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 Baraillon 1984 33yo...

Domaine de Baraillon 1984 33yo (46.0%): Back from our two-week trip... Till I sort out my notes a random sample from my sample yard sounded like a better idea. I picked a 33 year old Armagnac from Domaine de Baraillon . Domaine de Baraillon is a very small and highly praised producer which use their own still to distill their brandy unlike most of the other producers in the region. This brandy is distilled in 1984. Color: Mahogany, chestnut honey. Thick, oily and slow legs. Nose: Poached peaches and apricots. Damp black soil, prunes and wild mushrooms. Toasted oak, grape leaves in brine and aged grappa. Sweet blood orange slices and bergamot jam. Palate: Briny and tart... Grappa again. Gardening soil, very old sherry and aged wine vinegar. Garam masala, unripe grapes and pomegranate molasses. Finish: Long with sour molasses, old oak and vinegar. Orange peel. Overall: Very unique and intriguing expression... It tastes old but on top of i...

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