Having just read the latest Whisky Round Table I thought I’d put down in words some bits and bobs that have crept into conversation a few times and is one of those things that makes me wonder why nobody is doing it. I mean really doing it, not some half-arsed attempt.

I agree with many of the comments in the link above that releasing new spirit is a way to generate much-needed initial income for new distilleries and a way to grow awareness from the start, but simply treating it as an idea of what the future whisky will be like is simply a novelty, not a product. It is, and should be treated as a product in its own right. Why not bottle and sell new spirit before it’s whisky? Just don’t call it new spirit or future whisky or anything like that. Call it, and market it, as something different. Scotch Spirit or whatever. Marketing people should really grab hold of this and run with it. Well, good ones anyway.

One of the main problems stems from the fact that the whisky industry is treating this as unaged whisky and marketing it to whisky folks who they think might like to try their spirit to see how it evolves. That’s where the narrow-mindedness of the industry hampers growth. (A few distilleries are now making gin but why not have another product entirely? One which they are already making!) They are marketing these drinks at the wrong people. This stuff is not really what you want to be drinking neat, it should really be mixed like vodka, gin and all other clear spirits. Do you really think the guy sipping a GlenDronach 15yo is then going to slip a neat Glenglassaugh Clearac down his throat? Well, he might for curiosity but that would be it.

Antarctica Folle Blanche Cognac

Last week I came across a product which fits in with this discussion. It is a young Cognac by the name of Antarctica. Created by the Godet house this is aged for about four years in very tired old casks which barely colour or flavour it leaving a lot of the new spirit notes that you would find in the unaged liquid. The packaging resembles an ice cube and it’s all squarely aimed at cocktail bars. One of the best places to build a brand is in the on-trade and if you get your product in good cocktail bars, in a cocktail on their menu, then you hopefully have a steady stream of drinkers imbibing your spirit. They then start to ask where they can buy it so they can mix with it at home too. And off it goes…

Let’s go back a little bit. The Glenglassaugh Distillery reopened in 2008 and had no young spirit in the warehouses. I think the youngest whisky was around 25/26yo. At any rate they needed something to sell to those who couldn’t afford to buy older whiskies and apart from cask sales, which again is a limited market, they only had their new spirit to sell. Cleverly they decided to market several bottlings of this new spirit, including peated, wine and bourbon barrel versions, but what I think it lacked was a focus towards the on-trade with most sales probably going to whisky drinkers for the curiosity value. The distillery now has a 3yo whisky but I wonder how they would have done had they taken these young products to a different market. We stocked these products in the shop when we opened and we still have some sitting here now. I don’t expect them to sell out quickly at all as there’s no demand from those trying the products in bars to source them for themselves.

While we are on this lack of innovation thread, where are the spiced whiskies/spirits? Where are the whiskies/spirits infused with ginger/orange/herbs? I know there are whisky liqueurs out there but as Compass Box showed with their Orangerie, they don’t all have to be the same, sickly-sweet, sugar overload. Again there’s no real thought towards the on-trade and taking something new out there. Drinkers are always on the lookout for the new and interesting products; the next cool drink to be seen supping at the Blythswood. It doesn’t all need to be about the aged whisky.

Where was I?

My last post was in August and since then I’ve been working almost constantly in my spirits shop, successfully run our second whisky festival, working on another couple of projects and just had to deal with life (and death) in general. You know how it is. So how are you? How have you been? Really? Cool!

Let’s get this show back on the road, then. Where was I? Oh, yeah…whisky!

Octomore Comus

(Disclaimer: I have not been a fan of the Octomore series of whiskies from Bruichladdich. I have personally found them either all smoke and no depth or, in the case of the Orpheus, another pointless and silly wine finish that added nothing and probably took lots away.)

Next in the Octomore series is Octomore 04.2_167, or Comus to its friends. Speaking of silly wine finishes, this has spent some time in Château d’Yquem Sauternes casks (the king, or queen if you prefer, of sweet dessert wines). This has the potential to be magnificent or a disaster… The 167 refers to the PPMs in this limited edition bottling of 18,000 at 61% ABV.

Colour: A rich, syrupy gold.

Nose: The peat is immediate although not as strong as the PPMs suggest but it’s definitely there in a meaty way, like Bovril. There’s also a chewy, sweet maltiness with bags of fragrant, fruity notes; peaches in syrup. It’s also very like one of those wee biscuits you get in a café with a cup of coffee.

Mouth: Vibrant and fizzy. Chocolate and smoked hickory. A good oiliness.

Finish: Bitter, bitter chocolate with wood ash at the finish. But then a sweet chocolate is left with a touch of liquorice.

Conclusion: Me likey! This is probably the best Octomore I have tried. The sweet wine has tempered the PPMs and added a richness to what was usually all smoke and no action. Needs a wee drop of water to temper the ABV.

Available now from The Good Spirits Co. at £100.

The Whisky Round Table No. 15 is up at Peter’s The Casks blog. It’s all about the mixing!

Whisky cocktails…love ‘em or hate ‘em? We’re not talking Jack & Coke, 7&7′s, or Rusty Nails from the rail here, we’re talking top shelf single malts, single barrel bourbons, and craft distillery ryes, shaken or stirred into a classic pre-Prohibition cocktail or a new, creative libation. What do you think, is it an affront to the whisky gods to use the good stuff in a cocktail, an abomination nonpareil? Or is it a terrifically delicious, if not spendy, use of our favorite spirit? Feel free to share your favorites and where you had them as well…or, as it may turn out, your least favorites and where you wasted your hard-earned money…

Answers here: http://thecasks.com/2011/08/03/whisky-roundtable-15/

Bloggers' Blend Winner - Batch I

Well, it has been a month and a half since my last post so I better get back on track asap! Can’t let something like opening a wee shop get in the way of some posting and tasting. Or is that tasting and posting? Anyway, where were we? Oh, yes – Bloggers’ Blend!

After lots of tasting and voting there was a winner. Congratulations to the creator, or creators, of Batch I who won the voters over with their Islay-prominent presentation. Now we have a product we have to brand, market and get it on sale. Time for some The Apprentice-style brainstorming, although hopefully without the egos and backstabbing.

But first, we need to get to know the product before we can label it.

Colour: Dark gold – light amber.

Nose: Soft, sweet peat. Malty, toffee and citrus soap. Hay bales and lemongrass in the mix with dark sugars and raisins. Something mineral and earthy like freshly turned soil.

Palate: A delicate arrival with a light, watery but creamy, bittersweetness. Orange and lemon with toffee and salt.

Finish: Sweet toffee leads to a sprinkle of pepper and a vegetal bitterness. Earthy and a touch dirty…in a good way.

Comments: A pretty smooth blend – the peaty, earthy notes aren’t overpowering at all. It has a nice balance of sweet and vegetal.

Right, now on with the naming…

Glen Garioch 1994

Do you remember the old Glen Garioch? Pink tartan and stags like some sort of camp hunting lodge theme? Well, thankfully that’s all long gone and the Founder’s Reserve and 12yo bottlings have paved the way for an ever-growing new range. Not only has the packaging been sorted out by a proper design agency but the liquid has been given a kick up the arse too. And it’s all the better for it. The latest offering is this Glen Garioch 1994 vintage. It isn’t chill-filtered and by the look of it not coloured either. It’s also at cask strength which in this case is 53.9%.

Colour: Pale gold.

Nose: Immediately malty, yeasty,with an underbelly of vanilla cream. Glimmers of citrus and a delicate meaty peat note.

Palate: Great mouthfeel. Oily, creamy and thick. Tons of citrus and spice.

Finish: Loads of spices and a hint of menthol. A real firecracker. My mouth is tingling, in a good way. Long, long finish with slightly sweet, then bitter chocolate and a hint of smoke towards the end.

This is a wonderful Glen Garioch. Good to see another distillery-own bottling that’s not been touched between the cask and the bottle. Lovely stuff and something I would love to try after coming in from the snow on a winter’s day.

Is that 12 months already? Where does the time go?

The Whisky Round Table is now on Series 2/The Sequel. This Time They’re Back And They’re Pissed Off! Or something.

Right, here we go again. The Whisky Round Table part 13, or Series 2 Episode 1 is now online back at its original home of Guid Scotch Drink. It has been posted in two parts (because some people were really slow to reply – me included) which you can find here and here. It’s all about whisky blogs and bloggers and whether or not some are in it for the freebies. Personally I’m in it for the fame and celebrity. Oh, I better start posting more often then…

Rum, rum, rum!

On the 1st of June The Good Spirits Co. finally opened its doors to the Glaswegian (and visiting) public. Over a year of hard work has paid off and we’re at last providing quality drinks to those who are looking for something a cut above the supermarket offerings in a friendly, relaxing environment. And we have a record player! Mmm, classic Bowie on vinyl.

So what have I learned or observed in the past week and a half? Well, firstly we have sold lots of weird and wonderful stuff. Sake, sotol, vanilla liqueur, grappa…and we’ve been asked for many, many strange drinks. Oh, and Kraken Black Spiced Rum is the new Sailor Jerry by the look of our sales figures. The kids can’t get enough of it, man!

Glasgow, it appears, likes its gin and rum and tequila, as well as its whisky. We see tequila growing particularly well as more discover the taste of the quality aged stuff which is miles away from the industrial cleaning fluid kind that you slam with salt and lime. There are some seriously tasty bottlings there which I’m sure whisky drinkers would appreciate. Single cask rums are also something I’m particularly keeping an eye on as the parallels with whisky are very interesting. A particular favourite is Foursquare Vintage 1998 which will hopefully be back in soon, but if you pop in I might let you try a wee sip from my own bottle. It’s sublime stuff. 10yo bourbon barrel matured heaven.

Most importantly I now have a desire to go to work, rather than try to avoid it. I LOVE going to work. I can’t wait to get into my shop. It’s my new baby. That surely makes it all worthwhile. That and the situation that arose last week. We had a customer come in asking for a particular tequila, one that he had only managed to get in the US when last there and something he had hunted high and low for on these shores but never found. I told him to leave it with me and three days later, when he returned, he was amazed to see me holding a bottle of the particular tipple. The joy and amazement on his face was the reward for all this madness. Long may it continue.

Right, back to work. I’ve got some spirits to sell!

P.S. The title is a kind of private joke. You’ll need to ask Jason of Guid Scotch Drink. He might not reply but he’s a legend in his own underpants.

The Good Spirits Co., ready and waiting.

The picture above is what our shop looked like on Sunday. Apart from another barrel in the window and more stock it hasn’t changed since then despite the plan to be open the day after. Unfortunately we didn’t factor in a slow-moving – incompetent? – Council department or three. Let’s just say that certain people clearly have no idea of the impact they have on small businesses. Or the lives of those trying to do something for themselves.

All week we have waited and jumped through hoops and yet we are now at Friday with the shop still full and not a bottle sold. Frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe what the three of us are going through right now. The Council is closed until Tuesday so Wednesday is probably a likely date to be thinking about now. That’s the 1st of June. It’ll be Christmas again soon.

At the risk of launching into a rant I’ll let you know a few things about the shop: we currently have 100 malts plus the biggest range of rum in Glasgow and many other spirits, champagne and fortified wines in stock. Our cigar humidor is the only proper Spanish Cedar one in the whole of Scotland and it smells wonderful. I could spend all day in there. Our living cask is about to be topped up with some more whisky, having had several litres of Highland Park 14yo from Glasgow’s Whisky Festival 2010 poured in recently. The record player on the counter helped us celebrate Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday during the week with a few rotations of some of his best albums. All in we are pretty proud of what we’ve achieved and look forward to a long relationship with Glasgow’s discerning drinkers.

If only others would do their bit with some sort of urgency and let us get on with it!

Master of Malt's Blogger's Blend tasting pack.

The recipes have been submitted, created and bottled in Drinks by the Dram packs ready for the vote. Everyone is invited to purchase a set and have a wee tasting (it’s good to share) and then select their favourite. I’m really looking forward to receiving my set to try and pick out my version from the 10. I reckon there will be a few similar ones. Time will tell.

For full details see the Master of Malt blog. Will you be taking part?

Our little online experiment has now come full circle and we’re at the end of the 12 blogs that have taken part. The last, but most definitely not least, to question us all is Chris from Nonjatta.com. His question:

The socialite and art collector Peggy Guggenheim used to pour bottles of cheap blended whisky into premium bottles and, presumably, laugh down her sleeve at those sniffing and simpering over her drams.

How confident are you of your whisky tasting skills?

Is there any purpose to the pursuit of objectivity in whisky tasting (unless you work in the industry) or does it suck the joy out of a essentially subjective experience.

Is it possible to categorise a sip in words and is something lost or gained in that process?

You’ll need to pop over to Chris’s blog to find our answers.