Commonwealth Nations

24th July saw us tackle a line up of whiskies from across the commonwealth in conjunction with the Commonwealth Games.

Australia - Sullivan's Cover Double Cask - 40%

First up we tried the Sullivan's Cove Double Cask, a Tasmanian whisky matured in both American and French Oak.

Australians are well known for their competitive nature when it comes to sport whether it be Cricket, Rugby or Tiddlywinks. Likewise the Australian whisky industry has flourished and has recently been making real in roads into the world market like a momentous scrum pushing into Scotland's half.

The Double cask is a vatting of 3 different single casks from the distillery.

The nose is velvety with the unmistakable notes of rich Cognac and milk chocolate. The French oak lends well to Sullivan's base spirit.

Onto the palate and this dram is a completely different beast! Now the American ex bourbon casks come into their own, vanilla, spice and a warm toffee note.

A short but warm finish ends proceedings.

This was certainly a dram of 2 halves, coming in at an RRP of £65, like all 'New world' Whiskies part of what you pay is the air miles getting it to the UK. If it was touching the 46% mark and cost a bit less the consensus was that it would be a good bottle to have on the shelf.




New Zealand - Milford 15 - 43%

Next up just a hop skip and a jump away from Australia and we're onto New Zealand, home of the Mighty All Blacks, Lucy Lawless and the Lord of the Ring's The Shire.

There is no distillery called Milford, in fact his bottling is that of the Willowbank Distillery in Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island that closed it's doors back in 2004. It's always interesting to feature a whisky from a closed distillery.

The whisky was matured in ex bourbon casks for 15 years before being bottled in 2004 prior to the distilleries closure.

Whisky gospel scribe and Panama Hat advocate Jim Murray is a past supporter of certain NZ whiskies. Let's see how this one fairs.

The nose is, frankly, harsh. Spirity and callously dry. There are some notes of banana and brown sugar in there but alongside are ever present notes of nose stinging Birdseye chili... Odd considering this whiskies 15 year maturation.

The palate retains it's form to the letter with altogether shallow and throat stinging onslaught. Not much else to say really..

The finish, well I'll leave that to your imagination.

We picked this up from the Whisky Exchange for £57 and appeared to be one of the last available in the UK from what we've seen afterwards. I think with this dram we saw why this distillery ended up closing it's doors for good.

Can't win them all!


Canada - Pike Creek - 40%

Oh Canada, never one's to blow their own trumpet Canadian whisky has somewhat fallen to the back of people's minds. However this was not always the case with Canadian whisky representing a huge market share in the US and beyond. Think Canadian Club in the hands of Don Draper in the 1960's HBO Series Mad Men.

However, Canada is back on the attack with several new distilleries and releases representing a huge increase in Canadian whisky output.

Pike Creek is a No Age statement blended whisky from Corby Distillers distilled at the more than amply sized Hiram Walker distillery in Ontario. The whisky is then sent off to Hiram's warehouses in ontario, interestingly these warehouses are unheated, temperatures can vary from 28C in Summer to around -10C in winter. This results in the casks expanding, retracting etc in the varying temperatures as well as having an effect on the actual speed of maturation.

The whisky is initially matured in American white oak casks before being transferred into ex Port Pipes.

The nose is fruity, very fruity. Think pears, cranberries and blackberries with a slight cinnamon backdrop.

Moving onto the palate, this displays a lot of grain characteristics, vanilla, honey and a touch of strawberry from the nose possibly.

The finish is short but again quite fruity with a touch of oak.

At £48 from The Whisky Exchange this provides an interesting alternative to Canadian Club and Crown Royal, with the added bonus of avoiding that somewhat garish purple faux velvet pouch.


Scotland - Glengoyne 15 yr old - 43%

Onto the host nation! You could almost hear Flower of Scotland bellow from the tin as this bottle was
poured out.

Glengoyne is an interesting distillery in many ways, it is one of the very few Highland Whiskies to use purely un peated barley, it also has the slowest distillation times in Scotland. Your 3rd Glengoyne fact of the day is that despite Glengoyne's Highland status, it's own warehouses right over the road are in the Lowlands showing Glengoyne is only a Highland whisky by the skin of it's teeth/tarmac.

The 15yr is matured in a mixture of first fill ex- sherry casks, bourbon casks and refill hogsheads.

The nose? Altogether more Scottish, heather, quite creamy with toffee and black forest gateaux alongside.

On the palate this whisky retains a thick oily texture that whisky lovers well... love. More toffee here before turning to nutmeg, shreddies cereal and honey.

The finish lends itself more to the oak from the casks with spice.

For £45 at Master of Malt, this provides a very smooth and fulfilling single malt from the modern home of whisky.


India - Kadhambam - 50%

To finish we go back east to the sweltering climes of Bangalore in India. We've tried a few Indian whiskies now, this one however has to be one of the most unique.

This was matured in 3 different cask types with one being that of a local liquor delicacy, Bangalore Blue Brandy, but don't let that put you off, the whisky is also transferred into Rum casks (from Amrut's own rum) and Oloroso sherry casks.

Luckily it seems that Amrut ran out of cask types to mature the spirit in otherwise we could have been here for a a while. A very modern approach to whisky production though which is always good to see.

As mentioned in a previous post the hot climates of countries such as India lends itself very well to the maturation of whisky with spirit maturing at a faster rate than that of one kept in the somewhat cooler and moister Scotland.

The nose is spicy, think cinnamon and star anise alongside brandy butter over a christmas pudding.

The palate is where the 50% comes in to it's own. Raisins, orange oil, cinnamon again and dark chocolate. Oddly a slight twang of a rich, thick Port in there too at times, ironic considering this to be one of the few cask types not used in this whiskies maturation!

The finish is long as you'd expect with notes of leather and oak.

Overall a very unique and tasty dram indeed. Kudos to Amrut for pushing the boat out with some top notch cask experimentation here.

Available at Master of Malt and The Whisky Exchange although be warned this is a limited release and comes in at £68 - £73


Dram of the night along with the Gold Medal went to the Glengoyne.. but only just! With a well deserved Silver and for the Amrut Kadhambam and the last podium finish and Bronze to Pike Creek.

Overall a fantastic showcase of what whiskies are out there from countries you might not always expect!

Going Global

Summer is on the decline, but still millions flock to the UK's airports to jet off to countries to sample delights such as miles of golden sandy beaches and turquoise seas. Or, in some cases; €0.50 shots of cheap sambuca in a nightclub where the music is too loud and the frivolity seemingly extensive.

One subject we are yet to touch on is world whisky. 'World whisky?' We hear you cry? Yes. Besides Scotland, Ireland, The US and Japan. There are a wealth of distilleries spanning across continents that you might never have thought would distill whisky in your wildest dreams. So we thought, instead of going to these far and distant lands like explorers of a past age, why not bring these countries to us? So on the 26th August 2013, we plotted a course for the unknown and set off on our journey.

We had a selection of 6 whiskies in total across the night spanning 3 continents. With spirit originating from countries bathed in sunlight to others where the anorak is a bestseller all year round.

First up was an entry from Sweden!

Mackmyra First Edition 46.1% (Sweden)

Mackmyra was Sweden's first whisky distillery. Set up by friends from the University of Stockholm in 1999, Mackmyra is starting to make a name for itself with it's unique small batch releases. Set among tall Swedish forests Mackmyra makes for a pretty picture. Matured in Virgin Swedish oak casks.

Nose - Light and sweet, elderflower cordial, lemongrass, warm custard pastry's, crunchy green apples and honey.
Palate - Very gentle and smooth with good thick mouth feel, light and syrupy flavours including more honey, vanilla and slight spicy hints.
Finish - Quite short with a flourish of more fruit, slight tartness ending with a not unpleasant bitterness.


Three Ships 10yr Old - Limited Edition 43% (Africa) 

Next we had something very different in store. When someone says Africa you might think of the rolling savannas of the Serengeti or the rain forests of Congo or Gabon. But, would you ever imagine a quaint looking distillery in a picturesque setting? With a wild bird habitat to its side and the sun beating down, sits the James Sedgwick distillery in Wellington, South Africa.

A 10 year old single malt from South Africa, matured in unknown cask types.

Nose - Remarkably punchy for a 43% spirit, dried fruits, nutmeg, a dying wood fire, toffee.
Palate - Oaky and very full, a slight tightness in some notes released well with one or two drops of water to bring out more toffee and spiced plums.
Finish - Again the oak reigns supreme here, a very full and intense dram.


Kavalan King Car Conductor - 46% (Taiwan) 

Next we move onto another country not associated with whisky in any sense of the word. Taiwan, and to the Kavalan Whisky Distillery.

Now, this is an interesting dram in many senses of the word. Kavalan themselves have been releasing some top quality whisky recently and in this instance the distillery's holding company - King Car have stuck their oar in. They have created this, the King Car Conductor as a 'well rounded whisky to represent their well rounded company'. That's because King Car aren't just distillers, they have involvement in shedloads of fingers in even more pies. Such as.. the Pharmaceutical industry, chemical manufacture & distribution, soft drink manufacturing, instant coffee manufacturing, biotechnology, molecular biological research, the list goes on.. and on..

Nose - Ripe rich fruits, a musky wood undertone and then from nowhere a clear cut malt spike
Palate - A nice thick mouthfeel, initial deep sweetness akin to heather honey and molasses, the wood from the nose rears its head alongside tangy fruit and fresh buttery caramel in the hot pan.
Finish - Quite long, a quenching dryness that pulls along with a dabble of mango and biscuit base.


Amrut Fusion - 50% (India)

Next we headed over to India and to what is possibly India's most famous distillery - Amrut. Based in the close and fiery temperatures of Bangalore, Amrut has been making real in-roads in the whisky market in recent years. Due to the hot climate of India, Amrut and other Indian distillers experience a higher loss of spirit during maturation - also known as The Angels Share -than it's European counterparts. This normally equates to around 10-15% compared to around 3% in Scotland.

A plus side to the temperature is that this allows the whisky to mature much faster than it would in a cooler climate, meaning a much younger whisky will display character more akin to that of an older bottling.

Named as such as the Fusion uses 25% peated Scottish barley and 75% non peated barley from India, creating in essence a fusion of styles and countries themselves.

Nose - A big profile here thanks to the 50% strength. A lovely interplay between soft peat and sugary barley notes, the slight hint of exotic spices and all the while citrus layers play a soft ambient tune in the background.
Palate - Oak at the fore, dark chocolate and nuts, sherried dates and that delectable peat makes a welcomed return.
Finish - Looooong, very much the citrus notes playing again here, the peat now just a whisper playing across the tongue.


English Whisky Co Chapter 9 (England)

Yes you heard, English Whisky! 2 words that might strike fear into the hearts of Scotch whisky lovers everywhere. However don't be fooled, the chaps at the St George's distillery in Norfolk are doing a lot of things right. From using locally sourced Norfolk barley, their own floor maltings and the water coming from a source underneath the distillery itself. It was also great to see such an informative label stating the date of distillation, cask number and even the person who distilled it! In this case, head distiller David Fitt.

Chapter 9 is the distillery's first peated offering, most of the EWC spirit is still in it's early stages and from memory all releases so far have been 3 yrs old.


Nose - A lovely medley of lemon peel and vanilla, lemon curd tart and also savoury elements like Polish Kabanos and smokey bacon crisps all in tune with a delicious peat note.
Palate - Thick and luscious for a 3 year old! Again sweet and well balanced, cola cube's, vanilla, almost a Cornish vanilla ice cream, with the peat a constant but not invasive feature. A very well balanced dram.
Finish - Long and warming with more fruits, both citrus and green. The top of an egg custard with its ground nutmeg, the peat bidding its final farewell edging into a powerful spicy finish.


Penderyn Madeira - 46% (Wales)

As we've already covered this one in our previous blog post here; we will use our notes from that
previous tasting with slight adjustments that were picked up on

Nose- Vanilla, brandy soaked raisins, thick cut marmalade and a touch of light honey.

Palate- Lovely oily mouthfeel, fresh green fruit, ginger nut biscuits and malt coming through. Also pine sap and after eight mints.

Finish- The Madeira now truly shows itself with a dry and appetising whit wine-esque finish laced with pear and a touch of pepper.

A fantastic range all around and really went to show the differing styles of each country and the edge that the distilleries all brought to the table. This certainly must be giving some Scottish and Irish producers food for thought as it has become clear that as Whisky continues it's massive world wide surge in popularity, distilleries across the globe have taken note and have started to produce some fantastic spirits. Long may it continue.