Monthly Archives: June 2023

Caol Ila 15, 2007 (Signatory)

Posted on by


Caol Ila week began on Monday with a nice 7 yo bourbon barrel whisky bottled by Single Cask Nation. It continued on Tuesday with a very good 10 yo single refill sherry butt.  Here now to close out the week is the oldest of the trio: a 15 yo from Signatory that received a two year “finish” in a first-fill oloroso butt. Two years seems more like double maturation territory. It’s not clear, of course, if this was a product of re-racking multiple casks into the first-fill butt or if the cask/s re-racked were all sherry casks to begin with. It’s a brave new world of single cask whisky we live in—or to be exact, have lived in for some time. Alright, let’s get to it.

Caol Ila 15, 2007 (53.7%; Signatory; finished in first-fill oloroso butt 204; from a bottle split)

Nose: Raisiny sherry with not much sign of smoke or peat at first sniff. On the second sniff, there’s the smoke: dry woodsmoke with a lot of salt around the edges. Mild phenols emerge as it sits; the woodsmoke and the raisins merge and move in the direction of pipe tobacco. More of the pipe tobacco with water. Continue reading →

Grand Szechuan, June 2023 (Bloomington, MN)

Posted on by


We are out of Minnesota for most of the summer. Fittingly, the restaurant meal with which we bid goodbye to the Twin Cities metro was a dinner at Grand Szechuan with many members of our usual Grand Szechuan crew. I am very pleased to report that the restaurant is now all the way back from its staffing issues that lingered from late last year into the early part of this year. Yes, we had a very good meal there in late March (see here) but that had still featured the smaller, folded paper menus and there weren’t many familiar faces to be seen. At this meal we were once again presented with large, formal menus. Not everything that used to be on the pre-crisis menu is on it—no “Spicy, Hammered Chicken” for instance—but it is mostly comprehensive. And though we didn’t see Chef Luo at this meal either (though we were at an out-of-the-way table behind the check-in desk) we saw plenty of other faces we’ve known for a while. And, most importantly, it was a rather excellent meal. Here are the details. Continue reading →

Caol Ila 10, 2007 (G&M for Binny’s)

Posted on by


Caol Ila week began yesterday with a 7 yo bottled by Single Cask Nation from bourbon barrels. The second Caol Ila of the week is slightly older at 10 years old and was bottled by G&M from a single refill sherry butt for Binny’s in Chicago. I’ve had a number of excellent sherried Caol Ilas of this general age from G&M—see, for example, this one. Then again, I’ve also had some that were less excellent—see, for example, this one. Let’s see where this one falls.

Caol Ila 10, 2007 (59%; G&M for Binny’s; refill sherry butt 311989; from a bottle split)

Nose: Ah, very nice notes of sweet pipe tobacco off the top with ashier smoke coming up from below. On the second sniff there’s some orange peel and some biscuity malt, even as the ashy smoke expands. With time there’s a hint of apricot as well and also a bit of savoury gunpowder. With a big squirt of water there’s a fair bit of butterscotch and then more of the savoury gunpowder. Continue reading →

Caol Ila 7, 2015 (Single Cask Nation)

Posted on by


Last week’s series of reviews of wine-bothered, peaty whiskies ended with a 16 yo Caol Ila with a moscatel finish. Let’s make this week all about Caol Ila, beginning with a much younger release put together from refill bourbon barrels—no wine in sight.

Caol Ila 7, 2015 (57.1%; Single Cask Nation; refill bourbon barrels; from a bottle split)

Nose: Bright carbolic peat mixed with lemon and brine. Sweeter on the second sniff with cereals and a bit of vanilla. The brine expands with each sniff and there’s a mild “green” vegetal note as well—green bell pepper. After a while there’s a nice balance of carbolic peat, acid and sweeter notes. With a few drops of water it’s sweeter still and the peat moves from carbolic to a little more phenolic/inky. More salt too now. Continue reading →

Pizzeria da Attilio (Naples, 2023)

Posted on by


We are currently in Italy and will be here a little while longer. As I type we are getting set to leave Rome for Florence. But we started our trip in Naples. Which is also where we started our over-eating. This lunch at Pizzeria da Attilio was not our first meal in Naples (that was dinner at Mimi alla Ferrovia the previous evening) but it seems right to begin an account of eating in Naples with pizza. And so.

As you would expect, there is a lot of good pizza to be had in Naples and probably almost as many opinions on which the best places to eat pizza in Naples as there are pizza-eating people in Naples. We were staying on Via Duomo, very close to the two most famous places: Antica Pizzeria da Michele and Gino e Toto Sorbillo. We did not, however, eat at either of them. This was largely because both are so popular that you have to wait a really long time to get a table—and if there’s something we don’t like to do when traveling with the kids, it’s waiting at restaurants. But we couldn’t have eaten at both anyway, as one of our two pizza meal slots in the city was spoken for by Attilio. Continue reading →

Caol Ila 16, 2006 (Infrequent Flyers)

Posted on by


This week of reviews of wine-bothered peated whiskies got off to a rather rocky start on Monday with a 10 yo Ballechin from a marsala cask. Things looked up significantly with Wednesday’s Kilchoman for Spec’s which had received a madeira cask finish. That one was three years younger but balanced the peat and the sweeter wine notes well. Here to close out the week is a Caol Ila that is almost as old as the other two put together. This is also a finish, this time in moscatel casks. If I recall correctly, the Caol Ila Distillers Edition—is that still a regular thing?—is also a moscatel finish; but I’m not sure what connection that might have to a 16 yo moscatel finished whisky released by an indie bottler: perhaps something left over from a Feis Ile or Distillery Exclusive experiment? If you have any ideas, please write in below. The bottler in question is the Alistair Walker Whisky Company, who put out all their releases under the Infrequent Flyers label. While the company is relatively new, Alistair Walker has been around in the whisky world for a while. He’s the son of Billy Walker, ex of Benriach/Glendronach, now at Glenallachie. Indeed, he was the source of the information on Glendronach’s “single cask” practices that led to this post, early in the blog’s career. Of course, none of that has anything to do with this whisky but I got a bit of a kick out of it when I found out. Continue reading →

Kilchoman 7, 2011, Madeira Finish (for Spec’s)

Posted on by


Next up in wine-bothered peated whisky week is a young Kilchoman. This is a madeira finish that was bottled for Spec’s in Texas and released in 2019. (The cask number is 763/2012 but this was distilled in 2011.) I don’t know that I’ve ever had a madeira finished Kilchoman—though I have enjoyed madeira finishes/double maturations from other distilleries (Springbank most prominently). Let’s hope this one is better than Monday’s Ballechin.

Kilchoman 7, 2011, Madeira Finish (56.8%; for Spec’s; from a bottle split)

Nose: Sweet peat off the top (pipe tobacco) and quite a bit of ash; a slight vegetal note as well (bell pepper). On the next few sniffs the sweet notes include charred pork; some dried orange peel behind as well. With time the peat backs off and quite a bit of vanilla emerges. A squirt of water and there’s a big hit of cream and coffee cake; a little bit of apricot as well under all that. Continue reading →

Pizza Karma (Apple Valley, MN)

Posted on by


By the time this posts we’ll be off on our summer travels. But I have a couple of Twin Cities restaurant reports cued up to post while we’re gone and here is the first one: a an account of a couple of lunches at the new branch of Pizza Karma in Apple Valley. The first Pizza Karma opened in Eden Prairie in 2017. We had been interested but it was a long way to go for what seemed then like an uncertain proposition. During the height of the pandemic we did make it out to Eden Prairie to eat Indian pizza at Bombay Pizza Kitchen. We mostly enjoyed that meal and it strengthened our resolve to eat soon at Pizza Karma. But for one reason or another we never got around to it. That is until they opened a branch much closer to us, in Apple Valley. We’ve now eaten two lunches there in the last month. Herewith my report. Continue reading →

Ballechin 10, 2010, Marsala Cask

Posted on by


Let’s keep the Edradour train going a little bit longer. This week will be a week of wine-bothered peated whiskies but we’ll begin with a Ballechin—which, as you know, is the name of the peated variant of Edradour. A slightly dangerous start to the week: I really did not like the first Edradour last week and that was from a marsala cask; well, this Ballechin is also from a marsala cask. Let’s hope for the best.

Ballechin 10, 2010, Marsala Cask (59.1%; from a bottle split)

Nose: Sweet, slightly rubbery peat off the top. The rubber is in the vein of gaskets on old medicine bottles. The peat gets more vegetal/organic on the second sniff: a damp, mossy log behind which some small furry creature is rotting. As it sits a fair bit of ash comes through the smells of  damp rot and there’s some fruit behind it too (orange peel, a bit of plum); some charred meat as well. With more time the peat wallop softens a bit; the salt is more palpable here too now. Mellower still with a squirt of water; still a lot of smoke but the organic/vegetal notes are gone; the salt and the citrus come to the fore too now. Continue reading →

Edradour 2000-2016 (for Tiger’s Finest Selection)

Posted on by


Edradour week began very unpromisingly on Monday with a single marsala cask bottled by a Taiwanese outfit named Or Sileis. It moved all the way up to middling on Wednesday with the 2019 release of the official Caledonia Selection. Which way will things go with today’s closer? Oh shit, did I mention this was a Taiwanese bottling as well? Can you feel the dramatic tension? This is the oldest of the trio at 15 or 16 years of age, and is from a single sherry cask. In case you’re wondering about the name, it refers to Tiger Huang, who is apparently “a famous whisky industry practitioner in Taiwan“. Is Tiger his real name or a nickname? Why can’t a nickname be a real name? What is this, an interrogation? Why haven’t you mentioned that there’s also a Taiwanese pop singer named Tiger Huang? Did she have something to do with this? And how about the “strategy and transformation leader” ex of McKinsey? How the hell are there so many people named Tiger Huang? What exactly is going on here? Continue reading →

Balwoo Gongyang (Seoul, March 2023)

Posted on by


Most of my meals in Seoul in March were eaten at either Namdaemun Market (here and here) or Gwangjang Market (here), with only a few eaten at sit-down restaurants. Of these restaurant meals the one that was least like the others was my lunch at Balwoo Gongyang in Insadong. This both because it was a relatively expensive meal (though not more expensive than my dinner at Wonjo Agujjim) in a more formal restaurant, and because it was an entirely vegetarian meal, and one also sans onion and garlic. This because Balwoo Gongyang specializes in Korean Buddhist temple cuisine. The provision of this meal is not in a spartan temple setting, however. As noted, it’s a formal restaurant with high prices; it has also received recognition from Michelin; and the meal takes the form of your choice of tasting menus. Continue reading →

Edradour 12 “Caledonia Selection”, 2019 Release

Posted on by


This week of Edradour reviews got off to a very shaky start—putting it mildly—with Monday’s marsala cask for the Taiwanese bottler, Or Sileis. I am hoping there will be a major course correction with today’s whisky, which is the 2019 release of the official 12 yo Caledonia Selection. There’s an interesting story about why it’s called Caledonia Selection, but I can’t remember what it is and am too sleepy now to look it up. If you know, or can be arsed to look it up, please write in below. What I can tell you is that it is double matured in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks. You’re welcome. Now, let’s see what it’s like.

Edradour 12 “Caledonia Selection”, 2019 Release (46%; double matured in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks; from a bottle split)

Nose: Now, these sherry casks have not covered up the idiosyncratic Edradour character: that beany, slighly rubbery thing (gaskets on old medicine bottles) is the main note alongside the sweet sherry notes of raisins and orange peel. A few drops of water and it mostly feels a little flatter; a bit of toffee maybe. Continue reading →

Khâluna III (Minneapolis)

Posted on by


I ate at Khâluna twice in 2022, once after a work event and once with the missus and friends. Both meals were among the highlights of my Twin Cities restaurant outings in 2022. We had planned to go back again this year for dinner. As it happened, it was once again a work event that was the occasion for it. My department held a retreat* in the Twin Cities and I was asked to help figure out dinner after, somewhere not too far away from where we spent the day in discussion. It was a Monday and we were a large group and through a process of elimination we arrived at Khâluna. Not that it was simple. We were originally to be a group of 10-12 and Khâluna’s largest tables in the restaurant seat eight. Booking the private dining space was outside our budget; this left one option: their so-called Patio Lounge. This is one end of their large covered patio space, where up to 14 guests can be accommodated on a combination of couches and poufs. There’s a minimum required spend of $350 but as we were certain to pass it, we made the booking. Quite predictably, by the morning of the event our dinner numbers went down to eight. But we were glad to be in the lounge space anyway as it made for a more convivial gathering. Here’s how the meal itself went. Continue reading →

Edradour 2011-2020 (for Or Sileis)

Posted on by


It has been almost two years since I last reviewed any Edradour. Well, that’s not, strictly speaking, true: I have reviewed a number of Ballechins in the intervening period. (Ballechin, as you doubtless know, is the name of the peated variant of Edradour.) But it’s been a while since I’ve reviewed the distillery’s namesake brand; and so, let’s do a whole week of Edradour. First up is a somewhat obscure release. This is a first-fill marsala hogshead put out by a Taiwanese independent bottler named Or Sileis. Now, I enjoyed the old Ballechin #5 Marsala Cask back in the day; but it is also true that I generally like wine cask whiskies more when peat is involved. Peat is not involved here. Is that bad news? I’m not sure, by the way, whether this was a full-term maturation in the marsala hogshead or if it was finished in it for a period of months or years. The confusing thing is that the cask is said to have yielded 403 bottles, which is a lot for a hogshead bottled at cask strength. If you know more about this, please do write in below. Continue reading →

Eating at Gwangjang Market, Pt. 1 (Seoul, March 2023)

Posted on by


Back to my favourite place eat when I was in Seoul in March: Gwangjang Market. I have already posted a look at the market’s evening food scene, replete with a truly excessive gallery of images. That report did not, however, take in any of the four dinners I ate at Gwangjang Market on four successive evenings. Here now is the first of those reports, which covers the first and second dinner. The first dinner comprised two courses eaten across two establishments: first, dumpling soup eaten sitting down at an establishment on the main drag; and then, for dessert, as it were, fried chicken picked up from a vendor on one of the side alleys who did not offer seating. The next night I went back specifically for yukhoe, or seasoned beef tartare, and repaired to one of a few establishments that specialize in it: Changshin Yukhoe. (A video from this second dinner got some people very angry with me on Instagram—but more on that later.) Continue reading →

Bunnahabhain 13, 2009 (Sansibar for Finest Whisky, Berlin)

Posted on by


This week of reviews of sherried Bunnahabhains began with the distillery’s release for Feis Ile 2022. I did not care for that one. That was followed by the 2021 release of the Bunnahabhain 12 CS. Now, that one I really liked. This last review is of a 13 yo single sherry butt that was bottled by Sansibar for Finest Whisky in Berlin (a whisky store, I think). Will it keep the week’s trajectory going even higher? Let’s see.

Bunnahabhain 13, 2009 (54.4%; Sansibar for Finest Whisky, Berlin; sherry butt; from a bottle split)

Nose: Not quite as rich as the  12 yo CS but in the general ballpark. Less orange peel here; instead a fair bit of pencil lead. The savoury notes pop out on the second sniff. The fruit begins to expand as it sits: some dried orange peel, yes, but also some cherry; a bit of toffee and salt as well. With a few drops of water some of the oak emerges here as well (dusty rather than spicy) but there’s more toffee as well. Continue reading →

The Weekday Lunch Thali at Godavari (Eden Prairie, MN)

Posted on by


On the weekend I posted the second of two reports of the lunch thali meals I ate in New Jersey towards the end of April. The first of these was at Kathiyawadi Kitchen and was really excellent. The second was at Samudhra, and while I didn’t like it nearly as much as I had Kathiyawadi Kitchen’s thali, resizing the photographs from that meal earlier last week put me in the mood for another thali lunch. My hands-down favourite thali in the Twin Cities metro—and indeed my pick for best lunch deal in the area—used to be the weekday thali at Kabob’s Indian Grill in Bloomington. Alas, as has been reported in the comments here on multiple occasions, Kabob’s no longer offers that thali. Nor, for that matter, does Kumar’s in Apple Valley still offer their weekday lunch thali—it’s been replaced by a buffet. Thankfully, Godavari in Eden Prairie—the restaurant that has topped all editions of my Twin Cities South Asian restaurant rankings—now offers a lunch thali. And so it was to Eden Prairie I went for lunch on the day after the last day of my term. Here is what I found. Continue reading →