Highland Queen x4 – two blended and two single malts

Dear friends and followers, big thanks for stopping by and staying tuned! A couple of weeks ago I received some samples from the importer and distributor Clydesdale. Four of the samples are whisky from the quite newly revived brand "Highland Queen"! Please do feel free to read all about its history and their huge portfolio here. 

A whole bunch of these Highland Queens are available at the Swedish state monopoly, and you can view them here.

The first two are blended scotch and the last two are single malts. Ok, here we go!

copyright clydesdale.se

HQ Nose:

Quite spirit-y (not at all new make, just very young-ish), a mix of new american oak and somehow uncharred wood, burnt vanilla and a slight touch of salt liquorice.

copyright clydesdale.se

HQ 1561 Nose:

Definitely older whisky in here. For me the grain components are in front of the malt components. Still, in comparison to the previous everything is more integrated in this on. Medium big on vanilla, something fruit-y is popping out, probably pear (ripe but not over-ripe), the liquorice is here too but the fruit and the vanilla are in the front. 

copyright clydesdale.se

HQ Majesty Nose:

In general, very restrained. Citrus fruits are in the front (sort of lemon curd). We also have elder flower soft drink. There are slight touches of vanilla hiding behind the citrus-y stuff. Reminds me of Bushmills 10yo, but with less vanilla. Actually, I prefer the nose of 1561 before the nose on this one.  

copyright clydesdale.se

HQ Majesty 16yo Nose: 

Kind of like the nose on the previous but even more restrained 

(!) In the center of attention is malt, in fact very malty. In this one there is also elder flower but very far back. The spectrum of the nose is of course wider (more stuff to nose) but somehow it feels more restrained. When I go back to nose the previous it does have a lot more vanilla than this on. In perspective to that, this one kind of ”lacks” vanilla. Actually, I prefer the nose of Majesty before the nose on this one

HQ Taste:

Starts of on lots of bitter sweet liquorice. Moves very quickly into slightly burnt vanilla and malt, stays there for 1,5 seconds and then moves on into the grain component. Before I swallow it does have a quite solid foundation but as soon as I swallow it moves on into the flavours of the grain components and then it totally ”dissapears”. A slight, sligth vanilla remains for a few seconds. Also a slight bitterness of burnt sugar syrup and bitter almond

HQ 1561 Taste:

That’s better! Definitely more body and a more fat foundation. Compared to the nose on this one, the flavours of the malt components are actually in front of the flavours of the grain components (meaning the tables have turned). However, in the center of attention is a bitterness (burnt sugar syrup and bitter almon also here) that hides other stuff beneath. Even so, I do prefer the taste of this one compared to the previous. 

HQ Majesty Taste:

Very soft. Going from the 1561 to this one is a dream. Not a big body/foundation though, it’s kind of thin. Also here we have burnt vanilla. However the quality in this one is that it does have some slight touches of milk and honey. It tastes kind of like a 5-6 year old malt. The nose is better than the taste.  

HQ Majesty 16yo Taste:

Mmm, that’s better! Focus is on vanilla, milk and full-fat whipped cream. We do have bitter almond. Also, there is a tad of salt-y-ness. There is also a slight touch of elder flower. However it is a bit thin (there is not much deapth). This one actually does taste like Bushmills 10yo, but with less deapth. A very easy going, ”simple” 16yo; it does not at all taste of 16 years. Of course I do prefer this one in front of the regular Majesty, however being a 16yo single malt it does not really have a lot of personality/character. 

To sum up: Out of the first two I would definitely buy the 1561. Out of the last two I would definitely buy Majesty 16yo. Choosing by nose I would go for 1561 before the regular Majesty, and choosing by taste I would go for Majesty 16yo before the regular Majesty. Big thanks to the nice people at Clydesdale for sharing these samples of Highland Queen and for the opportunity to review and try them! Sláinte!

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Teeling Whiskey Co. Strong Batch – FOR SWEDEN ONLY!

Friends! I am once again very privileged to be able to try a spankingly new bottling from the folks at The Teeling Whiskey Co. and once again it's something very special. You might remember that I a while back tasted their Small Batch blended rum finished whiskey (if not, please check out my review here). Well, this friday they will release a "strong batch"-version of the small batch. That said, it's the exact same whiskey and composition but in high strength of 52,5% ABV. 

It consists of 1800 bottles, ONLY for Sweden! Please take a look at the press-release (in swedish) here, and do check it out at systembolaget by clicking here. Ok, let's see what we have on the nose!

Nose:

Not boasting of Rum, rather an emphasis on very creamy vanilla, lots of coconut, there's elderflower in the background. The nose does not evidently scream "over proof/high strength" which I'd say is a good sign, on the contrary, very soft indeed. All in all, the nose is very single malt-y, meaning I can't find any traces on the nose that would suggest this being a blended with high grain ratio. The regular small batch 46% has more grain feeling to it, but here it seems "hidden" in all the wonderful vanilla softness. Great, let's have a taste!

Palate:

Very soft and vanilla/coconut-y beginning! That first half of a second I truly can't believe it's at 52,5% ABV! It only takes the other half second for all the flavors to, not explode, but certainly develop very fast into something quite citric, but still spicy, almost herb-y. Simply a mix of yellow and green flavours. After a while I get passion fruit very evident on the very tip of my tounge. A great balance between bourbon influence and rum influence in the aftertaste, slowly lingering away to end with definitely rum. Once again, as with the regular small batch, this is one of the few sucessful rum finished whiskeys, at least in my humble opinion (and definitely worth 449kr, that is around €48/$55)

A very big thanks to Jack and the other fellas at The Teeling Whiskey Co. for the chance to try this Sweden-exclusive before being released! Thanks and Sláinte! Please follow SamuelWhisky on Facebook here and on twitter here. 

Copyright © and all rights reserved on all tasting notes by SamuelWhisky and pictures likewise belong to SamuelWhisky. The last picture belongs to The Teeling Whiskey Co. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro@gmail.com

Tasting two absolutely new bottlings from ’Svenska Eldvatten’!

During the Örebro Beer & Whisky festival this weekend I had the great privilege to receive samples of two coming bottlings from the swedish independent bottler ’Svenska Eldvatten’ (’Swedish Firewaters’)! A big thanks to Peter and Tommy for that! The two whiskys were meant to be released today at the swedish state monopoly liquor store but fans shall have to wait for a few days (around the 10th december). I am very happy to be the first blogger to taste these two! Ok, this is very exciting for me so hang on, here we go!

North Highland 1995 18yo Sherry Matured 56,1% ABV bottled by ’Svenska Eldvatten’

The first one was distilled in March 1995 and bottled in October 2013 and matured in first fill sherry butt no. 233123. The cask gave 428 bottles. Somewhere in the crowd during the festival I heard that this whisky comes from a distillery that rhymes with orangie. However, the guys at ’Svenska Eldvatten’ did not expose anything when I begged them to tell me… Here is the link to the bottle on the swedish state monopoly liquor store (it says that it's sold out but that is not correct)

Nose:

The first thing I get is a very citric or acidulous touch, interesting! Elderflowers, summer apples, fresh rhubarb, so very excotic, even dried banana (kind of like nature candy). Lemonpeel and also something like ”pear soft drinks”, very fruity. Below that layer is soft vanilla, almost creamy, lemon curd and marzipan, but the main things on the palate is the excotic/fruity touches. I think it’s very interesting that the first things that come to mind are scents that I associate with bourbonwood matured whisky (not in a bad way of course), which is a bit strange since it’s sherry matured, well, my nose must be wacky after the Örebro Beer & Whisky festival… When I come to think of it there is quite a lot of dried raisins but rather sultanas than dark raisins. Hmm, exciting! Time to see what’s on the palate!

Palate:

Absolutely gorgeous, and strong! Starts of like the nose on the citric or acidulous side of things, but kind of in combination with a quite fast journey or flow into the vanilla, the marzipan, then dried figs, and actually dried dates, the sticky and a little bit dry inside of the dates. Not the bitterness of grape seeds (red grapes) when you bite one, but a little bit like the dryness of them, and of the white in the banana peel, once again of course in a good way. I’d say that there is more sherry influence on the palate than on the nose. This is a very interesting whisky and I’ve never had anything quite like it, wonderful!

Vintage 1979 Single Cask Blended Scotch 33yo Sherry Matured 52,2% ABV bottled by ’Svenska Eldvatten’

The second one is a very special whisky. It is a single cask blended scotch, that is raw-spirit/distillate of grain and of malt, blended at birth into a single sherry butt no. SE01! It was distilled way back in 1979 and has rested in the cask for 33 years (!) until October 2013 and the cask gave 197 bottles. Here is the link to the bottle on the swedish state monopoly liquor store (it says that it's sold out but that is not correct)

Nose:

Immediately when I pour a little dram of this oldie in the glass I get very soft and darkish sherry scents in the room. My nose a little distant to the glass I feel that the grain is there but in a soft and very integrated way, not like in budget blends when the grain usually screams alcohol. No no, this is very very soft grainy notes, classy and you can tell that this is an oldie and a single cask for sure. Nice! Then something I’ve never nosed before in a whisky: a slight touch of chantarelle mushrooms, cool. Vanilla ice cream whipped together with young rhum, perhaps also rhum-raisin ice cream… Going deeper with the nose in the glass the center is citric or acidulous together with fudge candy cubes and something that reminds me of sweet liquorice. Mmm, this is a very deep whisky, the one you could nose for ever…

Palate:

Once again, absolutely gorgeous! The stages of the taste moves seamless into one another. Starts of on soft sugary figs, elderflowers, yes, in this one too, but now in the form of lemonade. Then moves on into a sugary taste kind of like maple syrup or from the birch-tree in the summer time. Quite a lot vanilla, white chocolate, raw sugar (lump of sugar) and something like a mix of vanilla custard on a birthday cake and whipped cream with lemon peel in it. Oh yes, give me more : )

For the folks living in Sweden, don’t miss out on these two beauties. The bottlings from ’Swedish Firewaters’ that I’ve tasted so far have been very good, but these two are just grand! 

The Teeling Whiskey Co. 'Small Batch - rum finish'

(Originally posted february 11th 2013 on The Teeling Whiskey Co. facebook-page)

This morning I received a "sample" from the Teeling Whiskey Co. (wihooo!) It was their third release simply called 'Teeling Whiskey'. It's a small batch Irish blend that has been finished in rum casks for four months, and non chill filtered at 46% ABV. The bottle and label is absolutely beautiful! Let's find out if it tastes as good as it looks : ) 

Nose: The first things that comes out of the bottle actually is quite "rummy" and raisiny with whiffs of pear. From the glass comes even more of the exotic, say peach, pear again, a soft vanilla, a bit of coconut with traces of grain whiskey, actually a bit like greenore in style but obviously more mature than the 8yo... the strength of the whiskey comes through as a bit of a heat on the nose (be careful when you put your nose in the glass) : ) after it has rested for a while it becomes really soft and sweetness and vanilla are most evident... also some milkchocolate 

Palate: Tasting the whiskey I get loads of sweetness the first few seconds, honey, then moving on into mellow vanilla, the coconut is there, then comes a small dryness moving us into the ruminfluence, it's not hot in this phase but rather a little peppery that sits from the middle of the tounge and forward. If the nose has traces of grain the palate relies more on the malty components in the whiskey, nice aftertaste that boasts of fruity rum and dryness mixed together. Very more-ish. 

Overall this is a great Irish blended whiskey and, from where I'm standing, one of the few sucessful rumfinished whiskeys : ) Congrats to Jack and Alex and big thanks for once again letting me try their whiskey! Please take time to learn more about the story of this whiskey from David Havelins blog Liquidirish.