![Feis Ile 2006](whiskyfunlogo%20copie.gif) |
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Hi, you're in the Archives, Feis Ile 2006 special
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June
03, 2006 |
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PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK are leaving
the Islay Festival 2006 |
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June
02, 2006 |
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TASTING
– INDECENT PROPOSAL: TWENTY-THREE
ARDBEGS |
![](Materialforlog12/Ardbeg-1.jpg) |
Ardbeg
1978/1990 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail
for Meregalli, 75cl)
Colour: gold. Nose: very fresh and
very maritime but rather discreet
altogether, with hints of marzipan,
kippers, fisherman’s nest…
Very light in fact. Whiffs of peat
smoke and oranges, hints of camphor,
coffee and old books… Mouth:
sweet and rather weak again…
It’s almost a whisper. Otherwise
we have lots of ‘discreet’
dried fruits, quince, earl grey tea,
orange marmalade, maybe a little cardboard,
with some rather drying tannins. The
finish is rather short, slightly metallic
and, again, tea-ish. The nose was
nice but the palate is, or got a little
too weak for my tastes. 80
points.
Ardbeg
1978/2000 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail
for Meregalli) Colour:
gold. Nose: quite discreet again and
much less smoky and peaty, more on
apple juice and tea, maybe a little
varnish. Curiously grassier, with
notes of green tea. Lots of orange
juice. Did the peat vanish during
the ten extra-years? Gets then quite
caramelly and cereally. Whiffs of
sea air after quite a long time. Mouth:
the attack is a little more nervous,
slightly more camphory, certainly
even more cereally and caramelly but
just as drying. Dried fruits, tea,
propolis… A certain bitterness
and grassiness. Lots of pepper as
well. The finish is a little longer
but bitterer and drier, with just
hints of cough sweets. 80
points again.
Ardbeg
17yo 1965 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail
CC old brown label)
Colour: gold. Nose: this one is much
more complex right at first nosing,
starting on pipe tobacco and old orange
liqueur. Gets very maritime, with
lots of kelp, fisherman’s nest,
fresh almonds, apple peels…
Develops on the much expected medicinal
notes such as camphor, bandages…
Also quite some sandalwood, old style
furniture polish, fudge, pu-erh tea…
Not exactly bold but complex and delicate,
lacking just a little more oomph to
be a brilliant Ardbeg. Mouth: not
too explosive, almost weak but with
quite some oysters, cold tea, a little
liquorice, smoky caramel… Too
bad it’s too weak to be satisfying,
especially the finish that’s
more like a vanishing whisper. More
interesting because it’s almost
an historical piece than really thrilling,
in fact. A collector’s item,
83 points.
Ardbeg
1975/2003 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail
CC new map label)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: this is a
rather different profile! Starts extremely
waxy and camphory, with also quite
some coffee, creosote, pine needles,
Quite some marzipan, hints of bay
leaves, gentian roots and a little
lemon. Bolder than the 1965 but definitely
less complex. Mouth: curiously tired
again even if certainly bolder than
the 1965, starting on lots of mint
flavoured tea but also something papery.
Dried oranges, marmalade, honey…
Gets really drying and caramelly after
a moment. The finish is really drying…
Too bad, the whole lacks complexity.
A rather weak and too drying old Ardbeg
in my opinion. 79 points.
Ardbeg
15yo 1975/1990 (46%, Cadenhead)
Colour: straw. Nose: another one that
isn’t overly expressive. Starts
on quite some green apple but also
oyster juice and lemon juice. Very
fresh but very lightly peaty. Develops
a bit on grapefruit and fresh almonds,
hints of tin box, lemon marmalade,
spearmint. Mouth: a fruity and spicy
start with quite some oomph. Lots
of crystallised oranges. Developing
on cooked butter but also pineapple
liqueur, bergamot, citrons, apple
peel… Rather long, enjoyable,
lemony and mineral finish… A
very good one, even if it just doesn’t
quite taste like an Ardbeg. 89
points.
Ardbeg
1976/1993 (46%, Duthie for Samaroli,
1020 bottles) Colour:
straw. Nose: ah, now we’re talking!
It’s not yet an overly expressive
one but we certainly get more aromas,
such as ripe pears (beurrée
hardy), liquorice, orange juice, melon,
hints of cologne, camphor and eucalyptus
leaves… Little peat again, that
is. Mouth: creamy, almost thick, probably
more balanced and less raw than the
Cadenhead. Yet, it’s powerful,
superbly lemony (drops), compact…
Lots of orange marmalade, herb liqueur,
fir honey, grilled Japanese tea (Hochicha)…
The finish is a little sweeter but
nicely orangey and bitter (err, just
like bitter oranges). Excellent, very
satisfying even if it’s not
really complex. 90 points. |
![](Materialforlog12/Ardbeg-2.jpg) |
Ardbeg
26yo 1975/2002 (46%, Wilson &
Morgan, anniversary selection)
Colour: white wine. Nose: superbly
fresh at first nosing! Now we’re
really talking! Superb wax and fabulous
notes of high-end pu-erh tea mixed
with pure oyster juice. Extremely
classy. Notes of fresh butter, freshly
cut apples, Nepalese incense, orange
flowers, lilies of the valley…
Not really extravagant but so nicely
clean and elegant. Mouth: a sweeter
and fruitier attack than expected,
maybe a tad weakish and too liquoricy
but it’s still an excellent
whisky. Notes of toffee, cereals,
oatcakes… Develops on peppered
cooked apples, vanilla crème
and bitter oranges… Smoky but
not too much. The finish is rather
long, liquoricy and slightly cardboardy.
Very good but the nose was much more
interesting I think. 89 points.
Ardbeg
1973/2004 (49.5%, OB, Manager’s
Choice for Italy, cask #1146)
Colour: gold. Nose: much more classically
Ardbeg, with lots of tar, peat smoke,
liquorice, wet hay and wet dog plus
a little eucalyptus and camphor as
well as lemon juice and fresh almonds.
Very bold and sort of electric. Huge
notes of new tyres, coal smoke…
This is just ‘Ardbeg’.
Fab stuff. Mouth: a superb attack
again, on espresso coffee, chestnut
honey and of course lots of peat.
Peated malt (grains), salted liquorice,
hints of cloves and nutmeg plus some
great oaky tones… Gets very
medicinal… and a long finish
on chlorophyll, peat, liquorice and
a pinch of salt… Yes, just fab
and, again, dangerously drinkable.
95 points.
Ardbeg
13yo 1991/2004 (55.1%, Acorn, Japan)
Colour: gold. Nose: very caramelly
at first nosing, also on cereals and
cooked apples, vanilla sauce, all
that mixed with peat smoke and sea
air. Notes of chocolate and praline
with hints of spearmint and lemon
balm and also a little camomile tea.
Not too complex but oomphy, balanced
and enjoyable. Mouth: punchy, sweet,
caramelly and very smoky, almost aggressive.
Gets quite tarry and medicinal in
the background, also rather hot, almost
burning. Develops on cooked apples
and pepper… Maybe a tad simple
but rather coherent, with a long,
invading finish and maybe just a little
too much sweetness. 87 points.
Ardbeg
25yo 1976/2002 (50%, Silver Seal,
280 bottles) Colour:
gold. Nose: quite powerful and a little
spirity at first nosing, on cooked
strawberries mixed with peat smoke,
a little tar, gooseberries and kiwis.
Unusually fruity for an Ardbeg. Then
we have all the maritime cavalry (sea
air, shells, seaweed), apple skin
plus quite some sherry. Hints of liquorice
root. Rather bold and expressive but
not extremely complex. Mouth: a rather
smooth start with a nice creaminess
and lots of dried oranges plus cough
sweets and resin drops. Sweets, hints
of marshmallows and Turkish delights.
Maybe a tad sugarish but the finish
is rather long and very balanced,
with a lingering peat. A good one,
no doubt. 88 points.
Ardbeg
27yo 1975/2002 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC for the US, 180 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: starts on
lots of resins, mastic, propolis,
camphor, bandages… Notes of
horseradish, mustard, curry…
Lots of body! Gets then very tarry
and medicinal before some huge notes
of roasted nuts arise as well and
finally bunches of tropical fruits
(tangerine, mangos, citrons). Much
more complex than the Silver Seal.
Brilliant. Mouth: explosive, extremely
resinous again as well as quite chocolaty
and minty. I love this profile. Lots
of salty liquorice, tea, lemon drops,
lemon balm, Italian lemon liqueur
and then herb liqueur, with a superb
bitterness that give it lots of elegance.
Gets then quite spicy, with notes
of cloves and juniper, bitter oranges…
The finish is very long, very balanced
although slightly drying, on peat,
resins and dried fruits topped with
all kinds of spices including Chinese
anise… A great one, no doubt.
94 points.
Ardbeg
13yo 1975/1989 (54.8%, Intertrade,
75cl) Colour: straw.
Nose: rather spirity, punchy, powerful,
getting extremely medicinal with lots
of camphor, bandages, embrocations,
iodine, mercurochrome… Amazingly
straightforward, almost sharp, austere…
Gets very mineral, flinty… Hints
of grass. Really sharp like a blade.,
getting also quite almondy Just great.
Mouth: yes, a fabulous attack, creamy,
resinous, lemony, peaty, smoky, lemony,
peppery, salty. What a fabulous whisky!
No need to go any further, this one
is as close to perfection as it can
get. 96 points. |
![](Materialforlog12/Ardbeg-3.jpg) |
Ardbeg
15yo 1973/1988 (53.4%, Sestante, clear
glass yellow/green label)
Cololur: straw. Nose: a little more
discreet at first nosing, probably
smoother and sweeter. It smells a
little clumsy after the fab Intertrade.
Lots of apple juice, sugared smoked
tea, spearmint and cold camomile tea.
Also rather grainy, on porridge, cereals…
Little peat here, at least when compared
to the Intertrade. Not very ‘Ardbeg’,
strangely, like if it was a finish
(chenin?) Mouth: sweeter but very
great as well. Maybe a tad more on
vanilla, fruitier, more on apple skins
and walnuts, waxier, maybe a tad greener
but what a great one again. Not quite
as perfect as the Intertrade, though.
92 points.
Ardbeg
24yo 1965 (54.4%, Cadenhead, dumpy
white label) Colour:
white wine. Nose: oh, this is very
different, starting on lots of metal,
fishy smells and old Riesling as Olivier
points out. Very complex, really a
malt for wine freaks. A superb austerity!
Fisherman’s nest, spring water,
kippers, hints of camphor again, iodine
(yes it’s medicinal), rubbed
lemon skin… Another fab one,
it seems! Mouth: a superb attack,
resinous, camphory, with dried apples,
lots of lemon juice, green pepper,
quite some salt, candied oranges.
Gets very spicy, with some chilli,
white pepper, a little wasabi, thyme…
A very long, waxy, camphory and peppery
finish. Excellent, too bad the palate
doesn’t quite fit the nose although
are superb. 93 points.
Ardbeg
18yo 1974/1992 (54.9%, Cadenhead Authentic
Collection, 150th anniversary)
Colour: white wine. Nose: this one
is quite expressive, starting on whisky-topped
porridge and olive oil, getting then
very maritime (kippers, seashells,
dry kelp, salt march) and then quite
lemony. A very wild one, raw and powerful
but really superb. Hints of bitter
oranges and smoked tea, citrons, un-sugared
rosehip tea, lemon-scented candles…
I love it for it’s so extreme
and wild. Mouth: nervous and powerful,
with lots of lemon juice, oranges,
candied lemons, lemon fudge, wax,
peat, smoked tea. Very lively, sort
of acidulous, with a long, peaty and
lemony finish. Another one that I
simply adore. 95 points.
Ardbeg
18yo 1974/1992 (57.6%, Cadenhead Authentic
Collection, 150th anniversary)
Colour: gold. Nose: much more sherry
influence, with quite some dried fruits,
coffee, hints of sulphur, overripe
oranges… Also chocolate, something
very farmy… The sherry then
fades away and leave room for quite
some salted liquorice, pipe juice
(yes), tar, shoe polish… Hints
of balsamic vinegar and ham. After
a few minutes this one starts to resemble
the first one more and more…
Another perfect one anyway. Mouth:
creamy, bold, invading, incredibly
complex, probably wider than the first
one, with a little more honey, pistachios,
very old rum... And a fab peat in
this fab Ardbeg. The finish is just
indescribable. 96 points.
Ardbeg
18yo 1974/1992 (57.7%, Cadenhead Authentic
Collection, 150th anniversary)
Colour: gold. Nose: it seems that
there’s more sherry here. A
little more caramel and chocolate.
It’s also a little more animal,
more reductive. Nice skunk (says Davin),
game, dried beef (Grisons beef), horse
stable… Anyway it’s simply
another fab one. Mouth: roughly the
same profile as the one we just had,
just a tad simpler, lemonier and less
fresh but it’s another brilliant
Ardbeg, no doubt. Okay, 94
points. We should get a tax
controller to squeeze a few more drops
out of the glass, says Olivier. |
![](Materialforlog12/Ardbeg-4.jpg) |
Ardbeg
1976/2000 (53.2%, OB, Committee Reserve,
cask #2394, sherry, 446 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: ah, yes, this
is sherry! Starts on huge notes of
balsamic vinegar and soy sauce, lovage,
smoked ham, crispy bacon, grilled
garlic then Smyrna raisins, old rum…
Then we have all the usual resinous
‘stuff’, hints of camphor
and embrocations, herbs (thyme). Ardbeg’s
ususal markers are sort of toned down
here but the result is still beautiful.
Superb notes of walnuts and chestnut
honey, slightly burnt cake, myrte…
Superb again. Mouth: creamy, powerful,
rather nervous, probably not as complex
as on the nose but highly drinkable.
Gets minty, with notes of cough sweets,
ripe pineapples, banana liqueur…
And then the resin and finally the
peat and the pepper that won the fight,
with a very long and bold finish on
tar and peat. Excellent, especially
the nose. 93 points.
Ardbeg
1976/2001 (55.5%, Douglas of Drumlanrig
for Scotch Single Malt Circle)
Colour: amber. Nose: even more sherry
but it’s rather simpler, more
on the usual chocolate, rum, raisins
and dried oranges. The spirit is quite
overwhelmed here although it’s
very nice whisky of course. Hints
of resin, camphor, mint with chocolate,
coffee, dried apricots. Extremely
chocolaty in any case. Mouth: very
creamy, very fruity and resiny, on
bitter chocolate and lots of wood,
coffee, dark toffee, getting lightly
vinous and hugely peppery. Again a
good one but the sherry and the wood
really dominate the whisky here. 88
points.
Ardbeg
25yo 1975/2001 (58%, John Milroy,
sherry butt) Colour:
gold. Nose: quite some sherry but
the whole isn’t overly expressive.
Quite some torrefaction, roasted nuts,
barbecued beef, coal… Then we
have lots of apples, light honey,
a little wax. Quite some pipe tobacco,
prunes, caramel… Gets a little
dusty but nicely so. Whiffs of seawater…
Most enjoyable. Mouth: very powerful,
sweet but not clumsy at all, very
spicy and peppery. Lots of cloves
and juniper, old white wine, bold
peat… Gets a little hot and
almost burning but the finish is long
and quite lively, on ripe fruits (strawberries),
peat and vanilla. Very good balance.
91 points.
Ardbeg
1975/1987 (57%, Samaroli, 648 bottles)
Colour: white wine.
Nose: oh, this is bizarre. Starts
with asparagus cooking water, stale
beer, cabbage, tin box and goes on
with rotting fruits, turnips, old
oysters, wet cat. Err, this one is
really strange. It’s not completely
flawed but maybe there were one or
more rusty nails in the cask? Mouth:
this is better now but there’s
still something bizarre… Overripe
oranges, wax… gets sweeter and
sweeter with time, even waxier but
also quite lemony. ‘Chemical’
orange juice? Something slightly dirty
in the background, very grassy and
curiously sugarish. Quite some muesli
as well… The finish is long
but sharp, green, very lemony…
More a curiosity but one worth trying,
even if isn’t exactly ‘good’
in my books. 80 points.
Ardbeg
11yo 1978/1990 (59.4%, Sestante)
Colour: straw. Nose: powerful but
not overpowering, not too aromatic,
starting farmy on wet hay, notes of
pu-erh tea, coffee, grains, grapefruit
juice… A little closed in fact,
let’s try it with water…
It gets much cleaner and peatier indeed,
with hints of coal, dill and anise,
wet cardboard, matchstick… Quite
some lemon again, hints of wet dog,
notes of peated malt indeed….
Very, very good but don’t even
think about trying it without water.
Mouth (neat): sweet and lemony, liquoricy,
also quite green. Quite hot and hard.
With water: much more complex, with
very nice notes of crystallised oranges
and quinces, dried pears, smoked tea,
fresh pineapples… Keeps developing
on seafood… The finish is very
long, still a little spirity even
at less than 50%, on apples, pears
and tarry, smoky notes… A very
good Ardbeg again but it’s maybe
not the total wonder I was expecting
– this one has a huge reputation.
Or is it me? 91 points,
still.
Ardbeg
16yo 1977/1993 (62.5%, Scotch Malt
Whisky Society 33.19)
Colour: white wine. Nose: pungent,
mineral and lemony with also apple
and pear juice but water is desperately
needed here. Almost no phenolic smells
whatsoever without water. So, with
water: indeed we have a little more
peat, almonds, orgeat syrup, lamp
oil, olive oil… But the whole
stays simple and curiously very young.
Very little phenols globally. Mouth
(neat): very sweet and lemony again,
almost like a mixture of apple and
lemon juices plus a little pineapple.
It’s the alcohol, obviously…
Let’s try to wake the peat up!
With water: still very simple but
more phenolic indeed, very lemony,
farmy… It’s simple peat,
the whole tasting just like some 6
or 7yo Ardbeg. Good but, again, simple.
No real thrill. 82 points.
Alright, we made it! Now, we didn’t
taste all these Ardbegs in a row,
don’t worry… We took very,
very large breaks! |
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June
01, 2006 |
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YESTERDAY
WAS JURA DAY! Davin reports... |
![](Materialforlog12/Jura.jpg) |
Thank
God Serge decided not to shave! Otherwise
we would have missed the ferry to
Jura and lost out on one of the most
entertaining distillery visits and
some of the tastiest cask samples
of Feis Ile. Visitors to www.feisile.org
have already voted Jura the best distillery
tour of past festivals. This year
the good Jura vibes began as soon
as we boarded the ferry and were told
passage was free for distillery visitors.
Nice touch boys. The weather had changed
dramatically by the time we reached
the distillery; just compare the picture
at the left with the one we posted
from Port Askaig yesterday morning!... |
Our visit began with the mandatory
distillery tour where we learned that
Jura’s stills are among the
largest and tallest in Scotland. The
real action, however, took place in
a stores room where we sat down to
some of the most wonderful old Jura
samples. If there’s one thing
we’re learning on this trip
it’s that there are lots of
superb casks lying quietly in Scotland’s
warehouses, and Jura’s are no
exception. We began with a 58.9%,
16yo that had spent its life in an
oloroso sherry cask absorbing notes
of sweet Christmas cake and spices.
Next up was another marvelous 16yo,
this time one that had spent all but
6 weeks of its maturation in a bourbon
cask. The rich spices, manager Michael
Heads told us, came from a six-week
period spent in a virgin Limousin
cask. The French Limousin oak had
laced the citric whisky with cloves
and cinnamon. This was truly an outstanding
dram, reminiscent of the festival
bottling of two years ago (and still
available, if you ask, for a temptingly
low 50 pounds).
This year’s festival bottling
was a bit of a surprise. I rated it
90 points, and I was not the most
generous among us. It’s a young,
peated, single cask Jura, distilled
in January 1999. Most of its life
has been spent in refill American
oak with 6 months in a solera cask
and another 6 in Methuselah (i.e.
ancient) sherry. If the PLOWED guys
are reading this, there’ll be
a bottle at Ardbeggeddon VIII. Meantime,
I’ll let Serge tease you with
his tasting notes below.
Tutoured tastings over, we moved on
to a vatting competition. Four more
splendid old cask samples were set
out and we were invited to create
our own vatting, the best of which
was to be awarded a bottle of the
festival malt. In true Maniacal fashion
we tried our damnedest, but judges
Michael Heads, Willie Tate and Willy
the brewer did not come through for
the Maniacs. Oh well, we took home
enough prizes from the nosing competition;
I guess they wanted to share the wealth!!
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The
morning ended (somewhere around 1:30)
with an auction of a professional
vatting of the four malts we had vatted
ourselves. Our judges, along with
master blender Richard Patterson had
got together earlier to create a batch
of eight bottles, each signed, which
they were auctioning off for local
charity. When Willie cut the bidding
off, our own Serge was the lucky winner.
More fun than e-Bay and guaranteed
not to be a fake. A bottle was sold
yesterday and there’ll be another
on auction on Thursday and Friday.
What’s happening with the other
four we’re not sure, but as
we left, Olivier put in a long-distance
bid on tomorrow’s auction.
If you’re at Feis Ile as you
read this, make a point of getting
over to Jura. It’s a sleeper
of a distillery and when they start
bottling more single casks like we
tasted today they’re going to
become quite collectible. Meantime
their special bottlings are going
at bargain basement prices even though
they really are quite special. |
![](Materialforlog12/Serge-Michael-Heads.jpg)
With Jura manager Michael Heads
and that auctioned rare bottle that
will now rejoin the Alsacian maniacal
vaults. |
TASTING
- SIX OFFICIAL ISLE OF JURA by Serge |
![](Materialforlog12/Isle-of-Jura.jpg) |
Isle
of Jura 8yo (40%, OB, Charles McKinlay,
late 1970’s) Colour:
straw. Nose: starts on big bold notes
of passion fruits, guavas, lemon juice…
Incredibly fruity. Develops on ‘arranged’
rum (with pineapple), banana flambéed,
getting quite peppery (white pepper)
with also a little cactus juice, tangerines...
What a great surprise! Mouth: not
too powerful but superbly orangey
and spicy (cloves, pepper, nutmeg)
and then very tropical again (mangos).
The finish is rather long and quite
peppery… Wow, Jura! Excellent.
89 points.
Isle
of Jura 10yo (40%, OB, late 1980’s)
Colour: gold. Nose: much grainier
and more caramelly, with notes of
roasted nuts and light honey. Hints
of dried oranges… Lots of malt
as well, cereals… Extremely
different. Mouth: weaker than the
8yo, very grainy and, to be honest,
too light. Sugared tea? The finish
is very short, grainy and a little
nutty. In short, not much happening
in there. 75 points.
Isle
of Jura 10yo (40%, OB, 1990’s)
Colour: white wine. Nose: quite discreet
again but fresher and cleaner than
its older sibling. Mashy again but
also nicely fragrant (lilies). Lots
of grain, porridge, oatcakes and a
little sea air. Fresh and enjoyable
but not complex. Mouth: sweet, malty
and grainy, with lots of cereals,
sugared tea, herbal tea, cake…
A good mouth feel. Gets also saltier
than its brothers, especially toward
the medium long, malty finish. Not
one that will make you starch your
head but it’s most drinkable.
80 points.
Isle
of Jura 10yo (40%, OB, circa 2005)
Colour: gold. Nose: much farmier,
wilder, on soaked grain but also a
little peat, wet hay, porridge, beer,
boiled cereals… Much less gentle
than the other ones but also more
interesting I think. Hints of liquorice
and violets. Mouth: creamier, with
thicker mouth feel, starting on liquorice,
muesli, light toffee… Definitely
better, with a finish that’s
also longer, bolder and spicier. Good!
83 points.
Isle
of Jura 10yo (40%, OB, 2006, new presentation)
Colour: gold. Nose: quite in the same
vein but there’s probably a
little more sherry and notes of dried
oranges, more honey, more liquorice.
It’s almost a bold whisky with
lots of presence. Mouth: yes, much
better, creamier, with quite some
body. Lots of liquorice, gingerbread,
chestnut honey, cloves, then quite
some orange marmalade. They must have
increased the amount of sherry casks
in the vatting, and that worked beautifully.
The finish is long, satisfying, compact,
spicy and honeyed. Very good, excellent
progress I think. Watch Jura! 86
points. |
![](Materialforlog12/Jura-Festival.jpg) |
Isle
of Jura 1999/2006 ‘Feis Ile
2006’ (58.4%, OB, cask #5000,
500 bottles) A new
extravaganza by the Jura crew, finished
for six months in a solera cask and
six further months in Mathusalem sherry.
Colour: gold. Nose: starts quite smooth
and honeyed, tarry, gingery, rather
syrupy. Notes of dried oranges, getting
then nicely vinous and animal (game,
gravy, cow barn). Hints of liquorice.
Gets beautifully resinous, with hints
of eucalyptus and camphor, old Chartreuse,
toffee… Very complex considering
it’s young age. Mouth: nervous,
starting on heavy liquorice and salt.
Creamy. Quite explosive and very rich.
Goes on with salted caramel, resin,
fir honey, cough syrup, crystallised
oranges and lemons… Lots of
peat but it’s nicely integrated.
Gets spicy, on cloves and pepper.
Long finish on lemon balm and smoked
tea. A very rich one and a finishing
that really succeeded I think. 89
points. |
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK at the Islay
Festival 2006 |
HIGH
AND LOW SPIRITS by Serge |
![](Materialforlog12/Davin-Finlaggan.jpg)
Davin trying to cheer up a pour
guy who spent all his hard earned
money on Festival bottlings, near
Finlaggan. |
Almost all distilleries are now offering
special Feis Ile bottlings but whereas
some seem to try to price them fairly
and not to milk the cow too much,
some others clearly go as far as they
can in remorselessly bilking the pour
souls like us who go to Islay because
it’s ‘a friendly place’
and wish to bring back souvenir bottles.
Well, yes, Islay is probably friendly
but beware, there are more and more
traps around the corners. A short
study let us find out that you have
on one side the distilleries that
sell their one-offs for more or less
£10 a year (£299.00 for
a (OK, rare and excellent) 30yo Ardbeg
or £60.00 for a 6yo Bowmore
that they wouldn’t even let
you try before you buy one bottle
or more – that one, they can…).
|
On
the other side you have the sort of
‘fair’ prices such as
£100.00 for two 18yo valinches
at Bruichladdich, £45.00 for
an excellent peated 7yo Jura, £65.00
for a 12yo Bunnahabhain or £50.00
for a 12yo Laphroaig (the best deal
if you ask me)… But hey, if
you want to bring one of each back
home you’ll still have to throw
exactly £619.00 into the ‘local’
business. That's more or less the
current price of a Brora 22yo 1972
Rare Malts! Or twice the price of
a night with a Glaswegian girl, says
Davin... Or one night with an Edinburghian
one, adds Olivier (or one full year
with a sheep on Islay). Err… |
|
May
31, 2006 |
|
![](/Achor-up-down.jpg) |
![](Materialforlog12/Olivier-Serge-Jura.jpg) |
We're
off to Jura this
morning. As you can see on this picture
taken 'live' by Davin while we were
waiting for the ferry at Port Askaig,
the weather can change dramatically
here (in the background, the famous
Paps of Jura). Fortunately, the current
is strong enough to prevent the water
from freezing, so the ferry will run.We
do worry a lot about Jura's famous
palm trees, that is... We hope they
won't freeze. |
|
![](Materialforlog12/Martine%27s-dinner.jpg) |
ARDBEG
DINNER YESTERDAY, Olivier reports...
The drive from port Charlotte to Ardbeg
yesterday evening was pure magic:
fabulous cloudless blue sky, magical
scenery, Loch Indaal revealing its
pure white sands at low tide, Bowmore
lit up by a beautiful sunset…
That’s all nice, but what also
cheered us up, was the knowledge of
having a dinner prepared by food and
whisky expert – and fellow maniac
- Martine at Ardbeg, with, hopefully,
some interesting malts… |
Martine chose recipes to suit the
malts chosen by Stuart Thompson, and
she is very good at this! Adding the
right spices and bacon to accommodate
the soup with the vigorous Still Young
Ardbeg, herbs and sweetness to fight
the rich wood influenced Glenmorangie
Truffle Oak 1993, honey and vanilla
to pair the sweetness of the Glen
Moray 16yo and the cream & Stilton
mousse to go with the classic Ardbeg
10yo.
The star of the evening was most surely
then Ardbeg
1972/2003 (49,9% OB for V.E.L.I.E.R
Italy, 246bt, cask 2782):
magnificent pure aromas of camphor,
iodine, creosote, almost medicinal,
smoke, all in a very elegant combination.
The cask must have been quite neutral
as it let the distillery express its
true character: forceful, intense,
rich and very long on the finish,
showing the textbook smoky character
of Ardbeg unspoiled of any wood expression.
True class and dangerously drinkable.
96pts. Thank you for the treat.
Oh yes, none of this would have been
possible without Jackie. As Stuart
says, she’s the real boss! Scottish
women…. |
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK at Ardbeg |
A
GLORIOUS MORNING AT BUNNAHABHAIN
YESTERDAY... Davin reports.
Craig
may call Bunnahabhain one of the
best Speyside distilleries, but
Burns Stewart prefer “The
gentle taste of Islay.” Gentle
yes, but powerful too as we found
touring one of the warehouses Tuesday
morning where we tasted (sorry,
nosed) four sublime whiskies from
1969, 1971, 1976, 1977, and a terrific
peated 1997 in a PX cask. |
![](Materialforlog12/Bunnahabhain.jpg) |
There is no end of first-fill sherry
butts and puncheons racked two high
in the dunnage warehouse and manager
John MacLellan took great pride in
presenting some of his very best.
All excellent, brilliant even, the
peated was, of course, a surprise
and we were delighted to learn they
have been putting away peated stock
every year since 2003.
John credits much of this quality
to the long-standing policy of filling
first-fill sherry, and to the fact
that the distillery does not run at
capacity which allows a little more
time each step of the way. Years in
the warehouse may bring quality to
the maturing spirit, but so do just
a few extra hours of hours mashing
and distilling and John takes full
advantage of the leisurely pace to
maximize the quality. The stills are
tall allowing lots of head room for
a refined spirit and Bunnahabhain
emphasizes this by filling the stills
to about 40% capacity extending the
head space even further.
It wasn’t open day when we toured,
so we missed the Bunnahabhain burgers,
but the wonderful smells of balsamic,
mushrooms and old wood that greeted
us as we entered the warehouse made
up for that. With any luck Friday
we’ll be back for more. |
|
TASTING
- SEVEN BUNNAHABHAINS by Serge |
Bunnahabhain
1967/2002 (40.5%, JWWW Prenzlow Collection,
120 bottles) Colour:
amber. Nose: not too powerful but
quite fresh at such old age, starting
on lots of dried bananas and apricots,
acacia honey and heather, maybe a
little kiwi and pineapples. A very
nice, smooth sherry. Something a little
resinous, waxy… Whiffs of sea
air. Very pleasant but not extravagant.
Mouth: much more powerful than expected
but also a little drying. Gets then
immensely minty but the tannins really
take control then, with lots of cinnamon…
gets frankly cardboardy the finish
being really drying and sort of green
and too tea-ish. Too bad but alas,
that happens with many old whiskies.
80 points (or more
if you favour the nose a lot). |
![](Materialforlog12/Buuna-master.jpg) |
Bunnahabhain
25yo 1964/1990 (46%, Masters of Malt,
cask 4852-6) Colour:
straw. Nose: starts very fruity, on
a mix of vanilla crème and
tangerines, ripe kiwi, getting then
quite waxy (shoe polish, furniture
polish, beeswax). Develops on apple
juice, caramel crème, with
also a little oak. Hints of bread
crust, getting then a little grassy,
with quite some tea. Mouth: quite
punchy, starting on marshmallows,
Turkish delights, crystallised fruits,
notes of icing sugar… That’s
a little too much, I must say. Gets
then a little dirty, with some cheap
fruit liqueur, orange drops…
Really too sugarish. The finish isn’t
too long but slightly cloying, on
all these overripe fruits. Too bad,
the nose was quite nice. 78
points. |
Bunnhabhain
12yo (86° proof, OB, US import,
late 1980’s or early 1990’s)
Colour: gold –
amber. Nose: just superb at first
nosing, on quite some coffee and tea,
orange marmalade and banana skin.
An ideal breakfast malt? Superb notes
of toasted brioche, smoked tea, apricot
jam. Quite some smoke in the background,
burnt wood, graphite, iodine…
Really superb. Mouth: again a superb
attack, with lots of sherry (much
more than in the current versions)
and lots of salt, a little chlorophyll,
dark toffee, espresso… As good
as it gets! Goes on with notes of
apricot pie, chestnut honey, herbal
tea (camomile), salted liquorice and
a very fine tannic structure with
lots of spices. The finish is unexpectedly
long, smoky, gingery and honeyed…
Just perfect. 91 points. |
![](Materialforlog12/Bunny-12.jpg) |
Bunnhabhain
20yo 1979/1999 (50%, Douglas Laing
OM, 358 bottles, sherry matured)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: a very classical
sherry, perfectly balanced. Quite
some coffee, rum, Smyrna raisins,
toasted bread, getting quite waxy,
with some rubbed orange skin, spearmint…
Gets then quite chocolaty and flowery
at the same time (nectar and pollen,
buttercups…) Light honey, faint
whiffs of eucalyptus and finally the
wine (all sorts of crystallised fruits).
Excellent. Mouth: creamy and very
expressive but maybe a tad too rubbery.
Fruitcake, liquorice and a little
salt, salmiak… a little tarry…
Hints of over-infused tea but that’s
easily bearable. The finish is long,
creamy and salty, on roasted apricots.
Very good! 89 points
(it would have made it to 90+ points,
hadn’t it been just a little
too rubbery for my tastes).
Bunnahabhain
1983/2003 (57.5%, Scott’s Selection)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather expressive
but simple at first nosing, starting
on quite some ginger, vanilla, tannins…
Quite spirity as well. Pear spirit,
porridge, getting very coffeeish (the
high alcohol). Not much maturation
here. With water: gets even rougher,
grassy but also nicely farmy. Notes
of gentian, roots… It’s
better with water. Mouth: bold attack
again but lots of oak and lots of
fresh fruits (pears and apples). A
rather obvious lack of maturing again.
A little drying. With water: that
works again. A finer liquorice, notes
of fudge, café latte, cooked
apples… Gets also more peppery,
the water draws out the spices. A
rather long but maybe rough finish,
on wood again. Thank God somebody
invented water. 79 points
(but my friends really disliked it
I must say). |
![](Materialforlog12/Bunny-Festival.jpg) |
Bunnahabhain
14yo 1992/2006 (52.6%, OB for Feis
Ile 2006, 761 bottles, finished in
Pedro Ximenez casks for 2 years)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: amazingly
fruity and liqueur-like, starting
on banana liqueur, cherry liqueur
(guignolet), kirsch, apricots, Grand)Marnier,
getting then quite gingery (ginger
tonic, Campari). Fresh bananas, walnuts…
Develops on wine cellar, empty barrels,
gingerbread. Extremely marked by the
wine but, quite curiously, the balance
stays almost perfect, even if I would
say it smells like ‘whisky’
as we all know it. Mouth: extremely
creamy attack, with a nice bitterness
(quite like Maraschino), lots of orange
liqueur, white Port, apricot liqueur.
Not quite as complex as on the nose
but still very well integrated. Very
sweet. The finish is long but maybe
a little too bubblegummy, almost sugarish.
An unusual ‘product’ in
any case, that reminds me of the new
Caol Ila DE for it’s not really
whisky anymore I think, but the end
result is enjoyable. A very nice winesky.
84 points. |
Bunnahabhain
1997/2004 (57.8%, Scotch Malt Whisky
Circle, cask #5665)
This one comes from the heavily peated
batches they made at that time (and
which they are making again since
2003 I believe). Colour: white wine.
Nose: lots of peat but also lots of
purity that may come from the tall
stills (what’s more, the spirit
stills are 60% empty when they distil,
hence creating an even higher ‘neck’.)
Much less oiliness than in an Ardbeg
or a Laphroaig – it reminds
me of Port Charlotte. Not too complex
but very close to ‘green’
peat smoke. Enjoyable but like all
heavily peated malts, only time will
make them more complex and balanced.
Mouth: raw, sweet peat smoke, that’s
all. Flawless but very simple. We
had a greater one directly from a
sherry cask with John at the distillery
this morning. I don’t like very
young whiskies usually but this one
will still make it to 80 points
because of its purity. |
TASTING
- TWELVE PORT ELLENS by Serge |
![](Materialforlog12/Port-Ellens.jpg) |
Port
Ellen 1974/1991 (40%, Gordon &
MacPhail old map label)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: a rather
elegant and refined start, with a
beautiful waxiness and quite some
rubbed orange skin and lamp oil. Notes
of caramel crème. Gets then
quite maritime, on oysters (fat Loch
Gruinart oysters, says Olivier), seashells,
kelp… And then superbly fruity,
with orange marmalade, boxed papayas,
even avocados… Yes, just superb,
even if not exactly oomphy. Full class.
Mouth: an excellent attack that shows
that 40% can be alright as long as
the malt has got something in the
pants. Indeed, this one fires on all
cylinders: peat, smoke, chocolate,
fruits (passion?), honey (chestnut)…
And then the expected marzipan, something
tarry, smoked tea, candied oranges…
Lots of pleasure indeed and a rather
long, waxy finish with something salty
and slightly rough and drying. Not
too far from perfection. 91
points.
Port
Ellen 1974/2005 (58.5%, Signatory,
cask #6756, 266 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: a very unusual
start on green olives and even gherkins.
Then the smoke arrives, getting bolder
by the second, even kind of acrid
like burning tyres. Lots of personality,
I think I never nosed something similar.
Goes on with bitter chocolate, hints
of old books, garden bonfire…
And then something rather meaty such
as smoked ham… Also coal smoke,
burning paper… A very assertive
Port Ellen, it seems. Mouth: fruitier
(quite some orange marmalade and apples)
but extremely smoky again. Rather
sharp, getting quite vegetal…
Also a little drying but nothing excessive…
The finish is very long, smoky, lemony
and always a little drying…
Well, this one was a smoky one indeed
(with something Laphroaigish). Excellent
stuff. 91 point (it
would have deserved a little more,
hadn’t it been quite drying).
Port
Ellen 19yo 1981/2000 (59.4%, The Bottlers,
cask #1550) Colour:
amber. Nose: oh yes, yes, yes (I’m
mimicking Davin), when great peat
meets great sherry and sleep together
for quite a few years it gives a fab
baby. Superb raisins, superb rum,
superb chocolate, superb smoke, superb
peat, superb soy sauce, superb balsamic
vinegar, superb orange marmalade…
Something of a high-end cognac…
Well, I guess you get the picture.
Stunning. Mouth: a superb attack,
with tons of sherry but nothing ‘heavy’,
lots of smoke and rubber (just below
the limit I must say), chocolate,
blackberry jam, dozens of different
jams in fact, pralines… Okay,
it’s just superb. There’s
just a little too much rubber for
it to be 100% perfect (95 points or
more) so it’s going to be 93
points.
Port
Ellen 1980/1997 (64.4%, Gordon &
MacPhail ‘Cask’, cask
#5105-5110) Colour:
white wine. Nose: extremely spirity,
to the point where even the peat gets
unnoticed. Notes of pear and gooseberries,
newly cut grass, motor oil…
Gasp, water needed! Right, that doesn’t
change a lot, maybe just an added
minerality but that’s all. What
a savage beast! Mouth (neat): extremely
sweet, powerful, spirity… Hard
to enjoy this one when naked (the
whisky). With water then: yes, this
is quite better, fruitier but not
more complex I’m afraid. Maybe
notes of pineapple drops but that’s
all. The finish is long but mainly
on raw alcohol and grass. The simple
side of Port Ellen, it seems. 80
points.
Port
Ellen 25yo 1979/2005 ‘5th Annual
Release’ (57.4%, OB, 5280 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose:
an extremely farmy and tarry start,
with quite some high-end rubber (as
Davin would say). Gets then very grassy,
with also notes of pumpkin soup, celery,
chervil… Very assertive, going
on with wet dog and wet hay and finally
hints of aniseed, camphor and fuel
oil. I like this nose a lot. Mouth:
really punchy and powerful, with lots
of salt and lots of smoked ‘stuff’
as well as a little mint. Lots of
smoked tea, liquorice, notes of kippers.
A rather straightforward palate without
the notes of burnt rubber that can
appear in some Port Ellens. With water,
the nose gets even farmier, the water
making the phenols go out. Heavy notes
of cow barn. The palate gets fruitier,
on dried pears and earl grey tea…
Really excellent. 92 points.
Port
Ellen 14yo 1983/1997 (43%, Signatory,
butt #266) Colour:
white wine. Nose: this one starts
quite strangely, on bitter almonds,
diesel oil and waxed paper. Plenty
of notes of rotten fruits, hints of
amaretti… Rather weird I’m
afraid. Mouth: even weirder, with
a sour attack, very cardboardy. Notes
of turpentine, rotten oranges, new
plastic, over-infused green tea…
A short finish, quite bitter and kind
of dirty. Well, there are misses sometimes.
68 points.
Port
Ellen 19yo 1982/2002 (43%, McGibbons
Provenance, spring/spring, cask #3733)
Colour: white wine. Nose: again it’s
kind of dirty, with notes of aspirin,
‘chemical’ lemon juice,
lemon drops, getting then a little
cheesy and minty (yes, a strange feeling).
Not too much peat but quite some grass.
Gets quite flinty after a while…
No too bad actually. Mouth: the attack
is a little bitter but rather nicer
than what the nose suggested. Starts
on almond skins, apple seeds (arsenic
says Davin), then lots of tea and
wax. Green tannins and a little salt,
with a medium long finish on bitter
almonds and apples. Not too bad, I’d
say. 79 points.
Port
Ellen 18yo 1977/1996 (43%, Milroy’s)
Colour: very pale
white wine. Nose: very closed, with
a little lemon, chalk, stones, aspirin
again, grass… Then notes of
tangerines but not much else. Unusually
discreet, let’s try to wake
it up with a little water… No,
that failed, it just gets weaker.
Mouth: yawn, this is very bizarre…
Lots of bitter oranges, stale fruit
juice, cheap fruit liqueurs, aspartame…
Quite disturbing. With water: gets
even worse, with lots of cardboard
and cold tea. This one is flawed I
think, too bad. 69 points.
Port
Ellen 19yo (50%, Douglas Laing OMC,
ex-sherry, details to come)
Colour: straw. Nose: a rather strong
sherry influence, with lots of caramel
(in the Werther’s genre) and
lots of peat. Nice praline, toasted
brioche, vanilla creme and milk chocolate.
Enjoyable, a very ‘pastrial’
Port Ellen. Mouth: powerful, peaty
and also extremely fruity. Lots of
strawberries and plums, caramel, honey…
Maybe it’s a little too sweet
and not fresh enough for a Port Ellen.
Was it a finishing? The finish is
long, caramelly and peaty at the same
time… Not one of the best ones
but quite some pleasure. 85
points.
Port
Ellen 24yo 1975/1999 (46%, The Prestonfield,
cask #1775, 350 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: extremely fresh
and clean at first nosing, on freshly
cut golden delicious apples (with
a new knife says Olivier) and fresh
almonds. Very elegant, very austere
(in a superb way)… Goes on with
whiffs of camphor, candle wax, getting
then quite maritime (oysters, iodine).
Not very complex but really elegant.
Apple skins. Mouth: too bad, it’s
much less interesting now, with a
sweetish and slightly cardboardy attack.
Frankly offbeat, with notes of rotten
oranges and overly sugared tea, ‘chemical’
vanilla. Notes of orange zest…
The finish isn’t too long but
smoky and peaty, with an okayish peaty
aftertaste (finally)… Such a
gap between the superbly clean nose
and the rather disjointed palate!
80 points (for the
nose).
Port
Ellen 21yo 1982/2004 (61%, Douglas
Laing for Potstill / Whisky Club Of
Austria, 302 bottles)
Colour: amber with bronze hues. Nose:
not overly expressive, probably masked
by the alcohol but we do have quite
some cocoa, roasted nuts, pecan pie,
old books, old furniture… It
really takes off after a moment, even
without water. Something musty and
mushroomy, over-infused tea, dried
boletus and morels… Notes of
soy sauce and balsamic vinegar, toasted
bread… Also quite some orange
liqueur… Really a fat, thick
one. With water: all the ‘animality’
and ‘farminess’ come out
now, mainly on cow barn, horse dung,
fermenting fruits… Quite a beast
indeed. Mouth (neat): powerful, fruity
and maybe a little drying. Lots of
roasted nuts again, all sorts of fruit
jam, prunes, amaretto… Quite
extreme, the sherry slightly dominates
the malt (and God knows which malt)
but its monstrousness makes it quite
spectacular. Gets very spicy, woody
(lots of cloves), waxy. Quite some
rubber but a bearable one. With water:
fuitier, more balanced, with lots
of jam and less smoky and nutty flavours.
Finish: long, creamy, invading…
Yes, this one is a beast! A showcase
sherried Port Ellen. 92 points.
(and thanks Konstantin).
Port
Ellen 23yo 1976/2000 (58%, Signatory,
cask #4762, 258 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: much fresher
but also closed at first nosing, let’s
give it a little time… Right,
we do have a little apple juice and
smoked tea, cinnamon from the wood,
bananas, pineapples… Not much
peat but it does get quite grassy
and maritime at the same time (hay,
kelp). In any case, an average Port
Ellen it seems. Mouth: more typical
now, sweet, gingery and peaty. Not
complex put nicely bold and balanced.
Crystallised quince, gentian eau-de-vie,
apple pie, dried ginger, liquorice
root… The finish is rather long,
bold, peppery and slightly camphory…
Very enjoyable. A good example of
a malt that starts with difficulties
on the nose but that fires on all
cylinders on the palate. That doesn’t
happen too often, I think. 88
points. |
|
May
30, 2006 |
|
![](/Achor-up-down.jpg) |
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK at Port Ellen |
![](Materialforlog12/Barley.jpg) |
YESTERDAY
WAS THE PORT ELLEN MALTINGS DAY...
Olivier reports.
The
process of making whisky is always
described through the distillation
and aging process. Since fewer distilleries
malt their own barley on site, visitors
tend to forget the delicate and
highly important operation that
consist of malting the barley, in
short, in making the barley ready
for use by the distillers (or brewers…).
Both visits of Glen Ord (Eric Walker)
and Port Ellen (Peter Campbell)
maltings were extremely interesting. |
It is my belief that during the malting
process, the barley will acquire and
develop most flavours (including peat
for example) that distillers will
extract and shape up later on.
Since most of us use the left side
of the brain to think (the logic mathematical
side), we always try to understand
HOW things work: how is barley malted,
how is whisky made... Fewer of us
try to really understand WHY whisky
is made, because you need to warm
up your right side of the brain (sorry,
it’s early in then morning).
I do not think that it is a coincidence
that barley is used to make aquae
vitae -the water of life- and other
grains, like maize for example, are
less successful.
OK, I’ll develop that another
day, here is HOW barley is malted:
Barley is composed of a husk, containing
an embryo and an endosperm (starch).
The starch is the element distillers
want to use as it transforms itself
into sugars (glucose) through the
actions of enzymes (amylases), and
sugar eventually ferments into alcohol.
The main problem is that the starch
is hidden, or protected, behind solid
protein cell walls within the grain.
Why? Well, starch is the fuel the
embryo will want to use in order to
develop and grow into a plant, because
that is what a grain is supposed to
do, and starch is caviar for most
fungus, mould, and other microscopic
predators… so it is well protected.
In nature, the embryo will develop
naturally in springtime, after a winter
dormancy period, and certain temperatures/humidity
conditions. In a malting unit, these
conditions are artificially created
by warming up and steeping the grains
in water to allow the humidity to
rise to about 45% through usually
3 consecutives baths for a total period
of 2 to 2,5 days. This will wake up
the embryo, which will start to grow
an acrospire (a little stem under
the husk) and rootlets. After 2 to
3 days, the endosperm modifies through
the action of powerful enzymes (proteases)
and will break the protein cell walls,
freeing the starch. This used to be
done traditionally on a malting floor,
now, in huge rotating drums…
At this stage, if one rubs the grain
on a board, it will ‘write’
or leave a white trace composed of
the starch. If the endosperm is under-modified,
in short, the stillman will give hell
to the malting unit as it will be
impossible to release the starch,
if it is over-modified, the distillery
manager will complain because of the
lack of alcohol production.
When all biological modifications
are finished, the malted barley has
to be stabilized, dried up again in
a kiln, where peat fires can be used
with the dry air for peating purposes.
The drying husk will be able to absorb
some quantities of phenols, that will
vary according to the length of the
fire and amount of smoke generated
by the peat. Whether the peat is dry
or denser and more humid (if harvested
deeper), will generate different amount
and quality of smoke. Peating a malt
is not an exact science. In Glen Ord,
they will mix peated and un-peated
malts to obtain the customer’s
specification. In Port Ellen, where
most malted barley is peated (at the
exception of small un-peated barley
for Caol Ila), different peat levels
can be mixed together to obtain a
more precise ppm level. Most distillers
like to rest the fresh malted barley
for some time before use.
Oh yes, I forgot, different barley
varieties apparently behave differently.
For the moment Port Ellen maltings
use mostly Optic, but they will move
to Troon, as it has apparently a better
yield in the fields, grabs the peat
quicker and has a higher alcohol yield.
One last sad information: as it takes
roughly 1000 years to produce a metre
of peat, Islay may be in shortage
of peat in about 25 years. Thank god,
according to maniac Davin, there are
huge reserves under the ice in northern
Canada… - Olivier. |
How to Blend Scotch Whisky
Alfred Barnard (1904)
Illustrated
How
to Blend Scotch Whisky With a Brief
Description of Lagavulin Distillery,
Islay, Laphroaig Distillery, Islay,
Craig-Ellachie Distillery, Glenlivet,
also titled:
Hints to Blenders with a Brief Account
of a Trip to the Hebrides and a Short
Sketch of the Three Famous Distilleries:
Lagavulin, Islay, Laphroaig, Islay,
Craigellachie, Glenlivet. |
![](Materialforlog12/How-to-blend.jpg) |
With
a title like that you almost don’t
need a book, but this 36-page outing
from Alfred Barnard, no doubt originally
commissioned by Peter Mackie who owned
these three distilleries, and re-released
yesterday by Schobert’s Whisky
Watch in support of the Museum of
Islay Life, is filled with delightful
glimpses of turn of the century blending,
distilleries and distilling. The book
is beautifully reproduced exactly
as the original but for a hard cover
replacing the original paper.
Nuggets like this: “Age is the
first essential in Scotch whisky …
for public-house trade it should never
be less than two and up to four years
old” provide perspective for
today’s drammers who think whisky
doesn’t come of age until at
least its third decade. Fans of regional
differences will be interested to
learn Barnard divided Scotch whisky
into six classes: Islay, Glenlivet,
North Country, Campbeltown, Lowland
Malt, and Grain and of all the “Highland”
whiskies, Lagavulin was undoubtedly
the best. Those with an interest in
American prohibition will be curious
to learn that whilst it is called
moonshine in the USA, Barnard tells
us that illicit whisky was dubbed
“moonlight” in Scotland,
while with duty paid it became “daylight.”
All and all the book is packed with
wonderful historical anecdotes and
century-old views that tell us though
whisky may be a traditional product
that tradition has changed dramatically
in the intervening years. Recommended
with many thanks to Nick and Kate.
- Davin. |
|
TASTING
- NINE CAOL ILAS by Serge |
![](Materialforlog12/Caol-Ilas.jpg) |
Caol
Ila 11yo 1991/2003 (46%, Signatory,
Port finish) Colour:
straw. Nose: the trademark Caol Ila
freshness and ‘coastality’
with quite some sea air, smoke and
both apple and lemon juice. Very little
Port influence if any, which may be
good news. Mouth: punchy, sweet and
smoky, with quite some peat but a
little more wine influence now. Notes
of ripe strawberries and cranberry
juice, slightly sour. I feel the sweetness
is a little excessive here, I prefer
Caol Ila when it’s a little
more direct. The finish is rather
long, peaty and, again, slightly sweetish.
Not too bad although a little simple
but there are many better ones, Signatory’s
included. 80 points.
Caol
Ila 7yo 1989/1997 (43%, Signatory,
cask #4516) Colour:
white wine. Nose: quite unusual, with
lots of paraffin and lamp oil, new
plastic and almonds at first nosing.
Huge marzipan, peanuts, cardboard,
brand new car, tyres… Quite
interesting and enjoyable. Mouth:
alas, this doesn’t work too
well on the palate. Rather disjointed,
rubbery but not in a good way, with
quite some bitter oranges but also
a certain weakness that makes the
whole quite unpleasant I’m afraid.
The finish is short, on marzipan and
cardboard… Okay, the nose was
interesting but the palate really
lacks body and compactness. 77
points.
Caol
Ila 1993/2006 ‘Distillers Edition’
(43%, OB) A brand
new one finished in Moscatel, which
is a kind of Muscat mostly used in
hot countries to produce sweet wines.
It’s usually quite light and
aromatic. Colour: gold. Nose: much
more straightforward than expected
and certainly not 100% Caol Ila, in
the sense that it’s much fruitier
and sort of exotic. I get quite some
grapefuit, bananas, papaya, lots of
fresh ginger (wood? peat?) then white
and black pepper, cloves, quite some
juniper… I guess all that comes
from the interplay between Caol ila
and the wine and what’s funny
is that you can’t really recognise
any of them. A third dimension? Palate:
it’s much, much more on Muscat
now, the whisky’s really overwhelmed.
We have again truckloads of fresh
ginger (maybe Caol Ila hides somewhere
there), pineapples, something musky
(from the wine), nutmeg, various other
spices… Maybe this one will
be interesting on Moroccan food! The
finish isn’t too long but extremely
muscaty again… Well, the wine
stole the show here, obviously. The
end result is kind of an oriental
cocktail that’s quite enjoyable,
I must say, but quite far from what
I’d call ‘whisky’
or ‘Islay’, not to mention
‘Caol Ila’. A rather pleasant
‘mixture’, still. 82
points.
Caol
Ila 1974 (40%, Gordon & MaccPhail
CC old map label) Colour:
gold. Nose: starts really like most
of these old glories from Islay that
lost their peat and got superbly waxy
instead. Rubbed orange skin, fresh
almonds, beeswax, green bananas, coconut.
Rather unusual for a Caol Ila but
beautiful. Goes on toasted bread,
lily of the valley. Then the peat
comes in, late but superbly, with
a little wet hay, paraffin, marzipan…
Mouth: maybe a little weak (and drying)
like often with these series but otherwise
it’s very pleasant, with lots
of mint, peat, mashed bananas, porridge,
grain silo, white pepper… Quite
delicate, maybe just a tad cardboardy,
with a medium long finish on white
peaches, wax and hints of dry white
wine. Great! 88 points.
Caol
Ila 15yo (43%, OB, ceramic, 1980’s)
Colour: straw. Nose: again a beautiful
one it seems, starting on argan oil,
walnuts, fino sherry and hints of
balsamic vinegar. Not too bold in
fact but very elegant and refined,
with also notes of pu-erh tea, humus,
fern, freshly squeezed oranges, marzipan,
maraschino, sorb apples, old books,
old wine cellar, Comté cheese
(or dunnage whisky warehouse). Just
great. Mouth: starts like an old fino
sherry or a vin jaune with lots of
added smoke. Quince, grape skins,
coffee toffee, mocha, then peppered
apples, walnuts again, tea again,
bitter lettuce, chicory… And
a long, superbly ‘vinous’
finish – fino style again. A
beauty, not tired a t all despite
the fact that this was a ceramic.
92 points (and
thanks, Fred).
Caol
Ila 28yo 1974 (46%, The Prestonfield,
cask #12625, 305 bottles) Colour:
white wine. Nose: simpler at first
nosing but certainly not less expressive.
Again lots of walnuts and balsamic
vinegar, notes of Riesling, tangerines,
hints of passion fruits and gooseberries,
not too ripe strawberries, getting
then a little flinty and finally quite
farmy (hay). Most enjoyable, a classy
Caol Ila. Mouth, sweet and smooth
at the attack but getting then almost
violently peaty and smoky –
a Caol Ila that could send many Ardbegs
back to the school of peat. Quite
some grass and lots of citrus fruits,
paraffin… And a long, bold and
peppery finish. Excellent, just a
little rough on the palate. 89
points.
Caol
Ila 25yo (53.4%, Cadenhead)
Colour: white wine. Nose: rather close
to the Prestonfield but a little rougher
and grassier, with lots of lemon juice
and pepper, hints of sauvignon blanc
and whiffs of nutmeg powder. Very
compact and expressive at the same
time. Mouth: very punchy, peaty, lemony,
smoky and peppery! Lots of body and
a bold mouth feel. Gets more and more
peppery after a moment and more and
more lemony as well, with a long and…
err, lemony and smoky finish. Rough
and a little raw but it’s good
stuff, 88 points.
Caol
Ila 21yo 1981/2002 (58.2%, Signatory,
cask #465, 364 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: this one seems
to be more austere and more coffeeish
but that may come from the higher
alcohol. Very grassy, lemony, with
whiffs of dill and chive but it’s
quite closed otherwise. With water:
not much more except a little violet
and liquorice. Mouth: punchy and spirity,
probably nicer than on the nose, with
lots of lemon juice, a little pepper
and quite some peat. Quite salty as
well. With water: gets much sweeter
and a little waxy, with quite some
bitter oranges. The finish is rather
long, compact, citrusy and smoky.
Good but maybe a tad simple on the
nose. 80 points.
Caol
Ila 15yo 1969/1984 (60.4%, G&M
for Intertrade, celtic label)
It’s always moving to taste
some Caol Ila from the ‘pre-rebuilding’
years. Colour: straw. Nose: really
sharp, extremely lemony and mineral,
austere, grassy, musty… Gets
then very nicely flowery, which is
rather unusual with Caol Ila in my
books (lilies), very tarry like some
Port Ellens, gaining lots of complexity
after a few minutes. Quinces, marzipan
(again!), hints of gin and tequila,
With water: it gets farmier as often.
Mouth: a superb, sharp but balanced,
extremely lemony attack with also
quite some salt. Very intense, with
a superb, smoky peat (not green in
any way). Lapsang souchong tea, kumquats,
all sorts of spices…And it gets
even smokier with water. Oh yes, this
is great stuff, arriving in waves
on your palate, invading… No
need to tell you more, this is close
to perfection and the finish is just
endless, endless, endless, endless…
96 points. |
|
May
29, 2006 |
|
![](/Achor-up-down.jpg) |
YESTERDAY
WAS BRUICHLADDICH DAY... |
|
A
Yak over the Loch Indaal, attacking
Bruichladdich! |
DAVIN'S
REPORT - Dinner Saturday
night with the crew from Bruichladdich
was a wild affair with yaks swooping
down from the sky, Robin Laing custom
pressure-writing a song for Mark Reynier
to present to the mayor of Islay Peru
– yes he was there, with an
interpreter – and Jim McEwan
in full form holding forth wherever
he could find an ear. Yaks, are old
WWII warplanes from Russia –
(they dazzled us with a demonstration
Sunday at Laddie Open Day.) The six
pilots joined us in the bar where
they loaded up on courage for today’s
aerobatics. Robin Laing, as we all
know, is a Scottish / Celtic whisky
singer who sang a few tunes at Jim’s
masterclass to help celebrate Bruichladdichs
125th anniversary today, and Jim McEwan
is the best-known, best-loved son
of Islay and the man LCBO staff have
called the most passionate person
in whisky.
Jim was over to Toronto a few years
back to speak to the honchos at LCBO
headquarters and so great was his
aura that the troops in the stores
are still whispering with reverence
of their chance to meet the man. Not
long after, 14 different Bruichladdich
bottlings appeared in the stores –
pretty good when you consider the
average LCBO had fewer than 40 malts
on offer. But oh how things change.
Two years later and my local store
now has100 malts on the shelves at
any one time, but shockingly there’ll
soon be no Bruichladdichs. That’s
right, the wine weenies in LCBO Head
Office have DE-LISTED Bruichladdich.
Shit man, to anyone with even the
slightest knowledge of malt whisky
that’s like the local 7-11 de-listing
milk. Praise the government revenues
all you like – (Alberta has
the same income with 60% of the sales
Ontario gets, and prices to the consumer
are much lower) – this monopoly
thing just doesn’t work for
consumers. |
![](Materialforlog12/Olivier.jpg) |
Laddie day yesterday was a party,
as always, with blazing sun, musicians
galore and the afore-mentioned yaks,
dubbed “The Drambusters”.
We ran into Mel and Gordon Homer at
Jim’s masterclass and Ho-chengs’s
buddy Eric (Lin Huang). Highlight
though, was touring the warehouse
with Martin Markvardsen, soon-to-be
Brand Ambassador for Macallan and
Highland Park, who walked us from
cask to cask, valinch in hand, pulling
samples. Nothing however to match
the 1970 Bruichladdich Jim poured
at his masterclass. Close to the perfect
Bruichladdich, Jim plans to give it
a few months in 4 casks Olivier has
donated to the distillery. Hey Jim,
they’re undoubtedly marvelous
casks, but this is already a marvelous
whisky. Bottle it bud; it doesn’t
need enhancing!
- Davin |
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK were at Bruichladddich |
TASTING
- NINE BRUICHLADDIES |
![](Materialforlog12/Bruichladdichs.jpg) |
Bruichladdich
10yo (42.9%, OB, 1970’s)
Colour: white wine. Nose: very fresh
and really maritime, with also quite
some grain and notes of porridge.
Lots of sea air, light honey, hints
of melon and peaches… Very,
very ‘nice’ (sorry). Mouth:
quite some oomph but it’s more
on grains, cereals, malt, getting
then quite caramelly. Too bad it isn’t
as fresh and maybe a little weakfish,
but the finish is enjoyable, with
quite some salt. A good one from the
old days! 85 points.
Bruichladdich
32yo 1972 ‘Legacy IV’
(47.5%, OB, 820 bottles) Colour:
gold. Nose: a little discreet at first
nosing but soon to develop on honey
dew, ripe peaches and then various
aromas from the bees (hive, pollen,
beeswax). Then we get some mocha,
cappuccino, also bigarreau cherries
and finally something cardboardy,
even slightly chalky. Not a total
star, lacking a little expressiveness
but still a very good old Laddie.
Mouth: quite creamy and rather fresh,
with the trademark melons and nectarines
but also quite some oak, the whole
getting slightly drying. The finish
is medium long, maybe a little too
much on cinnamon and white pepper
– in short, tannic. Not a bad
one at all but previous issues have
been better in my books. 87
points.
Bruichladdich
25yo 1968/1994 (50%, Cadenhead)
Colour: straw. Nose: we’re more
or less in the same league here, with
truckloads of melons and peaches plus
quite some honey but developing in
another direction: more on ginger
ale and cinchona, getting then rather
grassy (cactus juice?) Quite some
gin, even aniseed and fern, moss,
pine needles... A great freshness.
Mouth: a bold and powerful attack,
on melon jelly (yes, we know our markers),
a little vanilla and what resembles
a little peat. Gets then quite peppery
and maybe a tad too tannic. Lots of
spices as well (nutmeg, star anise)…
Really oomphy, with a long finish
on fruit jam and spices. Maybe a tad
too woody and drying but otherwise
it’s an excellent whisky. 88
points.
Bruichladdich
17yo 1986/2004 (55.5%, Cadenhead,
bourbon hogshead) Colour:
white wine. Nose: this one seems to
be much more spirity and raw, closer
to fruits such as pineapples and pears
as well as grass, beer… Also
quite some smoked tea. Less typical
and expressive than its siblings.
Hints of liquorice. A baby that’s
rather hard, I must say… Mouth:
sweeter now but also slightly cardboardy,
grassy again, getting bitterly waxy.
Quite some bitter liquorice…
The finish is long but a little indefinite,
spirity and again, grassy (although
water will make it a little fruitier).
78 points.
Bruichladdich
16yo 1979/1995 (43%, Signatory, cask
#834-35) Colour: straw.
Nose: very fresh, starting on apple
juice and getting then a little salty
and grassy. Whiffs of aniseed and
dill, celery… Simple but clean
and straightforward. Mouth: very sweet
and fruity, with quite some vanilla
crème, apple juice again, getting
then grainy and grassy with hints
of liquorice. Quite some apple skin
too, walnuts, ham… The finish
is rather long and quite salty, maybe
a tad papery and bitter. Well, nothing
too special here I must say but it’s
certainly not bad whisky. 78
points.
Bruichladdich
1991/2002 (46%, Cooper’s Choice,
two years portwood finish)
Colour: straw. Nose: the wine is coming
through right away. Rather fragrant
and caramelly, with notes of apricots,
peonies and lots of vanilla. Whiffs
of violets and then toasted bread.
Gets really vinous after a while.
Nothing special here, I think. Mouth:
very sweet and sulphury attack but
a very weak middle and a caramelly
finish, with just a pinch of salt.
A poor palate, I think, this is a
good example of why I usually don’t
like finishes, especially with Port.
And life’s too short…
(and everyday is a bonus, so why waist
your bonus on this?) Phew.
67 points.
Bruichladdich
13yo 1991 (55.3%, Blackadder Raw Cask,
cask #3266) Colour:
white wine. Nose: very grainy and
coffeish, with quite some nail polish,
cellulosic varnish, newly cut grass…
Not much else, I’m afraid, almost
pure alcohol. With water: gets even
grassier but that’s all. Mouth
(neat): sweet and fruity (apples and
pears) but very, very simple and immature.
With water: a tad more peppery but
again, that’s all. Long but
spirity finish. Not too bad but uninteresting:
72 points.
Bruichladdich
15yo 1989/2004 (57.9%, Gordon &
MacPhail, cask #1957, 275 bottles)
Colour: full amber;
Nose: very ‘oloroso’ at
first nosing, starting on raisins,
chocolate, brownies, lots of ‘sherried
smokiness’… Goes on with
lots of argan and pistachio oils (hello,
J.), burnt cake, coffee beans, then
hints of spearmint. Lots of rectitude
and elegance, I love this one, that
reminds me of the best sherried OB’s.
Mouth: punchy, nervous, minty and
slightly bitter at first sip, developing
on all sorts of roasted nuts, cocoa,
bitter oranges… Really superb,
I think. Goes on with notes of maraschino
liqueur, sesame cream, praline, black
nougat… Tons of peanut butter!
Very good, no doubt… And the
finish is long, perfectly balanced,
with a perfect dryness. Yes, that’s
perfect. What a great surprise! Classy,
classy stuff. 91 points
(and thanks, Michel).
Bruichladdich
X4 (86%, Cask Strength, distilled
2006) This one has
been four times distilled, and it’s
still new make of course. Well, six
weeks old, actually. Aaargh! Aaargh,
really? Let’s see… Nose:
very strong of course but not ‘over-explosive’
at all. Lots of berries, mostly wild
raspberries (eau-de-vie). Not burning
at all, most surprisingly, a beautiful
nose, very pure. Whiffs of white chocolate
and praline. Mouth (neat!): extremely
pure, soft and smooth. And, I must
say, delicious. Warming of course
but not hot, very smooth, really,
tasting just like a wild raspberry
eau-de-vie. I don’t know how
it’ll mature but it’s
really great just as it is. Maybe
they should put it into demi-johns
for a few years (hint, hint) and forget
about calling it whisky. Now, as Jim
McEwan says, ‘the barrel is
a greater invention than the wheel
because you can’t mature whisky
in a wheel!, but I’m sure glass
maturing would be a hit. By the way,
with a few drops of water (reduced
to roughly 60%): it gets rather more
violent, curiously, and is more on
pears than on raspberries. Anyway,
it’s a gobsmacking experiment
indeed. |
|
|
May
28, 2006 |
|
![](/Achor-up-down.jpg) |
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK got their
special releases! |
![](Materialforlog12/Davin.jpg) |
YESTERDAY'S
ADVENTURES by Davin
well,
shortcuts ;-)
10:00 - We’re just onboard the
Caledonian MacBrayne ferry to Islay.
The ship is still loading but already
the drams flow. Valinch collector
and Maltmaniacs foreign correspondant
Martin Diekmann is next to us, wife
Insa and son, Carl in tow, and on
the other side, two serious Japanese
drammers have already filled the air
with the scent of peat, poured into
their blue ISO glasses. |
Hideo
Yakaoma, chief editor of Cheese! Magazine
(www.cheeses.shogakukan.co.jp/ ) who
also translated Michael Jackson`s
book into Japanese, is dramming heavy
Islays with barman Yuki Ando of Japan’s
Islands bar. Of course! It’s
festival time and way past noon –
in Tokyo at least. Hideo has visited
every active distillery except Inchgower
and this is his third consecutive
Feis Ile.
Earlier, in the queue, we met David
Wishart and his wife Doreen. We’ll
catch up with David and Doreen today
at Bruichladdich where David will
be signing copies of his new edition
of Whisky Classified – revised
and expanded to include Johannes’
beloved Allt A’Bhainne among
other new entries. Doreen won a Brora
30yo in the Port Ellen tasting competition
last year so one of us will be appointed
to distract her if there’s a
bottle at stake again this year. We’re
not quite on Islay yet, but already
it’s shaping up to be a great
festival.
13:00 - And now we’re on dry
land - first stop, Lagavulin where
we bump into Whiskyfun ace photographer,
Kate and ace concert reviewer, Nick,
who are on their way to commit genocide
on some unsuspecting Lagavulin oysters.
We’ve just watched a batch of
the little buggers squirm in their
16yo Lagavulin bath before plunging
down our own gullets so we say a brief
hello and bid Nick and Kate on their
way. Ahh, Islay, the only place on
earth where you are always in the
right place at the right time.
Then it’s off to collect some
festival bottlings. No limit at Ardbeg
and they give us a taste of their
Feis Ile offering for 2006. It’s
a wonderful old 1975 fino cask bottling
(see Serge’s notes below). At
Laphroaig they’re releasing
a few bottles of their 12yo 1994 special
bottling each day to spread the availability
of the 600 bottles across the whole
festival. Very egalitarian, but at
a very affordable 50 GBP a bottle
they need to pace it or they’d
all disappear long before lots of
Friends of Laphroaig make it to Islay. |
TASTED
ON ISLAY - FIVE ARDBEGS by Serge |
![](Materialforlog12/Ardbegs-OB.jpg) |
Ardbeg
10yo (no ABV listed, flat miniature,
1960’s or 1970's) Colour:
gold. Nose: starts a little discretely
but then we have some fabulous notes
of orange marmalade, fresh mastic,
high-end marzipan, high-end rubber
(hey?) and finally old garage, hard
plastic, motor oil, salted butter…
Wowie! Goes on with hot bakelite,
cauliflowers, quite funnily rather
coal smoke than peat smoke, hints
of tangerine liqueur, paraffin, fisherman’s
nest… I just love it! Mouth:
a very creamy, both resinous and waxy
attack with much more peat now, vanilla
crème, boxed desert crème,
Lots of candied quince, citron, salty
liquorice, oysters,.. Gets then quite
flinty, maybe slightly cardboardy
and dry but the finish, although not
long, is beautifully almondy and waxy.
A stunning old Ardbeg, no questions,
that ranks among the highest flyers.
95 points.
Ardbeg
10yo (40%, OB, Spirit Import, clear
glass, 1980’s) Colour:
white wine. Nose: this one is just
as fab on the nose, maybe a little
rougher, peatier and certainly more
maritime. Much closer to today’s
profile, more medicinal, with lots
of iodine, something nicely sour,
lemon juice, fresh oysters (Davin
says gay oysters, don’t ask
me why). Gets then extremely farmy,
on wet dog, hay, turnips… Then
motor oil again, tar… Again
a fabulous one! Mouth: oh yes, yes,
yes… I’m sorry but it’s
so elegant yet powerful, compact and
full-bodied… We won’t
torture you any further. 95
points.
Ardbeg
10yo (40%, OB, green glass, straight
neck, around 1986?)
Colour: straw. Nose: probably more
mineral and grassier, more on light
coffee. Frankly less expressive than
its brothers… Notes of linseed
oil, a little turpentine and suddenly
lots of eucalyptus and fresh mint,
peppermint… Gets really wilder
after a moment. Very nice indeed but
maybe simpler. Mouth: now it’s
weaker, a little cardboardy, papery…
A little like a current 10yo that
would have been diluted with too much
water. Too bad, the nose was most
enjoyable! 82 points.
Ardbeg
15yo (43%, OB, 50cls, mid 90’s)
A bottle that was sold by Allied in
duty-free shops alongside a Laphroaig.
Colour: pale gold. Nose: another one
that’s quite discreet at first
nosing. Maybe closer to the mash with
quite some porridge, rubbed orange
skin. Develops on eucalyptus leaves,
lemon drops, a little camphor, wet
dog this time again… Maybe it’s
a little subdued but quite racy at
the same time. Notes of fresh almonds.
Mouth: rather sweet and creamy, with
one side that’s great (marzipan,
olive oil, smokiness) but another
side that’s a little weak and
cardboardy, dusty, slightly caramelly…
Yet, the background is there, firm
and peaty, even a little medicinal,
with a medium long but salty and waxy
finish. You can’t compare this
one to the best old 10yo’s but
it’s still a very nice Ardbeg,
maybe a bridge between the old and
the new styles. 86 points.
Ardbeg
1975/2006 'Islay Festival 2006' (46.3%,
OB, fino cask #4717, 165 bottles)
Most interestingly, the Ardbeg for
the festival is at 299 GBP this year,
three times the price they asked for
the 2002 release. I guess you can
get a small used car for that price.
Why so much money? ‘Because
we haven’t got many of these
casks left’ did they tell us
quite apologetically at Ardbeg while
something like an embarrassed angel
was flying around us in the Old Kiln
Shop. No wonder many friends who used
to collect Ardbeg already quitted
since a few months or years. Anyway,
no other comments needed except this:
‘better be good!’…
Let’s try it… Colour:
straw. Nose: very pure and clean at
first nosing, vegetal and quite farmy.
Lots of peat and lots of smoke (it’s
hugely smoky in fact), with little
fino influence I think, immensely
clean. Gets then much more maritime,
with notes of seashells, oysters...
Goes on with quite some green pepper,
curry, peppercorn, then lime…
Really ‘straight’, really
pure, with also quite some minerality.
Mouth: starts quite lemony, with ‘of
course’ lots of peat and smoke.
Goes on with fresh almonds, marzipan,
a little paraffin… Again, it’s
very pure and straight. Not violent
at all, rather soft… Finish:
not too long but very, very classy,
with quite some spices, nutmeg and
pepper. A brilliant Ardbeg but again,
at 299 GBP, it had to be good…
(yeah, yeah). 95 points. |
|
May
27, 2006 |
|
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After
a great, great dinner we had yesterday
at Cruachan Lodge
in Stoer near Lochinver (thanks
again for the marvelous food Maggie
and Dennis) we left Assynt and Sutherland
for Fort Williams where we had a
great tour of Ben Nevis
Distillery with manager Colin Ross.
Davin wrote a report, please see
below... |
Unrealized
Opportunities at Ben Nevis
– by Davin
Though we were a good 3 1/2 hours
late, manager Alex (Colin) Ross
met us with a warm welcome then
spent a good two hours proudly showing
us around Ben Nevis and pouring
two spectacular drams. Formerly
a Hobbs grain and malt distillery,
Ben Nevis is best known for its
Dew of Ben Nevis blends (some of
them single blends using malt and
grain whisky, both formerly made
on site.) Not the prettiest distillery
from the outside, but inside the
still room gleams with copper and
probably the prettiest spirit still
I’ve seen. Walk back among
the warehouses and you’ll
realize what attracted Mel Gibson
when filming Braveheart, Liam Nieson
for Rob Roy and Burt Lancaster when
filming Local Hero. All three films
used Ben Nevis warehouses 2 and
5 as sets. But it’s the whisky
that brought us and we were surprised
at the just excellent quality of
a 40 year old blend and particularly
an excellent 13yo cask strength
single malt finished in a port bodega
butt (not a port pipe). At 87 points
it was just wonderful but when we
asked why Ben Nevis doesn’t
capitalize on the quality malts
lying in the warehouses, Colin just
talks about focusing on the 10yo.
Maybe head office doesn’t
have a nose, but judging from the
port finish it’s for sure
Colin does. Hey Ben Nevis, how about
a few more special bottlings to
crank up the Ben Nevis name. Get
some buzz going guys; you’ve
got the quality to do so. It’s
not just free advertising, people
will pay a good dollar for it. Anyway,
we await the next port wood finish
expected in 2008 and have heard
rumours of some heavily peated Ben
Nevis sleeping out back.
Thanks Davin! Meanwhile, we're heading
to Islay with two fellows we know
(too) well... |
|
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on the ferry
to Islay, May 27th |
|
May
26, 2006 |
|
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We
landed safely in Inverness indeed
the day before yesterday and after
a short visit at the Whisky Shop there
(it’s getting incredibly expensive
globally, imagine for instance £9.99
for a 5cl mini of a 15yo Old Malt
Cask) we went to Glen Ord where we
could visit the maltings. It was extremely
interesting, especially to learn how
they blend peated and unpeated malt
to come up with a required phenol
level, which is quite different from
what they do at Port Ellen (peating
directly to the requirements of their
customers and just adjusting the level
with a little blending at the end
of the process). Thanks Eric! Then
we headed north-west, to Ullapool,
Lochinver and finally Achnacarnin,
where Olivier’s got a great
holiday house. Other visits we could
do until today:
|
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-
Excellent queens scallops at the
Chippy in Ullapool
(voted best UK takeaway for two
years)
- Very interesting tour of Clynelish
Distillery. We could let Mark, the
friendly and most welcoming new
distillery manager, taste some old
Clynelish 12yo white label bottled
in the sixties. It looked like he
enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed
his Brora 30yo.
- An amazing £2.5O tour of
Glenmorangie Distillery
unleashed the industry’s most
treasured secrets. We were gobsmacked
when we learnt that: 1. They all
use the same barley in Scotland,
there’s only one anyway. Glenmorangie
uses only barley from the Black
Isle. 2. Glenmorangie is unpeated
because they neither use peated
barley, nor peated water. 3. The
stills are heated with electric
coils, just like an electric kettle.
4. No caramel in Glenmorangie. The
colour comes from the casks, but
after three uses, there’s
no colour left, so they sell the
casks to blenders such as Bell’s,
who don’t need casks that
would colour the whisky, because
they use caramel to colour it and
to give flavour. 5. They use 4yo
bourbon barrels because the Americans
aren’t allowed to use their
barrels for more than four years,
which comes quite handy for the
Scots. 6. Thank God we could have
(well, buy) very good drams at the
end of the tour, like an excellent
30yo oloroso finish or a 1993 truffle
oak.
- Excellent tour of Balblair
with Gordon Bruce. Exactly the contrary
of Glenmorangie's. Lots of knowledge,
lots of good spirit. Davin reports: |
Balblair’s
manager was off playing golf (it was
a fabulous day – we’re
having good luck with the weather),
so Gordon Bruce greeted us in the
parking lot of the pretty distillery
and after a brief chat we headed inside
for a manager’s tour. Balblair
had been slated for expansion so as
quaint as it is outside so is it modern
inside – at least at the start
of the tour. Massive malt bins had
been installed before the expansion
was stopped. “Malt performs
better if it’s given a couple
of weeks rest before it’s malted,”
Gordon told us. These large bins hold
several weeks supply of malt so it’s
a happy outcome from the halted expansion.
However, there the expansion ends,
for only two pot stills process the
low wines and spirit while a third
smaller still sits silent, waiting,
we presume, for consumers to discover
Balblair.
After the tour we tasted seven examples
of the distillery’s output,
each one better than the previous.
My favourite at 93 points, was the
38yo distilled in 1966 (44%, OB),
but a 26yo from 1979 (46%, OB) rated
86. I gave a 27yo from 1977 (46%,
OB) a solid 84, and a 31yo from 1969
(46%, OB) a full 90 points. Three
excellent cask samples rounded out
the tasting.
I first really discovered how under-rated
Balblair is at Whisky Live last fall
and now our tour confirms that Balblair
is a distillery to watch. AND, I’ll
keep my eyes on Knockdhu in the future
as Gordon is moving there in a few
months and one can only expect great
things to follow. |
|
May
24, 2006 |
|
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WE
SHOULD BE IN SCOTLAND!
Davin, Olivier and yours truly will
land in Inverness around 13:00 local
time and we'll then head to Brora,
where we'll visit Clynelish Distillery
in the afternoon. We'll try to post
a few tasting notes later on. In the
mean time, here's our road map... |
![](Materialforlog12/Islay.jpg) |
![](Materialforlog12/Title.jpg)
Roughly ten Maniacs were on Islay
for the Festival in 2005, but this
year should be quieter (well, not
sure) as there will be only four or
five of us. We had decided to take
it easy in 2006 but it seems that
our schedule is growing fatter by
the minute... Anyway, we'll try to
keep you posted on our adventures
day by day, should the wonders of
Scottish modern technologies permit...
And oh, by the way, Pete and Jack
will be on the island too! |
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the index of all entries:
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Nick's Concert
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