Grape and Grain... Innis & Gunn Whisky Cask

I may have mentioned this previously, but I have been in a massive chardonnay phase since Christmas and I have been exploring the delights of this most versatile of grapes ever since then. I particularly like big creamy wines that have been left on their lees, and I'm even quite partial to oaked chardonnays. Where I didn't expect this exploration into this grape to lead was to beer and to an extent whisky. I recently tried a bottling from one of my most loved breweries. This Scottish brewery is that of Innis & Gunn, who specialise in oak aged beer. Their rum cask bottling is sublime, and their standard bottling is very versatile when it comes to food pairing. So when I was sent a bottle of a whisky-cask aged Innis & Gunn beer I was very excited. When I got round to trying this beer I was overwhelmed by one very distinct, creamy, flavour profile, particularly on the palate - chardonnay, albeit malty. Since then I've been excited to get this tasting note out, enjoy!

Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer
7.1% - 18 Year Old Scotch Barrels
Nose: Malty, with a zesty cocktail of lemon, lime and orange peel, leading to sweet toffee notes.
Palate: A malty yet creamy chardonnay of a palate. Later toffee and fruity malt arrive with a coastal whisky rush sweetened with whisky fudge.
Finish: Elegant, citric and immensely creamy.
Overall: Innis & Gunn has done it again. Truly great, the creamy chardonnay notes lend this beer something above and beyond the norm. Highly recommended!

Seeing in the New Year with Balvenie Single Barrel

Happy New Year! I kicked the year off in Newcastle, celebrating with copious amounts of Strongbow (please don't judge) and champagne, and although the Mayan people predicted 2012 would bring the Apocalypse, the most dangerous event I observed was drunk Geordies setting fire to trees with multiple Chinese lanterns and setting off fireworks out of their hands. Incredibly dangerous - but we're still here.

Regardless of our impending Mayan doom, I have a good feeling about 2012. Partially because, against the odds, we survived 2011's 'Rapture' and also because there is an awful lot of whisky to be made, tasted, drunk, written about, sold and drunk some more. So quite frankly I don't have time for Armageddon or any other distractions. But in case the storms ravishing the United Kingdom do cause the planet to collapse in on itself, here's a whisky classic to get you through it. See you on the other side!

Balvenie Single Barrel
47.8% - 15 Years Old - Cask 7134 - Bottle 43
Nose: Pear drops and cox apples create a sweet and fruity nose with water melon providing some refreshment.
Palate: Soft texture with pear and tropical fruit there is also a porky element that works pleasantly with the apple flavours.
Finish: Vanilla and bark becoming more sappy towards the end.
Overall: A great whisky. Lively and fruity with some more interesting notes woven in. Finally the finish is woody without being too dry or stale. Delicious is the word here. Slainte!

The Day After The Night Before... Greenwich Hospital Porter

Today I made the compulsory post-Christmas march into town armed only with my wallet and a sturdy leather bag. There was only one purpose to my mission – to raid the supermarkets of their discounted festive foodstuffs. A solitary day after Boxing Day and Marks & Spencer’s is transformed into an Aladdin’s Cave of smoked salmon, turkey crowns, duck pate, Stilton and knock-off Buck’s Fizz. With a suitably empty freezer you could live off Christmas food for another month for the price of a single week’s food shop; apart from the obvious drawbacks of turning your liver into Fois Gras, being riddled with gout and pushing your belly beyond the final stud on your belt and into extra-orbital space. This aside it is incredibly satisfying to know that the rich and delicious food you are stuffing in and around your mouth is a third of the price it was three days ago.

Whilst I was eyeing up half-price gammon joints and weighing up the cost against a juggernaut of a salmon terrine, my eyes fell upon an interesting specimen hidden amongst a confusion of Cava and pre-mixed Champagne cocktails. This specimen was a bottle of Greenwich Hospital Porter aged in Islay whisky barrels for four months. A London Porter from the guys at the Meantime Brewing Company is always a treat, but to have some whisky cask influence is always special. A few months ago I tried a glass of their epic Grog. This special release was a combination of eleven malts and one hop variety, aged in Islay whisky casks and bottled at a steamy strength. Aside from the fun of ordering a pint of Grog over the bar, the beer was sensational. So I was excited to try the Hospital Porter.

Greenwich Hospital Porter
6% - Aged in Islay whisky barrels – Brewed at the Meantime Brewery
Nose: Fairly oaky with rich malt notes and Brazil nuts, underneath is a faint suggestion of peat.
Palate: Light body with oak and charcoal notes with.
Finish: Apricot, dry malt and roast chestnuts.
Overall: Not the most spectacular porter I’ve tried but enjoyable nonetheless. There is a curious ashy quality and a fine nuttiness but I would have enjoyed more body and length.

Tangoed... Four Roses Single Barrel

I have long been searching for orange things from the United States of America aside from Sunny Delight, the Hoff's face and the OC. It has taken me many years and now I have found it. The orange zest notes I get from rye whiskey are the way forward. As I have previously mentioned I struggle with American whiskey. Not because I think it is anyway bad but purely because the flavour disagrees with me in quantities larger than half a glass. So when I discovered rye whiskey I was very pleased indeed. Rye whiskey has a flavour I enjoy very much and I have our cross-Atlantic cousins to thank. In my quest to try more and more of these whiskies I have had to rely on samples kindly donated to me from fellow whisky fans. There was one whiskey that I was very curious to try and that was the Four Roses, then last Saturday the whiskey presented itself to me in a small sample bottle, and here are my thoughts:

Four Roses Single Barrel
50% - No Age Statement - Kentucky Bourbon
Nose: A tango of satsuma and tangerine, orange zest and those classic rye notes coming through.
Palate: Cumin, fresh squeezed orange juice, nice and creamy.
Finish: Orange cream liqueur, sweet and light.
Overall: A fantastic rye whiskey showing me the way forward, now to get my hands on some more Four Roses bottlings!