The tale of the brandy barrel and the dog

Some time ago we came across bottle of whisky named "Balou" in the shop of the Whisky Specialist in Alkmaar, the Netherlands
This whisky has a label with a dog carrying a small barrel around his neck that supposedly contains an alcoholic liquid.

What's the history and the purpose?
Well, according to the leaflet this whisky is a hommage to (ancestors of) the St Bernard dogs that rescued people in the Alps.
First records go back to 1707.
Allthough we know now that the last thing you should do is providing alcohol to a hypothermic person (the veins will open up and loose even more body warmth), back in those days it was considered the obvious thing to do.
People of The Whisky Specialist claimed to have found the drink as it was in the old days in a small Swiss village. The recipe was kept a secret, but with experimenting and blending they have tried to somehow recreate the taste of the old drink that used to be in the barrel carried by the rescue dogs.
So on the label you will find a Berner Sennen dog, named Balou (this specific race was probably more likely the type of rescue dog in the old days) with a small cask.

That a great story of course.
But what's in the blend? The man in the shop only revealed that it's a blend of malt whiskies. If we were to guess we'd say Mortlach (spicy), Glen Grant (butter, vanilla) and a wee drop of Benromach Burgundy Finish (smoke, dry, wine tones).
More important: how does it taste?
Well, it's a real spicy dram, very nice for winter time. There's a hint of (Spanish or Portugese) wine there, that oaky, dry taste.

Whiskytips tasting notes
Colour: Gold copper, with a red gloss
Nose: Toasted bread, dark chocolate, clove, vanilla
Taste: coffee, some smoke (no peat), liquorice, again dark chocolate, laurel, mint, sugar
Finish: dry, medium long, sweet

Still a few bottles available for the very decent price of € 31,95.
Check out the website of the Whisky Specialist of go and visit the shop in Alkmaar:
Dijk 25
1811MB Alkmaar

We'll just have another sip. Sláinte Balou!

©Whiskytips 2014

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Whisky writer Hans Offringa becomes Kentucky Colonol

Dutch whisky writer Hans Offringa recently recieved the title of Kentucky Colonel.
Only the Governor of the Commonwealth has the authority to appoint a Kentucky Colonel. The actual certificate, by law, is issued by the Kentucky Secretary of State. There is a formal nomination process.

Hans Offringa was nominated for this title by the Kentucky Distillers Association, based upon his book "Bourbon and Blues" that was published in English and Dutch.
Offringa and his wife Becky currently live in Zwolle, the Netherlands, a city which boast a three star Michelin restaurant as well as its own whisky label (casks picked by Offringa).

With the title of Kentucky Colonel Offringa is in good company. Other people who recieved this title are Muhammad Ali, Winston Churchill, George Clooney and Elvis Presley.
For information on the Honorable Order Of Kentucky Colonels look here: http://kycolonels.org/.
More information about (the works of) Hans Offringa can be found here: http://hansoffringa.com/en/

©Whiskytips 2013

International Whisky Festival in The Hague, Netherlands, 15-17 November 2013

The International Whisky Festival in The Hague is the largest indoor whiskyevent in the Benelux. Venue is the Grand Church in the center of The Hague.
The Hague is a somewhat awkward city: it is the place where the Dutch Parliament resides, along with the Ministries, the King and Queen live there, but it's not the capital of the Netherlands.
As we did for previous editions we made a videoreport. Most of the scenes were shot on the Friday afternoon, which is a special VIP session, with less people around.
Other scenes were taken on the Sunday afternoon, That's the day that you can encounter most whisky specialized retailers.


The festival had numerous masterclasses for beginners as well as for the more experienced connoisseur. In the videoreport you can see an impression of the masterclass by Whiskybase, a company based in Rotterdam, with a virtual and a real life shop.

Dutch Whisky Awards 2013
During the festival, the Dutch Whisky Awards 2013 were presented.
These were the winners:
Best peated single malt Scotch: Laphroaig Triple Wood
Best unpeated single malt Scotch: The Balvenie 14 years old Caribbean Cask
Best Blended Whisky: The Naked Grouse
Best non Scotch whisky: King Car Whisky


Whisky Master of the Year Competition
Another competition is the Dutch Whisky Master of the year.
Victory went to Matthijs Hakfoort, for the highest score on the theory questions, but most of all because of a full score on the blind tasting test. Well done Matthijs!
With his first place he won a trip to the Orkney Islands with a trip to Highland Park included. One can only be jealous.

Whisky documentary
Then there is Gwen Jansen, a filmmaker who is currently preparing for a documentary on the whisky scene in the Netherlands. She is raising money through crowdfunding. By the end of December she will decide on the go/no go, but things are looking well. You can find more info on her website www.nederlandwhiskyland.nl.


Festival bottlings
This year's festival bottling were two peated cask strength Arran's, from two seperate casks. We didn't taste it yet, but hopefully we will in the near future. We got some very positive comments from others.


2014
Meanwhile, the date for the 2014 edition is already set: 14-16 November, Grand Church The Hague. Tickets are on sale already. Hope te see you there. For more info check out the website: www.whiskyfestival.nl

©Whiskytips 2013
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Whisky Xperience 20 October, de Meern, the Netherlands

Whisky Xperience is a series of whiskytastings throughout the country, powered by one of the largest drinks retailers in the Netherlands, Mitra.
Two things are good about these local tastings: they provide an excellent opportunity for the starting whisky connoisseur to explore new varieties and, very important in Holland, you can get there on your bicycle...



For the more experienced whiskydrinker there's a masterclass to enlarge the whisky knowledge.
Some new bottlings can also be tasted like the Bruichladdich Scottish Barley. We tried it and it's got the typical warm, malty Bruichladdich style with that hint of mint.



Allthough we thought upfront that this would be a quite straightforward pour-and-drink event it proved to be much more, as you can see in the videoreport we made.
Whisky-related clothes, Scottish food and beverages (Irn-Bru), books and our friends from Whiskyetc magazine were there.
So we left the Xperience with a great pair of Highland Park cufflings and a 1000 page book by Dominic Roskrow (1001 whiskies you must try before you die).


All in all a well spent afternoon and we sure will be there next time.

Whisky and Rum at Sea, IJmuiden, Netherlands, 19th October 2013

When you take the ferry from Newcastle, England across the North Sea to the Netherlands, you disembark in IJmuiden.
IJmuiden is a small harbour city, on the westside of Amsterdam.
It's (Dutch) fame derives from the big steel factory, now owned bij Tata. The steel factory can be seen from far away.
IJmuiden also has a yearly Whisky and Rum festival, located directly near the sea.
The festival is organised by 'Slijterij en Wijnhuis Zeewijck'.

Here you can watch the videoreport we made.


A few facts make this festival different to other festivals.
First there's the strong accent on rum. During this festival the Dutch Rum Awards are presented.

Secondly the festival has a few distinguished guests, namely the Cuban Ambassador to the Kingdom of the
Netherlands Ms. Zelmys María Domínguez Cortina, the Mayor of Velsen (the municipality that includes IJmuiden)mr Franc Weerwind who is accompanied by the deputy mayor Arjen Verkaik.
Great thing is that they stayed at the festival after the official part and took time the visit several stalls and brands


(Brand toolkit of The Macallan)

During this festival you can taste different kind of rum and whisky, but there a nice variety of food as well. Dutch law sadly prohibits the sale of alcohol in bottles but fortunately you can spend your money on other stuff. For example you will find the people of Verspuy Interieur, who sell some nice whisky related gadgets, like the whiskychair (as seen in the video).
There's whisky writer Hans Offringa with his wife Becky, with his wide range of books, that he is happy to sign for you. Or a nice (cuban) cigar you can smoke on the adjacent terrace.



The festival takes place on the top floor of the Holiday in. So after the afternoon session you can take a long walk on the beach and if you visit the evening session you can take the elevator straight to your room.

Check out the website for next year's edition of the festival (11th October), it's worth a visit.

©Whiskytips 2013

Potstill Festival Amersfoort, the Netherlands 4-6 October 2013

For the 11th time in a row, Dutch whisky drinks company Van Wees organised the Potstill Festival in Amersfoort, right in the heart of the Netherlands.
Just last June we celebrated the 50th anniversary of mr Han van Wees in the whisky business. You can read our blog about that event here.
Whiskytips was @ the Potstill do make a video report, as we did on two previous occasions.

Nice element in this festival is the combination of Scotch whisky, whisk(e)y from other countries, bourbon, rye and other distillates, like armagnac, calavados and jenever.
First year we went, we only concentrated on nosing and tasting whisky, which is basically a shame, because you're missing out on a lot of other nice flavours and experiences.

This year's edition also had a special limited festival bottling, a 10 YO Glenfarclas, that will become a collectable in the near future for sure. And if not, it's a great dram, we tried it.

Another nice aspect of the festival is the Treasure room. For €20 extra you get the chance to taste rare, often independent bottlings, that are long gone in most cases. What to think about a Rosebank of Macduff 1969? A good deal we think.

Meanwhile moviemaker Gwen Jansen was filming for her upcoming documentary "Nederland Whiskyland", that covers all aspects of the whisky scene in the Netherlands, with its festivals, clubs, restaurants, shops etc. It is a crowfunded documentary and everyone can particpate in this unique film. Just check www.nederlandwhiskyland.nl. (It's in Dutch, but Google will help)

Whiskywriter Robin Brilleman was there to sign his book. In the Netherlands law prohibits the sale of alcohol during events like these (how we envie our more liberal neighbour countries), but you can sell books, so luckily there was some money to be spent.

The Potstill Festival has good connections to some of the brands (not surprisingly also imported by Van Wees), which gives room to new introductions or at least the news about it.
This way we could learn that Arran will be releasing a limited Milennium Cask Bottling and Benromach will do another Sassicaia Finish soon. We can't wait!
Right after the afternoon session people rushed to the retail store of Van Wees in Amersfoort to get a bottle of whisky they just tasted.
A short impression can be found here.

Our winner of the festival was the Balmenach 1988 24 YO, cask 2794 bottled by Signatory at cask strength.
The bottle should retail for around €85-€90.
Our happiness was even greater when we found out that Van Wees have bottled a second cask of Balmenach, cask 2795 (also cask strength), for roughly the same price, in their own range, the Ultimate.
The warm flavours just keep popping up and you're used to winter time straight away.

Concluding remarks: great festival, lots of different drinks to be tasted, gives the opportunity to look beyond your whiskyfrontiers and sharpen yer tastebuds, not too big and commercial; let's hope it will stay that way. See you at the 12th edition next year and look out for the Wallace tartan.


©Whiskytips 2013

Tasting Kilkerran Sherry Wood 46%

While The Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is playing through the speakers we are tasting a new release by Glengyle Distillery.
This is the first release to be (specifically) matured in sherry wood, at the same time a bourbon matured version was released.
Glengyle is a distillery in Campeltown, originally built in 1872. Already in 1925 Glengyle was closed for a period of 75 years. After being acquired by the owner of Springbank in 2000, the distillery restarted production in 2004.

In 2007 a first limited 3 year old was released, subtitled "Work In Progress". Meanwhile, apart from the Sherry and Bourbon Woods, four Works In Progress have been released so far.

Another noticeable thing to mention is that Glengyle uses the stills, spirit safe and spirit receivers of the now closed Ben Wyvis distillery (ever tasted Ben Wyvis? We salute you!). This alone is a good reason to buy a bottle of Kilkerran..
By the way, the whisky is not named after the distillery because Glengyle was already in use for a blended malt by Loch Lomond.
Of course this whisky is non chill filtered and has natural colour.
Add a drop of water, swirl gently and enhance your nosing and tasting experience. The water is from Crosshill Loch. They also try to use as much local barley as possible. The malting is done at the neighbouring distillery of Springbank.


Whiskytips tasting notes:
Coulour: Orange gold
Nose: Nutmeg, gingerspices, walnut, orange peels, chocolate
Taste: Sweet (even some dark sugar when water is added), hazelnut chocolate, honey, slightly bitter (wine tannines?), gingerwine, grapefruit
Finish: Tannines again, taste still develops, medium dry and now some (charred) wood appears.

Concluding remarks
Allthough this Kilkerran release is also called Work In Progress and the whisky has the young, quite fierce character, at the same time there's already a wonderful nose and oily feeling to this malt. This makes it an very interesting experience, to see how Kilkerran will develop over the years into the optimal flavoursetting, while keeping in mind the very capable people of Springbank are involved.

www.kilkerransinglemalt.com/

©Whiskytips 2013

Sources:
Whiskypedia- Charles MacLean
Malt Whisky Yearbook 2013 - Ingvar Ronde