Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2009 （布萊迪艾雷島大麥2009）

Written by Ruey of The Ruey Review
Updated 23 Feb 2016

布萊迪艾雷島大麥2009是位於艾雷島中部海岸的布萊迪蒸溜所推出的一支非泥煤煙燻的單一純麥。這支酒的重點比較不在於它的蒸餾過程，透過這款單一純麥，布萊迪是要將某一年份的農作物原料以及當年的氣候以及地勢環境呈現於最後成品的享用體驗裡，從這個角度來看，它的的概念比較接近釀造葡萄酒的理念。布萊迪艾雷島大麥2009用的是2008年收割的大麥，來源是四個位於艾雷島中央的大麥農戶，大麥的品種為英國的“酒館老闆”以及“津橋”種。

這是在威士忌界裡面非常新的一個概念。通常威士忌蒸餾廠會著重於他們製程的一致性以及他們保留原味，也就是自己維持自己酒廠特別味道的一致性的功力。但是在葡萄酒的世界裡，年份、環境及葡萄的品種才能夠主宰一支葡萄酒的價值。而特定年份的酒的味道呈現出來之後以後就不會再有一樣的味道了，這才是標榜年份風土條件的酒的價值所在。布萊迪想要將這種觀念導入威士忌的世界裡，推出了這些年份酒... 至於是否真的能夠釀成一波威士忌革命，我們還是得拭目以待了。

KAVALAN Concertmaster Single Malt Whisky

Written by Ruey of The Ruey Review
Updated 16 Feb 2016

The first post of 2016 on the Ruey Review is on the King Car Distillery in Yilan, Taiwan. It is a thorough description of the very beautiful distillery but we never did provide comments on the actual whiskies it produces now did we? Well today’s whisky review is on the Kavalan Concertmaster, one of many King Car Distillery-produced whiskies.

The Concertmaster is the entry level Kavalan whisky- I mean it is the cheapest whisky Kavalan has to offer… but it is not cheap at all just so you know. It is matured in American Oak and finished in Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage port casks. The malts coming from these different finishes then get blended at the distillery into the Concertmaster.

There is no age statement on the Concertmaster as is the case for all Kavalan whiskies. The distillery only began operation in 2005, it would have been a bit odd to state 3 year-old malts (Kavalan whiskies began selling in 2008). However, just because Kavalan whiskies do not stay in maturation casks as long as most Scotch do, it does not mean that they are not ready for malt fanatics to enjoy. As mentioned in “KAVALAN Whisky Distillery”, Taiwan sits beneath the Tropic of Cancer. Having a much warmer, humid environment, Kavalan whiskies receive more vibrant interactions with the casks, helping the whisky mature much faster than those sitting in the casks in Scotland.

The Revenant

Reviewed by Danny the Demented

Updated Feb 05 2016

JTHE REVENANT Official Trailer 2 (2015)

Don’t you just love it when, at the movies, you get to relax, forget about the stress from the everyday life, and be in somebody else’s shoes for just a brief moment? These tiny breathers the moving pictures provide can be such pick-me-ups. People go to the movies to escape from reality so they can continue to bear reality. Stress-relief is vital on this journey we call life.

So......yeah this movie does none of that. It’s like, super gruesome. I am like, so serious. If you are short on stress in your stock, look no further, this movie supplies plenty.

Inspired by a true story (amazingly), The Revenant is the new film by acclaimed director Alejandro Iñárritu. It tells the story of a badly injured hunter/scout Glass (Leo DiCaprio), finding strength and courage under extreme circumstances, to his road of revenge on those who left him for dead, betrayed vows and honour, namely Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). This is a tale of both survival and revenge. So yeah...some heavy shit.

Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve (約翰走路金牌珍藏)

Written by Ruey of The Ruey Review
Updated 2 Feb 2016

由蘇格蘭生產的威士忌中，有九成是調和式威士忌；而其中全球銷量最好的莫過於大家熟悉的約翰走路（Johnnie Walker）了。今天要跟大家分享的威士忌就是屬於該系列，也可說是主宰威士忌世界的霸主級酒款之一： 「約翰走路金牌珍藏」（Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve）。

金標的約翰走路的調和比例其實是來自於公司創辦者約翰沃克（John “Johnnie” Walker）的孫子亞歷山大二世之筆記；這是亞歷山大二世為了紀念約翰走路創業百年而特地調和出來的味道。這個味道包含了15種不同的單一純麥，但在第一次世界大戰期間，某幾種酒源短缺，所以始終無法正式推出。所幸，後人於1997年依照亞歷山大二世所留下來的調和筆記、並以15年~18年以上的單一純麥下去調和，終於推出了「約翰走路金標」。不過，到了2013年，約翰走路改變策略，為這款酒去除了原酒年齡的門檻，而以原酒的製程及味道為主要篩選單一純麥的條件，重新推出了這款Non-Age Statement（不標榜酒齡、而是標榜酒味）的調和式威士忌：約翰走路金牌珍藏。