I did a week of reviews of old single grain Scotch whiskies in October: a 43 yo North of Scotland, a 43 yo Invergordon, and a 40 yo Caledonian. Of the three, I was only particularly enthused by the Caledonian. Best to quit while ahead, you might say. Accordingly, here is another week of reviews of old single grain Scotch whiskies. Three completely different distilleries this time, all of whose names start with “c” (a good omen perhaps). They’re also all either from sherry casks or sherry finishes (the previous trio were all ex-bourbon). They’re also not quite as old as that 40-something trio. Well, one of them is older than all three of those but the other two are quite a bit younger. We’ll start the week with the youngest, a 27 yo Cameronbridge that was distilled in 1990 and received a sherry finish (of what duration, I do not know) before it was bottled in 2017 by the German bottler, Jack Wieber on the occasion of their 20th anniversary. You’d expect a quality pick for the occasion. Let’s see what I make of it. Continue reading
Category Archives: Jack Wieber
Clynelish 1996-2015, Prenzlow Portfolio (Jack Wieber)
Back to a sherry cask to close out this week of reviews of whiskies from highlands distilleries, and also to close out the month. We’ll go a bit further north than Tomatin, to Clynelish. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a sherry cask Clynelish; my last three reviews were all of bourbon casks of one kind or the other (here, here and here). Well, the label on this bottle does not specify the cask type but it was very clearly a sherry cask. It was distilled in 1996 and bottled in 2015 by Jack Wieber’s Whisky World in Germany (and it’s been even longer since I reviewed a Jack Wieber release). The “Prenzlow Portfolio” part of the name refers to the label painted by the artist, Alfred Prenzlow. I assume there were other Jack Wieber bottlings in this series with labels created by Alfred Prenzlow but I have not come across them. This is another of many bottles that I purchased almost 10 years ago but for some reason never got around to opening. Well, I finally opened it over the weekend. Here now are my notes. Continue reading
Bowmore 2001, “Wanted: Rabbit Franky The Mohre” (Jack Wieber)
Here is another bizarrely named release of Bowmore from Jack Wieber’s “Wanted” series. This was distilled in 2001 and was released in 2012. I have so far reviewed two others in this series (see here and here); those had odd names too but not quite as odd as this one, which I think I would, on the whole, rather not have explained. Well, I did like both of those a fair bit, so if oddness of name maps on to quality of whisky then I should be in for a treat. Let’s see how it goes.
Bowmore 2001, “Wanted: Rabbit Franky The Mohre” (53.4%; Jack Wieber; bourbon cask; from a purchased sample)
Nose: A little blank at first but then it starts getting both fruity (melon, a bit of guava) and coastal (seashells, brine). On the second sniff it’s also quite custardy and there’s some sweet and prickly peat too now. Fruitier with time. With water it gets a little mentholated but the custardy fruit is still to the fore. Continue reading
Jack’s Pirate Whisky, Das Gestohlene Schiff Part V
I confess that I purchased this whisky a few years ago for rather shallow reasons—two of them, in fact. First there was the irresistible label. I mean just look at that dog, peg leg and all. Then there’s the fact that this Islay malt, from an undisclosed distillery and of uncertain age, was billed as being finished for 17 months in a Port Ellen sherry cask. You have to support that kind of shamelessness. I had no expectations of the quality of the actual contents of the bottle and so didn’t open it for a very long time. Not, in fact, till this August when I took it, along with another bottle, to one of my friend Rich’s annual tastings celebrating sherried whiskies—the same one that featured the Glengoyne 25, the Bowmore Feis Ile 2012 and the Glenfaclas 1968, among others. The other bottle I took was my main contribution—this one was just a novelty. But as it turned out a number of the people in attendance had it in their top three for the night, and I have to say I rather liked it too. This was a very pleasant surprise. I’d meant to review it formally right away but somehow never got around to it. Until now. Let’s see how it’s developed as it’s sat for a couple of months with some headspace in the bottle. Continue reading
Bowmore 1996, “Wanted: The Smallest Whisky Shop on Four Wheels” (Jack Wieber)
I referred to this bottle a few weeks ago as bearing perhaps the most whimsical design in Jack Wieber’s “Wanted” series of Bowmores. (Click here for full effect). While the label only notes the distillation year of 1996, an email to the bottlers yielded a very quick clarifying response that it was bottled in 2012 (making it either 15 or 16 years old). Alas, a follow-up email asking for a little more information on the series received no response–but I’m sure they have more important things to do than respond to idiot bloggers.
Bowmore 1996-2012, “Wanted: The Smallest Whisky Shop on Four Wheels” (53.3%; Jack Wieber’s Whisky World, bourbon cask; from a purchased sample.)
Nose: Ah, classic Bowmore flowers with a nice buttery, vanilla topping. And now here comes the sweet peat and brine (like sweet sea urchin), getting minerally and acidic (though not very). Really quite buttery and unctuous. With time the butteriness recedes and is replaced by ozone and something a little more acidic. Water brings out some lemon and brings back the butter/cream: let’s say lemon curd. Continue reading
Bowmore 1999, “Wanted: The Question Mark Man” (Jack Wieber)
Jack Wieber’s Whisky World is yet another German store/independent bottler with a strong reputation for cask selection. Most of their releases seem to be in series–the Old Train Line series, which features some very old whiskies, is very well-known, as is the Castles series. Both of these series have classy labels with a vintage feel (go ahead, look them up on Whiskybase). Their Wanted series, however, which only seems to include bottlings of Bowmore from the late 80s on, adds wackiness to the vintage feel. The labels feature Old West style Wanted poster art and the whiskies have names like “The Loving Brothers”, “The Dead Mouse Eater” (apparently a reference to Serge Valentin), “The Question Mark Man” (which I am reviewing today), and most whimsical of all, “The Smallest Whisky Shop on Four Wheels” (which I will be reviewing in a few days).
While I’m opposed to wackiness for its own sake in every area of life, Jack Wieber’s usually pulls it off with style; and as long as the whisky is good, it’s nice to see bottlers who don’t take themselves too seriously. Too many other independent bottlers choose to go in the opposite direction of a “premium” look and tone, and I find that more tedious (not to mention, usually more expensive). Continue reading