Bit of an intro
Glenkinchie is a lowland malt of all things! There aren't many of them about. The distillery is in East Lothian, near the village of Pencaitland about 15 miles from Edinburgh. It was founded in 1825 under the name Milton Distillery, but was renamed in 1837. The "Glen" part of the name comes from the fact that the distillery is in a glen and the "Kinchie" part comes from the glen in question has the Kinchie Burn flowing through it. (A glen is a kind of valley and a burn is a kind of river, but I'm sure you knew that.) The Kinchie Burn gets its name from a corruption of the name of the original land owners who were called "De Quincy". The distillery had its own malting floor until 1969 when it was turned into a museum. They use two huge copper pot stills which are among the largest in Scotland.
As I said there aren't many lowland malts out there. There are only four distilleries that are currently releasing anything onto the market, but there are two new distilleries that have started distilling but don't have any product old enough to sell yet. The one's that are selling their wares are Glenkinchie of course, plus Auchentoshan, Alisa Bay, and Bladnoch. There are other lowland malts that you can sometimes find but which are no longer distilled, so if you're into collecting then they might be something to pick up. They are Rosebank, Kinclaith, St Magdalene, Ladyburn, Inverleven and Littlemill. The three awards for "best lowland single malt" and two gold medals in the "lowland single malt up to 12 years" category look rather less impressive when you realize how little competition there is, but well done all the same, Glenkinchie.
Lowland whiskies are traditionally triple distilled which gives a lighter flavour. I've mentioned before how heavier molecules come out last in the distillation process and how a late cut gives some nice heavy leathery, tobacco type flavours that are perfect for a night brooding by the fire. Well I'm assuming that each time the spirit is distilled you get less and less of the heavier flavours. First run you cut off a lot of it. Second run you cut off even more, Third run there's almost none of the heavier flavours left. I'm not expecting any leather, tobacco, tea or musty flavours. Or at least if they are there they'll likely be from the cask. Now that I think of it a light flavoured spirit would potentially show up the wood influence better, so this could prove to be an interesting dram. Interestingly the colour is no lighter than most whiskies, which just goes to show that the colour tells you nothing about the flavour. Especially when Diageo add caramel, which they probably have since there's nothing on the box or bottle that says they haven't. It's chill filtered too, I'll wager.
I just watched King Ralfy's review and found out some interesting things that I'll be considering as I sip. He's tried the ten year old, pre-2007 version and the newer twelve year old. He reckoned the twelve is better. Is it only the extra two years in the cask? Are there other factors involved like cask quality, barley quality etc? Not sure. Also, this whisky has a natural caramel note and so the small amount of E150a caramel colouring added doesn't really affect the taste experience. He also has some information about the new distilleries coming up in the lowland region. Click this link below after you've read the rest of my review. Or before. It doesn't make much difference to me, but leaving me now would be like switching off the telly in the middle of the queens speech. You can switch it off before or after, but during would be treason.
The standard expression used to be bottled at 10 years old, but as of 2007 it's bottled at 12 years old. This particular bottle is another of the small 20cl bottles that all of Diageo's classic malt selection are available in. It's bottled at 43%, is chill filtered, contains E150a caramel colouring and cost me 164.9 kroner. (That's £16.07, $26.24, 20.26 euros or 84.65 polish zloty. I noticed I've had a few hits from Poland so I thought I'd include that just for you.)
Just as an interesting side note, I'm going to have my first taste very soon, but not right now. The reason I'm not going to taste it right now is that I've just been eating sweets and my mouth has a very sugary coating right now which is likely to interfere with the whisky flavour. I'm going to wait a bit, drink some water, maybe eat something plain tasting like a bit of bread and butter to get rid of the sweetness already in my mouth. I don't want to risk writing a rubbish review just for the sake of a few Starburst.
Packaging
I'll be blunt. It's not my cup of tea. Have a peep.
It's ok, I suppose
It's too light for my liking. If I was in the whisky shop browsing the whisky then this wouldn't catch my eye. Not that it's ugly or anything like that, just a bit too "women's designer label" for me. It communicates quality in the same way as an expensive handbag or posh ladies perfume. The box is plain, which I usually like, but it's a bit light coloured and the logo looks to me like a cross between Calvin Klein and the D&G logo you see on people's glasses. It's not a bad looking logo, it's just not very whisky-ish in my opinion. Let's have a closer look at that logo...
Lovely logo, just not very whisky-ish
It honestly is a nice logo and came out very well in the photo. My phone clearly isn't dead just yet, although it's having a few issues. See what I mean about the CK / D&G thing? It looks much nicer on the bottle than it does on the box, but I'm not sure why.
Shiny
Somehow when it's on the bottle it looks a lot nicer. More like a cognac logo and less like a perfume logo. Maybe it's the background. On the bottle it's on a background of whisky, on the box it's on a background of light grey cardboard.
Interestingly the blurb on the back of the box starts with a description of the flavour rather than of nice Scottish scenery, suggesting the flavour is the main selling point. Then they mention the other classic malts. Barely a rolling hill or storm swept beach in sight. They also suggest pairings for the whisky which I like. It's more emphasis on the flavour experience, which I think suggests that it's going to be pretty decent. They suggest smoked fish, sushi or scallops. Since I've already had smoked fish and whisky in my Talisker 10 yo review (delicious by the way) and I don't know where I can get fresh scallops or how to cook them, I'm going to try pairing it with sushi. Not tonight though, the sushi shop is closed.
When I tried to open the bottle I found another thing I don't like about the packaging. The foil on the top of the bottle doesn't have a strip to pull off. It has perforations, but I can't get in! A finger nail is not enough to break through, I'm going to have to get a knife.
I used the knife to make a sandwich so I'll try opening the whisky again in a minute.
I'm in at last! That was an ordeal, but I did get a sandwich out of it.
I used the knife to make a sandwich so I'll try opening the whisky again in a minute.
I'm in at last! That was an ordeal, but I did get a sandwich out of it.
Smell in the bottle
Opening - sweet, floral (kind of in the direction of violets, but more like parma violet sweets), cereal, honey (possibly acacia honey or some other blossom, it's that light runny kind), a hint of fermented apple, caramel, maybe barley sugar sweets (I was going to pick some up last time I was in the UK but I completely forgot), icing sugar (sweet with a powdery quality)
Later - I forgot to smell it in the bottle and now it's all gone. I am sorry about that, but I won't be losing any sleep over it.
Appearance
Pretty much straight up, no nonsense amber. I mentioned earlier that for a light flavoured whisky it's not such a light colour. Certainly it's a darker colour than Ardbeg which is pretty heavy on flavour.
Neat
Nose - Floral, sweet, a hint of caramel, I was able to determined much fewer distinct smells than when it was in the bottle
Arrival - Sweet, then immediately drying like tea
Development - Aromatic spices start appearing in the development, I think cardamom and clove, reminiscent of chai tea, surprising complexity
Finish - A touch of bitterness at the end but not in an unpleasant way
Water - 1 tsp
Nose - Immediately a whiff of nuttiness which faded after just a few seconds but it was still there in the background, kind of biscuity (I'd say a sweet and creamy biscuity smell, not unlike rich tea biscuits), sweet fruits, floral (I reckon lavender and violet but I'm kind of guessing), the sweetness has a kind of wheat beer quality to it although I don't think I'd call it yeasty, jaffa cakes (cake, dark chocolate and tangy orangey bit), a nice grape juice taste come in after it had developed with the water for a while
Arrival - Fairly short, sweet with a buscuity aroma, kind of tea-like, dark chocolate, herbal, a touch of citrus
Development -citrus rind, lime, green wood (like a twig still on a tree), dark chocolate, spices (I mean spices in general like someone's spice cupboard. I think I could pick out cardamom and clove but it was a general mix of spices really), almost black pepper (I was given a bar of dark chocolate with black pepper and lime years ago and the flavour as a whole reminded me of that chocolate bar
Finish -tea with a bit of a peppery glow
After the bottle had been open for a few weeks - Neat
Nose - Much more minerally than it was at first in a flinty kind of way, rain, just a hint of caramel or caramac bar, dry cereal, floral, maybe vanilla, slightly nutty a little bit like almond or maybe amaretto, kind of appley when it's settled in the glass for a bit, cooked raisins
Arrival - Sweet but a bit more floral and amaretto-ish than before, minerally, drying
Development - An earthy note coming through (kind of an organic leaf mould kind of earth), faint nuttiness, quite drying like tea
Finish - Earthy, savoury, lingering dryness, much less sweetnes than before although a kind of tinned peach taste popped in for a moment but then disappeared again like it had got the wrong room.
After the bottle had been open for a few weeks - Water - 1 tsp
Nose - Minerally at first and rainy, maybe slightly grassy (made me think of a field of long grass in the rain in autumn, which is incredible subjective and in all honest is probably meaningless), a kind of heavy sweet smell that was kind of floral (a bit like the floral and caramel smells mixing together into a new smell), more distinct caramel sweetness coming in after a minute or two, vanilla, light brown sugar, dry mustiness a bit like cement powder (which became more distinctly cementy towards the end of the bottle) like when you crawl into the space under a house, a powdery floral smell which I would love to call pollen but it probably isn't, a hint of honey, melted butter
Arrival - Pretty sweet, tannin tea style dryness, a subtly spice that i thought was like turmeric, still surprisingly complex, after a bit I detected a slight berry-ish tang (a bit like artificial raspberry flavouring)
Development - A kind of old chocolate taste like where it's gone that weird white colour, vanilla with a kind of creamy mouthfeel that reminded me of proper custard made with eggs and cream, a faint spice that I wanted to call turmeric but not certain, a herbal flavour that was hard to pinpoint exactly what, a hint of fennel or caroway (or liquorice, I still struggle descerning that family of flavours), citrus and black pepper
Finish - A nice warming peppery glow in the mouth but only when it's had some time with the water, musty, cement powder, dries the mouth in the same way as fresh parsley, an aftertaste that was reminiscent of grape juice, a creamy mouthfeel and spiciness that reminded me of a thai pumpkin curry I had in California
With Sushi
This was an interesting little experiment. It didn't go entirely according to plan though. I wanted to get some really good sushi from the restaurant in town, but I didn't manage to find a time when it was open and I wasn't going to work that night and was therefore able to drink whisky without risking an earful from the boss. I had to settle for slightly crap sushi from the supermarket. I saved myself a small fortune as a result, however it was rather crap. I arranged it on a place in an effort to make it appear less crap.
Later - I forgot to smell it in the bottle and now it's all gone. I am sorry about that, but I won't be losing any sleep over it.
Appearance
Pretty much straight up, no nonsense amber. I mentioned earlier that for a light flavoured whisky it's not such a light colour. Certainly it's a darker colour than Ardbeg which is pretty heavy on flavour.
Neat
Nose - Floral, sweet, a hint of caramel, I was able to determined much fewer distinct smells than when it was in the bottle
Arrival - Sweet, then immediately drying like tea
Development - Aromatic spices start appearing in the development, I think cardamom and clove, reminiscent of chai tea, surprising complexity
Finish - A touch of bitterness at the end but not in an unpleasant way
Water - 1 tsp
Nose - Immediately a whiff of nuttiness which faded after just a few seconds but it was still there in the background, kind of biscuity (I'd say a sweet and creamy biscuity smell, not unlike rich tea biscuits), sweet fruits, floral (I reckon lavender and violet but I'm kind of guessing), the sweetness has a kind of wheat beer quality to it although I don't think I'd call it yeasty, jaffa cakes (cake, dark chocolate and tangy orangey bit), a nice grape juice taste come in after it had developed with the water for a while
Arrival - Fairly short, sweet with a buscuity aroma, kind of tea-like, dark chocolate, herbal, a touch of citrus
Development -citrus rind, lime, green wood (like a twig still on a tree), dark chocolate, spices (I mean spices in general like someone's spice cupboard. I think I could pick out cardamom and clove but it was a general mix of spices really), almost black pepper (I was given a bar of dark chocolate with black pepper and lime years ago and the flavour as a whole reminded me of that chocolate bar
Finish -tea with a bit of a peppery glow
After the bottle had been open for a few weeks - Neat
Nose - Much more minerally than it was at first in a flinty kind of way, rain, just a hint of caramel or caramac bar, dry cereal, floral, maybe vanilla, slightly nutty a little bit like almond or maybe amaretto, kind of appley when it's settled in the glass for a bit, cooked raisins
Arrival - Sweet but a bit more floral and amaretto-ish than before, minerally, drying
Development - An earthy note coming through (kind of an organic leaf mould kind of earth), faint nuttiness, quite drying like tea
Finish - Earthy, savoury, lingering dryness, much less sweetnes than before although a kind of tinned peach taste popped in for a moment but then disappeared again like it had got the wrong room.
After the bottle had been open for a few weeks - Water - 1 tsp
Nose - Minerally at first and rainy, maybe slightly grassy (made me think of a field of long grass in the rain in autumn, which is incredible subjective and in all honest is probably meaningless), a kind of heavy sweet smell that was kind of floral (a bit like the floral and caramel smells mixing together into a new smell), more distinct caramel sweetness coming in after a minute or two, vanilla, light brown sugar, dry mustiness a bit like cement powder (which became more distinctly cementy towards the end of the bottle) like when you crawl into the space under a house, a powdery floral smell which I would love to call pollen but it probably isn't, a hint of honey, melted butter
Arrival - Pretty sweet, tannin tea style dryness, a subtly spice that i thought was like turmeric, still surprisingly complex, after a bit I detected a slight berry-ish tang (a bit like artificial raspberry flavouring)
Development - A kind of old chocolate taste like where it's gone that weird white colour, vanilla with a kind of creamy mouthfeel that reminded me of proper custard made with eggs and cream, a faint spice that I wanted to call turmeric but not certain, a herbal flavour that was hard to pinpoint exactly what, a hint of fennel or caroway (or liquorice, I still struggle descerning that family of flavours), citrus and black pepper
Finish - A nice warming peppery glow in the mouth but only when it's had some time with the water, musty, cement powder, dries the mouth in the same way as fresh parsley, an aftertaste that was reminiscent of grape juice, a creamy mouthfeel and spiciness that reminded me of a thai pumpkin curry I had in California
With Sushi
This was an interesting little experiment. It didn't go entirely according to plan though. I wanted to get some really good sushi from the restaurant in town, but I didn't manage to find a time when it was open and I wasn't going to work that night and was therefore able to drink whisky without risking an earful from the boss. I had to settle for slightly crap sushi from the supermarket. I saved myself a small fortune as a result, however it was rather crap. I arranged it on a place in an effort to make it appear less crap.
On a one to ten scale of crapness it looks better on a red plate
The flavour was ok, but the prawny shrimpy things were a bit dried out and leathery. The rice was a bit dry too. The soy sauce was ok, but how can you get that wrong?
The dish was greatly improved with one small addition. Can you see what it is? Answer at at the bottom.
It was ok. I wouldn't say it was an inspired pairing, but it was ok. Talisker and smoked salmon work much better together and I suspect Glankinchie 12 would work better with smoked salmon than with sushi and they do recommend pairing it with smoked salmon.
Having a bite of suchi followed by a sip of whisky was a bit of a waste of time, effort, money, and whisky. The powerful taste of the soy sauce masks most of the flavours in the whisky, making the arrival watery, the development reduced to caramel and a kind of cereal taste, and the finish peppery. The finish was actually quite good as the wasabi gave it a bit more spice. A sip of whisky followed by a bide of sushi was better as you can still taste the more subtle notes in the whisky. The dryness of the whisky and the drying sensation you get with strong alcohol made the slightly dry rice seem creamier. (You should bear that in mind for future reference; a dry mouth usually increases the sensation of creaminess. I tried sucking paper towels and then sipping a mocha once. Creamiest mocha I've ever sipped.) The aftertaste of the whisky didn't really add to the flavour of the sushi because soy sauce is such a strong flavour, but I preferred that way round so I could get the full whisky flavour before embarking on the taste sensation of crap sushi. I was rather surprised to discover that the combination of whisky and pickled ginger worked well. It was a much more interesting combination than whisky and crap sushi. Again nothing really changed flavour-wise, but the two together was nice.
A few extra comments
I was very surprised by the first sip of this. I wasn't expecting much, but the sudden drying sensation caught me completely off guard and the development of spices was very unexpected. My first impression was that this is a much nicer whisky than I thought it would be. Having expected something weak and bland I was confronted with something surprising, flavoursome and complex. Good move, Diageo. Crap sushi probably isn't worth having, even if you do have nice whisky with it. I was disappointed there, but I got over it quite quickly.
Conclusion
I was very impressed, not least because I expected something light and flavourless. Lowland whiskies aren't as famous as the rest. Compare the phrases "I have a nice highland whisky in the cupboard" and "I have a nice lowland whisky in the cupboard". Just say them in your head. Only say them out loud if you're alone, you don't want to get people's hopes up. I don't recommend saying them out loud if you're at work, but live dangerously if you will. Now, which sounded more plausible. The first one of course, no one offers lowland whisky to guests. I think the reason could well be that there aren't many lowland distilleries. Anyway, this is a very nice whisky and I seriously contemplated buying a full size bottle immediately. I decided to wait until after my little trip to the states in case I couldn't afford it, which I was glad I did because the yanks took all my money. I couldn't even buy tax free bourbon on my way home. (Please don't be offended if you're a yank, I notice you're the country that most appreciates this blog. I don't mean yanks in a bad way. Is it a bad thing to call you guys? I'm sure it's not, unless I was a confederate type Texas person. Can you tell that I don't really know what I'm talking about here?)
I'd describe this whisky as sweet with a savoury finish, floral and complex. It's the complexity that really impressed me, especially in the finish. Lagavulin 16 was very nice, but the finish lacked a little something. Glenkinchie 12 had enough still going on in the finish that I would suggest that the general quality of this whisky is slightly higher. That said, I'd probably still choose Lagavulin over Glenkinchie most of the time, just because I like a nice glass of smoke. On the standard one to ten scale I'd say that this is well worth trying. I will almost definitely be buying it again and probably in larger quantities. It's probably even a decent one for beginners. It's complex and fairly subtle, but not as subtle and complex as cask strength springbank. The main aromas are pretty recognizable too, being flowers and caramel.
I'm not sure what the next review will be, but it'll either be Oban or Dalwhinnie since those are the only two left in my little classic malts series. Then I can finally crack open the Longrow 10 and the Aberlour A'bunadh. I still have a palate developing post to do as well, which will include the picture of the mushroom we found on my old friend Mr Tiffen's kitchen wall. I'm thinking about another cheese review too, I'm kind of hungry right now. One day I'll get around to a beer review or two, Probably a little series on the Orkney Island Brewery. They're awesome, you should get yourself a couple of bottles this weekend. You could invite some friends round to join you and show them my blog while you drink.
Answer: There is a glass of whisky in the second picture.
Conclusion
I was very impressed, not least because I expected something light and flavourless. Lowland whiskies aren't as famous as the rest. Compare the phrases "I have a nice highland whisky in the cupboard" and "I have a nice lowland whisky in the cupboard". Just say them in your head. Only say them out loud if you're alone, you don't want to get people's hopes up. I don't recommend saying them out loud if you're at work, but live dangerously if you will. Now, which sounded more plausible. The first one of course, no one offers lowland whisky to guests. I think the reason could well be that there aren't many lowland distilleries. Anyway, this is a very nice whisky and I seriously contemplated buying a full size bottle immediately. I decided to wait until after my little trip to the states in case I couldn't afford it, which I was glad I did because the yanks took all my money. I couldn't even buy tax free bourbon on my way home. (Please don't be offended if you're a yank, I notice you're the country that most appreciates this blog. I don't mean yanks in a bad way. Is it a bad thing to call you guys? I'm sure it's not, unless I was a confederate type Texas person. Can you tell that I don't really know what I'm talking about here?)
I'd describe this whisky as sweet with a savoury finish, floral and complex. It's the complexity that really impressed me, especially in the finish. Lagavulin 16 was very nice, but the finish lacked a little something. Glenkinchie 12 had enough still going on in the finish that I would suggest that the general quality of this whisky is slightly higher. That said, I'd probably still choose Lagavulin over Glenkinchie most of the time, just because I like a nice glass of smoke. On the standard one to ten scale I'd say that this is well worth trying. I will almost definitely be buying it again and probably in larger quantities. It's probably even a decent one for beginners. It's complex and fairly subtle, but not as subtle and complex as cask strength springbank. The main aromas are pretty recognizable too, being flowers and caramel.
I'm not sure what the next review will be, but it'll either be Oban or Dalwhinnie since those are the only two left in my little classic malts series. Then I can finally crack open the Longrow 10 and the Aberlour A'bunadh. I still have a palate developing post to do as well, which will include the picture of the mushroom we found on my old friend Mr Tiffen's kitchen wall. I'm thinking about another cheese review too, I'm kind of hungry right now. One day I'll get around to a beer review or two, Probably a little series on the Orkney Island Brewery. They're awesome, you should get yourself a couple of bottles this weekend. You could invite some friends round to join you and show them my blog while you drink.
Answer: There is a glass of whisky in the second picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment