tire-bouchon...

Continuing with the world's top three selling whisky brands... Today is day 2 and the brand is McDowell's No.1. Owned by United Spirits/Diageo McDowell's No.1 sold 25.5 million cases in 2016 securing the title of second best selling whisky in the world. * I do have two different botllings on my desk though... I will take a wild guess and assume that "Platinum" has a higher rank than "Luxury" in the line-up just because it comes in a glass bottle not in a plastic one like "Luxury". So let's start with "Luxury"... McDowell's No.1 Luxury (42.8%): Color: Yellow gold with again thin but slow moving legs. Nose: Sweet with touch of smoke... That's surprising, isn't it? But soon enough alcohol rises up in the glass and kinda kills all our hopes about the nose. Now the smoke is purely medicinal but in a good way: First aid closet, hydrogen peroxide and gauze pads. Palate: Industrial alcohol with hints of ins...

Imperial Blue...

Imperial Blue (42.8%): Next three days I will be tasting world's top three selling whisky brands back to back here on tire-bouchon . All three of them are produced in India and for the Indian market. First one is Imperial Blue which is a brand owned by Pernod Ricard . The brand sold 18 million cases in 2016 making them the third best selling whisky in the world. * I probably cannot thank enough to Susannah Skiver Barton for generously sending me the samples after bringing them all the way from India... But before we start let me explain what Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) is first and how it differs from whiskies we know... IMFL refers to hard liquors produced in India other than "indigenous alcoholic beverages" or spirits produced in foreign countries and imported to India to be bottled. Although any type of raw material can be used to distill the base spirit, molasses are the most common ingredient used in India. It is distilled to a level as high a...

Watt Whisky "An Orkney Distillery" 14yo...

Watt Whisky "An Orkney Distillery" 14yo (60.9%): I am back to where I left off with the second batch of Watt Whisky releases and today's sample is a whisky distilled by one of those "undisclosed" distilleries. Well, this time it is a relatively easier guessing game since the label already indicates that the whisky is distilled on Orkney Islands and the distillery situated slightly more north is definitely the more likely candidate. The whisky is distilled in 2006 and finished in a ruby port cask for five months before being bottled in 2020 when it was 14 year old. The cask yielded 307 bottles at a surprisingly whopping strength of 60.9% which makes me wonder if this cask was filled initially at a higher proof than the usual practice or if it was stored in a very dry or climate controlled warehouse. Anyway, moving on... Color: Medium amber with a peach/pink hue and a light shade of rosewood color. Very intriguing color... An initial ring of teardrops turning qu...

Ohishi Single Cask 7yo Madeira Finish "SCWC" pick...

Ohishi 7yo Single Cask Madeira Finish "SCWC" pick (41.2%): Finally my two bottles of our first single cask pick we did as Southern California Whiskey Club arrived yesterday... It is a seven years old Ohishi single cask whisky distilled in February 2013. After spending its first five years in a 1st fill Oloroso butt the spirit got divided into different smaller finishings casks and this particular one ended up aging in a 1st fill Madeira cask for an additional two years before being bottled at cask strength. The Madeira cask yielded only 180 bottles... Ohishi Distillery distills their whisky from a mash of malted and unmalted rice running it through their stainless steel still only once resulting with a distillate at around 45% abv to be filled into the casks. Color: Medium amber, orange blossom honey color with a thin ring of tiny teardrops around the glass slowly forming slow and rather thick legs. Nose: Very refreshing and citrusy... Orange blossoms, tangerine peel and can...

Domaine de Lagardenne 1973 43yo...

Domaine de Lagardenne 1973 43yo (50.0%): A small sample from a producer that doesn't distill anymore... It is a 43 year old Armagnac from Domaine de Lagardenne distilled in 1973 and bottled on December 27th, 2016. Just one day before my 44th birthday... Mainly Ugni Blanc with some addition of Baco grapes are used for the distillate. Color: Dark amber, chestnut honey with thin but slow legs. Nose: This is pretty amazing. It totally noses like a bourbon from 60s or 70s. Candied orange peel, orange zest jam and crystalized ginger. Dusty... Candy apple on a stick, old furniture and rosewater. Sesame and walnut brittles. This is quite a beautiful nose but oddly it still noses like an old bourbon. Palate: Thick and velvety mouthfeel. It feels appropriately as an old spirit on the tongue... And this time like a brandy not like a bourbon. The palate is not as busy as the nose. It is concentrated and subtle instead. Ripe brown Turkey figs, apple str...

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