It was on a typical spring day, the rain in Central London doing it’s best to keep our hopes of summer at bay, that a select few gathered in the basement bar of Central & Co. to taste, for the first time outside the distillery, two whiskies released by the John Distilleries, India. Paul John single malt whisky is produced in Goa and aims to be quite a revelation when coming to the competitive world whisky market. Interestingly, the company have devised a marketing objective which focuses on foreign markets first, to build a brand, then return to India where the domestic market will be eagerly awaiting its arrival. As Pritesh Mody of LFLD Amplified, who is tasked with creating the buzz around the launch into the UK, said “In the 80′s with the boom in city wealth, British people wanted German Cars, French wine and Italian clothes, it’s the same in the Indian market who want the luxurious foreign items rather than home produced.” With India being amongst the largest consumers of whisky in the world, it’s not surprising to find a company aiming for a share.
Pass the erm…whisky?
John Distilleries was established in 1992 and is one of the largest spirit producers in India. Most of the “Indian whisky” produced is actually from molasses rather than grain and is not allowed to be exported as whisky (it is actually rum, blended with a small amount of whisky). However, with many of the brands within their portfolio selling in excess of 1 million cases per month, I doubt John Distilleries are too worried about exports. Paul John single malt is very different.
As master distiller Michael John (no relation) explained, they have used Indian 6-row barley to create the mash for the “Brilliance” and “Edited” releases as well as the previous single cask releases. Double distilled in copper pot still after a 60 hr fermentation period, 20,000 litres at a time before being matured in ex bourbon cask. All very normal then. Michael went further to explain that in 30 degree heat they loose a massive 12% per annum of liquid and alcohol evaporation know as the angels share. Scotland, in contrast, looses on average just 1% and we moan enough about that! With this high heat and rapid maturation, Michael said they will not be able to produce a whisky older than 8 years old (minimum requirement for whisky is 40% abv) but this heat does help increase the flavour development, so there is little need to age anything for that length of time.
Paul John “Brilliance” single malt Indian whisky
Ex bourbon cask
46% abv non chill filtered
Non age statement (was told 4-5yrs)
RRP £38.49
Appearance: Pale rose gold
Nose: Fresh with an immediate coastal familiarity. The youthful nose has structured malt and honey which mingles with a floral overtone all seemingly pinned down by a cork-wood wrapped in banana leaf with a light drizzling of vanilla infused caramel.
Palate: At first quite creamy then quickly develops some good spice of mace and nutmeg mixed in with the honey found in the aroma. There is a tropical fruitiness mid palate which never becomes too prominent, instead being overruled by well structured vanilla and oak.
Finish: Lots of delicious vanilla and a final hint of sea salt caramels.
Paul John “Edited” peated single malt Indian whisky
46% ABV non chill filtered
Ex Bourbon cask
Non age statement (4-5years old)
RRP £42.49
Appearance: Warm rose gold
Nose: For a peated whisky, this is very light indeed. Soft distant peat smoke wrap around the nose of malted barley, pebble beach, quince, cedar and apple blossom. There is a general sweetness with spice turning to liquorice chews all wonderfully enveloped in the smoke from a dying beach bonfire.
Palate: The peat smoke shows itself far more now, but still restrained with a honey type sweetness behind it. Ash and cinnamon emerge in equal amounts which in turn create a salted nut element before returning to the smoke rich palate which we began with.
Finish: Lingering peat smoke with light ash and a sea salt edge.
Summary: If either of these superb examples were placed in front of me at a blind tasting, I would struggle (as I am sure many of my friends in the industry would) to know their origin let alone age. Both are superb examples of well crafted whisky, released with optimum flavour and character. The 46% abv allows you to release a little more softness but I prefer to keep them undiluted. I am sure both of these will be not just a talking point, but an active part in most whisky drinkers cabinets in the not too distant future.
I can see it’s going to be an Indian summer.
Tags: 4, 5, American, Amplified, barley, barrel, beach, best, blind, bourbon, brilliance, central, chill, climate, coast, distillery, dramatic, edited, filtered, Goa, hot, indian, John, light, limited, malt, mature, Mody, New, non, note, oak, paul, peat, Peated, Pritesh, rapid, release, rested, review, sample, Scotch, single, smoke, still, taste, temeperature, traditional, whiskey, whisky, world, Years
It seems that Talisker fans are really being spoiled at the moment after the recent release of Talisker Storm hot on its heels (or should that be stern) we have Talisker Port Ruighe.
Finding new names for new whisky releases must be a constant battle for the industry but at least there is always Gaelic to fall back on. Port Ruighe is named after the main port on the Isle of Skye, Portree. The town was originally know as Kiltragleann (The Church at the Foot of the Glen) but it is thought than in 1540, after a visit by King James V of Scotland to show his power over the Scottish lairds, it was renamed Portree which in the Gaelic tongue “Portrigh” means “The Kings Port“. This is often contested as some believe that the town’s name is derived from the Gaelic, “Port Ruighe” meaning “slope harbour“. Whatever the originals of the name, we do know for sure that this release has been created “as a tribute to the great Scottish trading-houses such as the Cockburns, Grahams and Symingtons who were instrumental in the creation and global growth of the port wine trade” because the press release told me so. So thats the name, what about the whisky?
Port Ruighe has been created by drawing from stock matured in American oak and European oak refill casks before being “finished” (transferred all together into another cask for a short time to draw final character) in ex-port casks called “pipes”. These final resting casks impart light fruity notes usually of strawberry or cherry to a spirit along with a faint pink hue to the colour. Like Talisker Storm, Port Ruighe has been release without an age statement and at the standard Talisker strength of 45.8% alcohol by volume.
Talisker Port Ruighe Single Malt Scotch Whisky
No Age Statement
45.8% ABV
Port Pipe Finish
RRP TBC (but circa £60)
Appearance: Rose gold with deep orange.
Nose: Deep charred cedar, spent match to the fore with rich sweet plum sponge, spiced orange marmalade, apple blossom honey backing it up to deliver a rounded, full nose of well integrated bold aromas. A creamy edge like milk bottle chews/play-do seems to linger overall whilst the peated element is kept low rather than the main focus.
Palate: Smooth and rich to begin. The complex sweet fruity notes found on the nose immediate apparent in the mouth with orchard fruits of quince, pippin apple, cherry mix before cranberry dryness. Additional sweetness is delivered in the form of honey and earthy spices with a touch of nutty chocolate. Mid palate is brought alive with a tingling mixture of cooling salt and pepper followed with coal tar soap, samphire and charred cinnamon which incredibly manages to deliver classic Talisker flavours even after all that has gone before.
Finish: It’s all about the peat now. Lingering oily seaside smoke delightfully delivered with elegance and panache. Salty, peppery and very much Talisker.
Summary: What is most interesting here is that normally port finished whisky is more about the character the port will deliver as I mentioned at the beginning. More soft red fruit is expected. But here we have a great example of using the development to integrate with a classic whisky without destroying the base “DNA”, far from it. The resulting flavours have, for me created a Talisker expression which is different enough for a fan to seek out on a regular basis without being too “out of the ordinary”. Sweeter, yes, but now overpowering so. Great stuff.
Tags: age, American, april, barley, barrel, bay, bottle, Cask, charr, Classic, diageo, different, dram, european, finish, fruit, image, Isle, king, malt, marketing, name, New, newset, notes, peat, Peated, pipes, Port, portree, price, release, review, ruighe, Scotch, Scotland, Sherry, ship, shipping, single, skye, smoke, statement, storm, strength, strwaberry, Talisker, tasting, V, whisky
When was the last time you heard someone say “Oh, I stay away from peated whisky as I’m not a fan”. I hear it in a regular basis as guests at Dramatic Whisky events come to grips with the various styles of drams on offer. But more often than not that statement is followed by “especially Islay“. Now, it’s this last part that sends me into a mini meltdown and it is truly the fault of the whisky industry from the past. Regions were to a point, a quick way of introducing people to various styles of whisky, but this lingering categorisation only serves to restrict the consumers choices rather than aid them. I wrote a bit about them here which goes into a bit more detail but basically, if you choose your whisky only by region, you’ll miss out on some gems in the whisky world which brings me neatly onto Bunnahabhain.
Bunnahabain, pronounced “Boona-haa-ven” and meaning ‘stream foot” or ‘mouth of the river’ with its location at the end of the Margadale river from where the distillery draws its water from, is located on the north-east part of the island rather isolated in comparison to the other distilleries on Islay. Since 1881 the distillery has been producing whisky and whilst it was true that at that point the whisky would have been peated, today it is one of only two distilleries on Isaly that does not have peated whisky as its “core release” the other being Bruichladdich. With its own floor maltings ceasing in 1963 its safe to say the change probably came some time around then.
So what of the whisky today? The most easily accessible are the 12, 18 and 25 year old whiskies with Toiteach as the limited edition “peated” style all at the higher abv of 46.3% and non chill-filtered, a move in recent times across the board from current owners Burn Stewart Distillers and welcomed by Bunnahabhain fans. I also had the good fortune to review the recent 40 year old release which was a stunning dram indeed. Bunnahabhain has always been a whisky I would opt for if I saw it on a back bar somewhere as its coastal style and soft character is just what I look for in my malts.
Bunnahabhain 12 year old Single Malt Whisky
Ex Bourbon Cask
46.3% ABV
Non Chill FIltered
RRP £30
Appearance: Pale white gold
Nose: If ever a whisky had an aroma of its origins, this is it. Fresh sea air on a Scottish pebble beach. Samphire over driftwood and lifts of fresh ginger.
Palate: Chewy and rich with fresh ginger creams, malty mid palate and salted caramel. Warming yet still fresh notes of the sea.
Finish: Ginger and vanilla spice linger with a hint of earthy mocha.
Bunnahabhain 18 year old Single Malt Whisky
Ex Sherry Cask
46.3% abv
Non Chill Filtered
RRP £55
Appearance: Polished bronze
Nose:The DNA of the seaside emerges first, salty air, tarry ropes wrapped in leather with bold sherry character. Date and fig loaf sprinkled with nutmeg and an espresso on the side.
Palate: Big on the sherry influence, spiced with mace, leather and hints of pipe tobacco and roasted brazil nut. There is still the core message of salted sweetness blended through this bold palate.
Finish: Waves of salty almonds washed down with sherry and a bundle of earthy spices behind.
Bunnahabhain 25 year old Single Malt Whisky
Ex Sherry cask
46.3%
Non Chill Filtered
RRP £200
Appearance: Deep bronze
Nose: Sweet leather and cherry wood polished with linseed oil. Rich spices, old velvet, driftwood and tarry rope - the nose twists and turns around the central elements.
Palate: Bursting with rich deep sherry soaked dark fruits, mixed spice and Demerara sugar. It seems spiky at first, but is instantly calmed by a creamy vanilla element, smooths out and relaxes leaving behind a trail of deliciousness.
Finish: Incredibly long, old leather, slight tannin grip and a hint of over roasted chestnut almost charred.
Bunnahabhain Toiteach Single Malt Whisky
Ex Bourbon Cask
46%
Non chill filtered
RRP £50
Appearance: Pale straw
Nose: Immediate peat smoke but with an unmistakable coastal character. Sweet salty air and drifts of dry citrus peel (tangerine) in the background. Old fish and chips wrapper with a bit of honey, vanilla and samphire all in there.
Palate: A sweet smoke, rich and playful on the palate, parma ham and smoked figs with a slightly medicinal citrus edge somewhere between menthol and lime.
Finish: unsurprisingley it’s the sweeter side of the peat smoke that lingers, turning slightly salty at the end.
Summary: A fine line-up indeed with just about everythign you could ask for. The style is eveident throughout the range despite the change of cask, that coastal element shines and helps maintain the Bunnahabhain message.
Tags: 12, 18, 25, 40, American, barley, bottle, bourbon, brine, Bunnahabhain, burn, Cask, chill, coast, coastal, distillery, eighteen, ellen, filter, filtered, five, floor, foot, forty, hold, island, islay, mainland, malt, margadlae, mature, mouth, New, notes, Old, peat, Peated, perfect, Port, release, rest, review, river, salt, sand, Scotch, Scotland, seaside, Sherry, single, smoke, smokey, tasting, toiteach, twelve, twenty, wait, whiskey, whisky
It will come as no surprise to those who follow my ramblings or indeed most of the whisky press to find that the whisky industry is changing. There, I said it and I don’t care. It’s getting younger and I don’t mean we are seeing more teenagers replace a bottle of MD 20/20 with the latest single cask but the spirit itself is reaching our glasses with less age, and it’s a good thing.
There are two main reasons for this, firstly demand is at such a peak that aged stock is being squeezed out of every distilleries warehousing and if you happen to have an age statement on your label, then you are stuck with only putting stock of that age (or greater) in your bottle. Simple way around this is of course to remove the age statement and release your brand under a catchy name with a back story about flavour rather than age such as Talisker Storm or Macallan Gold. As long as you haven’t messed around with the original character of the spirit, I think this is a fine idea and also shows the consumer is starting to understand that oldest does not always mean best.
Secondly, there are a lot of new distilleries out there, just releasing their product to the market and do not have the luxury vast stock with good age to drawn from but still need to make a bob or two in the meantime. We saw this with The English Whisky Co and their “Chapter releases” which cleverly gave the consumer the opportunity to sample the spirit as it aged towards the magical 3 years and 1 day before it could be called whisky. This helped not only establish the distillery but create a following which turned this new venture into almost cult status which continues today. I reviewed the Private Cellar selection previously which has some creative finishes. On the flip side, Glenglassaugh distillery had a very different problem which lead to them releasing new make spirit. As a mothballed distillery reopened, all they had available to them was very old stock. Not ideal to release your first malt after many years and slam a £300 price tag on it. So it was new make to the rescue again, this time under the name “The spirit that blushes to say its name” thankfully re-branded and still available from the distillery such as its popularity.
But it was whilst chatting with the guys from Glen Moray distillery as they introduced to me the new peated spirit release that I became rather curious. Glen Moray is not a new distillery and has plenty stock, so to venture down the road of underage whisky shows keenness to develop and innovate, not just stick with what you know. The distillery, in the town of Elgin on the banks of the Moray Firth has been in production since 1897 although it was a brewery prior to a distillery so alcohol of one form or another has been associated with the site for longer.
Presented in a square 20cl bottle and sealed with a white wax dipped top the pale product with designed font is certainly a far cry from the design of the traditional Glen Moray releases and again shows that this is something that a lot of time and effort has gone into. It’s the first time the distillery have chosen to release a peated spirit and I liked the look of it a lot, but how did it taste?
Glen Moray Peated Spirit Batch No.1
No age statement (but about 2yrs old)
60.6% ABV
Hand Bottle Single Cask
RRP £15
Appearance: Pale straw with hints of gold
Nose: A balanced nose of soft smouldering highland peat and fresher coastal/mineral notes which develops sweet lime citrus and fresh-cut straw. The above all seem to draw together to create a farmyard note. With water, deeper notes of fresh leather and artists oil paint are added.
Palate: Bursting sweet heat (that will be the 60.6%) rich vanilla and sweet peat smoke with just enough salty edge to cleanse the palate before becoming too overpowering. With water, the heat clams to allow the sweetness of red berry, lime marmalade and mocha coffee. The ever-present vanilla holds it all together with the peat smoke really adding to this young but elegant spirit.
Finish: Vanilla syrup mocha coffee and a white chocolate and cranberry muffin (slightly charred) on the side.
Summary: Approaching young spirit is always usually a challenge as it can be tough to see through the energetic alcohol and get to the core of what the spirit is trying to say, but this was a delight. Rich, rounded and delivered a great character. I’m not entirely sure what Glen Moray have planned for this, but it’s spot on as it is with a clear indication that it will only get better with age. But let’s hope they always keep this younger expression available.
Tags: age, attitude, Batch, brewery, Cask, cellar, change, chapter, company, Day, dead, departed, distillery, dram, drink, Elgin, English, flavour, Glen, Glenglassaugh, gold, hold, law, Macallan, make, malt, marks, moray, mothballed, New, open, peat, Peated, private, reborn, release, review, Scotland, single, small, smoke, spirit, statement, storm, Talisker, tasting, underage, warehouse, whiskey, whisky, worl, young, younger
Last summer I spent a rather pleasant couple of days in the village of Old Meldrum, not far from Aberdeen airpoirt where the Glen Garioch distillery is situated. In fact, if you read that review you will discover that Old Meldum IS the ditillery, such is the design of the village. And it was at this visit that I was fortunate enough to sample some of the last vintages to be made using the original floor maltings before closing them down (and the distillery itself for a short while) at the end of 1995. When the distillery did eventually re-open, sadly the decision had been made to not used the malting floor again and hence a change in style was born. The vintages made available to me whislt on my visit were the 1994, 1991 and 1986 and all wondeful indeed. I knew there was one last release to come though, the final bottling of whisky which had been malted at the distillery, the 1995 vintage and it was this weekend past,at Londons Whisky Live , that I had the chance to sample this little bit of history having missed out on the press release samples last year for some reason.
Glen Garioch 1995 vintage Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Ex-Bourbon Cask
55.3% abv
Non Chill Filtered
Distilled 1995 bottled 2012
RRP £49.95
Appearance: Warm white gold
Nose: Vanilla sugar, varm wine gums and a malt backbone. some good wood structure hidden in there also. With water, a warm cereal note emerges with aple blossom and a hint of carbolic soap under sliced fresh pear.
Palate: Chunky vanilla laden malt with cooked apple and a hint of peat smoke in the background which calms to allow a slightly menthol note.
Finish: Clean and fresh, a good amount of grip and spice with lingering soft peat smoke barley detectable and sweet fruity barley.
Summary: A very different style of Glen Garioch and if you are familair with the more redily available 12 year old and Founders Reserve, this may come as a shock. Gone are the rich red apple skins so prevenlant in those two expmples and in comes some well structured oak and light fruit. I’d struggle to identify this as a Garioch in a blind tasting, but then thats whats great about these releases, they are just different enough to warrant taking the time to seek them out and taste a little bit of the old style of distillery.
Tags: 1995, 2012, 55, Aberdeen, ABV, airport, American, aroma, Auchentoshan, barley, bottled, bourbon, Bowmore, but, Cask, chill, cooper, distilled, Distillers, distillery, dram, ex, filtered, flavour, floor, Garioch, Geery, Glen, high, Japanese, level, limited, link, malt, malted, master, Meldrum, non, nose, notes, oak, outside, peat, Peated, price, purchase, release, review, Scotch, single, smoke, source, Suntory, tasting, village, whiskey, whiskies, whisky, wood
Having just returned from the recent “Warrior Release” of Highland Park, I wasn’t quite expecting another release to follow so soon, nor was I prepared for the intriguing manner in which this latest HP expression has made its way out into the world. 
My postie is a very nice lady but she does have a habit of arriving at an ungodly hour and on this occasion remarked with her usual cheerfulness “Oh you are dressed!” which nicely set the discombobulated tone of the day as I struggled to wake up and remember if I had been inadvertently naked when I last saw her! The mystery continued when I opened the delivery to find an intriguing unmarked black box and the black envelope within holding a disc of paper on which were printed strange symbols and letters. It took a while for me to work out that it was actually a flexagon which when refolded in certain ways would deliver different messages. Three in fact. The crossed legged man wrapped in a serpent, and the lines “All is not what it seems” and ” A serpent stirs in the smoky shadows”. Had I upset someone so much they had sent some kind of death threat to me? Friends in the industry were also sent the same package and as we “tweeted” our thoughts, we tried to work out who it was from and what it was all about. The image did seem familiar and after a little more searching we found out it was to do with the second in The Valhalla Series from Highland Park- “Loki”
Got to love Google.
So this morning, a second parcel arrived. Similar black box, similarly plain looking package and yes I was dressed. Inside was a tube, with an origami serpent guarding a small bottle. Fortunately this time, the mystery was solved – the bottle had a label on it.
So who is Loki? From Norse mythology, he was a helper to the gods, but also a shape shifter and trickster seemingly causing them more problems than helping. I always thought, taking the word of the great Stan Lee, that he was the brother of Thor and the son of Odin , but apparently not and his name is set deep into ancient writings far beyond the modern portrayal of him. Anyway, with glass in hand it was easy to see why this slithery character was chosen as this whiskies name sake as the nose, palate and finish seems to shift and change at every approach. stirring stuff indeed.
Gerry Tosh, Global Marketing Manager says, “Thor was the first of its kind, a true quality malt built around an individual’s personality. This proved massively successful and it sold out globally. Loki will continue to take Highland Park and The Valhalla Collection into new territory.
While everyone will recognize the definite ‘Highland Park-ness’ of this 15 Years Old Single Malt, it will be the unexpected and surprisingly smoky dynamics that will really get palates excited and mouths talking. This is unlike any expression that has come before and will beguile and fascinate with its complexity and trickery. Remember, all is not as it seems.”
Highland Park “Loki” 15year old
The Valhalla Series
47.8% ABV
European cask and peated cask.
Limited to 21,000 bottles
RRP £170
Appearance: Rose gold with like honey.
Nose: Artist oil paint, fresh squeezed orange juice, hessian cloth, fresh hay, linseed oil, warm honey blossom, rich malt, licorice root and a note of perished vulcanized rubber. Smoke never really appears, taking the form of the rubber note instead. Well developed but very complex.
Palate: A syrupy and rich beginning with burnt butter, walnut oil, busts of peat smoke and charred meat making up the start of the palate. Vanilla sauce over dried tropical peels of grapefruit and papaya, woody birch sap honey follows with ginger spice and ends with molasses licorice and lime preserve coated with peat smoke.
Finish: Dried peel, chunks of charred wood and earthy spices all fight for palate possession as the smokey finish grips in.
Summary: From first nosing this whisky, to the initial taste, then going back to it after a few minutes it had become three very different drams. Unmistakably Highland Park, yet at the same time layered with citrus and a level of peat smoke far greater than normally expected. But give it a minute and it switches round, the smoke dies, the warm spices emerge and the citrus calms. Then try again. Nothing is as it seems.
Tags: 15, aroma, barrel, Cask, character, distill, distiller, distillery, dram, european, fact, favourite, fiction, film, flavour, Gerry, global, god, heavy, Highalnd, holywood, Lee, light, limited, Loki, malt, marketing, mystery, New, Norse, nose, notes, nothing, oak, Old, Orcadian, origami, Orkney, Park, peat, Peated, release, review, Scotch, Scotland, Scottish, seems, seprent, series, Serpent, Sherry, single, smoke, smokey, smoky, Stan, taste, tasting, Thor, Tosh, truth, unknown, Valhella, whiskey, whisky, year
You know that feeling of panic that sets in when you loose something like a set of keys and you are on a tight schedule, slapping pockets, turning over sofa cushions in a frantic attempt to discover their hiding place. Horrid isn’t it, but when you eventually find them the rush of relief is great. Or when you remember about a possession you haven’t seen in a while, you know you have it, but its just not been in your life and when you do stumble across it again, its welcomed back and put to good use.
So imagine if you happened to stumble across a cask of 40 year old whisky that you didn’t realise you had. Just how would that feel? Well, you could ask Ian MacMillan, Master Distiller at Bunnahabhain because thats exactly what happened to him when he found some ‘Turney’ casks, which were filled with Bunnahabhain whisky over 40 years ago by Glasgow wine merchants J G Turney. I suppose its difficult to imagine how you ‘forget’ a few casks, but as Bunnahabhain store around 21,000 casks at the distilleries warehouse on Islay, (some of which will make its way into the superb Black Bottle blend) it becomes a bit easier to understand.
Bunnahabhain has long been a favourite of mine and I have used a number of bottles including the duty free releases of Darach Ur in my Dramatic Whisky events to show people that not all whisky from Islay is peated as is the popular misconception about whisky regions. Therefore, I was more than delighted to reciev a sample of the newly discovered 40 year old Bunnahabhain which was accompanied by a illustration from the label created by Iain McIntoshScots illustrator, which depicts the journey this rested malt has undergone.
Bunnhabhain Single Malt Scotch Whisky
40 Years Old
Limited release of 750 bottles
ABV 41.7% vol. Un-chillfiltered
RRP: £1999
Appearance: Burnished copper with rose gold
Nose: Candied orange, vanilla wax cande, nougat and heather honey. Light earthy spice, ginger bread and balsa wood all very well integrated and still lively. Waxed leather saddle with lavender and violets round off the nose.
Palate: Orange oil with a mineral note, almost diesel like before rounded malt and ginger spice open the palate up allowing deeper vanilla and earthy spice to grip hold. Seems to sit on top of your tongue for a while before sinking in. Very little wood element which is surprising considering the age.
Finish: Clean yet spicy, again almost a mineral/fuel-like dryness before light oak and vanilla linger.
Summary: Certainly lively for its age and and unsurprisingly complex but its this assertive spice that perhaps shows the greatest departure from the classic Bunnahabhain style. Its heading towards a dryer style of whisky, perhaps held together with the waxy element before becoming too oaky.
Right, I’m off to search down the back of the sofa for my keys again.
Tags: 40, aged, biggest, Black, blend, Blended, bottle, bottled, Bunnahabhain, buy, Cask, cost, Darach Ur, distiller, dram, drink, duty, expensive, found, free, Glasgow, hand, hardest, iain, Ian, ice, illustrator, island, islay, keys, latest, limited, lost, MacMillan, malt, master, McIntosh, Old, oldest, peat, Peated, price, rare, regions, release, released, rest, review, reviewed, Scotch, Scotland, Scottish, sinlge, source, tasting, warehouse, water, whiskey, whisky, Years
When I was a kid, a friend of mine tried to be all clever and tell me that when you fly in a plane, the reason it seems like you are not going very fast is that our brains have not developed quickly enough to deal with flying, and as the outside world whizzes past the window, our brain has to slow it down to help us take it in. I think he ended up working on the shop floor for Tesco?
Clearly, he was and idiot. However, us humans do tend to have a bit of a problem trying to deal with vast amounts of time and even something not so vast, like a 50 year career and all it has brought. The world was a very different place just 50 years ago and it seems technology has flourished in the last few decades alone and bringing to us some of the greatest inventions such as television, the computer, air travel, space travel and double cask maturation. Ok, that last one might not actually make it into the top 10 greatest inventions of the 20th Century, but its up there in my book.
David Stewart, Master Distiler at The Balvenie was the pioneering distiller who, only in the 1980′s brought the whisky world “Double Maturation” a process of allowing whiskies to mature in one oak cask then transferred to another to complete the whiskies final characteristic. It began with The Balvenie Classic which later in 1993 became the 12 year old Double Wood that is known and loved around the world today. Using American ex-Bourbon cask to deliver creamy vanilla and smooth fruit notes and an ex-sherry cask which delivers richness and spice together creating the characteristic heather honey aroma and taste that The Balvenie is famed for. As ever, those guys at The Balvenie are tight lipped about the exact amount of time the whisky spends in each cask, but from my experience with sherry finish whisky, it doesn’t actually take too long (less than a year) to draw those wonderful spicy notes out of the cask.
David celebrated his 50th year with the company making him the longest serving distiller in the whisky world in September and to mark this momentous occasion David chose to release a rather special 50 yr old Balvenie- sadly, at £20,000 a bottle this review is not about that particular dram! (I think my sample got lost in the post guys)
However, it is about the newest kid on the Balvenie block namely The Balvenie 17 year old Double Wood. It is nice to see that within the range of The Balvenie there is now a linear whisky, and by that I mean an opportunity for the consumer to taste how a whisky develops over time. Far too often whisky ranges are peppered with separate expressions and it can be a little confusing for the consumer. Even The Balvenie has a similar set up with 12 year Double Wood which as mentioned is Ex-bourbon/ex-sherry, 12 year Signature which is both refill and first fill bourbon and then ex-sherry and then the 15 Single Barrel which, as the name may suggest, is just ex-bourbon. Of course, The Balvenie also have many limited releases such as the Tun 1401 and Liberated Casks and 40 year old. With this in mind, this new release has me very excited indeed.
The Balvenie 17 year old Double Wood
Ex-Bourbon cask, Ex-Sherry Cask
43% abv
RRP: £75 from 1st November 2012
Appearance: Burnished copper and warm gold
Nose: Immediately rich and fruity with a heady mix of honey, golden syrup and vanilla cream through candied orange peel and brazil nut. There are ripe conference pears dipped in caramel and well as a warming oak note helping to pin down the abundant fruits. Blueberry muffin with ice caramel latte on the side.
Palate: Rounded, rich and juicy. Classic Balvenie honey element which is dried out, quicker than you find in the 12 year old, by nutmeg and a hints of cocoa nib. Spices prevail mid palate with deliciously delicate clove, mace and cinnamon all seemingly mixed in cloudy cider. Complex it certainly is and very rewarding it certainly has more of a mature statement to make over its younger sibling.
Finish: Loads of spice going on here- wave after wave of earthy rich notes yet still able to wrap a trace of honey through there. Strangely I picked up merest hint of chilli oil which seemed to linger on the palate for quite some time in a very welcoming way.
Summary: Certain to be as big a hit as the 12 year old this clever expression has retained all that is good and great about The Balvenie and addd an extra element in the way of maturint. However, don’t be fooled into thinking this has become just another smoothed out whisky with less of a character in its own right, far from it, the 17 year old seems to have developed a kick of spice and heat which really makes you take notice.
Tags: 12, 1401, 15, 17 years, 30, 40, 50, airflight, American, Balvenie, barrel, blog, bourbon, Cask, character, computer, David, doublewood, doublw, dram, ex, expensive, experiment, happy, help, honey, invented, inventions, liberated, malt, maturation, mature, oak, Old, Peated, pefect, plane, region, review, Scotch, Scotland, scots, Sherry, single, sold, Speyside, Stewart, style, tasting, television, tesco, trail, tun, tv, whiskey, whisky, wood, year
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
The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show is but a distant memory for most now, but of course the problem often remains that I never get a chance to catch up on all the lovely samples I end up with. However, thanks to a recent email from The English Whisky Company informing me of their newset batch of releases, namely the Founders Private Cellar Single Casks, I was reminded of the three samples I tried at the show. A quick scan through the old faithful Moleskine notebook revealed a rather well set out list of tasting notes (it must have been early on I tried them!)
James Nelstrop, founder and owner of The English Whisky Company, along with his team of distillers David Fitt and Iain Henderson have been carefully watching some selected cask of rather curious concoctions (more about that later)- but then they can do what they want cant they.
And thats exactly what they have done.
During the whisky show, David gave me a small bottle of new make spirit and asked me for my thoughts on it. It was (one of) Davids little experiment with, as he put it “anything that will go through the mash”. David used to be a brewer, so is pretty familiar with various barley types and the yield and resilience of them. It was just another day at the office for David when he was offered free range of the distillery to see what he could produce. He must have felt a little like a kid in a sweet shop which is probably why he chose chocolate malt as well as malted barley, crystal malt , oats, rye and wheat to make up his mad brew. If you ever get the chance to meet David and buy him a pint- As I have on many an occasion, he will probably go for a porter style ale- dark and rich in both colour and flavour, bursting with chocolate an coffee notes. So its unsurprising to find that the resulting new make was- to say the least, complex and delicious with heady notes of whole pears dipped in milk chocolate- I cannot wait to see how that turns out once its spent a respectable amount of time in oak- and I am sure the choice of cask will be just as experimental. Having tasted the new make, I would expect an ale or rum finish to partner well.
Anyway- at the show I also had the chance to sample the three new single cask releases which are just as “experimental” and as they were released on October 17th (yesterday as this blog was written) it seemed a good time to share my notes- well, except that the distillery have already sold out of all but the Peated Sauternes!
Triple Distilled
Cask No. 0116 Filled 12th Sept 2007
Bottled 19th Sept 2012
60.8% abv
Appearance: Apple white with pale gold
Nose: (with water) Apple sponge cake with elderflowers and an undertone of malty warm buttered chocolate digestive. Elements of hedgerow and blackcurrant leaf with a slight eucalyptus oil rubbed into fresh oak.
Palate: At first, bright and youthful with vanillin and oak but quickly opens (with water) to reveal similar creamy notes found on the nose mixed with fresh, edgy herbs and fruit. Eucalyptus becomes more mild aniseed.
Finish: Rounded to the end with a slight coca feel and light oak.
Summary: Not for the feint hearted and certainly requires a drop of water before jumping in, but with this much going on at just 5 years old- it stands it in good stead for the future.
Peated Sauternes cask
Cask No.0787 Filled 12th Sept 2007
Bottled 1st Oct 2012
61.1% abv
Appearance: Wet hay with yellow gold
Nose: Very savoury with acorn, mushroom, weetabix, and burnt toast spread with apricot jam. Brown wrapping paper. iodine and wet and dry sandpaper.
Plate: Creamy and initially sweet then driving peat powers through releasing delicious grippy spice. White pepper with burnt rubber and ginger root.
Finish: Lingering peat “bite” with earth tones dry the palate but leave you licking your gums for more.
Summary: A great balance between spirit and cask. Still available to buy at £125 RRP.
Port Cask
Cask No. 0859 Filled 20th June 2007
Bottled: 21st Sept 2012
59.3% abv
Appearance: Pale marmalade with a rose hue
Nose: Jammy notes of blackforrest gateaux, kirsh and cinnamon. A “fresh” notes of cut nettle stems and perhaps tarragon before the plump fruitiness becomes darker and more straw-like.
Palate: Strawberries and cream with cracked black pepper. Cream vanilla fudge and an earthy note of mushroom butter. Light cinnamon spice helps dry the palate.
Finish: The fruit turns earthy, but in a good way, allowing the spice and vanilla to linger a little longer.
Summary: Soft, fruity, candied yet not overly sweet this is a perfect balance of cask and spirit.
I really like the mindset of this company, a simple approach to creating interesting products- unencumbered by tradition or bureaucracy they are chipping away at the traditionalists one by one who cannot deny that, it might not be scotch, but its a damn fine dram.
Tags: ale, American, andre, barrel, beer, book, bourbon, Cask, cellar, chocolate, coffee, crystal, curious, David, distilled, distiller, england, English, ex, experiment, experimental, fitt, Founders, Henderson, hogshead, iain, james, make, malt, moleskine, nelstrop, New, non, norfolk, notebook, oats, peat, Peated, pink, pint, Port, porter, power, private, reserves, rum, rye, Scotland, select, selection, single, smoke, strength, strong, style, suaternes, triple, wheat, whiskey, whisky, wonky
