July 28, 2015

Celebrating Thirteen
Years of Whiskyfun

My friend, today little Whiskyfun is 13 years old. Rather a non-event, and all whiskymakers, apart from Craigellachie and Whyte & Mackay ;-), know that thirteen is neither twelve nor fifteen. So we’ll keep this short and, hopefully sweet.

But still, what’s new at WF Towers, you may ask? Well, our figures keep rising at the same pace as previously, that is to say at a rate of +/-15% per year (both number of visits and visitors). More than 75% of them are returning visitors, which pleases me quite a lot. All in all, there are between 8,000 and 10,000 visits a day, sometimes a little more (when we’re trying Ardbeg, ha ha). But this is not Buzzfeed, mind you!

Other than that, not much has changed, all I hope is that we won’t see an avalanche of new young NAS whiskies replacing well-aged core ranges – and at a higher price. Looks like that is slowly happening, though, which may eventually diminish the joy of tasting new whiskies. In my views, malt whisky without an age statement is like Led Zep without Robert Plant, something is missing.

Now, you may wonder why I would care. My main problem, in fact, is that until just a few years ago, the whisky world was a place where just anybody could afford some well-aged, complex and interesting whiskies. Successful entrepreneurs and humble employees or even factory workers used to regularly gather and share equivalent drams, and we were all equals in that joyous melting pot where only one thing used to be important: shared passion for whisky. How things have changed! Because mind you, you got to be wealthy to afford some 25 years old malt whisky these days, even the weaker ones, that is to say single casks from blending stock, sold by some indies for hundreds of Euros a skittle.

An indie Blair Athol 23 yo 1991 for 266 Euros? A Caperdonich 21 yo 1992 for 393 Euros (you read that right)? A Laphroaig 16 yo 1997 for 410 Euros? An Ardbeg 20 yo 1994 for 678 Euros?… Or an undisclosed NAS for 110 Euros? Slightly nauseating moves, if you ask me. What’s more, blends do not seem to sell too well these days, so some might be trying to unload their young malts as single malts instead, whether NAS or not, and further milk the malt-thirsty cow. The new drinkers, sadly, and unless very wealthy, have no other choices than enjoy the malts they can afford, and of course nobody should blame them for that.

But I don’t want to go on burbling on about those issues, the world of spirits is rich and large enough to provide these humble little pages with many other interesting boozes, should malt whisky become too depressing or unauthentic. Including, that’s true, some that are NAS as well, such as artisan mezcals, piscos or cachaças. But at least, those are fully spirit-driven, and not flash-botoxed with oak or cooking wine.

So, if one day the world of Scotch malts (and their ‘foreign’ clones) is totally dominated by these NAS whiskies that all taste more or less the same (vanilla and basta), I think we’ll simply start to try more interesting malternatives, so not just on Sundays.

But it hasn’t come to that yet, so…

Let’s go on for a while with the current format, see what happens, and pace e salute!

Now, how should we celebrate our 13th birthday? Probably with an emblematic name, some very old whiskies, and two or three rare bottlings. Like these…

Three Ardbeg for WF's 13th anniversary

Do we really need a headnote?

Ardbeg 18 yo 1958 (70° proof, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseur’s Choice, +/-1976)

This one sure is a controversial bottling. Genuine or not? What’s even more troubling is the fact that the label states that it’s a ‘Highland’ whisky, and not an Islay. What’s sure is that if it is the real deal indeed, it’s of the oldest vintages of Ardbeg known to Man. We’re not talking about the late 19th/early 20th century fakes that abound in various collections, of course… But indeed, nobody’s ever been sure that this well-known bottling wasn’t a fake as well, and I’m not 100% sure we could tell. Let’s check it… Colour: pale gold. Nose: hard to say (of course). There are medicinal notes, funny whiffs of crushed strawberries, notes of various Jell-Os (blackcurrant springs to mind), and something that furiously reminds me of… Bowmore 12 years old, circa the year 2000. Ahem… Ahem indeed. Mouth: same feelings. Smoky strawberries, raspberry-flavoured yoghurt, a bit of burnt wood, malt… This is young, this is modern, and apologies, but I doubt it’s Ardbeg 1958. Although I’m not too familiar with Ardbeg 1958, of course. Finish: good length, modern tastes. Toasted bread, jams, light smoke, and, above all, very little coastalness. How strange. Comments: I wouldn’t stake my life that this isn’t genuine Ardbeg 1958, but if it was, well, Ardbeg was pretty ordinary back in 1958. Such is the life of a die-hard whisky freak, stinky fakes abound and you have to be very careful. Again, never buy from a seller whom you don’t know well, never! SGP:544 - 69 points.

Better luck now, perhaps…

Ardbeg 14 yo 1965 (70° proof, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseur’s Choice, +/-1979)

A 'Highland' malt again, this is troubling. Ah, 1965, the year of the pretty disappointing official 1965 that came out a few years ago (with pomp, circumstances, white gloves and stuff). Colour: gold. Nose: b****y, f*****g yesssss! This, is Ardbeg. Hessian, oysters, old coal stove, almond oil, genuine old turpentine, carbon paper, old books, Bakelite, natural engine oil (castor oil), crème de menthe (old Ricqlès, do you know that brilliant stuff that makes your breath just perfect for dancing cheek-to-cheek?)… This is extraordinarily complex, this is what made Ardbeg Ardbeg in many a whisky lover’s book. No, not just that one. Mouth: makes you dance and sing. More old books, carbon paper, seawater, tar, drops of cod oil (I know), whelks and other tasty sea animals, almonds again, creosote and bandages (the infernal combo), wet papers, kippers, smoked salmon, then rather spices, caraway and cloves, cardamom… Was 70° proof really only 40% vol.? Seriously, it’s no big whisky as far as power is concerned, and indeed we’re almost closer to wine, but depth and wideness of aromas are pretty amazing. Finish: sadly, it is a little short and almost too clean and tidy. On the other hand, this baby was bottled at 40% and spent more than thirty-five years in a closed bottle. Try to understand it! Comments: not much else to say. One of the seminal whiskies that raised an army of whisky (and Ardbeg) lovers. The score would have been higher at… a higher proof! SGP:456 - 93 points.

I know what you think, ‘and modern Ardbeg?’ How would it compare? Let’s find out, with an indie ‘au naturel’ …

Ardbeg 23 yo 1991/2015 (50.6%, Master of Malt, bourbon, 216 bottles)

Isn’t it funny that the indies are now issuing Ardbegs that are much more expensive than their official counterparts? But I agree, there probably aren’t any real official counterparts, as all the OBs, except the Ten, are NAS. Read ‘probably very very very very young’. By the way, remember that the moribund Ardbeg whisky used to be made by the good people from Laphroaig’s at the time. Yeah, just before Allied murdered dozens of magnificent casks by vatting them all in their 30 yo ‘Very Old’. Pretty great whisky, that one, and caviar+caviar=caviar, but still… Colour: pale gold. Nose: am I the only whisky lover who often considered that Ardbeg could be more medicinal than Laphroaig? My email address is valentin@ca... I’m kidding. So oysters, fresh almonds, seaweed, embrocations, limoncello, hessian, bandages, tiger balm, creosote and smoked fish. Nothing more, nothing less. And I think it’s brilliant. With water: in a hospital near the sea, while a large pile of hay is burning in the neighbourhood. Somebody added an old tyre to the pile. Mouth (neat): I’m afraid it’s brilliant indeed. Is 23 a magical age for Ardbeg? Extremely focused and compact combination of seaweed, smoked fish, almond oils, lemons, mercurochrome, sauvignon blanc, fresh walnuts and brine. I don’t think you could do better. Only time would make it more complex, but you’d need dozens of years… With water: immaculate, perfect Ardbegness. Almost on par wit the best of the 1970s. Finish: long, clean. Smoked fish, oils. Comments: I find it embarrassing that a bottle of 20+ years old whisky that’s priced at 500+ Euros would be so good. Life is a bitch (you need holidays, S.). Oh, forgot to tell you, the smoke’s intense. SGP:458 - 92 points.

Okay, happy 13th anniversary to Whiskyfun, let’s go on…

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

Pete McPeat and Jack Washback