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?

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

Whisky Discovery #128

SMWS 29.115 Candy floss in a fairground (55.8% abv)
Islay Cask Strength Single Malt

Club bottling, not for general sale

The first of my membership celebratory drams

Towards the end of the show we moved back to the SMWS stand - I had decided that I should join the Single Malt Whisky Society and needed to do it at the show to take advantage of the special offer.

So dram No.24 of the afternoon was in celebration of my new membership, I love a peaty whisky, and this was my request.

'Candy Floss in a Fairground'

My notes had gone a little 'wayward' by this time of the day and have limited legible writing to recall so can only post the information available on the label and on the SMWS (sorry!)

This Islay malt was distilled in November 1989 at the Laphroaig Distillery and laid down in a refill ex sherry butt, 22 years later when bottled, yielded 617 bottles at 55.8% abv

The nose was savoury (lamb, gammon, smoked sausage) with definite tobacco (Players Navy Cut), peanut M&M’s, Stollen, banana loaf, raisins, cumin and jasmine. The taste suggested a sea-soaked collie being hair-dried! We also found roasted, salted peanut shells, vanilla, big smoke (smoked mussels?), nettles and ginger cake. The reduced nose evoked hurricane lamps in a loft, while the previous savoury experience became black pudding, haggis and soy sauce. At last, some sweetness came to the palate (candy floss in a fairground, peaches in syrup) along with gunpowder, fruit tea, geraniums and laurel flowers. The distillery produces Prince Charles’ favourite dram

Drinking tip: After paddling in the sea or while drying your hair - well I never got the chance to do that, just a healthy dram at the SMWS stand in The Shakespeare Centre! 

Whisky Discovery #4

Laphroaig Quarter Cask (48% abv, OB Bottled +/- 2010 70cl)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Circa £25 at my local supermarket

A New Year 

I was recommended to try this out at a New Year party, and was told that Tesco had this on special offer at around £25 so headed straight there on New Year’s morning.

First released in 2004, this bottling was aged for five years before being finished in a quarter cask for seven months, the size of the cask is quite small, thus does not require such a long maturation. This is truly a great achievement from Laphroaig.

The Nose is Oily and buttery, with toffee, nuttiness, hickory, bicarbonate of soda, rum and raisin ice cream and zest. A big rush of sweetness on the palate, in fact it’s an explosion of sweetness, with fiery chilli heat, medicinal TCP, sweet cereals and a touch of cola syrup. A medium length finish, but becomes fruity, with custard and cigar smoke.

Whisky Discovery #1

Laphroaig 10 Year Old (40% abv, OB, Bottled +/- 2010 70cl)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Circa £25 and available at all of my local supermarkets

The first bottle purchased

The first purchase of my journey.  Not knowing where to start I stood looking at the store shelves determined to come away with something. It had to be a single malt, but I only really recognised The Glenfiddich 12 Year Old . Knowing this was usually available everywhere I wanted to try something a little different and eventually picked up a Laphroaig 10 Year Old. I think I had vague recollections of seeing the Laphroiag tube in my father’s drinks cabinet many years ago.

I knew it was an Islay single malt, and I had recently enjoyed another Islay malt, the Caol Ila that set me off on this journey

With anticipation I opened it as soon as I got home and was immediately welcomed by the Islay nose I was expecting.