So on June 1st, it’s once again Ardbeg Day known as “Ardbog Day” this year, when the world prepares itself for some shooglin and dramming (that’s dancing and drinking) with “Embassies” across the world springing up to host the Ardbog Day release. Last years offering was reviewed by me here, this year it’s called Ardbog and I’ve already dug it.
Ardbog Day is best experienced at the distillery itself where they really throw quite a party (as well as some peat). There are numerous additional tastings and tours to join but for the more active among you, why not try one of the many other shenanigans on offer- such as The Peat and Spade Race, The Ardbeg Wheelbarrow Race, The Peat Sack Race, Boggy Welly Tossing, Dribbling Ardbog style, Bog of WarNot to name just a few. If Islay is just a bit too far from home, check out where your nearest Embassy is and join them for a dram or two. If you are in London, then sign up for the Ardbog Day March and get your hands dirty with whatever they have planned. I’ve heard sheep walking over a Thames bridge, but my source is unreliable at best.
Anyway, enough about the party, what about the whisky?
Ardbog is a 10 year old single malt which is a combination of spirit matured in both Ex-Bourbon American oak and Ex-Manzanilla Sherry butt.
Dr Bill Lumsden, Director of Distillation and Whisky Creation said about Ardbog “At its heart our hallmark smoky yet fruity and floral spirit has been matured in Spanish ex-Manzanilla sherry casks for ten years, which has then been wrapped with traditional Ardbeg of the same age that is matured in American ex-bourbon oak casks. The Manzanilla maturation weaves salty flavours through the whisky which is then balanced with the maple syrup creaminess of the first-fill ex-bourbon casks.”
Ardbeg Ardbog Single Malt Whisky
10 year old
52.1% ABV
Non-Chill Filtered
Release date: 1 June 2013
RRP £79.99
Appearance: Rose gold with polished bronze
Nose: An inviting nose, rich and complex with both soft floral and deep earthy notes. Honeycomb with dark chocolate deepens to liquorice root dipped in caramel. Freshly dug peat combines with gentle smoke and a hint of carbolic soap creating an earthy tone with a savory edge like pata negra ham. To the end, and with a splash of water, its cider apples rolled in ash.
Palate: Creamy and full, the rich palate delivers much of the notes from the nose, swirling and drifting between sweet flowers into earthy herbaceous tones. Mid palate is hit with a salty, brine like twist wrapped in gentle peat smoke and prickly spice. Cinder toffee, clove, salted almonds and a side of grilled artichoke in peppered olive oil. Quite a mouthful!
Finish: An oily finish, lingering peat smoke and a constant sweet/savory battle in the mouth
Summary: I was quite taken aback by this one, softer than expected and a fabulous mixture of twisting sensations. Nothing really takes over, everything seems to harmonize so well. This is nothing like the standard 10 year old Ardbeg, it’s much more refined, rounded and complex.
MindBOGglingly good!
Tags: 10, America, Ardbeg, Ardbog, Bill, bog, bourbon, butt, Cask, chill, dancing, Day, distillery, Dr, dram, embassy, Festival, filtered, islay, limited, London, Lumsden, malt, manzanilla, march, non, nose, notes, oak, Old, party, peat, race, release, review, sample, Scotch, Sheep, Sherry, single, smoke, tasting, throw, traditional, wheelbarrow, whiskey, whisky, year
Ah the mighty blended whisky. Makes up about 90% of all the whisky consumed in the world today and it is due to it’s global appeal that many of the single malts we know today have survived the ups and downs that effect whisky consumption from time to time. It’s simple economics really, as we find ourselves again in a double dip or is that double-double dip recession, not everyone has the readies at hand to be buying the latest single malt release, or have a selection at home to tap into from time to time. The blend is there, as it always has been, to bring whisky at a price point that most can afford and with as much variation in character within the category, if not more than the single malt, there is something for all. Of course not all are created with entry level price points, some “deluxe” blends compete pound for pound with an 18 year old single malt and some considerably more. But you can at least begin at the less wallet busting examples and happily dram the time away. I’ve got a few favourites that I always have in the cupboard, the every day tipples that hit the spot such as Wemyss, Cutty Sark, Grants and Tweeddale but I might have to make room for yet another – Banknote.
Banknote is a blend from independent bottler A.D. Rattray which, like their Stronachie brand, has been “resurrected” and is doing well in foreign markets. It hasn’t really seen much light in the UK yet but I am sure that will change. The basics of it are that it’s a 5 year old blend with the emphasis on a sherry character made up of a 40%/60% malt/grain mix and released at 43% ABV. I like the fact that they state clearly the age, it might be a brave move but I think the UK consumer is coming to terms with the fact that age is not everything.
Banknote Blended Scotch Whisky
5 years old
43% ABV
RRP £21
Appearance: Deep straw with rose gold
Nose: A tight, sherry heavy nose with jarred apple sauce, high robust grain notes with spikes of peat, driftwood, newly varnished wood and quince jelly. Rich vanilla, almost fudge like with a caramel sauce overtone.
Palate: Oily and rich to the fore bolstered with very soft peat smoke followed closely by prickly sherry influenced spices. Orchard fruits bring a sweetness mid palate before becoming nutty (Brazil) with a light linseed oil.
Finish: Grippy and almost tannic on the finish as the nutty element fades leaving earthy spices and distant peat.
Summary: Certainly a richer style of blend and definitely a healthy amount of youthful grain in there but it all holds together rather well indeed. After the initial sherry hit, it settles to a fruity, gently spicy all rounder which I think will appeal to most.
Don’t be a single malt snob about it.
Tags: Scotch, whisky, tasting, whiskey, Scotland, malt, single, 18, Tweeddale, Grants, Blended, Grain, Old, dram, Wemyss, Cutty, Sark, New, blend, America, release, notes, review, best, UK, taste, global, age, rare, supermarket, happy, price, fine, expression, favourite, Stronachie, five, 5, easy, Banknote, A D Rattray, range, low, budget, market
Recently I stumbled upon an article about “The worlds most luxurious whisky” which turned out to be a decanter covered in precious stones retailing for $6.2 million. I was obviously intrigued by this and started to look a bit further into the idea behind the “Isabella’s Islay Malt” . Sadly, I wish I had never started.
Firstly, the website itself looked like it has been created by someone who has a good understanding of Microsoft paint, but little else. The “original” decanter, more at home in a rap video than a stately home, is simply awful and if one wasn’t enough, there is a “special edition” for those who won’t warm to their whisky with so many “rocks”.
But it is the page on the whisky itself that had me grabbing for my laptop.
For a serious whisky collector, knowledge and provenance is key but this offering seems to have forgotten that there is any need for the whisky at all. Here is the actual copy of the tasting notes from the website:
For the whisky aficionado the tasting notes for our whisky are;
Nose: Sweet, fruit, light peat with some candy & eucalyptus.
Taste: Sweet, floral, fruity and peat.
Palate: Smoke, bacon, fruits.
Finish: Eucalyptus and peat.
Now, can someone please explain where taste and palate differ as they are not referring to mouth-feel here? These are the notes I would expect from the back of a bottle of standard supermarket offerings- in fact, most are far better written. This is being touted as “A truly stunning piece and the most luxurious alcoholic beverage in the world today.”
Anyone, never mind an aficionado, may be forgiven for expecting a little more effort in the description of the decanters contents, but then again they probably don’t expect that anyone every actually open the stopper and that’s my point. Why bother putting a whisky in it at all? It’s just another example of riding the tailcoats of the current rise in popularity of whisky and quite frankly I think that’s a bit of a poor show. Decanters are not a good place to store a spirit of any type anyway unless you will be drinking the entire contents in under a year (ABV taken into consideration) and especially when the pouring of a whisky from bottle to decanter only assists in the introduction of even more oxygen to the liquid, increasing the chance of spoiling the contents more rapidly. Clearly the whisky is an afterthought as there is not even an explanation to the name, although I do have an idea about a certain Isabella who was involved with an Islay distillery.
If you have a spare 6.2 million kicking around, drop me a line. I’ll source a great whisky and we can roll an old Irn-Bru bottle in Swarovski crystals and have a great night on one the change.
By the way- from what I can tell, the whisky is from Bowmore. At time of going to press, I have not been sent a sample.
UPDATE: so my pals at Master of Malt saw the above and having a similar viewpoint wrote about a £29 million pound bottle (rather annoyingly, in a far more amusing way )
Tags: Scotch, whisky, tasting, Scotland, malt, Bowmore, dram, world, Master of Malt, America, islay, notes, review, island, crystal, special, expensive, edition, collector, design, most, isabella's, rich, decanter, rap, rip off, richest, tat, bling, diamonds, ruby, description, aficianado, expert, where, irn, bru, irn-bru, swarovski, million, 6.2, 29
It’s been a busy time for Dramatic Whisky and aside from all the tasting events and filing, the samples and invitations to new launches have been flowing through. Most notable is the fact that we have been really spoiled by the quality. Grants 25, Bunnahabhain 40, Balvenie Liberated Casks, Wemyss Single Cask Aultmore to name just a few and the most recent, the Balblair 1969 vintage. I have had the pleasure of visiting Balblair distillery and sampling the core expressions if the 2002, 1975 and a sneak preview of the 1969 vintage here. There was also a recent travel retail release of the ’96. But it was the official release of the 1969 bottle (our sample at the distillery was from a single cask!) that found me at the Soho Whisky Club earlier this week and is some rather fine company.
The distillery manager, John MacDonald was there to guide us through the tasting, and hanging on his every word were whisky writers, bloggers and retailers such as Neil and Joel from Cask Strength, Billy from The Whisky Exchange, Becky from The Spirits Business, Laura from Imbibe Magazine, Ian who wrote 101 whiskies to try before you die, Olly from Just Drinks and the list goes on.
As I said we began with the fresh and lively 2002, moving to the richer 97 then to the 89 which all revealed an incredible change in character, before the 1975 vintage which was a heady combination of all elements found in the previous vintages and beautifully balanced. Finally, the 1969 vintage.
Balblair vintage 1969 single malt scotch whisky
Distilled 1969 bottled 2012 (43 years old)
A marriage of only 6 casks 41.4% abv
Non chill filtered, natural colour
2nd fill American oak hogshead cask
RRP: £2,500
Appearance: Honey gold with warm amber
Nose: Orange blossom honey, wax candle and denta-stix. Warm brioche with baked apple, soft toffee sauce over tropical fruits of banana and pineapple with hints of cider, leather and mint.
Palate: Big rounded warm spices take hold, calmed with a touch of menthol (eucalyptus oil) struck match, red berry compote and liquorice root. Ample vanilla to round out the oak, not allowing it to overpower but compliment instead. Toffee apples dusted with cinnamon and caramel wafers complete the palate.
Finish: Complex, generous and lingering. The balanced honey/spice keeps delivering more and more.
Summary: An outstanding whisky which shows just how well this brand lasts. It is unusual to find a brand how simple relies on the age of its whiskies to make up its core expressions rather than playing around with various types of wood maturation and marriages. As a consumer, Blablair is a great choice. Get stuck into the current vinategs and start your journey towards the superb 1969. Best of all, you have a bit of time as the Balblair 1969 will be launched in the USA this year at $3500, then released in 2013 in other focus markets including the UK, France, Russia and South East Asia. Enough time to save up also!
Tags: 101, 1969, 1975, 2002, 40, alcohol, America, American, Aultmore, Balblair, Balvenie, before, blog, bottled, Bunnahabhain, Business, buxton, Cask, Club, die, distilled, distillery, dram, drinks, exchange, first, fresh, fruit, Grants, hand, imbibe, journalist, just, London, looy, luanch, magazine, malt, members, notes, oak, release, retail, review, Scotch, Scotland, Scottish, select, selected, single, Soho, spirits, strength, tasting, travel, tropical, try, vintage, warehouse, Wemyss, whiskies, whisky, wkiskey, Years
It’s pronounced “Bal-cone-ys” for those who don’t know, a fault line running east to west through Texas and in particular very close to Waco where in 2008 Chip Tate decided he would build a whisky distillery. Being the first in Texas since prohibition, Chip pretty much had a clean sheet to start from and set about gathering information, along with some plant and material, in what was to be a very hands on approach in the creation of the Balcones Distillery. With guidance from Jim McEwan of Bruichladdich in the form of a summers intense training, Chip set about literally building the distillery himself, even turning his hand to the creation of the copper pots stills that his spirit would eventually flow from. Hardly new to the alchemy of alcohol, Chip had a diploma in brewing and had consulted in the craft brewing revival that had taken place around America but it was whisky that caught his attention and taking this amount of time and effort with every aspect was sure to pay off.
These small craft distillers are seeing a rise in popularity, just like the craft beers before them, and it is no surprise that we see the likes of Balcones and Hudson to name just two, start to make there way across the Atlantic to our shores. But are they any good? Well, I have reviewed Hudson before here and below are my thoughts on four out of the seven available releases from Balcones. And before anyone points it out, Chip does not use the American “e” in naming his whisky most probably because it’s not quite what you might expect and as a result wants to keep it away from an instant association with Bourbons and American Whiskey. Chip is also using small bespoke built casks, and not all are brand new as bourbon production requires, playing with a few different sizes and varieties of cask to enhance and support the whisky he is creating. The results overall is a youthful spirit with a mature flavour and plenty of character. Certainly the quality of production is transparent in every sip, but somehow Chip has also managed to negate any discussion of age which is a bold move into a marketplace seemingly transfixed on age V’s quality with many unable to understand that young (not immature) can be great.
So first, whats it made of? Most American whiskies will be made up of a mixture of grains, know as the mash bill, and in particular a higher proportion of yellow corn with the remainder of the mash consisting of varying amounts of rye, wheat and barley.
Balcones “Baby Blue” for instance, is produced from 100% blue corn. Blue corn is not something I was terribly familiar with and have to say is something I don’t think I have ever tried in its natural form, but it is apparently an old varient of the yellow corn we know here in the UK. Popular in Mexico and the southern areas of the U.S., it has around 20% more protein and a lower glycemic index than the rest of the corn family which in turn tends to produce a sweeter, nuttier flavour when processed into food stuffs. So just how well will it transfer into a whisky?
Balcones Baby Blue Whisky
100% corn
2 years average age
46% ABV Non Chill Filtered
RRP – £54
Nose: Rich notes of honeycomb dusted with cocoa, light clove and cinnamon then earthy notes of jute fibre and ginger with caramel/butter.
Palate: With all the finding from the nose transferring to the palate with a slight amplification to the spicy elements.
Finish: Prickly yet sweet. A good balanced finish of spice and toffee.
Balcones True Blue 100
100% Blue Corn
Heavy char cask
ABV – 61.5% Non Chill Filtered
RRP – £67.95
Nose: Fresh pressed apple juice, hard toffee covered with milk chocolate, heavy waves of cinnamon, cedar wood and “Crunchie Bar” (honeycomb in chocolate) warming spices of clove/mace.
Palate: Rich earthy spices and “chewy” wood, thick creamy chocolate and deep red fruits of cherry/kirsch, cranberry. Cutting with water rounds out the fire and balances the spices and fruit.
Finish: A lingering spicy finish with a dry end akin to cider.
Balcones No 1 Texas Single Malt
100% Malted Barley (Golden Promise-Berwick)
European Oak
ABV- 52.7% Non Chill Filtered
RRP – £74.95
Nose: Banana bread, frangipani, cherry clafoutis, linseed oil over plums and apricots with a malt undertone.
Palate: Initial fruit bread with a slightly tropical edge, good youthful grip and warm vanilla spic. Cocoa nibs and malt towards the mid palate.
Finish: Chewy malt with chocolate and nutty spice.
Balcones Brimstone
100% Blue Corn (smoked with Texas bush oak scrub)
ABV – 53% Non Chill Filtered
RRP – £64.95
Nose: Prune fruit, flint and hickory smoke. Liquorice root with a slight iodine edge and faint rubber/laytex glove. Notes of clove and amber with a deep aromatic character.
Palate: Arbrouath smokies, chewy herbal elements of light clove and “Oddfellows”. Vegetal smoke with vanilla and touches of dry oak after liquorice.
Finish: Fabulously integrated and lingering. Each element found in the nose and palate makes itself know time and time again.
Young it may be, American whiskey it certainly isn’t and following rules it never will – but it has the quality within and like all craft distillers, there is a noted difference in the delivery. I’m glad to see this brand make it over here, although the PPR’s are a little above budget for most who might wish to explore something different, at least there is nothing to fault with the product itself.
All four whiskies tasted will be available from The Whisky Exchangefrom the first week of November. For more information, contact Emily Harris at May Fox Communications.
Tags: alcheny, alcohol, America, American, baby, Balcones, Berwick, bespoke, blue, bourbon, brew, brewing, brimstone, bruichladdich, built, bush, Cask, charred, chip, copper, corn, craft, distiller, distillery, dram, drink, european, exchange, fault, fire, glycemic, Grain, hand, heat, hickory, honeycomb, Hudson, index, malt, mexico, oak, peat, prohibition, protein, scrub, single, small, smoke, smokey, Spice, still, tate, texas, UK, USA, waco, whiskey, whisky
Over time, with progress and all things scientific and natural willing, things change, and often for this we have to thank some those that came before – the groundbreakers and the pioneers who blazed a trail where others dared not tread. Visionaries ensure that progress continues – but even the future, which should be unencumbered by current thinking, is maintained within the confines of human acceptance. Get too far ahead and people find it too unbelievable so you have to rein in the creative juices before you get too far fetched. Or, in the case of Compass Box and its pioneering use of oak, perhaps bend the rules slightly. But it is with these adventurers of the future that they help shape the current. Try this exapmple-The Batmobile.
At its launch, it was the most space-aged looking crime fighting vehicle to roam the streets of Gotham- no one drove a car anything like this beauty, however, on closer inspection there are elements that helped people, living in America at the time, find something to feel familiar about such as the tail fins which were pretty standard design on a 1950′s automobile. Then look how it developed over the years! and now- Bruce Waynes joyrides is actually quite acceptable as it has roots in current military vehicles we might expect to see on the news, with a futuristic edge..although version 1.2 was pretty cool also.
Compass Box Whisky began setting the whisky world alight in 2000 as John Glaser, company director, set about blending whisky that would get people talking, and talk they did. The portfolio now boast an impressive line up that constantly pushes the envelope of tradition with the current 4th release of Flaming Heart no different.
Let John take you through his idea of whisky here.
Flaming Heart is released in limited quantity only when the appropriate stock of aged whisky is available, and the stock in this one is rather special indeed. A selection from Highland, Speyside, Islands and Islay this release is a touch heavier on the smoke helped in this by Laphroaig (shh!) along with Clynelish (shh!) making up the perfect waxy balance and for the fist time in the Flaming Heart generations, there are some ex-shery cask whiskies in there adding a spicy depth.
Compass Box “Flaming Heart” 4th edition
Circa 9,000 bottles. Bottled in August 2012.
Refill ex-Bourbon, new French oak (heavily toasted) and ex-sherry casks.
Bottled at 48.9%. Not chill filtered. Natural colour.
Appearance:Pale yellow with warm gold.
Nose: Massive fruity nose of sweet almond, apricot and light orange zest. Lovely wax candle (expensive ones like Cire Trudon) combined with milk and dark chocolate covered oat biscuit. Balsa wood, coconut and light spice and citrus lift.
Palate: Surprisingly different from the nose, rounded salt smoke with rich vanilla custard, pastry with samphire. Nutty almond oil with cocoa. Very delicate peated element, well integrated and balanced throughout.
Finish: Its only now that the smokey element makes itself known, and even then it’s in a refined and welcomed way. Slightly drying after the waxy/fruity palate.
Summary: As expected, this is exceptionally well balanced and integrated but more than this – it’s interesting. 12 years on since John pulled those first samples together in his kitchen and Compass Box shows no sign whatsoever of being forgotten as a trail-blazer. I wonder if version 5 will be as awesome as Batmobile V1.5 !
And Holy Drams! its still available here!
Tags: 1950, 200, 4, 4th, America, American, automibile, Bathc, Batman, batmobile, blend, blender, bourbon, Box, bruce, candle, car, Cire, Clynelish, company, Compass, dram, dramatic, european, expensive, Flaming, four, french, Glaser, gotham, heart, John, king, Laphroaig, malt, monster, peat, Peated, review, scent, Scotch, Scotland, Sherry, single, smokey, Spice, started, superhero, tatsing, Trudon, vatted, wax, Wayne, whiskey, whisky
On Tuesday of this week, I gathered a few friends, old and new, around to have a tasting. The assembled guests were varied and came from all walks of life. Rebecca Heptinstall whose blog, foodie foodie nom is always a good read. John Mccheyne from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Niamh from the ever popular Eat Like a Girl blog, the very tallented chef Maria Elia, photographer Simon Hanna, scribe Paul Antonio, Simon Ewins from Pomp Magazine, a fab crowd from The Caxton Grill, and the “fresher” from Barchick. In total about 24 people took to their seats in Liberty Lounge for a 90 min tasting and the usual jokes.
There was quite a line-up of whisky to discuss as well, starting off with the Weymss Malt “The Hive”, then onto the Chapter 6 from The English Whisky company, Balvenie 15 single cask, Bowmore Darkest 15, Glenfiddich 18 year old and a Scotch Malt Whisky bottling to finish with (a 27yr old Clynelish but you didn’t hear that from me ). Not a single whisky was turned down, and whilst many in the room were able to pick a favourite upon the conclusion of the tasting, it was fairly equal across the board for each had its own personality and drew fans to it for different reasons such as The Hive fooling most into “bee”lieving it was a single malt and the Balvenie Single Cask converted a previously adamant whisky hater to the joys of a dram! It turned into an interesting night with the guests eventually highjacking the sound-system and dancing into the wee hours.
Yes sir, I can boogie…
Twitter was buzzing with little comments back and forward as each bottle came up for review, but it was one tweet from the American ambassador for Laphroaig, Simon Brooking that spurred this blog into action. He said, after seeing the picture I had tweeted before the event “Perhaps something with a bit more sea-sprayed peat would treat you right?
And so, upon returning to DW HQ, I had a look over the bottles in the warehouse (cupboard) and picked out something with a bit more sea-spray to review.
Laphroaig 18 yr old, 48% abv
Aged in “first-fill” bourbon cask
Non-chill filtered
Originally launched in 2009, the 18 yr old is now the replacement of the 15 yr old.
Each year sees it released in limited quantities (7,500 cases).
Appearance: Deep straw with yellow gold.
Nose: (uncut) Softer than expected, warm salted butter with pine sap and malt loaf. Good oak backbone and faint examples of old moist driftwood. Rope from a quayside and brown wrapping paper mingle with the classic, if somewhat subdued medicinal and coal tar notes. Soft jammy plum and dark red fruit finish the ensemble.
Palate: (uncut) Tar and spice of tobacco and liquorice. Salt comes bounding through with the sea-spray and smoke drifts not far behind it. Nutty at the same time as fruity, but very well integrated.
Finish: Lingering fresh salt and light honey suckle delight the palate long after the liquid leaves the party.
I tried a splash of water with it, cutting it back to around 43%. To be honest, apart from the increased creamy texture expected from un-chill filtered whisky, it wasn’t for me as the softness of the uncut dram is subtle enough to tempt even first time Laphroaig tipplers who perhaps had heard the rumours about this peaty monster.
Tags: Ambassador, America, American, Balvenie, barchick, blog, blogger, Bowmore, Caxtom, Chapter 6, chef, El Buli, English, foodie, foor, Glenfiddich, Laphroaig, malt, Noma, pomp, Scotch, single, Society, USA, Wemyss, whiskey, whisky, writer
