Whisky Discovery #1277

SMWS 3.243 'Dark, Smouldering Flamenco Gypsy' 57.1% abv

Single Cask Single Islay Malt

Price £80.00 (members price)

I haven't made my pilgrimage to Islay yet, it's something I really must get round to soon. It was an Islay malt that started me off on this path I decided to travel along, but I don't think it's going to happen this year unfortunately.

Every year, in the last week of May The Islay festival of Feis Ile is held. It's origins date back to 1984 when the first Gaelic Drama Festival took place, In the early days it was more of a traditional music festival and it wasn't until 1990 that the first ever whisky tasting took place. The islands distilleries started getting more involved in 2000 and introduced their special Open Days and ultimately their Special Feis Ile releases.

The Feis Ile is the charitable organisation from which this now huge Festival of Music & Malt has evolved. The Island population triples during the week of the Festival which means it's no longer something you can simply turn up to, forward planning is essential nowadays with many making their plans a year in advance.

This years Feis Ile runs from Friday 22nd May until Saturday 30th May and if you're thinking about making plans for 2016 the dates are Friday 20th - Saturday 28th May. You can find out more details at the Islay Festival Feis Ile website

This year The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will be, for the first time in their history, will too be hosting an open day on Friday 22nd May, when Islay House becomes their home for the day and in celebration they're releasing a their own limited edition Islay Festival bottling, and it will be available to members and non-members alike.

If you're not a member of the SMWS then you might not be aware of their bottling and labeling specifications. Every release comes in the same green society bottle and labeling never refers to a distillery directly, with every release bearing a pair of numbers separated by a decimal point. The first number referring to the distillery, and the second referring to the cask number that the society has bottled from this distillery, i.e. 3.1 would be the first cask ever bottled from distillery No.3

Each release has a quirky name which is put together from the notes of a tasting panel, as are the tasting notes printed on the label. Dark, smouldering flamenco gypsy's notes read as follows:

Wow - so much on the noise - sherry, tarry wood, clean smoke, dates, figs, roasted chestnuts, Christmas spices, egg custard, maple syrup-glazed pork ribs and HP sauce on bacon rolls. The palate was substantial - liquorice, treacle toffee, coffee and chocolate, with caramelised onions and Demerara-smothered, clove studded ham over embers. The reduced nose suggested spiced prunes, Branston pickle, fig rolls, treacle tart, duck in plum sauce and warm welly boots by a drying bonfire. The reduced palate's smoke and sherry combination gave us interest and pleasure - the toffee and oloroso, toasted almonds and barbecued meats gave it a dark, smouldering flamenco gypsy personality.

It goes on to give this drinking tip: Between dances at a Spanish barbecue party

SMWS 3.243 is from the Bowmore Distillery that has spent 17 years maturing in a refill ex-sherry butt before being bottled at 57.1%. Sherry butts have a capacity of 500 litres, and allowing for 2% Angels Share over the 17 years I'm calculating that there will only be around 500 bottles available

So what Did I Think?

I've tasted a number of superb Society sherried Bowmore's and this certainly does not disappoint. After typing out their notes while writing this post and comparing them to mine, I can say I agree wholeheartedly with them! My notes as below are exceedingly similar.

Lovely sherry notes immediately on the nose, woody, nutty and the peated spirit giving notes of tarred parcel paper alongside a sweet alluring smoke. Barbecue sauce features heavily as the nose develops and there's that sweet meatiness to it; roast duck in Hoisin sauce (honestly, I never read the 'official' notes until after I'd finished writing mine!) A drop of water brings out the sherry fruits and Christmas cake notes I was expecting to find. 

Verdict

Superb! and I'm hoping I can get my hands on one from the London HQ later this month fingers crossed.

Many thanks to the society for thinking of me and sending me this sample. If you want more information on the SMWS's Islay trip, visit www.IslayHouse.co.uk

Sláinte! Dave

Whisky Discovery #451

Kilchoman 2007 Single Cask (60.9% abv)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Sadly No Longer Available

I came across this discovery via #TheDramOGram,  the follow-up to our #12Blends Tweet Tasting hosted by Tom Thomson of Toms Whisky Reviews. Whilst the 12 blends was immensely entertaining it was very time consuming and seemed to take up almost all of my spare time over the first 12 days of April this year.

#TheDramOGram was a similar blind tasting event, but this time each of the participants were required to send a single dram to their chosen recipient, while receiving just the one blind dram. All notes and guesses were to be tweeted on the day/evening/night of 31st May. Unfortunately it didn't quite happen with the 'togetherness' of the 12 Blends, and so while I thoroughly enjoyed my blind dram from +Gal Granov I didn't feel the connection we all had when we were all tasting the same whisky at the same time.

I made myself a tasting mat and posted the photo above on Twitter at the start of my tasting. As I made my mental notes I decided to scribble them onto the tasting mat, so I could post a' before' and 'after' photo while I tweeted my notes to Gal.

So What Did I Think?

The finished tasting mat - complete with scribbled notes, wild guesses and an empty glass

From the instant I opened the bottles I was very happy The medicinal Islay peat nose is a particular favourite of mine and it was immediately reminding me of SMWS 127.31 'Right of Passage' a dram tried at the London lounge just before we left for Whisky Live

On opening the bottle I thought could this be Ardbeg? (mostly because Ardbog Day was the following day) but this was way peatier! With my first sip, I was thinking that there couldn't be much more peat left in Islay with the levels in this dram. It was hitting all the right spots for me.

I thought I would try to determine the abv while scribbling my notes, but thought it might be difficult with the peat levels so dominating. I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol burn or the peat smouldering in my mouth That I was experiencing. I'd recently learnt of the 'bubble test' and by comparing that with other samples on the shelf this was putting it at around 45-46% abv yet my mouth was saying 60%!

• Nose:  Intense peat at first, earthy; stable straw, bracken, heaps of pepper, maritime notes; salty with some hemp rope. Recharging the glass I was getting spent coffee grounds too. With water, the first few drops enhance the earthy notes. Some sweetness trying to punch through the pepper.
• Taste: Initial sweet hit turns salty immediately followed by intense pepper which fades to peat smoke. With water the sweetness found neat lingers a little longer, the peppery spice is not so fierce, but over all a very similar profile.
• Finish: Is very long with peppery peat smoke, lightly salted with charcoal.

With SMWS 127.31 'Right of Passage' the 10 Year Old Port Charlotte (bottled at 64.2% abv) on my mind I was torn between an Ardbeg and a Port Charlotte, and my wild guess was Port Charlotte PC8 an 8 Year Old bottled at 60.5% abv - it fitted with my thoughts

The reveal was a pleasant surprise. Although I was checking out Kilchoman releases on one of the well known whisky retailer websites I had dismissed them for the Port Charlotte. I must get some Kilchoman on my whisky shelf soon!

Slàinte! Dave

Ardbog Day

On the 1st of June we were invited to take part in celebrating Ardbeg’s limited edition release of their Fèis Ìle festival bottling – Ardbog. On this day, dubbed Ardbog Day, I headed to London with my other half in tow as Dave couldn't go, as at around that time he had started to tear down his ensuite.

To make it bit more of a country feel, there was a stage full of steaming peat for people to dig through, flying sheep (oh yes there was!) & normal sheep, a nice old tractor, straw bales, shiny Ardbeg Chopper and country games where you can win prizes. All of the pictures from the day can be seen on our Facebook page here. 

The Ardbog T-shirt was hard to come by, I only got one after completing two tug-of-war games, some wellie wanging, a wheel barrow race, and a sack race! A cocktail half way through the day, consisting of Ardbog, lime juice, gomme syrup & lavender liquor, quenched the thirst nicely.

Slainte! Kat

Whisky Discovery #498

Ardbeg 'Ardbog' (52.1% abv, 2013)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

circa £80.00 (when it was released)

The whisky has been named after the peat bog that gives the whiskies from this distillery its heavily peated character. Ardbeg’s is one of the peatiest malt whisky, which I’ve been advised ‘with a phenol level of the peat measured at an average 55-60 parts per million’. Compared with say a Lagavulin with phenol levels of around 40 parts per million. 

Ardbog is a marriage of Ardbeg whisky that are at least 10 years old, that has been matured in bourbon cask and in Manzanilla sherry casks.

So What did we think?

Kat's notes: 

Nose: My first thought was warm buttermilk pancakes with lashings of maple syrup and rashes of crispy bacon. Followed by the smell of a burgundy Chesterfield sofa on a hot day, nutmeg, hazel nuts, toffee, medicinal aromas - TCP/Band-Aid, all balanced with a background note of smoke. It’s also noticeably dry. 

There’s not a major change to the aromas after adding a drop of water. Only noted the smokiness mellows, bringing out more of the sweet maple syrup characters & nut notes. Personally the high ABV is not a problem here and prefer this dram without water.

Palate: I was very happy when it offered most of flavours of what it promised in the nose. At the first second when it hits the palate, there’s a short hint of mint mouthwash. Shortly follow with maple syrup, toffee, peat smoke, iodine/seaweed, very nutty with a nice coating of nut oils from hazel & Brazil nuts. Again, it is a nice balance of sweet and savoury that’s a little dry which helps cut through some of the richness of this whisky. 

With water, the only change that I noticed was that the minty & smoke characters become distinctively like black cardamoms. 

Finish: Nutty, peat smoke/wood charcoal, iodine, hint of sea salt and black cardamoms. 

To sum up for me it’s like eating maple syrup pancakes with crispy bacon after brushing your teeth or using mouthwash, and somehow these flavours combined to make a really delicious dram. It is a great execution of balancing sweet, savoury, and peat smoke.

Dave's notes:

Nose: Very typically 'Ardbeg' with a definite smoky bacon 'Frazzles' over a 'stable' element, with earthy peat, straw and cowshed (yes, I've slept in one). The medicinal notes are all there; iodine, old style crepe bandages, menthol, as is the charcoal and coal dust. There are sweet notes with rich honey and good Balsamic vinegar, similar to my wife's homemade salad dressing, and plenty of sea salt. Digging deeper there are some fleeting delicate floral notes underlying.

Palate: A peaty sweetness, albeit not quite as sweet as I was expecting. Sooty charcoal notes begin give the dry mouthfeel and there's a short spicy build up, but again not quite as spicy as I was expecting, more of a mild chilli heat to me (I do eat a lot of chilli though). There's a salty tang that sneaks up on you too.

Finish: A long and drying finish, woody sawdust. The salt that sneaked up on the palate and the sherry sweetness remains for a long time too, but charcoal is more dominant and stays right through and beyond!

Verdict: I was fairly certain that Ardbog was quite similar to their Uigeadail so decided to taste these alongside each other. They both have a similar 'make up' (Bourbon and Sherry casks) although Ardbog specifies Manzanilla casks, the colour is difficult to differentiate between the two and flavour profiles are quite similar although the Uigeadail comes across as slightly sweeter and more rounded. That said the Ardbog is very drinkable however value for money? I didn't think so and would prefer to spend my hard earned cash on Uigeadail or Corrywrecken and still have some change in my pocket.

Whisky Discovery #350

Bunnahabhain 23 Year Old Abbey Whisky (44% abv, IB, D.1989)

Islay Single Cask Malt Whisky

Circa £79.95 70cl Only available from Abbey Whisky

This is the second release from 'The Rare Casks' series by Abbey Whisky, and follows on from their first release, a 17 Year Old Caperdonich

I was very fortunate to be sent a sample of this magnificent Bunnahabhain, a 23 Year Old single cask, single malt Scotch whisky. This limited edition release was distilled in 1989 and left to rest for 23 years in a refill bourbon barrel before being bottled in 2013 with only 96 bottles filled, in its natural form, at full cask strength, without chill filtering or colour additives.

The 'The Rare Casks' is an exceptional range of limited edition single malt whiskies bottled exclusively by Abbey Whisky, and each release will be available in very limited quantities.

So What Did I Think?

The dram that arrived at Whisky Discovery HQ

The colour of pale gold, the nose opens up with pears, before turning decidedly tropical. A touch of pineapple, but not the fresh cut pineapple itself, but more the aroma of the skin once it's been sliced off. There's mango and lime juice with some linseed oil too

It fresh, fruity, zesty even, but very gentle. The nose continues with aromas of  vanilla, and floral,  notes, delicate blossom, sweet scented jasmine and peach blossom.

On the palate there's a lovely peat reek along with a tender sweetness edged with a citrus tang. The floral note from the nose is more orange blossom now. 

A soft pepper spice gently fades leaving that very tender peak reek and a light saltiness to remind you that this cask matured in a maritime environment.

Overall this is a very gentle Bunnahabhain, exceedingly drinkable and while the nose and palate are very delicate, there is so much enjoyment from the dram I had. It is absolutely delicious!

Want one? You really had better be quick as there are only 96 bottles available from this first release For more information see Abbey Whisky Bunnahabhain 23

Many thanks to Abbey Whisky for considering me to taste this rare whisky. For more information visit their website: www.abbeywhisky.com

Bowmore Tweet Tasting

It was a great surprise to receive a Twitter message from Morrison Bowmore Master Blender Rachel Barrie, also known as 'Lady B' or @LadyBlender to give her full twitter handle. Rachel is a fairly new Twitter user but she has very quickly become established as one of the #whiskyfabric and very willing to discuss whisky with anyone, although there is a Morrison Bowmore bias (Bowmore, Glen Garioch and Auchentoshan) but then many of the new releases are by her own fair hand.

Four beautifully packaged mini flagons, complete with cork stoppers, of Bowmore whisky arrived just in the nick of time for the Wednesday evening Tweet Tasting. 

A Valentine's Eve date with four 'mystery' drams from the legendary Bowmore Distillery, Islay's oldest, and a group of whisky enthusiasts all there by invitation.

Each bottle was labelled with the #LoveBowmore hashtag and numbered, one to four. Bottles one and two had the % abv stated whereas bottles three and four were marked 'cask', and all four had been selected by Rachel.

I came across Bowmore whiskies fairly late in my journey, not registering my first discovery until number 167, starting with the wonderful 18 Year Old. I'm not sure why it took me so long, but have enjoyed everything I have tasted since and have been fortunate to try some really special expressions too.

With some brief introductions we were all ready to start at seven o'clock, pouring out our first expression into our glasses.

Whisky Discovery #308

Bowmore Small Batch Reserve NAS (40% abv)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Circa £33.00 70cl

Small Batch Reserve is a fairly new release from Bowmore, and I have seen its gracing the shelves of our local supermarkets since the run up to Christmas last year.

We didn't know what this was when we started, so all of our tweets were just as we saw it. I did save half of my sample so I could sit back later and enjoy at my leisure and write a new set of notes in order to check against my initial thoughts. The expression was guessed correctly, but not by me, as this was a new 'Discovery' to me.

Once we had established what expression the was Rachel explained that this was a marriage of 1st/2nd fill bourbon casks, where the first-fill casks give vanilla, cinnamon spice, bourbon oak and the second-fill casks giving fresh fruits, brine and creamy malt. She also went on to say that she had selected casks from a number of years to give complexity; younger casks for malt, older casks for the mint notes we were picking up and middle aged casks giving the  fruit and salty notes. All had been matured in the No. 1 Vaults in top quality oak casks which adds sweetness, complexity & fresh spiced ocean notes.

So What Did I Think?

My Tweets read as follows:

Nose: Orange peel, Straw Bales, a bit of earthy smoke, flashes of toffee notes, now evolving fresh minty notes with some salt too, toffee notes starting to feel more chocolaty

Palate: Very gentle, light sweetness, some orange notes under a wispy fragrant smoke, slight salty tang

Finish: A long finish with an earthy smokiness, brine and black pepper drying my mouth

Which I summarised by tweeting: Small Batch Reserve A complex nose gentle palate and long finish Orange Mint & Toffee, Earthy Brine and a wispy fragrant smoke

When I revisited the second half of this sample and gave it some time to develop there was some vanilla fudge and sea salt, the orange notes I picked up earlier turn more lemon/lime like and a sweet waxy honey starts to shine through. These citrus notes on the palate appear more orange like though.

This was a very pleasant opening dram to our four dram tweet tasting, a new Bowmore expression. What did the others think? Here's a few of the tweets that caught my eye:

@RobAllanson: Very sweet cereal on the nose. Fresh cut barley fields, spent match, toffee apples, warm rye bread and a seaside picnic

@cowfish: Nose: Porridge with brown sugar and candied orange peel, a hint of the sea and some light earthiness.
@EdinburghWhisky: Candyfloss, salted caramel, rhubarb boiled sweets & vanilla. Lovely!
@TheWhiskyBoys: Nose: oily, orange zest, muscle shells, soapy, sea salt, beach shingles
@ifotou: Nose quite subtle but has a spicy, peppery note, malty and cerealy, a touch of malt loaf was expecting more peat

@petedrinks: A smooth and almost creamy in the mouth, nice start to the evening! 

Whisky Discovery #196

Bowmore 15 Year Old Darkest (43% abv)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Circa £50.00 70cl

At first I thought this could be the 18 Year Old on the colour, but at first nose was put right and hinted at 15 Year Old Darkest right at the beginning of this tasting. I've tasted the 15 Year Old Darkest before, once at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show last October, and then again at a tasting with Phil Nickson, so not a new discovery, but a welcome return to a great dram.

My Tweets read as follows:

Nose: Rich and Fruity, dried fruits Figs Dates & creamy dark toffee notes wisps of peat smoke, tarred hemp rope, licorice

Palate: The palate is just as rich as the nose, still fruity with perhaps some mandarin orange, more woody and pine notes.

I didn't go on to add much more after this, just sat back and enjoyed the rest of this expression and fairly certain I will be adding a bottle of this to my shelf sooner or later.

What did the others think? Here's a few of the tweets that caught my eye:

@EdinburghWhisky: Nose: dates & figs in syrup, dark treacle, sultana cake too. A smouldering beach BBQ. Still quite restrained though.

@jasonbstanding: Definitely licks of savoury smoke about the bouquet.The more it sits the more the fruit backgrounds and smoke comes forth
@cowfish: Nose: leathery sherry notes, burnt sugar, medicinal edges but fruity and creamy behind light coal smoke.
@RobAllanson: Nose: a little shy, some sherry rancid, cherries, candied citrus peel. Then an open humidor, drying tobacco leaves
@MaltReview: A great marriage of sweetness & peat. Bitter chocolate, sultanas, raisins, chewy, spices. Citrus and brine again.

Whisky Discovery #309

Bowmore Tempest IV NAS (55.1% abv)
Islay Single Malt Whisky

For our third expression of the evening I'm still not quite sure if we were tasting the latest release of Tempest, a 10 Year Old cask strength expression or the recently released Dorus Mor Small Batch Release No. 1 which was released at the end of January for the US market.

Both expressions are made up of first-fill bourbon casks, and have been hand selected for distillation dates and warehouse position to create a 'spiced by the ocean' taste. All of these first-fill bourbon casks were hand picked and married. Some were vatted as Dorus Mor, some for Tempest IV. Rachel said that there would be subtle differences.

The Bowmore Tempest is listed in Ian Buxton's 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die, so is an important dram in my journey (I've been busy checking these off since buying his book in November 2011!)

My Tweets read as follows:

Nose: Bright and Lime zesty, there was also an underlying earthy musty note to this too

Palate: Sweet entry then POW! Zesty Citrus and hot peppers before mellowing sweet and creamy vanilla and lemon curd

Finish: Another lengthy finish balanced with sweet icing sugar, brine and tobacco and a peat smoke drifting though it all. This is my favourite so far, is it a 10 Year Old Tempest?

What did the others think? Here's a few of the tweets that caught my eye:

@MaltReview: Sweet shop. Tropical. Sharp apples. Coastal again. Classy. It settles to reveal grapefruit, the citrus flavours almost hiding the peat, but it comes to the fore. Then summer puddings.
@Girl_Whisky: I'm almost crying after the first sip .. amazing! Sparkling all over!
@jasonbstanding: Has maritime and honey notes, and gives me a sense of the tropical fruit that Tempest B1 had.
@RobAllanson: Waxy mango, dried apricots, spun sugar, a lemon zest hit. Plenty of depth. The fatty part of air dried ham. Creamy
@cowfish: Taste: Intense. Soured cream, vanilla and zest up front bursting into sweet coal and wood smoke, with a touch of tar.
@petedrinks: Fresh and oh-so-drinkable despite the strength; sweet, fiery, tingly and fresh - a step away from what I normally think of with Bowmore

Whisky Discovery #310

Bowmore 'Mystery Dram' (circa 57% abv)
Islay Single Malt Whisky
TBC

We still don't know what we have tasted here. We were told that our finale dram was only ever touched by Rachel's hands. A virgin to our taste-buds.  Rachel went on to tell us that this has been taken from the deepest darkest corners of the No. 1 Vaults where it has been hiding for years, and teased out just for our date tonight. Something very special to tease us all!

We've got no cask details, no age of the spirit, all we were told was it was sitting at around 57% abv when Rachel drew it from the cask.

The colour suggests a Sherry Butt or Port Pipe, and after spending a bit more time with it I think that this may be maturing in a Pedro Ximénez Sherry butt as there seems to be some familiar notes in the nose and finish of this. I wasn't the only one who has said PX but I know a few others though Port. Rachel is keeping very tight lipped about this one, we've all asked several times but our tweets and direct messages have been carefully ignored!

So What Did I Think?

I was pretty careful with this expression, only releasing a small amount of whisky into my nosing glass at a time. I also saved half of it to sit back with later, as not only was I struggling to keep up with the Twitter banter going on, but I realised that this was something special and needed to be given some time.

I tweeted at the time "What a rich and luxurious nose this one has, moist fruit cake, with toasted almonds on the top - glorious!" But spending some time with this one after the event got so much more from this interesting whisky.

Perfumed, yet Earthy. Sweet rich fruit cake-mix flavours, figs, dates, raisins, cocoa powder and some coffee grounds, a sweet fragrant smoke that floats through the nose and a earthy peat deep under the rich sherry notes of an aged Oloroso or Pedro Ximénez, and some dark toffee notes too.

On the palate it's sweet yet spicy, dark and almost menacing with burnt toffee, rich sherry soaked fruit cake, toasted almonds, espresso coffee notes and plums. The finish is long, very long with cloves and liquorice and leaves a slight metallic note in the mouth at the very end.

What did the others think? Here's a few of the tweets that caught my eye:

@MaltReview: Oh sweet lord yes. This is lovely. Crème brûlée. Toffee. Gentle maltiness and peat seeping in, but we're onto dessert now.
@steveprentice: Last up for the night, and I'm already guessing it as my favourite, someone set fire to a sherry soaked log.
@EdinburghWhisky: Nose: seared scallops, BBQ'd seafood (shrimp?), HP sauce, manuka honey, Jamaica cake & smoky bacon crisps just for starters!
@WhiskyLaing: Like Christmas in a glass... Stewed fruits, coal fire and Christmas pudding! Divine Deliciousness!!
@cowfish: A bit of a swerver - deep nose into intense taste, softening to darker flavours and finish, with a fresh fruity death.
@Girl_Whisky: Just when I think she's said it all. She saved the best for last. She rolls her eyes with a smile
@jasonbstanding: Makes me think of a dark-eyed intriguing woman, who piques your interest, plays hard to get, and is all class.
@ifotou: Plum Jam, huge huge notes of plum jam, with gentle sweet cigar ash, with more fruit, touches of orange and cloves.

Finally a massive thanks to Rachel who ran this single-handedly and made an excellent Tweet Tasting host. If you're not following her on Twitter, I suggest you hop over right now, and follow @TheLadyBlender.

Whisky Discovery #306

Bunnahabhain 23 Year Old Master of Malt (46% abv D:20/10/89)
Islay Single Cask Single Malt Whisky
£74.95 70cl (only available from Master of Malt)

A 1989 vintage single cask Bunnahabhain from those chaps at Master of Malt

This twenty three year old Bunnahabhain is from Master of Malt's Single Cask series and was distilled on the 20th October 1989. Single cask Bunnahabhain whiskies apparently have a habit of being quite different from one another. This particular cask is like a whisky caricature of the Scottish moors, perfect for experiencing the Highlands and Islands from the comfort of your armchair. 

The cask itself was a refill hogshead which was drawn on the 28th November 2012, yielding just 253 numbered bottles.

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

Nose: Seaweed and a stormy coastline join salted caramel and damp moorland heather on the nose.

Palate: Faintly peated, with a soft creamy mouth-feel and notes of grapes and leather.

Finish: Long and heathery with notes of spinach, pepper and some peat smoke on the distant horizon.

Overall: Bunnahabhain doing what it does best, this dram is like tasting a windswept moor. Phenomenal.

So What Did We Think?

I initially wrote in my notebook 'a maritime nose' with seaweed on the beach, and then started getting the faint whisper of peat smoke. There were soft fruity notes underlying which reminded me of the recent tastings of two of the core range that I was introduced to at the Wine and Spirits Show last November (cracking little London show).

There was a definite peated note on the palate, yes only faintly but very much there. The soft fruity notes from the nose is there on the palate, sweet green grapes came to mind, and there is a herbal taste like lavender.

It finishes with some peppery spice and the whispering peat smoke returns, lingering for a long time. I really enjoyed this single cask Bunnahabhain, and love the light smoke over the sweet soft fruit. The empty glass does indeed smell of peated malt.

I was 'pulled up' on this last Sunday when tweeting about this one being peated. I was told that Bunnahabhain did not start producing peated whiskies until the late 90's. I checked with my copy of Malt Whisky Yearbook which seems to confirm this where it states: "For a long time Bunnahabhain has been one of the few Islay whiskies that have been unpeated, but since the late 1990's a peated version has also been produced"

I have a Signatory Vintage bottling of a 'heavily peated' Bunnahabhain on my shelf from 1997 which falls in line with this statement, but then I recall the recent Berry Bros & Rudd Tweet Tasting where another 1989 single cask Bunnahabhain was tasted, this too had 'peated' notes within the flurry of tweets received that evening. It would seem that there could well be some 'peated' whisky being produced before the official distillery records. If this wasn't a peated malt, perhaps these casks had held peated whisky previously, imparting a peaty notes to the spirit?

Whisky Discovery #289

Laphroaig Cairdeas Origin 2012 NAS (51.2% abv OB, 2012, 70cl)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

circa £45.00 70cl

Laphroaig was the first whisky I ever bought, and the first whisky club I joined too. I immediately joined 'Friends of Laphroaig' upon finding the unique bottle code on the leaflet within every bottle of Laphroaig, and promptly became a landowner, owning one square foot of property on Islay!

The beauty of becoming a Friend of Laphroaig is that you automatically get 10% off of most shop sales, and then on your birthday, you are sent a voucher which entitles you to a further 10% off of your purchase. The voucher is valid for a good few weeks so you don't have to make any rash decisions. I was about to spend my voucher on an 18 Year Old, but this limited release came up and I had to have it. Perhaps I'll get the 18 Year Old on my next birthday, it's definitely on the wish list after tasting it at the Birmingham Whisky Club Whisky Show last month.

So, getting back to the blog post, this bottling was released at the Feis Ile, to celebrate the very popular Friends of Laphroaig whisky club turning 18 years old. Càirdeas means friendship in Gaelic, a which is rather a fitting name for this expression, although probably difficult to pronounce unless fluent in Gaelic!

The thoughtful chaps and chapesses at Laphroaig retained some of the very first Càirdeas for the ‘Friends’ 18th birthday expression .This whisky is now between 13 and 21 years old. It was then blended 50:50 with some new spirit fully matured in quarter casks for 7 years and bottled it without any chill filtering for maximum flavour, and at 51.2% abv strength, the last two digits matching the year of production.

So What Did We Think?

I'll come straight to the point - I just love it. There's a flash of citrus zest before the iodine medicinal notes strike. I was tasting this alongside the Bowmore Enigma and it's much more earthy than the fruity Bowmore. Its grassy with straw bales and charcoal, ash and dust it's a deliciously 'dirty' dram and reminds me of the charcoal village that I used to drive through when I lived in the Far East - I loved driving through that camp where they made lump wood charcoal. Eventually I was able to tease some fruit out of it - firm white grapes, and some very faint toffee notes.

Water seemed to have little effect on the nose, the charcoal remains dominant throughout.

On the palate the peat hit is instant, there's a light sweetness accompanied by some salty brine. The citrus zest found on the nose appears on the palate too. There is an immense spicy pepper build up in the mouth, attacking the tongue, but it subsides quite quickly once swallowed, leaving a delicious earthy peat flavour.

Water tames the fire and makes the dram both sweeter and softer.

The finish is long and satisfyingly warming with a balance of smoke peat, charcoal, a tangy sweetness and light brine. Long and lingering like a dying beach bonfire and then right at the very end, liquorice root appears. I just adore it. Have you tried it ? What did you think?

Whisky Discovery #288

Bowmore 12 Year Old 'Enigma' (40% abv, OB, 2011, 1ltr)
Islay Single Malt Whisky
Circa £40.00 (Travel Retail Exclusive)

Bowmore's Travel Retail 12 Year Old

The Bowmore Enigma is a 12 Year Old whisky normally only available in 'duty free' shops for travel retail, however I have seen it advertised for sale in the usual on-line whisky stores.

This bottle has been on my shelf for a long while before I got around to opening it. It should have been my first Bowmore of my journey, but with so many things going on I never got around to opening it until the weekend before Christmas. It was given to me by a friend who had been on a business trip in France or Germany and saw that it was on offer at two (litre) bottles for £55.00. He bought a pair and sent one over for me, arriving at Whisky Discovery HQ way back in March on the first International Whisky Day!

This 12 Year Old Bowmore is an unusual expression of Bowmore boasting a higher proportion of sherry matured spirit in its make-up, resulting in a much richer and sweeter style.

So What Did We Think?

You'll have noticed (hopefully) that I've been blogging alone for a few posts recently, that's because Kat has been busy with an Open University Degree course, and has a pile of assignments to complete which understandably take priority over writing her thoughts about the different whiskies we're tasting. She has still been tasting most of the whiskies with me though, and shared this one with me on the Sunday after Christmas.

The Enigma's colour is quite a rich bronze colour, however it would be because colouring has unfortunately been added. I'm not sure if the colouring has any effect on the taste of the whisky as have heard conflicting stories from both sides of the camp, however, I just feel it shouldn't be necessary any more, let the whisky take on it's own colour from ageing in the casks, and who cares if there is a variation from one batch to the next? Well that just my personal opinion.

On the nose this has a subdued Islay smoky peat, rich sherried fruits and malty toffee notes. The sherried fruit notes get stronger with more time in the glass, as does the toffee notes which start to turn more like toffee popcorn. Breathe deeply and there is the zest of a lemon. With water the maritime notes develop giving some fresh seaweed aromas. The nose really appealed to me, and I could quite happily sit nosing and sipping this one all evening.

On the palate it is quite sweet initially but slowly builds up to a hot and spicy kick on the tongue which quickly subsides returning to sweet toffee flavours before a robust smokiness pushes through with the faintest touch of salty brine.

The finish is long with a little white pepper, a salty sweetness and a dying smoky peat fire gradually fading. I'm really enjoying this Bowmore and wish I had opened it earlier. The nose is rich and fruity with the gentle smoke underlying and in the mouth it's full on and almost chewy. This is definitely worth slipping into your bag on your way home.

(Photo credits to my youngest daughter - she made me add this last line)

Wemyss Malts Tweet Tasting

The Whisky Wire's first Tweet Tasting of November and a new Whisky Discovery for me. Wemyss Malts is an independent bottler owned by the Wemyss family from Scotland, whose family seat is Wemyss Castle in Fife where they've lived since the 1300s.

It's easier to say than read! You pronounce it 'weems' and is the Scots words for caves - as in the caves that pepper the rocky shore of Fife where Wemyss Castle looks out to sea. The family have a long-standing passion for malt whisky and their connection with the industry dates back to the turn of the 19th century when John Haig (founder of Haig's Whisky) built his first distillery on Wemyss land.

As well as this they also have someone with unsurpassed knowledge and expertise on their side, Charlie MacLean, the Scottish authority on malt whisky and star of the 2012 movie 'The Angels Share'.

We were each sent four expressions to sample in this first Wemyss Malts Tweet Tasting, two of their highly acclaimed blended whiskies and two of their 2012 release single casks whiskies.

With preparations in place we kicked off our evenings education at 1900 with The Whisky Wire's Steve Rush and Karen from Wemyss Malts hosting proceedings, all tweets contained the hashtag #WEMYSSTT

Almost Dram o'clock and ready to rock 'n' roll!

Whisky Discovery #235

The Hive 12 Year Old (40% abv)
Blended Malt Whisky
Circa £35.00 70cl

The 12 Year Old Blended Malt 'The Hive' from Wemyss Malts

For our first dram of the evening we started with The Hive. This is a blend of malt whiskies, with an emphasis on 12 Year Old Speyside malts from both fresh and refill Sherry casks.

Official Tasting Notes
The colour is rich and bronze, which hints at the sherry cask maturation. Nosing reveals sweetness and a hint of spice; reminiscent of fresh honey, toffee apples and cinnamon sticks.  The rich, honeyed sweetness continues onto the palate; dominating over aromas of dessert spice and candied fruits.  The lengthy finish is smooth and sweetly satisfying.

Julie told us that 16 different single malts going into the blend of The Hive, and all of them would need to be older than 12 years old

So What did I think?

After swirling my glass to coat the inside of it I had long thing legs running quite quickly down the glass leaving oily like beads around the top of it.

The nose was a little shy at first and needed to be teased out, but once it comes it is immediately sweet and spicy. The sweetness coming from heather honey, but there's a fruity element too, rosy red apples and soft pears, then there's a yeasty, malty flavour; fresh pastry dough and yeasty bread mix as well as malted milk biscuits.

On the palate it was light and fruity, pears being the more prominent fruit now, but jelly beans too! There's a little pepper spice which is softened by the honeycomb sweetness. As it fades there is a dry nuttiness to it. With a drop of water it is much creamier and the vanilla notes come to the forefront.

The finish is a balance of sweetness, a light saltiness and a citrus tartness  at the back of the tongue making the mouth water, very satisfying. A great start to our evening with Wemyss Malts.

Some of my favourite tweets for The Hive 12 Year Old

@TIA568B Honeyed fruit, soft creamy vanilla fudge, maybe a little floral and grassy?
@julie_gwc  Honeycomb for me on the nose - does what it says on the label!!
@steveprentice A rich, sweet, slightly nutty nose. Something seems very familiar about this one, but can't put my finger on it...
@rickfurzer The Hive - spices first, then a wave of honeyed barley & the Sherry then starts to come through - rum & raisin?
@the_josephellis Quite an oily palate, getting lovely sherried fruits now and picking up those pears soaked in honey
@galg Palate: very creamy. lots of fruit, caramel candy, some sherry, dark chocolate, nuts
@whiskyrepublic It just nestles into your mouth, nothing in your face about this dram, certainly not taking my tongue hostage.
@champdenwhite Fabulously smooth and honied on the palate, then a kick of spice with edges of vanilla and even a touch of caramel.
@KirstyChant Now getting salted caramel/toffee on the palate and that pepper is kicking in but it's not too much. Quite fruity on the finish

Whisky Discovery #236

Lord Elcho 15 Year Old (40% abv, Bottled August 2012)
Blended Scotch Whisky
Circa £50.00 70cl

The new Premium Blended Scotch Whisky, 'Lord Elcho' from Wemyss Malts

From The Hive 12 Year Old we moved on to the recently released 'Lord Elcho'. A premium blended Scotch whisky, which is named after one of the Wemyss ancestors Lord Elcho (1721–1787) was the eldest son of the 5th  Earl of Wemyss and was a commander in Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army until his defeat at the Battle of Culloden

Official Tasting Notes
Colour: Rich and golden with copper tones
Nose: Rich and warming with subtle hints of sweet spice and sandalwood coming through.
Palate: Mouthcoating, robust and smooth, imbued with luscious spiced fruit and cloves.
Finish: Long, lingering and uncompromisingly luxurious.

So What did I think?

In the nosing glass this had thicker legs than The Hive, they were much slower moving too, and there was an even coating of the glass with no droplets forming.

This had a much richer nose, with a fudge like toffee sweetness, spiced rum, sherried fruit cake, vanilla ice cream, tobacco and chocolate notes. Spices came with sandalwood and liquorice and there was a richness of polished wood and old worn leather.

Rich and creamy mouth feel, luxurious even. With sweet plump grains and toffee fudge, spicy pepper which quickly fades leaving a dark chocolate note.

Much spicier finish than The Hive and with espresso coffee and hazelnuts. This is a really nice quality blend which I would love to have on my shelf. Dear Santa, I have been a very good boy this year.........

Some of my favourite tweets for Lord Elcho 15 Year Old

@the_josephellis Nose, battenberg soaked in spiced rum

@champdenwhite Nose stewed apples, and a touch of marzipan, the marzipan then becoming amaretto biscuits. Some ceder then bit of spice

@AWReviews Nose - Peanut brittle, salted caramel, maybe star enise or clove? slightest touch of wood, balsa wood maybe

@LRWhisky We're getting chocolate fudge and raisins, followed by a little liquorice and vanilla.

@rodbodtoo Nose is soft, with a bit of everything - malt, dried fruit, fudge, a wee echo of smoky salt

@TheWhiskyWire Oven baked bramley apples & grilled peaches, dusted with crushed pink peppercorns

@whiskyrepublic I'm getting a citrus "shimmy", sweet warm dry tobacco wafts, & flirty sherry notes

@julie_gwc Elcho is like stollen cake - marzipan and dried fruits - yum! Bit of caramel cake too

@DramStats Nose: closed. Furiously warming the glass! Opens up to reveal rich raspberry ripple ice cream with raspberry sauce

@galg taking a sip from this lovely Elcho nectar ; sherry galore, creamy, fudgy, chocolaty, cocoa  wood, fortified wine

@DramStats 

Palate: Sweet , creamy vanilla, and raspberry sauce (raspberry ripple ice cream) Black Cherry, dark chocolate, Szechuan pepper

Whisky Discovery #237

'White Chocolate Torte' (46% abv D.1988 B.2012)
Single Cask Speyside Malt Whisky
Circa £84.00 70cl

White Chocolate Torte - a 24 Year Old from Tormore Distillery

Our next dram “White Chocolate Torte” is one of this years' five single cask releases from Wemyss. This is a 24 year old from the Speyside distillery, Tormore. Distilled in 1988 and laid to mature in ex-Bourbon barrel which produced 251 bottles at 46% when bottled earlier this year.

Official Tasting Notes

Colour: Golden Honeycomb

Nose: Creamy white chocolate truffles, watch your calories with this one! Presence of delicate fruity notes such as glacé cherries, lychees and Seville orange marmalade (with orange peel)

Palate: Instantly warning in the mouth, chocolate note still evident but now as dark chocolate and bitter orange. Fresher than expected from the nose, lingering on the tip of your tongue. The addition of water harnesses the fresh notes and brings a slight sweetness (can we detect dessicated coconut?) which makes this dram truly irresistible.

Finish: Delicate with hints of citrus freshness

So What did I think?

Thick slow legs in my nosing glass and a very even coating of the glass. Wow! Another nose I have been surprised at - I was a little cynical when I rad the label and official tasting notes, white chocolate? from a single ex-bourbon cask? How is this even possible? The nose on this is just like a white Magnum ice cream! There is the 'Milky Bar' white chocolate notes clearly evident. There's a light fruity note of light oranges, satsuma-ish, rich spicy oak notes before the creamy bourbon cask vanilla kicks in.

A lovely sweet and creamy mouth feel with bags of vanilla and white chocolate, the posh ones that seem to come out at Christmas (I'm not a big chocolate lover ordinarily and rarely buy any). The spicy oak slowly building into a crescendo before gently fading back allowing the creamy vanilla and white chocolate to return.

The finish was a great balance of sweetness and saltiness with some citrus freshness. This appeared to be the favourite of the evening for many, and surprisingly for a couple of 'peat heads' (me included too). I'm probably be too late to snap one of these 251 bottles up unless I have a bonus payout or a lottery win this week!

Some of my favourite tweets for 'White Chocolate Torte'

@dvdbloke Hold on. can't talk. minigasm over this nose!!
@AWReviews Massive wave of raspberry ripple ice cream, intense vanilla, icing sugar, glace cherry and apple crumble
@TIA568B Nose: Wow... Just wow, spot on with the name, I was a bit cynical, but yeah, white chocolate, milkybar, lovely!
@julie_gwc White Chocolate Torte - bashed up hazelnuts and almonds with a bit of citrus and wood!
@champdenwhite After that blast of white choc, there are lots of crystallised fruits, then fresh oranges.
@whiskyrepublic Those legs are walking down the side of my glass! Rich, pungent nose, dense fruit flavours, chocolate melted over marshmallow.
@dvdbloke Nose - don't know where to start, rich white choc, all things fattening and sumptuous.
@LRWhisky Summers ice cream by the beach (with a white 99) - what a palate
@the_josephellis A luxurious bittersweet mouth coating dram. Spicy oranges hit the back of my mouth but the front is all creamy and sweet!
@TIA568B Apricot and peaches, kiwi fruits in pavlova, more of that white magnum taste, a digestive biscuit cake base, love it
‏@whiskyrepublic This is a "comfort blanket" of a dram. Wrap it round yourself & sit in front of the fire! A definite favourite.

Whisky Discovery #238
'Beach Bonfires' (46% abv D.1998, B.2012)
Single Cask Islay Malt Whisky

Circa £75.00 70cl

Beach Bonfires - a 14 Year Old from Laphroaig Distillery

Our final dram of the evening was a second expression from the latest Single Cask release, this one being from Islay's Laphroiag Distillery. Distilled in 1998, matured in an ex-Bourbon hogshead yielding 357 bottles at 46% when bottled earlier this year.

Official Tasting Notes

Colour: Chenin Blanc

Nose: A good honest, reliable instant nose of minerals and earthy smoke. Reminding us ofthe location of this distillery there are huge notes of salty coastal, wet fishing net and tarred ropes. The slat note of a newly opened bag of nuts. Sweet BBQ sauce, coal and beach bonfires.

Palate: IFull bodied. This whisky is loaded with toasted cereal and dark stout malt. The lively smoke smoulders in your face at a beach bonfire. It fells like walking in to a smokehouse, intense smoke covering your eyes.

Finish: Sweet, sweet smoke, lasting a lot longer than a finish expected of a 14 year old whisky.

So What did I think?

Thick slow legs again, and a good even coating  which eventually leaves some oily droplets around the top of the glass.

The nose on this is just as the label tells us, and after the last whisky, I was ready for it too. Beach bonfires, salty driftwood freshly washed up on the high tide line and still covered in damp seaweed, charcoal from last nights BBQ, damp tarred hemp ropes, memories of rock pooling in Cornwall with the kids when they were younger. Salty beach pebbles drying in the sun, the smell of the cinder tray when cleaning the fireplace out in the morning after a wood fire, and ah! Those Laphroaig medicinal notes....

On the palate it was peaty but sweet, malty notes of a fresh granery loaf, peppery spice and chili heat, the beach bonfire charcoal was back and finishing with salty brine, coffee grounds and gentle smoke. It's truly mouthwatering.

I was sure this was going to be my favourite of the evening. The first whisky I ever bought was Laphroaig 10 Year Old, but the previous white chocolate surprised me and just pipped this overall on the evening, but then you never forget your first love ;)

Some of my favourite tweets for Beach Bonfires:

@LRWhisky Beach Bonfires This is my whisky. Memories of the beach at Port Ellen, of sunshine on Islay and of fine beachside whisky

@champdenwhite Lovely earthy nose with big dollops of smoke. wet seaside rocks.
@dvdbloke I'm getting that bacon fat roasting on a beach thing going on! crispy
@KirstyChant Reminds me of being down at the harbour waiting for my uncles' boats to come in.
@AWReviews Lovely salty driftwood, damp pebbles and oodles of lovely cinder ash smoke with nutella spread and malt
@TIA568B Seaweed and smoke, not overly strong though, smoky baccon pringles, still quite sweet, but that iodine's creeping in.
@DramStats TCP, Sticking plasters, Very coastal and salty. Lobster traps, Crabs (the crustaceans), sweet BBQ sauce, fennel, seaweed rocks
@rickfurzer Scallop shells n seaweed - with iodine coming through like a cut mouth. Then salinity comes through and makes your mouth water
@whiskyrepublic A dram that embraces, surely a challenge to those averse to Islay's charms. Seductive, mellowing, softening, with more air,
‏@TIA568B Nutty and woody, dry, salty, burning kelp - lovely!

As per previous Tweet Tastings there was a great deal of tweeting going on and to see what happened search on the #WEMYSSTT hashtag on twitter for the full story!
Yet another great experience and another highlight of my whisky journey, registering a fabulous four new ‘discoveries’ A massive THANK YOU to Steve Rush at @TheWhiskyWire and to Karen from @WemyssMalts

This events tweet tasters were: 

@TheWhiskyWire @WemyssMalts @WhiskyRepublic @EdinburghWhisky @KirstyChant @champdenwhite @Whisky_Demon @rickfurzer @WhiskyDiscovery @LRWhisky @dvdbloke @TIA568B @DramStats @mohler @AWReviews @julie_gwc @rodbodtoo @PMaitlando @the_josephellis @galg @steveprentice

If you want to be included in the next Tweet Tasting make sure you are following @TheWhiskyWire on Twitter to find out what is happening.

For more information see: www.thewhiskywire.com and for information about Wemyss Malts see www.wemyssmalts.com