Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky

I am not a fan of grain whiskies, but i have had a few that were good enough. One of those, was the Bain's 15yo, which i was lucky to try when i never expected to. After that, i bought a sample of this one, the award winning one. (I believe it was 2018 or 2017 when it won best grain whisky of the world). So i bought it, and... it was not worthy. This dram, is a smooth, normal whisky. It can be defined as the most standard grain whisky you'll ever had. Bottled at 43%abv, golden color. On the nose, your typical grain whisky: Vanilla, Butter, Fresh maize fields; Citric, lemon and Lime. Aroma changes a little bit after first sip, revealing dulce de leche and fondant. On the palate, Vanilla and pepper. Creamy. Nothing else. Aftertaste is corn. Eating corn that is, actually you can feel the flavors from chewing fried corn with butter. Overall this is a simple, smooth, normal, boring grain whisky. Forgettable in every sense. 68 over 100 is my score for it.

Nose: Lemon peel, grass, caramel, and vanilla. Palate: incredibly sweet. Butterscotch, vanilla, creme brûlée, and cinnamon. Finish: Medium, mostly citrus fruits with some wood and baking spice. Overall: BELOW AVERAGE. While it is reasonably priced, the only real appeal to this whiskey is that it’s South African, and therefore different. It’s a single grain whiskey that essentially only incorporates corn in the mashbill. Because of this, it’s flavor profile is very similar to a bourbon, but there are far better bourbons available for the price. There are also single grain whiskies that are much better than this. Finally, there are better examples of whiskey from countries outside Scotland or America. If you’re curious about this, give it a try, but I highly doubt you’ll buy a second bottle.

Nov 2019. Clear gold. Small tulip. Powerful sweet vanilla, banana, maple syrup, sweet butterscotch, sweeten kernel fruit, sweet caramel vanilla brûlée and vanilla pudding in nose. Medium full body with wood spicy, dried sweet spicy, butterscotch, maple syrup, overripe pear and overripe melon in palate. Awesome sweet balance with wood spicy, like a intense and heavy straight punch on face. Sweet smooth finish. Lot’s of oak in both nose and taste but not like bourbon whiskey which contains plastic, paraffin or even petroleum nose. And definitely more intense than the Suntory Chita single grain due to the double 1st fill bourbon cask maturation.

A rich, Single Grain South African Whisky by James Sedgwick Distillery made from 100% locally sourced yellow maize; it is double-aged for 3 full years in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks & then transferred to different set of first-fill ex-Bourbon casks for an additional 18 to 30 months. It has a rich birth with vanilla, toffee, custard & floral notes; while a full & balanced life adds notes of vanilla creams, icing sugar, orchard fruits, cardamom, oak, corn & banana; that leads to a death of medium length with hints of sweet grapefruit. August / December 2018 / November 2019

Nov 2019. Clear medium deep gold. Powerful oaky vanilla, toasted sweet new wood, tree bark, new American oak, toffee, Christmas cake, and cinnamon, star anise and lots of sweet spicy in the banquet. Dry, medium full body with vanilla, honey, tree bark, sweet banana syrup, plastic, dried spicy and some coke in the palate. Good young Woody single grain, medium new lightly toasted oak finish.

Day 3 of my 2017 advent. Conventional smell, in a pleasant way. Thin, spicy flavor. Very unique and warming to the core. It’s an exotic flavor. If I ever try it again, it will be over plenty of ice (to tame the burn, and hopefully enhance the unique flavor). Would try it again, but at this point wouldn’t buy a whole bottle.