The Boutique Bar Show 2009, London - Part 2

Earlier this week we were lucky enough to attend the Boutique Bar Show 2009 in London, which is one of the UK's biggest trade shows for spirits. We sampled a number of whiskies at the show - you can read our reviews of these by clicking here - and while we were there we had the chance to try some other quality spirits. We have decided to 'branch out' away from whisky reviewing just this once and review this range of other spirits that we tried. The list looks long we know, but each one was served in a thimble sized sample glass (honest! ... well OK, there were one or two exceptions!).

Caorunn gin
Caorunn (pronounce ka-roon) is a new handcrafted gin that is distilled in small batches at the Balmenach whisky distillery in Scotland. It is a pure grain spirit that is then infused with six of the traditional gin botanicals (angelica root, cassia bark, coriander, juniper berry, lemon and orange peel) and five exclusive Celtic botanicals (bog myrtle, Coul blush apple, dandelion, heather and rowan berry). Caorunn is dry and crisp with an aromatic nose that is floral and citrusy. The palate has some sweetness and is fresh, fruity and spicy. Very good stuff that would make the perfect G&T. Check out their website at www.caorunngin.com.

Isake Umeshu de France plum wine
Umeshu is a plum wine that is traditionally made in Japan, but this version made by Isake is different. It is made using plums from the premium plum growing Moissac region in southern France. They are then macerated in grape spirit and matured in French oak casks. The result is a drink that is a vibrant golden colour with a sweet plum and honey aroma. The sample was served to us with ice and was lovely, rich and silky with gorgeous plum flavours. This would be very good on its own or with soda or prosecco as a mixer. Take a look at their cool website for the range of premium sake www.isake.co.uk.

Karlsson's Gold vodka
This is a premium vodka from the Cape Bjarne distillery in southern Sweden. It is made from 100% new potatoes and is distilled only once so as to preserve the maximum flavour. The vodka is aromatic with a lovely sweetness and earthiness and on the palate feels rich and creamy. Again, the sweetness and earthiness is present. We had it served to us chilled with some ice and freshly ground black pepper and it was absolutely lovely, with the peppery spiciness bringing out the flavours even further. Check out their website www.karlssonsvodka.com.

Laird's applejack
The Laird family have been producing applejack, an American form of apple brandy, at their New Jersey distillery since 1698. The only time that it has been out of production is during the Prohibition period between 1920 and 1933. Applejack is made from premium apples and is blended using 35% apple brandy and 65% neutral spirit. The colour is like apple juice and the aroma is a combination of sweet, crisp apples and carameled sugar. On the palate, the neutral spirit is more evident but the apple sweetness starts to overtake and make the experience more pleasant. The finish has more of the brown sugary caramel and is reminiscent of an apple pie or crumble. Not bad on its own but would be lovely in a cocktail or with a mixer.

Nardini grappa
The Nardini company have been distilling fine grappa since 1779 in the town of Bassano del Grappa in northern Italy. We sampled some of their excellent products and you can view their full range at www.nardinigrappa.com. First on the sample list was the 'Rosso', a soft, sweet and rich aperitif that is reminiscent of drinks like Martini Rosso or Aperol. It is dark red in colour and has a bitter edge and is excellent as it was served to us with some soda and lemon. Next up was the 'Bianca', one of Italy's premium grappas and a multi award winner around the world. It is one of the best grappas we have tried with a balanced sweetness on the palate and aromatic herbal nose. The 'Riserva 15 Anni' (15 years old) was next and is aged in Slovenian oak casks for 15 years. Darker in colour, this is richer, woodier and softer than the 'Bianca' and is strangely like a whisky. Next up was the 'Ruta', which contains a large leaf of the ruta herb. This gives the grappa a green tint and a bitter, astringent flavour that is a bit more of an acquired taste but very pleasant. The 'Ginepro' was our final sample and is a grappa based liqueur that is infused with juniper berries and a secret mix of Italian botanicals. It is sweet, aromatic and reminiscent of a gin, making it ideal for a cocktail. An excellent range of products.

Sipsmith Spirits
Sipsmith was established in 2008 and is the first new distillery to be set up in London for 189 years. Based in west London, they produce handmade small batches (no more than 500 bottles at any one time) of artisan gin and vodka made from English barley and water from one of the springs that is a source of the River Thames. The 'Barley Vodka' has a slightly nutty nose and is smooth and creamy on the palate with a lovely sweet graininess, that nuttiness again and a hint of wood spice. The 'London Dry Gin' is distilled using 10 classic gin botanicals (angelica root, cassia bark, cinnamon, coriander seed, ground almond, juniper berry, lemon peel, liquorice root, orange peel and orris root) and has a floral, zesty nose. On the palate, it is smooth with some spiciness, zesty citrus and juniper. It begins beautifully dry before becoming sweeter. The finish is dry and mouthwatering. Check out the informative website www.sipsmith.com which includes a great working diagram of how they distill their vodka.

Van Wees Genever gin
Van Wees have been distilling gin since 1782 and are the last authentic distillery to be operating in the Dutch city of Amsterdam. They produce a range of gins produced in the Genever style (one of the oldest styles of gin making where they distill maltwine and the fore father of the London gin style). They use a range of traditional botanicals including fruit, flowers, plants, roots and seeds to infuse flavour in to the gin. The 'Zeer Oude Genever' (Very Old Genever) is matured in oak casks for a minimum of a year and is highly aromatic and quite fruity. The palate is rich, smooth and fruity with a hint of peppery spice. The 'Amsterdamsche Oude Genever' is fairly similar to the 'Zeer Oude' but is sweeter on the palate before turning dry and quite herbal on the finish.

News ... The Boutique Bar Show 2009, London

We attended The Boutique Bar Show 2009 in London the other day and in between sampling lots of quality whisky and other spirits, we found out a couple of interesting pieces of whisky news. We have not seen these interesting bits of news anywhere, so thought that we would share them.

Glenrothes, the large Speyside distillery owned by the Edrington Group, are to shortly replace their 1985 vintage with a new 1988 vintage. They select a vintage, rather than a fixed age (eg. 12 years old), as they believe in bottling a whisky when it reaches the optimum level of maturity. The 1988 will sit alongside the current whiskies in the core range - the Select Reserve, 1991 and 1994 - and was pitched as being rich, smooth and full of dried fruit, citrus and spicy notes. Unfortunately, there was none available to sample :(

The lady promoting Black Bottle, the popular smoky blended whisky, told us that they have some whisky from the new Kilchoman distillery maturing in a warehouse and that it is to be included in the blend from next year onwards. Black Bottle has the claim of 'including whisky from each of Islay's distilleries', so as from next year this will again be true. She also confirmed that Lagavulin is to remain in the blend, despite some industry rumours to the contrary.

The Boutique Bar Show 2009, London

The Boutique Bar Show in London's Royal Horticultural Halls is one of the UK's biggest shows for the spirits industry. The two day show is now in its third year and boasts a fine collection of products, including new releases, aimed at both the on and off trades. Whisky For Everyone was in attendance for the first day of proceedings and sampled a number of whiskies that we had not tried before. The list below looks long we know, but it has to be pointed out that each one was served in a thimble sized sample glass (honest!). We are also writing another post highlighting some of the other quality spirits that we tried during the day and this will be available shortly.

Bunnahabhain 25 years old
This is the oldest release from the core range of the non smoky Islay distillery of Bunnahabhain. The colour is dark and golden and the nose is rich with a mix of caramel, nuts (think of almonds) and dried sherry fruits (imagine sultanas and raisins). On the palate, these are replicated and are joined by some spices (cinnamon and nutmeg), a slightly bitter woodiness and a distinct salty tang (think of sea water). The sweetness is counteracted by this bitterness and saltiness. The finish is soft and slightly dry, being of reasonable length with the dried fruit and spices prominent. Very nice and a rare treat to try something of this age at such a show.

Chivas Regal 18 years old
This 18 years of version of the famous blend contains over 20 different single malts from all over Scotland. The colour is a dark amber and the nose is rich and sweet with elements of dried fruit (imagine raisins and candied orange peel), butterscotch and just a whiff of chocolate (think of cocoa powder). The palate is rich and creamy with the fruitiness and butterscotch predominant and some woody spice (imagine cinnamon) and honey coming through. The finish is long and fruity with maybe just a hint of peat smokiness appearing at the end. A very pleasant dram.

Cutty Sark
This world famous blended whisky is named after the tea clipper ship 'Cutty Sark'. The brand is one of the biggest selling around the globe, selling a staggering 14 million bottles per year. Cutty Sark was served to us chilled over ice like a bottle of white wine. The colour was light and golden yellow with a lovely nose packed with vanilla and cereal grains. On the palate, it feels richer than the nose suggests and is refreshing, with lots of vanilla and grains again. These are joined by a pleasant woodiness, some sweetness (imagine honey) and some buttery toffee. The finish is light, crisp and uplifting. Enjoyable.

Cutty Sark 12 years old
The older sibling of the world famous regular bottling of Cutty Sark contains whisky from some of Speyside's most famous distilleries. It is packaged in a black box and is slightly darker in colour with a richer, sweeter nose. There is a pleasant mix of vanilla, woody spice (think of nutmeg), cereal grains and some sweet honey. The palate is rich, sweet and silky with the vanilla and grains prominent and the spiciness and a slight woodiness balancing this. The finish is long, sweet and smooth. A more exaggerated version of the regular Cutty Sark really, that is very good and enjoyable.

Glenlivet Nadurra
The 'Nadurra' appears in a number of forms. We have previously tried the lower strength Duty Free bottling, so the comparison with this cask strength (57.7% ABV) UK market version was interesting. The colour is golden and the nose has a mixture of vanilla, some toasted nuts (think of hazelnuts) and some wood spices (think of nutmeg and cinnamon). On the palate, this Nadurra is quite dry and full of vanilla oak, yet powerful and complex. The elements from the nose are present. Upon adding water, the palate becomes a touch sweeter and more floral (imagine honeysuckle). The finish is long, rich and dry yet very refreshing. Very very good stuff.

Glenrothes 1991
Glenrothes is a Speyside distillery and they use vintages for its single malts rather than a fixed age, as they believe in bottling the whisky when it has reached peak maturity rather than a certain age. This 1991 is golden brown in colour with a nose that combines vanilla, coconut, dried fruits (think of sultanas and candied orange peel) and butterscotch. The palate is sweet and packed with malty cereal grains that combine with those elements stated for the nose. The finish is long, rich, fruity and spicy (imagine nutmeg) with the butterscotch at the forefront. Classic stuff.

Glenrothes 1994
The younger housemate of the 1994 is a slightly different beast. The colour is similar (golden brown but slightly lighter) but that is where it ends. The nose is uplifting due to a prominent citrus element (think of lemon zest especially, although there is also some orange peel in there) and this combines with some lovely dried fruit (imagine raisins and sultanas) and sweet toffee. On the palate, this feels lighter with that definite zingy citrus present and a balanced combination of toffee, woody spice (think of cinnamon) and cereal grains. The finish is long and fruity with a nice tangy quality. A lovely dram.

Longmorn 16 years old
Longmorn is a Speyside distillery that is situated close to the town of Elgin. This 16 years old is golden yellow in colour with a classical bourbon cask matured nose. There is vanilla, coconut, woody oak and a touch of a herbal note (imagine dried grasses). The palate is light and enjoyable, again with a lot of vanilla, some toffee style sweetness, honey and some malty, almost yeasty, cereal grains (think of digestive biscuits). The finish is reasonably long with sweetness being balanced by some spices (think of nutmeg) and the returning grassiness.

Macallan Fine Oak 15 years old
The Macallan distillery is located in Speyside and is one of Scotland's largest and most famous distilleries. The Fine Oak series combines Macallan's traditional sherry cask maturation with some time in a bourbon cask. The colour is golden with a lovely nose that combines vanilla, dried fruits (think of sultanas), sweet honey and some toasted nuts (imagine almonds). This is warm and sumptuous on the palate with a lovely combination of the elements from the nose, malted cereals, caramel and spice (think of cinnamon with a hint of star anise). The finish is complex and fruity with the vanilla and spices coming through well. A superb, smooth and well balanced whisky.

Mekhong Whiskey
Although Mekhong is marketed as a whiskey in its native Thailand, it is actually made from a secret traditional recipe combining sugar cane, rice and local Thai herbs and spices. It is produced at the Bangyikhan distillery and is being officially launched in the UK for the first time (this version is bottled at 35% ABV rather than the Thai version which is closer to 60%!). The colour is a reddish amber with a nose that is much more reminiscent of a rum. The sugar cane is particularly evident with lots of caramel, spices (think of ginger) and some citrus cutting through (especially lemons). These notes are replicated on the sweet palate that is sugary (think of honey and toffee) and smooth. The finish is long and rounded. It maybe too sweet for some people but would be ideal to use with a mixer or cocktail. Interesting to try.

The Whisky For Everyone 'Dram of the Day' - a tough choice but it goes to the Macallan Fine Oak 15 years old.