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McKendric Western Style Whiskey
American Whiskey
45.2% abv
$40
I really haven't had enough (any?) American whisky on the mission. Dr. Whisky is under-representing a large section of the whisk(e)y industry. I will try to remedy this over the next century on the Malt Mission.
Considering the drops we have been having since Malt Mission 200, this phrase has become more difficult to say, but here goes... "and now for something completely different." Hello, McKendric's Western Style Whiskey.
The label proudly states "naturally flavoured and coloured with wood oak and mesquite chips." Apparently this is a grain whiskey [corn(51%?), rye, and barley(pot still?)] that matures in charred new-oak casks like most American whiskey and boubon, and is then 'mellowed' in a style similar to the Lincoln County Process but with mesquite as well as sugar maple wood chips/charcoal. Yee-haw.
So this is probably very young spirit with false accents of age due to wood-chipping...(seems clever to me)... probably not all that different from the whiskey consumed back in the "good ole days", matured as long as the cask(s) saddled to your steed yielded spirit, suffocating the white dog. So the name "Western Style" is probably quite accurate, thus making the word "whiskey" the most dubious on the label.
Tasted with Colin Harvey and his "notes" appear in "quotes."
TASTING NOTES:
"Not subtle." Spicy, cinnamon gum, root beer, spearmint verging on orange Listerine. "Trebor mints." Pretty busy, even complex, but certainly not well-intergrated.
Hot and bothered, angry. Not unlike the nose, really. Cloves, some bbq associations(smoke, coal, burnt rib ends), "sweet and bloody odd." Some leather and hippie incense in the finish, "(chewing sound) Really dry, like chewing on a cinnamon stick"
SUMMARY:
I am torn simply because although I wouldn't run out to taste this again, I would probably accept it if it was offered, would be willing try it with sarsaparilla and lime, and would certainly recommend trying it. Once. Pretty cool bottle, too.
Malt Mission #206
Malt Mission #207
Malt Mission #209
Malt Mission #210
Malt Mission HOME
Compass Box Canto Cask 46
Blended/Vatted Malt Scotch Whisky
53.2% abv
$65(USD)
This is part of the Cantos Cask range from Compass Box Whisky Company. These are 16 single cask, cask strength whiskies that are, in effect, variations on a theme, or as John Glaser writes, "a canto within a poem." Using the same malt whiskies (Clynelish, Teaninich, and Dailuaine) Glaser has created 16 unique malt whiskies for different corners of the world. Each bottling has been selected by local importers and have exclusive availability within those markets (thus qualifying for my internationally-themed weeks here on the Malt Mission). This one was chosen by Park Avenue Liquor and is only available in the USA.
A 'canto' is a song or a division of a long poem used by many poets throughout our literary history. Dante uses the form in his Divine Comedy but I have spent more time with another 'infernal' canto-user, Ezra Pound. I have worked with The Cantos of Ezra Pound for years and would be hard pressed to name anything pleasurable after them. Even Pound grew to see them as a failure. They were never decisively completed, and Pound himself admitted he had 'botched' The Cantos, writing in the final 'complete' Canto (116):
Beauty is not the madness
Tho' my errors and wrecks lie about me.
And I am not a demigod,
I cannot make it cohere.
(116/ll.26-29)
Pound uses many different 'tools' available to the poet to construct his epic: different languages, verse forms, musical and ideogram notations, etc. Without getting too ostentatious, but feeling the need to make some connection here, John Glaser has similarly used different tools of whisky-making available to him, creating new forms. For the canto range each cask held the same malt whisky, but for the last 18 months the whiskies were aged in a range of different new oaks, both French and American, toasted to variable levels. For Canto 46, the oak is French and toasted to the level '7' (the range within the Canto series is from 4-9).
Pound's Canto 46 is part of the Fifth Decad of Cantos and addresses themes of usury, banking and credit, economic obsessions of Pound's. 46 follows a well-known Canto, Pound's 'litany against usury', "With Usura":
Usura rusteth the chisel
It rusteth the craft and the craftsman
It gnaweth the thread in the loom
None learneth to weave gold in her pattern;
(45, ll. 37-40)
Enough. Let's get to the whisky and celebrate a product of Glaser's unrusted (and well-priced) craftsmanship. All Compass Box whiskies had on the mission can be viewed HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Dessert at a candlelit dinner. Soft smoky atmosphere with vanilla, and Honey Nut Cheerios. Firm, hard, strong oak presence in a whisky that, in spite of the abv%, allows deep, prickle-free nosing. The inside of a Mars bar, dish-drying towel moisture and scents(sense?) of cleanliness. Lots of oak influence and a touch of cantaloupe (hehe, CANTOloupe... sorry), the seedy bit.
Big bourbony opening with the gorgeous Clynelish shining through, becoming toasty, smoky, and caramelised. Apples and honey, apples with bitter skin, or grapeskin... late flavours of licorice root and honey-sweetened fennel tea. Tingling. Oaky.
SUMMARY:
Single malt whisky snobs of the world, give it up; Compass Box adds (due) credibility to the art of blending and John Glaser has yet to misfire on a single creation (that he let's us taste). Great development in the mouth, engaging. Water is not necessary but unleashes more oily, waxy vanilla notes, perfumy spice like walking past LUSH, and baked elements in the nose as well as adding cumin seeds and peanuts on the palate. Not rich in a traditional sense. If 'rich' can mean a whisky that is oily, spicy, and sherried, this whisky abandons the sherry and allows a small serving (milk on porridge) creaminess, while the spice spits song. That kind of rich. Big and packing a lot of flavour into a very approachable dram. Very much an apertif style malt whisky with the fennel-y pastis flavours enhancing my appetite. But of course, I haven't had breakfast yet, so perhaps anything would rouse an appetite...
Malt Mission #206
Malt Mission #208
Malt Mission #209
Malt Mission #210
Malt Mission HOME
Something Special
Blended Scotch Whisky
40% abv
£25
Another week of international whiskies here on the Malt Mission. Last week focused on two corners of the world that are not necessarily synonymous with "whisky", Kenya and India. This week the focus will start with two Scotch whiskies that exist on an international stage, ie. they are not often found on these shores, then we'll make a mid-week stop at a real American oddity, and then move to Japan. We will keep the focus on international whiskies into next week. Hope you continue to dig it.
Something Special is a "deluxe blended whisky" from Hill Thomson, the makers of Queen Anne. The blending company began in 1793 with William Hill taking up an office in Edinburgh on Rose Street Lane, at the time a dodgy stretch that is now littered with pubs and restaurants, tourists and business people. Hill moved to a more desirable location on Fredrick St and was joined by William Thomson in 1857. In 1884 a third William (Shaw) joined the firm and helped create the successful Queen Anne blended whisky, a slightly peaty malt with a Speyside core. Hill Thomson had interest in Longmorn Distillery and to this day Longmorn is an ingredient in Queen Anne and Something Special. Something Special was created in the first half of the 20th century and, as R.J.S. McDowall writes, "is really worthy of a better name."
Today, Something Special is mainly found in South America and South Korea, two markets where they are lucky enough to have Old Parr 18, Grant's 18 and Buchanan's 18, three brands unavailable in their country of production, and three blends that I would LOVE to get my hands on. Many thanks to Tante Anne who brought me this bottle from Korea. Let's taste it!
TASTING NOTES:
Hard, mineral, and clean corn whisky aroma with some vanilla and peach. Youthful vodka-like astringency barely saved by nutty malt and slight glimpses of stone fruits and whiffs of vanilla.
Smoky start that turns stale and dies mid palate. Some cocoa, but like instant hot chocolate made with too few scoops of powder... watery and only a faint chocolate presence. I cannot describe this as oaky, more like drywall and synthetic fabrics in the finish.
SUMMARY:
I am always suspicious of companies that call themselves BEST CAR RENTAL or AMAZING CLEANERS or PERFECT PLUMBING. In my experience, if you have to use the services of a company that feels the need to evaluate themselves in their company title, something is bound to go wrong.
Something Special this is not. This is a whisky to pour and leave for 10 minutes (at least) before drinking to allow the neutral spirit aromas to fly off. Even still, what remains is nothing to write home about (or fly home with... though I am grateful Tante Anne did). Hilarious retro 1970s bottle is about all this puppy has going for it.
Malt Mission #205
Malt Mission #207
Malt Mission #208
Malt Mission #209
Malt Mission #210
Malt Mission HOME
Amrut Cask Strength
Indian Single Malt Whisky
63.8% abv (Dec 2006 bottling)
£32
It's been an unusual week, and while it may have started on a sour (tasting) note, it has ended on a sweeter one (although that Safari was sickly sweet). Most of us don't think India when we think whisky, or vice versa, but India consumes bucket-loads of whisky. They drink almost 6 million litres of Scotch whisky a year, but that is nothing compared to the total 570-million they down in total. The SWA would argue that most of the 'whisky' consumed in India is not whisky at all.
So when is whisky not whisky? When it is made from molasses and not grain, say the SWA and the EU. They also believe that India has protectionist domestic tariffs that create fiscal discrimination against Scotch whisky, the major obstacle to Scotch whisky reaching its sales potential in the country of 1Billion people. By contrast, Indian spirits have free access to EU markets... so long as they don't call their molasses-based spirits 'whisky'. It has created a slight trade war in recent years that has been quite exciting to follow. I have no more time to write about it this morning, so read up on it yourselves (if you are interested) HERE, HERE, and wherever else you would like to look.
We had the regular Amrut yesterday. Amrut Cask Strength was launched in 2006 and has already sold out of three batches. Love him or hate him, Jim Murray scored Amrut Cask Strength (1st ed., 62.8%) a 94/100.
TASTING NOTES:
Oily and sweet, but somehow dry, full of booze and good news. Vanilla, coffee cake. Some forest floor, like mushrooms and leaves, with lots of oak, too.
!*#£*&%! Hot and exciting. Sweet and sour, dry and chewy. Malted barley, oat cakes, honey, sugar coated breakfast cereals, and a firm handshake of oak.
SUMMARY:
Big. Big oak, big malt, from a big country. Flavours delivered in burly handshakes and firm fistfuls but balanced and very-well structured. Surprising, and delightfully so.
Malt Mission #201
Malt Mission #202
Malt Mission #203
Malt Mission #204
Malt Mission HOME
Amrut
Indian Single Malt Whisky
40% abv
£21
$54.95(CAD)*
NOMINATED in the 2008 DRAMMIES
*Most Under-rated whisky
Vote HERE (before Mar 6, 2009)
According to Indian mythology, when the Gods and the Rakshas/Demons churned out the oceans, a golden pot emerged containing the Elixir of Life, Amrut. Quite appropriately then, Amrut Distilleries produced aqua vitae, uisge beatha, the water of life.
Amrut is a proudly Indian product that has made an impression on the world stage. Made from barley grown in the frontier states of Punjab and Rajasthan in the Northwest of India, malted in Delhi and Jaipur, and distilled in Bangalore, Amrut whisky is young by necessity. The temperatures that the oak-maturing whisky is exposed to are tropical. Additionally, the maturation site in the city of Bangalore is 3000 feet above sea level. Between the altitude and the climate the spirit matures at an accelerated rate AND evaporates frighteningly fast. It is reported that after 3 years, half of the original filling has vanished as "angel's share". Happy, happy Indian angels.
Amrut chooses not to chill-filter their whiskies and have recently released a cask-strength expression in Europe as well. We will try that tomorrow. Bursting onto the whisky scene in Glasgow in 2004, Amrut has been well-received by many drinkers and critics. A friend who works in whisky retail loves to dispense Amrut blind to unsuspecting customers and ALWAYS gets a positive reaction. Let's see how it fares this morning.
* - yes, you can get this at the LCBO.
TASTING NOTES:
Big, vibrant and full of oak and malt. Spice, coca-cola, marzipan, fresh stone fruits, and a dairy element as well.
Fruity and spicy, then sweet and sour with a very pleasant mouthfeel. Oak, some coal, and malt. Paprika, black pepper, honey and almond butter in the finish.
SUMMARY:
Powerful with lots of character it isn't shy to show off. Not elegant but fun and tasty. Its great price and worthiness as a conversation-piece earn it a place on your shelves. Absolutely recommended trying at least once. You can make your own decisions after that.
Malt Mission #201
Malt Mission #202
Malt Mission #203
Malt Mission #205
Malt Mission HOME
Hunter's Choice Finest
Blended Whisky*
40% abv
500-/ KES (£3.95)
No, not that Hunter... at least, I don't think so.
Today we will be trying a third Kenyan 'whisky'. A classy way to start the third century of Malt Missions. Monday and Tuesday's drops were from the London Distillers Group and this one is from KWAL.
I put the word whisky in inverted commas because the producers of this spirit call it "whisky" even though it probably has more in common with rum. I am of the belief that whisky should only refer to spirits made from grains, and I am not the only one. The SWA(Scotch Whisky Association) has gone to great lengths to protect the terms surrounding Scotch Whisky, especially in foreign markets, and they continue to do so.
As the top earner in the food and beverage sector of the UK economy and an enormous tax revenue for the state, the governement takes the issue of protecting the product quite seriously (see THIS or THIS). This whisky protection is welcomed by the industry and the SWA. The next frontier is to get international community to agree on similar legal definitions, but producers of molasses-based spirits sold as 'whisky' in countries in the middle east, China, and
India, may not be so keen to play along. Keep your eyes on news HERE.
Tomorrow we will venture into the world of a genuine single malt whisky from India. For now, let's get this over with...
TASTING NOTES:
Definite grain whisky presence, which I guess is a good sign. Raw sweet potato, tea, baking soda, medicine gelcaps, electronics packaging, airport washrooms.
Toasty with a vegetal element mixed with the bready sweetness of malted granary loaves. Quite grainy with fried plantains, and a bit of apple cider.
SUMMARY:
By far the best... or most whisky-like... of the bunch. Could use a touch of the synthetic sweetness that overloaded the Safari (Malt Mission #201). Whatever game he was after, the Hunter made a reasonably good Choice. Still, worth avoiding if you can afford to, but safe to accept if dining with friends or colleagues in Nairobi.
Malt Mission #201
Malt Mission #202
Malt Mission #204
Malt Mission #205
Malt Mission HOME
Top Secret Whisky
Blended Whisky*
43% abv
440 KES/- (£3.50)
Top Secret, indeed. Over the past two days I have emailed and called the UK and European offices of the London Distillers Company to ask a few questions about their "whisky" only to find that the offices do not exist. I am told by friends and colleagues that this is not suprising: "The company probably only exists on paper in UK," "probably changes hands every two months," "probably a front," and "that's the way business works in Kenya."
Kenya's agricultural production is reasonably diversified and can provide most of their domestic needs. Because most of the land is arid, only 8% of the country is used for crop and feed production while 80% of the population work in agriculture or in the processing of agricultural goods. Although Kenyan coffee might be familiar to many of us, tea is Kenyas' leading agricultural foreign exchange earner. They are the leading black tea producer in Africa and #4 in the world. But you can't make whisky from tea.
In terms of grains, Kenya produces more than 2million tonnes of corn and about 1.5million tonnes of wheat per annum. But sugarcane production more than doubles those figures. I imagine most of this spirit is neutral sugarcane spirit with a small percentage of grain spirit (corn, maize, wheat).
* - the terms 'whisky' or 'whiskey' are not defined in interntaional law, so I canot guarantee that this spirit is made from barley, or even grain, for that matter.
TASTING NOTES: 
Rum spice, some plastic, and nailpolish. Flax seeds, vodka, nylon tents and vanilla fudge. Sweet and slightly spicy like fennel or caraway.
Sugary, waxy, and not completely unpleasant.
SUMMARY:
More expensive than the Safari whisky enjoyed(!?) yesterday, but certainly not worth it if I was counting my Kenyan Shillings month in, month out. I imagine it's the recipe that is Top Secret and it might, although this is a very slight possibility, even contain as much as 10% grain spirit. Although neither toxic nor completely unpleasant, to be handed a glass a told it was whisky would justifiably raise reasonable doubts in the recipient.
Malt Mission #201
Malt Mission #203
Malt Mission #204
Malt Mission #205
Malt Mission HOME
Safari Rare Premium Blend
Blended Whisky*
40% abv
399/- KES (£3)
Yeah. What the hell is this, you ask?
After the first 100 Malt Missions we had a week of 'international whiskies' (MM#101-#105 in June) and I plan to follow the 200 Malt Mission landmark in the same way. This time it may last more than one week. If this blog was a for-profit enterprise it would probably be a bad business decision to look at obscure international malts and blends in the run-up to Christmas. But it is not, so screw it. Keeping things interesting for myself is the only way to continue doing this. Hope you continue to enjoy, too.
This is the flagship whisky from African spirits company London Distillers Limited. Their Kenyan-based distillery pumps out gin, vodka, rum, brandy and whiskies that "meet international standards of quality." Safari Rare is "a distinctive blend of high quality clear neutral spirit with natural malt whiskies aged in oak barrels to give a distinct colour, subtle and light engaging flavour."
From Kenya to my nosing glass here in England, from Mombassa to the Malt Mission, thanks to MH.
* - the terms 'whisky' or 'whiskey' are not defined in interntaional law, so I canot guarantee that this spirit is made from barley, or even grain, for that matter.
TASTING NOTES:
Coconut suntan oil, spent fireworks, petrol. Butterscotch, vanilla ice cream sandwiches, green olives, and styrofoam or even silicone.
Vanilla and butterscotch, maple and waxy like lip balm.
SUMMARY:
Upon first whiff I recoiled with a light gag. Not a good start. There were two streams of aromas: one synthetic butterscotch sauce and the other nailpolish, disinfectant, etc. With some time it became slightly pleasant, or at least 60% of the detectable aromas were tolerable. Taste was like a sugar syrup. Unbelievably sweet. Drinkable... although I spittoon-ed every drop.
Malt Mission #200
Malt Mission #202
Malt Mission #203
Malt Mission #204
Malt Mission #205
Malt Mission HOME
Back in June, after the first 100 Malt Missions, I put together lists of the best whiskies consumed up to that point in different categories (HERE). I want to do the same today, so here are my top whisky picks from the first 200 Malt Missions. Please note I have changed some of the categories from last time.
It must be said that with the price jumps we have witnessed over the past 5 months and with the 10% increases promised to us by the heads of major spirits companies, the best cheap or budget whisky categories become more and more important to more and more people while malts that were in my top picks after 100 Malt Missions may have vanished from the lists below because of these price changes. In fact, the most Googled term that brought folks to the Top Picks after 100 drams was "budget whisky", or something along those lines. So big boys, while premiumisation is the key of the day, please don't forget about us little guys. We'll still be here after the Scandanavians and other Europeans grow tired of overpriced 5,6, and 7 year-old whiskies.
It is so frustrating to be able only to choose among malts I have tasted in the controlled setting of the Malt Mission. I wouldn't want anyone to believe that these are the only whiskies I have enjoyed over the past months. I try to make every malt count, but it's embarassing to be offered a drink at a friends house and ask for a pen and paper, or text notes into your phone, or to ask if you can take some home. Not that I haven't done all three of those things...
I should also add that coming to these top picks was not easy. In fact, the list could differ from day to day. This is part of why I do not score my malts in the mission. I try only to tell the stories of the distilleries, describe the flavour profiles of the whiskies, and leave the rest to you. Nonetheless, here are my choices of the best whiskies. (Note that drops tasted by guests tasters cannot be included in my top picks. Just wouldn't make sense.)
IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES, THE TOP PICS ARE NOT LISTED IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER or RANKING
It was hard enough to settle on 3 per category.
PLEASE NOTE: this is not based on ALL whiskies, this is based on whiskies I have tried in the first 200 Malt Missions.
Top Three Whiskies I Would Reach For RIGHT NOW
Old Pulteney 12
Clynelish 1972, 34yo Single Malts of ScotlandGlenlivet XXV
Best Budget/Cheap Single Malt Whisky (£20-30)
Talisker 10 Old Pulteney 12
Laphroaig Quarter Cask
Best Budget/Cheap Vatted, Blended, or Undisclosed Malt (£15-25)
The Six Isles
Jon, Mark, Robbo (any)
Sheep Dip
Best Budget/Cheap Blends (£10-20)
Black Bottle
Teachers
Whyte&Mackay 12 Premium Reserve
Best Value Overall
Glenlivet 30 Single Malts of Scotland
Talisker 18Old Pulteney 12
Best Blended Whiskies
Johnnie Walker Black LabelDewar's 18
Cutty Sark 25
Best Blended/Vatted Malt or Grain
Compass Box Oak CrossCompass Box Hedonism (older bottling)
Ardbeg Serendipity
Best Standard Bottling Overall (current releases; ie. no single casks, discontinued, etc.)
Old Pulteney 12
Lagavulin 16
Glengoyne 17
Best Single Cask or Limited Release Bottling
Highland Park 16yo, Single Malts of Scotland
Bunnahabhain 33, 1971, Royal Mile Whiskies
Caol Ila 16yo, Single Malts of Scotland
The Three Most Missed (ie. dearly departed, no longer available/being produced, etc.)
Balblair 16Bowmore 17
Jon, Mark Robbo (any)
Best Overall (irrespective of price, availability, or pride/shame)
Glenfarclas 30
Glengoyne 17
Talisker 18
Hot damn, that was difficult. I feel like I have left out many faves over the past 10 months... oh well. Just reminds me how huge the whisky world is. 200 whiskies? That's nothing! Here's to another 200...
MM200 Celebrations
MM100 Celebrations
Malt Mission HOME
My Christmas Whisky wish?
How about the new Glenfiddich 1976? My vintage!
Anyone?
Anyone?
Although I would feel terrible if someone I knew actually spent that money on me.
How about a sample?
Anyone?
Anyone?
(See my prayers answered HERE)
