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. 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. 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.

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.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. Find sources: "Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( June 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) 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. We eat a lot of lamb over weekends. On the braai in summer and warming stews in winter. Weekends are the perfect time to experiment. I have tried this Garlic and Rosemary roasted lamb with various whiskies, but always return to the Ardbeg 10 yo. My tasting notes for the Ardbeg 10 yo included notes of peat and smoke, citrus and hints of vanilla. The Ardbeg 10 yo is a big complex whisky, but not overwhelmingly so.

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. 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 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.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. I wrote down my tasting notes for this whisky on the beautiful island during our holiday and just captured them here to remind us of our fabulous trip. 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. Finish: Medium on dark chocolate and cloves. With water, the cloves are still there but accompanied by vanilla and varnish instead. It needs no water and is perfectly drinkable, just like it is. More creamy vanilla and pepper come to the front if you want to add a few drops of water. Medium body and perfect for summer.

It flows past pine forests and areas rich in fynbos and Protea species. Bainskloof, situated in the Cape’s Floral Kingdom, is unique in that it has the highest ratio of plant species per land area in the world – a total of 8 600 species, of which 5 800 is endemic to the area.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.