gentlemen of bryanston single malt appreciation club · heart of pretoria, on the highveld of south...

Minutes of GOBSMAC Meeting Thursday 20th April

2017

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GENTLEMEN OF BRYANSTON SINGLE MALT

APPRECIATION CLUB

Present: Angus MacLeod (Chairman) AM G Veale GV F vd Merwe FBD I Murdoch IM T Berdanis TB R Hoeksma RH

Absent JJ/CW/DR/DK/RC/PJ

THIS MEETING – BLIND TASTING

Six decanters were proffered. Two from AM, two from RH and two from TB.

Whiskies presented were as follows:-

AM

1) Cardhu 12yr old 40% alc

2) Auchentoshan 21 yr old, 43% Ltd release

RH

3) Draymans Highveld Single Malt 43% Price R540, Origin Pretoria

4) Aberlour A’bunadh, 60.3% ALC, Batch 35, Sherry casks, Cask Strength, Price R2000.

TB

5) Talisker 10 yr old 45.8%

6) Laphroaig PX Cask , Alc 48%

Enjoyment ratings were as follows:-


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AM GV FvdM IM TB RH AVE

Cardhu 12yr old

85 85 85 87 82 82 84.3

Auchentoshan 21yr old

80 85 80 83 75 78 80.2

Draymans Highveld

83 80 81 81 78 79 80.3

Aberlour A’bunadh

79 80 86 82 84 77 81.3

Talisker 10yr old

88 80 91 85 87 85 86.0

Laphroaig PX Cask

89 85 92 87 95 81 88.2

RH brought a couple from the “left field”. The bottle from Pretoria got a good score although

probably higher than if we had known it was from Pretoria beforehand. Good to taste first and

then disclose.

The cask strength Aberlour was brutal but after dilution was rather good.

The peaty scotch again got the highest scores.

Chairman thanked everyone for their contributions. RH mentioned it was pleasing to spend time

with real friends although he was a little more reticent regarding those who were missing.

Bottling notes may be referred to below. R1300 collected. R600 for food and drinks.

Cardhu 12 Year Old

(70cl, 40%)

£

Cardhu 12 Bottling Note

A well-balanced, gentle single malt from Speyside. Cardhu 12 is a very well put together malt.


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Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

Nose: Good body, decent sweetness, richness. Streaks of smoke, apple peels, bruised pears.

Palate: Smooth, rounded, gentle sweetness, soft peat. A little smoke whispers sweet nothings.

Finish: Long, dry smoke, malty touch of peat.

Auchentoshan 21 Bottling Note

A 21 year old single malt, triple distilled and aged in second fill sherry casks, though nothing is lost

to the power of the sherry. This bottling stands as the flagship for the core Auchentoshan range.


Nose: Soft and supple. Dry grass. Fruity notes, a citrus edge and a very floral honey.

Palate: Oily, nuttiness. Dry and rounded with sugared peels.

Finish: Apricot conserve on granary toast with dry citrus notes.

Highveld Single Malt Whisky 750ml R 540. 00

Drayman’s Single Malt Whisky is made in the same way as its Scottish inspiration, albeit on a

craft scale. South African whisky legislation is almost the same, which means Drayman’s whisky

faces the same stringent quality controls as Scotch. Being on the highveld, the unique maturation

influence of terroir was anticipated with excitement. I have a small but devoted operation where

care and passion are the essential ingredients and my aim is to make premium quality whisky says

Moritz Kallmeyer. I do know that in consumer perception I can never in a 100 years hope to match

the legendary counterparts from Speyside or Islay. However, I am both humbled and enthusiastic

about the challenge of striving to achieve “Scotch” perfection in South Africa.

Product Description

Drayman’s Highveld Single Malt

In the old days all provisions, including casks of local beer and imported Scottish whisky were transported by dray cart. Drayman’s is a craft brewery and craft distillery in the heart of Pretoria, on the highveld of South Africa where no single malt whisky has ever been made. This province, famous for being the Cradle of Humankind now also boasts this tiny distilling pioneer who makes rich, single malt whisky, similar in style to those that made the Highlands and Islay regions of Scotland famous.

Drayman’s Single Malt Whisky is made in the same way as its Scottish inspiration, albeit on a craft scale. South African whisky legislation is almost the same, which means Drayman’s whisky faces the same stringent quality controls as Scotch. Being on the highveld, the unique maturation influence of terroir was anticipated with excitement. I


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have a small but devoted operation where care and passion are the essential ingredients and my aim is to make premium quality whisky says

Moritz Kallmeyer. I do know that in consumer perception I can never in a 100 years hope to match the legendary counterparts from Speyside or Islay. However, I am both humbled and enthusiastic about the challenge of striving to achieve “Scotch” perfection in South Africa.

Handcrafted Mashing

Low protein, 2 row barley malt is used exclusively in the mashtun. A small portion of imported Peated Malt grains are blended into the mash for the distinctive and highly cherished smoky character. Malt is crushed on site with a Bamford two roller mill. Local water with medium hardness is charcoal filtered and softened at the distillery. Mashing has only two waters, 65°C which rests for 60 minutes before running off and then 78°C. These two make up a wort specific gravity of 1.060. Mashing and runoff takes 3 hours. Not that mashing is a new experience for Moritz Kallmeyer – he has single handedly done more than 2000 mashes in his Craftbrewery. After mashing, which activates the conversion of all the starches in sweet maltsugar, runoff is initiated. Emphasis is placed on achieving a bright, clear runoff.

Fermentation

The wort is collected in a holding tank prior to cooling. The washbacks are stainless steel which facilitate easy in place cleaning. Fermentation is for 7 days at 30°C and the result is a wash of about 7% alcohol. The ale yeast collected from the brewery’s beer fermenters is pitched. After fermentation the wash is subjected to an additional 2 days to encourage a secondary malolactic fermentation – which creates a smooth distillate.

Distillation

The stillman preheats the wash through a plate and frame heat-exchanger prior to distillation. A double distillation system where low wines are redistilled, is done. The result of the spirit-run is only 10% new make spirit, because a very clean middle cut or “heart” is taken to mature as whisky. Foreshots and feints comprise 45% of the distillate and are returned to the potstill for re-distillation with every batch.


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Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 35

(70cl, 60.3%)

Aberlour A'Bunadh #35 Bottling Note

If you want intense, spicy Oloroso Sherry, masses of character, and at natural cask strength, all

for under £40, it has to be a'Bunadh. Batch 35 is a stonker!

Talisker 10 Year Old

(70cl, 45.8%)


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Talisker 10 Bottling Note

A classic Island dram from the Isle of Skye. Always highly rated, this was an Editor's Choice at

Whisky Magazine. Lots of spice and fresh, tangy peat.


Nose: Thick, pungent smoke. Notes of kippers, seaweed, apple peels. Fresh and fragrant.

Palate: Full bodied with huge plumes of smoke and volcanic, peppery peat. Intense.

Finish: Long finish, barley, malt.


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Laphroaig PX Cask Triple Matured

(100cl, 48%)

Laphroaig PX Cask Bottling Note

The Laphroaig PX Cask is made with whisky matured in three types of cask - American oak

casks, Quarter casks and the titular Pedro Ximénez casks. This leads to a flavour profile which

ties together classic, powerful Laphroaig smoke and wine-like sweetness. It was originally

released for Travel Retail.

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gentlemen of bryanston single malt appreciation club · heart of pretoria, on the highveld of south...

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