August 13, 2015

Going a little too far with Edradour

Edradour’s maybe not the easiest malt ever, and indeed some earlier batches have been a little nasty, but I’ve noticed much improvement since the current owners took over in 2002. Having said that, it’s been a long time since we did our latest proper Edradour session, so now’s the time to try to ‘dig deeper’. We’ll start this with some older bottlings for good measure and for a better historical perspective, and then go as far as we can… But we have resources! Please fasten your seat belt…

Edradour 10 yo (40%, OB, +/-1995)

Actually that was The Edradour, like in The Macallan. Other ‘Chivas’ bottlings have been… hard. Colour: gold. Paler than other batches. Nose: starts well, with smoky malt and roasted nuts, but some kind of vegetal soap is soon to surface. And wet paint, burnt papers, other burnt things… Plastic? Mouth: no way. A lot of plastic, some cheap supermarket balsamic vinegar, paper again, and always this soapiness. Sugar syrup. Finish: rather long, but that’s not great news ;-). Burnt vegetables and household soap. Comments: a rather bad batch for sure. We’ve had better ones, but I guess we could have seen it as some solid foundation for improvements. SGP:471 - 64 points.

Indeed, room for improvement, but let’s also check an older indie…

Edradour 24 yo 1976/2000 (51.2%, Signatory Vintage, cask #142, 320 bottles)

I have to say these ones bear a very shady reputation… Colour: pale gold. Nose: eh? Rotting artichoke? Burnt carbon paper? Anti-rust paint? Quick, with water: soap, fish liver oil, a pile of brown coal, new sneakers (Nike’s very ugliest, I’d say), and then, quite appropriately, gym socks. Hard. Mouth (neat): the other day I had thought an old indie Glenfiddich was the soapiest whisky I had ever tasted. Well, this one’s pretty good at that as well. Extreme lemon-flavoured soap. With water: frankly horrible. Very soapy, with a rotten side. Those artichokes again? Finish: quite long, with ‘better’ notes of almond oil, but the aftertaste remains very soapy. Comments: I guess the usually excellent Signatory Vintage just wanted to have whiskies from just any Scottish distillery. Including Edradour. SGP:272 - 15 points.

Indeed, there was room for improvement… But now that we’ve tried the ‘bad old ones’, let’s have newer bottlings more or less at random, for more fun.

Edradour 24 yo 1985/2009 (50.2%, OB, Pedro Ximenez finish, cask #09/151, 682 bottles)

Colour: amber. Nose: here we go, a rather great nose! It’s unbelievable that this came from the very same distillery, but some say that heavy batch variations were simply coming from the cooling problems that they could have when the weather was hot, and when the wee river was warm or simply low. Makes sense. Anyway, this is perfectly malty, with good raisins and nuts from the PX. Some walnuts too, and a wee bit of leather. With water: profound viscimetry ;-). Perfect whiffs of earthy tea and walnut cake. Mouth (neat): rich, creamy, sherried, quite PX but not excessively sweet. Lovely leathery raisins plus a little lemon balm and walnut liqueur. I like. With water: excellent, really. Triple-sec, raisins, a little tobacco, mandarin liqueur. Finish: long, a tad sweeter, with an oily feeling. More mandarins in the aftertaste. Comments: I’m very happy. Great cask and great finishing work by owners Signatory. SGP:551 - 88 points.

Edradour 10 yo 2003/2013 (54.6%, Artist by La Maison du Whisky, bourbon barrel, cask #139, 235 bottles)

In my book, the fact that LMDW selected this cask for this series is a good sign, but anyone may fail. Colour: straw. Nose: ooh, a lemony and steely one! It’s quite unusual, we’re almost nosing silverware. And hay, old aluminium pans, an engine… And then, rather rhubarb, kiwis, angelica, lime… Yup, all things green. Interesting and very unusual. With water: the barley comes out. Hints of bananas, rocks, silver fork, old coins, brioche. Mouth (neat): oh very good! It’s got a Clynelish side, which cannot not please me, with waxy grapefruits and, yet again, green herbs and fruits covered with iron filings and aluminium. Sounds strange, but it’s totally excellent. Tart. With water: oh yes it’s good, bright, rather fat, fruity, zesty, waxy… Finish: quite long, very waxy. Comments: a perfect young Edradour that could challenge many colleagues further North. Definitive proof that things have improved a lot at Edradour, but let’s go on… SGP:552 - 87 points.

Good, two ‘bad’ ones and two great ones, it’s a tie so far…

Edradour 12 yo 2003/2015 (55.6%, OB, bourbon, decanter, 1,979 bottles)

This an annual ‘deluxe’ bottling by the current owners, distilled by the current owners. Wasn’t Iain Henderson already there in 2003? Colour: straw. Nose: a little more austere than the Artist, rather less waxy and citrony, and more mineral, with whiffs of concrete dust and mown lawn. It seems that with these bottlings, Edradour definitely became a true Highlander. With water: superb resinous, sappy, waxy and mildly rubbery – in a good way. Mouth (neat): how very good! I want to sing and I want to dance (better not do that, S.), because it seems that the times when any Edradour had to be taken with caution are definitely over. Hurray! Lemon, chalk, sunflower oil, butterscotch, orange drops, a little earth… All great and balance is perfect. With water: a wee touch of candy sugar, other wise all very fine. Finish: long, rather candied. Orange blossom water, candle wax, earth. Comments: on par with the LMDW. What a lovely, thick yet bright spirit! Almost a resurrection – and God knows I’m no religious person (eh?) SGP:552 - 87 points.

But let’s check earlier bottlings, just to make sure and to keep this fight fair… Why not go back ten years?

Edradour 10 yo 1993/2004 (60.7%, Signatory, Straight from the Cask, sherry, cask #310, 860 bottles) Colour: dark amber. Nose: wee whiffs of gunpowder and used matches at first nosing, but what comes after that is most pleasant, with fino-ish walnuts, toasted bread, chestnut purée and simply toasted white bread. With water: quite a lot of leather, tree bark, some kind of vegetal caramel perhaps? Mouth (neat): there might be a discreet soapiness indeed, or rather a wee bit of plastic, but again, what comes after that is pleasant. Orange cake, marmalade, walnuts again, minty tea, some liquorice, black raisins… With water: does not swim extremely well, I’m afraid. More soap. Finish: long, not soapy at all when undiluted, otherwise a little soapy. Comments: shall we call this an intermediate bottling? SGP:561 - 79 points.

Let’s try again…

Edradour 10 yo 1993/2004 (46%, OB, Un-chillfiltered Collection, cask #313, 792 bottles)

Colour: dark amber. Nose: well this sherried dram is cleaner than its CS counterpart, and while we do not find any soap, matches or gunpowder, some leather walnuts and other nuts are playing first parts. A little mead, then some game and shoe polish. I’m in favour of this kind of nose ;-). Mouth: yes, it’s a cleaner cask, with plenty of dried fruits (it is fruitcaky), a little leather and liquorice again, marmalade, dry caramel, and various roasted nuts. An earthy side as well, which works very well. Finish: long and even earthier. Some cured ham in the aftertaste. A mineral side, but not gun flints. Comments: very quaffable, and flawless. Good body and structure, good sherry. SGP:451 - 83 points.

… But just like Bruichladdich and Arran, Edradour have also issued many finished whiskies, and have never been shy with just ‘any’ wines, as long as those did age in oak. So…

Edradour 10 yo 1997/2008 (56.9%, OB, Straight From The Cask, Moscatel Cask Finish, 468 bottles)

Edradour 10 yo 1997/2008 (56.9%, OB, Straight From The Cask, Moscatel Cask Finish, 468 bottles) Colour: gold. Nose: no moscatel whatsoever. And I think I could tell, there’s Muscat growing around 100 m from WF’s headquarters. Rather butterscotch, brioche and other stuff from a pastry shop, then a little leather. Walnut cake again and again. Nothing to complain about. With water: noh, doesn’t swim. That often happens with whisky finished in wine, water makes them either too leafy or too paraffiny, like here. Mouth (neat): indeed, it is rather raisiny, and indeed the muscatel starts to feel. Pineapple, muscat de frontignan, and other muscats. Some say that Muscat can be a little whoreish, but I wouldn’t say that about this whisky. It’s just a little winey. No soap. With water: swims rather better on the palate than on the nose, although some faint soapy/plasticky touches do emerge. Finish: quite long, with muscaty pineapples and even litchis. Comments: one of the strange ones. Not bad at all, just a little.. say unnecessary? But that was seven years ago… SGP:641 - 77 points.

Moscatel, he said…

Edradour 15 yo 1997/2012 (55%, OB, Straight From The Cask, finished in Moscatel hogshead, 441 bottles)

A moscatel hogshead is obviously a wine-treaded cask, unless some winemakers have been making and/or maturing their wines in ex-Scotch wood. Which we both doubt, don’t we. Colour: deep gold. Nose: similar, just a little cleaner and, apparently, fresher. Sultanas and other raisins, fudge, Werther’s Originals, tinned pineapples… With water: more earth, even mud. Wet clothes. Mouth (neat): less winey than the younger 1997, as if they’ve been using refill moscatel wood. So this works well, especially since there’s no soap whatsoever, rather a pleasant spicy earthiness. A little pineapple again. With water: good, sweet yet firm, rather malty. But the pineapples haven’t left. Finish: good length, a little sweet, but balanced. Tropical aftertaste. Comments: liked this one a wee notch better than its younger bro. SGP:651 - 80 points.

Edradour 11 yo 2001/2012 (57.2%, OB, finished in Frühburgunder barrique from Weingut Singer-Fischer, 303 bottles)

German Frühburgunder? This is an encyclopaedia of wine, even Hugh Johnson hasn’t done any better ;-). But hey, haven’t I always said that whisky and wine were connected? Even more so than whisky and beer? ;-) Anyway, what’s Frühburgunder, you may ask? It’s simply pinot noir that’s more precocious than its parent grape. Maybe not too useful with global warming, eh… Colour: gold. Nose: I’ve never tried precocious pinot noir, so I couldn’t tell you if there is some inside, but indeed this is perhaps a little extra-leafy, with more herbal teas. Behind that, fudge and nuts. With water: nice old wood, old wine cellar, herbal teas, and mushrooms. Saltpetre. Mouth (neat): you know what, I used to dislike all these wine finishings, but with all the current oak-doped NAS whiskies that all taste the same, I may start to like them better. Coz half a loaf is better than no bread. So, this works, it’s finely caramely, and nicely leafy. Cherry stems, blackcurrant buds (how very Burgundian) and cracked pepper. With water: fine, really fine. Raisins and kirsch(enwasser). Finish: long, a bit spicy. Cherries and pepper. Comments: I’m very fine with this. SGP:561 - 80 points.

Wait, Burgundy/Burgunder?...

Edradour 2003/2010 'Burgundy Cask Matured' (46%, OB, Batch number one, 2600 bottles)

Edradour 2003/2010 'Burgundy Cask Matured' (46%, OB, Batch number one, 2600 bottles) Not a finishing, it appears that this was fully matured in Bourgogne casks. Red or white? The label wouldn’t tell, unless, the pink colour… Colour: salmony amber. Right, red wine. Nose: straw-ber-ries! As jam, as liqueur, as syrup, as jelly, fresh… Just genuine strawberries. Not the noseless junk from our supermarkets mind you! Funny stuff, this, you just have to enjoy strawberries… (and malt, yoghurt, oak, nuts…) Mouth: this is a new concept, desert whisky. I’m surprised no one at Diageo or Pernod ever came up with this brainwave, designing whiskies to match this or that food. But we all know it’s coming, eh? Strawberry yogurt, custard, strawberry-flavoured Chupa Chups, marmalade, Turkish delights, rosewater, baklavas… Finish: medium and… full of stewed strawberries. Comments: don’t get me wrong, this is no dull strawberry liqueur at all, it’s well whisky. But I find this a little excessive… Says the guy who’s been studying in Burgundy for five years. SGP:751 - 78 points.

Tired? Not at all, I’m still as bright as a button, let’s go on…

Edradour 2003/2012 (46%, OB, Ruby Port hogsheads, batch number one)

Again, this baby was totally matured in ruby Port hoggies. How scary is that? Remember ruby’s the cheapest type of Port… Ahem… Colour: not much port, there are almost no apricoty hues. So, gold. Nose: no, no no. The plastic is back, the soap is back as well, and they come with whiffs of cheese cellar and burnt caramel. Mouth: weird, wicked, and whacky. Blackcurrant jelly with Swiss cheese and fresh paint. Pass. Finish: quite long but pass. Comments: something must have gone wrong. Some parts were ‘funny and fun’, hence a goodish score, but others were really… unlikely. SGP:641 - 70 points.

Edradour 18 yo 1993/2012 (59%, OB, oloroso sherry butt, cask #301, 599 bottles)

Again, full maturation, not a finishing. I find it great that Edradour would tell, while so many other ‘brands’ are trying to make us believe that quick finishings were actually full maturations. You know, lies of omission, some are very good at that. No, no names. Colour: red mahogany. Nose: no soap. That’s done. Rather roasted nuts (aplenty), old walnuts, horse saddles, black mushrooms (black trumpets, how succulent is that?), then rather old kirsch, cherries, herbal teas. Peach leaves spring to mind. With water: fern, humus, manure. That’s the sherry talking. Mouth (neat): rich, very kirschy, very marginally soapy – but there is some - and with a bourbony side, between pencil shavings and wood varnish. With water: a little harder. Cherry-scented soap, does that exist? Finish: quite long, now with bubblegums and liquorice allsorts. Strawberries in the aftertaste. Comments: fair, just a little… different. SGP:651 - 79 points.

Now, perhaps do we need a little Sauternes… But we’ll do this quicker, that is to say without water…

Edradour 10 yo1993/2004 (57.2% OB, Straight From The Cask, Sauternes finish)

Edradour 10 yo1993/2004 (57.2% OB, Straight From The Cask, Sauternes finish) Colour: white wine. Nose: refill, obviously. No peaches, apricots, mirabelles and stuff, rather a mellow combination, with vanilla fudge, butterscotch, croissants and grass. A fine nose. Mouth: it’s clean, and it’s even very good. Nothing that goes astray, rather barley, cereals, a touch of earth, some greengages indeed but no excessive mirabelly notes, and just a handful of golden raisins. All is fine and well in this baby. Now, it’s, cough, quite strong. I should have added water. Finish: long and there, mirabelles and the fabulous eau-de-vie we Alsatians are making thereof. Haha… Comments: whisky + Sauternes doesn’t always work, but when it does, the combination wins. SGP:651 - 84 points.

Phew, how many Edradours have we just tried? This is becoming a little insane indeed, but since we’re doing an Edardour session only every two years, let’s go on!

Edradour 10 yo 1997/2008 (57.1%, OB, Sassicaia Cask Finish, 464 bottles)

Edradour 10 yo 1997/2008 (57.1%, OB, Straight From The Cask, Sassicaia Cask Finish, 464 bottles)

Sassicaia. To think that with all the fabulous Nebbiolos or Sangioveses the Italians have, they had to come up with a so-called Bordeaux blend. Sassicaia is like a Porsche with a front engine, if you ask me… Yeah well… Colour: gold. Great new, no pinkish tones. Nose: fine, not winey (refill?) and with nice touches of malt, banana, earth, flints, gravel… Mouth: rich, coating, a little caramelly, but becoming a little greenish and leafy. Green peppercorns, rocket salad, grape pips. I find this dispensable. Finish: long, peppery, leafy, grassy… But not un-enjoyable. Just leafy. Comments: not bad, but the world didn’t need Sassicaia (or Ornellaia for that matter.) Just watch Mondovino again. SGP:561 - 78 points.

We could go on and on, but I think it’s more than time to put an end to this cavalcade. With some ‘new’ spirit of course!

Edradour 2003/2011 (57.4%, OB, Natural Cask Strength, Second Release, decanter, 1820 bottles)

Ah, young new Edradour au naturel, we can’t wait… Colour: white wine. Nose: ah, malt whisky au naturel indeed. Bread, leaven, limestone, grasses and leaves, waxes and oils, greases and metals… Nah, it’s not that ‘Highlands’, but indeed it’s deep and characterful spirit. Yeah, not just wood-flavoured ethanol. With water (we must): putty, paint, almond oil, fish oil… This is surprising and a little un-Pitlochry. Mouth (neat): full, vanilled, maybe-a-wee-bit-soapy-but-I-guess-you-cannot-get-it-totally-right-on-the-first-try, with some fat wax and various herbs and mints. With water: not sure it swims too well. Smoked salmon (that’s bizarre). Finish: medium, with more oils, husk, grass… Comments: not an easy one. Maybe one should try this baby on a fresher palate. I may have missed something, better stop this Edradoury madness now. SGP:462 - 78 points.

Conclusion: buy carefully selected Edradour that was distilled from 2003 on and matured in either refill or bourbon. You’ll be surprised, Edradour is back, and should match this old description by RJS Macdowall, who did write, in the 1960s and in one of his excellent books, that Edradour used to be the most expensive new filling. There must have been a reason.

(With thnks to the Burlet Bros and Konstantin)

Check the index of all Edradour I've tasted so far