Lemon

Gouden Carolus Single Malt

Gouden Carolus Single Malt

Het Anker is a Belgian brewery with a long and proud history, beginning in the 15th Century. Gouden Carolus is maybe their most well known beer, though they also produce La Cambre, Maneblusser, and the Konishi sake line. In 2010, the owners decided to open a distillery and launch their first whisky in 2013. The Gouden Carolus Single Malt is that first release, and the distillery boasts a few more expressions along with a Belgian Cream in the style of an Irish Cream. This single malt is based on the Gouden Carolus Tripel beer. It is aged in ex-bourbon casks and then finished in Het Anker casks that have previously held some mixture of their beer. The bottle is a distinctive square shape and, while not seen in the images here, comes with a box that mirrors an image of the bottle on the entire length of one side. 

Nikka Whisky from the Barrel

Nikka Whisky from the Barrel

Nikka Whisky was launched in 1940. Nikka is short for Nippon Kaju, slightly shortened from Dai Nippon Kaju or “The Great Japanese Juice Company”, the name of the corporation Masataka Taketsuru founded in 1934 after returning to Japan from Scotland and leaving Suntory after a decade to form his own business. This company sold apple products at first, while the whisky aged. Today, the brands produced under the Nikka umbrella come from the Miyagikyo and Yoichi distilleries primarily if they are made in Japan. The Nikka Whisky from the Barrel is made from a blend of 100 different batches of malt and grain whiskies to integrate the flavors and bottled at what is believed to be an ideal proofage. 

Ardbeg Scorch

Ardbeg Scorch

Ardbeg is a distillery that loves its marketing. This is not a slight against the distillery, just a fact of the marketplace. But Ardbeg likes to have fun with their one-off yearly committee releases. No two are alike and they are not afraid to embrace a story. Even if it involves flavor dragons and terrible puns. The Ardbeg Scorch is their 2021 committee release and the box is bedecked with artful flavor dragons breathing, presumably, flavor fire. The Scorch in the name derives from the heavy char Ardbeg gave to the barrels this scotch matured in for an undisclosed period of time. Whether you embrace the fanciful story or not, however, the flavor abides.