Monthly Archives: May 2013

GlenDronach 14 y.o. Virgin Oak Review

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GlenDronach 14 y.o. Virgin Oak036

46% abv

Score:  87/100

 

I was fortunate enough to marry the dirty girl, so this little run at the virgin is a rather interesting experience.  I’m not used to such a clean bout of fun anymore.  😉

You gotta give it to GlenDronach.  These guys know how to make their whisky interesting.  I suppose it helps knowing that your distillate is exceptional to start with.  When you have such an inherently clean and malleable base spirit coming off the stills it likely takes a little pressure off your cask policy.  In layman’s terms…their new make spirit is good, so barring disaster, their whisky should always be fairly solid regardless of what sort of cask it goes into. 

This is not to suggest that GlenDronach’s wood policy is anything less than top notch.  Contrarily…the proof is in the pudding with just how many brilliant and unique single cask bottling we see from this Speyside distillery.  Quality is one thing though, and generally enough to keep us coming back again and again, but it’s the spirit of innovation in a whisky such as this 14 year old virgin oak (or its contemporary, the 15 year old tawny port finished release) that gives the distillery a leg up on some of its rivals.

In case you can’t tell…I’m a fan.

This particular ‘Dronach served out the first of its sentence in re-charred puncheons, before moving over to fresh American virgin oak.  The result is a very light and fruity dram.  Rich in soft white bakery notes, vanilla and fruit.  Atypical for this generally quite sherried whisky, but a treat because of it. 

Nose:  Creamy and frothy orange (creamsicle).  Big vanilla smoothness.  Toasted marshmallow.  Little bit of cinnamon.  Creamy toffee.  White chocolate.  Candy-like sweetness.

Palate:  Vanilla and orange rind.  Grains.  Alcohol-soaked white cake.  Like licking the last of vanilla ice cream off of a wooden popsicle stick.  Quite aperitif-ish, really.

So…

Virgin oak, huh?  That purity has never really held a lot of appeal for me.  I’ve always had a thing for the dirty girl, but in this case…I’ll take one for the team and make an exception.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Ardbeg 17 Review

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Ardbeg 17028

40% abv

Score:  90/100

 

Ardbeg 17 is quite legendary in its own right.  This was one of the early releases from the distillery after it was reopened and enfolded into the loving care of  Glenmorangie in 1997.  This wasn’t the best of Ardbeg, nor was it even really typical of the style we know (and love) today.  Instead it was a rather tame, mildly peaty dram that was bottled at 40%.  HOWEVER, there was no debate as to the inherent quality of the product.  The whisky in the bottle was mature well beyond its years, as it was comprised of older, pre-closure, Ardbeg single malt, and it had mellowed to a spectacular balance and complexity.  So sayeth the many voices out there: what ended up being bottled as a 17 year old was actually built with some casks much older.  You have to remember, though, that this was before the current whisky boom and slightly ahead of that point where the stuff in the green bottle became a thing of near cult status.

But we’re here to talk about the stuff in the bottle, so let’s move on.

A few years back Ardbeg released an expression called Serendipity.  It was referred to as a ‘happy accident’ or some such similar description.  Serendipity was a blend of young Glen Moray and older Ardbeg destined to be bottled as the next batch of Ardbeg 17.  Somehow these two component malts got vatted together.  Oops.  Anyway…long story short…the sweet bubblegum fruity profile of this Ardbeg is not far off the nose of that ‘incidental’ vatting.

Great whisky from Ardbeg, and sadly…long gone.  I year for a day when we start to see older ‘age expression’ releases from this distillery again.

Nose:  Clean…light…fruity.  Austere.  Some gum notes.  Not toooooo far off the ‘Serendipity’ in terms of nose profile.  Vanilla meets barley meets bread dough.  Cream soda.  Ummm…peat?  Hello?  You there?

Palate:  A wee bit of spice and peat now come through.  Vague smoke (almost as if an afterthought).  Immediately into apple notes.  Very light.  Very short.  Has a bit of a tangy citric nip.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Laphroaig 21 y.o. Review

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Laphroaig 21 y.o.barry's place pics 069

53.4% abv

Score:  90.5/100

 

Here’s one you’re not likely to easily stumble across.  In fact, until a mate of mine so generously shared his stash, I had never even seen it.  I believe this release was primarily a travel retail, or duty free, exclusive.

Laphroaig, of course, is one of the sledgehammer peated malts from Scotland’s peat mecca, Islay.  All of the distillery’s expressions, at least in the approximation of this reviewers senses, are built on the same skeleton of deep earthy peat, strong medicinal notes and billowy smoke.  Atop all of this however, I always pick up on a very hard-to-eloquently-explain prickly ‘green’ note.  Kinda weedy…kinda dill-like…VERY awesome.  It generally delivers the sensual effect of a eucalytus, but without the same mintiness.

Peated whisky in it’s youth can be quite out of balance.  And that is not necessarily a bad thing.  If you’re drinking it for the enormous smoky notes and phenolic blast, this lopsided character is exactly what you’re looking for.  I do, however, want to offer up a quick bit of advice for the peat-o-philes out there.  While you may love that bold enormity of these younger whiskies, do not pass up any opportunity to try the aged expressions.  Over the years, as that peatiness begins to fade, you can find a breathtaking harmony as the fruitiness of the whisky begins to surface again through the waves of smoke.  That combination…magic.

Good whisky?  Betcher ass it is.  What else would you expect in a mature dram from a distillery that consistently releases great expressions.

Nose:  Farmy and medicinal.  Pepper.  Peat (mild, really) and smoke, of course.  Black and green ju-jubes together.  Saltwater taffy.  A little bit gummy.  Impressive how much fruit (white fruit) shines through the curtain of smoke and peat.  In line with the Laphroaig Cairdeas releases that have some aged casks in them.  Lemon zest-ish, but not fresh and vibrant.  More like…lemon polish.  Finally…Vicks Vapo-rub.

Palate:  Some candy notes…or maybe it’s fruit.  Hard to tell.  Either way, there is a sweetness here that is home-y and charming.  Prickly and peppery.  Much smoke.  Briny.  Wet rock.  Earthy and medicinal, as a Laphroaig should be.  That’s why we love ‘er.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Brora 30 y.o. 2005 Review

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Brora 30 y.o. 2005

56.3% abv

Score:  93.5/100

 

This Brora was a real game changer for me.  Kind of a touchstone.  It was one of a small handful of whiskies that sort of forced a recalibration and an adjustment to earlier scores in some of my reviews.  A true-up, if you will.

This malt (along with a few others sampled in and around the same time) made me take stock of what I truly thought a great whisky was.  When you taste something like this, you begin to realize just how much is out there and exactly what sort of dazzling heights it can reach.  Make no mistake…this is a great whisky.  Nearly flawless, in point of fact.

Of all the other Broras I’ve yet tried (great as they may have been), none are as good as this 30 year old 2005 Diageo release.

As you may know by now, the early 1980s saw a rash of distillery closures amidst a far-reaching and heartbreaking whisky recession.  While the casualties are mourned by collectors and enthusiasts even today, it was the sound of the gates swinging closed on two distilleries in particular that resonated loudest and longest.  The first…Port Ellen.  If you’ve been reading here long enough you’ve likely heard me waxing poetically about this loss.  Enough so, in fact, that I won’t devolve into another sobfest of Port Ellen sentimentality here.  The second however…is Brora.  And for Brora…I feel no qualms about sharing a few romantic thoughts.

This whisky is a seriously overwhelming experience.  The tightrope walk, balancing a rather hefty peating and the mature waxy notes of age, is brilliantly executed.  The nuances are rich and deep…yet still subtle and seductive.  This whisky was pulled from the cask and bottled at precisely the right moment.  This is apex.

While we do still have a distillery at the site of what was once Brora, it’s impossible not to recognize that the whisky being distilled there at Clynelish is just not cut of the same cloth.  That’s no knock against Clynelish, of which I am a fan.  It’s just that Brora was a one-off, not to be replicated.

This review has been far too long coming.  I was sorta saving it for an occasion, but…whatever…now’s as good a time as any, no?  Everyone wants to know what Brora is like – especially as it becomes more and more scare and expensive – so let’s share a few notes…

Nose:  Wow.  A stunning mature, farmy and salty dram.  Peat, smoke and iodine.  Leather.  Rubber bands.  Lapsang Souchong tea.  Buttery peat (not far off from Bruichladdich’s signature peating style), and creme caramel.  Citrus.  Something very fresh.  Also something very mature.  Brilliantly dissonant from the majority of the whisky world, but incredibly harmonious unto itself.

Palate:  As lovely as the nose is…in this case it simply can’t hold a candle to the palate.  Beautiful.  Big, bold and flawless.  Smoke and pepper.  Rich and earthy peat.  Rubber again.  Stunning array of spices.  Citrus again, but a little sweeter now, but also with some pith.  Salt licorice.  Again with the rich smoky Lapsang Souchong tea notes.  Like a very, very mature Port Charlotte.  Hot and alive, even at thirty years.

I think (and hope) this is where Longrow could end up with enough time in the cask.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt