shade-grown cigar wrappers (with a good whiff of Guy Fawkes bonfires), maybe a little custard around the edges

P: Decent texture, pleasantly spicy (ginger and a little cinnamon) with more custard notes

F: Moderate length but most surprisingly after the nose and palate is that it's strangely devoid of spice, there are some darker fruit notes coming in though

In conclusion: While the nose is terrific and the palate is good the finish is a real letdown. However, in the world of Glen Scotia releases this is an A+. After sampling this NAS offering I'm very interested in exploring the new line (and I didn't think I'd write that as recently as pulling this sample from the advent calendar!). I'm really pleased that this was included in this year's calendar and I wonder how many other whisky lovers grumbled to themselves when they saw the name on the label. Well played so far, Exponent Private Equity.

Sincere thanks to Master of Malt's Drinks by the Dram for the sample.

Kilchoman Machir Bay 2014

I think it's quite fitting that the first Islay in Master of Malt's Whisky Advent Calendar appears on the first night of Chanukah. Earlier tonight, we had our first night's candles burning on three different Chanukiahs. Nothing gets me in the mood for an Islay like naked flame!

Released in early 2014 you might need to search behind the couch cushions to find a bottle of this third release of Machir Bay. Comprised of first fill bourbon matured five and six year old stock the entire batch was married in oloroso sherry wood for four weeks before being bottled at 46% alc.

Behind window #6: Kilchoman Machir Bay 2014, 46% alc., £33/$50

C: Light straw

N: Peaty (obviously) with some banana notes when you hold it on the tongue before a big coal dust blast and a fresh coastal breeze replace the fruity notes

P: Leads with the coal dust (from the nose) with a touch of sugary sweetness around the edges

F: Plenty long with a pleasing sweetness but also a peaty ashiness and ground grey pepper

In conclusion: A very solid Kilchoman release and a solid wee drinker but there's very little to suggest any sherry finishing. The slightest suggestion of sherry could have added a dimension that presents Kilchoman in the very best light. To date, my favorite release of Kilchoman remains their Spring 2010 which was the first to feature any sherry.

Sincere thanks to Master of Malt's Drinks by the Dram for the sample.

The Dalmore 15 Year Old

The Dalmore 15 Year Old is comprised of stock matured in three different types of sherry cask: Matusalem (combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherries), Apostoles (Palo Cortado that spent some time in ex-Pedro Ximenez casks), and Amoroso (medium dry sherry). That's quite a lineup and speaks to just how seriously The Dalmore takes its sherry maturation program. The downside, of course, is that The Dalmore is still a proponent of chill filtering, color addition, and low strength bottling.

Behind window #5: The Dalmore 15 Year Old, 40% alc., £43/$65

C: Caramel

N: Wholewheat toast smeared with orange marmalade, high cocoa-content dark chocolate with crystallized orange peel, peanut brittle, garam masala, and then filtered coffee in the background

P: Flat across the palate (damn you 40% alc.!), porridge with maple syrup, more filtered coffee, more dark chocolate with orange peel, cardamom, and a little cinnamon

F: Short to moderate (see previous parenthetical comment), drying spice, bitter chocolate, coffee, and just a hint of chicory

In conclusion: While a perfectly enjoyable dram it could be so much more. Why take great stocks of sherry matured spirit and bottle them at such a low strength? Why chill filter away the original character? And why add color in order to tell a story that isn't true? Truth be told, there's a plethora of better sherried whiskies on the market that are worth your attention and  hard earned cash.

Sincere thanks to Master of Malt's Drinks by the Dram for the sample.

Glen Grant, The Major's Reserve

While reviewing Yoichi this morning I compared it favorably to Glen Grant, The Major's Reserve. That got me thinking that I hadn't enjoyed that particular tipple in a while. So, as any self-respecting whisky lover would do, I pulled my bottle off my shelf and poured a wee dram (just to get reacquainted, you understand!).

Distilled in Rothes, in Speyside, the Glen Grant line-up isn't particularly well known in the US. Part of the Campari stable, their 5 Year Old is the number one single malt in Italy. The Major's Reserve, a non-age statement release with a screw cap, is a very affordable daily drinker matured exclusively in bourbon barrels.

Glen Grant, The Major's Reserve, 40% alc., $20/$30-$35

C: Pale gold

N: Light and effervescent with US Smarties (that candied, powdered sugar note), cereal, peach pits and pear skin

P: Vanilla custard, apricots, and a subtle wood influence with a distinct feintiness as it transitions into the finish

F: Short with delicate fruit and wood notes, maybe even a little nutty towards the end

In conclusion: A great single malt for the price and a very enjoyable and easy drinker. There's no reason not to have a bottle of this on your own whisky shelf.