Advent - the final batch of drams! 18-24

As Christmas day draws near, so more and more of our little advent windows are emptied. Here are our reviews of the last few drams...

Day 18
Laura - Greenhook Ginsmiths Gin. Another American one and I have come to expect good things from across the pond. This is a fine example of a classic gin, with a clean juniper flavour and a beautiful aromaticism. A good one to sip on!
Jim - Yellow Spot. An Irish whiskey of great quality with a nose of vanilla poached apricots, and a bourbon sweetness. This is accompanied by a velvet caress across the tongue tasting of fruits and a nutty touch down the neck.

19
L - St George's Rye Gin. You can definitely taste the rye! It's hearty, smooth and very rich. Once again this month, I have found myself surprised at just how unique a gin can be. It's described on the St George's website as "a gin for whiskey lovers" which I would definitely agree with - it even won over my usually gin-hating uncle, who was drawn in by the delicious malty aroma.
J - Auchentoshan Three Wood - two sherry casks and a bourbon come together to make this sweet, tropical fruit nose and a palate of treacle and dark fruits such as cherries. The colour of red bronze brings with it light nuts and a long finish of sticky sweet oak.

20
L - City of London Dry Gin. A fairly harsh (but not unpleasant) juniper flavour that softens into a lovely warm finish. I love the history and story behind gin, as well as just drinking it, and this company truly embodies this, even down to featuring plenty of fantastic Hogarth-esque imagery on their website. I'd really like to pay the distillery a visit!
J - Johnnie Walker Platinum Collection. Smells of pudding... fruits, custards and (oddly) smoke. All round, a very festive nose. A tickle of smokiness continues across the roof of the mouth. Fades to a nutty dark chocolate.

21

L - Professor Cornelius Ampleforth's Bathtub Gin Navy Strength. Surely a good sign when your gin is ever so slightly brown. This is 57%, and in Jim's words, "fucking incredible". It smells cinnamony, and a bit like a very tipsy gingerbread man. The key notes I got on the taste were brown sugar and cardamom, a winning combination. The finish lasts for AGES, and as well as the cardamom spice there's also some clove in there. I could rave about this gin for hours.
J - Scapa - malted toffee and rich caramel on the nose. Spiced oranges present in the taste, with a smoky finish across the palate.


22
L - Mason's Yorkshire Dry Gin. Being from Yorkshire myself, I was very excited to see this one. It is lovely - peppery, fragrant and clean. A credit to my beautiful home county!
J - Glenfiddich 15 year old Distillery Edition. Spiced custard on the palate, with a hint of freshly ground black pepper and a long finish of buttery sweetness, followed with flavours of sherry.

23
L -Breuckelen Glorious Gin - well this definitely lives up to it's name. Very aromatic, with a creamy, almost herby scent (rosemary is one of the five botanicals in this). The flavour is citrussy but with a malty hit that keeps it smooth. A long finish that tickles in the tum.
J - Yamazaki 12 Yr. A sweet tender tasting whisky, with a flavour of delightful flowers which skips across the tip of the tongue. The orange sugar flavours creep up the nose and down the throat, before the end slinks away with a fruity woodiness that fills the mouth.

24 - And so we reach the final dram!
L - Smooth Ambler Greenbrier Gin - a savoury character in the flavour soon gives way to a sweet, citrus finish that resonates in the throat for ages, which I particularly appreciated today as I finally polished off the last sip of what has been a great advent!
J - Glenfarclas 40 yr - Spectacular. Apples, and peppered dark chocolate drift across the nose, with a light sherry. The rich characterful texture gently caresses the tongue with medjool dates, and figs seasoned with spice and demarara sugar. The finish is much like chewing on a leather jacket wearing gingerbread man. Simply divine.

Overall... what can we say?! It's been a rollercoaster of flavour and an absolutely incredible ride! Both calendars were sensational, not a bad drink between them, and despite the fairly big outlay they represent fantastic value for money. We've both had the opportunity to taste drinks we would never have thought to buy a full bottle of, or even come across in a bar, and each revelation has been a delight.

This will very likely become an annual event - head on over to Master of Malt to join us next year!

Slainte,

Laura and Jim

Advent Calendar - windows 10-17

And so advent continues, each day bringing with it a delightful little treat. You all know the score by now, on with the tasting notes!

Day 10
L - Langtons Gin. From the Lake District, practically local! Tasty and smooth, interesting yet traditional.
J - Grant's 25 - sweet and malted, with just a little bit of tobacco in the nose. Cinnamon and nutmeg provide a light and spicy character.

11
L - Filliers Dry Gin 28. Mmmm! A juniper punch but with hints of citrus and something that might be thyme in the background. A good belly-warmer with a more lingering finish than any of the gins tasted so far this advent.
J - Mackmyra Brukswhisky - The Swedish Whisky. Sweet apples and other fruity notes resonate from the nose to the finish. Smooth and dangerously easy to drink.

12
L - Herno Dry Gin - the first Swedish gin I've ever tried. It is utterly lovely: overwhelmingly citrussy, un- usual, bold and refreshing.
J - Balcones Texas - Smooth and creamy with a vanilla flavour and hints of apple, that becomes a sticky treacle texture across the tongue ending in an intense malty flavour across a great long finish.

13
L - FEW American Gin. I drank this straight after the Herno, after getting a few days behind, and I could not have sampled two such different gins! Both delicious, but the FEW was as creamy and smooth (the key note being vanilla) as the Herno was crisp and fresh. I read up on this one too and love the history behind it!
J - Evan Williams Single Barrel (2003 Vintage) - a very strange whisky, completely different to anything I've had before, with a light amber hue and a nasal waft of honeyed and charred oak. The palate tickles with a spice that feels oddly unique, with a fresh citrus that ends in the heat of warming alcohols and spice.

14
L - Boudier Saffron Gin - this looks incredible... for a second I thought I'd got my calendars mixed up and opened Jim's by mistake! Whilst very nice, however, I'm not sure the saffron added much more than colour, other than a mild spice. Delicious with a slice of orange.
J - Tomintoul 14 year - This is the first bottle of the 14 whiskies so far that I have previously bought, having polished off a bottle earlier in the year. Today, I have been reminded that I am missing this lightly creamy butter scented pale coloured dram.

15
L - Sipsmith London Dry Gin - this is the first gin all month that I've a) heard of before and b) own a bottle of. For this reason I chose to take a nip from my full-size bottle, and save my little dram for a special occasion! It's a fantastic drink, whether neat over ice or in a cocktail - my favourite is with elderflower fizz.
J - Dalmore 16 year - this interesting limited cask release is a lightly spiced with hints of apple on the tongue and a prickly heat of almost chilli on the nose and down the throat, with a smooth wood finish.

16
L - Dr J's Gin - ooft! This really packs in the flavour and left my tongue tingling. Really zingy and full of citrus elements, with a sweetness that reminds me of marmalade.
J - Balvenie Caribbean Cask - This whisky sings of vanilla across all the relative senses, a nose of rum from the barrels its aged in. There are massive notes of tropical fruits like mangos, all summed together up with a heat of spice.

17
L - Blackdown Sussex Dry Gin - the weakest of Ginvent at 37.5% but no less yummy than the rest. It has an almost smoky nose and a traditional, juniper flavour. The finish is smoother than most and the gin as a whole goes down oh-too-well!
J - Glenlivet 16 year old Nadurra - Batch 0313W (Catchy). So vanilla sweet and fruity on the nose that Laura noticed the scent from across the room. A great alcohol heat from the 54.8% dram on the tongue with a similar sweet fruit this time with a honey spice that lingers on the tongue. The finish sits happily for a good few minutes gently down the throat, warming to the stomach with a dry nuttiness. It is simply delightful.

Our next post will follow our progress across the final 7 spirits, taking us all the way to Christmas Eve. Come back soon!

Slainte,

L and J

Advent Calendar Update - windows 2-9

I think it's fair to say we are having an excellent advent, thanks to our fantastic Gin and Whisky Advent Calendars from Master of Malt. (You can find out more here if you missed our earlier introductory post.)

Day 2
Laura - On the 2nd day of Ginvent, my calendar gave to meeee... Dorothy Parker American gin. A crisp, clean, fresh tasting spirit with refreshing hints of grapefruit.
Jim - Talisker Port Ruighe is peated, like a smoky orange on the nose with a definite flavour of the port casks its been aged in and great hints of demerara sugar, ending in a strange note of grapes.

3
L - Today's offering was Monkey 47 - a gin from the Black Forest, comprising 47 botanicals, and bottled at 47% ABV. Quite distinct from yesterday's, it was warming, with hints of sherbet and berries.
J - Nikka From the Barrel 51% - a creamy, very lightly peated whisky from Japan, with a custardy vanilla flavour. It works well as a festive beverage with a lovely hint of Christmas spice. Its strength doesn't purvey the sometimes felt heat, and feels smooth across the palate.

4
L - Tarquin's gin, from Cornwall, was behind my little window today. It was very nice, but not the most exciting gin I've ever tasted. Traditional flavour and without a doubt a bloody good gin, but it was the first one so far that I've added tonic to.
J - Glencadam 21 year. Spiced apple/raisin flavour, containing all the smells that come with mulling cider, it tingles across the tongue bringing with it an oaky vanilla taste.

5
L - Two Birds London Gin today. Citrussy and soft, it had a rounded flavour with a delightful tang on
the finish. Having looked up the bottle, I've discovered it is a bargain at under £30 and the bottle has a cute design too. Very tempted.
J - Glen Garioch 12 year - The sherry aged cherry sweetness was coupled with a light oaky taste to finish. There is much more to the flavour that than one dram can give, I might need a bottle.

6
L - Professor Cornelius Ampleforth's Bathtub Gin. Today's Ginvent offering definitely wins the prize for most fun name, and it's a fantastic gin to boot. Felt a bit like a Victorian drinking it. A rich and unusual spirit.
J - Chivas Regal 18 year - an award winning blend that sings of spiced toffee and fruit, and a palate of dark chocolate and oak, that skips across the tongue and down the throat.

7
L - Geranium gin - this was my favourite of the week, a very different gin. Heavy juniper scent but a floral flavour, reminiscent of Turkish Delight. Jim was not a fan due to it's perfumed nature, however this perhaps makes it a better investment for me as no need to share!
J - Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7 year Bourbon - almost a caramel flavour, hints of brown sugar, and a lovely change being the first bourbon in the calendar, that is lovely and smooth.

8
L - Cold River gin today - another American one. I have to say I've been mightily impressed so far by my first three tastings of US gins. This one seemed a little harsh at first but got more delicious the more I sipped. Delightful caramel aroma too.
J - Blue Hanger 9th release - has a fruity sweet nose of the sherry cask, with hints of orange and caramel and a very light smokey flavour, and a warm finish down the throat.

9

L - Cream gin, made with ACTUAL CREAM. No surprises in the flavour of this one - it starts off in the mouth as the classic juniper and citrus combination, but this is quickly overpowered by a beautiful, rich creaminess that lingers on the palate. Yummy.
J - Bowmore 15 year old, Darkest - a warm sweetened light peat smell, that grows on the palate and ends curiously with the heat of Arbroath Smokies. With flavours of treacly fruit, it is definitely a highlight so far.

We'll be back next week to share the next batch of drams with you!

Slainte,

L and J

Whisky and Gin Advent Calendars

As the preamble to Christmas is upon us, and advent has begun, some people are opening up the little numbered doors of hope to a vapid block of brown disappointment that some argue to be chocolate. But there is a solution to the Santa-shaped damp squib... instead of peering behind the door of anti-climax you can gaze toward an amber nectar and welcome the warmth of a whisky toward the the stomach to accompany to bed or out into the stiff winter morning air.

Whisky and Gin Calendars

These two advent calendars from Masters of Malt each contain miniatures of 3cl behind each door, just over the standard measure in the UK. This for me is a great opportunity to expand the number of whiskies I have tasted, and refine my palate, even to potentially find a new favourite drink to expand my collection. We have opted for two different calendars: the Craft Gin on the right and a collection of whisky on the left, each containing less seen spirits from as far afield as Japan.

The first whisky I start with is a Balvenie 17yr Double Wood, aged in sherry casks, after the usual bourbon cask, leaving a creamy vanilla nose and a light honey depth on the taste: overall a very tasty whisky.

Laura's beGinning spirit is an American drink called Death's Door - an aptly festive name for December 1st! It's a lovely light gin with a simple yet powerful flavour, having only three botanicals. Whilst delicious neat this is a gin which would also work well in a cocktail.

The little bottles look great and the servings they contain are surprisingly generous.

We will keep you updated about these festive delights each week throughout December.

Slainte!

J and L x