Glasgow's Whisky (And Ale)

Bladnoch Forum Teaninich 27yo

Well, 31 reviews in just over two months. Not a great accomplishment – I certainly failed in the original plan – but it has been fun nonetheless. I will continue to do the odd review here and there, under the title ‘Dram of the Day’, but that’s the end of this series.

Today I’m ending with a Bladnoch forum bottling. For those of you who don’t know, the Bladnoch distillery in Wigtown has become something of an independent bottler too, usually offering pretty old single cask whiskies at pretty cheap prices for members of the forum. All you need to do is sign up and away you go. This one is a Teaninich 27yo and is at 49.2%. Many thanks to Andy Bell of McTear’s for the loan of the bottle.

Colour: A golden amber.

Nose: Initially there’s some vanilla and soft citrus, lemon meringue pie perhaps. Something of the farmyard comes through after – old hay in a barn – and something a little chemical or spirity.

Palate: Vanilla, spices and candied orange. Creamy, oily and a touch peppery. A little bit fiery.

Finish: Quite harsh and a touch fiery at first but softens down eventually into a sweet and bitter, fruity, chocolate melting pot.

Conclusion: Not a bad dram, certainly for the money, but I expect more from something this age. Having tried a few of these bottlings recently, and only finding one or two I would consider worth buying, my thoughts start to wander towards why this could be and a possible relation to the prices being charged. Perhaps you do indeed get what you pay for but in any case this is one of the better ones, despite not being as complex as I would have hoped. I would also recommend the Dailuaine 26yo (cask 4316) if you like your sherry monsters.

The Glenlivet 15yo

(Only two more to go. Things are getting busier by the minute. November is going to be a very hectic month!)

If you want to try today’s bottling you will probably need to get on a plane. You don’t actually need to go anywhere special, it’s just that this one is mainly available through GTR, or Global Travel Retail. What they used to call Duty Free.

Anyway, this Glenlivet 15yo was given to me by some visitors from Australia. That’s the sort of guests I like! It is sadly bottled at 40%, though, unlike the standard 15yo French Oak that is available in all retailers which is at 46%. Having recently tasted the French Oak version (alongside the full range from 12yo to 25yo), which was to me a bit too woody and had lost some of the classic fruity/floral signature notes of Glenlivet, it will be good to see the spirit without the finishing. Naked, so to speak.

Colour: A very clear dark gold – light amber.

Nose: Very fresh. Bags of vanilla, with a delicate scent of apple underneath. There’s a soft, sweet, fruity pastry note. Apple strudel, perhaps. There’s the cinammon coming through bang on cue. The trademark floral soap note is present too.

Palate: Light and creamy. Very creamy. There’s a slightly vegetal bitterness which is pleasantly balanced by an apple-sweetness.

Finish: Medium with a good aftertaste. There’s a hint of pepper or smoke in there somewhere briefly. Slightly bitter but sweet at the same time. Nice balance once again.

Conclusion: This is a lovely dram and I have no idea why they thought finishing it in new wood was a good idea for the general bottling, but then new wood and me don’t seem to get along particularly well. It’s delicate whisky which would be a good start to a tasting to warm up the taste buds.

Balvenie 17yo Peated Cask

Nearly there!!!

A bit of an oddity for today: here we have a Balvenie 17yo Peated Cask. How strange. Perhaps someone envisaged a peaty trend at some point in the future or simply fancied a wee experiment? Who knows, but here we have it. The side of the bottled reads ‘APPROVED’ so expect this one in the shops soon. It weighs in at 43%.

There’s a bit of a difference between this malt and other peaty drams. The whisky was re-racked (or finished) in a cask which had previously held some heavily peated Balvenie and not created through peating at the malting stage. It was then vatted with other 17yo Balvenie stocks to, I assume, add some richness. Seems like a lot of work so here’s hoping it was worth it.

By the way, the polar bear was not harmed in the taking of the photograph and neither was the photographer. The bear was asleep. The photographer was very, very much awake.

Colour: Light amber.

Nose: A musty soapiness at first with a malty hint of peat. Very warming and biscuity which gives way to a soft earthiness. A lovely mixture of heather and straw and large wafts of vanilla and sultanas and wood. A definite barn/straw note again classic of peated malts. The peating is very subtle and that’s possibly a good thing.

Palate: Sweet, malty and creamy delivery with bags of citrus (orange and lemon) and spices. Really creamy and buttery. A hint of salt comes through.

Finish: Quite short in a way but some taste lingers finishing off in a slightly bitter note.

Conclusion: Hmm, not sure here. I didn’t think this worked well at the first try and it didn’t feel cohesive but I think I’m liking it more now. I often find Balvenie too sweet for my palate and the peat here has tempered that a bit. Oh, I don’t know. Better just try for yourselves.

McTear's Auctioneers

There is an auction house in Glasgow by the name of McTear’s where they have a quarterly whisky auction selling everything from standard bottlings up to the super premium stuff that you’d need a mortgage for. Today I went along to their autumn one to see what was selling and what wasn’t. A little bit of research, if you like.

Beforehand I spotted some talk on Facebook started by Ralfy about a collection of bottlings donated by Richard Patterson, Master Blender for Whyte & Mackay, which are the only bottles of their kind as well as being in Glencairn decanters and signed by Richard himself. The ‘Ben Collection’ (each one’s name starts with ‘Ben’) was being sold on behalf of the Benevolent Fund of the Licensed Trade of Scotland, or Ben for short. Ben Wyvis, Ben Nevis, Benrinnes, Benriach and Benromach all featured but the greatest interest was obviously in the first one since this distillery closed in 1977 and is no more. It went for £1800!

McTear's whisky auction in action

Despite having an account I decided to keep my hands firmly down: many lots were a bit too rich for me, and there were an awful lot of Macallans, but there are bargains to be had if you do your homework. Many lots contain multiple bottles which can go for less than you might expect.

Here are a few sales that I made note of for one reason or another; a couple of Black Bowmore 1st editions sold for £2000 and £1800 which is a bit less than I remember them going for recently, A Macallan Rankin bottle went for £750, which is less than it originally sold for, I believe. A 40yo and a 50yo Glenfiddich went for way below their estimates but a collection of PC5,6,7 and 8 went for almost double. Ardbeg, Highland Park and Port Ellen all did very well as usual but several Rosebanks went pretty cheap. The auction is still running as I type this: I left early as it’s too much to sit through in one day. 722 lots in this auction and you’d really need to plan which ones you wanted to bid on before going along. It’s fun to watch for a bit, though, and it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement at times and some light relief came when the auctioneer’s gavel head came off after a particularly forceful tap on the desk. I’ll be back for the winter one.

Ah, what a great day in Edinburgh. Royal Mile Whiskies do the festival thing better than anyone else and it showed in the record time that the first day of their two day extravaganza sold out in: a whole eleven minutes! And no bloody wonder – they don’t mess about with anything other than tables full of whisky. That’s what we like to see. We don’t want pipers and coopers, we just want to try whisky and plenty of it!

A happy Fringer

I only attended the Sunday this year and as soon as I was in the door Ralfy grabbed me to take over the camera duties for his interview with Dave Broom in the Rum Chapel. Following that I had my first sample of the day which was a Foursquare 1998 vintage rum as recommended by Mr Broom. A belter it was too with tropical fruits followed by wood spice and a light dryness keeping the sweetness in check. One of the best rums I have ever tasted and I would happily recommend trying anything you can find from Foursquare. They also do a spiced rum that kicks the hell out of the usual suspects in that area.

But enough rum – let’s get on to the whisky! I’d heard a lot the day before about Duncan Taylor’s experiment with an octave cask and some Imperial whisky. They had a bottle of the before and after versions for us to try so I started at the ‘Before’. A pretty good start but I decided to leave the ‘After’ for…erm…after.

A relaxed atmosphere

I had spoken to Susan of Wemyss Malts on Wednesday at the Arran 14yo launch at Oran Mor on Glasgow and she had told me about their new gin which would be available to try over the weekend. Now, this is something that interests me right now due to another venture I’m involved in which will become apparent in the near future. Anyway, their gin is made from barley, and not grain, making it extremely drinkable without the usual tonic and ice. A sipping gin! Top marks to those guys and I reckon this will be a pretty good seller.

I then popped over to the Ardmorangie stand and tried some Sonnalta PX courtesy of my good friend Martin, with whom I always share some football banter. I’m a Celtic supporter and he’s a sheepshagging bastard. It’s all in good humour. The sheep don’t seem to mind anyway.

Berry Bros & Rudd Balmenach 1979

My attention was then turned to Ed on the Berry Bros. & Rudd stand. Now I have to confess to a bit of a love affair with Ed – no, not him personally but rather his wonderful bottlings which regular readers will see that I sometimes get samples of through the letterbox. They are, without a doubt, nothing less than superb. Not a bad one to be had. Today I tried his 1979 Balmenach and sure enough it was superb. Damn I love Ed. Don’t tell him, though.

Right, enough talking. Time for a half-time orange. How about a 1975 Miltonduff from my friend Ian Logan at Chivas? Sure! And what a cracker. I can’t say I’ve tried one before but this was a belter and I’m not just saying that because it’s the year I was born. Honest.

Back to the Wemyss stand for a malt this time. I was offered their 1990 Highland ‘Tropical Spice’ which I was told is a Dalmore. On the basis of this stellar dram I wonder why the owners can’t produce something this good themselves. Too much tinkering methinks! A new favourite. Yum!

Ashok and his Amrut Double Cask

Beside Wemyss I found Ashok manning his Amrut stand. I was warmly welcomed and offered a sample of his oldest whisky ever which is a seven and a half year old Double Cask bottling. You might find that amusing but it’s no laughing matter when you lose 60% of the whisky through evaporation by the time it gets to that ripe old age. You won’t be seeing a 10yo soon from them but on tasting this you don’t need to. This is easily the best Amrut I have tasted.

Big Peat and Big Jim!

After tasting the ‘After’ at the Duncan Taylor table and being unable to decide between that and the ‘Before’, I had a lovely old Caledonian Single Grain from Jan at Douglas Laing. At 42yo this was the oldest dram I had on the day and I really love these old grains. They stand up to any malt.

To Wemyss again for their ‘Sea Smoke’ Caol Ila ’84, Adelphi for a quick taste of their latest Breath of the Isles (always a great dram) and then I finished with a couple from Compass Box: Spice Tree (the new ‘legal’ one) and Lady Luck. Both delicious and a great end to the day. You’ll notice that I mostly stuck to the independent bottlers for the day which is partly because I have tried many of the distillery-own bottlings already and partly because they, for me anyway, are the ones putting out the more interesting drams. Nothing wrong with the normal bottlings at all, I just find a greater variety on the tables of the indie guys and I’m keen to support them when I can.

I took some notes on the event itself and how well it is run for my own festival in November and if it is even half as good as Whisky Fringe then I will be delighted. Fingers on the keyboard for next year’s tickets which will no doubt sell out even faster!

The Mansfield Traquair

Isle of Arran 14yo

The dram for today was actually tasted last night but I’ve only just now had time to write it up. I was at Oran Mor to sample the new Arran 14yo from a wee cask which had been whisked up the Clyde from Lochranza and then loaded into a horse-drawn cart. The cart made its way first to the Ben Nevis bar and The Lismore, to drop off a bottle of the whisky at each, before its final destination at the top of Byres Road.

The cask outside the Ben Nevis

Euan Mitchell takes a bottle into The Lismore

The cart arrives at Oran Mor

Euan carries the cask into Oran Mor

Once inside Oran Mor the cask made a tour of the bar, accompanied by a piper, in the arms of Euan Mitchell who seemed glad to finally put it down on the table beside lots of awaiting Glencairns.

The cask and a healthy dram (mine)

Distillery Manager James McTaggart said a few words before the wee barrel was tapped and the drams were poured. I assume this is at 46% as casks don’t have labels!

Colour: Pale gold – gold.

Nose: Initially floral notes and vanilla with touches of dry fruit and a little sparkle of citrus. Perfumed soap and then a sherbet sweetness comes through.

Palate: Delicate arrival in the mouth followed by some citrus, honey and spices.

Finish: Honey and pepper. Sweet, a little floral and some dryness. A little hint of ash at the end.

Conclusion: A good, easy-drinking dram with a lovely nose and smooth in the mouth.

The secretive Knights of the Whisky Round Table have amassed at their castle headquarters and thrashed out their missives in reply to this month’s question. I have again been reminded that I need to make some sort of logo for this blog. Better open up Microsoft Paint, I suppose.

http://thecasks.com/2010/08/04/whisky-roundtable-3/

Glenlossie 1975

Another wee sample from Berry Bros. & Rudd. This time it’s a Glenlossie 1975 (the year I was born!) and is at 49.8%.

I’m not sure I’ve ever tried a Glenlossie before. It’s one of those distilleries that mostly ends up in blends so you either buy it as the getting-more-expensive Flora & Fauna bottling or you find an independent bottler such as BB&R to get hold of some. Let’s see if it’s worth bothering.

Colour: Gold – dark gold.

Nose: A dusting of icing sugar on vanilla cream-filled pastry. Subtle hint of wood. Gentle, sweet and appetising.

Palate: Lovely, chewy, malt and honey palate with spice and lots of wood coming through. A puff of smoke drifts in.

Finish: Long, lingering with coffee, something smoky, a touch of white pepper and caramel. There’s a lovely drying effect from the wood.

Conclusion: Absolutely superb. You can definitely get a feel of the age through the woodiness that comes through but it’s not unpleasant. It’s very, very pleasant, actually. I’ll need to put this on my ‘to buy’ list. Or perhaps I’ll get it as a birthday gift. Hint, hint.

Sponsored link: Buy Glenlossie 1975 online at The Whisky Exchange

Benriach 12yo

I had to miss another couple of days there but I’ll still get to 31 of these posts!

Another deal from Oddbins today, The BenRiach 12yo. This is from Speyside and is bottled at 40%.

Colour: Gold

Nose: A fairly floral, soapy nose with loads of vanilla and cereals. Soft and musty. Very relaxing, like a malty aromatherapy oil.

Palate: Smooth, rich and creamy with citrus, spices and a little bit of nuts enveloped in honey.

Finish: Long with honey, nuts, citrus and a slight chocolatey bitterness at the end.

Conclusion: A lovely, well-made, well-balanced dram. I think this might be joining my list of must-have standard bottlings.

Sponsored link: Buy The Benriach 12yo online at The Whisky Exchange

Dregs! Here be dragons!

Something a bit unusual today, something nobody else can try (although anyone can make their own). I’m tasting this because it came up on a recent thread on my forum about what to do with the last couple of drams in a bottle. Here’s what I do – tip them all into another bottle marked DREGS! and create an ever evolving vatted malt. I originally put the last bit of a bottle into a sample bottle to have something to refer to at a later date but I just ended up with too many sample bottles lying around. This is more of a space-saving alternative.

There’s a bit of everything in here; Islay, Highland, Speyside, Campbeltown, the Islands and the Lowlands. It should be really, really good, right? Well, I suppose that depends on the malts and how much I have put in of each and whether there’s too much Islay which masks everything else. This is in no way scientific and is kind of like a whisky-punch: just chuck in a load of stuff and if it’s horrible it won’t matter after a few anyway. Let’s see what we’ve got.

Colour: Light amber – amber.

Nose: Honey, dates and some barley. A hint of ozone underneath. Fairly smooth and intriguing.

Palate: Sugars lead to spices and vanilla followed by a slight woody bitterness.

Finish: Spicy, peppery and drying on the gums. A hint of smoke and damp wood.

Conclusion: Aye, not bad. No dragons yet. I’ve got all the fruits and spices and wood. Needs a wee bit more peat, methinks.