Celebrating 50 years Han van Wees in the world of whisky

Today over 100 whiskylovers gathered in Amersfoort to celebrate the 50th anniversary of mr Han van Wees in the spirit and whisky-business.
Amersfoort is a city in the heart of the Netherlands and home to the family run business of Van Wees which was founded in 1921.
Van Wees opened up the Dutch market for good quality whisky. A very nice story is the one about a ship with blended whisky, that had sunk in Dutch waters. Van Wees bought the whisky and it proved to be A-quality scotch, intended for the South American market. Since the Dutch had to deal with lesser quality (A- quality went to dollar countries in those days), these bottles sold like hotcakes. However, the importer and producer were not happy with this lot being on the market and bought it back from Van Wees, who made a profitable deal.

Van Wees was also the first company to import Glenfarclas, Springbank and Macallan. They also have very good ties with Gordon and MacPhail, one if not the largest independent bottler in Scotland.
Apart from this, Van Wees releases its own brand of independent bottlings, the Utimate Collection. Most of these bottlings are single cask, for a very good price.
The afternoon was divided in two parts.
The first part kicked off with a nice calvados. Meanwhile mr Van Wees lectured the audience, not only on the history of Van Wees but also on the spirits, that were tasted blindly. So we learned that calvados is not only made from apple, but also from pear.
Some more great spirits from France followed, with an 1972 Armagnac Domaine Boingneres as our personal favourite.
The line up was closed by a 21 YO Whyte and Mackays blended Scotch, which was simply marvellous and a good bridge to the things to come.

Mr Van Wees is never afraid to say the things as he sees them so he wholeheartedly shared his opinion on whisky blends. For him A-quality blends from the sixties are better than most single malts these days.
After lunch we proceeded bravely first with a 1963 Glen Grant bottled by Gordon and Macphail. Now, there is one thing when drinking whisky of such provenance: it gets hard to appreciate a lot of other stuff that’s around, your taste gets somewhat spoiled..
In our case we got spoiled even more, since the second one was a Tamdhu 1962.
Mr Van Wees picked these bottlings because he is convinced that coal fired distilleries, as most of them were in these days, make better whisky than the present steam fired boilers.
So we moved one to another jewel from the sixties, the Strathisla 1964, again a Gordon and Macphail bottling.
Fourth sample was a Glen Avon 1961 apparently produced by Glen Farclas.
After savouring this magnificent dram we tasted the Glen Elgin 1968. Last one was (we thought) a sherried 32 YO Tobermory, a whisky with it’s own definite character.
Then came the surprise malt… a 16 YO Port Ellen, by the Ultimate, one of their own bottlings. Almost impossible to find these days, and if so, only for big money.

This treat was definitely a worthy closure of this memorable day.
We can only hope that the stories mr Van Wees has told and probably many more will be put to paper someday. We did hear that plans are made to make a documentary on the whiskyworld, with mr Van Wees and the Van Wees company with a prominent role in it.
We will keep you posted!

©Whiskytips 2013

New Ardbeg Embassy in Rijswijk, the Netherlands, 27th April 2013

On Saturday 27th April 2013 a new Ardbeg Embassy was appointed in the Netherlands to Whiskyspecialist Van der Boog.
For this occasion owner Stefan van der Boog had invited customers to a genuine Ardbeg BBQ.

As you can see in the videoreport the peat fires were burning and some fine Ardbegs were tasted, including rare gems as the Rollercoaster, the Gallileo and the Alligator, provided for by Moet Hennessy.
Around 50 people enjoyed nice food and fine drams. The guests were also able to win some (Ardbeg) prices, like cufflings, hipflasks and mini-bottles. All in all a successful event.

The shop of Stefan van der Boog is located in Rijswijk on the Prinses Irenelaan 359, close to The Hague in the Netherlands.

The place is lterally packed with whisky, single malts as well as blends, from all over the world. Van der Boog also releases his own bottlings, Boogieman.

Bottles are sold through the webshop, www.passievoorwhisky.nl, but not all bottles available in the shop are sold in the webshop. Stefan also buys and sells whiskycollections, so when you're in the neighbourhood, be sure to pop in.

Wijn-en Whiskyspecialist Van der Boog
Prinses Irenelaan 359
2285 GA Rijswijk, the Netherlands
www.passievoorwhisky.nl

©Whiskytips 2013

Whisky in Leiden, 20th April 2013

On Saturday April 20 2013 the "Whisky in Leiden" Festival took place.


Leiden is a city in the west of the Netherlands, between Amsterdam and the Hague and well worth a visit when you're around. In Leiden the first university in the Netherlands was founded in 1575.
Venue of the festival was the "Stadsgehoorzaal", a 19th century building, still used for plays and concerts.
The people of Whiskysite.nl picked exactly the right spot for this event. Right in the middle of town and, very important, easy accessible for public transport.
The day was divided in two sessions, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Whiskytips visited the afternoon session.


This festival has it's own character amongst the other festivals around. First of all there's a relaxed atmosphere, due to the limited number of people per session (ca. 500) and the fact that there is no real commercial drive. Sure, the people manning the stalls want to enlighten the products they represent, but since it's not allowed by Dutch law to sell products during these kinds of events, you get more than a sales talk. You don't have to wait too long to get a dram and there's time for a serious whisky chat. If something like that exists in the first place.
Another good thing is that rolls, with (Dutch..) cheese and ham are included in the ticketprice. So you see most people taking a little break to have something to eat, which also helps preventing people becoming too enthusiastic in tasting.
At the festival there is a nice blend between official importers and bottlings and small independents, like Kintra, Sansibar and Whiskyman.
For the starting whisky aficionado there are a lot of drams to be tasted without having to pay extra. For the more experienced whiskytaster you can spend a few extra euros and try some excellent old malts. This brings us to one dilemma: tasting the rare and old first to prevent the risk of becoming taste-numb at the end of a session or, save the best thing for last to prevent the tastebuds becoming too spoiled right at the beginning.

We chose the latter option. Which brought us to the people of Van Wees, a famous Dutch importer of whisky, who have their own range called The Ultimate Collection. For just € 6 we tasted a Mortlach 1971, bottled by Gordon & MacPhail. For a whisky like that you really have to take your time, so we started to nose this gem half an hour before closing time, giving this whisky the respect it deserves.
All in all a great event, well organised by the people of Whiskysite, let's hope they will keep this concept (and venue) for next year's edition.

©Whiskytips 2013

Whisky Festival Noord Nederland, Groningen, NL, 22-24 March 2013

The Whiskyfestival Noord-Nederland (North Netherlands) took place from the 22nd to the 24th of March 2013 in the lovely city of Groningen. Venue was the Der Aakerk, a medieval churchbuilding, right in the citycenter.
Around 5,000 enthusiastic whiskyfans visited this 8th edition of the festival.

Allthough it seemed slightly more crowded than last year's edition, it is still an easy going festival.
This festival attracts a wide variety of whiskydrinkers. For people who are just getting introduced to the world of distilled grain spirit, the festival offers a wide arrange of drams to choose from. And this for an entrance fee of €25,-.
For the more experienced whisky-enthusiast there's a variety of options. Numbers of masterclasses, a special whiskydinner on the night before the start of the festival at the Prinsenhof and lots of rare whiskies to choose from, for just a few euro extra.
As you can see in the video, besides drinks the festival has a lot of other things to offer, like great cheese, chocolates and all kinds and clothing.

What we really can recommend is the VIP-option. For a price of €85 you have admission to the festival with a few extras. One of them is that you don't have to stand in line in or out, no waiting for your jacket and some really rare drams to try.

A bonus is the nice food that is being served with the drams, all prepared by Inge Lanckacker, a great chef from Gand, Belgium who is specialised in cooking with whisky.
But, the greatest bonus is the chance to meet the rock and roll stars of the whisky trade, who come to the VIP-tent after finishing their masterclasses and present a special dram in a relaxed mood. People like Ad de Koning, Hans Offringa, Martine Nouet, Gordon Muir and Charles Maclean, they were all there.
All in all another great event, a big hand to all the volunteers who helped turning this festival into a success.


©Whiskytips 2013

Tasting Tomatin 12 YO 40% highland single malt whisky

Tomatin distillery, lying 315 metres (almost 1,000 feet) above sealevel, just 15 miles outside Inverness, was built in 1897.
The name means something like “the hillock of the juniper”.
It was the first Scottish distillery that came into Japanese hands.

It is one of the lesser known brands, that is, as a malt whisky, allthough it was once the largest malt distillery in Scotland during the seventies with 23 (!) stills.
The blends that belong to Tomatin, the Antiquary (great bottledesign) and Talisman are well known.
Tomatin malt whisky is also used in other blends, so we understand. Tomatin however is investing in promoting its own single malts a lot more. You can find them at many festivals around the world for one thing.
Also the whiskyshops seem to have picked up the enhanced attention for Tomatin whisky. We were recommended to try the 12 YO, which is basically the start of the range, with indeed a nice price. Certainly when you compare this to the prices of other Scotch whisky that are skyrocketing lately.
The 12 YO comes in a nice black box. “Distilled with pride” is the payoff. That's always good to hear.



We came to the following tasting notes:
Colour: deep copper/chestnut. But, so it says on the label, it’s colored..we can’t guess why because the label also states that this whisky was finished in Spanish sherry casks, which usually gives enough color to the whisky. Maybe too much color difference between the casks, but if you blend a lot of casks those differences will only be noticable to experts or a spectrophotometer (look it up on Wikipedia).
Nose: Funny enough it took some time for the nose to release. But after a gentle swirl the first note was honey, then ripe pear. The sherrynotes appear. While discussing the nose we also came up with the nose of liqueur
Taste: Sugarbarley, vanilla, apple, tangerine, charred wood, mouth coating. You can see it in the glass too: the “tears” are long.
Finish: Medium long, sweet, not too dry, bit of white pepper but not too sharp.

Our conclusion: this is definitely a whisky to try, a wee dram at a festival or just buy a whole bottle, it is affordable. We in any case are curious for the other Tomatin expressions.
And when you are in the neighbourhood of Inverness, make a stop at the distillery. There is a visitor centre that just has been refurbished in 2012. The distillery also has a cooperage with two coopers working, a thing you will not find at a lot distilleries.

Website: www.tomatin.com

Sources: The Malt Whisky Yearbook 2013, Whiskypedia and Discovering Scotland's Distilleries

©Whiskytips 2013

Tasting the Macallan 12 YO Sherry Oak Cask

One of the prestige brands in the world of single malt whisky is The Macallan. They have managed to build up quite a reputation and people are willing to pay good money for a bottle of Macallan. Not so many people know that The Macallan is also used in the Famous Grouse, a well respected blended whisky.
Last week we came across a bottle of Macallan 12 year old, matured in Sherry Oak Casks from Jerez, in the south of Spain.

Now, maturing in sherry casks will tell you something about the taste to be expected. Usually: sweet, cinnamon, nutty, chococalate, sherry of course, dried fruits, stuff like that. That doesn't make a sherried whisky a good whisky at once. Thing is that, unlike the seventies and eighties, sherry isn't that popular anymore. That itself is a pity: just treat yourself to a good bottle of sherry and you will fully understand what we are talking about. Just ask you local wine merchant.
Since less people drink sherry, there are simply less sherried casks available. Within this limited stock of casks, it is the challenge for the whisky producers to find the best barrels. Especially those ones that haven't been sulphured badly, which is by far the biggest risk fail for sherry casks.
The Macallan is one of the brands that carefully select the casks, for Scotch stills goes very well in sherry casks, allthough most of the malt whisky these days is matured in bourbon casks (and makes very good whisky as well for that matter).
We came across this bottle during the "Wild Whisky Weeks" at the Gall & Gall, a large chain of liquor stores in the Netherlands. Price was € 37. Normally a bottle like this will cost you around € 50.
To be honest: the bottle was opened and tasted upon the day of purchase. Result was that we went straight back to the shop next morning to get an extra bottle, since this bottling is in stock for only a limited time.

Because of its reputation and quality, the Macallan is a whisky that's victim of imitation. To ensure customers they buy the real deal, Macallan seals their bottles with a special green hologram (see pic.). The hologram depects the Easter Elchies House, built in 1700, that, according to the Macallan, is their "spiritual home".

Tasting notes for this bottling:
Colour: Deep copper
Nose: Sweet, barleysugar, After Eight (yes with the mint), dried apricot, spiced cake
Taste: chocolate, there's the mint again very subtle, cinnamon, caramel, some (charred)wood, clove
Finish: smooth, pleasant, medium long, sweet, milkchocolate

Conclusion: If you like sherried whisky, this is a well balanced whisky for you. Of course, an older sherried whisky will give you more complexity than this 12 year old, especially if you let the older one rest in your glass for a while. But you will pay a lot more and this is just a very tasteful example of how whisky in sherry cask matches, already at a relatively young age.


©Whiskytips 2013

Tasting Braeval 1998 13 YO single cask by The Utimate

Braeval is one the hidden distillery gems in Scotland's largest whisky producing area, Speyside.
Reason is that the whisky from this distillery is not released as an official bottling by the current owners, Pernod Ricard.
In fact, the spirit is not even matured on site, but tankered away and stored and matured elsewhere in Scotland.
Most of the production goes into blends. Which ones is not clear since the blenders usually hold their recipe as a secret.
Info on the net learns that Braeval is not only used in blends of the owning company but also sold to others.
Braeval is also known as Braes of Glenlivet, but the second part of the name was dropped later on, since there's another quite large brand already holding that name. The first part of the name changed into Braeval.
It's a relatively young distillery, founded in 1973.
Braeval was mothballed in 2002 but restarted production in 2008.

This being said, Braeval is a whisky you will only find as an independent bottling. We @Whiskytips think it is a very underestimated malt whisky.
Take for example this bottling, released by the people of Van Wees, Netherlands on their owm label, the Ultimate.
Bottlings by the Ultimate, as this Braeval, are quite often single cask bottlings and we dare say of very good quality. The people over there know there whisky business for almost 50 years already.
The labels always provide lots of info, as you can see on the photo.
This bottling comes off a bourbon barrel nr 168883 with a yield of 227 bottles. The bottles are individually numbered.

This particular bottling is almost 14 years old, but due to Scottish whisky standards, only a full year counts, so this bottling only made it to 13 years.
Years however don't tell the whole story, how badly the marketeers want us to believe that: "more years is better quality". O yes, bottlings of older vintage will certainly cost you more money, but it doesn't mean it's 'better' whisky. In the end, it's you, the customer, who decides if a whisky is good, better or best.


Tasting notes for this bottling:
Colour: pale straw
Nose: barley, sweet, lemon, vanilla, oaky notes
Taste: creamy, oily, barley, some plum (the yellow ones), vanilla fudge, honey and white pepper in the end
Finish: pleasant, smooth, sweet, the peppery note holds on, mint and a mild bitter at the end.

Conclusion: if you like Speyside whisky, this is certainly a dram to try. You might be able to pick one up at a festival or tasting, you will not be disappointed.


Information from the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2013 and Malt Maniacs.

©whiskytips 2012