AnCnoc AnWinner

Just heard that AnCnoc won the gold medal for 9-12yo whiskies at the Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival. Congratulations then - though it is a reasonably good malt, I'm surprised to see it beat other killer malts in that category like Glenfarclas or Talisker.
Looking at the new Glendronach bottlings as well, they ought to be able to put up a good fight as well.

Hakushu! - Bless you.

Prior to a full Auchentoshan-tasting with Nick "Kiwi" Ravenhall, we sat down and tried a couple of Japanese malts. One stuck out his sore thumb and I had to pick a bottle up at Systembolaget to see if I still thought it was as good afterwards: Hakushu 18.

Meant to be pronounced like a sneeze (only in Japan, friends, only in Japan), the Hakushu 18yo is a - to use Thomas Clydesdales words - proper sledgehammer. Complex with both sherry and bourbon casks hitting the palate; the sweet raisiny fruitiness of the sherry mixing with the vanilla streaks of bourbon. What a massive malt!

Funny that the biggest surprises these days come from the land of the rising sun.
But then again, they did give us the Ninja-films after all.

If you can lay your hands on a bottle, do not hesitate. Make sure to pick one up.

That's the doctors order.

the Whisky Exchange

Following a meeting that got moved around, I suddenly found myself in London with time to spend and money to burn. Well, at least half-true.
So, what to do?
Obviously, head over to The Whisky Exchange on the south side of the Thames.

Was it worth the journey?

You bet.

If you haven't visited the Whisky Exchange, you have yet to experience heaven on earth.
After an hour and a half in the shop, discussing malts, bottlings and distilleries, I left with a bottle of Glendronach 1971.
It will be part of the big "Keep that 40-years crisis at bay" tasting of '71:s I'm planning for the 40:th. So, you'll all just have to wait for the tasting notes a bit longer... but it looks great!

After that shopping session, my body and mind were literally drained, so I had to head down to the river and grab a pint of Shepherd Neame.
Life is, indeed, good.

London Calling

And, just as the Clash once crooned, London has indeed been calling me a LOT during the evening.  After a nice dinner at Wild Honey (now there's  a treat for all you Tiamat-fans out there), Eddie and I headed over to a couple of Soho bars, where we enjoyed a Balvenie (Founders Reserve; good, but nowhere near the double-wood or any of the other expressions), a Talisker (good. as always.) and an Aberlour (remarkably anonymous, given the sherry-bomb character it usually displays. I suspect an old bottle that's been open for too long.)

Sitting in my hotel room now, I can't get the blinds down, so a big part of London can watch me write this before it's bedtime at Tottenham Court Road.

But... do I care? Nope.
In your face, neighbours. The malts and London is too good for being disturbed.

Turning japanese... I really think so

AH, nothing compares to you. Or, not much at least. Just got back from Systembolaget and got myself a Hakushu (pronounced much like a sneeze, apparently), and it looks great. The little nip I got the other day of this 18yo was very promising indeed.

Watch this space.
Japanese whisky is the new black.

Sherry, more sherry and Glendronach

A fine day today, and it just became a bit better - the new bottle of Glendronach 18yo (with the virtually impossible subtitle 'allardice') was cracked open to get a sunday night tasting.

And sunday night is looking very good.
If you are a fan of the sherry-casked whisky, which more or less is a criminal offence NOT to be, then you are in for a major treat here.
The nose promises a lot with a wiff of wood, raisins, coffee and, yep, sherry. As it develops it gives you the slightest smoke and a lot more fruit and sweetness. What we in Sweden might at times refer to as skumbanan.
A sip of this proves that the big promises from the nose are to be kept in the mouth. Had Santa Claus existed and been a whisky-distiller, I'm pretty sure this is what his whisky would taste like. Big, warming and very rewarding. Smooth as, eh, smooth stuff, but indeed very, very much so. At 46%, there is a nice punch to the whisky without it becoming overwhelming. (the unpeated Caol Ila at 65% Janne "Death" Groth gave me at the whisky-festival springs to mind).

A nice warm finish that lingers nicely for a looong time rounds this up.
All in all a great whisky from the new owners of Glendronach (if I'm not mistaken, it's the same guys who own peat-monster Benriach).
Worth looking up, and a nice friend to keep you company during the autumn.
If we ever get an autumn here, that is.
But, climate change is another blog alltogether.

The Green, Green Grass of Home

The other day, the powers that be (or Philipson Söderberg as they are known to most swedes) phoned me, asking for tasting notes for a new line of irish grain whiskey - and, could I write them?

As Jeff Bridges so ultimately put it in the all-time classic "Big Lebowski": The Dude Abides.

Before I had time to say Halvfem (if you don't understand that expression, consult a fellow swede) two bottles of Greenore arrived at my door step. A 6yo and an 8yo.

Now, grain whiskey is the ingredient one usually uses to fill up a blended whiskey with - and then use the malt whiskey to add the taste and flavour. So, you can definitely see that I was slightly concerned that these two wouldn't taste at all.

I was pleasantly surprised to find them a mix of sweet vanillas, the typical irish black-curranty notes and a soft fruitiness. If you find bourbon too harsh on the palate, these two are probably for you to check out.

If you want to see the tasting notes "live", go no further than here.

Oh, if you have problems reading them because it's in swedish, that is because, well, they ARE in swedish.