Whisky Discovery #1646

Loch Lomond Single Grain NAS 46% abv
Single Grain Scotch Whisky
Circa £32.00 70cl

I first discovered this whisky at Whisky Live London earlier this year, I was intrigued at the time, to learn that it was a single grain made with 100% malted barley distilled through their Coffey Stills.

You see, the Loch Lomond Distillery is a very adaptable distillery, being somewhat unique (certainly for Scotland) having a range of different distillation apparatus.

We were fortunate to visit the Loch Lomond distillery earlier this year, the headline trip of Dramboree 2016, and saw for ourselves the unusual set up of stills. When we visited there were four pairs of copper pot stills, however, all but two of them are fitted with rectification columns instead of the traditional swan necks, alongside there was a Coffey Still that was installed in the early 1990's. There's also five continuous stills used for their grain whisky production. The distillery's capacity is noted at around 5 million litres of malt spirit and 18 million litres of grain.

A curious combination of stills

The legal definition of a single malt whisky says it "must be made exclusively from malted barley (although the addition of E150A caramel colouring is allowed), and must be distilled using copper pot stills at a single distillery." Therefore this Coffey Still distilled spirit cannot be called a single malt, hence the Single Grain tag.

So What Did We Think?

Nose: Plenty of sweet, fruity grain character here, I was picking up a strawberry note, which Kat said reminded her of strawberry shortbread. There are subtle hints of candied lemon peels, icing sugar, and fresh grasses, not your lawn grass, but summer hedgerow grass.

Palate: Pineapple juice is one of the official notes,and it's certainly something I picked up, albeit more of a canned pineapple flavour. It's sweet, but not overly so. I found stewed apples too, alongside pencil shavings and some woody spices adding a mild peppery hit. There's a pithy dryness towards the finish

Finish: Surprisingly long, which starts off dry with  grapefruit pith, and finishes with Wrigley's Juicy fruit chewing gum.

Verdict

This is a very easy drinking whisky, It's soft, and smooth, with a barley water sweetness. It's not overly complicated, but it is very enjoyable. Think of it if you will, as the Scottish equivalent of Nikka's Coffey Malt, but at a fraction of the price!

Slàinte! Dave

Dramboree 2016 - Part 1

The first weekend of July has been the weekend of ‘Dramboree’ for the last four years. A chance to get away from it all, along with sixty or so other whisky fans, for a long weekend in the land of Scotch. While we both missed the inaugural event, and Kat, unfortunately missed the second event too, it’s now a highlight of our Whisky calendar.

This year we returned to Rowardennen Lodge, a Youth Hostel on the Eastern shore of Loch Lomond, and the home for my first taste of Dramboree, two years ago.

The Dramboree weekend commences precisely at 1400 on the Friday, usually at a bus depot, and this year was no exception as it was Glasgow’s Buchannan Street Bus Station, Stand No.26 where we all congregated. We were even listed on the digital Departures board!

Our weekend started much earlier though, an eight o’clock train from Milton Keynes needed to be caught before we could climb aboard the Dramboree charabanc. Arriving at Glasgow Central at around 1330 it was just a short stroll through the city centre to meet up with friends, both old and new.

Amazingly, we had all heeded the warnings that the bus would leave without us if we were late. We were, on time, and in full, allowing our bus to depart on time for our short trip up the A82, running along the Western shore of Loch Lomond, to Tarbet, where we transferred to the ferry that would take us to our lodgings.

The 45 minute trip across the loch was where we made our first Whisky Discovery. Maverick Drinks Brand Ambassador, James Goggin, presented the official Dramboree 2016 exclusive bottling; a 19 Year Old whisky from the Isle of Arran bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company, and in keeping with the Boutique-y series the label is packed full of Dramboree-related fun.

The official Dramboree 2016 bottling

The heavens opened up, with a short sharp shower as we approached the lodge’s wooded jetty, a weather pattern that was sadly to be the format of the weekend, but we didn’t let that spoil the fun. With rooms allocated, I found I’d been assigned the top bunk in a room of six – it was going be very interesting weekend getting up and down that I thought!

Like the well-oiled machine Dramboree has become, everything was running to the agenda, and if anything we were slightly ahead of schedule for the first listed event, which allowed us to quench our thirst with a cold beer while catching up with old friends. The dram table was starting to load up as everybody unpacked their bags, and I opened the bottle of Port Charlotte I had taken this year, a private single cask bottling, it had been sitting behind my sofa for the last two years waiting for the opportunity to share it. Kat had brought along the bottle of Mortlach from Wemyss Malts, we picked up during our visit to their Kingsbarns Distillery last year, and a bottle of Balblair, ’97 Vintage. 

With the first dram down I started to peruse the table and spotted a bottle of Italian Single Malt from the Puni Distillery and thought I really ought to get this on the Liquid Log too!

Headline Masterclass

The first official event of Dramboree is the headline masterclass. Two years ago it was Stephen Marshall from Dewars, showcasing the new single malts not yet released at that time from Royal Brackla, Aultmore, Deveron, and Aberfeldy. Last year we had three presenters, from new, or young distilleries; Ballindalloch, Strathearn and Ailsa Bay, tasting what has gone on to be a very successful launch for William Grant & Sons Lowland Distillery.

The Headline Masterclass with an unusually high proportion of Paul John Whisky Glasses!

This year’s tasting was another collaborative event, but this year between three of the oldest and most well-regarded companies independently bottling whisky today - Berry Brothers & Rudd, Britain's oldest wine and spirit merchant, having traded from the same shop since 1698, Gordon & MacPhail, founding partners, James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail, established the business in South Street, Elgin in 1895, and WM Cadenhead, Scotland's Oldest Independent Bottler founded in 1842. These three family-owned companies have an amazing 613 years of history between them in total, and each procures, produces, ages and bottles an incredible array of whiskies.

With introductions over Cadenhead’s Mark Watt lead us straight into a 19 Year Old Glenlivet, distilled in 1996 and bottled at 52.1%. It had been drawn straight from the cask and can only be purchased as part of their Cadenhead Warehouse tastings. 

Gordon & MacPhail’s UK Sales Director, Steven Rankin introduced us to a Clynelish from their ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ range, distilled in 2000 and bottled in 2015 having been matured in a refill ex-Sherry Hogshead and a refill sherry butt.

In the mid-1960s Gordon & MacPhail took the unprecedented step of launching a range of single malts from different distilleries under the brand name 'Connoisseur's Choice', and offered the range for sale in the rapidly expanding Italian, French, American and Dutch markets. This move laid the foundations for the significant interest in malt whisky in these countries that remains to this day.

Next up was Berry Bros & Rudd’s Rob Whitehead, who had brought along a 30 Year Old from the long closed Lochside Distillery. The Lochside distillery was established in Montrose in 1957. The distillery was producing malt and grain whisky up to the early 1970's but was still producing malt whisky until it was mothballed in the mid 90’s. The distillery was sadly demolished in 2005, and very few single malt bottlings have been released, mostly originating from independent bottlers. Lochside single malt is indeed very hard to find, so this was indeed another rare treat

The full line-up, and in order!
(Photo courtesy of Martin Sykes Jones - Manchester Whisky Club)

Mark Watt introduced his second whisky to us next, again drawn straight from the cask, and only available from the distillery, a 19 Year Old Springbank from a re-charred sherry butt bottled at 55% abv 

Springbank, Scotland’s oldest family run and owned distillery, established 1828 in Campbeltown on the site of the families illicit distillery dating back to the mid 1660’s. Springbank, unlike most other distilleries, carries out 100% of the production on-site - from the malting of the barley to the bottling of the aged product.

Steven followed with his second whisky and blew us all away with a 1965 Strathisla. This whisky was bottled in 2012, making it at least 45 years old!

Rob Whitehead concluded the tasting with a young Ledaig, again from their 'Berry's Own' range, not quite five years old being distilled in 2005 and bottled four and a half years later at 62.7% abv. A full strength sherry matured single cask that was actually bloody good! Fruity ‘sherry-bomb’ notes dominate the sweet peaty palate.

With the masterclass behind us, it was onto dinner. Haggis, Neaps and Tatties – just what you need for the beginning of a whisky extravaganza, and there was plenty of it! Enough for seconds if you needed it.

With dinner cleared away, it was time to introduce the dram table. Everyone had brought at least one bottle, some had brought two or three. We each had exactly 15 seconds to introduce our whisky before we explored the table, and what a wonderful selection we’d brought together. Whisky from across the ages and indeed across the world, with whiskies from The Netherlands, Italy, and Iceland to name a few! 

The choice in front of me was pretty daunting to say the least, so I decided to check out That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s Islay Blended Malt #2, A 27 Year Old, and another cracking blended malt made exclusively with single malts from Islay.

Grey Dogging with Goggin

James in action! I think Kat has just tried the 19 Year Old Cask Water!
(Photo courtesy of Martin Sykes Jones - Manchester Whisky Club)

One of the highlights of the weekend for me was a workshop hosted by Maverick Drink’s James Goggin, entitled ‘Grey Dogging’ that was held on Friday evening

This was full-on whisky geekery at its finest! James had deconstructed a 19 Year Old Ben Nevis into two separate components by vacuum distillation. In one bottle we had 19 Year Old’ new make spirit, in the other bottle was the woody water.

New make spirit is known as ‘White Dog’ but this new make spirit had been matured for 19 years in a sherry cask! It was now known as Grey Dog for the purposes of this workshop. Once free of the water and cask impurities it was once again clear, with all the vibrancy and potency of new make spirit, ending up at over 70% abv.

The dirty cask water on the other had was cloudy, and rather less than appealing! However, bring the two back together and ‘hey presto!’ We have our whisky back! The woody water turned clear, and smelt and tasted like the whisky before it was separated.

James had also brought along some virgin new make spirit. James had matched the abv to the alcohol removed during the vacuum distillation, and added some of this to the 19 year old cask water, to see if we could recreate the whisky again. I can tell you it didn’t work, and wasn’t a patch on the original single malt. 

With a late night the previous evening (we’d been in London for the launch of the Tomatin 1971 Vintage) and an early start that morning, I was beat!. I needed to get to my bed, and indeed work out just how I was going to get up the little wooden ladder to my top bunk! I’m pleased to report I made it through unscathed, and slept soundly until my usual ‘oh my god it’s early’ natural alarm clock, although did return home with some significant unexplained bruising to my right arm and chest that is still visible after three weeks!

An early start was on the cards for Saturday as we all had to be aboard minibuses for 0930!

Slainte! Dave

Whisky Discovery #1747

Compass Box Enlightenment 46% abv

Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

circa £60.00 70cl

One of the latest limited edition releases from those clever folk at Compass Box, Enlightenment is their response to the recent hullaballoo after their full disclosure on their last releases.

‘There is no desire more natural than the desire for knowledge.’ – Michel de Montaigne

John Glaser says “Since launching the Compass Box Whisky Co., I have always been a firm believer in the spirit of enlightenment – that the more information we can share with our customers about the Scotch whisky we produce, the better. Alas, it transpires such beliefs fall foul of current EU and UK regulations, which prevent us from sharing information about the age of every component whisky used in the creation of our blends.”

He goes on; “Inspired by the writers, philosophers and scientists of the Age of Enlightenment it sets out to encourage the industry to consider the absurdity of a system that prevents producers from telling consumers exactly what has gone into the whiskies they are drinking."

Concluding; “And of course the whisky itself is something rather special. A blend of fruity, fragrant Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, it is bursting with aromas of fresh orchard fruit, flavours of vanilla, soft spice and pear and an alluring apple peel waxiness on the finish. An uplifting, enlightening whisky with which to ponder the world of Scotch not only as it is but also as it could be.”

Bottled in April 2016 this limited edition release is as expected from Compass Box, is of natural colour and non-chill-filtered. A total of 5,922 bottles were filled at 46% abv and it should be available worldwide.

So What Did I Think?

We’ve long been fans and supporters of Compass Box whiskies and admire their quest for full transparency. This blended or ‘vatted’ malt as previously known, is a marriage of just four distilleries. The overwhelming majority of the blend consists of Clynelish and Glentauchers with Clynelish getting the lion’s share. Malt from Balblair and Mortlach make up the balance, and while the ages are not disclosed on the packaging or press releases, I’m sure you can ask next time you see any of the Compass Box team and they’ll tell you.

The nose certainly hints at some older matured whisky lying within. There's an abundance of waxy orchard fruits, crisp rosy red apples in particular but I was also noting softer Comice pear. Beyond these orchard notes, there were fragrant floral notes reminding me of orange blossom. Malty biscuit notes alongside the sweetness of icing sugar

Taste; Beautifully balanced with fruit, wood, and spices. Dried apple notes were leading the fruit, while pencil shavings brought the woody element to the fore. Peppery spices completed the flavour triangle for me.

Verdict: Loved it! I must admit I don't think there has been a release from Compass Box I haven't loved. I might not be able to afford them all, but I have been fortunate to have tasted most of the releases, certainly over the last five years. Enlightenment has a lovely balance of flavours and at around £60 is certainly A 'bang for your buck whisky'. I loved the label too.

Many thanks to Compass Box Whiskies for the sample and the opportunity to enjoy this at my leisure. Would I buy it? Yup, it's certainly within my whisky budget

Slàinte! Dave

Whisky Discovery #1647

The Golden Age Blend, 40 Year Old (44.3% abv)
Blended Scotch Whisky
£349.95 70cl

Named for the ‘Golden Age’ of distilling spanning the early ’60s to the mid-'70s, The Golden Age Blend has been named Best Blended Scotch at the World Whiskies Awards 2016.

The Blended Whisky Company are the creators of the award-winning Golden Age Blend and The Lost Distilleries Blend, which was named World’s Best Blended Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards 2014, as well as receiving Gold Outstanding and Master medals from the IWSC and Scotch Whisky Masters respectively.

To create this whisky, The Blended Whisky Company took a selection of the finest venerable malts. All the whiskies used are aged for over 40 years and have been distilled at Macallan, Glenrothes and Tamdhu. Next, additional character and ‘seasoning’ was added in the form of gently peated whisky from Bunnahabhain. Finally, an exceptionally well-aged grain whisky from North British was added to tie the other malts together and form the backbone of the blend, at a ratio of approximately four parts malt to just one part grain.

This superbly rich, intense and full bodied award-winning blended whisky stands as a testament to the extraordinary depth of flavour that can be found in some of the marvellous whiskies distilled during the ‘Golden Age’. Just 210 bottles are available worldwide.

The Golden Age Blend is available from all the very best retailers including Amazon and Master of Malt and has a recommended retail price of £349.95

So What Did I Think?

This was the one of my highlights from Whisky Live London, and I had the time to get to know this before the show opened on Saturday as we were working with Maverick Drinks. It was my 'breakfast' dram, or 'product training' as I like to call it. Fortunately, the thoughtful people at Drinks by the Dram also sent me a wee sample as a thank you for helping out on the day and it was my Easter Monday dram. It was wonderful to revisit it and it gave me the opportunity to write some notes.

This has the colour of oiled teak, a colour I'm very familiar with having spent a number of years building yachts that contained a great deal of it.

On the nose, I was reminded of chocolate brioche initially. Fruit followed with raisins, figs, and dried peel, like a Christmas cake steeped in Sherry. There are hints of dark 'old fashioned' marmalade, Demerara sugar, Cigar box and tobacco, and is simply divine. I didn't consider adding water to my sample. Glorious!

The palate opens with a gentle sweetness before the spices rush on to the tongue. As these settle, the sweetness returns, soft and warming while the spices leave a sherbet tingle. Flavours noted included Chelsea Buns, bitter chocolate, coffee grounds, and raisins. Tobacco notes come a little later with just the faintest smoky note developing towards the long finish. Delicious!

The finish is long, with hints of smoke and tobacco, turning woody, with an earthiness of a forest floor, eventually turning dry as the tannins remain at the very end.

Verdict

I had the pleasure of not only tasting this but, working with The Maverick Drinks stand at Whisky Live London on Saturday, I had the opportunity to share it with appreciative whisky fans, as it was one of our 'under the counter drams'. 

Of course, it's not an affordable whisky for most, but then 40 Year Old whiskies don't tend to be. However, checking prices of other 40-year-old whiskies, this is competitively priced. This is a superbly blended Scotch, and a little piece of history. But don't just take my word for it, it has been named Best Blended Scotch at the World Whiskies Awards 2016.

Huge thanks to Drinks by the Dram for the review sample

Slàinte! Dave

Glencadam, two new releases

Early in February, I received an email from Angus Dundee Distillers telling me about some new releases from The Glencadam and asking if I'd like some samples. Of course, we love emails like this, especially as we've really had little exposure to this distillery. Checking the liquid log, just two listed; the first was from a 'Drinks by the Dram' Advent Calendar back in 2013 when I was treated to a sample of their 21 Year Old. The only other expression was a superb single cask release from retailer and independent bottler Abbey Whisky, with a sample from their ‘Rare Casks’ series 22 Year Old

The Glencadam Distillery

Once again I had to turn to Malt Whisky Yearbook to find out a little more about the Glencadam Distillery. Located in Brechin, the Eastern Highlands, a region once known for its whisky smuggling past, whisky production has been decimated in recent years with the closures of North Port, Glenesk (Hillside) and Lochside distilleries. Just Fettercairn and Glencadam have survived, and apart from a short period between 2000 and 2003. The Glencadam Distillery seems to have been in continuous operation since it was founded in 1825. Angus Dundee Distillers bought the distillery in 2003 (they also own the Tomintoul Distillery) and its capacity of 1.3 million litres per year puts it at the same size as the Ardbeg and Scapa distilleries.

Michael Jackon’s Malt Whisky Companion tells us that the ‘House Style’ is; Creamy with a suggestion of berry fruits, and recommends that this is enjoyed with dessert, or after dinner

A few weeks after the original email was received, a wee package arrived, beautifully presented, with two small samples of their latest releases, and one evening towards the end of the month I sat down and enjoyed these two new Whisky Discoveries

Whisky Discovery No.1589

Glencadam Origin 1825 NAS 40% abv

Highland Single Malt

Circa £30.00 70cl

First out of the box was the recently released Glencadam Origin 1825 the first No Age Statement whisky that the distillery has launched. We’re told from the Press Release that a very special collection of casks was chosen, with the final selection consisting of a unique marriage of whisky matured in first-class American white-oak bourbon barrels with whisky “finished” in the finest Spanish Oloroso Sherry butts. 

So What Did I Think?

The nose has a creamy buttery feel to it with sweet floral notes alongside melting vanilla ice-cream. Hints of tangerine start to come through a little later. On the palate, it’s soft and light with a creamy fruitiness finishing with gentle spices and hints of cinnamon. The sweet fruit remains to the very end which turns a little dry.

Verdict

So the ‘marketing speak’ was perhaps a little nonsense as Scotch whisky can’t be ‘unique’! Firstly the SWA (Scotch Whisky Association) have strict rules of what can be and what can’t be done with maturing Scotch whisky. Secondly, American ex-bourbon barrels and Oloroso Sherry butts have been the norm for way longer than I’ve been drinking whisky!

I must admit I was immediately sceptical of another average NAS whisky launch but much to my delight, I was pleasantly surprised by this new release. Whilst not overly challenging, this is a very pleasant, dare I say it, ‘entry level dram’ and while it is a no-age-statement whisky they’ve decided to pitch it at a price point that reflects its position in the full range rather than ‘have our eyes out!

The original press release was dated October 2015, but I’ve not seen it on general sale from the on-line retailers yet and I tried to revisit it at Whisky Live London recently and it was unavailable here too.

Whisky Discovery No.1590

Glencadam 25 Year Old 46% abv

Highland Single Malt

Circa £250.00 70cl

The second sample was of their soon to be released 25 Year Old, with the press release describing this to be a limited release of just 1600 bottles with each bottle individually numbered. Master Distiller, Robert Fleming, deemed that the time was right to bottle the whisky at 25 years of age when the combination of exciting flavour notes such as sweet malt, exotic fruit and mixed nuts had reached a wonderful balance. 

So What Did I Think?

The nose was simply glorious! I’d only received a small sample but wanted this to last forever! Its maturity was instantly apparent with those ‘old malt’ notes. It wasn’t particularly sweet, but the light fruity notes picked up on the Origin were evident. This too was a delight on the palate. Creamy, light and wonderfully fragrant and gently spiced while ‘old malt’ notes of polished oak hinted at its vintage. 

Verdict

I really loved this vintage release, and while it was just a small sample I sat and savoured this for as long as I could resist draining the glass. £250 is a great deal of money to spend on a bottle of whisky, and it’s certainly not something I consider on a regular basis, but I try to put it into context. There are 14 ‘healthy’ drams in each bottle (a single is rarely enough!) so think of it as 14 instalments for 14 special evenings over a period of time of your choice. I tried to revisit this at Whisky Live London recently too, but sadly it hadn’t travelled down with the team.

Want to find out more? You can find Glencadam on-line here and across social media with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Slàinte! Dave

Women in Whisky Lunch 2016

As mentioned earlier, March has been really busy, both in our day jobs and with the amount of whisky events we've attended. Kat even managed to squeeze a short trip to Scotland into our packed schedules.

To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8th of March, Geraldine Murphy part of the famous whisky pub, The Pot Still, of Glasgow and founder of the women’s only whisky club The Pot Stills Whisky Girls held, what has become a new tradition, a Women in Whisky Lunch.

As soon as I saw the tickets go on sale, I booked myself to go. The lunch was held in the beautiful Grand Central Hotel which is situated right next to Glasgow's Central train station. The hotel was built in the Victorian times in the Queen Anne style, which has been renovated sympathetically, keeping many of the period features. I absolutely adored the character of this place. A great feature was a row of windows in one of the hallways where you look directly into the station. I admired the juxtaposition of the old ornate Victorian window frames fixed in view and seeing the rush of modern life outside.

The Grand Central Hotel from inside the station building

It was a truly international affair. On my table was the food & drinks writer Rosemary Moon, two ladies from Switzerland, and a group of ladies from Pernod Richard including Chivas Regal Brand Ambassador Lauren Mustard who brought along the new no age statement Longmorn.

This was great easy drinking dram, especially pairing well with the trio of dessert that was served with lunch. 

Two of the fabulous desserts (photos courtesy of Crystal Coverdale)

Before we heard from the industry’s key speakers we were introduced to the chosen charity Say Women, a local charity run by volunteers who offer help and support to vulnerable young women between the ages of 16 – 25 who have experienced childhood sexual abuse, rape or sexual assault. This includes finding safe accommodation, teaching & providing financial advice, through to counselling. The aim of the charity is to help give these women gain their confidence so they can have the right to choose their own positive path in life without living in fear.

In the UK it’s common to hear that demand for small charities like Say Women exists due to a lack of services being offered by the NHS or other local government. In Glasgow, it’s no different, very tragic considering whisky is a major export of Scotland, and many of these women grew up with alcoholic parents, which is the reason why they seek help. I feel it highlights an area that the drinks industry as a whole can do more to help.

With all the money raised from the event going to the charity, it was nice to see that under whisky, a positive light was shining through to show a different side of the drinks industry, and making a positive impact. As we were waiting to hear from two women where the whisky has changed their lives in a good way, hope that some of the vulnerable women might also these stories and be inspired to choose whisky as their new career path.

Rachel MacNeill addressing the Women in Whisky Lunch 

The first guest speaker was Rachel MacNeill from Whisky for Girls. Whisky has always been part of Rachel’s life growing up on the Isle of Islay. She told us of how she used to play in the malting barns of the distillery near her home as a child, not really knowing what it was until she got older. Then she got that lightbulb moment, realised she can turn her interest into a career when it hit her that people would pay her for taking them on whisky tours, courses, and tastings on Islay! Who can blame her, this was the golden ticket other people can only dream of. 

Dr Kirstie McCallum addressing the Women in Whisky Lunch (photo courtesy of Crystal Coverdale)

The second and last speaker was Dr Kirstie McCallum from Burn Stewart Distillers. Her whisky story started differently, entering the industry by chance, her passion for whisky then grew from there. With a Ph.D. in hand, her original goal was to work in the pharmaceutical industry but as needs must, she accepted a part-time role in a distillery. This lead to her becoming the youngest female blender in Scotland, then on to Global Brand Ambassador for Burn Stewart Distillers, and recently announced, into a new role of Senior Blender at Burn Stewart. She is currently finishing the last few events of her Ambassador role. 

What is it about whisky that stole her heart? She explained this is down to the range of smells, taste, and texture that’s unique to each whisky. Truly believes that there is whisky for everyone and it’s a drink that has no gender. Telling all the ladies in the room that there is no right or wrong way to drink whisky, reminding us it’s a drink, to be enjoyed however you like as long as you enjoy tasting it! 

All in all, it was a great afternoon, with everyone ending up for a few beers and more drams at The Pot Still. I'm proud to say that over £1000 was raised this year which I'm sure the charity will put to great use. If you too would like to donate to Say Women you can do so by following the link to their donation page here: Donate here

More pictures of the event can also be found on The Pot Still Whisky Girls Facebook page

Slàinte! Kat

Exile Casks Launch March 2016

We've had a very busy March and have so much to catch up on! With so much news to share I've decided to start with the latest news first! Last Wednesday, I headed down to London’s Soho Whisky Club for the launch of the first from Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley’s latest venture, The ‘Exile Casks’

The ‘Exile Casks’ is a new range of single cask scotch that will be available only from exilecasks.com For the past 3 years Neil and Joel been searching all over Scotland for lost and forgotten casks, and they say that they’ve found some gems amongst the warehouses.

Three new Whisky Discoveries to log!

Whisky Discovery No.1653

Caskstrength And Carry On 3D Whisky 56.4% abv

Blended Malt Whisky

no longer available

The first dram of the evening was the last release from Neil and Joel under the ‘Cask Strength’ brand. 3D is a 'vatted' malt from 3 distilleries beginning with the letter D; Dalwhinnie, Dailuaine and Dufftown, was created by Joel and Neil themselves under the guidance of Diageo Master Blender Dr Matthew Crow.

Unfortunately, I never managed to taste any of these early releases from the Cask Strength label so this, the last in their short series was the first for me.

Just 504 signed and numbered bottles were produced, at 56.4% abv, complete with stereoscopic 3D label and glasses. They were available exclusively from Master of Malt at around £50 a bottle and have all sold out long ago, although if you really want to try it there were some ‘Drinks by the Dram’ available when I looked.

Whisky Discovery No.1654

The Trojan 25 Year Old 57.1% abv

Single Cask Speyside Whisky

£65.00 500ml (only available from exilecasks.com)

This was being bottled on the day of the tasting, so no bottle shot!

The Trojan, a 25 Year Old single cask from a Speyside distillery will be the first release from Exile Casks. Neil and Joel were not prepared to discuss the distillery this came from, but records showed that this cask was filled with spirit from one distillery and then labelled as being something else. Distilled 19th June 1990 and matured in a refill hogshead, it was currently being bottled (as we were tasting) at 57.1% with just 306 500ml bottles, and will be available from 31st March at £65 but only from exilecasks.com

So What Did I Think?

Quite a punchy dram with a gloriously rich, almost sherry cask, colour. Lots of woody oaky notes on the nose with liquorice and nutty notes too, walnut in particular. There was also a surprising celery salt note detected – and I thought it was only Kat that had these oddities in her tasting notes! This is also surprisingly lively for a 25-year-old, with lots of rich spicy notes on the palate. Water tamed the spicy heat and sweetened the flavours. One of the Soho Whisky Club members had brought in some home-made chocolates, and this whisky worked wonderfully with the chocolate – Bravo!

Whisky Discovery No.1655

'TBA' 1992 55.5% abv

Single Cask Speyside Whisky

£TBA0 500ml (only available from exilecasks.com)

No bottle, No label, not even a name yet!

Our third and final dram was a teaser from their next release. Another single cask from a Speyside distillery and again no distillery name will be released, although we were told that this cask had travelled, having been moved to four different warehouses. Distilled 9th April and matured in a 200-litre refill ASB (American Standard Barrel) and the sample we were tasting was at 55.5% abv. This yet to be named release is about a month away and if you want to find out more you’ll need to sign up on exilecasks.com

So What Did I Think?

Now this very quickly won me over and was my favourite of the evening’s three new Whisky Discoveries. The nose having a tropical fruity feeling with pineapple and coconut cream, lots of coconut cream! - Delicious!

Verdict
I always enjoy my trips to The Soho Whisky Club as more often than not it's because I've been invited to the launch of a new expression! The original plan of the Cask Strength team was to release an A-Z series of whiskies, but quickly realised that they were going to be hard-pressed to do this, especially in order! The first two casks are indeed very different and divided the Soho Whisky Club members fairly equally. That, however, is hardly surprising as single cask releases from the same distillery can be very different. There's no brand profile in terms of taste or style being sought here, just single casks that appeal to Neil and Joel. There's no exclusivity other than the limited release that a single cask can yield. When it's gone, it's gone!

hy 500ml bottles? Well firstly more people will be able to enjoy each release! The initial release, limited to just 306 500ml bottles would yield just 218 bottles at 700ml. Secondly, Neil and Joel looked at their own whisky collections and noticed that many of their bottles had around 200ml left in the bottom of them (yeah, mine too!). There's nothing like opening a newly purchased bottle, and these releases are meant to be drunk!

So, if you want to find out just what whisky Neil and Joel really like you'll just have to sign up on their new website as this will be the only place you can buy them from. You can follow them on Twitter too @ExileCasks we'd suggest you do just that!

Slàinte! Dave

Whisky Discovery #1565

Wemyss Malts 'Fallen Apples' 1989 Glen Garioch (46% abv)

Highland Single Malt

Circa £110.00 70cl

Independent bottler, Wemyss Malts, announced their first Single Cask release of 2016 towards the end of January with six casks selected to showcase the best of Speyside, Islay and The Highlands and, ranging in age from 13 to 25 years old.

The full list from this tranche of single casks released:

• "Sizzling Charcoal" 1997 single cask from Bunnahabhain Distillery, Islay,
• "Coastal Confection" 1996 single cask from Bowmore Distillery, Islay, Cask Strength
• "The Highland Mariner 1997 single cask from Clynelish Distillery, Highlands
• "Fallen Apples" 1989 singe cask from Glen Garioch Distillery, Highlands
• "Barrista’s Dram" 2002 single cask from Craigellachie Distillery, Speyside
• "Toasted Anise" 1996 single cask from Glenrothes Distillery, Speyside

Each cask has been selected and named by the Wemyss tasting panel, under the watchful eye of industry aficionado Charlie Maclean, and Dave was one of the few who received a review sample of the Glen Garioch 'Fallen Apples'

There are only a few hundred bottles from each cask and the suggested retail prices range from £55 to £110. These bottlings will be available in selected retailers in the UK, EU and key Asian markets.

So What Did I Think?

When I saw the press release, two of the six single casks interested me a little more than the others; the 1997 Clynelish and this 1989 Glen Garioch and cheekily asked if there was a sample available to review.

In 1989 Glen Garioch still had their own floor maltings, hence my immediate interest when I saw this list. When the floor maltings were in operation, the malt was peated, albeit to a very low level, at circa 8-10 ppm.The practice discontinued when the distillery was mothballed in 1995, and like most distilleries these days, all the malt is brought in from independent maltsters. 

'Fallen Apples' bottled at 46% abv at the end of last year was distilled in 1989 and just 266 bottles are out there so when it's gone, it's gone!

As with so many of their single cask releases, the Wemyss Malts team are bang on the money with naming this one as an Autumn apple harvest was my first impression when bringing the glass up to my nose. With a drop of water, it's baked apples covered in glazed brown sugar, while a herbal heather note brings up the background. There's also an elusive hint of smoke, not an earthy peat-like smoke, but more like the smoke from a blacksmith's forge (anthracite) and some charred wood.

Apples dominate the palate flavours too, with stewed apples initially, which is followed by apple wood notes, freshly cut at first, seasoned and polished later. The gentle wood smoke comes through right at the end of the spicy finish.

Verdict: I really enjoyed this traditional Highland malt, it's a little over my £100 budget but for a little piece of history, this gently peated 25 Year Old Single Cask Glen Garioch is good buy. Many thanks to Wemyss Malts for the sample (any chance of a sample of the Clynelish too?)

Slàinte! Dave

Whisky Discovery #1564

Japanese Whisky has been very much in the news over the last twelve to eighteen months and we were very excited about our invitation to the UK launch of the Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016 Edition

We'd missed out on the previous release which made all the headlines after being crowned the world’s best whisky by Jim Murray in his 2015 Whisky Bible. A friend and fellow Bedford Whisky Club member who had bought one before the announcement now had a predicament to consider as to if or when he should open it. He actually bought two, one for his Father-in-Law who did open it, and it all went down very well! The second bottle is now in a safe place while he decides if he's going to 'cash in' or wait for a significant 'life event' to open it, but anyway, I digress....

The launch event, organised by Thrsxy was held in London's Savoy Hotel and Suntory's global brand ambassador, Mike Miyamoto, was on hand to take us through the company's philosophy and history, as well as a tasting of three core expressions before introducing us to the 2016 release. Mike Miyamoto joined Suntory in 1978 and is well qualified for the position of Global Brand Ambassador having spent time in all areas of whisky making; from running a cooperage in the USA, running distilleries with Morrison Bowmore, to the blending rooms working alongside the Master Blenders creating their 'alchemy' with both masterpieces and experiments that didn't make it to market. 

The 2013 release was a very limited edition and by the time it was announced as the world’s best whisky, it had all but sold out. The 2016 release is again a very limited edition, the UK allocation of 2,000 bottles will be available from Monday, February 1st from Selfridges, The Whisky Exchange and Harvey Nichols. Priced at a little more than twice the price of the award winning 2013 release, at £200 for a 70cl bottle, it would appear that Suntory has either decided to trade on their previous success or have made the move to reduce the incidences of 'flipping' by speculators.

The birth of Japanese Whisky

Global Brand Ambassador Mike Miyamoto

Before the tasting began, Mike took us through a brief history of Japanese whisky that will be celebrating it's centenary in just seven years.

Shinjiro Torii 'The founding father of Japanese whisky' established the first Suntory whisky distillery, now known as the Yamazaki, the birthplace of Japanese whisky, on the outskirts of Kyoto 1923. The stills first ran in December 1924, and initially, Japanese whiskies copied the then current Scottish styles. The Suntory branded 'Shirofuda' released in 1929 did not go down to well being too smoky for the Japanese palate, but just eight years later they got it right when they released 'Kakubin'. It's smoothness and balance was a big hit in Japan. Shinjiro who had a knack for blending whisky, remained master blender up until 1960. The following year, he passed the role of president and master blender on to his adopted son Keizo Saji. The Third and current master blender, Shingo Torii took the helm in 2002, maintaining the family bond, the basic philosophy of the Suntory business.

Unlike Scotland, Japan only has a handful of distilleries, and trading between distilleries just doesn't happen. Suntory has just three distilleries, two making single malts and one making grain whisky and in order to create the range of whiskies, they have had to become a little more resourceful. Yamazaki, for example; has two types of fermenting vats; wood and stainless, 16 pot stills, with seven different types and using both direct firing and steam heated. Then for maturation, they have oak casks of various types, ex-bourbon, ex-wine, ex-sherry and of course, Japanese oak. The variety within this distillery alone allows them to be able to make a number of different whisky styles.

In 1972, Suntory opened their Grain distillery, Chita and it wasn't until 1973 that their second single malt distillery, Hakushu was established. Hakushu, located in the foothills of Mt. Kaikomagatake, is known as Japan’s Southern Alps, where cool, clear waters flow through a bountiful forest environment. Suntory launched Yamazaki as a single malt whisky in 1984, followed by Hakushu in 1994, while their blended whisky came to the market with the creation of Hibiki in 1989. With the introductions over we moved onto a short Masterclass with three current expressions, one from each of the two single malt distilleries and their blended whisky Hibiki before moving on to the reason we were all there.

Whisky Discovery #89

Yamazaki 12 Year Old (43% abv)

Japanese Single Malt Whisky

circa £120.00 70cl

This, a favourite of Mike Miyamoto, is now getting difficult to find, even in Japan, and it was good to revisit this delightful single malt. First discovered fairly early on in my personal journey, at The Whisky Loung London Fest in 2012, I wish I'd brought a bottle or two! The nose came across fruity with plenty of zesty grapefruit at first. Soft peach and ripe pineapple follow along with fudge and vanilla while hints of Amontillado Sherry balance the flavours with a distinct nuttiness. The palate is soft with a gentle sweetness and subtle spices.

Verdict: Fabulous! Unfortunately due to the current trend with Japanese whiskies this is very difficult to find and it's not currently available from either The Whisky Exchange or Master of Malt

Whisky Discovery #1563

Hakushu 12 Year Old (43% abv)

Japanese Single Malt Whisky

circa £75.00 70cl

Whilst I've tried a few from the Hakushu Distillery, the 12 Year Old was a new Whisky Discovery for me. The nose comes across clean and fresh, with menthol, pine forest notes and an almost 'sanitised note' initially but with time the forest smoke starts to develop in the glass. Herbal with thyme and dried pine needles interplaying with each other. The palate is softer than the nose suggested but still reminded me of a pine forest, although a little more smokey, Lapsang Souchang sprung to mind but the spices that follow remind you that it's whisky, not tea your drinking! The smoke lasts long into the peppery drying finish

Verdict: Lovely fresh smoky Hakushu. This one is currently available at The Whisky Exchange but for how long who knows? It is out of stock at Master of Malt

Whisky Discovery #168

Hibiki 17 Year Old (43% abv)

Japanese Blended Whisky

circa £100.00 70cl

In Japanese Hibiki means Harmony, and the Hibiki range is a blended whisky, but unlike Scotch, all of the whisky in this blend brings together the many styles of matured malt and grain whisky from the companies three distilleries. I'd forgotten just how lovely this whisky was after first coming across it at Nickolls and Perks Midlands Whisky Show. This is so easy to drink and I was able to go back for seconds of this! The nose comes across clean with a sanitised note initially, perhaps the Hakushu showing it's colours first? Creamy caramel notes follow after some turn in the glass, buttery but again with a herbal oregano note. The palate is smooth and creamy with caramelised banana. Spicy oak flavours develop towards the end

Verdict: I could drink this all night, but, unfortunately, it's not currently available from either The Whisky Exchange or Master of Malt

Whisky Discovery #1564

Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016 (48% abv)

Japanese Single Malt Whisky

circa £200.00 70cl

One of the oldest casks at Suntory was the Sherry Cask. As with all good whisky makers nowadays Suntory select their own oak from the forests of Northern Spain. With the wood seasoned, they work with the coopers to create their own sherry casks, shorter with more girth (puncheons) so they still hold the same capacity as a butt. Oloroso sherry is matured in these casks for three years before they are shipped to Japan for whisky maturation. The new 2016 Yamazaki Sherry Cask release has spent three years longer in oak than the 2013 release, and Mike told us that it contains some 25 Year Old Yamazaki too

So What Did I Think?

Of course, this falls into the sherry monster category, the nose is thick with liquorice, aniseed, and clove initially. Once settled the chocolate notes start to develop, and whilst there is a rich fruity raisin note, there's also a meatiness to it too, a very savoury dram.

Moving onto the palate, the quality of the balance is immediately evident with a velvet-like smoothness. My initial note written was Black Forest gateau, rich with chocolate, and dark cherry while the woody notes start to build, clove and woody cassia dominating the spices for me. As expected, it's drying, and you can almost feel it starting to suck the moisture from your mouth as the body builds! On second sip a sour cherry note was more evident, reminding me of the Chinese dried plums/cherries I used to love in the Far East, but the savouriness continues reinforcing the meatiness I noted on nosing.

Verdict: It would have been amazing to be able to try the new 2016 release against the previous release, I don't suppose there are many that will get the opportunity to do this though.

I used to be a big fan of Sherry monsters, however, some bad experiences over the years with some real woody drams, I'm a little more apprehensive with them nowadays. I must admit, this recent release from Yamazaki is something special and there's not a hint of 'struck match' sulphur. I'm fairly certain this will be another Jim Murray hit, but by the time the next release of his Bible comes out it'll be all gone! In fact, if you're umming and arh-ing like I am on whether you should get a bottle, you're probably too late as well!

Splendid stuff! Now can I really afford £200 for a bottle of this?

Slàinte! Dave