Tiffany’s New York Bar calls itself the Capital of Whisky in Hong Kong. Located at the Intercontinental Grand Stanford Hotel, it offers one of the largest selections of whiskies in the city.
Supervisor Lars Ruecker sent me a selection of their latest bottlings, including a Mars Tsunuki 2017 and Kavalan Solist 2014 bottled for Hong Kong Whisky Festival 2024.
Invergordon 36 yo 1988 (48,7%, Cask 88 for Tiffany’s New York Bar 2024, PX sherry finish #Z22/07080, 240 btl.)
Nose: instead of the expected vanilla / coconut combination, I’m getting a sourness of the sherry cask. Then salted peanuts and leathery notes, with sour plums and red apples. A wee hint of pipe tobacco in the distance. I probably wouldn’t have recognized this as a grain whisky.
Mouth: now the buttery vanilla and coconut sweetness is noticeable in the background, but the sherry is on the same level. Hints of gingerbread and brown sugar, a little chocolate and sour plums. Then back to sweet cereals, along with herbal tea, baking spice and a slight hint of vermouth. Some salted caramel too.
Finish: quite long, with bittersweet sherry notes, some salty wood and blackcurrant.
Nice to see this grain divert from the common vanilla / coconut / glue profile. Not the smoothest style of sherry perhaps, but it certainly adds complexity. Interesting selection. Available from the Grand Stanford online shop.
The next whisky is a Glenlivet 2006, also from a sherry cask. Signatory Vintage released dozens of these casks over the past few years, often very good. The label was inspired by a famous car photographer who stayed in the Grand Stanford hotel.
Glenlivet 17 yo 2006 (54,8%, Signatory Vintage ‘High Octane’ for Tiffany’s New York Bar 2023, first fill sherry butt #900795, 153 btl.)
Nose: a fruitier style of sherry. Raisins, redcurrants and raspberry jam, along with floral honey and hints of toffee. Rather creamy and candied. Then it becomes drier, on tobacco and cocoa coated nuts. Subtle hints of leather too.
Mouth: really fruity again. More red berries and grapes, with orange marmalade, toffee and butterscotch. Then red apples with honey drizzle, light citrusy notes and hints of cinnamon. Hints of roasted coffee appear towards the end, as well as some (measured) oaky notes. A few drops of water help to round off the edges.
Finish: long and honeyed, with tobacco, orange peels and oak spice.
Pretty flawless sherry maturation, a style that reminds us of the 1990s when this was common in A’Bunadhs, Macallans and 105s. Perhaps shining even more after the Invergordon, but really good whisky in any case. Score: 89/100
Up next is the Japanese Mars whisky. Actually Mars is a general brand name for two distilleries and three barrel storage facilities. This 2017 vintage was distilled at the Tsunuki distillery and aged at (the warmer island) Yakushima. It is a heavily peated spirit of around 50 ppm phenols, marking the end of a small series. The label shows again the interior of Tiffany’s New York Bar, taken over by the cats.
Mars Tsunuki 6 yo 2017 (58%, OB for Tiffany’s New York Bar 2024, heavily peated, sherry hogshead #2094, 252 btl.)
Nose: intruiging and quite impressive. Very oriental right away, with this mix of pine wood, a little cedar, camphor and medicinal herbs, and a fine hint of smoke and incense. Forest floors. Then plenty of mango, smoked lemon and crushed banana in the background, with hints of old papers and butter cookie dough. Some brown sugar and sherry spice. Mint and Japanese tea leaves too. Pretty great.
Mouth: sweet and lively, now leaving more room for the (high quality) sherry cask. Sweet plums, vanilla and dried apricots along with sandalwood and cigar boxes. Some maple syrup. Bonfire ashes, cigars and charcoal. Then cumin comes out, with smoked herbs and a salty edge. Tarte tatin, ground coffee and black peppercorns in the end.
Finish: long, spicy and sweet, with walnuts, bacon and light mentholated notes.
There’s a healthy dose of peat, expertly matched to oriental spice and a really nice sherry sweetness. A pretty perfect combination, hard to believe this is so young. This can be (pre-)ordered through the Grand Stanford web shop. Score: 91/100
We stay in Asia with a Kavalan bottling from a single Port cask. Just short of 10 years.
Kavalan Solist – Port Cask 9 yo 2014 (60,2%, OB for Tiffany’s New York Bar & HK Whisky Festival 2024, cask #0140311068A, 147 btl.)
Nose: flawless and intense. Plenty of raisins, red plums and fresh figs. Then moist tobacco hints, as well as some earthy notes. Some lemon zest and solventy whiffs of shoe polish. Anise and clove, as well as walnuts and brown sugar.
Mouth: powerful and sweet, with sour red berries, ginger, rhubarb jam and hints of red grapes. Some pencil shavings, black pepper, light coppery notes and cedar. It’s a heavyweight cask influence but at the same time there’s a nice lightness to it. Drying hints of walnuts in the end, with quite some tannins and fragrant woody notes.
Finish: very long, still tart, with plenty of mulled wine, cloves and other spices. A lot of pipe tobacco too.
One for lovers of wine casks perhaps, perhaps a tad extreme, very in-your-face and drying. On the other hand it is extremely aromatic, it shows a nice tart fruitiness and offers great complexity. Score: 88/100