The whisky tastings comprise Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky, Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish and Three Ships 5 Year Old Premium Select whereas the food samples include apple chips, smoked apple chips, smoked beef, blue and goats cheese with fennel and celery, smoked snoek, 70% dark chocolate mousse and pumpkin pie. Not technically a whisky food pairing, however something I make regularly. I love coffee; I love ice cream. Add some Knob Creek Bourbon, and you have magic. Perfect for a grown-up dessert in summer. Best of all, it is easy to make, without too much fuss. Fast forward four years, and today I have added the Bain’s Symphony whisky release to my collection. It is wonderful to see this small grain whisky brand going from strength to strength and finding its feet, in SA but also on the world stage.

After standing for a little while, the red wine notes wafted off and left ripe red fruits, spicy toffee, pineapples and vanilla. Hints of rum and raisin ice cream with a woody undertone. Water softens the alcohol but brings more red wine to the front. Finish: Medium on dark chocolate and cloves. With water, the cloves are still there but accompanied by vanilla and varnish instead.

Outside the box

I wanted to make a single grain whisky and after some tests I chose maize, and so the only thing left to play with was the wood.”

We decided to offer guests a unique experience. Everyone appreciates a really good whisky. Add food and you have an extraordinary taste experience,” says Simon. I first tasted the regular release of Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky a few years ago as part of an international whisky tasting that I co-organised. Bain’s is from South Africa and so it added not just another country, but another continent to the line-up. It had other things going for it too, as it was well reviewed, balanced the budget for the tasting, and seemed to be a good opening dram because it is a low ABV single grain. Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky, which was first released in South Africa in 2009 and the USA in 2015, is aged for three years in medium-charred bourbon oak casks, used initially to mature bourbon. Andy Watts, the current Master Distiller, is only the 6th since the distillery was established in 1886. [3] Awards [ edit ] It is not for the faint of heart or for a newbie. Let it breathe for 5 to 6 minutes before trying it. Andy Watts, the Master Distiller, has again shown his brilliance and his amazing skill.

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COLOUR: Golden-yellow wheat, and here in the Kruger National Park, it is the colour of the setting sun. Another whisky cheese pairing I regularly enjoy. I paired the Camembert cheese with various whiskies, but the pairing with the Bains’ whisky remains my favourite. My tasting notes for the Bain’s whisky included sweet hints of toffee, banana and vanilla. The Bill: R350p/p | Welcome drink, distillery tour and three whiskies paired with five food samples.

We went away on holiday, and I took some whisky with us. I have been loving the Bain’s 15 yo and was keen to try the Bain’s Shiraz Cask finish 10 yo whisky. FINISH: The finish is relatively short, but that might be because it is a grain whisky. The Bain’s ends in notes of warming spice and bitter citrus. It remains one of our favourite easy-drinking whiskies. During 2021, Distell released a Bain’s Symphony 7 yo grain whisky. Only 6 000 bottles were released and it was easily the best dram I tasted during 2021.

Looking online, I also found a High West Double Syrah Finish and the Mythology Syrah Finish whiskey. However, this is one of the only grain whisky releases aged in Shiraz, and that makes this whisky genuinely unique. A Shiraz finish is rarely selected as a whisky finish; however, it is not the first time that the JS distillery has experimented with this type of cask. A couple of years ago, a Three Ships Shiraz cask finish whisky was released as part of their Masters Collection. Sipping the Shiraz Cask is like sitting down for an hour with Albert Einstein. You dress formally, listen more than speak, and come away dazed but overwhelmed by the brilliance. The Shiraz Cask is a whisky to savour and appreciate. Today I look at my favourite whisky food pairings that I have tried over the last couple of years. I capture my whisky tastings in a pretty notebook. I love the act of scribbling notes, pictures and drawing emotions on paper. Sometimes a whisky creates such strong feelings that it is easier to draw an emotive face on paper than to write down the emotion words. Old school, I know. John loves technology, and he captures his thoughts via speech recognition software. It was love at first taste. I knew that this was what, for me, perfect whisky tasted like. Unfortunately, it took a year or so before it was released as a distillery bottling.