Bains Single Grain South African Whisky, 70 cl

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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. The Bain’s Symphony is the 8th bottle of Bain’s release in my collection. They first released the Bain’s 15 yo whisky, and it is probably one of the best drams I have ever tasted. This was followed by the 18 yo series with a Fino Cask, Oloroso and a PX cask. Earlier in 2021, a Shiraz Cask finish landed and then a 21 yo Double Wood whisky. 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. 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. The cross-dual dishes were selected in such a way that they don’t only match one particular whisky – try them with the various whiskies and decide for yourself which pairing strikes gold,” Simon adds.

The Bain’s 15 yo whisky is the first in the Founder’s Collection series and pays tribute to Andrew Geddes Bain, who built the Bain’s Kloof Pass. More editions in the Founders collection include the Bain’s 18 yo PX Cask, Oloroso Cask, and Fino casks. The Bain’s range has also expanded with a 10 yo Shiraz cask and even a 21 yo Double Cask. Like the standard Bain’s whisky, the Shiraz cask is a grain whisky double matured in ex-bourbon casks for about five years. Following its initial double maturation, this whisky was finished in ex-Shiraz American oak casks for five years. The parent company for Bain’s is Distell, which also has brands such as Amarula, Savanna and Hunter’s Dry. In 2013 it bought Scotch whisky producer, Burn Stewart Distillers.

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NOSE: As I opened the bottle, the red wine nearly overpowers everything else. After the glass stood for a few minutes, the more traditional Bains tropical fruit and sweetness came through. Hints of oak, vanilla and red fruits with pepper. JSD released a total of 6,000 bottles. The standard Bain’s is bottled at 43%, the Bain’s Symphony whisky is bottled at a respectable 48.6% ABV. The first time I tasted the Bain’s 15 yo whisky was about five years ago at The Only Whisky Show when Andy Watts had some in a beautiful decanter hidden underneath the table at his Three Ships stand. I was fortunate to taste the Chita Suntory single grain whisky and it was good to compare it to Bain’s single grain whisky. You can see what I thought of the Chita and if it lives up to the hype around Japanese whisky in my Chita blogpost.

Perhaps I also prefer paper because paper does not complain about my bad spelling. Capturing my thoughts digitally leaves me with many red-underlined miss spelt words that I first need to fix before I can continue. My beautiful book is more forgiving. My shorthand doesn’t need to be spelt correctly. COLOUR: Golden-yellow wheat, and here in the Kruger National Park, it is the colour of the setting sun. 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. 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.We deliver to a number of international destinations including the USA. Please use the 'Change Location' link above for an estimate in your local currency or find out more about international delivery

Nose: The nose of this dram seems to change every other sniff. At first, the nose brought a rich opening on old wooden furniture and cocoa dusted brazil nuts. After a couple of minutes, some Jamaican rum funk briefly comes out to play – rotting bananas and petrol. A few more minutes adds some grain whisky varnish on to the old wooden furniture, plus some cloves and flashes of prunes and caramel. After a longer time in the glass, it becomes a more typical grain with heavy varnish, some prunes, and occasional flashes of rotting bananas and caramel. With water, the focus is still on the varnish, with cloves still present and some added vanilla and cream. PALATE: Spicy with bits of oak intermingling with the sweetness and treacle notes. After adding water, more winter spices come through. There are cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg on the palate. The oak is also more pronounced. It is not a ‘big mouthful’ whisky but is smooth and easy drinking. 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. 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. Bain’s is a single grain whisky, matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks for 3 years, and then filled into another set of first-fill ex-bourbon casks for a few more years, making it around 6 years old.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. 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. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.