November was The first Bourbon night. Most members would be the first to admit they were not hugely experienced with Bourbon and so it set the scene for an interesting night. 



We were lucky to be able to welcome a representative from Buffalo Trace  to come over to Woodchester to talk us through the history, production and tasting notes for 3 of the nights bottles (thanks to Jay for a Job well done). 


As we learned throughout the evening, in the US the distilleries release many different brands under one umbrella so Buffalo Trace not only have a name same but many other brands and bottles all from the same distillery.

Buffalo Trace
40% ABV

Buffalo Trace is the flagship expression from the distillery of the same name. This is made from Buffalo Rye Mash #1 which consists of 80% corn, 10% rye & 10% malted barley. Then it is aged for around 8 yrs in Virgin charred oak casks that are sourced from sustainable oak trees over 70 years old.

The end result is caramel golden and really oily. It stocks to the glass beautifully and has a wonderful nose. Big waves of vanilla, sweet grain and nuts.

In the mouth the vanilla is as present as promised. Sweetness, dark fruits, light spices and rye.

The finish is long, spicy, drying and tangy.

This is a quality drop for the price. On the night this was voted the bottle people were most likely to buy.

Eagle Rare 10 yr Single Barrel.
45% ABV

From Buffalo Trace comes the bigger brother Eagle Rare 10 yr single barrel. Just like its little brother (Buffalo Trace) it is made from Buffalo Rye Mash #1 which consists of 80% corn, 10% rye & 10% malted barley. Then it is aged for around 10 yrs in Virgin oak casks and each barrel is carefully selected and bottled.

In the glass it is rich, dark, golden caramel colour.

The nose is sweet, rich with grain and ripe cherries.

On the palate there is a punchy oak tang, sweet vanilla, allspice, dark fruits and grain.

It is well balanced and has a long spicy finish.

This is another great bottle from Buffalo Trace. Voted the favourite bottle on the night but being priced at around £35 per bottle it wasn't deemed twice as good as the £20 Buffalo Trace.

Old Weller Antique 107
Barrel proof 53.5% ABV

This is the 3rd from Buffalo Trace and came with a solid recommendation. This is a Wheated Bourbon and was a "first" for the whole group. I wasn't sure what to expect flavour wise.

The Colour is dark caramel brown and looks thick, sticky and oily in the glass.

The nose gives you Corn, honey, very sweet ripe plums, toffee, floral and grassy notes.

Rich and smooth on the palate. Ripe figs, sticky dates, Oak, honey, corn.

Finish is pleasant peppery, fairly long and slightly drying.

As my first Wheated bourbon it is a success. Very pleasant and interesting. Definitely worth trying if you haven't already.

Bulliet Bourbon
40% ABV

Continuing with my theme of Bourbons this was one that was supposedly a real bargain. Bourbons can be very expensive in the UK and this one is at an entry level price point along with Buffalo Trace at £20.

This is fairly pale for a bourbon which makes it look young in the glass. Oily and a golden straw colour.

The nose gives aniseed, corn, spices and sweet. Lots of vanilla and a little citrus.

Palate is smooth, lots of vanilla, honey, a little liquorice, corn. It has a mouth feel that is slightly thinner than the Weller and the finish is fairly short. Nice but not as good as the Buffalo Trace considering they are the same price. Very easy drinking but it doesn't set the world alight.

Rittenhouse Rye
Bottled in bond at 100 proof / 50% ABV. 

This is a straight Rye Whiskey which means the mash bill must contain at least 51% rye. When we drank this bottle on the night it was slightly closed off and whilst nice, wasn't amazing. I was recommended to let it air for a while before trying it again so I did. After being open for 3 weeks I tried a small glass and it is a different beast. The review below is the 2nd tasting note having been open for 3 weeks.

The colour is golden caramel and it has good legs and a nice oily sheen.

The nose is punchy with cherries, aniseed, vanilla, citrus and a floral hint. Adding a tiny drop of water brings sticky dates and develops the aniseed slightly.

Lovely on the palate. Spicy, vanilla, dark chocolate, rye, dark fruits. It's sweet, quite rich and full bodied.

The finish tingles the gums and tongue with sweet yet peppery aniseed that is slightly drying at first before then making me salivate quite a lot. Long and lingering and extremely pleasant. A great example of good rye.

I was a lot more impressed with it the 2nd time around than the first. This is a bottle that needs to breathe. If it had been this good on the night I would have thought it would have given the Eagle Rare a run for it's money as "best bottle"

This was the club's first dabble with blended Whiskies. Up until know we had only been tasting Single Malts so this was a nice break from the norm. The line up had good variety of style and price point.

On the menu was a Vatted (Blended) Malt, Blended Grain and 3 different Blended (Malt and Grain) Whiskies.

The first bottle on the agenda was Ballantine’s Finest. Highly recommended by the famous Jim Murray this £15 bottle seemed like a good starting point.

Ballantines Finest

The blend’s light gold colour and unmistakable taste come from a complex mix of carefully selected malt and grain whiskies — all aged for many a year in high quality casks.

Nose - Heather honey aromas with a hint of spice. Not hugely complex but blends tend not to always give everything up on the nose.

Palate - Well balanced subtle flavours with tones of milk chocolate, apple and vanilla. I fell like the corners have been knocked of fso many times it leaves it slightly bland… nothing stands out.

Finish - Short.

For £15 quid it is good value and worth the try.

Monkey Shoulder

This is made from 3 diffeent single malts hence the “blended malt” or vatted malt tag.

Nose: Marmalade, cocoa and malt. Some winter spice (nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon) and hint of aniseed.

Palate: Very malty, creamy delivery which offers juicy toasted barley, cloves and butterscotch. Honey and apricot develop.

Finish: Medium length with oranges and vanilla.

In my mind for the money this was the best value of the night. Interesting, well put together, good flavours and honest.

Chivas Regal 18 Yr

This is what Chivas Regal have to say about their own 18 year old Blended Whisky…

Chivas 18 is a uniquely rich and multi-layered blend that includes over twenty of Scotland’s rarest single malt Scotch whiskies. With 85 flavour notes in every drop, each sip is a new discovery.

It is a multi-award winner…

• 2012 Gold award, San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
  
• 2011 Gold award, San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
  
• 2010 Gold award, International Wine & Spirits Competition.
  
• 2009 Gold award, International Wine & Spirits Challenge.
  

What did we think.

Nose: Balanced. Orange peel, malted barley. Vanilla fudge, touch of spice.

Palate: Medium body, marmalade, touch of wood.

Finish: Medium, slightly oaky and peppery but fades.

Verdict: Not as “special” as I was hoping for. Very nice but there certainly was not 85 flavour notes for me. Maybe I was expecting too much from this as I did have high hopes being a fan of the 12.

Compass Box - Hedonism

Compass Box, the self proclaimed "artisan Whisky makers" and all around marketing gurus love to tantalise us with different kinds of offerings. Hedonism is their Blended Grain Whisky.

Batches vary and are made from a combination of 8 - 15 casks from a variety of distilleries.

this batch is limited release bottling number: HE18MMXI. 

The beautiful smoked bottle disguises the palest of Whiskies that it hides within. This oily blend has good legs indicating some age in there. At this stage you should be getting excited. The box, the bottle, the appearance all indicate class.

The nose is light, creamy, plenty of vanilla and fudge.

It is soft, creamy, silky on the palate. The vanilla is there along with mild spices, nicely peppery.

The finish is creamy, a tang of fresh ginger, sweet but short.

Initially this bottle seems much more classy that the American Grain Whiskies. The creamy, silkiness oozes quality on the nose and initially on the palate but it fades away and leaves me feeling unfulfilled.

It is interesting, clearly a well made and nicely balanced product but it lacks a suitable ending. I wanted more rolling flavours that unfolded into a climatic finish and after the initial flavours I got a slow drift into... Mmm, quite nice.

I don't regret buying this Whisky, it's easy drinking, well put together but not the show stopper I had hoped it might be. Worth trying as it is very different from most of the single malts out there.

Highland Black 8

Here is the blurb…Highland Black is a blend of the finest grain and malt whiskies from Scotland all aged for a minimum of 8 years. The blend contains a high percentage of single malt whiskies from the Highlands and Speyside regions of Scotland. These malt whiskies are then blended with the purest grain whisky from the Lowlands. 

This is a triple award winning blend which for the money is excellent value.

• IWSC Gold 2013
• The Spirits Business 2013 Gold
• International  Spirits Challenge 2013 Gold

This was the Aldi bottle for £12. Bargain basement.

Verdict –Tastes like a simple blended Whisky. Not offensive, good value and does what it says on the tin. Perfect for a simple dram or even to use in cooking.

September 2013 saw our first hosted tasting session. We had the 'Vice President of Overseas operations' from the worlds 7th largest Whisky producer in Woodchester for the evening. 

We enjoyed it so much we gave them a full page of the very own. Click here to find out more.

In August we looked for the more mature dram. We tasted 3 bottles of different 18 year old Scotch from 3 different regions. These were Highland, Island and Speyside. 

Well, actually, if you are being picky Highland Park which is based on Orkney could be considered part of the Highland region but that is another conversation for another day. We brought out The Glenlivet 18 again and added 2 big hitters.

• Tomatin 18 Yr – Highland
  
• Highland Park 18 – Island
  
• The Glenlivet 18 – Speyside
  

We were also lucky enough to have the following bottles to add some breadth to our line up.

• Old Pulteney WK217
  
• Ardbeg 10 
  
• Laphroaig Cairdeas Origin
  
• Redbreast 12 Cask Strength
  

Tomatin 18

This 18 yr old has had 15 years of maturation in Bourbon hogsheads, Makers Mark to be specific. It is then finished for the final 3 years in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks.

This combination gives this 18 yr a sweet, woody nose that is rich in fruit, spiced berries, cinnamon and puffs of smoke.

It has good legs.

On the palate it is smooth and sweet. You can taste the bourbon influence right off. There is a low level dry spiciness and subtle smoke. I expected more oak on the palate as promised by the nose but it is pleasingly subtle and not as strong as expected. There is an hint of citrus and a lovely honey finish which is long and sherried.

It is not as complex as some but this is a great well rounded expression which is really worth trying. Good stuff!

Highland Park 18

This bottle was the star of the show!!! Gold in a glass.



The nose gives you oak, honey, heather, smoke. It smells wonderfully complex and inviting.

On the palate it is rich and full. Honey, a bit of peat, oak, smoke, warming sweet dark fruits.

The finish is soft and yet long.

A beautifully balanced bottle. Truly worth every penny.

Ardbeg 10

This is a big hitting Islay malt with massive flavours!

The nose is soft yet full, Smokey, salty sea spray with a whiff of burnt bacon. There is a lemon undertone which is covered by a powerful peat aroma.

Your first taste brings strong Smoke, fruit, sweet spices with a smooth oily texture. This is a rich peaty punch with a sales caramel flavour. It has a long finish which leaves the tongue tingling and the mouth wanting more.

As an experience it is something you want to last. If you haven't tried it buy a bottle! Pound for pound this is a serious contender. I can't think of anything for the same money that delivers such flavour, quality, complexity and class.

Redbreast 12 Cask Strength (Thanks to Andy & Jenny :)

This is an award winning Irish Whiskey with real class.

The nose is sweet like chantilly cream and sherry trifle. Rich and thick and full of promise.

It is smooth and very creamy with vanilla, citrus, ripe fruits and sherry and a long finish.

Adding a drop of water doesn’t reduce the punch but does release more flavours.

What a great find! This is a bargain and to my mind and I really love it. If you haven't tried it, add it to your wish list now.

Laphroaig Cairdeas Origin

This is the 2012 limited edition release from the Laphroaig distillery. Now no longer available in the shops so if you see a bottle grab it.

On the nose at first I get a hint of zesty lemon. The peatiness is more subtle than the 10yo but complements the lemon nicely.

Cigar smoke dominates the palate but there's definitely a strong fresh citrus edge underlying this.

With a touch of water the peat is more pronounced on the nose with a mellower lemon edge. It's actually like a peatier-than-average Bowmore. I get a more orange flavoured palate now, like orange and lemon peel dragged through charcoal. I can also detect a hint of caramel too.

The finish is lingering cigar smoke with a bit of zest.

Delicious stuff - if there is such a thing as a subtle and calm Laphroaig then this is it.

Old Pulteney WK217

Another bottle you cant buy in the shops. This is a “Travel Exclusive” which means it is only on sale in Duty Free. This has no age statement and is non chill filtered.

Old Pultney is a bit of an odd distillery for me as I am not a huge fan of 12yo at all but there are many who love it. The 17yo is amazing though - I don't know what happens in those 5 years but it seems supernatural. And as for the 21yo - Amazing! So here we have a limited and slightly obscure release from them......

The nose is bursting with sea spray and brine. Underneath that we have toffee and slight floral hints. Seaweed and very slight peatiness evident, (but not what I'd call smoky). I also get a touch of citrus, marzipan with vanilla becoming more evident as it opens up.

Lovely thick rich mouthfeel with sweet caramel, toffee and saltiness. Slightly spicy.  I can detect vanilla and sultanas too but only slightly.

Medium finish which ends on a drying note with a very slight hint of bitterness which is not at all unpleasant.

Not bad at all. Think I rate this somewhere between the 17 and 21yo expressions.