The Glenfiddich Distillery Experience

Last week I was invited to the launch of the Glenfiddich Distillery Experience, a new tasting tool for their global ambassadors that will allow them to take guests on a very personal guided tasting tour of the distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. Created by acclaimed design agency Purple Creative, it is an innovative virtual journey, filmed from the point of view of a visitor, allowing guests to experience the magic of the distillery from anywhere in the world.  

The event was held at The Moving Picture Company in London's Soho, and I used up my last half day of annual leave so I had time to get home and take the train down to St Pancras station and take a slow walk down to the venue. Yes, I walked from St Pancras! Google maps said it should take me around 30 minutes, and they were pretty accurate. I took the Tube back afterwards and it took roughly the same time 'door to door'

Global Ambassador Ian Millar introduced the invited few (I think I was the token blogger) to The Glenfiddich Distillery Experience, a virtual distillery tour, that takes you through the whisky making process from the mash house, to the marrying before bottling and encompasses many of the other warehouses and processes at the distillery through a clever interactive map of the distillery.

The main screen and interactive map of the 'virtual distillery tour'

The Glenfiddich team approached design agency Purple Creative to bring this idea to life in what is claimed to be the world’s first virtual whisky distillery tour. The Glenfiddich Distillery Experience is a virtual journey, filmed from the point of view of a visitor to the distillery. Ambassadors can talk their guests through the production while clicking on the different areas of the distillery, taking people into the mash house, still house, cooperage and warehouses, revealing videos of filmed footage which very cleverly blends from an animation into real footage, following the staff at the distillery as they go about their work.

Seamless transition from animation to video - very clever!

Each whisky tasting can be tailored to suit, and our presentation had a flight of five Glenfiddich distilled spirits which were tasted as we reached certain points in our virtual tour. 

With the introductions over Ian launched into our tour and we started at the Mash House. Milled malted barley (grist) is shipped into the distillery for the start of the process, the mashing. As we are taken into the interactive map, the animated sequence seamlessly evolves into the video as we follow one of the staff into the building and through to the 'Mash Tuns' and onto the fermentation 'Wash Backs' where the first identifiable pear flavour, the signature note of the Glenfiddich 12 Year Old is created leads us nicely into our first dram of the evening:

The flight of Glenfiddich distilled spirits

Whisky Discovery #10

Glenfiddich 12 Year Old (40% abv)
Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Circa £20 –£30

It was one of the early whiskies in my journey and I'd forgotten how fresh and fruity this whisky is. With delicious floral notes, crisp pears, malt and honey on the nose it's light and easy to drink, being very smooth with sweet floral flavours and gentle spice on the palate. This is one of the world's best selling single malts, the famous green triangular bottle has become a fixture in just about every bar on the globe. This is the whisky that probably pioneered the entire single malt category that we know today. 

A still from the Still House!

The next stage of the story is the distillation of the wash and the interactive map leads us into the Still House. Following the same pattern of animation evolving into video, Ian introduced us to another staff member as he walks us through the stills, explaining the process in as much, or little detail, as required. We're shown the 'Low Wines' still and 'Spirit' still, how the process works, and it is at this point we are given the chance to nose/taste the 'new make spirit' as if it had just been taken from the Spirit Safe.

Whisky Discovery #343

Glenfiddich New Make Spirit (circa 70% abv)
Speyside Distilled Spirit
Money can't buy Dram #1

If you want to know about whisky I believe it is essential that new make must be experienced. It's not for the faint hearted though as normally new make is around 70% abv, and Ian suggested that we simply dipped our finger into it and then touch our tongue, I wanted a little more and so nosed and tasted it properly (and drained my dram) - all in the name of my voyage of discovery. Nosing this, very carefully you can pick out the dusty barley husks from a harvest crop and a pear juice concentrate, thick and sweet. The high alcohol content makes it difficult  to taste without burning the taste buds clean off the tongue, so again carefully sipping there's a delicious sweetness with a citrus edge underlying.

From the Still House we were led to the Cooperage and then onto Warehouse 6 where we learnt about the training required to become a cooper, the casks used at Glenfiddich, and the marrying process while being introduced to the Glenfiddich 18 Year Old

There is a great video of the cask being put together when you visit the Cooperage

Whisky Discovery #14

Glenfiddich 18 Year Old (40% abv)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Circa £40 –£45

The 18 Year Old is a fabulous dram, and one that has been on my shelf since early on in my journey. With rich flavours of baked apples and cinnamon, the 18 year old is married in oak tuns for at least three months in small individually numbered batches of less than 150 casks, having previously matured for 18 years.

After leaving warehouse 6 we were taken into Warehouse 8, where the solera vat is housed, which led us perfectly onto our next dram, the Glendfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Vat

The unique Solera Vat

Whisky Discovery #83

Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Vat (40% abv)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Circa £35 –£40

I love the Solera Vat! Unique to scotch whisky, the Glenfiddich solera vat marries together whiskies matured in three types of casks. The vat is kept at least half full all times and creates a wonderfully rich complex single malt with delicious notes of heather honey and sweet dates. If you're not sure what a solera vat is, I go to some lengths to explain it in the blog post for the 15 Year Old

Leaving the solera we made our way to the archive, where the story of Glenfiddich was retold and we were introduced to our final dram, simply named retro on our tasting slate, this was specially created for this tasting session and based upon the Glenfiddich Straight Malt 8 Year Old, the malt that made history. Created in 1963 by Sandy Gordon, great grandson of the distillery's founder, it was the first whisky to be sold as a single malt in it's own right, creating the entire category we know today.

Whisky Discovery #344

Glenfiddich 'Retro' (circa 40% abv)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Money can't buy Dram #2

My ears pricked up on hearing about this creation based on the 1963 Straight Malt. Being a child of '63 I would be very interested in having a bottle of this, but unfortunately it had been created specially for this event and never to be made again according to Ian, but what was that the say? Never say never....

The nose was rich with sherry notes, dates, figs and rich toffee. It had a smooth and sweet entry on the palate before a quick burst of spice, plenty of cloves in this. The finish had notes of wood and leather. My final question of the evening was 'is there any more?' So while everyone was enjoying cocktails, I was 'mine sweeping' the spare drams of retro. Well I won't get a second chance will I?

Ian Millar went on to say "The Glenfiddich Distillery Experience is without doubt the most valuable tool our Ambassadors have ever had. It engages audiences, and provides an insight into our production processes that no verbal explanation could ever hope to achieve"

It certainly is a very clever tool, it won't ever beat going to the distillery to experience all of the sights, sounds and smells, but if you're the other side of the world, and get the chance to partake in a tasting with a Glenfiddich Ambassador, it's pretty darn close!

Bruichladdich Tweet Tasting

Hot on the heels of last weeks Irish Whiskey Tweet Tasting, Steve Rush of The Whisky Wire has treated us to our first trip over to Islay to explore a bounty of progressive hebredian delights from the Bruichladdich distillery.

Checking back through my 'Liquid Log' I've only tried one Bruichladdich on my journey to date, which is really quite shocking! I tried the Laddie 10 last year as part of a sample swap and Skype tasting with @whiskyrepublic

I must admit I don't recall seeing a great deal of Bruichladdich at the whisky shows attended last year and although I know they were exhibiting at last weekends Whisky Birmingham festival, I foolishly kept clear of their stand so tonight's tweet tasting would be the first real exposure to this distillery. 

A fabulous line up of four 20cl samples from Bruichladdich

I read a really interesting article about the re-birth of the Bruichladdich Distillery a couple of weeks back in The New Yorker entitled 'A Letter from Islay' which tells the story of how Mark Reynier managed to get his hands on the distillery, eleven years after first setting eyes on the place in 1989. 

Last summer the company made the announcement that it was selling out to Rémy Cointreau, the French company whose products include Rémy Martin cognac and Cointreau liqueur.

The generous samples arrived at Whisky Discovery, four 20cl (quarter) bottles, one each of The Organic, Islay Barley 2006, The Laddie Ten and Black Art 3.

As usual the proceedings started at 7:00pm and all tweets should have been tweeted with the #Laddie10TT hashtag

Whisky Discovery #340

Bruichladdich The Organic NAS (46% abv)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Circa £38.00 70 cl

This latest Bruichladdich Organic follows on from the 2003 edition. There are few current production single malts that are certified organic. It has been made with organic Scottish barley which is certified by the Biodynamic Agricultural Association. It's a lightly peated multi vintage vatting in which Jim McEwan has brought together the finest organic barley from their own and partners farms, the distillate being matured in ex-bourbon American oak casks 

So What Did We Think?

Kat: Kat is still suffering with cold symptoms so has not tasted these yet. We'll update the post as soon as she had gathered her thoughts

Dave: The nose opened with sweet grapes for me, this was followed by green apples, Robinson's Barley water, it's malty, with soft citrus notes and with time fragrant floral notes, jasmine like develop. The nose of this evolves with notes of kiwi fruit, a light touch of honey, a subdued white pepper and the smell of a recently harvested wheat/barley field with some earthy tones. With a drop of water the sweetness of the nose is enhanced and vanilla notes are more prominent

On the palate it was sweet on entry with a light brine taste. It has a very smooth and gentle mouth-feel. There are flavours of malted milk biscuits, barley sugar, sweet pear drops, almonds, and a very gentle spiciness. The gentle sweetness slowly fades with some more summer harvest notes, lovely! he Organic is velvety smooth, very drinkable! 

A very light delicate dram, velvety smooth and gentle in it's approach with sweet barley water, honey and lemon flavours. This is very drinkable and would be a great summer picnic dram

So what did everybody else think?

@rodbodtoo: First sniff and I got a big whack of pears! And Eau-de-cologne!
@mattveira: Nose: Bags of cereal character, hints of lemon and buckets of vanilla! 
@ifotou: Definitely has a grape like quality, lots of nice oak and vanilla custard, touches of the fruity malt loaf that my wife likes too
@TheWhiskyOracle: On the palette, a hint of sandalwood or nutmeg
@mynameisgone: Palate citrus fruits, peppery but with a sweet note running behind it 
@champdenwhite: Honey almonds and sweetness up front. Barley sugar and then pears (drops, not tinned this time).
@sjoerd972: Finish is light and crisp again. Wild flowers, barley, some crisp grape like quality on a backdrop of malt, wood and vanilla.

Whisky Discovery #341

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2006 NAS (50% abv)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Circa £38.00 70 cl

This is the second release of their 'Uber-Provenance Islay Barley Series' I have a bottle of the original 2004 release (and the proof plate that I won last year) which I have still not opened yet!

This spirit has been distilled from barley grown by partner farmers on Islay specifically for Bruichladdich. This release has been made from Barley grown on the eastern side of the island in Jubilee field at the place known as the 'Headland of the Gallows' on Dunlossit Farm.

@Bruichladdich: The 2006 Islay Barley is about as Uber-provenance as you can get. Single vintage, single farm, single field

So What Did We Think?

Kat: Kat is still suffering with cold symptoms so has not tasted these yet. We'll update the post as soon as she had gathered her thoughts

Dave: The nose opened up with some oak wood, it's spicy and has a dusty barley quality, like following the combine during harvesting. The honey and lemon notes are there again, but this  time more zesty. There's some soft apple and buttered shortbread and after a little longer in the glass it becomes more like a grassy summer field with lots of dandelion flowers. I had to dig deep to find the sweet vanilla notes of a soft fudge. This has a very interesting nose.

The palate gives honey with a squeeze of lemon, fresh barley, apples, crisp conference pears, and some faint vanilla notes. On my second sip and the sweet barley water is very clear, a peppery spice follows which fades becoming dry, almost nutty with some orange peel too, then right at the very end a touch of brine. The palate of this is just as interesting as the nose and I'm looking forward to crack the 2004 I have soon.

So what did everybody else think?

@LRWhisky: The nose is astounding. Bags of cereal and barley, topped off with orange peel and a dusting of cocoa
@LaCaveDeCobalt: Once again I got pears on the nose from this 2006 Islay Barley
@DramStats: Fingerprint of malted barley on a farm, green apple, custard creams, crumble topping again and a clotted cream note.
@champdenwhite: Gorse flowers and some heather. Intense but not heavy, a little honey and a little sea breeze with zesty lemon
@whiskytube: This is very grassy with a slight lemon sweetness coming through. Lovely fresh hot barley too!
@abbeywhisky: Taste: wow, big thick honey, lemon zest. Spice/pepper. Oak, vanilla. Fresh grass
@Little_Tipple: Great combination of both creamy chocolate and sweet orange on the palate, superbly complex!

Whisky Discovery #138

Bruichladdich The Laddie 10 (46% abv)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Circa £35.00 70 cl

The very first ten year old whisky to be wholly distilled, aged and bottled following Bruichladdich's resurrection in 2001. In many ways this marked the beginning of the new era.

I have tasted this before, after trading samples with fellow whisky enthusiast Dave Allcock, the Whisky Dramalista (@whiskyrepublic)

So What Did We Think?

Kat: Kat is still suffering with cold symptoms so has not tasted these yet. We'll update the post as soon as she had gathered her thoughts

Dave: I haven't looked back at my previous notes yet, but remember being impressed the first time I tasted this during a Skype whisky tasting with @whiskyrepublic. 

This time I was getting a struck match note at first, which was followed by some medicinal notes, Germolene, Deep Heat, and TCP. After a very short while it softens to be more like charred wood, and the smell of rain after a warm dry day, slowly sweetening the longer it's in the glass. Then it starts to become spicier with some salt marsh notes, a little earthy, brine and samphire and there was a light peat reek too. With water white pepper tickles the nose.

The palate started sweet, the struck match note from the nose is there, and I love it. There are notes of malted fruit loaf with lots of sultanas, some ginger comes across towards the end and there is a wisp of wood smoke, like well charred wood gently smouldering.

So what did everybody else think?
@whiskytube: The Laddie Ten has an almost tar like thickness on the nose. I can almost smell the viscosity
@abbeywhisky: A lot going on, but all quite light and rather hard to pin down. Slightly medicinal, getting lemon and ripe banana and honey
@TheWhiskyOracle: Light, Light, Light Hint of seaweed and coastal aromas
@petedrinks: Mellow; not so sweet as the previous two, hints of the sea, definite TCP, has me stood on a beach on Loch Indaal
@mattveira: It's weird, as this is an unpeated whisky.... but I smell it somewhere. Possibly from casks used to hold peated whisky?
@TheWhiskyWire: The first two things I picked up were varnish & brine. I like varnish & brine! 
@ifotou: Definitely has a peatyness to the palate with malt loaf and banana skin in there too, there's a sweet floral taste also.

Whisky Discovery #342

Bruichladdich Black Art 3 1989 22 Year Old (48.7% abv)

Islay Single Malt Whisky

Circa £95.00 70 cl

Our final dram was a little bit of a treat. This is the third release of the Bruichladdich Black Arts series.

So What Did We Think?

Kat: Kat is still suffering with cold symptoms so has not tasted these yet. We'll update the post as soon as she had gathered her thoughts

Dave: The darkest of the whiskies tasted this evening and the nose opened up with notes of Oloroso sherry, big red grapes, fresh if slightly over-ripe Victoria plums, very fruity. Fry's chocolate cream with a touch of mint, Balsamic vinegar, dark soy sauce, and some leather too.

The plums lead on the palate which are accompanied with some tinned peaches. It has the feel of a rich red Bordeaux and has some lovely aniseed notes coming through when swallowing which leaves a very dry Amontillado hazelnut finish, very drying with lots of tannins.

So what did everybody else think?

@DramStats: Raisins, oloroso, treacle, date crumble, touch of cough mixture
@WHISKYILEACH: Dried fruits, Oak wood spices, lots of sherry and christmas spices and apples
@abbeywhisky: Slight mint notes ? maraschino cherries. Nice Port notes
@sjoerd972: Port for sure, raisins, leather and furniture polish, dried prunes, mint, slightly salty, sticky toffee pudding, some white oak
@champdenwhite: even a touch of cigar box, once the sweet flavours abate. Are there Bordeaux casks at play?
@TimothyAlcock: Nose sherry, raisins, Jamaican rum, sultanas, yacht varnish, school hall floor, Christmas, marker pen, pipe tobacco
@rodbodtoo: balsamic, and leather, and old pipes, chocolate (a ganache, to be precise) endless red fruits

So what was my favourite? Again it is difficult to pick just one as all four are great drinkable whiskies. If I've got the money in my pocket and I have to buy one for my shelf, I think it will be the Laddie 10 for my first buy, but if it was a warm summers day I might easily have been persuaded to pick up The Organic.

As per previous Tweet Tastings there was a great deal of tweeting going on and to see what happened search on the #LaddieTT hashtag on twitter for the full story

Yet another great experience and another highlight of our whisky journey, with three new discoveries for me, and it was the first time Kat had tasted anything from the Bruichladdich range. Tweet Tastings really are a great way to taste whisky.

A massive THANK YOU to Steve Rush at @TheWhiskyWire, The Bruichladdich Distillery  @Bruichladdich for the exceedingly generous samples and for making sure we all got our drams and of course the tweet tasters.

This events tweet tasters were:

@TheWhiskyWire @Bruichladdich @abbeywhisky @WHISKYILEACH @ifotou @petedrinks @TimothyAlcock @DramStats @WhiskyDiscovery @LRWhisky @champdenwhite @WorldWhiskyDay @Smokiechops @rodbodtoo @Little_Tipple @mattveira @whiskytube @TheWhiskyOracle @caskfinishcom @sjoerd972 @LaCaveDeCobalt

For more information see: www.thewhiskywire.com and www.bruichladdich.com

Whisky Birmingham 2013

Last Saturday I had a fantastic day out at Whisky Birmingham, Birmingham's first large-scale festival devoted to whisky and whiskey. Amy Seton (@thewhiskymiss) Birmingham Whisky Club's founder, organised her first event in December as a 'taster' for this, the main event. 

Whisky Birmingham 2013 was held at The Bond Company in Digbeth just a 10 minute walk out of the city centre, and what a superb venue it is. situated alongside the historic canal.

The key events line up for the day included the first public opening/tasting of Paul John Cask 163, three Masterclasses: A cheese and whisky matching; A cigar and whisky class; and a Dominic Roskrow class talking about the place for independent distilleries. A 'Bloggers Choice' stand with Living Room Whisky which included a 'Tweet Meet' in order to get whisky tweeters together in actual real life! And it didn't end after last pours at 16:45 either. An after-hours 'Speakeasy' had been organised to follow with Glenfiddich whisky cocktails created and served by cocktail-alchemists The Victoria, giving a chance to chill, relax, drink, eat and chat that extended the day till 20:00. Can it get any better than that?

Mike and Jon in their new 'whisky geek' T-shirts

My first port of call was the 'Bloggers Choice' stand hosted Living Room Whisky (@LRWhisky), to catch up with Jon and Mike, who had set up a very comfortable lounge, had an impressive array of whiskies to try and came sporting flash new T-shirts. 

Jon poured me a glass of Ichiro's Malt 'The Floor Malted' from the Chichibu distillery, a punchy 3 Year Old from Japan bottled at 50.5% abv. I could have settled into their comfy armchairs all afternoon, and while I was enjoying the first dram of the day Billy (@cowfish) arrived and stopped for a dram.

Deciding that I should move on, I headed into the main hall and spotting Dominic Roskrow (@WhiskyTasting)  I headed over to his Craft Distillers Association (@craftdistilling) stand and tried some really interesting whiskies.

Dominic's first suggestion was from Australia and a single cask Sullivans Cove, matured in a French Oak Port cask. Award wining stuff too, as it was named Spirits Business magazine’s World Whisky Grand Master 2012, Wizards of Whisky Australasian Distiller of the Year 2012 and Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray’s 2013 Whisky Bible.

The first of two from New Zealand

From Australia I moved across to New Zealand and tried two expressions. The first one came from independent bottler Thomson and an 18 Year Old single cask which was rather good. This was followed by a blended whisky from the Dunedin Distillery and their 10 Year Old DoubleWood.

2011 heralded the rebirth of the New Zealand Whisky Industry. The Dunedin Distillery DoubleWood was the first whisky launched as part of that revival. This is a blend of 70% Single Malt whisky, and 30% grain whisky, bottled at 40% abv. Aged In American-Oak barrels for 6 years and then finished for 4 more in French-Oak North Island Wine Barrels, which gives this whisky a rich burgundy hue. This came across as quite thin, very 'winey' but eminently quaffable.

Dominic had quite a few interesting drams with him, including some cask samples in medicine bottles, one of which supplied my next new 'discovery' and a whisky from France. I've been wanting to get my hands on some French whisky for a while and had heard good things about the Glann ar Mor distillery in Brittany. Kornog is their peated expression and this was one of the highlights of my show.

I could have spent the rest of the afternoon with Dominic, but knowing I had already booked to be in his Masterclass later that afternoon, I decided I must move on, but really wished I had returned and try some of the other 'world whisky' he had brought for tasting.

Alongside Dominic was a stand from Ireland and another whisky (whiskey) that had been on my list since reading Ian Buxton's 101 World Whiskies to Try Before You Die, 'Writers Tears'. 

Trevor Gillespie introduced me to the next highlight of the show, a cask strength expression of this whiskey. Writers Tears is a pot still Irish whiskey and fitted in perfectly from last weeks Tweet Tasting of Single Pot Still Whiskey from Midleton. Trevor told me how The Hot Irishman was planning to start distilling their own whisky in the very near future. I followed Writers Tears with a dram of their single malt called The Irishman

Cask Strength version of Writers Tears (not available in the UK yet)

Thinking I ought to start thinking about getting some food I started making my way out towards the BBQ but got distracted as I returned to the Living Room Whisky Stand as it was now approaching 1400 and the 'Tweet Meet' was starting. 

I met local whisky enthusiast Sarah Waters (@Mad_Morag) and enjoyed two more drams here starting with the fabulous Karuizawa Spirit of Asama, first tasted at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show last October, which I followed with another new discovery and Port Askaig 12 Year Old, and independently bottled Islay whisky, from and 'un-named' distillery that one would assume should be close to Port Askaig on the Isle of Islay (there are no prizes for telling me which distillery this is from!)

Festival Food was being catered for by Birmingham 'Soul Food Project' and I enjoyed a bowl of Chicken Gumbo out in the sunshine alongside the canal (yes I said sunshine! it was a glorious day in Birmingham on March 2nd)

Returning to the main tasting hall I caught up again with Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky. We had tasted their first release at the Birmingham Whisky Show in December, and now they were unveiling their second single cask release, another limited release of just 150 bottles which will be available from The Whisky Exchange very shortly, but it was really interesting to learn that Paul John will be releasing a core expression Single Malt whisky in the very near future.

It was The Whisky Shop (Birmingham) that provided my next two drams, two that had been on my list for a little while, firstly the Glenfarclas 21 Year Old from the independent, family owned distillery, who are famed for their rich full flavoured sherry cask matured whiskies. This was followed by a Single Grain whisky simply named Cameron Brig. Very few grain whiskies are marketed in their own right and so this is definitely worth checking out as part of my continuous whisky development.

With the time fast approaching 1530 and the Masterclass with Dominic Roskrow imminent I made my way to 'The Boardroom' to make sure I could get near the front. Dominic had brought five different whiskies, and we started with a single cask release from Wemyss Malts, and a 1996 vintage from the Benrinnes Distillery named 'Ginger Compote'.

This was followed by a Japanese whisky, Ichiro's Malt Double Distilleries, a vatting of whisky from both the Hanyu and Chichibu distilleries. This whisky had been matured in Japanese oak, vatted and bottled at Chichibu in 2010.

From Japan we travelled to Sweden and tasted Hven Urania Single Malt Whisky which came in an unusually shape chemistry lab flask shaped bottle. The Spirit of Hven distillery is located on the small island of Hven in the strait of Oresund between Sweden and Denmark. They state that they are the worlds smallest commercial Pot Still distillery, and everything from mashing to fermentation, distilling, maturation and bottling is carried out on site. 

The final two drams of Dominic's masterclass came from closer to home, The fabulous Spice Tree from Compass Box and magnificent Blue Hanger from Berry Bros & Rudd, both of which I have tasted before at a number of different events.

With the Masterclass over I decided I really out to add American whiskey to my truly international experience and headed over to the Buffalo Trace stand where I was keen to try their White Dog Mash #1. 

White Dog is the un-aged distillate that eventually become bourbon. In Scotland we'd call it 'new make'. If you've never tasted spirit straight from the still, this is something you should really try! For my final dram of the day I stayed on the Buffalo Trace stand and sampled the Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10 Year Old.

I had a train to catch so was not able to hang around for the Speakeasy, but what a fabulous idea! I had  a wonderful day out, it was great to catch up with old friends and make some new ones too. If you're on Twitter and aren't following these maltheads, do something about that soon. @thewhiskymiss @LRWhisky @cowfish @WhiskyTasting @craftdistilling @whiskybrum @Mad_Morag @Double_Clicks

I had tasted nineteen different whiskies during the day, which was only a fraction of what was available. Of those nineteen, sixteen were new to me and seven of the ones I tasted are in Ian Buxton's 101 books. I'd also tasted whiskies from nine different countries, and at least three more were represented there. (England Wales and The Netherlands)

Whisky Birmingham was a huge success in my book, great venue, great whisky, exceedingly well planned, and a sell out! Well done Amy and her team, ably project managed by Joe Ellis (@whiskybrum) for pulling this off. Look out for Whisky Birmingham 2014!

The full dram list, with links to separate blog posts where applicable and when finished!

• Whisky Discovery #324 Ichiro's Malt The Floor Malted (50.5% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #325 Sullivans Cove French Oak Port Cask (47.5% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #326 Thomson 18 Year Old (46% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #327 Dunedin Distillery DoubleWood 10 Year Old (40% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #328 Glann ar Mor Kornog (46% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #329 Writers Tears Cask Strength (52% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #330 The Irishman Single Malt (40% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #210 Karuizawa Spirit of Asama (48% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #331 Port Askaig 12 Year Old (45.8% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #332 Paul John Single Cask P1-163 (57% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #333 Glenfarclas 21 Year Old (43% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #334 Cameron Brig (40% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #335 Wemyss Malts 1996 Benrinnes 'Ginger Compote' (46% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #336 Ichiro's Malt Double Distilleries (46% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #337 Spirit of Hven Urania Single Malt Whisky (45% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #93 Compass Box The Spice Tree (46% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #317 Berry Bros & Rudd Blue Hanger 6th Release (45.6% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #338 Buffalo Trace White Dog #1 Mash (62.5% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #339 Buffalo Trace Eagle Rare (45% abv)

Midleton Single Pot Still Tweet Tasting

For the first Tweet Tasting of the year with Steve Rush of The Whisky Wire we were treated to four Irish Whiskies from the Midleton Distillery Company.

The buildings of the Midleton distillery began life as a wool mill in the very late eighteenth century, which was converted into a distillery in 1825. The world’s largest still with a capacity of 31,618 gallons was part of the installation and the distillery produced a range of brands.

In 1966 the company joined John Powers and John Jameson to form the Irish Distillers Group and a new distillery was built at Midleton to produce their brands. The new distillery has a capacity of 19 million litres annually and the Old Midleton distillery has been preserved for posterity.

There was a time when Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey was the world's favourite, but tastes changed and history played it's part and these pot still Irish whiskies all but disappeared from view. Fortunately for us they didn't, and there has been a renewed interest in them.

The four whiskies arrived in plenty of time, and when I found out what was on the menu I quickly realised that I had tried all of these expressions before. In fact all four of these feature in Ian Buxton's 101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die and his follow up 101 World Whiskies To Try Before You Die (two in each). 

As usual the proceedings started at 7:00pm and all tweets should have been tweeted with the #SPSWhiskeyTT hashtag

Whisky Discovery #80

Redbreast 12 Year Old (40% abv)

Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Circa £40.00 70 cl

Redbreast was first launched in 1939 as the brand name given to the pot still whiskey supplied by Jameson to whiskey bonders before bottling at the distillery became the norm in 1968. 

We first tasted at The Whisky Lounge London Fest last April and loved it. The cask strength version has been on my list for a while too. Steve told us that the Redbreast 12 Year Old is matured in Oloroso sherry casks and is the largest selling Single Pot Still Irish whiskey in the world.

So What Did We Think?

Kat: (notes to follow) Unfortunately Kat has picked up a cold on the evening of the tweet tasting, so although she was able to take part, she hasn't been able to compile her notes for this blog post, but as soon as we have them, we'll upload them.

Dave: Very soft on the nose initially, clean and fresh, some crisp pears, cream soda like vanilla, light honey sweetness. There's some Pale Cream Sherry notes and after a little time spent nosing some black pepper started to develop. I was quite surprised to learn that this is Oloroso casks? There is a lot of creamy vanilla and only light sherry notes on the nose. With a drop of water it seemed sweeter on the nose and I was getting a coconut aroma from it.

This has a fabulous smooth, sweet entry to the palate with honey and caramel flavours, black pepper spice too. There are more sherry flavours than on the nose with a little more rich fruit. It is delicious!

So what did everybody else think?
@fr1day: Nose: rich and luscious - toffee, coffee, spice and citrus oils. Love it!
@themisswhisky: A nice bit of wafting caramel, strawberry foams and fresh grass
@TheWhiskyBoys: NOSE: Toffee wafers, slowly roasted logs, raspberry coulis and a light caramel latte
@DramStats: Caramel, vanilla, caramac bars and condensed milk, there is apricot and a waft of raisin with wafers and mr whippy ice cream.
@whiskytube: Palate: Really buttery sherry trifle with lashings of spicy honey and sultanas! #SPSwhiskeyTT
@steveprentice: On the palate is very easy, light, fairly full bodied which is a plus for a 40%, sweet and moreish.
@bumpythechemist: Palate starts of clean, with some pear drops, then goes bitter sweet followed by big spice

Whisky Discovery #79

Green Spot NAS (40% abv)

Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

circa £35.00 70cl

Green Spot was originally produced specifically for Mitchell & Son of Dublin, and was specifically produced for and sold by this Irish independent wine merchant.

The Mitchells sold a range of whiskeys under their ‘Spot’ brand name. This rather peculiar name originated from their practice of marking casks of different ages with a daub or spot of coloured paint. There was a Blue Spot, Red Spot and even a Yellow Spot, but Green Spot emerged as their most popular whiskey and is one of  the few “whiskey bonder brands” to survive to modern day.

Green Spot is a blend of 7-12 year old single pot still whiskies, a quarter of which have matured in sherry casks, and this was another that we first tasted at The Whisky Lounge London Fest last April

So What Did We Think?

Kat: (notes to follow)

Dave: Buttery, Biscuits, crisp green apples, some green unripe banana, toffee apples, there an underlying herbal note, grassy. The nose has a certain sweetness to it which reminds me of a hard candy, but can't put my finger on it! Citrus notes come through with limes

Much sweeter on the palate than the nose suggested, with a smooth and creamy mouth-feel, stewed apples in crumble green wood notes and some spicy pepper. The pepper notes fade quickly leaving a drying bitterness at the end of this, grapefruit pith like.

I loved this the first time I tasted this and really enjoyed revisiting this as it is a great tasting whisky, though not overly complex it is very satisfying. Reading back through my notes I've notice a lot of 'green' notes apples, bananas, wood, grass - is this all subliminal?

So what did everybody else think?
@fr1day: Nose: Woah! Lovey toffee sweetness - reminds me of visits to the newsagent with my 50p pocket money
@RLemkin: Really getting the apples jumping out at me
@mynameisgone: Grassy, lime not getting the sweetness like others
@bumpythechemist: Herbal almost vegetal notes on the nose, then creamy green apples?

@themisswhisky: DAMN I forgot how good Green Spot is. Seriously: could drink this for breakfast 

@DramStats: Green spot palate: Very sweet with black pepper and creamy vanilla then bitter grapefruit into a finish that dries the mouth

@TheWhiskyBoys: TASTE: banana fritters from the local Chinese restaurant, clove rock and a hint of pernod

Whisky Discovery #81

Powers John's Lane 12 Year Old (46% abv)

Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Circa £46.00 70cl

James Power founded his distillery at Thomas St. in 1791 moving shortly afterwards to a larger site at John’s Lane near the western gate of Dublin.

It was at John’s Lane that the Powers whiskey legend originated and gave rise to one of the most quintessentially, Irish whiskeys. Using a pot still distillate which is true to the original style of John’s Lane, the whiskey has been matured for not less than 12 years, mainly in 2nd fill American bourbon casks, with a small contribution of distillate which has been matured in Oloroso sherry butts.

This was my favourite of the three Irish whiskies we first tasted at The Whisky Lounge London Fest last April.

So What Did We Think?

Kat: (notes to follow)

Dave: This needs a little time to breathe before the sweetness comes through and when it does it is heavenly. This was my favourite of the first three whiskies this evening and was the same last time I tasted them, it has a fabulous nose. The fruit comes through with lots of  sweet sticky dates (I've got a thing about dates recently, buying them by the bucket load) but underneath this sticky sweetness are earthy notes of hand rolling tobacco, and suede leather, (it reminded me of the leather sewn onto yacht steering wheels). Toffee notes come later, dark toffee with and some bitter chocolate/coffee notes too.

The palate starts sweet with the fruit, a touch of orange, apricot and the dates from the nose. spicy, peppery fresh ginger slowly builds before relaxing back to a creamy vanilla fudge with some sweet honey or light syrup. It finishes with some cereal notes; biscuits, oats, and some burnt toast or charred wood which starts to dry the mouth, and right at the very end there was a touch of liquorice.

So what did everybody else think?
@whiskytube: Nose: An old oak cocktail cabinet filled with luscious black grapes and amontillado sherry! 
@TheWhiskyBoys: NOSE: a big box of Thornton's truffles, a very small espresso, wet newspaper print, damp firewood
@whiskywardrobe: One of the best noses I remember in Irish whiskey
@TheWhiskyWire: A coffee oaked infusion crashing with sumptuous waves of caramelised bananas, wood spice & vanilla
@rodbodtoo: Now here's a big dram: lots of dried fruit, cake and biscuits. Very attractive
@themisswhisky: Nose note 2: Cowboy saddles and fresh lemon peel 
@DramStats: Palate: Herbal note vanilla, with lots of spice (pepper and oak), foam bananas, banana nesquik,

Whisky Discovery #192

Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy (46% abv)

Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Circa £140.00 70cl

First released in 2011, Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy has been named after the distillery's long serving and soon to be retiring, Master Distiller, and it is aged in both bourbon and new American oak barrels A limited release of around 2,500 bottles per year.

It was Billy Leighton, Midleton’s Master Blender who introduced me to ‘Barry Crockett Legacy’  at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show last October (he also introduced me to Yellow Spot as well, but that's another story). However, this was the first time Kat had tasted this whiskey.

So What Did We Think?

Kat: (notes to follow) 

Dave: I was immediately hit with a huge note of melons, cantaloupe melons to be more precise. Lots of fruits on the nose of this with Kiwi fruits, lychees and mangoes accompanying the cantaloupe melons. Citrus notes added to the fruit medley with limes and there is even a touch of mint. Eventually some creamy vanilla notes break through with a lemony top note and a pinch of white pepper.

That pinch of pepper accompanies the citrus notes on the palate too, the is a light sweetness to this delicate palate. The spicy pepper remains to the very end and there is a citrus bitterness to the dry finish.

The nose on this whiskey is fabulous with so much going on if you're prepared to give it some time. The palate is not quite as complex, but it is a real pleasure to sit and sip.

So what did everybody else think?

@DramStats: Nose vanilla, spicy, bread dough, Worcester sauce, prunes, dark chocolate oloroso soaked raisin with parsley?
@rodbodtoo: Orange oil, fruit leather, praline, leather (the leather kind, not the fruity)

@steveprentice: Nose is reasonably light with a bitter sweet note going on. Pears, melons, lime and stuff. Gentle oaky back notes.
@EdinburghWhisky: Mango, pear, pineapple. Mr Crockett got all the fruits of the forest into this wee bottle
@TheWhiskyBoys: NOSE: Midouri and Melon Balls
@themisswhisky: Palate: Mango, mango baby! Tropical island on this one, but with depth and a bit of sea water, caramel and pineapple
@fr1day: Palate: settles into a delightful fruit salad, dominated by pears. So well-rounded! 
@whiskytube: Ridiculously creamy vanilla oak in the mouth! All those juicy fruits come back! It's like liquefied fruit salad! 

So what was our favourite of this evenings Tweet Tasting? I think my money will be going on The Powers John's Lane release, this was as good as I remembered it from my first experience. The Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy is a great whisky, but set at a price that is above my usual drinking budget, so unfortunately won't be on my buying list. I still want to try the cask strength Redbreast 12 Year Old, and I've also seen they now have a 15 year old expression too. As I mentioned earlier ALL FOUR of these whiskies appear in Ian's book so all four are definitely worth checking out.

As per previous Tweet Tastings there was a great deal of tweeting going on and to see what happened search on the #SPSWhiskeyTT hashtag on twitter for the full story

Yet another great experience and another highlight of our whisky journey, although no new discoveries as such, it was the first time Kat had tasted the Barry Crocket Legacy, and Tweet Tastings really is a great way to taste whisky. The list is growing ever longer but I really must add one or more of these to my drinking shelf later this year

A massive THANK YOU to Steve Rush at @TheWhiskyWire, Midleton Distillery for distilling the whisky Lucy from  @DrinksPRAgency for making sure we all got our drams and of course the tweet tasters.

This events tweet tasters were:

@TheWhiskyWire @EdinburghWhisky @WhiskyTube @rodbodtoo @ifotou @rlemkin @mynameisgone @steveprentice @whiskydiscovery @bumpythechemist @thewhiskyboys @PresleyKa @dramstats @themisswhisky @WhiskyWardrobe @fr1day @rborghma @whiskyforum

For more information see: www.thewhiskywire.com and www.singlepotstill.com