Advent Whisky and Vodka Calendars: windows 1-6

Following on from one of the best purchases of last year we have again bought a Drinks by the Dram advent calendar each. For Jim is the whisky calendar and for Laura a change from last year's gin selection to flavoured vodkas. 

1st December

Whisky

Haig Club, 40%

Colour: Light straw coloured grain whisky.

Nose: Prickling with sweet Szechuan peppercorn from the initial high alcohols, with almost cinnamon swirl sweetness later on as the drink opens up.

Palate: Sticky almost sourness of oak and bourbon with a mouth feel that is ever so slight, accompanied by vanilla custard on a baked banana.

Finish: Surprisingly short, with just a tickle of alcohol and a demerara sugar sweetness. The mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side, but with an interesting overall taste.

Marketed by David Beckham (an excellent marketing ploy), and showcased in a rather garish blue bottle, this whisky is definitely a talking point but the drinking experience overall is ultimately a little underwhelming. Interesting though, and would be a good way to introduce a non-whisky drinker to the world of whisky.

Vodka

Cold River Blueberry, 40%

Full of fresh blueberry scent that whacks you in the face as you open the bottle - this follows into the flavour as would be expected. This fruitiness is balanced on taste by a herbal note, which I couldn't quite work out (possibly sage?). Overall, this has quite a heavy, cloying flavour - but in a pleasant way. I kept it simple with just a lime wedge to accompany to get the full flavour from my dram, but this would work really well with lemonade or in a cocktail - I'd go for a julep with simple sugar syrup and a good sprig of mint.

2nd

Whisk(e)y
Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey 46%
Colour: Sanded oak
Nose: Orchard apples and fruit with a tingle of warmth, with a light overall aroma.
Palate: Fruits and cinnamon and a hint of clove. An overall apple pie flavour rings through the drink.
Finish: Light herbal finish, almost lavender.


Vodka
Professor Cornelius Ampleforth's Besmoked Vodka, 40.2%
I've sampled this in a pub before as sheer curiosity made this absolutely irresistible, and I was really excited to open my little window and find this hiding in there. I was originally disbelieving that this would live up to it's name, but I will readily admit how wrong I was - it is just unbelievably smokey! To the extent that it tastes almost like a meat... a really good bacon to be more precise. Oddly, though, it's still a refreshing beverage, and the smoky nature mellows into sweetness on the finish. I chose to drink this neat which was powerful and delicious but if we'd had any tomato juice in I'd have gone straight for a Bloody Mary! This is the most intriguing vodka I've ever come across, which takes you on a journey from full-throttle fire to delicate embers.

3rd

Whisky
Evan Williams Single Barrel (2003 Vintage), 43.3%
Colour: Deep ruby
Nose: Cherries, apples and cinnamon, with hints of chocolate and a classic bourbon oakiness.
Palate: A sour apple freshness, accompanied by a delightful oaky flavour with a light plum wood char.
Finish: A short finish that prickles with a little black pepper, accompanied by a BBQ'd orchard fruits skewer.

Vodka
Chase Marmalade, 40%
A gorgeously bitter-sweet drink that more than meets with expectations, this has an intense marmaladey hit that's full of orange zest, with the vodka itself even having a light orangey hue.
The sweetness lingers for ages after polishing this off. My garnish of choice for today's dram would most definitely be a good twist of orange peel, and for a cocktail a glug of sparkling wine would allow this to really shine. Utterly lovely.

4th

Whisky
Jura 16 Year - Duirach's Own, 40%
I first had this on a sunny day at the Jura Hotel, the distillery tap (almost) a child's stone throw across the road from the picturesque stillhouse on the island, and an adult's stone throw from Islay.
Colour: A light ruby red
Nose: Biscuity, sweet sherry oak smell
Palate: The flavours move on to a bolder slice of Christmas cake with nutty marzipan and an oily, quite creamy coffee.
Finish: Like being sat by the fire warms your outside, this dram warms your inside with oak and dark chocolate. The oak barrels permeate all the way through all sensory aspects of the dram.


Vodka
Vestal Kaszebe, 40%
This vodka has been recommended to me on many an occasion but isn't one I've tried before. On the first sip I was somewhat baffled - it has quite a raw, earthy flavour that reminded me of potato peelings! Not unpleasant, just something totally different to any spirit I've tasted before. A splash of high quality tonic lifted the whole flavour to a delicate yet complex herbal delight.



5th 

Whisky
Bowmore 12 Year, 40%
Colour: Light copper
Nose: Salty earth notes, lemon sweetened with honey, and balanced overall with a light bourbon edge plus sweet peat.
Palate: A light peat that ripples with more honey sweet lemon, and a tickle of vanilla with a slight seaweedy underlying flavour.
Finish: There is a strong peat that hits all the way through the drink, with seaweed and warmth from the sweet oak, that keeps this delicious whisky hanging around in the mouth for a long time.

Festive Bison

Vodka
Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka, 40%
This is one of the most popular Polish vodkas on the market, but not one I've had the pleasure of sampling before. Neat, the nose is sweet and full of dessert aromas, all marzipan and apple pie. The palate is more herbal in nature, with a hit of sweet hay. I made this into a little cocktail creation with the classic apple juice pairing. My version used cloudy apple juice, with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top for a festive edge - a perfect winter drink.


6th

Whisky
Spirit of Hven - Seven Stars No.2 Merak, 45%
Colour: Vibrant Copper
Nose: Black pepper and dark chocolate Toblerone giving honey nut sweetness,
Palate: A smooth chilli spiciness of black pepper that punches straight up front and with a light cinnamon heat that continues along the tongue.
Finish: The crisp heat continues for a lovely length of time, with a great hint of dark chocolate sweetness lingering on the palate.

Vodka
Ciroc Coconut, 37.5%
Originating from France, this grape-distilled vodka is a real twist on the sort of spirit I'm used to. The nose is packed full of sweet, sticky coconut accompanied by other tropical fruits including pineapple, meaning the aroma as a whole is rounded pina colada. Given time to breathe, a fresher scent that's more coconut water becomes apparent. The flavour is smooth, soft and sweet - just like a Bounty! After sampling this straight up, I just couldn't resist turning this into a White Russian cocktail with coffee liqueur, whole milk and a tiny squeeze of chocolate syrup. Mmm!

Cheers,

J&L

Whisky Tasting at The Greystones with StarmoreBoss

In the back room of the Greystones pub, on a stage normally reserved for blues musicians and comedians, StarmoreBoss hosted the first whisky tasting the pub has held. The event, described as an "Introduction to Whisky", had us initially apprehensive, as we were expecting a dram or two we had already sampled. However, we were impressed to be presented with five whiskies we had never tried before, some from distilleries and blenders which we hadn't even heard of.

StarmoreBoss

To accompany the whiskies came a discussion on the marvellous elixir, its origin, production and styles, from our host Jefferson Boss - a true fountain of whisky knowledge!

The tasting opened with Bain's Cape Mountain grain whisky. This South African dram is the first to be produced in the country. We found it to be a light toffee vanilla whisky with an oaky texture throughout the mouth, with a lightly spiced quite short finish, but still a really well rounded grain whisky. A good easy-drinker and a pleasant, gentle start to the evening.

The second, following a roundup of blending techniques, was Teeling Irish Whiskey: a small batch blend using the pot still distillation method. At 46%, this was a rich fruity dram that filled the head and upper nose with apple crumble and the rest of the palate with custard, that followed through to the mid length floral finish.

This was followed by an example of an American Bourbon. Having had mixed experiences of this type of whiskey in the past, the Elijah Craig 12 Year was a surprising treat. Given much longer to maturate than most Bourbons (which are normally aged for about 4-5 years), the resulting product is a deep intricate whisky that sings with a greater oaky aspect than most. On the nose it is fruity and delicately spiced, with a palate that fills the mouth with a sweet and fully rounded, lightly smoked finish.

The penultimate whisky in the evening's proceedings was a Speyside offering - the Glentauchers 1994, showcasing a cream custard texture that prickled across the tongue with a rich light peat texture. A singing sherry character brings with it a fruity spice across the tongue and into the finish.

The night ended with the Ileach Peaty, a dram from an unnamed Islay distillery: a young, textured, highly peated whisky. The strength of the oaky smoke filled the head with a fireside warmth, accompanied with an iodiney pepper character across the palate. Having sampled whiskies from each of the Islay distilleries, it's definitely fair to say this was a great choice to exemplify their characteristics.

The night as a whole was really interesting, and great for beginners and budding connoisseurs alike. Jeff was knowledgable and passionate throughout. Also the owners of a new boutique-y off-licence in Sheffield, StarmoreBoss have a lot to offer to the city and we're excited to discover what future events and collaborations may bring.