25/04/2023
Chapter 9
My first Decadent Drinks Whisky
It was a rainy Sunday of April. Leo and Guy came over for a bbq…one of those British barbies when you plan for it, you buy the stuff, you light the fire and…it starts raining. And then, you simply don’t care and carry on. And so we did.
After some good food, nothing better than some amazing drams…this is my first encounter with Decadent Drinks Whisky…a very nice encounter I shall say!
Ben Nevis 2014 7yo Notable Age Statement 57.1%
Yes we took a picture and, of course, decided to go in a different order…so…starting on the right a little gem for the age. A Ben Nevis 7 yo distilled in 2014, matured in 2nd fill sherry butt, and bottled in 2022 at 57.1%. Here in the UK I can find it at £83 on Master of Malt.
I love the little trick with the NAS acronym. This is a young whisky yes, but matured in pretty decent wood making a very notable dram out if.
Some peculiar notes given my Italian background.
On the nose: wild mushroom risotto. Adding quite a lot of water it really opens up with notes of freshly baked apricot crostata and amaretto. A bit more time in the glass a cereal notes of porridge come out mixed with zesty lemon, raisins, dates and wet cork.
On the palate: spicy and peppery at first almost szechuan pepper. It loves a good swim in some water. Almonds come out then, silky coating almond butter.
Finish: licorice, lots of it with a hint of creme brulee.
Overall: a very decent baseline for the day. I’m a big fan of Ben Nevis especially from independent bottlers. It needs some water for my palate but very notable for the age for sure!
Edradour 2003 10yo Equilibrium I 52%
Second dram as more short ribs were being smoked on the grill…A 10 yo Edradour distilled in 2003, matured in 1st fill sherry butt for the Edradour, and a refill hogshead for the Ballechin (peated Edradour basically). The blend is presented at a generous 52% and was sold for around £110 here in the UK.
So Sherry and Peat in equilibrium basically, and yes…they’ve achieved that! If you’re looking for complexity this is for you. Not a sherry bomb nor a peat monster, but an Equilibrium as of course the name suggests…
And again, sorry for the peculiar notes, but smell is so strong on memory, and I grew up in Italy, can’t make anything about it…
On the nose: extra virgin oil with its punchy sourness. Sherry notes, loads of them, all of them, but not only sherry. Needs a bit of time to open up, a dash of water, and spicy nutmeg notes appear together with herbal thyme and a fragrant smoke (it wasn’t the bbq I promise!)
On the palate: black garlic, roasted veggies, roasted red fruits. A nice density coating the palate.
Finish: black olives pate, dates, figs.
Overall: complex, rich, sophisticated. If you want layers to discover, this is a good dram. A bit over my personal spent threshold, but that is, as taste, a personal thing of course…
Mortlach 2012 10yo Equinox & Solstice Winter 2022 48.5%
Third dram, and here I had a bit of a personal dream. This one was really good. Mortlach distilled in 2012, matured initially in refill hogsheads and finished in a 1st fill sherry butt (probably PX I should say). Finally bottled in 2022 at 48.5%, you can still find a couple of these online at around £95 in the UK.
First of all, I must admit: I’m quite confused by complex names. But this is my limit. And I’ve put my limit on the side as this is very decent stuff in the glass. Definitely, it doesn’t seem like a 10 yo.
On the nose: strawberry and rich sherry notes like in a PX. Roasted hazelnuts, sesame crunch bars (I love those). Baklava (OK not so Italian, but what can I say…I closed my eyes and I smelled baklava).
On the palate: thick, sweet, rich and oily like I like it. A bit of water and becomes even creamier, almost like if your biting something. Dark chocolate after a while.
Finish: almost like if your smoking a sweet cigar like toscanello, meaty bbq notes marrying so well with the event.
Overall: thick, little gem. Seems older than stated. It only needs a tiny bit of water and it explodes. For the price these days probably worth considering if you like thick sherry experiences.
Old Poultney 13yo Equinox & Solstice Spring 2022 48.5%
And this one was probably the winner so it gets the first “Seriously Good Stuff” badge (see Drams and more section for explanation). By a fine margin to be fair. I always think a lot in terms of bang-for-buck and this was sold at around £75 in the UK and if you’re lucky you could find it at a good price in auctions…and yeah…it was good as well. Very good indeed!
This is an Old Pulteney distilled in 2008, matured in 1st fill and refill ex-bourbon barrels, and bottled in 2022 at 48.5%.
On the nose: fresh lemon and vanilla. Ginger and cinnamon. Leo said Suppli if you know what we’re talking about. A drop of water and peaches in syrup come out with a hint of roasted sesame oil
On the palate: soil, roots and earthiness. Herbal tea. Sweet and sour freshness throughout arrival development and finish.
Finish: wax. Sweet and sower. More citrusy notes.
Overall: as I said probably the winner for me both value for money and taste. Probably because, I’m less in a sherry mood these days I don’t know…I will visit Old Pulteney this summer, that’s probably why!
Saturnalia 20yo Whisky Sponge #44 Blended Malt 47.2%
Saturnalia. Yes, I was confused. But I get the other info which helped me.
This is a 20 year old blended malt, Whisky Sponge edition #44. A marriage between a 2001 refill sherry butt of an unknown blended malt and a 2000 refill hogshead from Glenrothes.
On the nose: prunes, vanilla. Very refined soft and gentle nose. Wood flatting like in an antiques boutique or your granny house if you see what I mean.
On the palate: watercolour (OK this one seems a bit of a stretch, but my dad used to paint, and his studio would have these precises notes…can’t help it), dates, candle wax.
Finish: more candle wax, church, raisins.
Overall: a good decent dram. I can’t find it apart from auctions, so I bit irrelevant to say if I’d buy it or not, but definitely blending well with the flight…still confused by the name…but that’s just me (lol), the whisky is good. That’s what matters the most!
Drams
and more...
Today's drams
- Ben Nevis 2014 7yo Notable Age Statement – 57.1%
- Edradour 2003 10yo Equilibrium I – 52%
- Mortlach 2012 10yo Equinox & Solstice Winter 2022 – 48.5%
- Old Poultney 13yo Equinox & Solstice Spring 2022 – 48.5%Saturnalia 20yo Whisky Sponge #44 Blended Malt – 47.2%
The "Seriously Good Stuff" badge
There are plenty of badges out there for Whiskies. Some of them from very big Whisky authorities. Same as for scoring systems.
Our badges are personal as Whisky is a personal journey. Taste, value for money, and all these things can be highly subjective.
This is our first type of badge. It made us laugh so much we adopted it. It’s assigned to the best dram in the flight. Simple, fair, highly subjective.
There will be more badges assigned in future. I’ll cover previous reviews as well.